# Lutherans and Strict Subscriptionism



## raderag (Jun 15, 2004)

What is a &quot;confessional&quot; Lutheran? 

The word &quot;confession&quot; is used in a variety of ways, but when we speak of a &quot;confessional&quot; Lutheran we mean a Lutheran who declares to the world his faith and most deeply held belief and conviction, in harmony with the documents contained in the Book of Concord. You will catch the spirit of confessional Lutheranism in these, the last words written in the Book of Concord: 

Therefore, it is our intent to give witness before God and all Christendom, among those who are alive today and those who will come after us, that the explanation here set forth regarding all the controversial articles of faith which we have addressed and explained--and no other explanation--is our teaching, faith, and confession. In it we shall appear before the judgment throne of Jesus Christ, by God's grace, with fearless hearts and thus give account of our faith, and we will neither secretly nor publicly speak or write anything contrary to it. Instead, on the strength of God's grace, we intend to abide by this confession (FC SD, XII, 40). 

What is an &quot;unconditional subscription&quot; to the Confessions? 

Confessional Lutheran pastors are required to &quot;subscribe&quot; unconditionally to the Lutheran Confessions because they are a pure exposition of the Word of God. This is the way our pastors, and every layman who confesses his belief in the Small Catechism, is able with great joy and without reservation or qualification to say what it is that he believes to be the truth of God's Word. 

Dr. C. F. W. Walther, the Missouri Synod's first president, explained the meaning of an unconditional confessional subscription in words as clear and poignant today as they were then: 

An unconditional subscription is the solemn declaration which the individual who wants to serve the church makes under oath that he accepts the doctrinal content of our Lutheran Confessions, because he recognizes the fact that they are in full agreement with Scripture and do not militate against Scripture in any point, whether the point be of major or minor importance; and that he therefore heartily believes in this divine truth and is determined to preach this doctrine. 

So what is it to be a Lutheran? 

Being a Lutheran is being a person who believes the truths of God's Word, the Holy Bible, as they are correctly explained and taught in the Book of Concord. To do so is to confess the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Genuine Lutherans, confessional Lutherans, dare to insist that &quot;All doctrines should conform to the standards [the Lutheran Confessions] set forth above. Whatever is contrary to them should be rejected and condemned as opposed to the unanimous declaration of our faith&quot; (FC Ep. RN, 6). 

Such a statement may strike some as boastful. But it is not; rather, it is an expression of the Spirit-led confidence that moves us to speak of our faith before the world. 

To be a confessional Lutheran is to be one who honors the Word of God. That word makes it clear that it is God's desire for His church to be in agreement about doctrine, and to be of one mind, living at peace with one another (1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11). It is for that reason that we so treasure the precious confession of Christian truth that we have in the Book of Concord. For Confessional Lutherans, there is no other collection of documents, or statements or books that so clearly, accurately and comfortingly presents the teachings of God's Word and reveals the Biblical Gospel as does our Book of Concord. 

Hand-in-hand with our commitment to pure teaching and confession of the faith, is, and always must be, our equally strong commitment to reaching out boldly with the Gospel and speaking God's truth to the world. That is what &quot;confession&quot; of the faith is all about, in the final analysis. Indeed, &quot;It is written: &Icirc;I believed; therefore I have spoken.' With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak&quot; (2 Cor. 4:13). This is what it means to be a Lutheran. 

http://www.bookofconcord.org/whatisalutheran.html


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## cupotea (Jun 16, 2004)

Lutherans posit a distinction between subscription to the Book of Concord because it [i:af54f6cb03]is[/i:af54f6cb03] [u:af54f6cb03]the[/u:af54f6cb03] faithful distillation of biblical doctrine on every point upon which it touches and subscription to the BoC because it [i:af54f6cb03]contains[/i:af54f6cb03] [u:af54f6cb03]a[/u:af54f6cb03] distillation of Biblical doctrine on every point upon which it touches.

The difference is roughly analogous to a strictly inerrantist view of Scripture over against one more informed by &quot;Higher Criticism&quot;.

Orthodox or Confessional Lutherans are those who take the former position. And this is what is meant by 'unconditional subscription'.

Lutherans have, traditionally, believed that the Book of Concord is as authoritative as Scripture because it is a distillation of Christian doctrine as expressed in the Word of God. They do not and have not ever believed that the BoC [i:af54f6cb03]is[/i:af54f6cb03] Scripture, but they certainly do believe it to carry Scripture's own authority.

Generally, confessional subscription is taken very seriously among Orthodox Lutherans such that they would never consider regional or denominational revisions or alterations of the original text as have some Reformed with their various foundational documents (i.e. the omission of reference to the Pope as anti-Christ in some American forms of the WCF).

The more liberal groups, however, take a position much like that of liberal Presbyterians (or Anglicans, or Methodists) that the confessional documents are historically important relics of the confessional age but that strict subscription needn't be expected today.

There has been some talk, in the ELCA (the most liberal of Lutheran bodies) of issuing a new, updated statement of faith and including it in their editions of the BoC, but I think even there they are having a hard time getting it approved.

[Edited on 6-16-2004 by Steadfast]


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