Barry Issues New Statement On 'Joint Declaration'

If, then, the Joint Declaration is not quite the breakthrough event its Lutheran signatories say it is, what is it? It is two things: It is an opportunity for Rome to appear ecumenical without conceding a thing, and it is but the latest example of Lutherans sacrificing God's truth on the altar of unity.

The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and its many partner churches around the world, as well as any number of Lutheran communities not part of our confessional fellowship, have not accepted the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. We consider the Joint Declaration to be a surrender of the most important truth taught in God's Word. It represents a clear, stunning departure from the Reformation and thus is contrary to what it means to be a Lutheran Christian.

That being said, Lutherans not participating in the Joint Declaration continue to pray for true, God-given unity in the confession of the Christian faith. We thank God for the grace He gives to all believers in Jesus Christ throughout world Christendom. We rejoice in what we have in common with the Roman Catholic church. And, indeed, that is much. However, it is a great tragedy when those who claim to be the leaders of Lutheranism depart from the very essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through their participation in, and support for, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. These leaders, in their quest to achieve unity, fail to see the declaration for what it truly is: a woefully inadequate and misleading document and a betrayal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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This statement is published by the News and Information Division, Board for Communication Services, of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Free subscriptions to this service are available by sending an electronic mail message to mailserv@crf.cuis.edu and including the words SUBSCRIBE LCMSNEWS in the body of your message. To unsubscribe, send the message UNSUBSCRIBE LCMSNEWS to the same address. For more information about this statement, contact David Strand, Director of Public Relations, e-mail: david.strand@lcms.org, or phone: (314) 965-9917, ext. 1229.

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