The Need for God's Word

Let me tell you this, even though you know God’s Word perfectly and are already a master in all things: you are daily in the devil’s kingdom [Colossians 1:13-14]. He ceases neither day nor night to sneak up on you and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against ... all the commandments. Therefore, you must always have God’s Word in your heart, upon your lips, and in your ears. But where the heart is idle and the Word does not make a sound, the devil breaks in and has done the damage before we are aware [Matthew 13:24-30]. On the other hand, the Word is so effective that whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard, and used, it is bound never to be without fruit [Isaiah 55:11; Mark 4:20]. It always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devoutness and produces a pure heart and pure thoughts [Philippians 4:8].

Martin Luther
The Large Catechism I:100-101

From Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, copyright 2005, 2006 by Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptural Duties of an Evangelical Lutheran Congregation

C.F.W. Walther, the first president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, describes the following Scriptural duties of a congregation in his treatise on The Proper Form of an Evangelical Lutheran Congregation:

1. To see to it that the Word of God may richly dwell and have full and free scope in its midst.
2. To care for the purity of doctrine and life in its midst and to exercise church discipline in these matters.
3. To concern itself also with the temporal welfare of all its members that they may not suffer want of the necessaries of life nor be forsaken in any need.
4. To see that in its midst “all things be done decently and in order” and to “provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.”
5. To be diligent “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” also with all parts of the orthodox Church.
6. To do its part in building up and promoting the welfare of the Church at large.

In the near future we will take a closer look at each of these Scriptural duties.