A DECLARATION OF FAITH (1977)
CHAPTER SEVEN -- THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
1 (1) The church is founded on Jesus Christ.
2 Gathered around the
Word and sacraments,
3
those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
4
together with their children,
5
have formed a corporate, visible body
6
in pilgrimage with God across the centuries.
7 The church has
sought to order its life and ministry
8
in obedience to the teaching of the first apostles.
9 It has attempted to
carry out Christ's commission
10 in
various institutional forms and structures
11 that
demonstrate both continuity and change.
12 We acknowledge that Christ
chooses to be known in the world
13 through
this community of ordinary people,
14
therefore we dare not despise or abandon the church.
15 Christ is the head of the
church,
16
therefore we are responsible to Christ
17 when we
make policy and decisions in the church.
18 Christ is the foundation of the
church,
19
therefore it will not fall despite our weakness.
20 We are confident that the Lord
of the church
21 will
judge and defeat our sinful intentions and actions,
22 help us
in our weakness and blindness,
23 and use
the church to accomplish his purposes.
24 (2) The church is marked by the Holy Spirit.
25 Across the centuries since the
church was founded,
26 the
Spirit has formed and identified it.
27 We recognize the true church of
Jesus Christ
28
wherever the work of Spirit is evident:
29 in
preaching and sacraments,
30 in the
new life and continuous growth of believers,
31 in the
sharing of spiritual gifts and material things,
32 in
mission and service to the world.
33 The boundaries of the church
are not clearly known to us,
34 but God
knows those who are his.
35 (3) The Christian church arose within Israel.
36 The followers of Jesus
37
remained at first within the people of Israel.
38 As persons from all nations
joined them,
39 they
were separated from the Jewish community.
40 Yet they continued to accept
Israel's story as their own
41 and to
consider themselves part of the people of God.
42 We can never lay exclusive claim
to being God's people,
43 as
though we replaced those
44 to whom
the covenant, the law, and the promises belong.
45 We affirm that God has not
rejected his people the Jews.
46
The Lord does not take back his promises.
47 We Christians have often
rejected Jews throughout our history
48 with
shameful prejudice and cruelty.
49
God calls us to dialogue and cooperation
50 that do
not ignore our real disagreements,
51 yet
proceed in mutual respect and love.
52 We are bound together with them
in the single story
53 of
those chosen to serve and proclaim the living God.
54 (4) The church encounters other faiths.
55 The church has often lived and
worked
56
among those who do not share the Christian faith.
57 It has been sometimes corrupted
and sometimes helped
58 by
other religions, and by secular faiths and ideologies.
59 In turn it has affected them
for good or ill.
60 We do not fully comprehend God's
way with other faiths.
61 We need
to listen to them with openness and respect,
62 testing
their words to us by God's Word.
63 We should be loving and
unafraid in our dealings with them.
64 We know God calls us to share
the gift of Christ
65 with
all who will receive it.
66 We are
confident God judges all faiths, including our own.
67 (5) The church exists within political
communities.
68 Throughout its
history the church has struggled
69 to be
faithful to God in political situations:
70 under
persecution,
71 or as
an established arm of the state,
72 or in
separation from it.
73 God rules
over both political and religious institutions.
74 We must confuse neither with
the kingdom of God.
75 We must not
equate the Christian faith
76 with
any nation's way of life
77 or with
opposition to the ideologies of other nations.
78 We hold Christians are to be
law-abiding citizens
79 unless
the state commands them to disobey God,
80 or
claims authority that belongs only to God.
81 We must not allow governments
82 to
impose Christian faith by legislation,
83 nor
should we demand undue advantages for the church.
84 The church must be free to
speak to civil authorities,
85 neither
claiming expert knowledge it does not have,
86 nor
remaining silent when God's Word is clear.
87 (6) The church has its ongoing story with God.
88 The church's story
with God did not end
89
with the latest events recorded in Scripture.
90 Across the
centuries the company of believers
91
has continued its pilgrimage with the Lord of history.
92 It is a record of
faith and faithlessness, glory and shame.
93 The church has been
persecuted by hostile societies,
94
but it has also known times of privilege and power
95
when it joined forces with dominant cultures.
96 It has sought
holiness
97
through separation from society,
98
as well as through involvement in the world's affairs.
99 It has experienced
life-giving reformations.
100 It
has known missionary expansion through the world,
101 but
also periods of dwindling resources and influence.
102 It has divided into rival
orders, sects and denominations,
103 but it
has also labored for cooperation and union.
104 We confess we are heirs of this
whole story.
105 We are charged to
remember our past,
106 to be
warned and encouraged by it,
107 but
not to live it again.
108 Now is
the time of our testing
109 as
God's story with the church moves forward through us.
110 We are called to live now as
God's servants
111 in the
service of people everywhere.