Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position
                     of the Missouri Synod. [Adopted 1932]
              (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, N.D.) Pt. 9

                                 Of Good Works

       20. Before God only those works are good which are done for the
       glory of God and the good of man, according to the rule of divine
       Law. Such works, however, no man performs unless he first believes
       that God has forgiven him his sins and has given him eternal life
       by grace, for Christ's sake, without any works of his own, John
       15:4, 5. We reject as a great folly the assertion, frequently made
       in our day, that works must be placed in the fore, and ``faith in
       dogmas'' --meaning the Gospel of Christ crucified for the sins of
       the world -- must be regulated to the rear. Since good works never
       precede faith, but are always and in ever instance the result of
       faith in the Gospel, it is evident that the only means by which we
       Christians can become rich in good works (and God would have us to
       be rich in good works, Titus 2:14) is unceasingly to remember the
       grace of God which we have received in Christ, Rom. 12:1; 2 Cor.
       8:9. Hence we reject as unchristian and foolish any attempt to
       produce good works by the compulsion of the Law or through carnal
       motives.

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       This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg by
       Rev. Robert E. Smith and is in the public domain.  You may freely
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                             Rev. Robert E. Smith
                                Walther Library
                        Concordia Theological Seminary
       
                        E-mail: smithre@mail.ctsfw.edu
   
          Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft.  Wayne, IN 46825 USA
       Phone: (260) 481-2123                        Fax: (260) 481-2126
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  file: /pub/resources/text/wittenberg/mosynod: doct-09.txt

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