"The Table of Duties: To Pastors and Hearers" (Lent Midweek 1)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Lent is a season of repentance as we reflect on why our Lord died on the cross for us. But Lent is also about catechesis, because Lent is a catechetical season.

 

When one thinks about Luther’s Small Catechism, one often thinks of the Six Chief Parts: (1) The Ten Commandments, (2) The Creed, (3) The Lord’s Prayer, (4) Baptism, (5) Confession, and (6) the Sacrament of the Altar. That is usually where one stops. Six Chief Parts. Good to go!

 

But what if I told you that there were sections at the very end of Luther’s Small Catechism that often goes unnoticed. Did you notice that something was missing? Well, at the conclusion of the Small Catechism, Luther places three more sections: Daily Prayers, The Table of Duties, and Christian Questions with Their Answers.

 

When I went through catechesis – that first time when I grew up in the ELCA, I thought this pamphlet contained the entire Luther’s Small Catechism. But upon further inspection, this pamphlet did not contain the Table of Duties and Christian Questions with Their Answers. However, I can give Augsburg Fortress a pass on one of them, since Christian Questions with Their Answers was not published until after Luther’s Death. But I do find it rather odd omitting the Table of Duties.

 

But I can’t just go after the ELCA, since the LCMS hasn’t been perfect in including the entirety of the Small Catechism either. Although the LCMS has always included the Table of Duties in its publication of the Small Catechism, it has not always been included in our hymnals. 

 

In my research through my LCMS hymnals, the first hymnal to include the Small Catechism was not the beloved red TLH, but the blue Lutheran Worship, but even with that publication, the Table of Duties was missing. Thanks be to God that the maroon LSB has included the entirety of the Small Catechism.

 

Beginning tonight and throughout these Lenten Midweeks we will look at that second of the last three parts of the Small Catechism: The Table of Duties.

 

So, what’s the importance of the Table of Duties? Well, for Luther, the Table of Duties were just as much of a part of the Small Catechism as the Six Chief Parts. For the Table of Duties describe how the faith, that was created and nourished by the Six Chief Parts, prays and lives. When Luther put the Table of Duties together, he was trying to teach what the Christian life looks like and how it is structured around our daily vocations.

 

These Table of Duties could be described as the Christian “house rules” on how we are to deal with one another. You see, Christians have holy orders, or vocations, that are created by God in which we all live. These vocations are the duties or responsibilities that we each owe to our neighbor.

 

Each of the vocations described in the Table of Duties are applicable to us. And Luther’s intention in including them was to serve as us the Third Use of the Law – our guide – in how we ought to live in this world and what our duty is to one another. But as a word of warning, when we hear of these vocations described to us in the Table of Duties, the Second Use of the Law will be in play, because the Holy Spirit always uses the Law to accuse us. The Second Use of the Law – mirror, is not Luther’s intention, but the Law always accuses, but the primary focus of the Table of Duties is actually that of encouragement.

 

You see, the Table of Duties serves us as a reorientation so that we would return to our first love, to what God has established and the orders that He has given. And order is so important in the Bible. The worst thing a person can be called in the Bible is to be lawless, that is, to be without order. And “order” means that things are actually predictable.

 

As human beings, we live in three estates that often overlap, but they are also unique from each other. The first of these three estates is the family. Out of the family comes the Church (The Second Estate) and the government (The Third Estate). 

 

But in order to understand these Three Estates, God has created various vocations, or callings. He instituted vocations in life that we occupy, and God uses these vocations to care for others. The Table of Duties is divided up according to these various vocations, or callings.

 

Tonight, we will consider the first pair in the Table of Duties: “To Bishops, Pastors and Preachers” and “What the Hearers Owe Their Pastors.”

None of the Means of Grace just happen on their own. The Means of Grace require a pastor. This is why God has instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry. This is the vocation into which all pastors are called. It is God’s Office. No one can take this Office for himself. Instead, God must call men through the work of His Church, through seminary education and the churchly Divine Call. And God tells us the requirements for the Pastoral Office as we heard earlier in 1 Timothy 3: “The overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive” (1 Timothy 3:2-4).

 

And no pastor is perfect, just as no one is perfect, except for one: Jesus Christ. For all Christians live by faith in the forgiveness that Jesus won by His death, bodily resurrection and ascension. Yet, as those who shepherd Christ’s flock, pastors are held to a higher standard. This is why St. Paul cautions “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6).

 

As your pastor, my Holy Office is to attend to the work of Word and Sacrament ministry. But this work takes place in the world. So, Luther adds “What the Hearers Owe Their Pastors.”

 

St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9(:14): “The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” Paul adds in Galatians 6(:6-7): “Let the one who is taught the Word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

 

Just like laypeople, pastors and their families also can be tempted to want more daily bread. We, like, everyone else can covet what others have. Pastors can complain that they don’t receive more, even when God is providing what He has promised. But at the same time, congregations can look to get pastoral care “on the cheap.” There are congregations that are stingy with supporting their pastor. But where there are congregations who faithfully provide for her pastor, such as here at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, I give thanks to God that so many people are moved by the Holy Spirit to act in generous giving through their faith in Jesus Christ, who always provides for all our needs of body and soul.

 

St. Paul also makes it clear that the pastor is not to speak of his own ideas or his own opinions. Instead, Paul instructs pastors in Titus 1(:9) that “[pastors] must hold firm to the trustworthy Word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” So, pastors must teach what is true and correct what is false. 

 

Again, the Office of the Ministry is not man’s office, but God’s Office. So, we must always remember how the pastor came to serve in that place. I did not put myself here. God placed me here, working through His Church as you gave me the Divine Call to proclaim God’s Law and Gospel and His Means of Grace in this place.

 

The writer to the Hebrews wrote: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17).

 

As we live in a world that is becoming more and more like the first century world, we have a pressing challenge that faces both pastors and their hearers alike. Will pastors be willing to continue proclaiming the truth of God’s Word? Will pastors continue to proclaim that Christ alone is the way to salvation? Will pastors continue to teach the Ten Commandments as God’s Commandments and not just God’s suggestions? Will pastors continue to condemn the taking of a life – including the unborn and elderly? Will pastors continue to teach against sexual immorality?

 

For hearers, will you be willing to hear, believe and accept these Biblical teachings, even when it pertains to a family member or close friend?

 

This is a great challenge that faces both pastors and hearers. But we do not face this challenge on our own. Instead, we face these challenges secure in the knowledge that Christ who was crucified on Good Friday, rose on Easter. The risen Lord, through the Holy Spirit, enables us to live in the confidence of His bodily resurrection knowing that because He rose, we, by faith in Him, will also rise! 

 

Because of Jesus’ atoning death and bodily resurrection, He causes us to live differently from the unbelieving world, because He has called us out of this dark world and into His marvelous light! Jesus gives us eyes to recognize His Church as the place where His forgiveness reigns and the place of life everlasting. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Epiphany 5: "Living as Salt and Light" (Matthew 5:13-20)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Some time ago, I heard it said to me: “You know what would gain church attendance?” “What?” I asked. “Stop talking about repentance. People don’t want to hear that. Let me worship God in my own way. You need to adapt to the culture.”

 

Let me ask you, what would happen if we did just that? Our numbers may increase, but that’s doubtful. It’s doubtful, because the ones who want the church to adapt to the culture are the ones who have no intention on coming anyway. But, if we did that, would Prince of Peace Lutheran Church still be a Christian Church? If you ceased speaking God’s truth, would you still be a Christian? If we ceased calling sinners to repentance, would we still need a Savior from our sins?

 

Last week, Jesus began His most famous sermon, which is known as “The Sermon on the Mount” with the Beatitudes. Jesus began speaking of God’s blessings that rests on every true believer in Him. Today, Jesus continues as He speaks of the blessings we prove to be to the unbelieving world as we live as salt and light.

 

Jesus begins saying to His followers: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13a). It is likely that when you think of salt, you think of salt as a seasoning. It certainly is, but in the first century salt was used primarily for another purpose: as a preservative. Back in a time before refrigerators and freezers, salt was used to preserve food from spoiling. But how are we “salt of the earth”? How are we a preservative?

 

Jesus says “blessed are you” to be salt of the earth. We are blessed to be given a responsibility. As the preservative, Christians are called to be the check of moral corruption in the world. Jesus says, “You are,” and not, “You ought to be.” As the salt of the earth, we curb the immoral, godless living of the unconverted world. 

 

Oh, how things would have been much different if there had been ten righteous preservatives in the city of Sodom. God would have spared Sodom. Today, God preserves the whole world through His salt of the earth – you and me. God uses us as His preservative in order for Him to rescue lost souls from destruction by bringing them the saving gospel of Christ.

 

But the sinful and corrupt world will not love us for acting as salt in it. The sinful and corrupt world would rather prefer us to be like honey. This is the greatest temptation for Christians. As honey, we try to not offend unbelievers by trying to be a salt that doesn’t really bite into those who ignore or reject God. This is what Jesus was referring to when He said: “But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown down and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13b).

 

Remember, Satan rules this fallen world that we live in. He is known by what he first said to our first parents: “Did God really say?” Ever since Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, each generation has faced that age-old question: “Did God really say?”

 

To the unbelieving world, they are not as aware of Satan’s deception as we are. Most think of Satan as a cartoon character with a pitchfork, or really as a figment of man’s imagination. And that is the way Satan prefers it to be. He isn’t all about wanting credit for his deceptions. He just wants us to go down with him. He never wanted to eternally suffer in hell by himself so he tries to take as many of us down with him.

 

Satan’s first deceit was questioning the truth of God. He has perfected this age-old trick. “Did God really say every Word He says in the Bible is true?” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) “Did God really say repent?” (Matthew 4:17) “Did God really say there are only two sexes: male and female?” (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6) “Did God really say living together before marriage is immoral?”(Genesis 2:24; 1 Corinthians 7:8-9; Hebrews 13:4) “Did God really say abortion is murder?” (Psalm 139; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) “Did God really say that adulterers and homosexuals will not inherit His kingdom?” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) “Why not just adapt to the culture?” “Isn’t God working through the culture to show what He approves of anyway?”

 

As the world has become less salty, we see the outcome. The world has become more and more rotten, since there are fewer preservatives. Life is no longer sacred. This past Tuesday in our neighboring state of Minnesota, elective abortion was legalized up until birth.[1] The Wisconsin governor hopes to do the same.

 

In years past, we heard it said, “Why do you care what goes on in the privacy of the bedroom?” to justify civil unions. So many Christians remained quiet. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it’s deemed medically necessary to mutilate children if they feel like they are of the opposite sex. 

From what was deemed private has come into the public sphere with drag shows at libraries and even during the halftime show at a recent Milwaukee Bucks game. The rotten world is actively grooming both children and adults.

 

Many wonder what happened? What happened to our culture? I have heard it said: “It didn’t used to be this way!” Maybe it’s because Christians by and large toned down our witness of Christ? Or we said things and did things that would make Christianity more palatable to the unbelieving world? Or are we attempting to serve Christ from our sofas, rather than engaging one another? In doing so, much of Christianity has lost its saltiness.

 

Within the recent past, so many Christians and their denominations have lost their saltiness as they have failed to live and practice what they professed. One thing to note: if the corrupt and sinful world approves and respects you as a Christian or as a church, are you really being “salt of the earth”? Now, that is a good question.

 

So, if we should yield completely to the temptation and try to be salt that has no bite to it, if we should pattern our lives after those of the world, we would cease to be members of His kingdom. Then we bring the Lord’s judgment upon ourselves: we are no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled upon.

 

During the earthly life of Jesus, impure salt would not be thrown into a field, since it would kill the vegetation. It was certainly not good enough to eat. Instead, impure salt would be thrown into the roads, since there it would do no harm, for nothing could grow there anyway.

 

As Christians, we preserve the world as a curb to immoral living. We live as “salt of the earth” as we preserve the earth from spoiling. But Jesus continues. He also says that we “are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). 

 

Again, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world,” and not, “You ought to be light of the world.” Due to sin, this whole earth is corrupt. To this corruption, God uses us as His salt. But this world is still living in deep darkness, deep ignorance, falseness, and spiritual blindness. To dispel this darkness, Jesus has placed His followers as the light of the world. 

 

But how are we “light”? Recall what Jesus calls Himself: “I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12). So, when we follow Him, we walk in the Light, and only then. Apart from Jesus, we are not the light of the world. In other words, we have all our light from Him. Jesus is the sun (s-u-n), and we are the moons reflecting His light. Our Lord transmits this light to us and fills us with it through His Word and Sacrament.

 

In Christ, we are the light that shines in a dark world. Jesus adds: “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14b). What Jesus is saying is this: “The Christians in the world, will, by their very nature, bring the saving light God has given them to a world lying in otherwise hopeless night.”

 

Though the light shining from Christ’s church cannot and will not be hidden, we may be tempted to hide the light, just as we may be tempted to become tasteless salt – out of fear of those who shun and hate all light from above. To this, Jesus adds: “Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house” (Matthew 5:15).

 

It makes no sense for a lamp to be placed under a basket, since the room is as dark as it was before. Instead, people put the lamp on a lampstand, so that light can shine out and illuminate the room for those using it.

 

So, a Christian who hides his light in this world is acting contrary to the character Jesus has given him. So, if we cease to bring the Light of Christ to others, we not only fail to carry out our function as the light, but we would also lose the light and plunge back into darkness.

 

Think of it this way: if you put a burning lamp under a bowl, eventually the burning lamp will use up all of its oxygen and go out.

 

Now, Jesus is not telling us to parade our piety. He is rather urging us to live our faith even in the presence of the ungodly. 

 

A couple weeks ago, a Philadelphia Fliers defenceman named Ivan Provorov was criticized and called “homophobic” and “transphobic” for refusing to wear a “Pride Night” hockey sweater during warmups. One sports commentator said of Provorov: “The theme is hockey is for everyone. … Stop offending people. This [sport] is supposed to be about inclusivity. What I heard him say was offensive. It didn’t make any sense.”[2]

 

So, what did this hockey player say? “I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say.” Then the media questioned him, “What’s your religion?” He said: “Russian Orthodox.”[3]

 

To this, that sports commentator concluded: “Nothing scares me more than any human being who says: ‘I am not doing this because of my religious beliefs.’ Don’t give me that! Don’t feed me the religious beliefs line. The [NHL] today needs to fine that organization a million dollars and reevaluate how they support gay rights, because that is insulting.” In other words, he’s saying: keep your Christian faith to yourself, keep it hidden.

 

Provorov could have given in and wore the hockey sweater, but he didn’t. He refused to relax his Christian faith. He may not have realized it, but he was salting the earth and being a light of the world. Even if the ungodly ridicule our godly ways, the time will come when they have to acknowledge our works to be good. St. Peter proclaims: “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” – that is, the day God reveals Himself to them (1 Peter 2:12). You see, experiences with Christians may make unbelievers more likely to consider what Christians teach.

 

The question for all of us is this: Do people outside these church walls know that you are a Christian? Or do you just blend in with the world? It is not enough to say that you are a Christian. It’s not enough to only know God intellectually. We must also bear witness to the world that He is our Father and we are His children.

 

Now, in case you are wondering if your saltiness and your light isn’t where it should be, the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – has the antidote. This antidote is His Means of Grace: Word and Sacrament! This is why you are here in this place today! Through hearing His Word and receiving Christ’s Body and Blood, He strengthens our faith so that it is tasted and is seen!

 

Yes, we may still be hesitant in proclaiming the one true Christian faith. But all it takes is courage. If we do not publicly profess what we believe, to a certain point, we won’t believe it. Remember what Christ’s calls His disciples: blessed. And so, we are!  

 

Praise be to God that He is patient and does not quickly discard us when we fail. He leads us to repent, to renounce the ways of sin and darkness, to be forgiven for the sake of the cross, and to strive anew to follow Him and live a godly Christian life as the salt and light of the world. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

---

[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/walz-to-sign-pro-act-tuesday-codifying-abortion-rights-in-state-law/?fbclid=IwAR083GCUsst7yYRPY0ia4-A7KXAyV-rboceWw2G3YRapscVE8Dd5xtLPJt4

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yGm_E9Nj2Y&t=205s

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nce9VTthdgE&t=34s

The Christian Response to Critical Race Theory

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

As the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to say, our identity is in Christ: “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), and “in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28). In other words, Christians do not speak of fellow human beings based on their specific cultural, racial, sexual, or national identity, but upon their redeemed identity in Christ as a precious and beloved Child of God – one who has been justified and sanctified by the shed blood of Christ and His Holy Spirit. So, historic Biblical Christianity does not create theology and ethics based on the racial, ethnic, national, or pigmented identity of human beings.

In the last year or so, words and phrases like “equity,” “woke,” “antiracist,” “social justice,” “systemic racism,” “white privilege,” and “Critical Race Theory” have become a part of the mainstream. As Lutheran Christians, we may ask, “What does this mean?” Before I get too far, I would like to remind us all that all injustice and oppression can be traced back to Satan, the world, and our own sinful nature and that all humankind is depraved as a result of the fall into sin. However, it is true that human depravity explains the existence of racist oppression and injustice, it by no means excuses it. Rather, Christ has given His Church the commission to proclaim both repentance and remission of sins in His name. So, it is our duty to call each and every sinner to confess all sins of thought, word, and deed and find full and free remission in Jesus Christ for the sake of His bitter suffering, death, and bodily resurrection. Therein, this new life in Christ will also bring a change in behavior and care for our neighbor.

Recently, Rev. Dr. Lucas Woodford, the district president of the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, published a paper titled What Does This Mean? Responding to Social Justice & Critical Race Theory. In this well-developed paper, Woodford goes into the details on how Lutheran Christians are to respond when confronted with social justice and the Critical Race Theory.

In Chapter 2 of his paper, Woodford lays out definitions of what those many words or phrases above actually mean. First off, Social Justice and Critical Race Theory have become dogmas. This means that these ideas have become a doctrine, like that as proclaimed by the Church. So, for people who adhere to Social Justice and Critical Race Theory, they believe they are correct in their understanding and so they find it difficult to be swayed to believing otherwise. These ideas have become their religion.

So, what is it that they believe? According to Woodford:

Antiracist: A person must be an “antiracist.” Now, an antiracist is different than being “not racist.” According to their dogma, one can never be neutral. They must either be a racist or actively working against racism.

Equity: The equality of outcome is the demand that regardless of individual effort the outcome must be the same for all. The historical definition of equality which means an equal opportunity to achieve success is considered undesirable.

Woke: The perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice. To be “woke” is to awaken from the sleep of ignorance or from outdated beliefs into the enlightenment of new cultural awareness about social and racial justice. According to Woodford, “woke” finds its roots in the Marxist Revolution. The Marxist Revolution needed the images of Christ to be removed, speech codes enforced against pastors, and icons of Biblical truth destroyed in order to clear the path toward socialism and communism. The social justice movement carries similar Marxian themes as it seeks to remake the whole of culture. To do this, new words must be added to our vocabulary and old definitions must be altered or reinvented and then repeatedly mainstreamed into social consciousness to modify thought and behavior.

Social Justice: The idea that true justice must be equality of outcome, rather than only equality of opportunity, upon all of society.

Systemic Racism: The belief that social structures have assumptions that systemically oppress minorities. This has nothing to do with the historical definition of racism, which is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to physical appearance and should be distinguished based on the alleged superiority of one race over another. (As God teaches through His written Word in the Scriptures, racism is a sin and must be treated as the sin that it is. Those who have committed racist acts or carry a racially prejudiced mindset need to repent and rest on the full forgiveness of Jesus Christ.)

White Privilege: The belief that white people are born with an unearned advantage based upon the color of skin (their whiteness).

Critical Race Theory: The theory that holds that race is a social construct that was created to maintain white privilege and white supremacy. This theory is rooted in “critical theory,” which was originated by German philosopher Karl Marx and was formally presented in the pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto. Critical Theory is about the struggle between the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (poor workers). Critical Race Theory expresses the desire to fundamentally alter the control of power in favor of the morals that they assert are essential. The goal is to deconstruct and upend power structures in favor of who they believe are the oppressed.

Critical Race Theory and Social Justice ideologies seek to reduce character to collectivist identities using their own definitions that constantly change. Christianity, on the other hand, does not change: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). In Christ, through repentance, there is forgiveness for every sin. However, according to Social Justice and Critical Race Theory, there is never any possibility for forgiveness.

As followers of Christ, we believe, teach, and confess that our identity and character is found in our baptism. Our baptismal identity as child and heir of God unites us to Christ and provides a spiritual way of life, which is also an ethical way of life. So, when the Christian is led to sin, we are called to repentance and prayer. Whatever the sinful thought, behavior, and vice, the sinner pleads for mercy and forgiveness and that sinner receives forgiveness. As baptized believers, we are delivered from the hands of Satan by Christ’s cross, as our Lord Jesus through baptism equips Christians to live with a divine identity, with moral integrity, and with the eternal destiny of a heavenly kingdom.

The only remedy for all sin, hurt, injustice, and oppression is the hope and healing that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of the Church who breaks down dividing walls of hostility, reconciles the distressed, forgives sin, removes shame, and gives holy identity and moral character. There is only one body and one Spirit, just as we were called to the one hope that belongs to us all by God’s grace: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:5-6).

For even more on responding to social justice and Critical Race Theory, I strongly recommend reading District President Woodford’s paper, which can be found here: https://www.doxology.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dox_2021_woodford_crt_final2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR00Yyc9sRgV-wSA19tiDMApGIbAX1GRSiZ0wLOgIXS-2Og-mcLijDfpIsw

Woodford also discussed his paper on Issues, Etc. (a Lutheran radio talk show): https://issuesetc.org/2021/06/11/1622-christianity-critical-theory-and-the-social-justice-movement-dr-lucas-woodford-6-11-21/

In Christ,
Pastor Adelsen

Sermon for Easter 3: "Here We Stand" (Luke 24:36-49)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

[1]On April 16, 1521, Martin Luther, who months earlier was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, entered the city of Worms in a Saxon two-wheeled cart with a few companions. Although it was evening, more than 2,000 people turned out to greet Luther as he went to his lodging.

That next day – April 17 – Luther was told by the herald and imperial marshal to avoid the crowds as he went on his way to a meeting with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the electors, and German princes, who all waited with anticipation to hear whether Luther would recant his writings, or not.

Luther was about to speak in front of the Church and the Holy Roman Empire with the fear of death weighing upon him. Just imagine what Luther was feeling. Here, we have a simple monk with nothing to sustain him, except his own faith in the inerrant Word of God. Luther knew that he and the emperor alike were called upon to answer before Almighty God.

Upon entering the assembly, known as the Imperial Diet of Worms, Luther was examined by an official of the Archbishop of Trier. Immediately, Luther was confronted with a pile of his own books and was asked whether they were his. Luther replied: “The books are all mine, and I have written more.”

The official said, “Do you defend them all, or do you care to reject a part?”

Luther replied: “This touches God and His Word. This affects the salvation of souls. Of this Christ said, ‘He who denies Me before men, him I will deny before My Father’ (Matthew 10:33). To say too little or too much would be dangerous. I beg you, give me time to think this over.”

After discussion, the emperor would grant Luther until tomorrow. Justifiably so, Luther is terrified. He knew he had to give an answer before Almighty God and before the emperor.

That next day – April 18, 1521 – Luther returned to the Diet, but this time a larger hall was chosen, to allow for a larger crowd. It was standing room only, as only the emperor would find a seat.

The archbishop’s official reiterated the question of the previous day. As the day went on, the heat of the room increased. But Luther held his ground. Eventually, the official got to the point saying, “I ask you, Martin – answer candidly and without horns – do you or do you not repudiate your books and the errors with they contain?” Luther replied in his native German language saying:

“Since then Your Majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. Amen.”

Luther was asked to repeat his answer in Latin. As sweat beaded upon him, Luther made his affirmation in Latin. He threw up his arms in the gesture of a victorious knight, and slipped out of the hall. The hall erupted. Some rejoiced; others demanded Luther’s death.

That next day, Luther was declared a heretic. He was condemned and declared the enemy of the pope and the empire. The pope and the empire had placed a bounty on Luther’s head.

Today, we stand in the footsteps of Martin Luther 500 years later. We stand boldly as we continue to proclaim Jesus who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We stand, by the grace of God, steadfast and ready – like Luther, to suffer all rather than fall away. We do not stand on Luther, but we will gladly stand with him, firm on the testimony of the Holy Scriptures to confess the saving Gospel of Christ, our Good Shepherd, who died and rose, in whose name is forgiveness of sins for all people. Here we stand. We can do no other. God help us all.

[Firm Testimony of the Scriptures]

Five hundred years ago, Luther had a choice. He could either denounce God’s Word, or he could boldly proclaim God’s Word. In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus gives us the charter of the Church’s proclamation. Jesus taught His disciples saying, “‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:44-47).

Did you catch what Jesus just said? Here Jesus is saying that to comprehend His teaching, their minds – and our minds – must be opened by Jesus to understand the Scriptures.

Here, Jesus is teaching us three aspects of our Christian faith and what we preach and confess:

·        First, the death and resurrection of Christ is the central event of our faith. By this means, Christ reconciles us to God the Father and Jesus is proclaimed the victor over sin and death. (Luke 24:46)

·        Second, the Scriptures are the firm testimony of this. The Old Testament prophets foretold it, pointing forward to the Christ. The New Testament apostles bear witness to the Christ who has come. (Luke 24:44)

·        Third, the delivery and purpose of this central event and the reason for the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures is this: the proclamation of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name. The Law calls to repentance by exposing sin; the Gospel proclaims “peace” over such exposed sinners from the wounds of the risen Christ. (Luke 24:47)

Christ’s death and resurrection were accomplished to win a good conscience for us. Our conscience is “bound up” not simply to facts of history for their own sake, but to these blessed facts that are “for us and for our salvation” as we proclaim in the Nicene Creed.

On this day, 500 years ago, Luther was bound to the Holy Scriptures and their inerrant truth because they are the authority of God’s own Word concerning Jesus Christ, in whom we have peace for our consciences in the forgiveness of sins. You see, Luther appealed to the Scriptures, just as Christ did to His disciples.

[Hold Fast the Confession]

Now, due to our sinful nature, our natural tendency is to not perceive that Jesus is the Christ and that He has indeed accomplished our salvation. Our human eyes are blind to the reality of Christ’s presence even when He stands directly in sight, and our ears are deaf to His Word even when He speaks them audibly. Due to our sinful nature, this is a sad reality.

Today, the world around is us changing, but the more things change, the more they stay the same. You see, Satan hates the triune God and he wants us to doubt God’s saving Word. He wants us to question God’s Word. He wants us to turn from God’s Word.

Satan and the sinful world constantly come after us trying to wedge any doubt between us and God as he uses the same tactics he did with Adam and Eve saying, “Did God really say?” Most recently, Satan is coming after us in hopes of causing us to doubt ourselves. He wants us to doubt our own created being as God created us male and female. This is nothing new. He’s done this before. And he’ll keep on attempting to sow any doubts so he can pull us from God’s kingdom. You see, Satan and the sinful world constantly send their flaming darts at us in hopes of stealing one of us from Christ’s flock.

You see, Satan and the sinful world want us to put our trust in human wisdom and rely on shifting ground. Satan wants us to worry. Satan wants us to fail to recognize Jesus. But, do you know what? The more we may worry, the sure and certain Hope is right in front of us. Christ Jesus cannot be hidden. He cannot be locked away. You see, our sinful nature often overpowers us to look in all the wrong places for safety and security. We look in all the wrong places when the right place is right in front of us in God’s Holy Scriptures where God comes to us proclaiming certainty saying, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).

Even in our disbelief, Jesus the Good Shepherd, comes to us saying, “Peace to you!” (Luke 24:36) and “Do not disbelieve, but believe” (John 20:27b). “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” (Luke 24:38) He says, “Come, eat and drink. This is My Body, which is given for you. This cup is the new testament of My Blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

Although Jesus is truly present with His disciples that day, He also implies that He is no longer “with” them in the same way as before His death and resurrection. This is as Christ is today, as He comes to feed us His very body and His very blood for the forgiveness of sins and to strengthen our faith.

Here, Jesus Himself heals our spiritual blindness and deafness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit – the “power from on high” (Luke 24:49) – our faith grows and is strengthened. He also gives us the preached Word, which is the instrument through which the Holy Spirit manufactures faith. From this preached Word, the triune God gives us peace, joy, and the forgiveness of sins.

Through the hearing and reading of the Scriptures – from Genesis to Revelation – our eyes are opened through the working of the Holy Spirit. Our eyes are opened as God reveals how we have received peace with Him through our crucified and risen Lord. Our eyes are opened to see that the triune God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Our eyes are opened as these Scriptures – breathed out by God – teach us, reproof us, correct us, and train us in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

So, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25).

At Worms, Luther held fast the confession without wavering. He refused to be moved from his teaching except by the Holy Scriptures’ correction, because in the Scriptures we hear the voice and promise of Christ Himself – He who promised, who alone is trustworthy. The Scriptures are that trustworthy testimony of God to us, a promise that brings God with His benefits to us: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

On this third Sunday of Easter – 500 years to the date when Luther took his stand at Worms – the Scriptures remind us what the Church stands for: Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of peace with God and eternal life in His name. Just as Christ stood among His disciples then, He comes to us here, through His Word and Sacraments saying, “Peace to you!” (Luke 24:36)

So whatever political power struggles, social and ethical debates, or humanitarian disasters we must engage in our lives, our mission and existence does not begin or end there. We preach Christ crucified and risen for eternal salvation. That is the center and focus of the Holy Scriptures, to which every other Scriptural truth also leads.

God help us in our day to be bold to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. God help us to stand on the sure testimony of the Holy Scriptures alone as the source and norm of faith and life, to repent of sin and pride, and to trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Here we stand! God help us. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

 

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

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[1] Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Abingdon: Nashville, 1978), 177-182.

In Times of Doubt, Trust in Jesus and His Promises

 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

These are the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. This time has come and “the time” began to happen soon after Christ’s bodily ascension into heaven.

We like to focus upon today’s problems, but these problems are nothing new. For “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

False teachings, also known as heresy, have been around ever since sin entered the world through Satan taking the form of a serpent as he caused Adam and Eve to doubt God’s very words. The idea of “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3) has crept into Christ’s Church and has continued to infect Christ’s Church to this day.

We are in fact, no different than the Hebrews of the Old Testament who “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.” They forgot the Lord, their God, and instead served false gods – like Baal. Today’s false gods are the love of money, the celebrity, the politician, or even safety and comfort. The list goes on and on and on. Each false god can never give anyone what they promise. Only the one, true God always gives what He promises.

At the time of the Lutheran Reformation, Martin Luther hoped for a church that would be avoid of non-Scriptural traditions and instead be rooted upon the inerrant Word of God. In fact, this was the whole point of the Lutheran Reformation! We have the “Solas” of the Reformation to remember this point: Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone. This is to remind us that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, by which Ephesians 2:8-9 says so beautifully. We know that fact through God’s Word: Scripture Alone, or Sola Scriptura.

But, since sin was still in the world during the time of the Lutheran Reformation, other reformers did not have the same high view of Scripture as Luther.

This brings us to today. As Luther hoped to unite the Christian Church in doctrine and practice in using God’s inerrant Word, sin would like to see otherwise. Today, we see a Christian Church that is fractured among doctrine and practice.

In C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, he focuses on this fracture in Letter 16. In this letter, Satan’s minion Screwtape encourages his junior tempter nephew Wormwood to send his patient to church hop in the hope that the patient would become a “taster or connoisseur of churches” and choose a church that would scratch his itching ears. So, Screwtape identified two churches in the area that were full of false doctrine that would be perfect to damage the patient’s faith in Christ.

You see, Screwtape encouraged Wormwood to send his patient to a church that was not preaching the Word in season and out of season. He was not encouraging the patient to attend a church that was reproving, rebuking, and exhorting, with patience and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2). Screwtape is, in fact, against Law and Gospel preaching, as well as Confession and Absolution!

Pastor Welch and I are not perfect, but our goal day-in and day-out is to preach the whole counsel of God’s Word at First Ev. Lutheran Church. As pastors, we are under-shepherds of Christ. We are not under-shepherds of the sinful world.

As Christians, we are always to be listening to the truth. But remember what Pontius Pilate famously said, “What is truth?” (John 18:38)

Today, the culture says that truth is relative, but we know that as Christians, this is not to be believed. In fact, the truth can be found in one Man. The Truth is of course Jesus Christ, for He says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

So, whenever you doubt, trust in Jesus. Whenever you feel Satan’s arrows piercing you, trust in Jesus. We are all experiencing Satan’s spiritual warfare upon all of us these days, but trust in Jesus.

Jesus is here for you and me! He is never hiding as He is always seen in His Word and Sacraments to grant us forgiveness, life and salvation as He proclaims that He “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). So, if you are feeling weak, know that Christ is always present in the Lord’s Supper to strengthen your faith as He gives us His forgiveness that He won for us upon the cross!

Happy All Saints Day and a Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

In Christ,
Pastor Adelsen