Reformation (Observed) 2017

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: John 8:32
Theme: Truth In Christ

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Life is a miracle. It is worth celebrating in the here and now. How much more so eternal life! It’s not over-the-top exaggeration to recognize that the salvation we have in Jesus Christ is something to be more than a little excited about. It’s especially appropriate as we celebrate 500 years of Reformation heritage. A call for discussion by a German monk named Martin Luther initiated a far-reaching re-appropriation of the core truths of Holy Scripture. The power of sin is not broken by human strength, the guilt of sin is not atoned for by human effort. The conscience does not find peace through any schemes that try to appease the Almighty. But God Himself, condescends to us in the person of Jesus. He bears the guilt of sin and gifts believers with everlasting life declaring them righteous by grace through faith. He says today, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”1

The events and circumstances leading up to the Reformation were many and far-reaching. Unrest had been festering for some time in many different areas. Moral corruption within the church had become widespread. The vocations of clergy and laity and the relationship between the church and the state had become conflicted and confused. The spiritual life within the church was often burdened with guilt and legalism. Many Christians were in doubt about their salvation and labored within the institutional schemes of the church to acquire various measures of God’s favour. Biblical illiteracy was rife, and performance of rituals was emphasized at the expense of proper motivation of the heart. The clarion voice of the gospel was being drowned out by any number of expressions of the expectations God had supposedly laid upon the sinner. Superstition about the spiritual realm, including Satan, purgatory and hell was common.

Others had tried to reform the church in different ways but achieved little success. The situation was ripe. God sent Martin Luther into the fray. Luther was the right man, at the right time, with the right skills, and the right tools at his disposal. A devoted Augustinian monk, it was never Luther’s plan to lead a rebellion or even fracture the church. He only wanted to steer it back to its biblical foundations. Luther’s was a conservative reformation, and many thought he didn’t go far enough. Luther spent as much effort trying to reign in those who misappropriated his teaching’s as he did challenging the existing powers. Luther wasn’t in it for the recognition, but for the truth. It was intolerable for Luther that the Roman Catholic church was not directing troubled consciences to the place they could find true peace.

True peace of conscience cannot be acquired without the correct understanding of the nature of sin and its resolution. Despite an emphasis on repentance many Christians in Luther’s day lacked a clear understanding of how the crisis of sin was to be resolved. Moral rehabilitation was thought to be the solution. There was little work for the Spirit to do in the ongoing life of the sinner, let alone Jesus. Dear friends, devaluation of sin inescapably leads to a depreciation of the gospel. Certainly, human nature hasn’t changed. If we deny that we are sinners, if we doubt that rebellion against God and His created order is always the greatest threat to humans, if we question whether we need any assistance to make it from this mortal life to eternity in the divine presence, then the saving love of Christ will mean little to us. As the Lord says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”2

Satan easily has a field day here because God, in His wisdom, often doesn’t judge sin instantly. The punishment for sin is often latent- that is, transgressing God’s will often doesn’t seem to initiate any immediate response. The medieval soul was burdened with the prospect of purgatory. Luther directed the penitent to the cross. Temporal punishments may have to be endured, but the soul is freed eternally by the grace of Christ. Humanity may face many crises from environmental disaster to poverty, to bloodshed, violence, and tyranny- and we can identify many causes from selfishness, to greed, to failed ideologies- but sin is the root cause of them all. That truth is fundamental to the Christian worldview.

How then, can the assurance of God’s love be acquired? Luther came to understand, steadfastly believe, and clearly articulate this truth: The motive for God’s love of every man, woman, and child is not found in that man, woman, or child, but solely in God Himself. God does not seek the lovable person; He creates the lovable person. God doesn’t save those He deems to be worthy. God makes worthy the unworthy and in doing so blesses them with salvation. Grace is properly the virtue of God alone. Jesus gifts sinners with salvation. Redemption begins and ends with Him alone. The gospel is the Good News that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ reconciles sinners to the heavenly Father without any support, aid, or contribution whatsoever from the individual. The apostle Paul drives this truth home, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.”3 It is the promise first made to you in your baptism.

The apostolic teaching about how God can be accessed was not discarded at the time of the Reformation. God comes to us only through chosen means. Though God is everywhere, He chooses to communicate His forgiveness only through word and sacrament. The Holy Spirit converts and teaches only through use of the Scriptures. The heart of God is revealed only through Jesus hanging from the cross. He covers the price of sin for every soul. God chooses to adopt us through the water of Holy Baptism. He chooses to feed us through Christ’s body and blood in Holy Communion. His means of grace have not changed, and they never will.

Yet, the context into which truth is proclaimed is always changing. Only a willful blindness would refuse to see the challenges that are faced by the Christian church currently and Lutheranism particularly. A seismic shift away from belief in a personal God, a growing confusion about fundamental matters of anthropology- such as, the meaning of being male or female-, and a whole-hearted trust in science to provide the most important answers in life characterizes the conditions in which the church seeks to shine the light of the gospel into people’s lives. In Luther’s time people generally had a robust belief in the spiritual dimension. People didn’t doubt the existence of heaven, hell, Satan or angels. Things are much different todays’ society. Centuries of rationalism have taken their toll on the collective human consciousness. You may be surprised to learn that many Christian teachers of theology don’t believe hell exists, or Satan is real. Some don’t even believe in the physical resurrection of Christ from the dead.

Without the resurrection of Christ, the jig is up. To a significant degree the church in the West is losing its courage to speak the truth in the face of political correctness. Often loss of courage is preceded by a loss in conviction. It hasn’t happened overnight, it’s been hundreds of years in the making. The tacit identity to the sacraments and church rites tells the narrative. The baptized, confirmed, married, and buried of one generation become only the baptized and buried of the next. The progression then moves to burial only, a sort of last connection with the Christian heritage that’s been mostly lost.

For some, the answer is simply to concede to the prevailing ideologies. Some call for unity around whatever common ground can be found with the power brokers of culture. But, sacrificing truth for the sake of unity is like trying construct a building on a shaky foundation. The edifice may seem quite presentable, even serving its purpose usefully, until it needs to stand the test of integrity. When the foundation fails the house may collapse in spectacular fashion. The wise man built his house on the rock. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away”4, meaning that all created things will come to the point obsolescence and collapse, they will not endure… but the kingdom of God will endure eternally.

We do not lose hope because we know this story does not end in defeat. Falsehood does not prevail. The power of sin is broken. Today Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”5 You are His beloved child. He bought you at a price. His grace will not fail you. For, as the apostle says, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.”6 It will be nice to have a chat with Luther in the company of the resurrected. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Reformation (Observed)
29 October 2017
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 John 8:36 2 Mark 2:17
3 Ephesians 2:8-9 4 Matthew 24:35
5 John 8:31-32 61 Corinthians 15:20