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Advent Daily Reflections are here! Prepare for the coming of our Lord at Christmas, in His Means of Grace and again on the Last Day. Pastor Brad Drew of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church faithfully delivers the Gospel to us in our Higher Things Reflections for Advent, Christmas and the first days of the Epiphany Season. To download the Reflections in a printable booklet format, click here.
by The Rev. Jonathan Naumann
Yes, that annual season we call Advent is on the way this month beginning on St. Andrew’s Day (November 30th) this year.
But by saying “Advent is Coming” I am not referring to the calendar as much as the meaning of the term. “Advent” (from the Latin) means “coming”. But beyond its dictionary definition, Advent is a description of what the biblical God Himself actually does for us in the person of Jesus Christ. “…Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven”.
In those words, quoted from the Nicene Creed, we have an extraordinary departure from the safe comfort zone of the gods of all other religions.
Other religions are about what comes down out of people’s minds whereas here we are faced with One Who comes down from heaven. And, whereas other religions are about what we humans do, the Christian Gospel is about what God actually did and does.
Humans religions continue to disgrace themselves with evil actions, such as taking land or goods in the name of religion or even taking people’s lives in the name of religion.
A few Saturdays ago, in India, anti-Christian riots took place, killing nearly 50 people and destroying thousands of Christian homes and churches all because a Hindu leader (a terrorist against Christians) was killed by Maoist rebels who claimed responsibility for his assassination.
Even without going into what takes place between Arabs and Jews, suffice it to say that, much to their shame, religions down through the centuries have use weapons and words, sayings and scriptures to assert their demands and abuse their positions in the name of God. What a despicable combination of invalid actions combined with unwarranted words!
Not so with the biblical God Christians worship. With His Advent we have, not the arrival of mere words, but of the coming of the Word made flesh. As Philip Doddridge, in his hymn “Hark! the Glad Sound!”, put it 250 years ago:
He comes the prisoners to release,
In Satan’s bondage held.
The gates of brass before Him burst,
The iron fetters yield.
He comes from thickest films of vice
To clear the mental ray
And on the eyeballs of the blind
To pour celestial day.
He comes the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of His grace
To enrich the humble poor.
He comes because this sinful world needs Him to. He comes because He is a God of love and a God who took the loving action necessary to redeem His fallen creation and make it possible for those who trust in Him to be forgiven and saved.
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel — which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23)
Come down here and actually do something? He certainly did, and we are living proof of it. God’s Son, Jesus Christ is God with us even now as He comes to us by His word and sacraments – just as He promised He would. And, in response, we love another in His name.
The Reverend Dr. Jonathan Naumann is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church & School in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. He previously served as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in England… and he is Stan’s Pastor!
by The Rev. George F. Borghardt III
I got an email from somebody today, I wanted to respond, but the email bounced…
The question concerned whether or not a pastor was a faithful pastor. When considering whether a pastor is faithful or not, don’t go by his name. Don’t go by what other people say about him.
“He’s one of our guys… He’s a liberal… He’s conservative.. He’s faithful…” We then we judge and dismiss based upon the man, rather than his confession. Good name, good guy, therefore our guy. Bad name, their guy, therefore bad guy. Being from the district office doesn’t make a guy good or bad. It doesn’t make him trustworthy or not trustworthy. That’s the way of power (Rome) and the way the world does things… Jesus never did, nor should we.
Jesus knew what was in men – nothing good. Not in the good ones, not in the bad ones. Not in Nichodemus, not in woman caught the act.
So, listen to the guy’s preaching. Does he deliver Christ and Him crucified? Does He know the Gospel? I’m not talking about being super liturgical or from a certain teacher. You’ll learn about him from his preaching. How’s his doctrine? Does it mesh with his practice? Do they go together?
Then, if you get the chance, is he actual willing to suffer for the Truth? Our clergy are basically either cowards are wanna-be martyrs. We bend to the person who screams the most at us. Or we cover our own failures by blaming others. So, we snap and are proud and then say that we suffered on behalf of Jesus. Both of these type of clergy love the glory of men rather than glory of God. it’s what we sinners do and we’ve all done it.
A faithful pastor, will confess Jesus crucified for your sins and be willing to suffer for that confession. His hands may shake. His voice may crack. His language may be rough. His tongue may be course. But, he confesses, he does not deny His Lord – even if it does him in. And if he doesn’t confess Jesus clearly, it horrifies him and he will confess his sin and then confess Jesus.
A faithful pastor is concerned with shut-ins, widows, hospital calls, and young people. He tries to actually study. How will he know what to teach? He calls or visits vistors. He might try to send some back to their pastors rather than just adding them to his parish. And no one recieves glory from what he does or doesn’t do – but Jesus alone.
All pastors have their pets – from abortion to youth to whatever they seem to be most concerned about. These are fine as long as they don’t get in the way of the preaching and teaching of Christ crucified. The pet may be good and godly, but when it takes over, then we are right back to the doing something for someone other than Christ.
In the end, we aren’t saved by being good pastors or laity, but by Christ alone. If we are saved by how faithful we are, we’d be utterly lost. We’d never live up. Christ alone is our righteousness and hope. His Cross for us. His death in our place. His resurrection is our justification.
And when you go looking for a preacher to put that Gospel into your ears: Trust not in names or princes. Same with names. Go with what they confess and do.
In Christ,
Pastor Borghardt
Pastor Borghardt is Assistant/Youth Pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe, TX. He also serves as Conferences Executive for Higher Things. You can listen to Pr. Borghardt every week on Higher Things Radio.
by The Rev. Mark Buetow
St. Matthew 25:31-46
Judgment Day! The prophet Daniel tells us about the throne with fire coming out of it. The court is seated and the books are opened! The apostle Peter describes how the earth and the heavens will be consumed by fire on that day and this heaven and this earth will pass away. These are scary images. They are the sorts of pictures that, if we stop and consider them, should frighten and terrify sinners. They should cause us to fall down and cry out in repentance for our sins! Then comes our Lord Jesus’ words. He describes that Judgment Day and speaks of the separation of the sheep and the goats. And our sinful flesh, which only ever thinks of itself, grabs onto the idea that what is going on is that Jesus is judging people based on how they lived. Those who served their neighbor get to go to heaven. Those who didn’t do good works for others go to hell. If you do good works, you get rewarded. If you don’t do good works, you get punished. Brothers and sisters in Christ, if that’s what you get out of this Gospel reading, then repent! Do you think that Jesus preaches His works and His grace and then the apostles preach that we are saved by grace through Christ’s work and your pastors preach that you are saved by what Jesus has done and then, on the Last Day, it’s suddenly going to change so that no you are actually saved by how you lived your life? The Lord doesn’t change. His grace doesn’t disappear. His work of saving you from your sins doesn’t end on that Last Day! Let’s listen carefully to what Jesus is actually saying as He teaches of the sheep and the goats and we’ll be comforted against our sins and rescued from false fear of that Last Day.
First of all, let’s look at Jesus’ work on earth. The prophet Daniel says that the Son of Man received a kingdom from the Ancient of Days. That is, Jesus receives a kingdom from His Father. How does Jesus receive this kingdom? Does He come to earth and teach people how to live a good life so they can be a part of His kingdom? No! He comes to live a good life in our place. He comes to keep the commandments that we break. He comes to fulfill the Law that we cannot. Yet Jesus comes to do more than just live. He comes to die. To die for sinners. To die in the place of sinners. To die covered with the sins of sinners. To give His life as a ransom for sinners. Everything Jesus is about in His earthly life is accomplishing, achieving, winning FOR US, the forgiveness of sins. Just think about when He hung on the cross as a King, crowned with thorns. There is a a thief who despises and mocks Him. A goat, we should say, who has no share in Christ’s kingdom because He despises Christ. On the other side, though is a sheep, a sinner who has nothing to trust in or cling to than Jesus’ mercy. And that day he was in paradise with Jesus. So let’s be clear. Everything that Jesus comes to do and accomplish is HIS OWN work done on our behalf, for us, and in our place. That doesn’t change on the Last Day. So knowing what our Lord has done for us in His flesh, let’s listen carefully to the words He speaks about the sheep and the goats and we’ll be rescued once again from despair or false hope.
Jesus says that He will separate the sheep from the goats on the Last Day. It doesn’t say He will decide who’s a sheep or a goat based on what they’ve done. When all people stand before the Lord on the Last Day, they will already be sheep and goats! Jesus says elsewhere, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” He knows the sheep before that Last Day. What is it that makes you a sheep? Your Baptism into Christ. Jesus dies on the cross for the sins of the whole world. That salvation is given to you, bestowed upon you, becomes yours at the holy font. At the moment you are washed with water and the Word, you are born again from above. You are made a part of Christ’s kingdom. At the moment of your Baptism, you are made a child of God. One of Jesus’ little lambs. I want you to realize, dear Christians, that when you stand before the Lord on the Last Day, it will be as His holy and beloved sheep. If you ever doubt that, then remember you Baptism. If you ever are uncertain, if you ever worry that perhaps on that day you will be in the goat line, then hear it again: you are a sheep of Christ because you are baptized into Him! Don’t ever doubt that!
Now listen carefully to Jesus’ next words to His sheep. “Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Think about that for a second. From the foundation of the world. Before we were created or born, our heavenly Father had a kingdom prepared for us. Now, how can we inherit a kingdom by our good works if that kingdom was planned to be given to us before we were even alive to do any good works!? Think about that. Our heavenly Father has already made ready our eternal kingdom before we were ever born or did anything. Which means that when Jesus is speaking to His sheep on the Last Day, He’s not telling them about some reward they’ve earned. He’s giving them a gift that has always been a gift. It has always been something from God’s mercy, not what we have earned or deserved! This is important! These words of Jesus, that the kingdom has already been made ready for the sheep demolish ANY notion that somehow the sheep are getting something they’ve earned or worked for. The key to understanding all this is Jesus, of course. The Bible says that Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That the Father has always intended to send His Son to save us from our sins. The kingdom is prepared before the world was made because it was decided that Jesus would save the world before it was even made! Again, how can you be certain that this kingdom is prepared? That it’s ready for you? That’s what your Baptism says. When you are absolved of your sins, you are being reminded that nothing will keep you from the gift of a kingdom that your Father has prepared. When you eat and drink Jesus’ body and blood, you are united to your Savior in such a way that when He receives His kingdom, it’s YOUR kingdom too. In Christ, all that He has is now yours. And that’s exactly what He’ll say to us on the Last Day. “It’s all yours! Come and enjoy it forever and ever!”
Now we come to the good works part. Again, by listening carefully to what Jesus actually says, we’ll be prevented from reading His words wrongly, misunderstanding them and falling into false fear and despair. Jesus tells the sheep all that good things they have done and then says, “Then the sheep will say, ‘When did we see you all these ways and do all these things?'” When they did it for the least Christian brother, they did it for Jesus. Notice that Jesus tells us that the sheep don’t even know they did these things! They weren’t aware they were serving Christ as they helped their neighbor. In other words, the sheep were NOT doing good works because they were keeping track and trying to get into heaven by doing enough good works! They lived their lives as Christians and what they did, the Lord counts as good works in Christ. Dear Christians, what good works have you done? What will be said of you on the Last Day? The answer is: you have no idea the things you have done for the Lord! You don’t even know how many works you have done! There is so much you have done and accomplished for others and thus for Christ that you don’t even know! But you will on the Last Day. For all the world to see, your good works will be commended by your Lord. They are not commended now. What you do you don’t always know and if you did, you might get smug and proud and self-righteous. But on THAT Day, everyone will know what you have done: not your sins. Those are forgotten in Christ. They will know what good you have done in Christ. Not of yourself. It is the Holy Spirit working through you by faith. As for those who have done no good works? Apart from Christ, their works are nothing. They have despised Christ and their neighbor and they will be sent away to torment! But you, dear Christian, never worry about how you’re doing. Because you are in Christ, your good works are piling up and you don’t even know it!
So beware, dear Christians, of despairing of salvation when you hear the story of the sheep and the goats. Beware of thinking that somehow its all going to come down to what YOU’VE done. If it did, we are all indeed doomed! But on that Last Day, it all comes down to Christ. As it always has. It is His life, death and resurrection that have won salvation for us. It is His Baptizing us that makes us His sheep before that Day. It is His gaining us a kingdom that means it has been prepared before we were even made. It is His living in us through His Word and means of grace that means all our works done in Him are good works. Don’t fear but rejoice in that Last Day. Look forward to it! Because on that Day all that Christ has done for you by His life and all that He has given to you in your life will be fulfilled in the gift of an everlasting kingdom for you to enjoy! In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Mark Buetow is Pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Quoin, IL. Pr. Buetow is the editor of the Higher Things Reflections and Internet Services Executive. He has also been a guest on Higher Things Radio.
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The 11th episode of Higher Things Radio opens with Pastor Borghardt interviewing Rev. Brent Kuhlman in the segment, “Defining the terms”. Today Pastor Kuhlman will define “sanctification” and find out what exactly the tongue twister means. After drinking his weekly Diet Coke, Rev. Marcus Zill will give you a brief synopsis of how the organization started and then he’ll talk about vocation. Pastor Zill will discuss Christ’s work in you and for your neighbor through all of the various hats you wear as a Christian in your daily life. After discussing vocation, Pastor Borghardt will keep Pastor Zill on the phone for HT Radio’s “Is this a sin?” segment. How will Pastor Zill handle the hot seat? Can he point us back to the Gospel? Tune in this week to find out!
by The Rev. Mark Buetow
St. Matthew 24:15-28
So the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea. Their enemies lay dead on the seashore. They journeyed through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai. Moses went up on the mountain to speak with the Lord. And the Israelites waited. And they waited. And they waited some more. Finally they got tired of waiting. So they told Aaron, “We’re tired of waiting. We don’t know what happened to Moses. So never mind the mountain stuff. Make us gods to lead the way!” So Aaron collected their gold and made a golden calf. But here’s the kicker: what was the calf called? It was called “The Lord.” The Israelites didn’t just make a false god. They attached the True God’s name to it! God’s people are always in danger of this, dear Christians. Since His Ascension, the Lord’s church has been waiting for His return. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Still waiting. And instead of holding on tightly to Christ’s Word and promises, people begin to think, “We don’t know what happened to Christ. Let’s make our own Christ because we don’t know what happened to Jesus.” And so turning away from the true Christ, people make their own Jesus. False Christs and false prophets. But we knew it would happen. Jesus said so. Christ is turned from being the Savior who dies and rises for our sins into some other kind of Christ. A help-with-all-your-problems Jesus. A personal life coach. A philosophy teacher. An angry and mean Judge. A good pal. A Jesus who says that anything goes. The true Jesus is tossed aside and a false Christ arises. Some might even do miracles. The terrible thing is that people put their trust in these false Christs and thereby deny and turn from the real Jesus, the only one who can and does actually save us!
The Lord was ready to wipe those Israelites off the face of the earth. And they deserved it! How could they be rescued by the Lord and then turn around and make Him into a cow? That’s what sinners do. But Moses reminds the Lord of His promises. God had promised to make a great nation from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So for the sake of His Word, because of His promise, the Lord does not destroy them. Oh, they’ve got it coming! But what turns the hand of the Lord’s wrath and anger? His Word. His promise. You and I, who love to trust in something other than the Lord, who, given the opportunity, would nail Him to a cross, are saved by the same thing: The Lord’s promises. Because Jesus dies for the sins of the world, and because He has baptized you into His Son, He will not punish you for your sins. Oh you deserve it, and you’ve got it coming. But it falls on Jesus. The smoke and lightning and thunder of Mt. Sinai are transferred to Mt. Calvary and come pouring down on the Son of God instead of us. Not because we deserved to be saved. But because the Lord promised He would do it. It’s a promise that goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. And the Lord doesn’t break His promises. We make our confirmation vow to keep the faith even until we die and we turn away the first chance we get. But our Lord does not turn from us because His vow to save sinners cannot be broken. It’s why Jesus came and did what He did. The same grace of God that spared the children of Israel after the Golden Calf is the same grace which spares us from the punishment of our sins in Jesus Christ.
Notice that the children of Israel didn’t suddenly remember God’s mercy and grace and stop what they were doing though! No, Moses interceded for them. When the Lord was ready to march down the mountain and blast the Israelites into smithereens, it is Moses who reminds the Lord of His promises. In fact, in one of the boldest prayers recorded in Holy Scripture, Moses tells the Lord to repent! And the Lord does! Because Moses prays for those evil people, because Moses throws God’s word and promises back in His own ears, the Lord spares them. Same for us. We don’t suddenly wake up one day and decide we’d better stop sinning and get right with the Lord. We would keep dancing around our idols until our golden cows come home. Instead, Jesus intercedes. He comes to us. He takes on flesh. He stands between the wrath of God and us sinners. He puts Himself between the Father’s judgment of sin and us sinners who have that judgment coming. Christ stands high above us, nailed to the tree of the cross to be a lightning rod to take God’s punishment of sin so that it doesn’t fall on us. And whenever we would sin now, He pleads to the Father for us. As long as Jesus stands before His Father, the Father will never remember our sins or punish us for them. Understand, dear Christians, that what rescues us from our idols is Christ who came and took our place. Now He has taken His place with the Father, praying for us, interceding for us, reminding the Father continually that He has taken our sins away and we are to be spared from everlasting death!
Moses did punish the Israelites for their idolatry. He ground up the golden calf, sprinkled it on the water and made them drink it! Sounds gross! If you want this false god so much, why don’t you eat it! And they did! But in the mystery of God’s grace, since the coming of Christ, we are not made to eat our idols. Rather we are given to eat the Lord Himself in His body and blood. Where the children of Israel were joined with their false god in a way that pointed out their sin and probably made them sick, we are joined to the One who takes away our sin. In that meal of His body and blood, our Lord reminds us that He has taken away our sins. When we eat and drink His body and blood, we do it for His remembrance, that is, He remembers what He has done for us and holds no sins against us. Not our idolatry or any other sin. The true miracle is not some trick that the devil plays with his false Christs showing off. The true miracle, the true sign and wonder is that the Son of God takes the place of sinners to free us sinners from our sin and death.
And that leads us to Jesus’ warning in today’s Gospel about false Christs and false prophets. False Christs and false prophets don’t preach the forgiveness of sins. They may do miracles. They may do signs and wonders. People might look like they’ve been healed. People might have some sort of spirituality or connection to the supernatural. But all of it is the Devil’s tricks if Christ isn’t preached. The Devil wants us to look to other things than Christ but to call them “Christ.” Our repentance is that of the children of Israel: to turn away from anything that is not Christ but is called Christ. Brothers and sisters in Christ, that means turn away from any church, any Jesus, any preaching, which isn’t about the forgiveness of sins always. It means run from any teaching that doesn’t point you to your Baptism, where you are certain that you are the Lord’s. Flee from anyone that won’t absolve you for Christ’s sake and comfort you by forgiving your sins. Run from any preaching or teaching that says the Lord doesn’t give His body and blood for you to eat and drink. Run and flee from anything and everything that seeks to have you put your trust in something other than Christ crucified and risen for you, delivered in the means of grace in the church. Oh, other churches or religions may look holy and pious and religious and like they’re having a good time, but they will simply be the objects of God’s wrath on the Last Day. Hear Jesus warning. But hear it and be comforted. Your Lord has told you what to watch out for. And He promises to keep you in His faith and to intercede for you, so that your sins will never stand against you before the Father.
Our countdown to the end of the Church Year has begun today. Time to start paying attention and looking for Jesus to come back! Jesus warns about something called the “abomination of desolation.” We see that all around us as the world makes up and invents false Christs. When people put their trust in these fake Jesuses, that is the abomination. Anything that robs a person of true faith and trust only in the true Jesus, that is the abomination. Should we be worried? No. Because our Lord has warned us. He has given us His Word and that Word cannot be broken. When you are troubled as you look around in these last days, then do as Moses did. Pray with God’s Word. Call upon the Lord in repentance and faith. Cling to Jesus in His holy gifts at the font and altar. Then you will be ready with St. Paul and all the saints for the glorious coming of Christ. And so we wait. And wait. But that day will soon come. And on that day, the trumpet blast won’t be the one of Mt. Sinai, to frighten and terrify. It will be the trumpet blast of our Savior coming to raise us from the dead and bring us to Himself forever. Amen.
Rev. Mark Buetow is Pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Quoin, IL. Pr. Buetow is the editor of the Higher Things Reflections and Internet Services Executive. He has also been a guest on Higher Things Radio.
by The Rev. Mark Buetow
Some of you may be voting for the first time this year. But even if you cannot vote in this year’s election, you should still take some time to think about our heavenly Father’s gift of government. The Small Catechism reminds us of these particular bits of “daily bread” that we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer: “devout and faithful rulers, and good government.” It might seem strange to say that “government” is part of our daily bread. But the people who are in positions of authority around us–mayors, governors, presidents, congressmen, judges, etc.–are given to us by our heavenly Father for the support of our body and life.
But how does the government support us? St. Paul tells us that the government is given by God for our good and the punishment of evil. The government’s job is to protect us from evil and to punish those who do evil (Romans 13:4). Of course, in the United States, our local, state and federal governments do all sorts of things to make our lives better: build roads, provide driver licenses, maintain our military, catch and punish criminals, print money, regulate business, provide air traffic control and provide all kinds of other services and necessities. As Christians we confess that our true citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Yet we are also citizens of earthly nations and so we are to use our freedom in Christ to make good choices about whom we elect to serve us in positions of leadership.
Jesus teaches us to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:25) That means there are two kingdoms in this world: The kingdom where God runs the world through the government. That’s the kingdom of this world. Then there’s the kingdom where the Lord saves people through the preaching of the Gospel. That’s the kingdom of His church. And the two kingdoms are not equal! This world won’t last forever. The church will be with Christ for all eternity. The government’s job is to protect our life and property. In the church, we are given eternal life. These two kingdoms are not the same. This world is passing away. The Word of God will never pass away.
In fact, as Christians, we believe that because God gives government, that government is a gift which is given for the sake of Christ’s church. No, it’s not the government’s job to forgive our sins. No, we don’t go to the county office to get Holy Communion. When someone is baptized, they don’t apply for a permit downtown. The government’s job isn’t to give money to churches or decide who your pastor is. But the freedoms that our government guarantees and protects give us the opportunity to hear and learn God’s Word without fear of being attacked. In America, at least, we are free to hear the Good News that Christ has died for our sins. In that way, our Lord uses the government for the sake of His church.
But what about when governments do what is against the Bible? What about when the government actually attacks people who are Christians? How can St. Paul honor the government when it was the same government who ended up beheading him for being a Christian? Well, even when the government attacks Christ’s church, that is an opportunity for God’s people to remember that they are still citizens of heaven no matter what happens on earth. Such persecution teaches Christians to trust in Christ alone while at the same time praying for a good and wise government.
In God’s kingdom, it’s all about Jesus, the cross, Baptism, Body and Blood, the Word, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. In the kingdom of the world, it’s all about the Lord working to preserve order and peace for the sake of His holy church. Even if you can’t vote in the election, remember to still take time to pray and give thanks for that loaf of daily bread, your government. And if you do have the blessed privilege to vote in the election, exercise that responsibility smartly, that is, voting for men and women who will take seriously the government’s purpose of being a blessing to people and supporting (indirectly) Christ’s holy church. Above all else, remember that you are a citizen of heaven by Jesus’ blood and that is something sure and solid and unchanging, no matter which candidate ends up in office.
Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in Du Quoin, IL. He and his wife Susan have three daughters. Pastor Buetow serves as the Internet Services Executive for Higher Things. Which means on top of keeping an eye on his own daughters, he has to keep Stan in-line as well.
by The Rev. Dan Feusse
Don’t miss the opportunity to be amongst the first register for SOLA, a Higher Things Lutheran Youth Conference. Two opportunities to hear the Gospel at a Higher Things conference in 2009! Two great locations! Registration for this summer’s conferences opens on All Saints Day (November 1, 2008) and will close on March 1, 2009 or whenever each conference reaches its capacity. Get ready to register your groups soon – we expect these conferences to fill quickly! Check out www.sola2009.org and follow the link to Registration Information where you will be able to download and print a group leader’s information packet with step by step instructions.
by The Rev. David Kind
Jeremiah 31:31-34; Revelation 14:6-7; Matthew 11:12-15
Grace, Mercy and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth – to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people…” The church is both the result of that heavenly proclamation and the body that continues to promulgate it throughout the world. Everything the Church is and does, from the work of her pastors to the activities of the men, women and children that are part of her, is centered in the Gospel, in that glorious proclamation that Christ Jesus has suffered and died on account of our sins, and has been raised for our justification, so that God can say: “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” The Lutheran Confessions say that wherever that Gospel is rightly proclaimed, through preaching and the giving of the Sacrament, and where people are gathered to that Gospel, there is the Church.
And yet there are other voices from within the Church that often seem to drown out the angel’s proclamation, and attempt to replace it with something else. Such was the case in the time of the Apostles, when Jewish Christians on the one hand, and Gentile philosopher Christians on the other, attempted to replace the Gospel of Christ with something else, either with an Old Testament piety rooted in keeping God’s Law, or with a supposedly loftier knowledge that could lead one to unification with God on your own with Christ merely serving as a sort of guide. Such was the case during the time of the Early Church where heresies about the person and natures of Christ sprung up all around, seeking to undermine the Gospel by undermining faith in who Jesus really was. And such was the case in the Middle Ages leading up to the Reformation, where the Gospel was thought to be just one part of the salvation equation, a part that required the addition of the believer’s own efforts of will and of good works to attain justification before God.
Today we commemorate the Reformation because through it the din of that false Gospel was quieted so that the angel’s voice could be heard clearly once again in the Church. When Luther nailed his 95 Theses to door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg it was just the beginning. Those hammer blows were the sound of the Gospel starting to knock on the door of the Church once again. The Gospel had been obscured for so long. It was still there, though clouded and overshadowed by the Church’s false teachings. It could still be found, though it was not being proclaimed rightly. But now, at last, it could be heard again. And the sound of it grew through the faithfulness of Luther’s preaching and writing, through the bold confession of faithful lay people, through the preaching of pastors, through the hymns and chorales that were sung in churches and schools and homes, the Gospel was heard with all of its power and clarity and joy once again. Luther’s struggle was always concerning the Gospel. Everything the Lutheran Church fought for in the Reformation had the Gospel at its center.
In the Church there must be more than just a commemoration of these historic events, there must also be a continuation of them in our own time. There must always be an on-going reformation for the sake of the Gospel. Yes, the reformation, or at least what it was about, must go on in every generation. The angel St. John saw in his apocalyptic vision proclaims an “everlasting Gospel”. And so that Gospel must be proclaimed by the Church and in the Church today. More than that, it must be at the center of all of the Church’s thoughts, efforts, and activities. In short, the Gospel must define every aspect of the Church’s life.
But now, as in ages past, there are other voices, other proclamations, that threaten to muffle or drown out the Gospel. The challenges to the Gospel have not and do not go away. Rome, to this day, teaches the same basic thing that it taught before the Reformation, that one must cooperate with the Gospel and add your good works to Christ’s in order to be justified before God. The protestant and non-denominational churches all around us clamor against the Gospel when they root salvation in the will of the believer and his or her decision to follow Jesus and to lead the Christian life. Liberal Christianity shouts another gospel altogether, one not of eternal salvation, but of worldly causes and social justice. And many have now replaced the Gospel with “missions” and the methods to achieve mission goals as the center of their theology and proclamation.
You see, the struggle to be faithful today is really no different than in Luther’s day. The battle today is still over the place of the Gospel in the Church. So is the Gospel just one of many things in the Church’s life, or is it at the center of everything the Church is about and does? St. Paul said to the Church of his day: “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Paul knew that the Gospel had to be at the center of everything. It was not one thing among many. It was the only thing. And if there was something that was not in accord with it, not rooted in it, then it was not to be a part of the Church or her life. And as soon as you put something other than the Gospel at the center of the Church’s life, you will have become one of the other voices, the voices which compete against the voice of that heavenly angel and against the Gospel he proclaims.
But the Gospel will never be silenced. It can’t be. It is an everlasting Gospel. That angel is still flying and still proclaiming. This is the Church’s life, her joy and her hope. And when the Gospel is kept at the center of the Church’s theology and activity, everything else will fall into place out of concern for that Gospel proclamation – liturgy & music, church structure, missions, social action, what have you. They will all come out right. For that which is in complete accord with the Gospel, which has the Gospel at its very core and is suffused with it throughout, is well-pleasing to God. And so the Church must continue to look after itself to make sure that this is the case, that the Gospel is not only a part of what she believes and does, but is at the heart of everything she confesses and practices.
But this is not just a challenge for the Church, it is also a personal challenge for each one of you. Will you hold this Gospel faithfully? Will you allow it to stand at the center of your faith and life? Every force out there outside of the true Church wants you to doubt Christ’s love and forgiveness of you. The heretics tell you that you have not done enough or have not been committed firmly enough, or have not loved Christ enough to be saved. Funny isn’t it, because that’s exactly the message the devil brings to you, accusing you in your conscience in order, not to bring you to repentance, but into to despair. But that’s not his only tactic. He’s happy not to do that, if he can get you to be religious in a different way, in any way that causes you to put your trust in something other than Christ, or even along side of Christ. Because he knows that if he can get you to do that, can convince you of something other than the Gospel itself, that you will be easy prey for him.
It even seems at times that the Scriptures themselves are set against the Gospel. There are two messages there, after all. There’s not only the grace of Christ’s love and forgiveness. There’s also the Law of God with all of its demands on you. So in which should you put your hope? Should you trust in the keeping of the Law in order to become pleasing to God? Or should you look to Christ and His grace? The answer is actually crystal clear in the Scriptures if we will listen to them. It is as the Lord said today through Jeremiah: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke…” It is not the Old Covenant of works and of Law that brings salvation. And it was never intended to do that. It is the New Covenant of grace through Christ that has always been the means by which God grants salvation. The Law serves the Gospel, the Old serves the New, in that the Law brings us to see our need for the Gospel. It shows us our sins in order that we may turn away from them and seek God’s grace. The Old Covenant was never an end in itself. It was meant to point us to Christ. And so the Gospel, not the Law, is God’s final Word to you.
So what must you do in your personal Reformation? How can you regain the centrality of the Gospel in your life? Just listen. Listen to that angelic proclamation and believe what God says to you through it. And once Christ has laid hold of you by His Gospel, you must also seize it. Having received it by grace, lay hold of it forcefully, as Christ says in today’s Gospel lesson. Now what does that mean? It means let nothing wrest this Gospel from your grip. Let no other voice draw you away from it. For this is your life, you salvation, your eternity. Hold it tight and say to all challengers: “I am justified for Christ’s sake and no other. I have nothing to add, nor could I. And I don’t need to. God has forgiven my iniquity and my sins He remembers no more.” Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, to life everlasting. Amen.
The Rev. David Kind is Campus Pastor at University Lutheran Chapel in Minneapolis, MN. He served as the head Chaplain at “Amen” in Scranton, PA and is a member of the Higher Things Board of Directors.
