062506 Presentation of the Augsburg Confession
Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, June 25, 2006
There’s Power in the Word!
Text: Isaiah 55:6–11
Other Lessons: Psalm 46; Romans 10:5–17; John 15:1–11
Theme: Because the Word, made flesh for you, accomplished the purpose for which he was sent, the Word that comes to you and goes out through you accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent.
Goal: That hearers might have confidence in the power of God’s Word as it comes to them and goes out through them, since its power lies in Christ Jesus, the Word made flesh for them.
Introduction: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. . . . From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another” (Jn 1:1, 14a, 16).
Every year at Christmas we celebrate the magnificent miracle of the Word becoming flesh. That celebration is about the eternal Word of God coming into human flesh—in the person of Jesus Christ. Today is not Christmas, but it is a special day for us Lutherans. On this day, Lutheran churches remember the courageous confession of the Gospel by a small group of Lutheran laymen. The point is that God’s Word always does what it is sent to do, even when it comes through God’s people.
On June 25, 1530, seven Lutheran princes and two Lutheran city officials responded to a summons from Emperor Charles V to present a confession of their faith. Now, they already knew that the same emperor had already declared Luther an outlaw for his attempts to reform the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, these laymen stood up for the truth of God’s Word and boldly proclaimed their biblical, Lutheran faith. They did so in the words of a document prepared especially for the occasion—anyone want to guess what it was called? The Augsburg Confession.
This unabashed witness of the Christian faith is still a part of our confessional witness as Lutheran Christians. This is a strong confession of the wonderful way God accomplished—and still accomplishes—his purposes through his written Word. Why is this so? Well, according to the Bible it is this Eternal Word that became flesh. What a tremendous gift we have been given in the written word of God.
According to our text (Is 55:11), the Word that became flesh for you did not return empty, but accomplished the purpose for which he was sent (Is 55:11). "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11, ESV)
a. So let’s consider how Jesus is God’s Word for you.
(1) A person’s words are sometimes said to be a window into his or her thoughts. God’s Word reveals his purposes, plans, and promises for you, by opening a window into the mind of God.
(2) What God purposes, plans, and promises to us is made known by the perfect revelation of God that reveals His gracious will for us in Jesus Christ.
(3) That’s why we can be so confidently to say that Jesus not only spoke God’s Word, but actually is the Word of God in human flesh.
b. As the incarnate (in-fleshed) word of God, Jesus accomplished the purpose for which He was sent. He fulfills God’s purposes, plans, and promises perfectly in the place of sinful humanity. As such, He is the perfect human being before God according to the strict commands of God. Now that might not mean a whole lot until we understand what His perfection accomplished for us.
(1) Speaking as the mouth of God, Isaiah talks about this in the familiar terms of agriculture:
"“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11, ESV)
It takes a bit of biblical research to understand that it is Jesus who is the Word sent to do God’s will. It is the Word that accomplishes God’s plans for us.
(2) The Apostle John makes this very clear as he tells us that the Word became flesh. That Word was given so that he could die in human flesh for us. The result of His substituting work is that our sins are forgiven, and our redemption secured. That means there is pardon and peace for us in the presence of the Almighty God. Remember how Jesus said: “It was finished.” When He says that He is saying that the work He came to do as the in-fleshed word of God is complete. Salvation has been prepared for all people.
(3) The fact that He was not left in the grave but was raised from the dead is God’s public demonstration that Jesus had succeeded in his life-giving mission. May God forever be praised for it!
So you see, the Word did not return to God empty, but like a fisherman’s net it catches what it is sent for—catching sinners and bringing them to justice—the justice of the Cross and Resurrection. Like the rains that fall in Springtime it waters and nourishes the world so that the fruit of His Righteousness may sprout and grow (v 11).
a. The word is powerful and it comes to us now in the ways God has given it:
(1) When we hear or read the Good News that our sins are forgiven, it is God’s word raining on us—the word we can trust for the promises it gives, freedom from sin, death, and the devil.
(2) When we recall God’s promise that He made in our Baptism, God is raining on us so that we may bear fruit unto God—fruit that will last. We can take him at his word for it.
(3) When we hear Christ’s words spoken to us, “This is my body, which is given for you” and “This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” God is raining on us so that WE might have all that He purposed, planned, and promised to you. Those words are worth more than any amount of gold or silver.
b. These Gospel words accomplish their purpose because they bring to us the completed work of Christ Jesus so that we receive all the benefits of His work for us.
Sometimes people think that religion is how people try to earn their way into heaven. It is not true. Religion has absolutely nothing to do with man’s eternal salvation. What mankind does, thinks, says, or otherwise wishes will not accomplish—it cannot accomplish—all that Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross and the Resurrection of the body.
So what how does this theology do anything for us? As bearers of that Word we have become recipients of God’s gracious favor, not to hold onto it, but to give it away. In doing so, we serve as workmen planting and watering the Earth with God’s Word
Did you know that the Word of Christ that you speak does not return to God empty? Did you realize that even the simplest witness of His Word still accomplishes the purpose for which God sent it?
This is why the Lutheran confessors at Augsburg on this day back in 1530 were giving a strong and confident witness of the faith because GOD had strengthened them for that very purpose. Consider what it accomplished. To the surprise of nobody, the emperor rejected their confession and ordered them to return immediately to Catholicism. But they did not—they disobeyed the law of man for the sake of the truth of God. That event started the church that you and I are now a part of because of the same confession of faith in Christ. For that reason, the presentation of the Augsburg Confession on June 25, 1530, is widely regarded as the birthday of the Lutheran Church.
May it please the Almighty God to continue to rain on us! We see this happening through the Synod-wide Ablaze process. The intent of this process is to reach 100 million people with the confession of Jesus Christ by the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Church. God is raining on us and the world.
May the Lord keep us all steadfast in His Word so that much more life may be given on the Earth. Amen.