Reformation Sunday

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers & sisters in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today we celebrate the 503rd anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. Our lessons for today speak to those forces at work that had an impact on the one, single German monk who is credited (or blamed, depending on who you ask) for starting that whole Reformation movement. If you had asked him, he would have been the first to tell you that it wasn’t his doing…that he was quite unremarkable. So how did it happen?

Martin Luther was supposed to go to Law school. His father had been sending Martin to the university to prepare for Law school for the lucrative profession as a lawyer. On one trip home, however, Martin found himself walking at night in the middle of a powerful storm, and with lightning bolts striking around him, he prayed for safety and deliverance from danger…and in exchange, Martin would devote his life to God.

Well, of course he made it safely through the storm, and much to his father’s disappointment, Martin made good on his promise and entered the monastery. No more Law school. Luther was an enthusiastic monk. He was fervent in his prayers and in his study of the Holy Scriptures. But the more he learned from his studies, the more he found that he was an inadequate sinner in God’s eyes. He began going to confession not just once a week, but soon once a day. He even started approaching his confessor more than once a day, begging him to pronounce God’s forgiveness to him. The mentor finally refused and told him that before he could come to confession again, Martin must re-read the book of Romans. In that fresh reading, Martin found what he had been looking for: God’s grace.

Martin realized that what he had been taught, what he had heard preached, was that God was an angry God who would not stand for sin, and that we must do everything we can to earn God’s favor, and repent of our sinful ways…even our sinful selves. That was the teaching of the Roman Catholic church. And it was those teachings that made it possible for the sale of indulgences to become so successful. Telling people that they could pay the Vatican and in return receive a “get out of Purgatory” certificate for themselves or their loved ones, alive or dead. Quite corrupt, and quite contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gospel that Martin Luther was now reading with fresh eyes.

Of course, this young man challenging 15 centuries of tradition was met with all sorts of counter-arguments, differing theology, and politics, ultimately resulting in his excommunication from the Church. But Luther had the Gospel on his side, and he knew it. Which is why, in the face of the two most powerful human forces on the planet - the Emperor and the Pope - threatening him with severe punishment unless he recanted all of his teachings, Luther said, “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.” He stood tall in the face of all that worldly power because he knew that he stood on the truth of the Bible.

Emperor Charles V was troubled by the disunity that had been created by this Lutheran uprising and how these religious differences were dividing his empire, and which weakened his military efforts against the Turks. In pursuit of unity, the Emperor called a “diet” to address these problems and try to restore unity. Responding to this invitation, Luther’s right-hand man, Philip Melanchthon, compiled the Augsburg Confession, consulting with Luther by correspondence, since Luther would be arrested on sight, which meant he could not appear publicly. responding to a request from Luther and Melanchthon put together what became known as the Augsburg Confession, laying out the fundamentals of Christian faith as they saw it. Much of it was described in terms of how it differed from the teachings of Rome.

Right now, I want to read to you the key portions of the first 5 articles of the Augsburg Confession.

I. [Concerning GOD]

1 We unanimously hold and teach, in accordance with the decree of the Council of Nicaea,

2 that there is one divine essence, which is called and which is truly God, and that there are three persons in this one divine essence, equal in power and alike eternal: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

3 All three are one divine essence, eternal, without division, without end, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, one creator and preserver of all things visible and invisible.

...

II. [Concerning ORIGINAL SIN]

1 It is also taught among us that since the fall of Adam all men who are born according to the course of nature are conceived and born in sin. That is, all men are full of evil lust and inclinations from their mothers’ wombs and are unable by nature to have true fear of God and true faith in God.

2 Moreover, this inborn sickness and hereditary sin is truly sin and condemns to the eternal wrath of God all those who are not born again through Baptism and the Holy Spirit.

3 Rejected in this connection are the Pelagians and others who deny that original sin is sin, for they hold that natural man is made righteous by his own powers, thus disparaging the sufferings and merit of Christ.5

III. [Concerning THE SON OF GOD]

1 It is also taught among us that God the Son became man, born of the virgin Mary,

2 and that the two natures, divine and human, are so inseparably united in one person that there is one Christ, true God and true man, who was truly born, suffered, was crucified, died,

3 and was buried in order to be a sacrifice not only for original sin but also for all other sins and to propitiate God’s wrath.

4 The same Christ also descended into hell, truly rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God, that he may eternally rule and have dominion over all creatures, that through the Holy Spirit he may sanctify, purify, strengthen, and comfort all who believe in him,

5 that he may bestow on them life and every grace and blessing, and that he may protect and defend them against the devil and against sin.

6 The same Lord Christ will return openly to judge the living and the dead, as stated in the Apostles’ Creed.

IV. [Concerning JUSTIFICATION]

1 It is also taught among us that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith,

2 when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us.

3 For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness, as Paul says in Romans 3:21–26 and 4:5.

V. [Concerning THE OFFICE OF THE MINISTRY]

1 To obtain such faith God instituted the office of the ministry, that is, provided the Gospel and the sacraments.

2 Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where he pleases, in those who hear the Gospel.

3 And the Gospel teaches that we have a gracious God, not by our own merits but by the merit of Christ, when we believe this.

4 Condemned are the Anabaptists and others who teach that the Holy Spirit comes to us through our own preparations, thoughts, and works without the external word of the Gospel.

Theodore G. Tappert, ed., The Book of Concord the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press, 1959), 27–31.

These are the first 5 of the 21 articles of the Augsburg Confession, which is the key document for our Lutheran understanding of Scripture. It lays out what we as Lutherans believe in our Christian faith, and it guides us in how we interpret the Bible. When I was ordained into the NALC, I was ordained into the Ministry of Word and Sacrament, as described in Article V that I just read. For our Lutheran faith, we “acknowledge the Lutheran Confessions as true witnesses and faithful expositions of the Holy Scriptures.” As this was described to me in my ordination vows, I was challenged to give my solemn promise to preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, the creeds, and these Lutheran Confessions. It is important that we all understand what these Confessions say, and it is my responsibility and my calling to preach and teach them.

Article V addresses the Office of Ministry, which is the Ministry of Word and Sacrament - the two most important things I am charged with bringing to you. I am charged with preaching and teaching God’s Word to you, and with properly administering the Sacraments among us - Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We call these “means of grace”, because they are the means through which God’s people receive His Grace. The grace which saves us without any merit of our own. The grace which Luther discovered in his reading of Romans.

Perhaps most important among these first 5 articles of the Augsburg Confession is the 4th article, which addresses Justification. Justification refers to that which makes us righteous before God. This is where we will often find differences between the Lutheran faith and other Christians.

Can we make ourselves right before God by coming to church every Sunday? Can we make ourselves right before God by putting the right amount of money in the offering plate? Can we make ourselves right before God by obeying all of the 10 Commandments all of the time? Can we make ourselves right before God by feeding the hungry or helping the poor? Can we make ourselves right before God by “being a good person”?

The answer to those questions, and truthfully any question that begins with “Can we make ourselves right before God by...” is always “no”. Can you imagine if our justification *did* depend on something we needed to do? Imagine the questions: “What did you do to be saved? Did you give enough offering? Did you serve the church enough? Did you feed the poor enough? Did you follow the 10 Commandments all the time?”

We cannot make ourselves right before God. Only Christ can do that. Let me say that again. We cannot make ourselves right before God. Only Christ can do that. Hear again Article IV: “...we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith,

2 when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us.

3 For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness, as Paul says in Romans 3:21–26...”

This is what our 2nd lesson addresses today. Verse 20 “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” It’s not just the words of Martin Luther or Philip Melanchthon; these are the words of St. Paul. God’s Law points out our sin to us. This is called the “mirror”. When we see ourselves in the mirror of God’s Law, we realize how inadequate we are, how we cannot keep God’s Law on our own. How, if we are left to ourselves, we find that we are stuck in our sin. We are “in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.” If all we have is God’s Law, it can lead us to despair. This is where Martin Luther found himself. Going to confession several times every day was not enough. It was never enough to satisfy God’s demand for righteousness. We cannot ever be righteous enough on our own. We cannot ever justify ourselves in God’s sight. We will always be sinners when we are viewed through the lens of God’s Law.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.

But, thanks be to God, we have not only God’s Law, but also His Gospel. While God’s Law tells us that we are inadequate on our own, that we are sinful and unworthy of salvation…it also tells us that we need help…that we need a Savior. And that is precisely where the Gospel comes in. It brings us hope in the middle of our despair. A “happy exchange” to get rid of our despair and give us hope. This is what the Gospel tells us. Sin is the disease, and God’s grace given to us in Jesus Christ is the cure.

If you remember your Confirmation class, or if you’ve been through a new member’s class, this is Lutheranism 101. Nothing we can ever do can earn God’s love, grace, or forgiveness. We cannot earn it. God’s love, grace, and forgiveness is given freely to us for Jesus’ sake, because of his death and resurrection. That is what we believe about justification. That is what Martin Luther discovered when he re-read St. Paul’s letter to the church in Rome with fresh eyes, and that is what formed the basis for our Lutheran Confessions and how we interpret Scripture.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

What God has done for us in His Son is the greatest gift ever given to humanity, for which we give thanks each time we come to His Table, as we will very shortly this morning. And on this particular day, we also give thanks to God for His Servant Martin Luther, who gave back to us the unobstructed promise of God. Luther’s courage to stand in the face of immense worldly power is something that speaks loudly today, because his courage came not from himself, but from God’s truth. It came from God’s Word. And, as the hymn so boldly proclaims, “God’s Word forever shall abide.” Amen and amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.