Reformation Day
(Observed)
October 28, 2018
Text: Rev. 14:6-7 (ESV): 6 Then I saw
another angel kflying
directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to lthose who
dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, m“Fear God
and ngive him
glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and oworship him
who made heaven and earth, the sea and the psprings of
water.”
Reformation
Day is all about the eternal Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is all about the proclamation of God’s Law
and Gospel, repentance for our sins and faith in Christ, the sin-atoning work
of our Lord Jesus in His suffering and death on the cross, and His life giving
resurrection. The proclamation of this
eternal Gospel in Scripture and preaching and Sacrament bestows the forgiveness
of sins and eternal life upon the hearers, upon you, and it is received by the
very faith in Christ which it creates.
This day is not actually about Martin Luther. It is about his teaching, which is this very
eternal Gospel proclaimed in our text.
It is not about the Lutheran Church.
It is about the people of God who receive this eternal Gospel, hear it
proclaimed, have it wash all over them, and eat it and drink it… And then confess it! It is not about sticking it to Rome. No, we pray for our brothers and sisters in
Rome, and we rejoice wherever they do have the eternal Gospel, and we long for
them to come into it fully, for the eternal Gospel to reform them from within
so that they join us in the preaching of Christ as our only Savior from sin and
death, the salvation that He gives to us by grace alone, received by faith
alone, that we be united in one, holy, catholic (in the true sense of the
word), and apostolic Church. Reformation
Day is all about Christ and His gifts to us.
Already
in Reformation times, the angel, in our text, flying directly overhead, was
thought to be a prophecy of Martin Luther preaching the Gospel purely once
again. This is why this text is
appointed for Reformation Day. Now, this
may seem far-fetched to us, but only because we’re infected by the modernist
notion that the Holy Scriptures have nothing to do with real history. You’re gonna have to get over that. That isn’t the kind of thing sola scriptura, Bible believing
Christians say. I don’t know if the Holy
Spirit had Luther specifically in mind in this prophecy. It’s not impossible. The word “angel,” after all, literally means
“messenger,” and it doesn’t always, or only, refer in the Holy Scriptures to
the spirit beings we commonly call “angels.”
It can also refer to preachers, as it does in Revelation 2 and 3 where
St. John is told to write to the “angels” of the Seven Churches, which is to
say, their pastors. Here the “angel”
could be Luther. I don’t know. But I do
know the Holy Spirit is teaching us about the ever new preaching of the everlasting
Gospel by a nearly endless train of Christian preachers, a few of them more
prominent, like Dr. Luther, and many whose names are lost to history but known
intimately by our Lord. So whether this
text is about Luther and the event of the Reformation specifically, it is most certainly about Luther and the
Reformation and God’s continual breaking in to history to declare the
forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Christ.
Wherever that Gospel is preached, this prophecy is fulfilled. Which is to say, it is fulfilled this day in
your hearing, at this very moment.
Because this text, like the Reformation itself, is all about Christ and
His gifts to us.
And
that is what the angel proclaims. Now,
this eternal Gospel is the Gospel in the broad sense, which is to say the whole
counsel of God, including both Law and
Gospel in the narrow sense, which is the forgiveness of sins. So the preaching begins: “Fear God.” The First Commandment. Repent of your idolatry. Get rid of whatever else you fear above God. God is the One who gives His Commandments
from on high, who writes them in stone with His own finger. It is to Him you are accountable. It is to Him, and Him alone, you are to give
glory. Not to other gods. And there is
a judgment. This is why you should
fear. The hour, the appointed time,
the moment for judgment has
come. So worship God. Turn to Him in faith. He made heaven and earth. He created all that is. The sea.
The springs of water. He renews
the face of the earth. He sustains His creation. And He redeems it. Christ has come. He died, but behold, He lives. And He is coming soon to judge. Therefore let this Word go out to all the
earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. Proclaim this eternal Gospel. Confess it.
For it is a matter of eternal life and death.
Do
you see, by the way, how this is nothing other than the preaching of St. John
the Baptist… in fact, the preaching of Jesus Himself? “The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the
gospel” (Mark 1:15). Yes, beloved,
this day, in this very moment, the eternal Gospel is proclaimed to you: Examine
yourself. Repent of your sins. For this is the moment. Now.
Today. The Kingdom of God has
come in the Person of Jesus Christ. He
is here, now, to forgive your sins, to wash them all away in His blood, to give
you His righteousness, to feed you with His body and give you drink of His
blood. Come to Him. Fear Him.
Cling to Him. Hang on His every
Word. That is what it means to worship
Him. That is what it means to give Him
the glory. Receive His gifts. Receive them now. For He is coming again in judgment, and only
those found in Him, in Christ, will be saved.
Lutherans
have their peculiarities. I mean, just
look at yourselves. It is good and right
that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, even, and perhaps, especially on Reformation Day. But I will tell you this: Lutheranism is a gift. I don’t know why you’re forever apologizing
for being Lutheran. Roman Catholics
don’t apologize for being Roman Catholic.
Baptists don’t apologize for being Baptist. Everything the Baptists do is
unapologetically Baptist. They don’t
excuse themselves to their guests or their fellow Christians from other
denominations for having authentically Baptist worship. The Roman Church doesn’t apologize for the
Mass. But we’re always suffering an
identity crisis here in Lutheranism.
We’re afraid when our worship
is too Lutheran. We’re afraid when our doctrine is too
Lutheran. So we ape the
non-denominationalist denomination. We
try to do worship like they do, or preach like they do. Lutherans, get over yourself already. Just receive
and give thanks for the gifts handed
down by your forefathers. If you’re
Lutheran, be Lutheran. It’s not a
sin. In fact, it is a high and holy gift
from God. The liturgy is a gift. Our hymnody is a gift. The Lutheran Confessions are a gift. The Holy Scriptures, from which the liturgy
and our hymns and the Confessions all derive, are a gift. Don’t be embarrassed by your
Lutheranism. Embrace it as the vessel in
which you have received, and continue to receive, nothing less than the eternal
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
After
all, what is important in Lutheranism?
The Confessions answer that one for us: The Gospel and the Sacraments,
which give us Jesus, who forgives our sins.
That’s it. That’s Lutheranism. Listen to just a few articles from the
Augsburg Confession, the Augustana,
for which this congregation is named: Article IV: “Our churches teach that
people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or
works. People are freely justified for
Christ’s sake, through faith.”[1] Article V: “So that we may obtain this faith,
the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was
instituted. Through the Word and
Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit is given [John 20:22]. He works faith, when and where it pleases God
[John 3:8], in those who hear the good news that God justifies those who
believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.” Article VII: “The Church is the congregation
of saints [Psalm 149:1] in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments
are rightly administered. For the true
unity of the Church it is enough to agree about the doctrine of the Gospel and
the administration of the Sacraments.”
On and on it goes: Faith in Christ, the Word of God, the holy Sacraments
(Baptism, Absolution, Lord’s Supper).
Eternal salvation. Forgiveness of
sins. Another way to say it is grace
alone, faith alone, Scripture alone, Christ alone. And you’re apologizing for this? No, embrace it. Claim it.
Proclaim it. Love it.
Because, in spite of the peculiarities of the people involved, you’re
really just loving Christ and His Word and His Baptism and His Supper. That’s Lutheranism. And by the way, you’re loving those people,
too, warts and all, because in Christ’s Church we live by grace and the
forgiveness of sins. We joyfully put up
with each other, defend our neighbor, speak well of him, and put the best
construction on everything.
And
what of Martin Luther? How should we
regard him? We do not worship him. What a ridiculous charge. You know that isn’t what is happening here. Nor do we agree with every single thing he
ever said, although we do agree with most of it, because most of it is right
out of the Bible. And believe it or not,
we actually aren’t named after him.
We’re named after his teaching.
That’s the only way he would ever allow a group of Christians to call
themselves “Lutheran,” and he says as much.
This is how we should regard Dr. Luther: He is simply the chief teacher
of our Church. We thank God for him and
we rejoice in all that he continues to teach us in his preaching and writing. And this isn’t wrong, unless it’s wrong to
thank God for all the Church Fathers or for the pastors who have taught you,
baptized you, fed you with the Supper over the years, consoled you with the
Gospel, pronounced Christ’s forgiveness.
Of course you should thank God for them, and you should thank God for
Luther and for his teaching, of which you are a direct beneficiary. But then, the teaching really isn’t his. It is God’s.
It is Christ’s. And that is why
I’m a Lutheran. That should be the
reason you are, too. Because the
teaching of Lutheranism is simply the teaching of Jesus Christ. It is the eternal Gospel. And as you hear the eternal Gospel, your sins
are forgiven, and you are in Christ, and Christ is in you. And the angel directly overhead (whoever he
may be), along with all his angelic friends, and with the whole company of
heaven, including now Martin Luther… they rejoice. They join their praises with our own. And so, beloved, hear once again the eternal
Gospel for you: Fear God and give Him the glory. Worship Him, which is to say, believe His
Word and receive His gifts. Your sins
are forgiven. You have eternal life. In Christ, who is coming soon. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son
(+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] All quotations from the
Augsburg Confession from McCain et al., Concordia:
The Lutheran Confessions (St. Louis: Concordia, 2005, 2006).
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