Reformation Sunday, II, November 1, 2009
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
Bethany Lutheran Worship, 10 AM Central Standard
The Hymn #265 Thine Honor Save Erhalt Uns Herr
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual Rev 14:6-7
The Gospel Matthew 11:12-15
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #262 A Mighty Fortress Ein feste Burg
God Works Through His Pure Word
The Hymn #308 Invited Lord By Boundless Grace Das walt Gott
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #651 Be Still My Soul Finlandia
KJV Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
KJV Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
All Saints' Day
O almighty and everlasting God, who through Thine only-begotten and beloved Son, Jesus Christ, wilt sanctify all Thine elected and beloved: Give us grace to follow their faith, hope, and charity, that we together with them may obtain eternal life: through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
God Works Through His Pure Word
Book of Concord, Solid Declaration, II. Free Will. Triglotta, p. 903.
54] Through this means, namely, the preaching and hearing of His Word, God works, and breaks our hearts, and draws man, so that through the preaching of the Law he comes to know his sins and God's wrath, and experiences in his heart true terrors, contrition, and sorrow, and through the preaching and consideration of the holy Gospel concerning the gracious forgiveness of sins in Christ a spark of faith is kindled in him, which accepts the forgiveness of sins for Christ's sake, and comforts itself with the promise of the Gospel, and thus the Holy Ghost (who works all this) is sent into the heart, Gal. 4:6.
55] Now, although both, the planting and watering of the preacher, and the running and willing of the hearer, would be in vain, and no conversion would follow it if the power and efficacy of the Holy Ghost were not added thereto, who enlightens and converts the hearts through the Word preached and heard, so that men believe this Word and assent thereto, still, neither preacher nor hearer is to doubt this grace and efficacy of the Holy Ghost, but should be certain that when the Word of God is preached purely and truly, according to the command and will of God, and men listen attentively and earnestly and meditate upon it, God is certainly present with His grace, and grants, as has been said, what otherwise man can neither accept nor give from his own powers. 56] For concerning the presence, operation, and gifts of the Holy Ghost we should not and cannot always judge ex sensu [from feeling], as to how and when they are experienced in the heart; but because they are often covered and occur in great weakness, we should be certain from, and according to, the promise, that the Word of God preached and heard is [truly] an office and work of the Holy Ghost, by which He is certainly efficacious and works in our hearts, 2 Cor. 2:14ff; 3:5ff.
KJV 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
The Free Will or Powers of Man section of the Formula of Concord was written for two reasons. One was the error of the Roman Catholic party. But the other was the error of some theologians of the Augsburg Confession. The passage quoted above from Free Will is a clear reference to 1 Corinthians 3:6-8.
Those errors are still prevalent today. On the Roman side, the Catholic Church teaches that man cooperates in his salvation. They also emphasize adding good works, which are required but rarely considered sufficient. Therefore, Purgatory is a long season of torture to finish the purification of the soul, making it ready for heaven. Purgatory is a semi-Hell for the partially saved.
Although Purgatory is not popular among Protestants, the other error addressed in this article is quite popular. There are many “have-to” statements among the modern Protestants, and the Lutherans often follow the errorists down the same path. Some have-to statements are:
1. You have to think exponentially. (Rick Warren, Southern Baptist) Would that be the theme of the Exponential Conference attended by WELS leaders? http://www.exponentialconference.org/
2. You have to grow in numbers.
3. You have to make disciples, who must be soul-winners.
4. You must transform lives and be relational and relevant.
This can be condensed to the cooperation of man in salvation. That sounds appealing to people, and it has appealed to millions, but the thoughts of man are not the thoughts of God (Isaiah 55:8-10)
Paul’s comparison to agriculture is devastating, because no one with experience in the field can claim, “This is what I did.”
Let’s take the planting of sweet corn. First of all, the gardener/farmer wants to have the best seed possible. Thanks to hybrids, we can select early-maturing, short, or late-maturing corn, white or yellow or bi-color. I favored Silver Queen, which tended to be short in stature but had a long growing season and famous sweetness.
Corn wind-pollinates, so it will not do to plant all varieties together. The root system is large because of the water and nutrition absorbed by the corn plant as it grows and matures. I watered corn in Midland because the plants often wanted more than the rain provided, even though I heavily mulched the corn patch with grass and newspapers. I also grew pumpkins between the rows to deter varmints and keep moisture in the ground. I planted pole beans to climb the corn stalks, too. Beans add fixed nitrogen to the soil while corn takes nitrogen compounds away to build plants.
The complications of raising corn are infinite. If the soil is too cold, sweet corn will not germinate. Pests can eat the corn. A gaudy necktie on the ground may serve to deter birds and make the neighbors wonder. Nothing short of electricity stops a squirrel. Rain can be supplemented, but too much rain causes smut, a mold problem in corn. Insects get into corn and some birds attack the corn to get the insects. If the corn is perfect, raccoons and squirrels harvest it at the perfect time. I thought I had a corn patch in Columbus. Instead, a crop of weeds grew up. They looked just like corn at first, but the produced nothing but additional weed seeds (nutgrass).
These are only some of the complications, because the entire created world works together in the formation of one crop. Soil is not dirt, but an ocean of life, comprising many different chemicals, mixes, organisms, and animals, from the tiny springtail to the prolific earthworm.
Watching a crop grow successfully is a great experience. Anyone with that experience can see the parallel created by Paul – I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. The glory does not belong to Paul or Apollos but to God.
I am astounded that so many have talked about growth and written about growth in the church, but all of them carefully avoid the clear, plain words of Scripture. Any Scripture about growth emphasizes the effective Word, not the human effort.
The Gospel is the living seed of the Church. Just like God’s created seed, it is full of potential far beyond our imagination or knowledge. Just like seed, no one knows what will happen when the Gospel is broadcast.
Someone asked once, “If God does everything, then what do we do?”
I could also ask, “If everything depends on man, how weak is God?”
The positive answer is clear – God does everything through His Word, but He allows us to share in what He does. We enjoy the accomplishments of the Word just as we enjoy the product of the garden.
Luther did not start the Reformation. The Word of God started the Reformation. Luther’s spiritual struggles and his study of the Word (doctorate, Biblical studies) enabled him to teach what was revealed in the Scriptures and teach against what was not in the Scriptures.
So many people claim they love the Church or their synod. They want their favorite institution to do well. Or they want others to share in the blessings of the Gospel.
Neither preacher nor hearer is to doubt this grace and efficacy of the Holy Ghost, but should be certain that when the Word of God is preached purely and truly, according to the command and will of God, and men listen attentively and earnestly and meditate upon it, God is certainly present with His grace, and grants, as has been said, what otherwise man can neither accept nor give from his own powers. (Formula of Concord, Free Will)
The ministers and members are not to doubt the grace and efficacy of the Holy Spirit. Those who doubt both are bound to start altering the Word to achieve the fruits they desire from their human perspective. The Pietists of yesteryear and today develop methods to accomplish what they desire. Human methods are at war with the divine Word.
KJV Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive (method – the Greek word);
KJV Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (methods - Greek) of the devil.
False doctrine is the method of the devil, to deceive the simple and seduce the crafty ones. Those who equate worldly success with God’s blessing are bound to
Believing in God means trusting in Him completely, so His Word must accomplish His will.
One reason we do not trust His Word is that we want other results or better results. It is easy to blame someone or something for the results we do not like.
Another reason we do not trust the Word - The true Gospel brings the cross, so we shun the cross and the Word with it. That is subtle. People do not claim to be doing this, but our Old Adam recoils from paying a price. And many are glad to gloat that sincere Christians seem to have a much harder time in life. False teachers gloat that they repudiate the Word and do fabulously well anyway.
The Reformation began when the Word of God threatened the vast money scheme of the papacy, building St. Peter’s in Rome with indulgence money. In fact, the deal was more complicated. Huge loans were obtained for the construction project. The loans were paid back through indulgence sales, so the salesmen were highly motivated to get good results.
Luther’s 96 Theses asked whether the pope really had the keys to the heavenly treasure of merits. If the pope did, why not open up this treasury for the whole world to enjoy?
This threatened indulgence sales, where people could buy forgiveness in advance (pre-UOJ). The theses also attacked the tourism of the day, visiting shrines dedicated to saints in order to obtain release from some time in Purgatory. Like carbon credits, these saintly relics were bought and sold, gaining value with the pilgrims they attracted. If touching the relics did not gain release from Purgatory, then they were worthless bones.
To this day, every Roman Catholic church has a certified fragment of a saint embedded, to make it an official and approved congregation.
Christianity is the only world religion where people receive from God instead of giving to God. If people have works added to faith, they imagine they have to do various things to please God. This is contrary to the Gospel and guilt-inducing, anxiety-provoking. True, people can be motivated to do a lot through fear and the hope of a reward, but that is not what Jesus taught. It is what the Pharisees taught. The Savior taught:
John 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
KJV John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
False doctrine always turns things around. The false teachers look for works and demand works.
The Gospel teaches that the works of God are believing in the Messiah sent by God the Father. Everyone comes into this world condemned. Those who do not believe remain in that state of condemnation. But all who believe in Christ become children of God and heirs of salvation. Good works follow naturally as the fruit of faith.
This is such a simple message, yet people rage against it, from the outside of the Church and from the inside.
Quotations
Augsburg Confession
"Also they teach that the Word, that is, the Son of God, did assume the human nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, so that there are two natures, the divine and the human, inseparably conjoined in one Person, one Christ, true God and true man, who was born of the Virgin Mary, truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, that He might reconcile the Father unto us, and be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men."
Augsburg Confession, III. #1. Of the Son of God. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 45. Tappert, p. 29. Heiser, p. 12.
“Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Romans 3 and 4.”
Augsburg Confession, IV. #1. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 45. Tappert, p. 30. Heiser, p. 12f.
Apology of the Augsburg Confession
"The Third Article the adversaries approve, in which we confess that there are in Christ two natures, namely, a human nature, assumed by the Word into the unity of His person; and that the same Christ suffered and died to reconcile the Father to us; and that He was raised again to reign, and to justify and sanctify believers, etc., according to the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, III. #52. Of Christ, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 119. Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:19ff. Tapper, p. 107. Heiser, p. 32.
"Faith is that my whole heart takes to itself this treasure. It is not my doing, not my presenting or giving, not my work or preparation, but that a heart comforts itself, and is perfectly confident with respect to this, namely, that God makes a present and gift to us, and not we to Him, that He sheds upon us every treasure of grace in Christ."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #48. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 135. Heiser, p. 36.
"Now, that faith signifies, not only a knowledge of the history, but such faith as assents to the promise, Paul plainly testifies when he says, Romans 4:16: 'Therefore it is of faith, to the end the promise might be sure.' For he judges that the promise cannot be received unless by faith. Wherefore he puts them together as things that belong to one another, and connects promise and faith."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV. #51. Of Justification, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 135. Romans 4:16. Tappert, p. 114. Heiser, p. 36.
"This faith, encouraging and consoling in these fears, receives remission of sins, justifies and quickens. For this consolation is a new and spiritual life [a new birth and a new life]. These things are plain and clear, and can be understood by the pious, and have testimonies of the Church [as is to be seen in the conversion of Paul and Augustine]. The adversaries nowhere can say how the Holy Ghost is given. They imagine that the Sacraments confer the Holy Ghost ex opere operato, without a good emotion in the recipient, as though, indeed, the gift of the Holy Ghost were an idle matter."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV. #63. Of Justification,, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 139. Tappert, p. 115. Heiser, p. 37.
"Now we will show that faith [and nothing else] justifies."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #69. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 141. Tappert, p. 116. Heiser, p. 37.
"But to believe is to trust in the merits of Christ, that for His sake God certainly wishes to be reconciled with us. Likewise, just as we ought to maintain that, apart from the Law, the promise of Christ is necessary, so also is it needful to maintain that faith justifies. [For the Law does not preach the forgiveness of sin by grace.] For the Law cannot be performed unless the Holy Ghost be first received. It is, therefore, needful to maintain that the promise of Christ is necessary. But this cannot be received except by faith. Therefore, those who deny that faith justifies, teach nothing but the Law, both Christ and the Gospel being set aside.”
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #69. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. p. 141. Tappert, p. 116. Heiser, p. 37.
"We do not believe thus {that faith is just a beginning of justification} concerning faith, but we maintain this, that properly and truly, by faith itself, we are for Christ's sake accounted righteous, or are acceptable to God. And because 'to be justified' means that out of unjust men just men are made, or born again, it means also that they are pronounced or accounted just. For Scripture speaks in both ways. [The term to be justified is used in two ways: to denote, being converted or regenerated; again, being accounted righteous.] Accordingly we wish first to show this, that faith alone makes of an unjust, a just man, i. e., receives remission of sins."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #71-2. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 141. Tappert, p. 116f. Heiser, p. 38.
"But since we receive remission of sins and the Holy Ghost by faith alone, faith alone justifies, because those reconciled are accounted righteous and children of God, not on account of their own purity, but through mercy for Christ's sake, provided only they by faith apprehend this mercy."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #86. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 147. Tappert, p. 119. Heiser, p. 39.
"In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul discusses this topic especially, and declares that, when we believe that God, for Christ's sake, is reconciled to us, we are justified freely by faith."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV. #87. Of Justification. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 147. 2 Corinthians 5:19ff. Tappert, p. 119f. Heiser, p. 39.
"These things are so plain and so manifest that we wonder that the madness of the adversaries is so great as to call them into doubt. The proof is manifest that, since we are justified before God not from the Law, but from the promise, it is necessary to ascribe justification to faith."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, III. #177. Of Love and the Fulfilling of the Law. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 205. Tappert, p. 153. Heiser, p. 60.
"Scripture thus uses the term faith, as the following sentence of Paul testifies, Romans 5:1: Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Moreover, in this passage, to justify signifies, according to forensic usage, to acquit a guilty one and declare him righteous, but on account of the righteousness of another, namely, of Christ, which righteousness of another is communicated to us by faith...1 Corinthians 1:30. Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. And 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. But because the righteousness of Christ is given us by faith, faith is for this reason righteousness in us imputatively, i. e., it is that by which we are made acceptable to God on account of the imputation and ordinance of God, as Paul says, Romans 4:3, 5: Faith is reckoned for righteousness."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, III. #184. Of Love and the Fulfilling of the Law. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 205f. Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21. Tappert, p. 154. Heiser, p. 60.
"But as the Confutation condemns us for having assigned these two parts to repentance, we must show that [not we, but] Scripture expresses these as the chief parts in repentance and conversion. For Christ says, Matthew 11:28: Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Here there are two members. The labor and the burden signify the contrition, anxiety, and terrors of sin and of death. To come to Christ is to believe that sins are remitted for Christ's sake; when we believe, our hearts are quickened by the Holy Ghost through the Word of Christ. Here, therefore, there are these two chief parts, contrition and faith."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XII (V). #44. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 263. Matthew 11:28. Tappert, p. 187. Heiser, p. 81.
“That absolution, however, is not received except by faith can be proved from Paul, who teaches, Romans 4:16, that the promise cannot be received except by faith. But absolution is the promise of the remission of sins [nothing else than the Gospel, the divine promise of God’s grace and favor]. Therefore, it necessarily requires faith. Neither do we see how he who does not assent to it may be said to receive absolution.”
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XII. #61-62. Of Repentance. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 269. Romans 4:16. Tappert, p. 190. Heiser, p. 83.
"The Gospel teaches that by faith we receive freely, for Christ's sake, the remission of sins and are reconciled to God."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV. #5. Human Traditions. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 317. Tappert, p. 215. Heiser, p. 96.
The Smalcald Articles
“Likewise: All have sinned and are justified without merit [freely, and without their own works or merits] by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood, Romans 3:23f. Now, since it is necessary to believe this, and it cannot be otherwise acquired or apprehended by any work, law, or merit, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us, as St. Paul says, Romans 3:28: For we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the Law. Likewise, v. 26: That He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Christ.”
Smalcald Articles, The Second Part, Article I. #4. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 461. Tappert, p. 292. Heiser, p. 137.
“What I have hitherto and constantly taught concerning this I know not how to change in the least, namely, that by faith, as St. Peter says, we acquire a new and clean heart, and God will and does account us entirely righteous and holy for the sake of Christ, our Mediator. And although sin in the flesh has not yet ben altogether removed or become dead, yet He will not punish or remember it. And such faith, renewal, and forgiveness of sins is followed by good works.”
Smalcald Articles, The Third Part, Article XIII. #1-2. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 499. Tappert, p. 315. Heiser, p. 148.
