The Festival of the Reformation, 2014 Pastor Gregory L. Jacksonhttp://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worshipBethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central TimeThe Hymn # 261 Thine Honor Save Erhalt Uns Herr 1.93The Confession of SinsThe AbsolutionThe Introit p. 16The Gloria PatriThe Kyrie p. 17The Gloria in ExcelsisThe Salutation and Collect p. 19The Epistle and Gradual The Gospel Glory be to Thee, O Lord!Praise be to Thee, O Christ!The Nicene Creed p. 22The Sermon Hymn # 262 A Mighty Fortress 1:86
Biblical Doctrine from the Reformation
The Communion Hymn # 308 Invited Lord 1.63The Preface p. 24The Sanctus p. 26The Lord's Prayer p. 27The Words of InstitutionThe Agnus Dei p. 28The Nunc Dimittis p. 29The Benediction p. 31The Hymn # 347 I Lay My Sins 1.24KJV 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.
CollectO almighty, eternal God: We confess that we are poor sinners and cannot answer one of a thousand, when Thou contendest with us; but with all our hearts we thank Thee, that Thou hast taken all our guilt from us and laid it upon Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and made Him to atone for it: We pray Thee graciously to sustain us in faith, and so to govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may live according to Thy will, in neighborly love, service, and helpfulness, and not give way to wrath or revenge, that we may not incur Thy wrath, but always find in Thee a gracious Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
The Everlasting Gospel
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.
Lutheran tradition holds that this selection from Revelation is about Martin Luther and the Reformation.
Without doubt, the Reformation was God's plan to renew Europe with the Gospel. In the past, an execution or two were enough to stifle any thoughts of reform in Medieval Europe. Huss is one example, and that worked well, 100 years before Luther. The Vatican even used Huss in a guilt-by-association questioning of Luther. The Reformer took the bait and agreed with Huss. That made Luther a criminal who identified with a past criminal burned at the stake.
Unlike the past, Luther had broad support. Some might point to the elector who shielded him from Rome. Or perhaps it was the newly invented (in the West) printing press, which spread Luther's writings cheaply. And yet another factor was the group of genius believers who contributed to the Reformation.
Finally, the rise of Islam and its threatening position outside fo Vienna (1530s) meant the Lutherans were left alone to take root and never go away. Not even an army could stop the Reformation, because a Muslim army distracted the Roman Catholic opposition.
As anyone can see when examining the infinitelycomplexities of the ordinary garden, the extraordinary Reformation was not a series of accidents, but a confluence of forces unleashed by God to reshape Europe and give freedom to the world after a long period of oppression by the monarchy of Rome.
Reformation Doctrines
Trust in God's Word
The foundational Reformation doctrine is trust in God's Word, elevating it above all human institutions and man-made authorities, whether books or people. The Bible is seen as a unified truth, not a springboard for other philosophies when quoted selectively - and even deceptively.
For example, the Vatican pretended that the Genesis passage, the first Gospel, in Genesis 3:15 predicted that Mary's heel would crush Satan's head. They used that mistranslation (Latin) to promote Mary as the Immaculate Queen of Purgatory.
To make this doctrine widespread and well supported, the Reformers, Concordists, and post-Concordists (Gerhard) wrote extensively with great clarity and simplicity. It is not enough to declare something true of the Bible. The truth must also penetrate through institutions of learning, clergy, and lay leaders.
For this to be so, people must allow God's Word to supplant all other "truths" in their minds. I know many clergy who consider themselves conservative opponents of all that is wrong today. However, they are willing to concede authority to the synod or concede authority to some favorite teachers, supplanting the Bible.
This is exactly the same as Dow Chemical doing their most dangerous work in an atmosphere of pure nitrogen. The gas replaces the normal mix of oxygen and other gasses to make fire and explosions impossible. When people accept the blanket of synodical nitrogen, they keep any new reformation from happening. The lit match goes out in synodical nitrogen. The Word is not allowed to do its work. So people would rather suffocate in the nitrogen of their synod than risk the cross that always accompanies teaching the Word of God.
Trust in the Efficacy of God's Word
Trust in the truth of God's Word means trusting in its power and effectiveness. Almost no one will mention this special Biblical word - efficacy - in their writings today. They have a fond attachment to God's Word, but they water that down to almost nothing by combining it with human tricks, schemes, and gimmicks.
The efficacy of God's Word means whatever happens from teaching and preaching the Word will be good. That means division, difficulties, and bearing the cross. But it also means declaring the Gospel of forgiveness, conversions, spiritual renewal, and everlasting life.
Faith versus Works
So many have their little cheering sessions for "faith" on Reformation Sunday, but they short-change the meaning of the Biblical teaching about faith.
There are two justifications. One is the true justification of the Bible, justification by faith, as old as Genesis 15, with Abraham as the example. Romans 4 and Galatians teach this clearly, and Jesus taught it always, especially emphasized in the Gospel of John, the doctrinal Gospel.
The other is justification without faith, which must be justification by works, in other words - justification by the Law (whether by Moses or man-made laws and tradition).
John 6 - Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.
The constant war against justification by faith, which takes many forms, is proof that it is one of the three main attacks against Christianity (against the humanity of Christ, against His divinity, against justification by faith - Luther).
Trust in the Word of God means trusting that Jesus has died for our sins and risen from the dead. He taught in John 16 that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin - because they do not believe on Me.
That is the other side of John 6. The work of God is to believe on Him Who sent the Savior. The foundational sin is not believing on the Savior - that is - having complete trust in His atonement.This faith in Him brings all the blessings of the Gospel, from the forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation to the fruits of the Spirit and joy in our lives.
It is so sad that people want to put on their Medieval chains again and deny justification by faith, because in opposing it they must lay claim to their works - they went to the right school, joined the right synod (or district, or circuit, or focus group), or had the right relatives.
Tis good God did not need that for the Reformation. His leaders went to the wrong schools, had the wrong relatives, and even took monastic vows while working for a Catholic university. However, God placed faith in their hearts through their study of the Word, since they knew by that time that something was horribly wrong.
The lay leaders did not back away but insisted on signing the Augsburg Confession and risking their lives and their regions, since a Catholic army was ready to attack at any moment.
Trust in the Invisible and Visible Word - The Means of Grace
I know a number of Evangelicals who trust in the Word, and others who trust in gimmicks. The latest thing is to rely on a "worship leader" a paid entertainer who pleases or displeases his audience each Sunday.
Sadly, Lutherans are clamoring to join this confused debacle of competing "worship teams," many of which travel around and charge big fees, though Koine at $3,000 is certainly a champion of non self-sacrifice.
The Lutheran Reformation taught the efficacy of the Word in preaching, teaching (invisible Word), and in the Sacraments (visible Word).
The works salesmen get the message all wrong about the Parable of the Sower. They say, "We must reap in abundance or we are not doing a good job." Instead, the Bible teaches sowing in abundance (Mark 4, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9).
Believing Lutherans sow in abundance because the Word is a living seed that will always have an effect. One effect is opposition. Another is indifference. Because of indifference, we will have increasing persecution of the Gospel in America.
The Word, whether invisible or visible, carries Christ to us and to our audience, whether in a worship service or in a conversation. Therefore, believers do not preach themselves but Christ and His mercy and forgiveness.
I have classes where students confess great and terrible sins of the past, so I am happy to tell them that Christ died for great and terrible sins, too. In fact, in each case the Gospel has reclaimed their wasted lives, before I have anything to say. I want to confirm that the Gospel is for all sin, and not just for petty sins, ones we think we can conquer.
Proclaiming the Gospel is a teaching of grace and forgiveness. Grace does not oppose faith, as some imagine (bad training). Grace is God's nature, so He forgives if we believe on Him. When people quote Romans 4 for UOJ, I simply quote Romans 4 for the truth of God's Word. Read Romans 4:25! - by all means, but Romans 4:24 with it.
Romans 4
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