Tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of the Reformation! In the 16th century the Lord led our confession back into alignment with the early, catholic (universal Christian) confession based on God’s Word apart from man-made doctrine:

You are saved (rescued from sin, death, and the power of the devil)…

It’s a big day for our congregation and we are soooo thankful for the blessings the Lord is pouring out upon us at Saint Paul’s. YOU are a vital part of what is happening and we rejoice in our fellowship in the Lord.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” — Ephesians 2:8-9

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow’s sermon:

“Constant Reformation and Knowing the Truth”

(John 8:32)

Reformation Sunday, October 27^th, 2013

Pastor Espinosa

 

            Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. A highly influential figure in the Church of England, John Henry Newman stunned the Anglican community in 1843 when he left his position as vicar of St. Mary’s, Oxford, to join the Roman Catholic Church. He was an accomplished theologian who desired to identify himself with the truest tradition of the Christian faith. In his mind the question was between the Anglican tradition which took its stand upon Antiquity or Apostolicity vs. the Roman tradition which took its stand upon Catholicity. That is the Anglican Church holds that its true church status comes through their holding to apostolic tradition whereas the Roman Church is confident in her fidelity based on the fact that they view themselves as never having left the original church itself. In the meantime — in Newman’s mind — Lutheranism was a Protestant heresy (Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, New York: Dover Publications, 2005: 94).

 

            It is perhaps somewhat understandable that the Lutheran Church might be viewed this way since we have not bound ourselves so much to the traditions Newman was concerned about per se, as much as our striving to rely on the apostolic tradition and the catholic foundation that both of the other two traditions also claim: the holding to the Word of God. But for us Lutherans we say a little more than the others do: we say “the Word of God alone,” is the basis for our Reformation emphasis also known as sola Scriptura. We believe that nothing is more apostolic since it was this Word that the apostles themselves lived and died for; and nothing else is more catholic (as in representing the universal church) than this Word of God which true Christians throughout all ages have always confessed with their mouths and believed on in their hearts!

 

              So on April 17^th, 1521 Luther was ushered into the Diet of Worms at about 4:00 pm. “He was visibly awed by what he saw. There was Emperor Charles V himself, heir to a 1000-year-old empire. Near him on the raised dais were his advisers and the representatives of Rome. All around were Spanish troops decked out in their parade best. The rest of the hall was filled with the politically powerful of Germany – the seven electors, the bishops and princes of the church, the territorial princes, the representatives of the great cities. In the midst of this impressive assembly there was a table, piled high with books (Kittelson, Luther The Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career, 160).” Those books were written by Luther and had gotten him into a lot of trouble to the extent that his very life was on the line at Worms. The books contradicted the evolving doctrine of the Roman Church. This was considered an insidious sin so in front of all to hear, Luther’s examiner declared, “you must give a simple, clear, and proper answer to the question, Will you recant or not?” Luther did answer, and it was an answer that, in his words, was without “horns or teeth”:

 

           “Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds and reasoning – and my conscience is captive to the Word of God – then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience.”

 

He then added: “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen (ibid, p. 161).”

 

            This is what we know and confess as Lutheran Christians: the Word of God as our source of life and truth because it is that Word which reveals the Lord Jesus Christ our light and our life; and it is only Christ who truly reveals God and His heart towards us which is one of love and mercy leading us to the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life in and through His Son Jesus Christ. If you take away this Word, you take away Christ and if you take away Christ, you take away the only hope for sinners in a Gracious God.

 

         But my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what does it mean “to know?” It’s easy to throw these words around. Some folks want to equate knowledge with awareness, but that won’t cut the mustard when it comes to really knowing something. The word “know” is used for example to describe the intimacy between a husband and wife. It would be insulting to a wife for her husband to say that he was “aware” of his wife. Or – as another example – let’s say someone asks you if you “know” how to do something. They are probably seeking out detailed knowledge and expertise. If a person’s car breaks down and you come along to help and then you’re asked if you “know” about fuel injection systems, it should be easy to answer that question. Most people would never say that they know fuel injection systems if they had simply heard of them. We are all to a certain extent, experts in that we know about something that we experience or do on a regular and frequent basis. This is true even of children who could teach many of us about a game or two that we would have no clue on how to play. This is real knowledge; it is intimate in that it is so familiar that it amounts to substantial insight into whatever it is being discussed.

 

            Well this word “know” is the word Jesus used in our Reformation Gospel today in John 8:31-32: “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

              Jesus is saying that there is something every disciple; every follower of Jesus just “knows.” And he was not talking about sophisticated theology, but about what is most important to know from the Word of God; that which is the very center of Scripture. Whether that follower of Christ is in high school, is a real estate agent, runs a restaurant, is a professional athlete, works at Cosco, Walmart or Target, is a preacher, a nurse, an attorney, or is a full-time domestic engineer, what all disciples of Christ have in common is this: they KNOW the teaching of Jesus; they know the truth!

 

            Last Sunday I had an extended discussion with our confirmands that Jesus did not come to be a new law-giver or a new Moses. So many folks think that Jesus came to show us how to live so that in imitating Him we might save ourselves from sin. This is the single most popular and natural concept about Jesus. It is wrong. True disciples rather know the Gospel:

 

1. That Jesus lived for us to keep the Law of God in our stead.
2. That Jesus died for us to cover our sins with His blood.
3. That Jesus rose for us to have eternal life.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

In Christ,

Pastor Espinosa