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The Twenty-first Sunday After Trinity
Reformation Sunday
What is a Lutheran?
October 28, 2007
TEXT: NKJ Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is
the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and
also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." 18 For the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God
is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of
the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are
without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as
God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish
hearts were darkened.
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the Reformation of the Christian Church—we
studied the early Church a few years ago—we studied how the Gospel was spread by
the persecution of the early Christians—the Reformation caused a similar
occurrence when religious persecution in Europe forced Christians to flee to
America—again God used circumstances of persecution to spread His Word
The early Church grew and began to teach things that were not strictly in
accordance with Scripture—but close enough to be tolerated by the uninformed
masses—by the time Martin Luther was born in November of 1483, the Catholic
church prevailed in Luther’s Germany—in fact, it prevailed throughout Europe—the
church dictated what people would do and what they would believe—it conducted
worship in a language not common to the people
The church was a powerful political entity that controlled its people through
fear and threats—such was the condition of the Church when Martin Luther found
it—and such were the conditions that Martin Luther attempted to correct within
his beloved Church on October 31, 1517—that’s the day Luther posted his list of
problem areas he wished to discuss in a public debate—this list is called the 95
Theses, and that date is considered the start of the Reformation of the Church.
Luther lived in an age when his church had many problems—the truths of God were
interpreted and given to the people by men motivated by money and power—not by
the Word of God—writings of the church were not carefully written works
presented to teach the people about their Savior—they were filthy lies used to
motivate the people to giving more and more to the church to fuel the abuses of
the pope and other religious leaders—Luther didn’t understand nor did he believe
that his church would willfully risk the souls of its people with false and
abusive teachings
Luther really thought that if he could just show the church the errors of its
ways—adjustments would be made by the church leadership—his Ninety Five Theses
were intended to be the start of serious debate to make the problems public—and
to correct them—Luther like so many of us today, could not understand how “men
of God” could be so unloving and uncaring towards the flock that feeds them
Luther was amongst the few honest and caring theologians of his time—he had
knowledge of the Scriptures beyond that which most of us will ever achieve—he
had a love for God beyond description—he was a gifted writer—all that was
lacking was the opportunity and time to join these qualities to lead the church
out of the darkness of the lies being taught and once again into the light of
the truth of God’s Word—God presented that time and opportunity via the vehicle
of the Reformation
I’ve been called a Lutheran most of my life—but what is a Lutheran?—a Lutheran
is a person who wants to be Luther-like—just as a Christian is an individual who
strives to become Christ-like—we should encourage everyone we come into contact
with to become Christians—and if you study Luther, I think you will agree that
we would all benefit greatly by becoming more like our brother in the faith, Dr.
Martin Luther
Luther dedicated most of his life to helping people understand God’s
Word—helping people understand that the teachings of men are worthless when you
stand before God on Judgment Day—helping people understand that Jesus is the
only way to salvation—my favorite passage to help people understand how to
become a Christian is in Romans
NKJ Romans 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe
in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
What a simple truth this is—if you understand that Jesus Christ was crucified
and resurrected—and that all this happened to pay for our sins—you will join Him
in heaven—in Luther’s day some of the priests didn’t even understand this—few
(if any) of the people understood it
Luther’s greatest achievement was placing this and every other verse of
Scripture into the hands of the common people—they no longer had to be at the
mercy of the church to tell them about God’s Word—they no longer had to learn
Latin and stand for hours in the church to read the only copy of the
Bible—usually this copy would be chained to the wall of the church—Luther placed
the Scriptures in the hands of the common man—he set men free from the power of
the “abusers” in the church
NKJ John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in
My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 "And you shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free."
Luther spent most of his life setting people free—from ignorance of the
Scriptures—and from ignorance of God’s simple plan of salvation—he didn’t always
understand the simple truth of salvation—he fasted more than any of his fellow
monks—he flogged himself until he bled—he prayed harder and longer than anyone
else—he once remarked that if any monk was ever going to heaven it would
certainly be him—he was a monk’s monk—willing to do whatever it took to earn his
place in heaven
But it didn’t remain that way—Luther became a professor at the University at
Wittenberg—he totally dedicated himself to studying God’s Word—while studying
Psalm 22, Luther came upon these words
NKJ Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from
helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?
Oh course, these words were spoken by Jesus while He hung on the cross—Luther
pondered the words and tried to understand why Jesus would feel forsaken by God
the Father—Luther himself, just like each of us, was a sinner—but Jesus was
sinless and without blemish—why would God forsake Him?—Luther, knowing that Paul
taught much concerning “the righteousness of God” went to Paul’s epistle to the
Romans to look for an answer—that’s when he stumbled onto the truth that set him
free—he read our text for this morning’s message
NKJ Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also
for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
Luther was finally free!—he spent the rest of his life trying to free the
multitudes—he studied—he preached—he wrote—the recent invention of the printing
press assured that his writings would spread all over Europe—his efforts to
change the Catholic Church earned him death threats which forced him into hiding
This gave him the time to translate the Bible for the German people—the love of
the people for the Word—the love of Luther for the people—and Luther’s natural
leadership qualities—resulted in the beginning of what we now call the Lutheran
Church—founded on the premise of teaching nothing but the Bible in its truth and
splendor
NOT THE TEACHINGS OF MEN WHO THINK THEY ARE AS SMART OR SMARTER THAN GOD
HIMSELF!—just as Luther’s Catholic Church drifted from the truth of God’s
Word—so has our Lutheran Church of today—if Luther were alive today, there would
surely be a list of his concerns posted on the Internet for all to see—nothing
has changed except the specific types of perversions and the technology
I said before—I am a Lutheran—that means that I have to be a Christian driven to
be like Luther—a person who identifies what is wrong in the Christian Church
today—and a person who is driven to correct those problem areas—to be a
Lutheran, I also have to spend the rest of my life on earth studying and
understanding the Scriptures and explaining them to everyone who will listen to
me—and in that way I try to be like Luther—driven to spread the Gospel message
There are over 4 million people in America who call themselves Lutherans—yet
their churches are teaching children that Noah and the flood might be just a
nice story—that Mary might not have been a virgin—that God didn’t really intend
us to take the Bible literally—that the Old Testament doesn’t apply in these
modern times—it is just a nice set of stories
How can they be Lutherans? Those church doors should be so full of holes
from notes being hung on them that they would be falling apart—some church
leaders say “CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?”—to this I say, “sure but let’s get
along in accordance with God’s Holy Word”—no man should teach or preach without
the love of God in his heart
Some so-called Lutheran churches have non-Lutheran preachers filling their
pulpits—the Word of God has lost it’s importance—the Lutheran church
deteriorates to the point where we are in dire need of another Reformation
Luther had something to say about just getting along—Should We Surrender for
Peace and Unity?—Luther said this
"Therefore nothing but a satanic, seductive, and sinister strategy is involved
when we are called upon to yield a bit and to connive at an error for the sake
of unity. In this way the devil is trying cunningly to lead us away from the
Word. For if we adopt this course and get together in this matter he has
already gained ground; and if we were to yield him a fingerbreadth, he would
soon have an ell." [ell: an old English measurement, approximately 45 inches]
What Luther Says, ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1959, III, p. 1411f.
Our little congregation is the beginning of a local Reformation—our numbers are
small, but our impact is huge—I believe that because of us other pastors are
working a little harder on their sermons—some have even found it necessary to
personally tell me so—this sermon will echo far beyond the walls of this little
room—it will be heard in 9 states and two countries outside the United States—it
will go where the Lord takes it—and it will do the work our Lord intends for it
to do
NKJ Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not
return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper
in the thing for which I sent it.
We are serving shut-ins, people who have no church to attend, residents at the
nursing home, and people who just want to be a part of us to encourage us—and
encourage us they do!—we are a Lutheran Church indeed—Luther would be very
comfortable worshipping with us—I can’t say that about any other so-called
Lutheran church within reasonable driving distance from here
The size of a congregation is not a measure of the value of the congregation to
God’s Kingdom—it is not the purpose of a congregation to expand in size—it is
their purpose to spread the Word and allow God to work in the hearts of
men—consider these promises of God’s Word
NKJ John 14:10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in
Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the
Father who dwells in Me does the works.
NKJ Romans 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the
Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he is not His.
NKJ Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
NKJ John 5:24 " Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes
in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but
has passed from death into life.
We call this a Lutheran Church—to be a Lutheran Church it must be patterned
after the teachings and traditions of Luther—it must teach and preach God’s
Word, and its members must reflect love for each other and for their fellow man
based on their love for God
It’s not easy being a Lutheran—you can’t do it in one hour a week—it’s not a
religion—it’s a way of living your life—we ask new members to study our
beliefs—we ask our youth to study God’s Word and confirm their faith—we all
confess our faith in God’s Word and we agree to apply the great truths as they
are described by Luther and the other reformers in the Book of Concord—we come
from a great heritage—we are Lutherans!—Christians driven to spread the truth of
the Word to all who will listen
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!