C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia.
In the name + of Jesus.
It was 500 years
ago today—April 18, 1521. Martin Luther
had been summoned to appear at an imperial conference. We know it as the Diet of Worms. Luther had caused a great deal of outrage,
confusion, and frustration with his writings.
The Church itself was in danger of being rent apart. Rather than getting a chance to debate or
even to defend himself, Luther was to appear before Emperor Charles V and
church officials and answer two questions.
With all his booklets and pamphlets spread out on a table, Luther was
asked, “Are these your writings?” That
answer was easy. Yes, they were. The second question was the hard one: “Will
you recant them?” He asked for time to
think over his response carefully.
It seems unlikely
that Luther was willing to change his confession; rather, he recognized what
the fallout would be if he did not recant.
The church in the west was a united fellowship—one catholic (small “c”
and large “C”) church. Luther’s
confession would fracture that fellowship and entity. Was it worth it? If Luther’s writings created outrage, confusion,
and frustration, we have it even more. Many
Christians are too overwhelmed to concern themselves with the divisions in the Christian
Church. It is just easier to assume that
all churches are the same and the differences don’t matter. It is easier to think that; but it is neither
safe nor right. Factions and
fighting. Confusion and schisms. Was it worth it? Luther asked for time to consider that before
he would make his confession. He was
given 24 hours.
Finally, the time
had come for his reply. The full reply
of Luther is in your bulletin. The short
version is this: “Unless I am convinced by the testimonies
of the Holy Scriptures or evident reason…, I am neither able nor willing to recant,
since it is neither safe nor right to act against conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help
me!” Luther’s allegiance was not to an entity, but
to the Scriptures. It was not the Pope,
the emperor, or the Roman Church which had died to take away his sins; it was
Jesus. That is where Luther found his
hope, his confidence, and his salvation.
Anyone who would dare rob him or others of that assurance was the target
of Luther’s scathing pen and preaching.
If you want to argue that Luther was not very nice in this endeavor, you
can make a convincing case. However, his
aim was not to take shots at people because he was mean. He refused to let anyone detract from Jesus and
his words. He wanted no roadblocks
between God’s people and his blessed fellowship.
The blessed
apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ, St. John, also wants you to know and to have
a blessed fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You might think that John is nicer about this
than Luther was, but John does not tap dance around the realities of this blessed
fellowship either. There are those who
are enlightened by God’s word and those who are darkened and deluded by their own
sinful hearts. You either dwell in one
realm or the other. There is no middle
ground, and the end result is heaven or hell.
The Scriptures do not sugar coat this reality. Neither does St. John. The blessed apostle wants you to be delivered
out of darkness, death, sin, and hell.
John wants you to know light and life and pardon and peace. Therefore, the blessed apostle reveals a
blessed fellowship to you.
The reality
of this blessed fellowship rests on the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Therefore, St. John assures you that this blessed
fellowship is as real as the Savior who secured it. “That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen
it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was
with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and
heard we proclaim also to you…” (1 John 1:1-3).
The apostles would not have boldly preached about a dead
Jesus, much less laid down their lives for him.
But Jesus lives. He has overcome death. He promises a resurrection to life everlasting
to all who believe in him. This was no
empty promise. It was guaranteed by
Jesus when he rose from the dead. And he
was no hallucination by grieving disciples.
St. John says, “We beheld him with our eyes. We touched him with our hands. We inspected his wounds. We even ate and conversed with him. We had seen him crucified, and then we saw
him very much alive again, victorious over death. This is life which has conquered death. This is a man who reigns over the grave. He has given us many convincing proofs of his
resurrection, and he promises this resurrection to us who are his. As real and as bitter as death is, so the
resurrection of the dead is real and all the more glorious. This is what we proclaim to you; for we have
witnessed it.” The blessed apostle
reveals this to you.
Then he tells
you why: “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that
you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the
Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). This blessed fellowship was never intended to
be limited to a few. Jesus Christ took
up the sins of all. He bore the curse
for all. It does not matter what your history
has been. Your past has been wiped clean
by Jesus. Jesus presents you as blameless
to the Father. Your future has been
secured by Jesus. “He is the
propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of
the whole world” (1 John 2:2). If
you want to remember what “propitiation” means, it is summed up well in the
hymn, “In Christ Alone” which says, “Till on that cross as Jesus died,
the wrath of God was satisfied; for every sin on him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live” (In
Christ Alone, 752:2 Christian Worship Supplement). The blessed apostle reveals a blessed fellowship,
and no one can tell you that Jesus rejects you from this blessed
fellowship. No sin is so bad that Jesus
refused to pay for it. No sinner is so
vile that Jesus would refuse to have anything to do with him. He is the Savior of all mankind.
If this is the
case, why would we say that there are some who will not be saved? St. John tells you: They don’t want to be. It may be because of ignorance, or it may be
because of stubborn rebellion. But this
blessed fellowship is accessed only by faith in Jesus. Therefore, the blessed apostle reveals this
blessed fellowship to you.
The blessed
apostle warns that this blessed fellowship excludes people who reject God’s
word. “This is the message we have
heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no
darkness at all. If we say we have
fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice
the truth” (1 John 1:5-6). This is
the part where even the nice apostle sounds mean. John warns us that it doesn’t matter what we
believe if we live in willful rebellion to God’s word. Throughout the Old Testament, Israelites
males were all marked as sons of the covenant by circumcision. But what good did it do them when they turned
from God’s word to pursue their own selfish, godless goals? It is the same today. Many people who profess to be Christians confess
by their actions: “It is more important for me to be happy than to follow God’s
word.” They claim a fellowship with God
while their lives defy him. But light
and darkness cannot dwell together. If
you fear that this describes you, then repent.
You’ve been lying to yourself.
The blessed
apostle reveals a blessed fellowship. In
this blessed fellowship, grace is bestowed to forgive sins, not to bless
them. But for all who are grieved by their
sins and fear God’s judgment, the blessed apostle declares this promise: “If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Recognize what great comfort you find in this
verse! You have the blessing of being honest
with yourself and with God. There is no
bargaining, no negotiating, no defensive posturing. You don’t have to try to convince God or
anyone else that you are better than you are.
Compare your life in the light of God’s word. When he exposes your sins, confess them. Acknowledge that you have not done what you
should have, that you have been what you should not have been.
Why?
Because of the promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
(1 John 1:9). The Lord is faithful
to forgive our sins. He has promised
that the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin. He assures us that, if we sin, we have an
advocate. Jesus Christ, who has paid for
our sins, covers over our guilt, even for thinking that God’s word does not
matter as much as my happiness. He does
not excuse your sins, but he does pardon them.
And he is just in doing so. If
Jesus has taken your sins away from you, how could God condemn you for them? The payment has already been made. Justice has already been done. He cannot condemn you when the sentence has already
been carried out. Your sins are forgiven.
The blessed
apostle reveals a blessed fellowship. God
has enlightened you to see and to know that all of God’s word is true and right
and good. He motivates you to continue
in that word so you see his truth all the more clearly and are blessed all the
more richly. He fills you with a desire
to flee from everything which is sponsored by a lie, clouded in darkness, and
leads to death. You have been set free
from that. How could you willingly return
to it?
500 years ago, Martin Luther was unwilling to recant his writings for the sake of preserving an outward peace. The Church was pointing people away from Jesus Christ, away from true fellowship with God, and away from the confidence of forgiveness and salvation. Luther stood firm on firm promises. He faithfully confessed the word to which God himself is faithful. Yes, it split the church. It was not the goal, but it was the result; for, darkness and light cannot exist together. St. John declared the same confession, the same promises, and the same hope. The blessed apostle reveals a blessed fellowship. If we are in Christ and walk in his light, we have peace with God. For the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. That is a peace and a blessed fellowship which cannot be broken by schisms or governments or even death. For, Jesus lives.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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