Then I saw another
angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who
dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said
with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his
judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the
springs of water.”
Perhaps you’ve heard the old joke about the man who goes to
heaven, and sees all the different doors, with each denomination of Christian
worshipping in their own way. But the
door marked, “Lutheran” also bears a sign, “quiet please”. And when the man asks why, St. Peter explains,
“Shh. They think they’re the only ones
here!”
I can take a joke as well as anyone, but it’s just not
true. We recognize the universal church
far transcends those of us who call ourselves “Lutheran”. I fully expect to see Baptists and Roman
Catholics, Orthodox and Methodists in Heaven.
All who call on the name of Jesus Christ, have true faith in him, will
be saved. We Lutherans are not the only
Christians. And we are certainly not the
only ones who will go to heaven.
Lutherans have never taught this.
However, that’s not to say that the differences don’t
matter. It’s not to say that we should
sweep disagreements aside, and act as if we are all united. We live in a fallen world, where knowingly or
unknowingly, God’s holy Word is twisted and worked over, even by those who
profess to be Christians. Even the pope,
this week, said some things that fly in the face of basic Christian
teaching.
We should not be surprised.
The Old Evil Foe has been doing sowing lies and deceit from the
beginning, when he led us astray with his question, “did God really
say...?” And he continues to cast doubt
wherever he can today. It is a grievous
situation that the church on earth is not united in the truth, as Jesus prayed
in John 17. Sin corrupts. It even corrupts doctrine.
And yet despite all of this, the word of the Lord stands
forever. There is a universal and
timeless truth to it. Or as John puts it
in our reading from Revelation, an “eternal gospel”.
This is what the Reformation is truly about – the Gospel –
the eternal Gospel. Sure there’s the
selling of indulgences. Sure there’s the
false claims of the pope, and the doctrines of man that had infected the
church. The church needed reform in its
morality, its institution, and in many other ways. But of course the central issue was and is
really about the Gospel – the teaching of God’s grace in Christ. The good news of salvation by grace through
faith alone. The Reformation, therefore,
was not about a new teaching, but a timeless teaching, an eternal Gospel that
would stand the test of time.
And this eternal gospel is a gospel to be proclaimed, “to
those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and
people.” Friends, we are all living
proof of this, even today. That 500
years after Luther and 2000 years after the apostles and hundreds more after
the prophets of old – that we have inherited the very same promises of God in
Jesus Christ, is a blessing of no small measure!
The Gospel is timeless and eternal, but it is also concrete
and time-bound. The Lamb of God was
slain from the foundation of the world.
And though heaven and earth will pass away, he teaches, my words will
never pass away. The word of the Lord
endures forever. And yet, that word
comes to us in time, and space. We
gather at a location, and hear it from a particular pulpit, from the lips of a
particular pastor. The Word is ever near
you, in your ear, and on your heart. It
is a word that renews you daily. And
Jesus himself, the living word, is with you always, even to the end of the
age. So of course his Gospel is eternal.
And it is universal - that is, it is for people of all
places and tribes and nationalities. But
it is also particular, that is, it is for you.
You have come to faith by the proclamation of the eternal Gospel. You are baptized into the eternal, triune
name of God. And you continue to live by
that same eternal gospel which you hear again and again, and which continues to
give life.
Just what is this eternal gospel?
It is the whole and sum of God’s word to you, the
sinner. It is the good news of salvation
in Jesus Christ.
It is the incarnation, the perfect law-keeping, the
suffering, the death and the resurrection of Christ, for you.
It is the fact of his promise that your sins are forgiven,
that you belong to him, for you were bought with a price.
It is the seal and certainty of our baptism, it is the
eating and drinking of Christ’s body and blood for our forgiveness.
It is justification, by grace, through faith, in Christ
alone.
It is the confession of Christ before the church and the
world, before governors and kings. The
confession of the old and the young, even from the mouths of babes.
It is the work of Christ, and Christ alone - for you, on
you, in you and given to you.
The eternal gospel is Jesus, and all that is wrapped up in
him; Christ, crucified for sinners, alive for sinners, who will come again to
judge the living and the dead and make all things new.
To say we are “Lutheran”, is to say that we confess the
eternal Gospel. To say we are Lutheran
means that we believe what God’s word teaches, and has always taught. That sinners are saved by grace through faith
in Christ. That when God makes a
promise, he keeps it, even when it doesn’t make sense to us. That the heart and soul of our faith is not
about what we do or don’t do, or should or shouldn’t do, but about what our
Lord Jesus Christ objectively has done, and continues to do for us.
I believe, and I confess that the Evangelical Lutheran
Church - the church which confesses the writings of the Book of Concord -
confesses the eternal gospel with truth and purity. And I hope you can say the same.
There was nothing special about the reformers, really. There was nothing exceptional about Martin
Luther. What makes this confession
worthy of our attention, is its crystal clear presentation of the eternal
gospel. No cooperation with God, no act
of human will or reason. No experience
or heartfelt yearning is necessary, or even relevant. Jesus Christ comes to save sinners, to heal
the broken, and raise the dead. Which we
all were in our sins, completely beyond hope.
Lost eternally.
But the eternal gospel gives hope to the hopeless,
righteousness to sinners, and breathes life into the walking dead.
In a way, all those who confess this gospel confess the
same. And all those who believe and
teach it, could in a sense be called, “Lutheran”. I’ll often make a joke of my own, about how
Lutheran Abraham was, who believed in God and was credited as righteous. Or how Lutheran David was, who when
confronted by Nathan about his adultery and murder confessed, “I have
sinned”. Or how Lutheran were the
prophets and patriarchs, and all the believers of old - who Hebrews says looked
forward by faith to the salvation God would accomplish in Christ alone. They were believers in the eternal
Gospel. They were Lutherans. They just didn’t know it.
And that is why, also, there will only be Lutherans in
heaven. For when the dust settles, and
we see all things clearly, and all falsehood and misunderstanding melts away -
we will see Christ and his word clearly.
His eternal gospel will stand.
And we will all of us, together, believe and know that salvation is by
Christ alone, for us, forever.
Being Lutheran, you see, isn’t about Luther at all. It’s about Christ. It’s not about me or you, and what we can
bring to the table. We have only
wretched sin. Instead, it’s about
Christ, and what he brought to the cross - himself, and gave his body and blood
there, for you. Receive that same body
and blood today, for the forgiveness of your sins, according to the promise of
his eternal gospel.
And have a blessed Reformation day.
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