Sermon - Pentecost 13 - Matthew 16:13-20

So Jesus asks his disciples, “who do people say that I am?” And after giving all the popular guesses, he presses them, “but who do YOU say that I am?” and Peter, dear Peter speaks up, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” 

We call this event, this passage, the “Confession of St. Peter.” 

Confession – that's an important word and concept to us here at Messiah.  Let’s explore it in the light of what Peter’s great confession teaches us today, that we may ever more clearly and boldly confess Jesus Christ and him crucified. 

First, perhaps, a definition:  To confess is to “same-say.”  And depending on what you are same-saying, and with whom, it can serve different purposes. 

Of course we usually begin our Divine Service with a “Confession of Sins.”  That is to say, we same-say, we all say together, that we are sinners.  Even more importantly, we are same-saying what God himself has said about us.  We’re saying it back to him.  God says you have sinned, all have sinned, that you are by nature sinful and unclean.  And you agree with him.  You confess your sins of thought, word and deed. 

Now, you don’t say all this because it was your good idea to do so.  You confess your sins because God has shown you your sin, in his law.  The commandments accuse you, they expose you, and leave you without excuse.  And we are also bold to confess our sins because of God’s promise, “if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

Another way we use the word “Confess” is when it comes to the creeds.  We confess our faith.  We say, together as a congregation, together, really with all Christians of all times and places, that we believe in God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The ancient creeds of the church are confessed because they are faithful summaries of Christian doctrine, and especially of the character and works of our triune God. 

But they’re not our concoction, either.  The Apostles’ Creed confesses the faith that the Apostles taught.  The other creeds follow suit.  And the apostles received their teaching from Christ himself, and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

So, when you confess your sins, or when you confess your faith, you are in good company.  You are in the company of the prophets and apostles and martyrs and saints – all who have confessed Christ and who ever will, the whole Christian church.  And all of us, like Peter, confess only what we have been given, what has been revealed to us by the God of heaven. 

Back to Peter’s confession.  Jesus asked the disciples “who do people say that I am?”  In other words, “what kind of Jesus do they confess?” 

And here we see another benefit of the good confession – it stands in contrast to the many false confessions of the world.  All those other answers to Jesus’ question failed to identify him properly.  Only Peter gets it right.  His true confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God means that Jesus is far more than a prophet or some figure from the past.  He’s the Son of God – fully divine, even as he is human.  And he’s the Son of the LIVING God, not some dead and false God.  This God lives, and gives life.  And, well, like Father, like Son. 

Jesus, the Christ, the one savior appointed and sent by God the Living God – was sent here to bring life, and abundantly so.  In contrast to whoever else the world thinks him to be, or whatever false confessions are made about him. 

Now, sometimes, we describe ourselves in the Missouri Synod as “Confessional” Lutherans.  And there’s a lot wrapped up in that term, too.  It means that we subscribe to, adhere to the Lutheran Confessions.  Our pastors teach in accord with these important historical statements of faith like the Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession.   

We hold them high, not because they are inspired (they aren’t) or because they floated down from heaven on golden tablets (they didn’t).  But they are a true and faithful exposition of what God has revealed in Scripture.  And they serve a useful purpose for us. 

By adhering to the confessions, and subscribing to them, and identifying as confessional Lutherans, what are we really saying?  That we believe what the Scriptures teach.  That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  That his gift of Baptism saves us, just like Peter says it does.  That his gift of the Supper is truly his body and blood, just like Jesus himself says it is.  That our sins are forgiven when the pastor speaks the absolution, that the sins loosed on earth are also loosed in heaven.  That we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, and that this isn’t something that comes from our flesh and blood, our own merit or worthiness, or our own reason or understanding.  We are like Peter, blessed to receive the confession of Christ, and blessed to same-say what God first spoke to us. 

And it is on this confession (the one that is given to Peter, and to us) that Christ builds his church.  Mark this well.  The church isn’t built on our efforts.  It’s not built by our good intentions to build it.  We don’t take any credit or claim any thanks for the growth that God alone gives.   

No fancy programs or slick packaging. No keen insight gleaned from the “success stories” of the world. No popular fad or catchy music or coffee shop in the lobby builds the church.  
 
Not advertising or social media marketing. Not clever sermons with cute video illustrations on fancy screens with just the right lighting.  
 
Not accommodating to the world and its ways, or baiting with entertainment before switching to the real stuff. None of that builds the church.  
 
But he, Christ, builds it – he calls people to faith – he changes hearts and minds. He builds it on the confession of his Name. He converts, redeems, renews and restores. We simply receive the blessings. 

And he builds his church on the confession that Jesus is the Christ.  No one else is the Christ, the Savior.  Only Jesus.  There’s no room for works-righteousness.  There’s only the righteousness of Christ.  Crucified for us, risen for us, living for us and returning someday to take us home to the Father. 

We confess.  We confess our sins.  We confess our Savior.  We confess our faith in him.  We confess all his wonderful revealed truth.  We confess his gifts – the means of grace.  And we confess with Peter and the Apostles and all Christians – that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, who alone builds his church.  And he says, “whoever confesses me before men, I will confess before my Father who is in heaven.”  So be it.  It Jesus’ Name. 

The "Usually Helpful Kneejerk Conservative Reaction"

"We never did it that way when I was growing up!"

"That's not how I was raised"

"I've been in this church my whole life, and we never..."

I hear these sentiments a lot from LCMS church members.  It is what I call the "Kneejerk Conservative Impulse."  You see something new.  You experience something different.  Someone, maybe the pastor, makes a change - small or large - and without much thinking, you react.

I'm here to say that's not always a bad thing.  In many cases, it actually is a good instinct, and keeps the church out of trouble.  We want to "conserve", that is, to keep things the same as they've been.  It's usually a good impulse. They way things are, writ large, must be pretty good - at least that's our assumption.  It's why I'm here, after all, at this church.  I like it this way.  If I didn't, I'd find something else.  And now don't you go changing things!

Most of us assume that "how we were raised" and our experiences as such are generally good, healthy and normal.  They are the baseline.  That's how we've "always done it."  Maybe we think that's how the church has "always done it."  I've even heard prominent LCMS pastors and professors speak this way.  "My dad was a pastor and did things this way..."

But not so fast.

When it comes to things like Scripture and doctrine, we ought to be VERY conservative.  We keep them, and do not change them!  Scripture is God's word.  Revelation warns us sternly about adding or taking away from it.  Mark this well!

But we must be wise and discerning.  Not everything is commanded or forbidden.  And yet not all indifferent matters (adiaphora) are equally indifferent.  Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful (1 Corinthians 10:23). And not every tradition, large or small, is helpful in every time and place.  Nor is every tradition truly "the way it's always been done."

Just as we must discern what is truly adiaphora, we must also discern between adiaphora.  Just as we are wise to adopt a default mode against change, we must also wisely adopt helpful changes when and where we can.  Of course the word "helpful" does the heavy lifting here.

So it goes like this:  Someone proposes or makes a change.  The Conservative Kneejerk Reaction kicks in.  "We've never done it that way!" But perhaps rather than jerk the knee, we ought to engage the mind, and think:

Is this change permissible?  Is it within the bounds of Scripture?  Is it in keeping with what the church has done?  Does it serve the Gospel or distract from Christ?  Does it promote the unity of the church, or concern itself with only the "me" or "us" of local preference?

And lo, and behold, the change proposed may end up being MORE conservative - that is, reverting to an earlier tradition or practice, which someone long ago failed to "conserve".  Yes, it may be more faithful to Scripture, and more in keeping with the Confessions.

If, after weighing all this, the change makes sense, we may consider even further another factor - injury to consciences.  Even the reformers held off on certain corrective changes for the sake of the laity who didn't know any better, and had not yet been taught about these things.  We don't want to create needless confusion, anger, or other such reactions.  So rather than invoke chaos in the church, the wise pastor teaches toward changes, uses discernment and patience, and bears with people at times who may not yet be ready to move.  It takes time, also, for the pastor to build trust, and that goes a long way with these things, too.

The "Conservative Kneejerk Reaction" is kind of the opposite of the "It's all adiaphora!  Anything goes" posture that has brought such bad practices into the church.  And often, those opposed to one of these errors seem to fall into the opposite ditch.

That's a lot to think about, honestly.  It's kind of a big deal to change things in the church.