Shepherd of the Springs
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

From the First Lesson of the Day: 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.  [Revelation 14.6]

From the Epistle: For we hold that a man is justified by faith, apart from works of the Law. [Romans 3.28]

From the Holy Gospel: But wisdom is justified by her children.”  [Matthew 11.19b]

On this date, October 31, we observe Feast of the Lutheran Reformation. On this day in history, on the Eve of All Saints Day, Dr. Luther nailed to the University Chapel door his call to debate 95 Theses on indulgences. From this pounding of a nail on 31^st Day of October comes what we call the Lutheran Reformation.

Today, we celebrate  the importance of  holding to the Reformational Lutheran faith. This strange phrase reminds  you that there are many kinds of Lutherans out there these days, even within our church body, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. But we are here as those who adhere to the original Lutheran faith, born on the 31^st day of October, 1517. On the basis of the texts just read again to you, your attention is called to “The Reformation Faith.”

I.

The faith of the Reformational Lutheran concerns the chief and central article of Christian belief. For it is because of the ultimate and chief faith of Christianity that justifies the distinction of being a Lutheran, rather than simply being a Christian. Every serious Christian holds to one tenet of the Christianity as being the guide and focus by which the other articles of belief are held together. For a Reformational Lutheran the central article of the Christian faith is what is called the Gospel. The  Gospel is the promise by and from God concerning how a sinner is justified – declared righteous – by and before God. Those Lutherans who embrace justification as the central doctrine or promise of the Scriptures are Reformational Lutherans – they are Lutherans, not by tradition, not by family decisions, not by the accident of birth into a Lutheran family, nor by any other accident, such as living near a Lutheran Church. Rather Reformational Lutherans are Lutherans by virtue of the fact that they hold to,  as the chief Christian belief, the Gospel of justification of the sinner before God by through faith alone, apart from works of the Law.

Such Reformational Lutherans, as we are today, here, together, are a minority of Christians. We are even a minority of Lutherans. This is so today, even as it was so back in the 16^th century. The so-called “Protestant” label soon was used to cover every sort of argument that a person might have had with the Roman church of that time, and that is why the term “Protestant” really doesn’t describe a Reformation Lutheran – not then, not now. Reformational Lutherans back then believed that they remained part of the Western Christian Church. Reformational Lutherans back then believed that the patterns of worship – except for some practices that conflicted with the Gospel – should be retained because Reformation Lutherans sought reform of the historic Western Church, not revolution breaking away from it. Thus, the  Augsburg Confession declares: “Our churches are falsely accused of abolishing the Mass. The Mass is held among us and celebrated with the highest reverence … Because the Mass is for the purpose of giving the Sacrament, we have Communion every holy day, and if any one desires the Sacrament, we also offer it on other days, when it is given to all who ask for it …. Therefore, since the Mass – among us – follows the example of the Church, taken from the Scriptures and the Fathers, we are confident that it cannot be disapproved” – thus declares the Lutheran Confesions, and the issues remain the same for a Reformational Lutherans today.

Thus, a Reformational Lutheran believes that reform is necessary in the Christian Church when, and only when, a confusion arises over the central doctrine of the Christian faith, the doctrine of justification. For a Reformational Lutheran still insists, with St. Paul in the Epistle of the Day, that “We hold that a man is justified by faith, apart from works of the Law.”

II.

These are the words of Scripture itself – and they teach the chief thing about being a Christian. Hence, for you and for me as Reformational Lutherans, our church affiliation is not about where the church building is, what it is like, how it is decorated, who it is that sits next to us, how near it is to our homes, what kind of programs are offered in it or by it, or any other such consideration. There is one and only one consideration that makes one a Reformational Lutheran: Holding to the chief point, message, and emphasis of God's Word, namely, the gospel promise of ongoing forgiveness and justification of a sinner by grace alone, through faith alone, apart from all matters of behavior according to God’s Law.

This is the Gospel – every deviation from it is a distortion of the Scriptural message. The sole point and purpose of having a church – of being a church – is to embrace what St. John declares in the First Lesson of the day, “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.”

This one, true, and completely central message of the Church of Christ is this: It is an eternal Gospel, not just a 16^th century Gospel or a 21^st century Gospel. It is the one central theme and message of the Church in every nation and every tribe and every language and every heritage – that’s the truth of the Gospel. It is the truth that every Christian is, continually, a poor sinner who is forgiven and declared just by faith alone!

III.

The Gospel – understood in these stark and uncompromising terms – always has its detractors. This is true in Bible times – or else the Scripture read to you today would never have been worded as it is! This is true at the time of the Reformation! This is true today! The Gospel always has those who want to reject it, or change it, or at least put an asterisk or footnote by it. Nevertheless, it stands as it is written: “For we hold that a man is justified by faith, apart from works of the Law.”

Where this eternal Gospel is proclaimed and embraced, there humble Christians possess the forgiveness of sins, life with God, and eternal salvation. Where this Gospel is proclaimed and embraced, there the fruits of faith are given the seed and fertilizer for growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where this Gospel is proclaimed and embraced, children are best-served, teenagers are best-served, adults young and old are best served, families are best-served – for sinners are best served! Where this eternal Gospel is proclaimed and embraced – there you find the Church!

Thus, The Lutheran Confessions declare, “Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strengths, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven  for Christ's sake.”  To this truth Christ declares: “wisdom is justified by her children.” And God's forgiven children reply: Amen!