Posted on 10/25/2008 8:49:34 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
“In Step with the Truth of the Gospel” (Galatians 2:11-21)
Was the Reformation about doctrine or about practice? Think about that for a moment. The Reformation of the church started by Martin Luther 491 years ago this week--was the Reformation about doctrine or was it about practice? The short answer: Yes. Both. Both doctrine and practice, that’s what the Reformation was about. That’s what the ongoing Reformation of the church is always about--doctrine and practice as they are intertwined and interrelated. You cannot separate the two. And that’s the way it always has been, going back to the earliest days of the Christian church. Doctrine and practice always need to be held together and kept in agreement with one another. The church’s conduct needs to be “In Step with the Truth of the Gospel.”
Today we’re going to see that played out as we make two stops in time: First, the first century, the time of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Then, the 16th century, the 1500s, the time of Luther. And as we do, we will see the implications for our time, how doctrine and practice need to be walking together, in step, the church’s practice reflecting and reinforcing the right doctrine.
Before we begin, though, I should explain what we mean by the terms “doctrine” and “practice.” “Doctrine” is simply a word that means “teaching.” What does a church teach as its official doctrine, in its creeds and confessions? “Doctrine” refers to the articles of faith, the beliefs held by a church. “Practice,” by way of distinction, refers to how a church actually conducts itself, how it acts in regular, customary fashion. “Practice” includes the various practices of the church--its worship practice, for example, the liturgy that is used or not used, the hymns that are sung or not sung, the content and emphases of the sermons, and so on. That is “practice.” So the question becomes: How does a church’s doctrine relate to its practice? And vice versa: Does a church’s practice line up with, walk in step with, what it’s supposed to be teaching?
Now on to our trip through time, to see how this question plays out. First, we go to the first century, the age of the apostles. And the example I want to use is the case of Peter and Paul, the time they clashed over a matter of practice, because the practice mattered. It had to do with the doctrine of Christ and salvation and justification. It had to do with the gospel. The text I direct you to is from Galatians. As I read this, the Apostle Paul is speaking, and the fellow Cephas he talks about is the Apostle Peter--“Cephas” is the Aramaic way to say “Peter.” Galatians 2:11-21:
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
OK, let me explain what this is all about, what it has to do with the relationship of doctrine and practice. Paul here is recalling how he had to criticize Peter over a practice that he was doing, because it didn’t line up right with the doctrine that Peter was supposed to be espousing. It actually was over something Peter was not doing, what he had stopped doing, out of a desire to be popular with some people. Peter, “Cephas,” had stopped eating with Gentile Christians, so as not to be criticized by some wrong-headed Judaizers who thought you still had to keep the old Jewish ceremonial laws in order to be saved. Paul recognized that that was a problem, a big problem, and that the very gospel was at stake. For if our salvation depends in the slightest degree on our keeping of the law, then the whole thing is at risk--doomed, really, because if we start down that road, then we are obliged to keep the whole law, which none of us can do. If it were up to us and our works, we would be lost and Christ would have died in vain. Those were the implications of what Peter was doing. His practice belied his doctrine, and his example--his bad example, as an apostle--was misleading people and endangering the faith of those Galatians.
So what did Paul have to do? He had to tell off Peter--Peter, mind you! He opposed Peter, to his face, and those who went along with him, and he told him off in front of the whole church! That’s the part where Paul writes, “But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all,” and then Paul relates how he corrected Peter’s error.
Do you see the point? Doctrine and practice go hand in hand. The practice of the church has to agree with sound doctrine. Otherwise, the church is sending mixed messages, even contradictory messages, and that will confuse the flock and obscure the saving gospel of Christ.
When it comes to that saving gospel, we want to be absolutely clear. And I want you to be absolutely clear on what will save you. It will not be your works. You could not do enough good things to earn your way into heaven. You cannot keep God’s holy law of love for him and love for your neighbor well enough to get a passing grade. If it’s a matter of scorekeeping, you lose. Your sins would bar you from heaven and condemn you to hell.
But the good news is this saving gospel, this doctrine of justification. Your righteous standing with God does not depend on you but on Christ, the Son of God, who loved you and gave himself for you. He was crucified so that you would not be condemned. Christ died for this purpose, that you might live--which you do, through faith in him. This doctrine of justification is so precious, we want everything we do in the church to support it and accord with it.
Now we fast forward from the first century to the 16th century and the time of Luther. Once again, the controversy began over practice, and the practice pointed to an underlying problem in doctrine. The practice in question, initially, was the selling of indulgences. On October 31, 1517, Dr. Luther posted 95 Theses on a church door in Wittenberg--a “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences.” You may know something about indulgences. People purchased certificates from the Pope, assuring them of remission of guilt and its penalties by virtue of buying them. Professor Luther saw this was a problem, because it led Christians to bypass repentance, it lulled them into a false sense of security, and it diminished what Luther called “the true treasure of the church,” namely, “the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.”
And this was just the beginning. As the Reformation went along, and Luther and his colleagues corrected other abuses in the church, certain practices--for example, the sacrifice of the Mass, works of satisfaction in doing Penance--they discovered that beneath these bad practices was faulty doctrine, with regard to the central article of the Christian faith, the article of justification. That’s the same thing that Paul zeroed in on in his controversy with Peter, wasn’t it? How are we sinners justified, declared righteous, before God? Is it to some degree by our works or is it purely and solely by faith in Christ? The Roman Pope said, and still says, our works enter into the equation. Luther said, and confessional Lutherans still say, along with St. Paul: “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
So what did Luther do about this? He told off the Pope! Just like Paul had to oppose Peter, for the sake of the gospel, so Luther had to oppose the Pope, the man who claims to be the successor of Peter. The difference, of course, is that Peter accepted the correction, the Pope didn’t.
The other thing that Luther did was to reform the church’s practice. This included the reform of the Mass, the Divine Service of Word and Sacrament. Luther kept the basic structure of the Mass, which had developed over many centuries, and which we still have and use in our hymnal. But Luther cleaned up the bad practices that had crept into the Mass, which had changed the emphasis from God’s gift to us to our work for God. That was one reform, and it got the church’s practice, its conduct of the liturgy, in step with the truth of the gospel.
Another practice that Luther developed, in order to build people up in the faith, was the use of hymns. Did you notice that all four of the hymns we are singing today are hymns written by Luther! What excellent, wonderful hymns they are, grounding us in the gospel! “A Mighty Fortress” extols our Champion on the battlefield, Jesus Christ. “Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice”--has there ever been a better hymn written in all of Christendom? I don’t think so. You see how this churchly practice of singing these great hymns does such a marvelous job of implanting in our minds and hearts--and putting on our lips--the doctrine of Christ our Savior.
One other practice that Luther upgraded substantially was catechesis, teaching the basics of the faith to young and old. Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms have had an influence for the strengthening of the church like almost nothing else. The use--indeed, the memorization--of Luther’s Small Catechism is a practice that has benefitted us immeasurably, in getting a handle on the main biblical teachings and in giving us a framework for living out the Christian life.
Dear friends, these are practices that we want to continue and grow even stronger in. We want to retain and use the church’s historic liturgy, the Divine Service of Word and Sacrament. Why? Because there is no other worship practice I have ever seen that does as good a job of keeping us in step with the truth of the gospel. Likewise, we want to learn and sing--and learn to love--the great treasure we have in the Lutheran church of excellent hymns, by which the word of Christ dwells in us richly. Why? Because these hymns keep us in step with the truth of the gospel. And we want to learn--learn by heart, and keep on learning, our whole life long--the little handbook for Christian faith and life we have in the Catechism. Yeah, you know why. Because the Catechism puts the saving doctrine of Christ right here (head) and here (heart), where you can reach it. These all are practices that keep us “in step with the truth of the gospel.”
Doctrine and practice--they go hand in hand. The constant, ongoing Reformation of the church is always about keeping those things together, for the sake of the gospel of Christ and for the salvation of sinners like you and me. To God alone be glory!
Ping.
Lutheran Ping!
Wishing a Blessed Reformation Sunday!
It appears to me that the Lutheran practice of evangelising within the United States could use some improvement in various regions. (A 2001 study by AAL said only 20% of congregations were growing.) Of course, in Luther's time, the basic assumption was that all people in Christendom were baptised and merely needed to be taught the right things, so he wrote a catechism. The thought of taking the Word to the unchurched in the next village was not necessary.
We are on the verge of an election that may have severe consequences to our country. We may end up taking a strong turn towards socialism, and towards an un-Christ-like way. The more Christ is taught, and the more people that are affected by his love and promise of salvation, the more people will see the evil in socialism.
Churches need to step up their evangelizing efforts within this country, to save more people, and to mitigate the evil that is within us as a country.
Uh, the only place I "dug it out" of was my head. :-) I wrote the "article"/sermon tonight.
Thanks, though, for the kind word!
Ok, let me rephrase this. "Great sermon! Thanks!"
God bless you and your congregation!
I dunno...I’m partial to “The Church is One Foundation” myself....
(Martin Luther - 1529)
A mighty fortress is our God
A bulwark never failing
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe
His craft and power are great
And armed with cruel hate
On earth is not his equal
Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right man on our side
The man of God's own choosing
Dost ask who that may be?
Lord Sabbaoth, His name
From age to age the same
And He must win the battle
And though this world with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us
We will not fear for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us
The Prince of Darkness grim
We tremble not for him
His rage we can endure
For lo, his doom is sure
One little word shall fell him
That word above all earthly powers
No thanks to them, abideth
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth
Let goods and kindred go
This mortal life also
The body they may kill
God's truth abideth still
His kingdom is forever
A blessed Reformation Day to all, and to you, Pastor Charles, for doing the Lord's work here on FR.
Leni
bttt
Indulgences were the religious equivalent to today's carbon credits.
And did I ever need that this week. This one left a huge footprint all over my county.
Sad to hear about that. Any suspects yet?
We’ve had several ECLA members visit our services and may join because of the rainbow issue.
My dad was an ELCA pastor, and he retired about five years ago. Last Jan., my parents joined a Missouri Synod church. About six months ago, my dad told me that the ELCA committee on sexuality announced that the ELCA should never ordain gays and that the ELCA should never hold gay weddings. I’m surprised that they needed to think about it for about 10 years. The conclusion should have been obvious to anyone who has read a Bible.
The woman who struck the officer stopped right away. She has a record of distracted/aggresive driving citations going back four years in three different counties.
Today yours truly will be on the Internet/radio program “Issues, Etc.” as part of a Pastors’ Roundtable discussing the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not steal.”
You can listen live today, 3:00-4:00 (Central), by going to the program’s Home Page:
http://www.issuesetc.org
And you can listen later, any time, by finding Thursday, October 30, archived at the On-Demand Page:
http://www.issuesetc.org/ondemand.html
And, yes, I am thinking of talking about “redistribution of wealth” as a form of stealing.
Even the secular philosopher Bastian recoginized the theft of "legal plunder". Too bad the modern secularist party can not...
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