Reformation Day (Observed)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The Rev. 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!
Charles Henrickson
4749 Melissa Jo Ln
St. Louis, MO 63128
(314) 845-8811 (home)
(314) 779-8108 (cell)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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