Can We Trust God? - Opening Devotion, Texas Confessional Lutheran Free Conference - September 8, 2017

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As I have said before in having the opening devotion, I do not know what our presenter plans to present, so I pray my devotions neither steps on his toes nor steals his thunder, and considering our theme, pun intended.
 

October 31, 1517 marked a day in infamy. October 31 2017 continues to mark the struggle. Around 6 to 8000 years ago Lucifer, the light-bearer, approached an innocent, naive perfect Eve and Adam and asked a question, “Did God really say?” Of course, his question was not so much a question as a challenge. His challenge was a challenge to God, to challenge God’s Word, as well as to the authority of God. Did God really say whatever it was He said and did He mean it?
 

About six hundred years ago a man name Jan Hus questioned whether or not the Pope, or any human being for that matter had the authority to speak for, in the place of, or above God. In particular Jan Hus questioned the leader of what was the church at the time. He questioned the Pope, the seeming vicar of God on earth. He also questioned human councils that had declared certain teachings the Word of God, even though they were not the Word of God, but were rather the word of humans, fallible humans at that.
 

Five hundred years ago a man named Martin Luther questioned the authority of man over against the authority of the Word of God. As Luther so well pointed out, Councils and Popes have long contradicted themselves and have been know to be wrong. Now please understand, neither Jan Hus nor Luther questioned God as Satan did. No, Jan Hus and Martin Luther questioned the words of fallible human beings who attempted to speak in the place of God and as they so well pointed out, human beings who often spoke incorrectly.
 

Today we continue to hear similar such questions. We hear questions challenging the Word of God as truth and as authority. We hear questions such as: “Did God really mean . . . ?” “God did not know about such things as ‘committed homosexual relationships’?” “Are you sure your are interpreting the Bible correctly?” “Who gives you the right to speak for God?” “Truth is relative.” “There are no absolutes.” “My God is not like that.” And on and on it goes as the Word of God and the authority of the Word of God is questioned still today. But it is no wonder; when you have a good thing that works, keep doing it. The devil is in the details and the details continue to question God, His Word and His authority.
 

At one time it seemed as if it was the world against the church and one knew who their enemies were. Now the devil is attaching the church not just from without, but within as well. Churches today are tempted to question the Word of God and His authority by seeking to be relevant, by seeking to be tolerant, by seeking to be contemporary, which means for the time as in here today and gone tomorrow, by seeking to be fun, entertaining, engaging and just about any other adjective you might think to use, rather than simply seeking to be faithful.
 

When the church agrees with and looks like the culture is it really any different than the culture? And we know the devil thrives in the culture which acquiesces to the morals and values of the least of them.
 

Five hundred years ago as Martin Luther hid at Wartburg as Knight George, Andreas Karlstadt continued the reformation, at least in his own mind. However, his reformation went beyond reformation. You see, Luther never intended to throw out the church, just remove those false teachings and obstacles to God’s grace. Karlstads’s reformation was more of a gutting of the church. Karlstadt believed his doctrine pushed him to new practices, practices which would have changed the faith of the church. Karlstadt removed images, vestments, labels, anything and everything that said “church,” as many would do in our world today.
 

Luther understood the direct connection between what we believe, teach and confess and how we practice what we believe, teach and confess. Luther knew that doctrine and practice, style and substance, confession and mission, and however you want to state it, go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other and you cannot change one without changing the other.
 

Back in my day we would hear such expressions as: “Momma always said, ‘Practice what you preach.’” Today, or at least a few years ago you would hear, “If you’re going to talk the talk, then you better walk the walk.” Yes, even our culture of today understands the direct connection of belief and practice.

 

So, the fight for the authority of the Word of God over the authority of man, church and councils continues today. Today we hear man butting in suggesting that certain changes to our practices are merely adiaphor, or simply changes in style, or are mission minded. Worse scenarios are those that would have the so called scientific fact of evolution added to the Bible simply because there is no recognition of how to defend the Word of God. How often have I spoken with those who attempt to resolve the tensions of the Bible by simply human logic, such tensions as predestination, election and decision theology, even when the Bible leaves these things in tension. Humanity would solve bread and wine, body and blood in a logical way rather than believe the Word of God. Humanity would solve God’s desire to save all and yet knowing some are not saved by a logical fallacy of double predestination.
 

Perhaps you have heard it said, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” There we go again, putting ourselves in the mix and that is where we get messed up. “God said it. That settles it.” My belief, my understanding or misunderstanding, my logical explanation resolving the tension are not what makes it so. When we have difficulties with God’s Word we say what He says. We do not add nor take away. If we still have a problem, the problem is ours, not God’s.
 

God’s Word is a Word with authority. God’s Word is efficacious, it does what it says, it gives the gifts it says it gives and we rejoice whether we get it or not whether we understand or not.
 

At what point do we in the church return to the position of Hus and Luther and challenge the word of man over and against the Word of God? Of course, this challenge is a dangerous and frightening challenge as humanity continues its slide into moralism, humanism, and all other kinds of isms focusing our attention away from God and on to us.
 

I would contend that the fight of Martin Luther is the fight we continue today. The symptoms we face today, homosexual lifestyle, transgender lifestyle, abortion, euthanasia, family break up, all these are mere symptoms of the problem and the problem is the question of the authority of the Word of God.

Either human beings are right or God is right. Either human beings never get anything wrong, or God never gets anything wrong. I’m going with God on this one.
 

Just as God got it right in Genesis when He told us how he created the world, after all He was there, so we can count on Him getting it right as He tells us how He saved the world in the Gospels. He gets it right, even if we may not fully comprehend it, when He tells us how He gives us faith through water and His Word, how He forgives us our sins through confession and absolution, how He strengthens and keeps us in faith through Bread and Wine and His Word, giving us His body and blood to eat and drink, and how His Word is a Word with authority to do what it says and to give the gifts of which it speaks.
 

We get it right when we point to God and specifically when we point to Jesus. We get it right when we recognize the authority of the Word of God. God speaks most sure through His Word, through Holy Baptism, through confession and absolution and through His Holy Supper. Through these very means God gives to us all the gifts and blessings He has to give and pointing to Him we recognize that as God gives, we are given to. There is nothing we do on our part, simply we are given to. God said it and that settles it.
 

So, I would encourage you to know that God’s Word is His Word, He said it and that settles it. Through His Word as well as through His Sacraments He gives you the gifts He offers and we give thanks that we are given to. Your greatest need is the forgiveness of sins and Jesus says, Your sins are forgiven, go in peace. And we say, Amen, and thanks be to God and to Him be the glory for His Name’s sake. Amen.