Today we give thanks for Martin Luther's courageous desire to reform the church. Martin Luther's 95 Theses were just the beginning of the reformation. They were his opening thoughts as realized there were some false teachings occurring in the church that had to be corrected.
While the true Church, is always perfect, the visible church is always in need of correction and so also even today. Yes, today we have churches in our beloved LCMS that cling to false teachings. Pastors leading people in error and members clinging tenaciously to false teachings or simply improper practices that may certainly lead them away from the truth. Today is the perfect day to be called to repent. Just as Martin Luther said in his first thesis: Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.
Your life, my life, and the life of the world is to be one of repentance where we recognize that we have sinned. And not just a generic sin, but for this reason our pastors teach us the full sternness of the Law so that we may realized how we have sinned and may be led to sorrow over that sin and confess that sin to God, to our pastor, and to each other as Luther teaches us in the small catechism. Repentance is not a dirty word, nor is the Law, but rather it is by the Law that our Lord and Savior leads us to see the need to repent and turn to Him alone.
Today let us again remember what Martin Luther began 497 years ago and continue to cling to Christ alone who offers us his gift of forgiveness through his Word and Sacrament. We don't need new, unbiblical language such as we see coming out the group Fivetwo and their sacramental entreprenuer false theology to excite us, nor do we need to be pointed to ourselves to know we are Christian and be naval gazing like Pietism and American Evangelicalism would have us do.
If you find yourself struggling with your sin or even doubting you are Christian, look at a crucifix and ask yourself one simple question, "Did Christ do that for me?" And may the Holy Spirit alone lead you to confess. Yes.
Remember that full sternness of the Law? We must know that so we can believe and trust in the second part, the full sweetness of the Gospel. Did Jesus live the perfect life in thought, word, and deed? Did he suffer under Pontius Pilate? Was he crucified, died, and was buried? Did He descend into hell and on the third day rise from the Dead and ascend into heaven?
He did and He did it for you. It doesn't matter what your sin is. It doesn't matter if you have rejected it, thought less of it, not believed it all, or even been embarrassed to confess it. Today again remember: HE DIED FOR YOU.
That's what this reformation is all about. You are saved not because of what you do, you don't contribute even a smidgen to your salvation. It's all about Jesus and what He did for you. You are saved by grace alone through faith alone because it was Christ alone who gave it all to you.
Does your salvation always make sense? Very likely, that is a no, and that's okay. But today I encourage you to give thanks for the blessed reformers who risked their lives, some even dying, so that you may receive this gracious truth of the Gospel. Give thanks for your pastors who in the face of increasing cultural pressure to just let culture and you do what they want, are willing to call a sin a sin and face ridicule and hardship for that confession. Give thanks for the ones who have confessed the faith to you, for without them you would have not have known the saving truth of the Gospel.
Today, cling to Christ Crucified and give thanks for your blessed Savior who has died for you and remember that we need Confessors in this church . Confess what has been done for you so that you may be saved.
Peace be with you.
To read the 95 Theses go to http://bookofconcord.org/95theses.php and remember these are Martin Luther's opening thoughts as he began to be taught the truth.
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