Readings: Genesis 50:15-21 | Romans 14:1-12 | Matthew 18:21-35
Text: Romans 14:1-12
It is important to base our faith on the Gospel itself, not certain practices. That’s because the practices which flow from the Gospel are not the same as the Spirit-worked faith in Christ. St. Paul applies this to how believers regard each other, especially when their practices differ:
“1As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:1-4)
This calls for a consideration of what Christ’s work is in bringing people to believe and cling to Him. Listen to this description of the Church:
~ Augsburg Confession: Article VII:
1Our churches teach that one holy Church is to remain forever. The Church is the congregation of saints [Psalm 149:1] in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctly administered. 2For the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree about the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. 3It is not necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies instituted by men, should be the same everywhere. 4As Paul says, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” (Ephesians 4:5-6)
That means wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, you will find faith created by the Holy Spirit. As it was proclaimed at Pentecost,
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 1:21, Joel 2:32)
What’s troubling is that there are several parts of Christianity that cannot agree about all the related truths of the Gospel.
This isn’t a matter of primary and secondary doctrines. It’s not helpful to grade the teaching of God into what’s “more necessary” than others—that’s a dead end. What is helpful is to see that the Gospel is proclaimed despite human error.
What is human error? These are numerous in church confessions, which say different things about baptism, election, the end times, and the Lord’s supper—just as a few examples. However, even though there are diverse opinions, that doesn’t mean that there is no true doctrine. Instead, it means that any human being is subject to error (save for when the Evangelists and Apostles whom God guided to write His Word for us):
“160The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” (Psalm 119:160)
“17Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
(John 17:17)
“16For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:16-21)
Some of the most common errors are denying the way God works through means. Saying that Baptism, or the Lord Supper are merely symbolic where the individual declares their own faith simply don’t square with Scripture itself. Thank God that the reverence for God’s Word has been preserved among such groups! However, it’s human teaching which has convinced people that Baptism does not have the power to save even infants; that the bread and wine of Holy Communion cannot actually be Jesus’ Body and Blood given and shed for us, as He said it is.
Along the same vein, Christians have been taught not to trust the efficacy of Confession and Absolution. But what we do as Lutheran Christians is nothing more than what Jesus describes and the Apostles confirm:
“18Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18)
“23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”” (John 20:23)
“15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:15-16)
I could go on about different doctrines, but I’ll get to the consequences of these errors. Because people have been taught to look at what they do, and that these holy things are just symbolic, they are left to seek God in places where He hasn’t promised to be. In the extreme today, this leads some Christians to believe that the worship feeling is paramount. The CCM industry capitalizes on this, and provide plenty of songs to reinforce this notion. Congregations spend tens of thousands of dollars on sound and light equipment previously only used in performing arts. I once worked at a “church” that had a bigger lighting rig than my college. The onset of “online church” has also opened up a whole new avenue where expensive tech is seen as essential to ministry.
Yet, a simple reading of God’s Word makes it clear that the Almighty is actively doing something when He washes sinners with water and His Word. He is actually forgiving in heaven as the Church declares forgiveness to a repentant soul, while announcing judgment to the proud and unrepentant. Jesus is actually able and willing to deliver the fruits of His eternal Passover: Since He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, He now gives us His own Body and Blood to eat through the means of bread and wine on our altar today.
“7For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
(Romans 14:7-12)
The truth of Christ’s work and the power of His Word continue to be true. However, we must have love for our Christian brothers and sisters. Love doesn’t look down on a brother or sister. In love, the Lord wants all of His flock to be united in the truth of His Word. That day will come perfectly and completely at His return.
In the meantime, our faith continues to be built up in the Word of God, loving one another even if the expression of faith looks different from ours. Leave the arguments about theology to those tasked with teaching—
“1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1)
As for you, fellow Christians, confess the faith handed down by the prophets and apostles, where Christ Jesus is the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Even if church bodies bear the name of human teachers, like Martin Luther or Menno Simons or John Wesley, let no glory in man obscure the fact that the holy Church belongs to Jesus Christ alone. To Him be the glory through every age!
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
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