5ΤΗ SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Text: 1 Peter 3:8-15
Source from Back to Luther with German archive reference. Back to Walther's Epistle Sermons.
Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ Jesus.
When God created the world all creatures were in the most beautiful, the purest harmony with each other; there was not the least discord; God was the sun around which all creatures revolved; His will was the power which moved all spirits, his love the sea in which angels and men lived and moved and were united. Heaven and earth, as it were, was one temple in which everything which had breath, lauded and praised the Creator as though with one mouth. All people were one holy, closely united family, who ardently loved each other as children of one Father and were blessed in this love.
But what happened? Man fell into sin. And sin suddenly disturbed the former harmony; as it tore man from God, so it also separated man from his fellow men. With his reason the children of Adam clearly perceive that, as descendants of one human pair, they are all brothers and sisters; however, love for brother and sister disappeared from their hearts. Now that man through sin has fallen from God, his center, the bond which united him to men is also torn; now he loves only himself; and even when he thinks that he lives and strives for his brethren, he is nevertheless seeking his own ends. With cold indifference people pass each other by. Unconcern and hatred dwells in his heart instead of love. The former blessed unity in God has changed into eternal dissension, the former blessed peace into continual, unhappy warfare and strife.
Yet, my friends, God not only saw from eternity that his wonderful work of creation would be ruined by sin; God according to his infinite love also decreed from eternity to renew his ruined work, to pacify the dissension which arose through sin, and found a new kingdom of grace and concord on earth. And what his eternal love decreed, it also gloriously carried out to the eternal amazement of all reasonable creatures. Since man had torn himself free from God and could never again find Him, his center by himself, yes, would never want to unite with God, God united himself with man; yes—oh, amazing deed of divine mercy!--God himself became a man in order as a man capable of suffering to be able to atone for and erase man's rebellion against Him, and unite all who will let themselves be sought out and found by him through the working of his grace in a new congregation of pardoned children of God, united in blessed love and unity.
And behold! that happened. Through Christ, God's Son, a holy Church of redeemed people was again founded. Amongst the members of this Church the pure harmony which once existed before the fall is recreated. For in the Church God is again the one sun around whom all things move in undisturbed harmony.
There God's will is again the driving force which alone moves all hearts. There God's love is the sea in which all again live and move and are in blessed union. In the Church God has built himself a temple in which all laud and praise him again with one mouth as the Father of their Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Church a holy, closely united family has again been founded whose members ardently love each other as children of one Father and are happy in this love. Amongst the members of the Church there is no envy, no strife, no hatred, no indifference, but love, joy, peace, concord; for they have one faith and one hope. They are all the dwelling places of the same God, the same Savior the same Holy Spirit; it therefore is as though they had only one heart, only one soul. They are baptized through one Spirit to one love, and through one flesh and blood of God's Son all are given to eat and to drink to one spirit;
they can all say to Christ: We are flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone; therefore, one heartbeat, as it were, goes through the hearts of all members of the Church. They are as though one large mirror in which not only the image of Jesus Christ is reflected in the whole mirror, but which mirrors the same and indeed the very same entire image of Jesus Christ in each piece, even if it has been shattered into a thousand pieces. Therefore we also sing of the Holy Spirit every Sunday:
Who the Church, His own creation,
Keeps in unity of spirit. (251,3)
And now perhaps some will say: Are you not picturing a Church which just doesn't exist anywhere? an ideal which has not yet been attained? I reply: No, my dear friends, the true Church actually and truly is such a kingdom of peace end harmony. According to the spirit and faith it really is and was and always will be a holy congregation of God's children whose unity sin and error never destroy. To be sure, this is also true: As long as the members of the Church are still upon earth, they are not members of the Church only; so long they are not yet completely spirit but have something in themselves whereby they still belong in part to the world; so long they still have flesh and blood, something of the Old Adam, something of the old corrupt nature with which they were born; and, of course, this makes it seem as though even in the Church no true unity, no true peace, no perfect harmony has been brought about again, just as the dross in the gold gives the appearance that gold consists of precious metal and worthless dross. Because in this life so much dross of the flesh is still to be found in the Church, which does not belong to its golden temple, the very members of the Church are constantly and earnestly exhorted and encouraged to unity and to follow after peace amongst themselves. Our today's Epistle contains such an encouragement. Let us, therefore, with heartfelt devotion hear and ponder it.
The text. 1 Peter 3:8-15.
In the Epistle just read the apostle makes two admonitions to the members of the Church; and today we will take them chiefly to heart; they are: " Finally, be ye all of one mind," v.8, and: " Let him seek peace, and ensue it." V. 11. On the basis of these words may I speak to you about
THE UNITY WHICH ACCORDING TO GOD'S WORD THE CHURCH IS TO CULTIVATE AND FOLLOW
I will therefore show you:
1. Wherein This Unity Consists.
2. How Necessary The Cultivation Of It Is For The Church, and finally,
3. Which Way And By Which Means It Must Be Cultivated And Promoted By The Church.
I.
If ever there was a time when it is necessary for one to be informed especially concerning the real unity, which the Church according to God's Word is to cultivate in its midst, and after which it should follow, it is today. For union, unity, peace in the Church are indeed the watchwords, which are now upon the lips of thousands upon thousands and which compose the recurring theme of almost all religious periodicals; but what is usually the unity of which
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they nowadays speak and which: they seek? That peace in the Church which they try to establish in our day consists briefly in this: All are to cease immediately in contending for differences in faith; let everyone be unmolested in his faith, be silent about the errors of one's fellow Christians, or oppose only those very gross departures from God's Word, forget differences in faith, extend the hand of brotherhood, unite in one common church, gather everywhere in one common worship, celebrate the meal of reconciliation at the Table of the Lord, battle against gross unbelief together, work for the building of God's kingdom together, in brief, let only love be the moving force, and let it up to God whether he will also at his time want to produce unity in faith and doctrine.
It is true: This is a unity which pleases the reason and heart of natural man. This is a unity such as the world has or wants to have. But is this the one to which God's Word so often and so urgently exhorts the Church? Absolutely not! This is merely a seeming unity. This is not uniting the Church but despairing of the unity of the Church and resigning oneself to the idea that here on earth true unity cannot be established anyhow. That is not healing the wounds of the Church but merely binding the festering ulcers up so that they are not seen even though they then penetrate so much the more deeply into heart and soul. That is not laying the stones in the walls of the Church in a solid edifice but whitewashing the breaks which have arisen, so that the entire building must finally collapse most assuredly and completely.
No, according to God's Word it is an entirely different unity which the Church is to cultivate in its midst, and which it is to pursue. " Be ye all of one MIND " is what the Apostle Peter calls to all Christian at the beginning of our Epistle. Hence, the first thing in which true Christian and Church unity is to consist is being of like mind. Therefore, inwardly, in the heart, in the spirit of Christians, their unity should have its basis and its root. If all the minds of Christians are to be one, they should also have one faith in all matters, which concern their soul's salvation, like principles, like judgments, like hopes. For as the person believes, according to the principles he has, as he thinks, judges, and hopes, so is he minded. What one considers the truth in matters of faith, the others should also perceive as true; the principles which one follows in these matters should also be held by the rest; as one thinks and judges in these matters so should also the rest think and judge; what one hopes, that the rest should also hope.
And the apostle also adds: " Let him seek peace, and ensue it." From this we see: From the root of the one faith there should also grow up amongst Christians the tree of one hearty, ardent brotherly love; upon the foundation of the one truth for which they have fought there should also be built a common laboring in peace.
You see, that is the unity which the Church is to cultivate amongst itself; first it is to be one in mind, and then this unity should show itself in deeds; first it is to be one in the faith and then this unity should show itself in love; first it should be one in doctrine which it holds to be the true one in its heart and then this unity should show itself in its confession; first it is to be one in the truth of conviction and then this unity should show itself in a life of peace; first it is to be one in its hopes and then this unity should show itself in a brotherly walk toward the one goal. First the Church should be of one heart and one soul, and then it should also in this one spirit praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mouth; then all members should extend the hand of fellowship to each other as members of one living body and at the same time strive against the common foe in one battle array.
II.
Now that we have seen in what this unity consists, which according to God's Word the Church is to cultivate, let us secondly ponder how necessary the cultivation of this unity is for the Church.
The first and chief reason is because this is God's clear, express, holy will. God's exhortations to cultivate it are almost as many as there are pages in the Bible. Where would I stop, if I would want to present to you only the clearest of God's exhortations to his Church to be one in faith and love? Not only does Peter in our text cry clearly to Christians: " Be ye all of one mind," but the Apostle Paul also writes to the Corinthians: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." 1 Cor 1:10. He also writes to the Ephesians: "Endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Eph 4:3-6. Finally this apostle with great ardent zeal writes to the Philippians: "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminde d, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." Phil 2:1.2. How could the Holy Spirit have exhorted his dear Church in a more friendly and urgent manner to this oneness than he has done in the words of his sanctified instruments!
And in how friendly and urgent a way the Lord himself lays this command upon the hearts of his own! He says: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Jn 13:34.35. However, the Lord did not let the matter rest with this exhortation. When he was about to leave his followers according to his visible presente and go to the Father, he once more turned in an ardent high priestly prayer to his Father and said, after he had prayed for his apostles: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Jn 17:20.21. Oh, for what a holy and blessed fellowship and unity for his own did Christ according to these words beseech his heavenly Father, since they were to have their example in the unity in which he lives with his Father! If there were, therefore, no other reason for Christians to cultivate unity amongst themselves than this divine exhortation, how necessary its cultivation must appear to us!
Yet, my friends, I cannot help pointing out to you at least one thing which shows how necessary it is for the Church to cultivate unity and peace amongst itself; it is the infinite harm which comes from the lack of unity amongst Christians and the inexpressible blessing which the unity of Christians always brings.
If Christians do not cultivate unity in doctrine and life in their midst, if they let their flesh and blood induce them to watch calmly when schisms arise, then the lack of unity increases from day to day. For since God does not give his gifts to one Christian or one congregation but distributes them, the one Christian will be hindered from serving the other Christians and the one congregation the other congregations with their gifts through the rift which arises. The result is that individual opinions and errors increase, quar-
rels become more bitter, the confusion greater; false judgments of condemnation more biting, and the sects more in number.
Oh, how many have then lost the foundation of their faith upon which it had been built! Because of strife with the brethren, how many forget the strife against their flesh and blood! And alas, the poor world! When it sees how disunited Christians themselves are, how much comfort and relief they find for rejecting the Christian faith! How many are offended and kept away from the faith which otherwise would have won them! Who, for example, can count the souls who perished because of the strife which Zwingli started against the doctrines of the holy sacraments, and as a result of which churches of whole countries separated from those with whom they at first were one in faith and love! Who can count the souls who are offended at the condition of Christendom now torn into hundreds of sects, let themselves be prevented from seeking the truth, and, therefore, remain in their unbelief and are lost forever! How can a person some day answer God if he and others are guilty of this disunity and dismemberment of the Church! Oh, how necessary it, therefore, is that the Church with the most earnest concern, with the most earnest zeal cultivates this unity and peace in its midst!
This becomes just as clear from the blessings which the unity of Christians always brings. For if the Church is one in doctrine and life, in faith and in love, the members exchange their gifts and knowledge with one another; they themselves grow rich in knowledge, in strength of faith, in ardor of love, in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and in a living hope; their foundation goes down deeper, their edifice grows in size and glory, and is more and more beautifully adorned with the various gifts of the Spirit. Then they also support the careful education of competent shepherds and warriors, the pursuit of the work of the conversion of those who still sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and the struggle against the foes of the truth. And oh, how many who would have been offended by the disunity of Christians will be enticed to join the Church by their oneness in the truth and by their arder in brotherly love, and be won by the Word! When the first Christian Church had such a blessed oneness, we read not only concerning the Church itself: "They were edified; and walked in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost," Acts 9:31, but even in relation to those who were outside we read: "They had favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved." Acts 2:47.
Satan knows very well what power the Church has when it is united, and how not only she herself flourishes and brings forth fruit, but also how invincible she is against her foes, yes, constantly conquers the foe and constantly extends her borders; it, therefore, i s Satan's most important and dangerous cunning which he uses to injure the Church by destroying its unity and trying to sow discord amongst her members.
And alas! how easily the foe succeeds! How soon the holy bond which united the Christians was torn! How quickly the little spark of disunity glowing amongst the ashes was blown into a bright flame, which seized and destroyed whole congregations, yes, whole denominations! How necessary it, therefore, is that the Church carefully cultivate unity in its midst, yes, pursue it as a precious treasure !!
III.
Permit me now to add a few remarks upon the way and the means this unity must be cultivated and promoted by the Church.
It must be noted that only he shares in the oneness of the Church and
can promote it to his salvation who himself is one with the Lord of the Church, hence has turned to Christ from his heart. Therefore, he who outwardly joins the Church, but whose heart still clings to the world, or is still under the dominion of a sin and does not yet have that living faith, which regenerates, sanctifies, and cleanses the heart, does not have reason so much for asking what he must do to promote and cultivate the unity of the Church, as for asking what he must do to become an active members of the Church, a true Christian. God's Word gives us the answer: Repent and believe the Lord Jesus Christ; learn to become frightened over sin, and hunger and thirst for grace; then Christ will enter in; then you will become a true Christian and an active member of his true Church.
However, he who already is a true Christian will recognize that he has the duty of working to cause the whole Church to grow in the unity of faith and love. If this is to take place, a Christian dare not be satisfied with having learned only enough from God's Word as is absolutely necessary for his salvation. In general, God is not only willing that his Christians do not remain children in knowledge who let themselves be blown about by every wind of doctrine, but if the Church is to remain united, it is also necessary that every Christian diligently and daily, with prayer and great earnestness, search in God's Word and in the writings of enlightened teachers, hear the public preaching with great attention, and in general zealously use all the means which have been commanded to grow in the saving knowledge, attain an experienced understanding for differentiating between good and evil, and judging between truth and error. True, it is mostly the minister's duty to search day and night in the Law of the Lord, to decide doctrine, and to reject error, as we read in the last prophet, Malachi: "The priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." Mai 2:7; however, should the Church actually grow in unity of faith and love it is not at all enough that only the public teacher be grounded in God's Word; as much as is possible, the entire congregation must stand there as one man as witnesses for the truth and fighters against error. The moment laymen became lukewarm and indolent in the search for the truth and let the judgment of doctrine up to their ministers, the unity of the Church is already at an end; then we can be certain that God will soon remove the lamp from its stand and allow false teachers to come, who in one year quickly ruin and tear down what took many years and much labor on the part of faithful teachers to build up. Come, then, my dear hearers, recognize your calling; descend yourself into the mine of God's Word and amid humble searchings and prayers bring to the surface the gold of truth, so that you may also sit in judgment over truth and error, and be able to stand in the breach in the day of strife.
However, merely seeking for greater knowledge is not enough. Should the unity of the Church be preserved, advanced, and nourished, it is also necessary that everyone watch over his own heart, so that it does not exalt itself in pride but remain humble and become ever more humble, so that he always shows that he is ready to recognize his error, confess and let go of it, and give all honor to the truth and adhere to it, no matter who may preach it to him. Church history teaches that most errors in the Church did not rise and increase because they did not know better, but because they were too proud to admit the error which was shown them and yield to the truth of his opponent. That is why St. Augustine has said: "Pride is the mother of all heresy." A humble heart open to the truth is therefore the second requisite in cultivating and promoting peace in the Church.
The third and last is that love, which goes after the erring and leaves no means untried to turn him from the error of his way. Christians dare not be
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satisfied with themselves having known the truth and knowing how to guard themselves against current errors; but love toward erring souls must drive them by every means at their command, be it by letter or by word, be it by exhortations and prayers or by warnings and reprimands, to fight against error wherever it is found and let the truth shine and introduce it whenever the opportunity presents itself. What a wonderful example we have in our fathers! How they labored for the spread of the truth and fought to conquer error! How they by conferences and writings, sometimes in love, sometimes earnestly, sought to preserve and fight for the treasure of the oneness of the faith! True, because of their faithful struggles they were slandered by many thousands as wretched quarrelsome persons; yet what inexpressible blessings God gave their labor and conflict! Next to God millions thank them and their faithful love for their rescue from ruinous error and for the treasure of the pure truth. Who can count up the blessings which have come to Christendom from their polemical writings and devotional books, and especially from the church confessions written by them, and which still flows forth to this hour after they have long since rested from their works in their graves?
Therefore, my dear hearers, let us follow them as true sons and daughters. God has given also us the light of his pure Word; oh, therefore, let us leave nothing untried so that this light which shines for us may shine also for others; that this pound for salvation entrusted to us may gain others; and even though here we may be reviled as heartless squabblers and disturbers of the peace, may we there be found some day as faithful stewards and enter into our Lord's joy and receive the crown!
Yet my dear brothers and sisters, so that this mind may live in your hearts, you have clearly shown these days by being ready to give your Pastor and me a month's leave of absence, so that we may again strengthen the unity of our Church with the troubled Church of our old homeland; we will offer our brethren there some of the spiritual gifts which God has granted us, and our Church here will also receive a blessing from across the sea.
As great as my joy now is that God has guided your heart through his Holy Spirit to promote this great, holy work, just so anxious am I when I think that I, the poorest and most miserable, should be your messenger. However, two things comfort me and fill me with courage and hope in the midst of anxiety and fear: First, that after earnest prayer to God all you congregations closely united with us have called me as your messenger; for I do not doubt for a moment that the call of a Christian congregation is not a human call, but the call of God himself. If God calls me, how dare I be fainthearted? To him I will offer my mouth, to him my heart, to him my body and life. May he do with me as pleases him.
The second thing which fills me with comfort and hope is the confidence that your prayers will accompany me. If I am ever so unskilled, you will get wisdom for me by your prayers; if I am ever so fainthearted, you will give me courage and joy with prayer; if I am ever so weak and fickle, you will get power and steadfastness for me by prayer; if I am ever so unworthy, you will cry with me for grace; if I am ever so ineffectual and despondent, you will not cease lying before God with me and not let him go until he bless me and bring me and my dear fellow emissaries back to you with a joyous message.
But if God has decreed otherwise; if God has decreed that today I stand before you for the last time and preach God's Word to you with stammering tongue, his will be done; and if my poor mortal body should find its grave in the depths of the sea, I am confident that through the grace of my Jesus my soul will find eternal rest in the bosom of my heavenly Father.
Therefore, in conclusion, let me make this exhortation in the name of
my Lord: You, to whom I have so often preached the Lord Jesus and who have not yet gone to him in order to find rest for your souls in him, go hurriedly to him; I exhort you, I beseech you with tears, perhaps for the last time. And you who have already sought and found refuge under his gracious wings, permit me as your most insignificant fellow Christian say once more to you today in the name of my Lord: Remain with him, your faithful Savior; remain in his grace, remain with his Word and in his truth, remain with his Church, remain in his love; then, be it here or in eternity we will certainly see each other again in inexpressible joy.
May Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Mary, our Lord and Savior, the King of Truth and Prince of Peace, beloved and praised here in time and hereafter from eternity to eternity, grant that to us all. Amen.