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In the name of our living and ever-present Savior, dear friends in Christ.
“I will … speak of your testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame,” (v. 46). Martin Luther turned the words of the psalmist into a triumphal shout of praise, as he heard the reports from the Diet of Augsburg, at the end of June, 1530.
As an outlaw, condemned to death as a heretic, and a criminal, by the Edict of Worms, nine years earlier, Luther had not been able to accompany his followers and friends, to the city of Augsburg, in May 1530. There the German emperor, Charles V, was presiding over the legislature of his German lands. He had demanded that the Lutheran princes, and municipal governments in his lands, explain why they should not obey the law, he had passed, in Worms.
Complying with the emperor’s desire, to suppress the Lutherans’ confession of the faith, would have had devastating consequences, for that faith. It would have meant that they would sacrifice their desire to reform the Church, along lines set forth by Luther.
That was not an option, for these early followers of Luther. They knew that God’s Word freed them from sin, guilt, fear, and death; it set them on the path of true life. They wanted their faith to flow, into public confession of its saving message. They knew that people were longing to receive the gift of life, that the message of Jesus Christ brings. Like Luther, nine years earlier, at Worms, they believed they could do nothing else, but tell the Good News of life, in Christ’s name.
Instead of conceding, and abandoning their faith, Luther’s followers, led by Philip Melanchthon, his colleague from the University of Wittenberg, composed, at Augsburg, a confession, a witness, a testimony, of the faith. The Lutheran princes, and municipal representatives, presented it to Charles V, boldly proclaiming their message, and confessing their faith. The emperor did not accept this confession. He continued to regard them as outlaws, and threatened to suppress their proclamation of the Gospel, by force of arms.
The princes were prepared to sacrifice their lands, and their lives, for the faith. Margrave Georg of Brandenburg knelt, in obedience, before Charles V, and offered to give up his head — to be executed — as he explained that he would not renounce his faith in Jesus Christ, as Luther had taught him to confess it. The emperor could only stumble out, “Head not off, head not off,’ when confronted with the Margrave’s bold confession of his faith.
Such bold conviction, and fearless spirit, thrilled Luther, as he used the words of the psalmist, to describe what was happening, in his own day. The theologians, and the government officials, who wrote, and made the confession, at Augsburg, refused to let the truth, of God’s Word, be taken out of their mouths. They recognized that, in this Word of truth, is the hope of the world.
That Word, as they had learned it from Luther, set them free from fears, for their bodily welfare. The Word they confessed, liberated them, from earthly anxieties, even anxiety over death. It loosed their tongues, to sing and proclaim, God’s Good News. Nothing took the Good News out of their mouths.
The spirit, over which Luther exulted, exhibited itself in the document, we call the Augsburg Confession, composed by Melanchthon, and presented to the emperor, and their fellow princes, by these Lutheran leaders. This spirit moved them to a series of acts of confession, during the assembly at Augsburg, in 1530. It is a spirit, given by the Holy Spirit, that should move Lutherans — and all Christians — to confess the faith in Jesus Christ today, as the Augsburg confessors did, now 485 years ago.
First of all, this spirit rests on, and rises out of, the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. The princes, and their theologians, came to Augsburg, simply to confess Jesus Christ. From Luther’s words, they had gained the perspective of the apostles, and the ancient Church.
Only in Jesus Christ, can fallen sinners find peace. Only in Him, can they stand before God, with clean hearts, and clear consciences. Only in Him, can their humanity be restored, to its God-intended fullness, once again. Only in Him, are their minds renewed, so that they may proceed, in faith, to live out the love, for which He created us.
These leading Lutherans came as sinners. One prince drank too much. Another had a tendency toward sexual sins. They all undoubtedly abused their power, as princes, far too often; such is the nature of temporal power, in the hands of fallen humans. They were plagued by doubts, and weakness of faith; they did not understand the Gospel as well, as did the theologians, who wrote it out, for them to confess. The struggle between fear, and faith, within their hearts, must have been so fierce, that they might have thought, it would tear them apart. In spite of their fine clothing, they shared the conviction that Luther would utter, on his deathbed, “We are beggars all.”
For that reason, they came to confess — to confess Jesus Christ as their Lord. They confessed Him as the Lord, who ruled, with a crown of thorns, from the throne of the cross. They trusted in Him, as the God who laid out His own flesh, and blood, to conquer death for them, who died, to reclaim life, for them.
The confessors at Augsburg wanted to shout the name of Jesus Christ before kings, and the whole world, because they knew, that He was present, with them. The spirit of Augsburg was also eschatological, mindful of final things, at the end of this world, as we know it.
It senses that we stand directly in the presence of God, even as we will, on the Last Day. We are accountable to Him, and He stands on our side, against all evil. He remains always ready to give, again, the gift of life with Him, whenever it becomes tattered and torn — physically, emotionally, spiritually.
Whether the world is now about to end, we cannot know tonight. But we can see God’s judgment falling on this society, and so we feel a sense of urgency, imposed by the hurts of people, outside the Church’s door. The love of Christ compels us, to reach out, and bring them inside, into the true life He gives.
The princes also came to Augsburg to share, with other Christians, their joy, over life in Christ. Thus, their spirit was ecumenical. They shared their convictions regarding the Gospel, first of all, with other Christians. They did not circle the wagons, to protect the Word of God. They had boundless confidence in its power, to do its work, of killing, and making alive. They were convinced that God had led them into an especially good and helpful understanding, of how the Word works, to bring life to sinners.
They wanted fellow Christians, who disagreed with them, to understand what their disagreements were all about. They sought no “victories,” in arguments over their foes. They sought to share, and discuss, the truth of God’s Word, so that all could share the riches, of the proper understanding, of what God has said to us, in the Bible.
The spirit of these first Lutherans, at Augsburg, thus compels those who follow, in their footsteps, to be evangelistic. Those confessors witnessed to the faith, so that others might believe in Jesus, and thereby have life, in His name. Fundamentally, the confessors at Augsburg placed their faith before the world, without fear, or hesitation, because they wanted others to come to a knowledge of the truth, and thus enjoy the wonderful gift of life, with our Creator, and Father.
We, their heirs, are always witnessing to the faith, that stands at the heart of our lives. If people know we are Christians, they will always be reading something about Christ, in the way we live, and speak, about Him — or fail to live, and fail to speak, about Him. If people do not know we are Christians, they will sense, quickly, what it is, that stands at the heart of our lives. Every day, by what we say, and what we do, we witness to our faith. We must simply work, on improving our witness.
God’s Word works on us, as those who confess its truth, and witness to it. It bestows, on us, the forgiveness of sins. Through His Word, Christ has rescued us from death, and given Himself to us, as the way — the way of truth, the way to life. He has placed His Word in our mouths, and freed us, so that we might fear nothing, because we know we are safe, in Him.
Thus, we are freed from fears, of our own inadequacy, that might otherwise intimidate us. We know we are not making ourselves look good, in the Father’s sight, by how well we witness. We know we already look good, in the Father’s sight, because He sees us, through Christ. We confess our faith, for the sake of our neighbor, who needs to hear, that those who are dead, in trespasses and sins, can have resurrection hope, in Christ.
Therefore, we confess the faith, as heirs of those first Lutherans, who were called to testify, before their emperor, before their empire, to God’s love, in Christ Jesus. They opened their mouths, into which the Lord had placed His truth, and they broadcast life, and salvation, to their world.
God calls us to do the same today. He frees us from sin, and fear, and every hesitation, and He gives us the power, to speak His Word, before all kinds of people, including kings and rulers. We are confident, that we shall not be put to shame, for He has set us free, to witness, to His Word. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Robert A. Kolb’s original was published in Concordia Pulpit Resources in 1995 and reprinted in 2008.