A few weeks ago, the Church celebrated the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, one of the moist pivotal moments in Western Christendom. On June 25, 1530, a group of Lutheran princes presented the Augsburg Confession to the Emperor at the Diet of Augsburg, officially and publicly declaring their statement of faith, from which they could not waver.
Philipp Melanchthon wrote the Augsburg Confession; John the Steadfast spearheaded the presentation; and Christian Bayer read the Confession to the Emperor. Martin Luther, though he set in motion the events that would lead to its presentation, could not be present when the princes delivered the Augsburg Confession because he was still an outlaw. Because of Luther’s absence, the Augsburg Confession was presented entirely by laity. Without the aid and faithfulness of the Lutheran laity, particularly the princes and academics, the Lutheran Reformation would likely have failed well before it had taken off.
The importance of a confessing laity, like the faithful men who presented the Augsburg Confession, is underscored by the effects of confessional illiteracy. When the laity are not engaged in confessional texts– primarily the Scriptures, alongside the Lutheran Confessions, Church Fathers, and liturgy and hymnody– theology invariably suffers. Churches that lack confessional integrity tend to teach theologically unsound or biblically incorrect doctrines.
The Lutheran Church, unfortunately, has not been immune to this. Christendom as a whole, no less Lutheranism, suffered during the Age of Enlightenment, which placed reason above supposed “superstition,” thereby nullifying the need for sacred texts like Scripture. Instead, all beliefs were to be examined and tested by reason and knowledge, and not through revelation.
Pietism was another unique challenge for Lutheranism. The Pietistic movement sought to highlight faith by “meaningful person connection.” Faith became grounded on what one can do within, instead of the good and gracious gifts that the Father provides from without.
In the 1960-70s, the Lutheran Church in America saw a massive split between confessional Lutherans and theologically liberal churches. Confessional subscription was among the many catalysts for this rift, with the liberal churches teaching that unconditional subscription—as C.F.W. Walther sees it—to the Lutheran Confession was unnecessary and, in fact, harmful. While the LCMS remained largely faithful to the Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions, we did not sufficiently clean house. Many liberal theologians remained in their offices, be them professors, teachers, or pastors.
Among the liberal churches—most of whom were influenced by the Church Growth Movement, revivalism, rationalism, etc.—what was left? What hope could they have? They had given up the last rock on which they could rest secure—the Scriptures. In reducing the Scriptures to a historically-inaccurate record book, subject to our reason, they had effectively thrown themselves off the cliff without a parachute.
Even today, while the confessional movement has made steady progress in rightfully reclaiming her churches, Lutheranism continues to grapple with the devastating effects of liberalism, confessional illiteracy, aversion to tradition and creedal doctrine, and pietistic philosophy. Some churches continue to promote heterodox or otherwise unsound doctrines, some pastors are unwilling to preach the truth of the Gospel, and some laity are complacent in the errors they have been taught.
Thus, in our churches, we must see in ourselves the piety and faithfulness of the confessors of Augsburg. We must take inspiration from their doctrinal purity and confessional courage to profess their faith before men, without concern for its possible consequences. We must not leave important doctrinal matters to the “experts,” but take them to heart and discern the true doctrine of the orthodox Christian Church. The Gospel text for the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, Matthew 10:26-33, speaks well to this.
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 10:32-33
Certainly our Lord was not only speaking strictly about the disciples. Everyone who acknowledges Christ before men will be acknowledged by Christ before the Father. Likewise everyone who denies Christ before men will be denied by Christ before the Father. Our confession on earth matters for eternal salvation—our faith is not an inner connection or personal feeling toward God, but an active and living dependence on God and a clear confession of the Scriptures.
The confessors of Augsburg were faithful to their offices and steadfast to their vocation as Christian men, all of whom recognized the desperate need for the name of Christ to be confessed in their churches. Rome had deprived the Catholic Church of the Gospel, restrained the administration of the Sacraments, and terrified the conscience of its laity.
Powerful in the confessors’ boldness in the Gospel, therefore, is the fact that they were all laity. They did not rely solely on the theological experts, though they arguably were the theological experts in their day, along with the preachers and other theologians of the Reformation, but took the Gospel to heart and stood firmly in Christ. They made the confession of Christ and His bride, the Church, their own, along with those given to preach and administer the Sacraments and study God’s Word.
Though the incredibly faithful work of theologians, pastors, and ministers ought not be ignored, we must remember the laity who preserved the Augsburg Confession—and thus the Christian confession itself—through their boldness and unified strength. They did not leave the fight to the clergy; and had they done so, the Reformation may well have failed. Had the princes fumbled before the Emperor, the Augsburg Confession may well have died.
We ought to see in ourselves the confessors of Augsburg. The laity must especially see in itself the unified confessional strength of the men who brought the Confession before the Emperor, taking as their own cause the cause of preserving the one true Catholic Church. In order to do this, they were theologically trained. They read the Scriptures, studied the Church Fathers, clung to the good and valuable traditions of the Church, were rooted in liturgical Christian worship, and found in the Sacraments a blessed and heavenly blessing.
The confessors of Augsburg are examples of some core tenants of the Reformation–and the Christian life, which they faithfully exemplified, particularly:
One does not need to be ordained in order to be trained (or knowledge) in theological matters.
All laity should be rigorously and faithfully prepared to confess the name of Christ in all circumstances, even amid persecution.
Theology cannot be left to the “experts,” as the laity are often in a position to keep the theologians, pastors, and others in line. (Such was the case of the Lutheran princes who presented the Confession.)
Doctrine matters, and the laity must remain informed, interested, and educated.
Liturgical worship, being the worship of the confessors and Reformers, is invaluable in ensuring that the proper doctrine of the Christian Church abounds. It is not the only safeguard against the devil’s lies, but it is one of the most effective.
Theological conservatism and traditionalism does not need to be belligerent or arrogant. The Reformers were level-headed, reasonable, and prudent in their presentation of their confession of the orthodox Christian faith.
The faith must not be compromised in any circumstance; the Scriptures are, above all else, the rule and norm of faith, and the Gospel is rock and foundation of the Christian life. There can be no other.
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