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READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:
Revelation 14:6-7
Romans 3:19-28
- St. John 8:31-36
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 1)
Who speaks to you from His own Gospel, saying:
“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom
of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”
If there is anything we can be sure about the Reformation, is that the real battle took place within the congregations not in the courtrooms, emperor’s chambers, or papal palaces. Luther and the Reformers’ emphasis was on getting information to the people that could be easily consumed by them, usually read. And where most everyone was, each day, was in Church, in Service.
But the information they were handing over wasn’t bibliographies, master’s theses, or how-to’s, it was doctrine and Liturgy. We have been talking about Liturgy and its importance, the last few weeks, but Liturgy, how we worship, is a fruit of Doctrine and we would go so far as to say, “Doctrine is life”. For without doctrine, we have no liturgy, and without liturgy we have no church life, and with no church life, we have no faith, and with no faith we have no Savior.
The fancy Latin phrase is: lex credendi, lex orandi. How we believe is how we pray, or practice. Our own Augsburg Confession states in Article 24: “Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence. Nearly all the usual ceremonies are also preserved, save that the parts sung in Latin are interspersed here and there with German hymns, which have been added to teach the people. For ceremonies are needed to this end alone that the unlearned be taught [what they need to know of Christ].”
Though the Mass was historically retained, it was different because of the Reformation, and the pope knew it. The difference was that a true Mass, or Divine Service, can only be celebrated with correct doctrine. In other words, if you are teaching Christ incorrectly, then you are doing church incorrectly.
Thus we can say “doctrine is life” because without correct doctrine we cannot get to Church. But, you say, that’s not what Jesus would say. He wouldn’t let something as petty as church doctrine get in the way of accepting people.
And you would be right, but not in the way you think. Sin turns everything God does for you backwards and this is no different. Doctrine is not Jesus being intolerant, its you in your sin being intolerant towards God and His work of accepting people, as opposed to yours.
We hear this in St. Matthew 11. Jesus doesn’t say “you suffer violence”, He says the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, but in what way? How can someone assault heaven? Jesus here mentions John the Baptist and all the prophets and even all the Law. John was beheaded for his preaching. The prophets were all killed by their parishioners, as Jesus teaches in Acts 7:52, “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered.”
Violence to heaven is done by assaulting her priests and her congregants, and as we explained last week, the Church is the object of demonic violence. In this backwards, upside-down world of sin and corruption, we project upon our Lord our own violence. We play the victim card when we sin and make poor choices, blaming God for our misfortunes and taking credit for our prosperity.
It turns out that when God speaks to us, He is telling us all about the upside-down. He is teaching. He is in-doctrine-ating us back to how it should be. You see, Doctrine is there for you, not for God. It is so you don’t lose your way and end up at the wrong Altar, Hell’s Altar.
So we sit at the feet of our Teacher. We hear His Law. We hear His Righteousness. We hear His Propitiation and we hear His Faith, as our Epistle reading taught us. Doctrine is not what you think it is either. Though you may find it scribbled on paper and in classrooms and lecture halls, true Doctrine is the Word of God: Jesus Christ. In this way:
Another word we can use for “doctrine” is “teaching”, as it goes in the Greek language. When we read our Bibles, we come across the word “teaching” more, but what that word is translating is “doctrine”. We hear it in St. Matthew’s Gospel, 7:28-29, “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
Jesus taught all the time (Mt 4:23) and He even told the Apostles to baptize and teach (Mt 28:20). But what was so astonishing about His teaching? Why were the crowds amazed and what could He have possibly been teaching to invoke such a dramatic response from the crowd either calling Him God or calling for His death?
Since you can not grab the answer, you have confessed your sin of seeing Jesus as just another moral teacher of antiquity. That He says nice things like: play nice, be nice, and think nice. It never entered your sinful mind as to what could possibly have set apart Jesus’ teachings and doctrines from the rest of the priests and teachers of Israel.
Well, what were the teachers of Israel teaching? “Peace, peace, when there is no peace” (Jer 6:15), the doctrines of men as the commandments of God (Mt 15:9). And really that one is key, because Jesus prefaces that statement with “in vain do they worship me”. Really, its about worship.
So what were the teachers teaching? False worship. Worship of prosperity, instead of worship under the cross. Worship of self, instead of worship of God made man. Worship of personal preference, instead of worship in the Divine Service.
This is Jesus’s teachings that were so different and amazing: the simple fact that God’s Law, God’s Commands, God’s teachings, God’s doctrines, God’s Word had become flesh and dwells among us. It wasn’t enough for men to “play nice” together, they needed to be together, joined together in union with God for Christ’s sake.
So Jesus went about teaching this Personal Union. As He said at the end of St. Luke, “…that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations” (24:47).
He was preaching the Gospel (Lk 20:1), gathering together the faithful in order that He rise from the dead, create His Church, and commune with them in forgiveness and life.
Our doctrine, then, is the Logos of God, the teaching, the Word made flesh. This Doctrine comes down from heaven to proclaim the eternal Gospel to those who dwell on earth (Rev. 14:6) with His own lips. This Doctrine teaches and preaches the forgiveness of sins in His own flesh. This Doctrine suffers, dies, and rises to new life as the Resurrected doctrine. This Way, He does not just teach, but gives, Body and Blood.
With this Faith freely given and the resulting belief, the baptized faithful gather around this doctrine, this living flesh of God, and worship God in His light. “Doctrine is life” because in doctrine we find belief, and in belief we find faith, and in faith we find Christ Crucified for us.
The violence in putting God to death on a cross, which we confess to in our Creed, now sets you free. Not free to sin however and wherever and whenever, but free to find God while He may be found. Free to respond to the Lord’s invitation to forgiveness and life. Free to worship in a way that reflects the Lord’s Doctrine and how you believe.
The devil, the world, and your sinful nature couldn’t care less about your philosophy of truth or who your master is. They care where you worship, how you worship, and Who you worship. The front lines of your struggle against your own sin is right in this room, where God is in charge.
The world’s rubber hits the road of the Church, in this spot, and explodes. The Liturgy here proclaims correct doctrine and correct faith, being centered on Christ. Thus, the Reformation fight continues with us, in the liturgy, as we publicly proclaim to the world: this is God ordained Faith and worship and I have come to receive what Christ gives.
The battle is engaged, our Captain takes the field, victory is won and handed out freely to all who believe.
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