Things Difficult to Comprehend

I was meditating on the Gospel lesson for this Sunday (Second Sunday in Easter). It is the account of the two men on the road to Emmaus. It struck me how blessed we are to have had our eyes opened to the reality of Jesus Christ. God is good! His loving-kindness toward us has no bounds and no parallel. How blessed we are Sunday after Sunday to kneel at the Lord's Table and again have our eyes opened to the reality of Jesus coming to us in, with and under the broken bread and the cup. We see Jesus through the eyes of faith only because God in his grace and mercy has given us that faith. As we see Jesus, God, who was hidden behind His Law and wrath, comes into the open and reveals Himself to us. He is our Father in Heaven. He is our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus. He is the blessed Paraclete who comes along side to comfort us and build us up in our faith. We now know God because the Father in his grace and mercy has given to us His Son Jesus Christ and has granted to us faith by His Holy Spirit. Three persons and one gracious God whose love is beyond human comprehension!

What must it be like to believe in God but to only know Him as a hidden God of wrath who has given laws which must be obeyed or else? I have a difficult time comprehending what it is like to live in the constant fear of a holy and righteous God, knowing only His Law and His judgment. Martin Luther defined this as the primal experience - believing in God but only knowing His wrath and judgment.

It is even harder to comprehend how Christians, whose eyes have been opened to the Lord Jesus by God's grace alone, can look down at people who remain in spiritual darkness and self-righteously say to them – "You don't even have the true God!" How downright arrogant and pompous for such words to be spoken - especially if they are spoken by the spiritually mature pastors and teachers in the Church! What is gained by saying that? Are we the self-proclaimed defenders of the Almighty God or are we the bearers of the Good News of Jesus Christ intended for such a people as this, who believe in God but do not know His grace and mercy as revealed in the Gospel?

I remember reading a quote from a pastor who lives in the Detroit area who referred to Islam as a "gutter religion." Compare that attitude with the attitude of the Apostle Paul who said regarding the Jews, "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel." Would this pastor living in the midst of a Muslim population be willing to pray such a prayer in behalf of his Muslim neighbors who have a "gutter religion?"

In his Large Catechism, at the end of the section on the Apostles' Creed, Martin Luther writes: "These articles of the Creed, therefore, divide and distinguish us Christians from all other people on earth. All who are outside the Christian church, whether heathen, Turks, Jews, or false Christians and hypocrites, even though they believe in and worship only the one, true God, nevertheless do not know what his attitude is toward them. They cannot be confident of his love and blessing. Therefore they remain in eternal wrath and damnation, for they do not have the Lord Christ, and, besides, they are not illuminated and blessed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit."

President David Benke of the Atlantic District responded to a question relating to this subject and sent out a private e-mail that included the above quote. The e-mail became public and was discussed in various so-called "confessional" Internet chat-rooms. In spite of quoting from the Lutheran Confessions, Benke was accused of rejecting the Trinity, denying the Gospel, defending Allah and teaching heresy by those who claimed to be "confessionalists." Isn't that somewhat strange? It is interesting when you quote the Confessions against self-proclaimed "confessionalists." So, they argued against the Confessions (so much for a quia subscription) and dismissed the clear statement as if there is no possible way that it could be true. After all, how dare Martin Luther disagree with them? The nerve of the man! Doesn't he know that Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod conservative confessionalists cannot be wrong? The fact is, the quotation defines the truth.

What is also difficult to comprehend is why any Christian pastor, committed to the Great Commission, would want to argue against that clear statement? It means that "heathen, Turks, Jews, false Christians and hypocrites" are candidates for the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. As Luther says, "…they do not have the Lord Christ, and, besides, they are not illuminated and blessed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit." We can ask Muslims about their relationship with God and if they feel confident that they can stand before a holy, perfect and righteous God on Judgment Day? We can speak with Jews about the matter of sin and why they feel that God should forgive them. We can present to them all kinds of apologetic arguments for of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can bring Jesus to them. If they do not believe in God, how can we share the Gospel? How can we present the Law? How do we deal with sin? Perhaps for some bigots, asserting that Jews, Muslims, and heathen do not believe in the true God is merely the easy way of saying (literally) "To hell with them. Leave them in the gutter." May God have mercy on those who profess such bigotry.

It is not at all surprising that over the years the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has experienced zero growth. We do not have a theology problem. We have a heart problem. We have by far the best theology in the Christian world. The question is, what are we going to do with it?

Pastor Donald G. Matzat
Bridgeville, PA

Back to "It's OK to Pray"...The SPIRIT Page

Home | Who We Are | Calendar | Our School | Prayer for America | Directions | Contact Us | Links