Abiding in the Word

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:31-32

As the commemoration of the Reformation approaches, I sit here in Wittenberg with the bells of the city church where Luther preached over two thousand sermons ringing through the cold autumn air. It is a wonderful privilege to be in this significant place at this time of year when we give thanks to God for His preservation of the gospel through the faithful service of Luther and many others.

I have to confess that it is easy to be overwhelmed by the history and romanticism of this place, not to mention the encouragement that comes from being together with our dear friends from the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and leaders from their sister churches across the world. But the Reformation is not primarily lived out by basking in the past or in these blessed experiences in evocative settings. The Reformation was and continues to be lived out as the comfort of the gospel is proclaimed to troubled consciences, so that we might live and die with confidence in Christ and all He has done for us.

Luther and the reformers recognised that in the face of our own sin and the attacks of the devil, God has provided His Holy Word to provide us this comfort and confidence, and enables us to read and digest the Word for just this purpose. This was revolutionary at the time of the Reformation as most people didn’t have access to the Scriptures and even if they did, they were taught that it was all too difficult and unclear for the ordinary lay person to understand and that the Word needed to be mediated through the teaching of the Roman Church and her clergy.

As the scales fell from Luther’s eyes and he came to properly understand from Scripture that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, he realised it was the Roman Church that was obscuring the Scriptures and in so doing, they were robbing the church of the Bible’s central teaching on justification. Reading the Scriptures with fresh eyes, filled with the wonder of a God who loved him so much that He sent His one and only Son to die in His place, Luther came to understand that God’s Word is not only clear in its simple and intended sense, but that it is all a Christian needs to know to receive God’s gifts won for them by Christ Himself.

While it’s true that these teachings – the authority, clarity and sufficiency of Scripture – are taken for granted these days, we should never lose sight of the fact that the devil is constantly seeking to undermine them, because if any one of these teachings is found lacking, our confidence in God’s clear Word of the Gospel is undermined. Casting doubt on God’s Word is the constant work of the devil as he continues to ask, ‘Did God really say?’

Together with Luther we rejoice that the Word of God shines brightly and its message is clear for all with ears to here. In confessing the clarity of Scripture we do not pretend that it is a simple book. We face many difficulties in reading and properly understanding the Word. In fact, one of Luther’s fellow reformers, Matthias Flacius[1] wrote of such things in the 16th century and acknowledged that our ignorance, the difficulties of language, and the apparent conflict between law and gospel can make some passages a challenge. He was quick to point out, however, that none of these challenges are insurmountable. Through prayer and diligent study, the Word shines brightly and illuminates itself so that we may all understand the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:18-19).

The Reformation is a celebration of the central doctrine of the Scriptures – the free justification of sinners like me and you for Christ’s sake. But that central teaching needs to be heard and learnt and lived, day in and day out, in order that we may rest confidently in Jesus. And so we confess: the Scriptures are the inspired and inerrant Word of God, they are clear and sufficient for the salvation of all, and we have them that we may live in them each day and so grow in faith, in hope and in joy and peace, knowing that the Lord Jesus has done all things that we may be saved.

A blessed Reformation to you all.

Pastor Matt Anker
President, LM-A

[1] Matthias Flacius, How to Understand the Sacred Scriptures, trans. Wade Johnston (Saginaw, MI: Magdeburg Press, 2011)