I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame...

That is the verse from Psalm 119—the banner—by which these words were presented:

To Emperor Charles V...Most invincible Emperor, Caesar Augustus, most clement Lord: Your Imperial Majesty has summoned a meeting of the Empire here at Augsburg to consider taking action against the Turk, discussing how best to stand effectively against his fury and attacks by means of military force. The Turk is the most atrocious and ancient hereditary enemy of the Christian name and religion. This meeting is also to consider disagreements in our holy religion, the Christian faith, by hearing everyone's opinions and judgments in each other's presence. They are to be considered and evaluated among ourselves in mutual charity, mercy, and kindness. After the removal and correction of things that either side has understood differently, these matters may be settled and brought back to one simple truth and Christian concord. Then we may embrace and maintain the future of one pure and true religion under one Christ, doing battle under Him, living in unity and concord in the one Christian Church...

Therefore, if the outcome should be that the differences between us and the other parties in this religious matter should not be settled with friendliness and charity, then here, before Your Imperial Majesty, we obediently offer, in addition to what we have already done, to appear and defend our cause in such a general, free Christian Council. There has always been harmonious action and agreement among the electors, princes, and other estates to hold a Council, in all the Imperial Meetings held during Your Majesty's reign. Even before this time, we have appealed this great and grave manner, for the assembly of this General Council, and to your Imperial Majesty, in an appropriate manner. We still stand by this appeal, both to your Imperial Majesty and to a Council. We have no intention to abandon our appeal, with this or any other document. This would not be possible, unless the matter between us and the other side is settled with friendliness and charity, resolved and brought to Christian harmony, according to the last Imperial Citation. In regard to this appeal we solemnly and publicly testify here.

Or, as the last sentence is written in the German text, This is our confession and that of our people, article by article, as follows.

But what would lead to such an event? What would lead us to a council at which Lutheran princes and electors, under the guidance of Luther, himself, would have to defend their cause against the accusations and erroneous teachings of the church of Rome? Why, those very accusations and erroneous teachings. And so, what followed the statement, "This is our confession," was 28 articles of faith, on topics such as God, Sin, Justification, the Church, the Lord's Supper, Confession, Free Will, Good Works, the Mass, the Marriage of Priest, and many others. And in these articles it is written, "This is what the Word of God declares, this is what the Church has always taught, we reject those who teach otherwise."

So, 475 years ago yesterday, this document, the Augsburg Confession, was presented to His Imperial Majesty, Charles V, with the statement, "This is our confession and that of our people, article by article..." In other words, this is what it means to be Lutheran. And it was with such conviction that these articles were presented to Charles V, that when he demanded that Lutherans not preach and teach while the Diet of Augsburg was in session, Lutheran laymen, George, Margrave of Brandenburg in particular, refused, saying, "Before I let anyone take from me the Word of God and ask me to deny my God, I will kneel and let them strike off my head." As a confessional document which rightly teaches the Word of God, to deny it would be to deny what the Word of God teaches. George of Brandenburg would rather have died than recant the true faith in God.

And this, then, begs a question, one which was raised nearly 50 years ago and has a continuing need to be raised. There once was a Lutheran Theologian by the name of Hermann Sasse who wrote a series of letters to Lutheran pastors in which he analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the LCMS. In letter 20, he wrote:

The real life-and-death question for the Missouri Synod, as for every other Lutheran Church, is not about the strength of the external organization, the constitution, the growth of the congregation, or the school system. Nor is it about the position of the Confession as the basis for the message and work of the church. Rather it has to do with the strength of the Lutheran faith; that is, the genuine deep faith of the heart in the saving Gospel, which the Holy Spirit alone can give. It is the question whether, and to what extent, this strongest confessional church of Lutheranism is a truly confessing church, a church in which the Lutheran Confession is not merely held in honor as the confession of the fathers and therefore in force and untouchable. It is the question whether the Confession is the confession of a living faith of the congregation, and therefore the formative life-principle of the church. It is the question which Missouri, even as every other church, must ask herself in humility and must answer before the face of God: Are we still Lutheran?

Yes, are we still Lutheran? Do we view the Augsburg Confession as merely some document written 475 years ago as a document written for that time and age and as having no relevance now, a museum piece, if you will? Do we view it as a document written for pastors, therefore as has no bearing for the congregation and her members? If so, then we must answer Hermann Sasse's question with a resounding No. The Lutheran Confessions, the Augsburg Confession among them, claim to be a living witness to the truth of the Holy Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ and a faithful expression and confession of the Word of God. And since the Word of God never changes and is always relevant, so too, then, are the Lutheran Confessions. And the Augsburg Confession is more than some academically theological document for pastors to study, it is a book for the entire Church, clergy and laity. Recall that it was George of Brandenburg and other Lutheran princes and electors—laymen—who defended the Augsburg Confession as their confession, wanting to lose their lives rather than lose their faith!

So, I ask again, are we still Lutheran? How does our view of the Augsburg Confession manifest itself? For it is easy to express with the tongue that we value highly the Lutheran Confessions and the truth they espouse, and then with our actions deny what our tongues have expressed. The seeds of destruction are easily planted this way, for the true faith is under constant attack from without and within.

The Church—especially these congregations of Missouri—is under constant attack from society to change its message to be more appealing and inclusive. And so the barrage goes, "Tweak a little here. Change a little there. Omit a little here. Add a little there. Interpret this to conform to our will." The point of all this? "Quit telling us about our sin; tell us how good we are." The message of the truth is not appealing to the world and its sinful lusts, for the world rejects the sound preaching of the Law. Yet, if we abandon the Law, then Gospel has no effect. What good is it to tell someone they are forgiven of their sins by the blood of Jesus if they deny they have any sins to be forgiven of? And so, we are under constant pressure from the world and other supposedly Christian bodies to be more like them, to abandon the true faith, to be in the world and of the world!

But it is not only the world which seeks to have us abandon that which defines us. We not only face pressure to conform from without, but also from within, yes even from within our own congregations! It is as Hermann Sasse indicated, we are asking the wrong questions. We wonder about the strength of the external organization, and so we must do all we can and put forth all we can in support of the Synod and its efforts. We wonder about the constitution and bylaws, and how we must conform to them over and above that which Scripture and our Confessions prescribe. We worry about the growth of the congregation, so we wonder what we should be doing differently to attract more people.

How do we wonder and worry? Well, when we ask ourselves if we can overlook this one point just this once, rather than looking to the Word of God and the Confessions for the answer, for instance, when we wish to use the Holy Things of God—His Sacraments—according to our own wishes and devices and for our own pleasure. When we look to our congregation and Synodical constitution and bylaws in order to justify what we have done, are doing, or want to do, rather than seeking a resolution from Scripture and the Confessions, for instance when we worship and commune with those who are not Christian or hold to a difference confession than we do. Do you see what is happening? When we ask the wrong questions, we seek answers from ourselves and not God. As a result, we place our faith in the works of man, works that do not justify anything and cannot save.

Are we still Lutheran? As long as we seek to change and deny these priceless treasures which define us as Lutheran, the holy, inerrant, inspired Word of God and the articles of faith in the Augsburg Confession, a living witness to the truth of the Word of God, we are not. As long as we seek to stake our salvation on what makes us feel good, we are not. As long as we rely upon the works of man, we are not. In fact, inasmuch as we are no longer Lutheran, we are also no longer Christian. For, if we abandon something in part, we have, in fact, abandoned it in whole.

It is as St. Paul declared to the Galatian Christians: "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 'A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.'" It is as St. James declared: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." Likewise, it can be said he who has abandon even one point in our confessions has, in fact, abandoned the whole thing. One cannot declare himself a Lutheran according to half of the Augsburg Confession, but must according to the whole document. And since the Augsburg Confession is a true expression of Scripture, one cannot declare himself a Christian according to part of Holy Scripture, but must according to the whole.

Therefore, we will have become the opposite of George, Margrave of Brandenburg. We would seek peace and unity as the expense of the truth. If we deny the truth, then we do not remain branches on the vine; branches that are picked up and thrown into the furnace. If we deny the truth, then we have abandoned the priceless treasures which God has given us.

And they are priceless treasures indeed. From the Scriptures and from the Confessions the Law is proclaimed to us, showing us our sin. They show us those times when we have sought to abandon the truth in favor of an external unity. They show us those times when we have justified our actions according to man-made constitutions and bylaws. And when we see our sin, we see our need for a Savior.

And those priceless treasures show us that Savior. They point to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was sent to the world in order to take our sin upon Himself, to bear our infirmities, and give us forgiveness.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

They point to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for whose sake we receive the favor of God.

Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake. By His death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight.

And it is that proclamation which sets us apart as Lutheran. For we believe, teach, and confess what the Church has always confessed: Christ crucified! He is the vine; by Baptism and hearing the Word, and by the Spirit's leading, we are the branches and remain the branches by remaining true to the Word of God, the truth of which is also taught by our Confessions. We remain branches because we are connected to Him, who is our Lord and Savior, the Vine, Jesus Christ. And because we are branches, we can declare like George, Margrave of Brandenburg and the other Lutheran princes and electors, "Before I let anyone take from me the Word of God and ask me to deny my God, I will kneel and let them strike off my head." And because we are branches, and the sacramental juices flow to you and me from the Vine, for His sake I declare to you that you are forgiven for all your sins.