The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (June 25)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The antiphon from our Introit appointed for our commemoration of The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession is our text:
I will speak of your statutes before kings [O Lord,] and will not be put to shame (Psalm 119:46).
This Word of God spoken by the Holy Spirit through the Psalmist has been fulfilled many times since it was first spoken. It was fulfilled when our Lord Jesus Christ stood before Pontius Pilate and made a good confession of faith to Pilate. It was fulfilled when Paul stood before the Caesar and made a good confession of faith to Caesar. It was fulfilled again on June 25th, 1530 in the city of Augsburg when our Lutheran forefathers read their confession of faith to the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. It is fulfilled today and each time you open your mouth and confess your faith to others.
The heart and soul of your Lutheran Confession of faith is the distinction between the religion of the law and the religion of the Gospel. At the time of the Augsburg Confession, the religion of the Law reigned supreme. The Roman church insisted that you are not justified by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. The Roman church taught that grace is a helping hand, helping you get on your feet so that with His help you can make yourself righteous.
The religion of the Law accomplishes only one purpose and that is to show us our sins. The Law makes none righteous in the sight of God. It can only condemn. It cannot justify. To be sure the religion of the Law can make you righteous on the outside. It can dress you up in religious clothes but it cannot give life to your soul, put faith your heart which trusts in Jesus Christ alone. (more…)
