Sermon: Wittenberg Academy – Jan 28

28 January 2020

Text: Rom 16:17-27

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

St. Paul finishes his letter to the Church at Rome with a warning: “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught.  Avoid them.”

In our day and age, we have taken the notion of tolerance and changed its meaning.  To tolerate means to know that something is wrong, and yet put up with it.  For example, in a free society, people are free to believe in God, many gods, or no God.  They are free to practice their beliefs without fear of being arrested.  And so, Christians tolerate Jews and Muslims and Satan-worshipers and atheists.  We coexist peacefully, and even work together with them where we have common ground.  We do not persecute them, or force them to believe what we believe – for belief cannot truly be compelled. 

But today, tolerance means acceptance.  Tolerance means that no group can claim to be right.  Tolerance means no person may be excluded or told he is wrong.  And this perverts the meaning of tolerance – which presumes that we do disagree with each other and make claims of truth.

When it comes to the Church (For this is whom Paul is addressing), there is to be no tolerance for false doctrine.  We Lutherans confess the Bible as God’s Word and that it is without error.  And we confess it according to our Book of Concord.  To those who disagree with the Bible and the Book of Concord, we wish them no harm, we don’t seek to coerce them with the state, but as St. Paul advises, we “watch out” for such people, and we “avoid them.”  This is a cause to be excommunicated from our churches – whether such people are pastors or lay persons. 

St. Paul advises us to carefully guard our doctrine because he wants us “to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.” 

The great 19^th century Lutheran pastor Charles Porterfield Krauth wrote: “When error is admitted into the Church, it will be found that the stages of its progress are always three.  It begins by asking toleration.  Its friends say to the majority: You need not be afraid of us; we are few, and weak; only let us alone; we shall not disturb the faith of others.  The Church has her standards of doctrine; of course we shall never interfere with them; we only ask for ourselves to be spared interference with our private opinions.  Indulged in this for a time, error goes on to assert equal rights.  Truth and error are two balancing forces.  The Church shall do nothing which looks like deciding between them; that would be partiality.  It is bigotry to assert any superior right for the truth….  From this point error soon goes on to its natural end, which is to assert supremacy.”

Dr. Krauth knew what St. Paul warned the Church in first century Rome, and the Church in his day, and the Church in our times.  If we hold to orthodox doctrine, if we remain grounded in God’s Word, if we are guided by the Gospel and our confession, we will be wise, and as the apostle says, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

The holy apostle ends his letter with a praise of our Lord, as shall we: “To the only God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!  Amen.”

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.