During these weeks of June we’ve been reexamining who we are on the basis of the name our forefathers chose for our congregation. They decided to name our church after St. Matthew, the tax collector. They wanted to identify with this chief of sinners, on whom the Lord had had mercy and called into his service to be one of his "fishers of men." And like our namesake, we want always to remember it’s by the Lord’s mercy alone that we too, undeserving sinners that we are, have been called to believe in and serve our Savior. Last week we examined the designation "Evangelical" that is part of our name. It reminds us that our we are a Gospel-proclaiming church; that the very center of our faith is the Good News about Jesus and that our most important work is sharing the Good News with others. Today we want to remember why we call ourselves Lutheran.

Luther wasn’t excited about having a church named after him. In fact, Luther never wanted to start a separate church. He’s called a Reformer because he wanted to reform the western church from the inside. He wanted the church to do away with its false teachings and get back to the doctrine of the Bible. But the church was more corrupt that he feared. They didn’t want to submit to the authority of God’s Word, so they kicked him out. They excommunicated him and all of the churches who followed his Biblical teachings. What should these churches call themselves, now that they were no longer under Rome? They preferred to call themselves "evangelical Christians." It was their enemies in Rome that first began calling them Lutherans—and they meant it in a derogatory way.

Luther commented on how he felt about that. He wrote: "I ask that men make no reference to my name and call themselves not Lutherans, but Christians. What is Luther? After all, the doctrine is not mine, nor have I been crucified for anyone. …How should I, a poor stinking maggot-sack have men give to the children of Christ my worthless name?"

But he conceded, due to the great confusion about what people teach, that it was necessary to announce up front what a church’s teachings really are. "It is true that you should never say: I am Lutherish or popish; for neither of them died for you. Only of Christ may this be said. Therefore you should profess to be a Christian. But if you believe that Luther’s doctrine is evangelical and the pope’s unevangelical, you must not flatly disown Luther; otherwise you also disown his doctrine, which you admittedly recognize as the doctrine of Christ. Rather you must say: Whether Luther personally is a scoundrel or saint means nothing to me. His doctrine, however, is not his but Christ’s own. For you see, the object of the tyrants is not only to slay Luther but also to extirpate the doctrine. They lay hands on you because of the doctrine, and for this reason they ask you whether you are Lutheran. Truly, here you should not speak in a weak whisper, but should freely confess Christ, whether Luther, Fred or George preached him. Let the person go. But the doctrine you must confess."

"Although I do not like to have men call the doctrine and the people Lutheran and must suffer it if they disgrace God’s Word with my name in this way, nevertheless they shall let Luther, the Lutheran doctrine, and Lutheran people remain and come to honor. …For we know whose word we are preaching. They shall not take it away from all of us. May this serve as my prophecy, which shall not fail me. God have mercy on them."

And so it happened. There are still Lutherans today, because the pure teaching of the Bible is still around. There are those who call themselves the Church of Christ, the United Church of Christ, the Church of God in Christ, Disciples of Christ, Church of God, German Church of God, the Church of God, Anderson, Indiana, Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee, and on and on and on. None of them teaches the pure, unadulterated, simple Biblical truth centered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. As fine as those church names are, they represent false teaching. So be it. If we must distinguish ourselves from them and confess the pure truth of the Bible, we’ll do so under the name Lutheran—because Lutheran stands not for Luther, but for the pure Biblical teachings restored to the church through it’s greatest reformer, Martin Luther. To call ourselves Lutheran is to confess our faith in the truth of the Bible, centered in the Gospel. And that after all is exactly what our text urges us to do—to believe, and then to stand up and confess what we believe. …"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ⁹ That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

We believe and we confess what we believe. That’s what it means to be Lutheran.

We Lutherans believe. We believe what God says in the Holy Scriptures. The Word is at the very center of our faith. And that’s not lip service. We don’t add to the word and we don’t subtract from it—both of which are great temptations—and great sins—today as much as ever. So many who call themselves Christian want nothing more than to conveniently forget whatever doesn’t tickle their fancy in the Scriptures. Scholars ever since the enlightenment have been explaining away Jesus’ miracles, his virgin birth, his resurrection. People don’t want to believe there’s a hell so they explain away all the passages that talk about everlasting punishment.

And people add to the Bible too. The Roman Church puts so called "Holy Tradition" over the Bible. Others claim their founding "prophets" have received new revelations not in the Bible. And even so called "Bible Churches" add their own rules and ideas to the inspired sacred texts written by the Apostles and Prophets. To be Lutheran means neither to add to nor to subtract from what God himself has told us in his Word.

And to be a Lutheran, means to recognize that Jesus Christ is the center of the Bible. Jesus is the heart of our faith. "You diligently study the Scriptures," Jesus said, "because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me" (Jn 5:39). Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, begotten before the worlds began, incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, came down to this earth to live a perfect life as our substitute and die an innocent death as our scapegoat. By his blood and merits our salvation has been procured and assured. The guiltless has died for us, the guilty. "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." (Is 53:5) To be a Lutheran, means to recognize that Jesus Christ and his work of salvation for us is the heart and center of the Bible.

And to be a Lutheran means to trust that all the gifts of God—forgiveness, life and salvation come to us through faith alone, by grace alone. We have done nothing to deserve any of God’s wonderful blessings. We are sinners. But God is merciful and gracious. Through faith in his Son, he forgives us all our sins and gives us a place at his side in heaven. So many churches teach that Jesus did "a lot" for us, but not quite enough. "All you have to do" is invite Jesus into your heart. "All you have to do" is commit yourself to him. "All you have to do" is trust in Jesus and be a good boy or a good girl." The Church of Christ in Benton Harbor—the ones who have their so-called Bible Answer radio show list on all their brochures 10 things you have to do to get to heaven. How different from Jesus, who said to the murderous thief on the cross next to him "Today you will be with me in paradise." How different from the apostle Paul who said "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph 2:8-9)

Lutherans believe. We believe what the Scriptures say. We believe in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. We believe in the grace of God, through which he saves us wretched sinners from an eternity in hell, for an eternity with him in paradise. And we Lutherans also stand up and confess what we believe.

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

This Friday, June 25^th, marks the 469^th anniversary of the Imperial Diet of Augsburg. Under threats of war and bloodshed, the evangelical princes and theologians of Germany—clergy and laity alike—affixed their signatures to the Augsburg Confession and presented it before the emperor. They put their lives on the line to confess the truths of the Gospel. We Lutherans today are still willing to confess the truth. Lutherans in other parts of the world have been confessing their faith in the face of death right up to the present day—Indonesia, China, Siberia, Ethiopia…. You and I live in a country that guarantees freedom of faith, thanks be to God. But there are still consequences of confessing the truth. Any pastor could tell you how much bigger the church would be, if only we compromised on the truth and let people join who weren’t willing to believe what the Bible says. Chances are, you have your own stories to tell about relatives who would be happy to come with you to St. Matthew’s if only we weren’t so "closed minded." Lutherans confess what they believe—today, just as 500 years ago.

Don’t anybody misunderstand. We’re certainly not the only Christians in Benton Harbor. But we are the only church that offers the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And that’s what Jesus wants people to have. That’s what people need. They need baptism—and yet 90% of the churches of Benton Harbor refuse to baptize children. They need the Lord’s Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins, and yet 95% of the churches in Benton Harbor teach that communion is just a memorial—and their infrequent celebration of the sacrament testifies to the low value they place on it.

The people of Benton Harbor need a church that teaches the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. They need a Lutheran church, and God has graciously given them one. He has given us one. Thank God for St. Matthew’s Evangelical LUTHERAN Church! Spread the word! Amen.