Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God
our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Text:
(Acts 2:42)
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
[Kä cua
lo̱ckiɛn la̱th ŋi̱i̱cä jaakni kɛnɛ matdiɛn kɛ mi̱eth kɛ̈ɛ̈l kɛnɛ pal.]
Prayer:
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in
your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Right
at the beginning of the book of Acts, Jesus says to the apostles: You will
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth. [Kä yɛn bia buɔ̱m jek mi wä Yiëë in Gɔaa in
Rɛl Rɔ ben kä yɛ. Kä bi yɛn a nëënkä kä Jɛ-ru-tha-lɛm, kɛnɛ rɛy Ju-dia kɛɛliw,
kɛ Tha-mɛ-ria kɛnɛ pek ɣɔaa kɛɛliw.]
The
apostles were called to be witnesses [nëën]. And a
witness is someone who has seen something and testifies to it. When someone is
taken to court, and the judge wants to know something, a witness is brought forward
to tell people what happened. So the apostles were chosen by Jesus and sent for
this purpose: they had seen Jesus risen from the dead and they were be witnesses.
Judas was
also one of these witnesses, but before Jesus died, he betrayed Jesus, and then
went and hanged himself. So after Jesus ascended into heaven, they gathered
together to elect another apostle to replace Judas. Peter said: So one of
the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in
and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was
taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his
resurrection. [Kä ɛnɔ bi ram kɛl kä nɛy tin ci ja̱l kɛɛl kɛ
kɔn gua̱thni diaal mëë te Yecu rɛydan, a tookɛ jɛ nikä la̱k Jɔ̱ɔ̱n amäni
gua̱a̱th ëë naŋkɛ Yecu nhial kä kɔn. Ɛn ram ɛmɔ bɛ la neen kɛɛl kɛ kɔn amäni
jiëcdɛ kɛ rɔ li̱th.] And so they chose Matthias, and he was
numbered with the eleven apostles. [Kä cua jɛ mat kä jaak da̱ŋ wäl
wi̱cdɛ kɛl.]
You can
see that the most important thing here is that Matthias saw Jesus and his
resurrection. He was a witness, an eye-witness.
On the
day of Pentecost, after Peter preached his sermon, we read that many people
were converted. We read: Those who received his word were baptised, and
there were added that day about three thousand souls. [Kä cua nɛy
ti bathdɔɔri da̱ŋ diɔ̱k ma̱t kɛ ɛn cäŋ ɛmɔ.] Now, what did these 3000 people
do? We read: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [Kä cua
lo̱ckiɛn la̱th ŋi̱i̱cä jaakni kɛnɛ matdiɛn kɛ mi̱eth kɛ̈ɛ̈l kɛnɛ pal.]
Notice
that none of these new Christians became witnesses of Jesus. Instead they
devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. [Kä cua
lo̱ckiɛn la̱th ŋi̱i̱cä jaakni]. The apostles were the witnesses, everyone
else devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.
What does
it mean that they devoted themselves? First of all, it means that they
trusted in what the apostles said. They trusted that the apostles were faithful
witnesses, and that what they were saying about Jesus was true. They had heard
a little bit about Jesus on the day of Pentecost and they wanted to continue to
learn, they wanted their faith to increase and grow and strengthen. So they
trusted that the apostles’ words were true.
Also, the
early Christians also taught the apostles’ teaching. This is the second
meaning of the words: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. In
the church, pastors teach the apostles’ teaching. In homes, parents teach
their children the apostles’ teaching. Older people teach the apostles’
teaching to younger people in Sunday Schools or in Christian schools.
But also,
there is a third meaning: They confessed the apostles’ teaching. They heard the
word of God, and then they spoke God’s word back to him in psalms and prayers.
They also confessed God’s word in the presence of the angels, and also
before the whole world. Many times also in the book of Acts, Christians
(both the apostles and others) were called to confess the faith in courts and
before kings and governors.
St Paul
says in Philippians: And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
[Kä bi lëëp diaal ɛ lat ɛn ɣöö Yecu Kritho ɛ Kuäär].
The word
confess means to “speak together”. When we confess our sin, we speak together
with God and we speak the truth about ourselves which he already knows. When we
confess our faith, we confess the same thing that has been said by the church
for centuries. We say the same thing as the apostles, the same thing as Christians
before us.
Often today,
many Christians think that they have to witness. They think that they have to
tell people what Jesus has done in their life. But Jesus never asks you
to witness to him—that is the apostles’ job. They are the ones who saw Jesus.
This
might sound strange because so often Christians have been told that they have to
give a witness. And if we’re not called to witness to Christ, what are we
called to do instead? Confess the faith. If someone asks you what you believe,
say what Christians have always said: quote something from the creed, or a
bible verse, or something like that. Say the same thing that Christians have
always said.
No-one is
going to be saved because they heard about what Jesus did in your life. People
are only going to be saved because they have heard about what Jesus did for both
yours and their life on the cross.
The
confession of the faith doesn’t belong to you personally. It belongs to all
Christians, and we confess the faith together. The apostles say: we saw the Lord
Jesus risen from the dead. We say: I didn’t see him, but the apostles saw him.
This is the difference between witnessing and confessing.
So the
first Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. They
believed, taught and confessed what the apostles taught them. We are also called
to believe, teach and confess this same faith.
+++
Now in
the Book of Acts, a very strange thing happens. In chapter 1 of the Book of
Acts, we read about Jesus ascending into heaven and we read where the eleven
apostles elected a new apostle, Matthias. In chapter 2, we read about the day
of Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit was poured out, and the first Christians were
baptised. In chapter 3, Peter and John heal a lame man.
We read: Peter
and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. [Cäŋ kɛl
cu Pi-tɔr kɛnɛ Jɔ̱ɔ̱n wä luaak Kuɔth kɛ gua̱a̱th palä kɛ bua̱k ca̱ŋ.] Notice
that Peter and John were going to the Jewish temple. The Christians didn’t
start their own churches straight away. They went to the place of worship at
Jerusalem.
However,
what happened to Peter and John? Did they convince everybody of what they said?
No. Some people believed them and some people rejected them. In fact, we read
in Acts 4: As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain
of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they
were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the
dead. [Kä min ruac Pi-tɔr kɛnɛ Jɔ̱ɔ̱n kɛ naath cu
bööth palä kɛnɛ kuäär yiëëni luaak Kuɔth kɛ ji̱ Thɛ̈d-du-thii ben kä kɛ. Cɛ
lo̱ckiɛn waŋ kɛ ɣöö ŋi̱eeckɛ naath kä latkɛ jiëc nath li̱th kɛ Yecu.] And
they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was
already evening. [Kä cukɛ kɛ käp kä la̱thkɛ kɛ luaak yieenä
amäni mëë ruɔ̱n, kɛ ɣöö ci ɣɔw ku thuŋ a thiaŋ.]
This sort
of thing can happen in every church every Sunday. A pastor may speak the truth
of God’s word: some people will believe it, and some people will be annoyed by
it. In this situation, it is the Jewish leaders who are annoyed: the rulers and
elders and scribes, and the high priests.
We read: On
the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in
Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and
all who were of the high-priestly family. [Mëë ruɔ̱ndɛ cu kua̱rkiɛn kɛnɛ
di̱t, kɛ ji̱ gɔ̱rä rɔ̱ dol kɛɛl kä Jɛ-ru-tha-lɛm. Te A-nath bo̱o̱th palä in
di̱i̱t, kɛnɛ Kay-pɛth, kɛ Jɔ̱ɔ̱n kɛnɛ A-lek-dhan-der kɛ nɛy diaal tin la ji̱ dhɔaar
bo̱o̱thä palä in di̱i̱t.] Annas and Caiaphas had also put Jesus on
trial and sent him to Pontius Pilate to be condemned to death.
So they
ask Peter and John: By what power or by what name did you do this? [Ɛ buɔ̱m
in mith kiɛ ciöt in mith ɛnɛ cia lät ni mɛmɛ ɔ?]
Peter
says: Let it be known to you that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing
before you well. [Ŋa̱cɛ jɛ yɛn diaal…ɛn ɣöö wut ɛ cuŋ nhiamdun
ɛ ca jɛ jak kä gɔaa kɛ ciöt Yecu Kritho raan Na-dha-rɛth, mëë cia pua̱t jiaath,
kä ci Kuoth ɛ jiɛc li̱th.]
Later on
we read: So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all
in the name of Jesus. [Kä ɛnɔ cukɛ kɛ cɔl kä cukɛ kɛ gok ɛn ɣöö
/cikɛ bi ruac kä /cikɛ naath bi ŋi̱eec kɛ ciöt Yecu.] This is
where the Jewish religion starts to become something different from Christianity.
Jesus was a Jew. He was Jewish. He had followed God’s law revealed to Moses,
and also he went to the temple and to the synagogues to pray. But the Jewish high
priests here reject Peter and John speaking and teaching in the name of Jesus.
+++
Now, why
am I preaching on this today?
We are
gathered here today in a Lutheran church. This is the church that gets its name
from Martin Luther. And today we celebrate Reformation Day, and we remember the
time 500 years ago, when the Lutheran church was founded.
But how
did this happen?
500 years
ago, there was a man called Martin Luther. He criticised the church at the
time, because they didn’t teach that we are saved by grace, through faith,
because of Christ, apart from our works. But none of this was Martin Luther’s
own opinion. It was what was taught by the apostles.
Ephesians
2 says: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your
own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may
boast. [Kɛ ɣöö kɛ puɔ̱th
baaŋ Kuɔth ca yɛ kän kɛ ŋa̱th. Kä mɛmɛ /ciɛ lät yɛn ɛ muc kä Kuoth. /Ciɛ luɔt
lätnikun, a thilɛ ram mi dee rɔ liak.]
By grace. [Kɛ puɔ̱th
baaŋ Kuɔth]. By grace means that we are saved not because
we deserve to be saved, or because we have earned it, but because of God’s
mercy, because of his love. We are sinners, but God saves us by grace.
Through
faith. [kɛ ŋa̱th]. Through
faith means that we receive God’s gift of salvation simply by believing in it. Jesus
died on the cross and rose from the dead. He has given us his Holy Spirit, together
with the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation in baptism. God’s word doesn’t
lie. We trust that what God says about Jesus life and the gift of baptism is
true: this is what it means “through faith.”
Now many churches
are happy to agree with Lutherans and say: Yes, we are saved by God’s grace,
and through faith. But then St Paul says: And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [Kä mɛmɛ /ciɛ lät yɛn ɛ muc kä Kuoth. /Ciɛ luɔt
lätnikun, a thilɛ ram mi dee rɔ liak.] There are
no works that you can do to earn salvation. It’s completely free. Unlike what Pope
Francis has said recently, atheists cannot be saved through their good works.
Jesus died for atheists too, we know that, but we don’t receive the benefits if
Christ’s death by our own doing, not a result of works.
It says: It
is the gift of God. [Kä mɛmɛ
/ciɛ lät yɛn ɛ muc kä Kuoth] What is the gift of God? It is
Jesus death and resurrection, which is given to you in baptism. None of that is
your work. It’s completely free.
We are
not even saved because we have made a decision to follow Jesus. So many
Christians today say: When did you make a decision for Jesus? These Christians
believe they are saved by grace, and through faith, but they believe that their
faith is their own doing, and it a work. So they go around and boast about it. We
are also not saved because we can think we can see the Holy Spirit working good
things in us.
Instead,
St Paul says: This is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a
result of works, so that no one can boast. [Kä mɛmɛ
/ciɛ lät yɛn ɛ muc kä Kuoth. /Ciɛ luɔt lätnikun, a thilɛ ram mi dee rɔ liak.]
In the
year 1521, Martin Luther was cast out of the Catholic Church for teaching what the
apostles taught. In the year 1530, Lutherans were gathered together by the king
(Emperor Charles V) to hear their case. Their case was rejected. In the years
1545—1563, the Catholic Church held a council, called the Council of Trent,
where the Lutheran faith, the teaching that we are saved by grace through faith
because of Christ apart from works was rejected. And so today, we have the
Lutheran church.
Also, we
need to remember that Christianity does not reject Jews. We pray for Jewish
people to receive Jesus as the Messiah that many of them have rejected. There
are also many Jewish people who did become Christians then and there are many
who have become Christians today. Also, there are many faithful Christians in
the Roman Catholic Church. Lutherans have never said that there are no
Christians in other churches. However, on an official level, the Jewish people
rejected Jesus, and the Catholic Church rejected the gospel of free grace apart
from works.
So where
to now? Well, today we are called to confess the faith just like we have always
done. And where we have been weak in confessing the faith of the apostles, we
must repent and devote ourselves the apostles’ teaching once again.
Every day
there is some new idea popping up in the church. Every day there is some new
prophet, some new visionary, some new person who wants to take us away from the
apostles’ teaching, away from Jesus, and point us to our works. We must confess
the faith. As it says in Joshua 1:9: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God
is with you wherever you go. [Ɛ niɛ min cä la̱r ji̱ i̱ kämni lɔcdu
buɔ̱m, kä /cu bath, kɛ ɣöö bä te kɛɛl kɛ ji̱ gua̱thni diaal ɣän Kuothdu ni
Kuoth Nhial.]
Look at
the example of Peter and John before the high priests and be encouraged. Take
heart! Look at the Martin Luther and the early Lutherans before all the kings and
representatives of the pope and be encouraged. Take heart! Who are those who
try to silence the gospel today? Who are those who want to forbid us to speak
in the name of Jesus? Who are those who want us to be saved by our works today?
You can see that there have already been attempts to silence the pure gospel in
the past, and there will be attempts to do it again.
As it
says in Psalm 119: I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and shall
not be put to shame. [Kä bä rieetku lat nhiam kua̱ri, kä /ca ɣä bi
jak kä po̱c.]
So devote
yourselves to the apostles’ teaching. As King David said: Your word is a
lamp to my feet and a light to my path. [Ruacdu ɛ lɛmbär kä ɣä, kä ɛ buay
ciöknikä.] Why? Why should you? What will find in God’s
word? What will you find in the apostles’ teaching? You will find Christ there.
You will find your Saviour there. You will find his grace there. You will find
your works there too—but you will find each and every one of them condemned. But
you will find Jesus your Saviour—who saves you purely because of his work—not
because of you—by grace, through faith, and completely apart from your works.
Amen.
Lord Jesus
Christ, we thank you for your death for our salvation, and for your resurrection
from the dead. Take away from us all our trust in our works, and increase our
trust in you and your holy precious word. Help us to be faithful confessors of
your truth, and strengthen us with your Holy Spirit, that we may never be
afraid. Amen.
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