LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1965, Page 50

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50 DOCTRINAL-DEVOTIONAL ESSAYS

this great charter was presented to King John of Eng-
land by the barons. It guaranteed certain civil and
political liberties to the people. However, be careful
what you say in praise of this document. It did noth-
ing for the peasant except insofar as he was the property
of the baron. The barons got what they wanted. But
the charter was not yet the opening wedge to the liber-
ties of a free world. Furthermore, be careful how you
read Articles X and XI of the Magna Carta. There are
some deeply anti-Semitic thoughts in those articles.
They were an attempt to stem the tide of certain finan-
cial inroads made by the moneylenders of England.

Therefore, although it is a weak comparison to call
the Augsburg Confession our Magna Carta, we do say
that it was the beginning of great liberties in the church.
The church refused to be ruled by a spiritual despot.
The church had regained its voice. In its victorious liv-
ing it secured the victory over falsehood.

Victory over Lethargy

Included in our victorious living is the victory over
lethargy, the do-nothing sickness of the church. Have
you noticed the three important words, “They follow
Me”? That doesn’t mean sitting. That takes walking.
That means going where the Savior went. That means
working with Him. The sheep follow the Shepherd into
His activity. The Shepherd came to save the sheep. The
saved sheep go out to save the lost sheep. If the church
is living victoriously, it looks upon itself as a rescue
squad. Day and night it is busy extending its hand of
love to the world, pulling doomed men out of the jaws
of an eternal death. Without letup it demonstrates its
interest in the needs of the total man. It has a sym-
pathetic approach to every problem which humanity
faces.

That is what is meant by His words, “They follow
Me.” If we are living in the afterglow of Easter, let us
bestir ourselves, hearing once more the words, “So
send I you.” As what? As men whose destiny has been
determined by the victorious Lord. He will make sure
that His church is not harmed. He will make sure that
as the dialog between the church and the world con-
tinues down through the ages His church will gain the
victory. But first the church must gain the victory over
itself, over its lethargy. When that is gained, the arms
of our Lord will be unfolding, and He will embrace ever
greater multitudes of the redeemed, draw them into
His invisible kingdom, and share with them the victory
of heaven.

To gain the victory over ourselves, over our lethargy,
we need the awakening power of the Holy Spirit. Hav-
ing experienced His power we look forward joyfully to
the time of final victory, when we shall hear the voice
of the Shepherd once more: “You, my sheep, heard
My voice. You followed Me from every clime and
coast to the cross. You saw your redemption accom-
plished. You followed Me into the world as the bene-
factors of mankind. My business became your business.
Well done, good and faithful sheep, enter into the
glory of your Lord.”

Victory over the World

Victorious living involves a fourth element —a vic-
tory over the world that opposes us. Paul saw a three-
fold division of that world. Let me put it like this: He
saw the world of traditionalism, the world of power,
and the world of culture. What did he say of these
three worlds? “I can do all things through Christ, which
strengtheneth me,” he writes to Philippi. When a man
says, “I can do all things,” he had better verify and
vindicate that boast, or he becomes a fool on the pages
of history.

What did Paul mean by these words? He meant to
say, “There’s the world of traditionalism. I can beat
you. There’s the world of power. I can beat you. There’s
the world of culture. I can beat you.” And he did.

The World of Tradition

The first, the world of tradition, was symbolized by
Jerusalem. “We are Abraham’s seed,” thought the Jew;
“therefore anything that comes from Judaism must
be good.” The worth of anything is determined by its
origin. Because it is old, it must have priority. What-
ever is backed by tradition must be retained. Paul met
that world of tradition with a challenge. “Show me the
old, and I will show you the new that supersedes the
old, that is better than the old.” Whenever he worked
in Jewish communities, he tried to convince men that
old customs and traditions and ordinances were but
shadows of things to come. That which is old is but
a promise, the new is the fulfillment; the old is the
foundation, the new is the superstructure. Or, com-
paring it to this convention hall, we would say, Cobo
Hall is not only subsurface pillars and subterranean
corridors. Cobo Hall is an arena. To Paul the Old
Testament was the series of underground pillars, upon
which is built the great Cobo Hall of the New Testa-
ment with its activities, with its contests, with its out-
reach into the lives of men, with its interest in the wel-
fare of mankind.

The World of Power

The second, the world of power, was symbolized by
Rome. Paul looked at Rome and said, “You can’t last.
I can beat you.” And he did. The Kingdom which
Paul represented was in its ascendancy. Decline and
fall, though it took several centuries, was already the
destiny of the Roman Empire. Rome ruled the world
by power. It was the power of the sword. Paul had
a greater power. He had the dynamic Word of the liv-
ing Christ. This Word built a more powerful empire,
the church of the Christ who lives in the hearts of men,
who activates them, who makes them a blessing to all
mankind. The message of the love of God in Christ Jesus
turned the world of power upside down. The world of
Roman power was defeated, and it vanished; but the
kingdom of Him who said, “All power is given unto Me,”
was victorious, and it remained.

The World of Culture
The third, the world of culture, was symbolized by
Athens. Paul looked at Athens and said, “T have a cul-