LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2001, Page 107

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

5. Tell the Good News about Jesus to Those around You
Brothers and sisters in Christ, each of the first four convention essays has appropriately contained both Law and
Gospel. This essay will follow that pattern of Confessional
Lutheran proclamation and begins with a point of Law.
This point of Law comes in the form of what is called reversed lyrics. A re-versed “Onward, Christian Soldiers”
turns into “Retreat, Christian Soldiers,” and I offer it as one
way of looking at our beloved Synod in the context of “Tell
the Good News about Jesus” to those around you.
Retreat, Christian soldiers! Running from the war;
We left the cross of Jesus, lying outside the door. Christ,
the royal Master, leads against the foe; We in weak confusion, stand and watch Him go. Retreat, Christian soldiers, running from the war; Where’s our cross of Jesus,
going on before?
Like a beaten army, crawls the Church of God;
Brothers, we’re not treading, where the saints have trod;
We are all divided, not one body we; Bickering over doctrine; few with charity. Retreat, Christian soldiers, running from the war. While the world is dying, darker
than before.
Our crowns and thrones will tarnish, our kingdom
shrink and wane: Unless the Church of Jesus will diligent remain; Gates of hell stand solid against our weak
travail. We have Christ’s own promise, yet in our weakness fail. Retreat, Christian soldiers, running from the
war; Where’s our cross of Jesus, going on before?
Inward, then, ye people! Draws our weary throng;
Gone our joyful voices, raised in triumph song; Where’s
the laud and honor, unto Christ the King; That through
countless ages, other men did sing? Retreat, Christian
soldiers, running from the war; We left the cross of
Jesus, lying outside the door. Copyright© 2000 Will
Wooster

salvation, but it surely is about the salvation of those
around us.
A negative or heavy Law orientation is not helpful for
our Synod, but being honest about our current situation is
healthy and part of spiritual renewal. The first 130-plus
years of our history shows tremendous Kingdom expansion
through the Word and Sacrament ministry of our congregations. In 1995, however, Search Institute published a national study of adults and youth in The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod titled Congregations at Crossroads. The research indicated that only about 20 percent of congregations in the LCMS now extend their ministry beyond their
current membership. Forty percent want their membership
to grow but will not accept change, the price of spiritual
growth and outreach. The remaining 40 percent serve the
needs of their current membership and indicated no interest in Kingdom expansion.
I would suggest that the word of the Lord to the church
in Ephesus in the second chapter of Revelation is an appropriate word for the LCMS today. “To the angel of the
church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who
holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among
the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard
work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be
apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have
persevered and have endured hardship for My name, and
have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You
have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from
which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at
first.” Words like “repent” and “do” are words of Law, by
the way.

Some would say that this “Retreat, Christian Soldiers” is
a sad but true description of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. I would not agree. It is true that we have not,
as a church, been all that He has called us to be. But to
characterize the church as a total failure is to rob God of
the honor due Him for the great things He is doing through
the Word and Sacrament ministry of many, many congregations.
This negative view of the church might also lead someone to believe that we are saved by being good Christian
soldiers and condemned for all eternity for being bad Christian soldiers. It is not true that God will be pleased with
the LCMS if we could just be a church filled with good
Christian soldiers.
And now a word of Gospel. Christ was the perfect soldier who endured the cross for us. God is pleased with us
because of Christ, not because of anything we do. We are
not motivated to tell the Good News about Jesus to those
around us in order to be saved but because we have been
saved by grace through faith. Please hear Gospel exhortation in the Great Commission to go and make disciples
through Word and Sacrament. Please hear Gospel in all aspects of motivation to tell the Good News about Jesus to
those around us. Christian outreach or Christian soldiering is part of our sanctified life—good works flowing from
faith. That faith we received in our Baptism. Telling the
Good News about Jesus to those around us is not about our
107

200l Convention Proceedings