Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor's Page
Dear Friends in Christ,
As I write this, the O’Brien County Fair is underway, and I want to share with you something exciting that you may or may not have heard about. Our newly formed Evangelism Committee came up with the idea of having a fair booth with informational literature about Zion as well as some gifts to give out (like many of the vendors do.)
This picture was taken on the first day, right after the booths opened up. We pray this increases our visibility in the community as we welcome people to join us in worshiping our loving God and hearing the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Second item: This relates to my article in last month’s newsletter. In it, I wrote about the fallacy of “once saved, always saved.” It naturally leads to the concern which a true believer may experience when looking for reassurance that we’re still living under and receiving God’s grace. In other words, do my current or repeated sins threaten to exclude me from God’s gracious forgiveness which was first poured out on me in Baptism? Yes, I know my sins were washed away at that point in my life, but what about the sins I’ve committed since then? How can I know if God has cut me off from His grace due to these sins?
In answer to that I recently read a fantastic, comforting passage in a book called “Handbook of Consolations” by Johann Gerhard. Gerhard was a German Lutheran Pastor and theologian who followed in the footsteps of Martin Luther. Published in 1611, this book presents 46 temptations a person’s mind may encounter when facing illness or death. They are then answered by the “comforter” who uses Scripture as the basis for his consolation. The one that comes to mind for our above discussion actually does a great job of connecting the Lord’s Supper to Baptism. Listen to what the opening paragraphs say:
Tempted: “How can I be certain that by my true repentance God receives me again into the Baptismal covenant? If only there were some reliable guarantee that would be able to reassure my heart or some sacrament that I could participate in and receive confirmation about that promise of grace.”
Comforter: “Yes, such an excellent and most holy sacrament does exist. It is the Lord’s Supper. Here you receive the body that Christ gave into death for you and the cup of blood that Christ poured out on the altar of the Cross for your sins. Since you receive in that Holy Supper the most holy price of your redemption, the body and blood of Christ, you may be certain that you truly partake of all those things that Christ has merited on the altar of the Cross when He surrendered His body and shed His blood. That is to say, you truly have the grace of God, the remission of sins, righteousness, life, and eternal salvation…”
Did you catch that? If we ever wonder whether we’ve fallen away from our Baptismal grace, all we have to do is look to the other Sacrament: Holy Communion. In it, we receive the body and blood of Christ as our guarantee that our Baptismal grace is still intact and working for our salvation. God’s promises are true and reliable even when we doubt. And yet God condescends to our weakness and gives us the added assurance of our forgiveness through the Lord’s Supper.
That’s huge and explains why we so highly value the Sacrament of the Altar. But I’m afraid that not all Christians get this, including some Lutherans. I just recently had a conversation with a member of a different LCMS congregation and he wasn’t convinced that we need the Lord’s Supper regularly for this assurance. After all, he argued, we hear of our forgiveness every week when the Pastor announces it in the Absolution after the Confession. So, receiving it again via Communion, in his mind, was repetitive. Therefore, regular, weekly reception of the Sacrament of the Altar wasn’t necessary to him.
It’s true that the forgiveness announced and received in the Absolution is valid and encompasses all our sins. However, Holy Communion is an essential continuation and reassurance of that forgiveness. And, I would add, a very necessary one. In the Supper, Christ doesn’t just speak words, which we may at times doubt. In Communion we receive the very body and blood that was crucified to make that forgiveness possible. There is no room for doubt about whether we’ve actually received God’s grace when we eat and drink it in this sacrament. That’s because you can’t miss it or claim that you didn’t hear it correctly. Nor can we claim that it wasn’t meant for me personally. No. It’s right there in your mouth as you consume the elements that convey Christ’s body and blood to you. Let that be your assurance and affirmation that the Baptismal promises from God are still effective and working in your soul. Because of this, we should highly cherish and anticipate the Lord’s Supper. This should drive us to have a strong desire to receive it as often as possible. We all sin daily and we sin much. That’s why God’s assurance of our forgiveness in the Supper is so essential for sustaining our faith.
Ponder that before you receive Holy Communion this next Sunday. Rejoice in it. Approach God’s altar with reverence and confidence knowing that the blood of Jesus has indeed removed all your sins. Praise the Lord for that! I sincerely look forward to seeing you and serving you at the Lord’s Table soon!
In Christ, Pastor Don Meyer
