Rev. Dr. Kirk Clayton, Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Mascoutah, Illinois, joins Andy and Sarah during Sharathon 2020 to talk about the history surrounding the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, why this confession was significant in 1530, and why it is still so important to us today. If you don’t have a Book of Concord, you can get your own copy of the Reader’s Edition from Concordia Publishing House at cph.org/p-11428-concordia-the-lutheran-confessions-a-readers-edition-of-the-book-of-concord-2nd-edition.aspx or you can read it free online at bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.php.
You’re listening to the coffee hour I’m Andy bats I’m Sarah goth it is Thursday June 25th that means it is first day of Sheron 2020 and yes it is also because it’s June 25th uh do you know what this day is Sarah it is the I believe it’s the
490th anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg confession if I got my date right from Sean Smith this morning we’ll see how how good our math is uh yes it is the uh the anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg confession what does that mean oh what a
Fun Lutheran question um excited to talk about that with one of one of our outstanding guests here we’re going to talk with Pastor Kirk Clayton from Zion in Miss scuda about the auxford confession in just a moment thanks to thanks to Concordia University Wisconsin thanks for your support of the coffee
Hour find out more about Concordia University Wisconsin at cw.edu live uncommon it is Sheron and we are listener supported we love folks like Concordia University Wisconsin who whove stepped forward to support the coffee hour and we love uh our listeners who step forward to support the coffee hour
And so many other great programs here on kfuo you can do that today 1 800 730 27271 800 730 2727 pledge your support of KF F today joining us by phone today the Reverend Dr Kirk Clayton he’s pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in msca Illinois good morning Pastor Clayton good morning
Great to be with you this morning thanks so much for joining us and thanks for taking on this really just um such exciting topic uh it June 25th what is oh man what was presented on June 25th the the what is this Augsburg confession well first let me say uh
Sarah your math is exactly correct this is the 490th anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg confession the Lutheran princes and theologians gathered in the city of Augsburg in Germany throughout the Spring May April May and then into June of 1530 and they were called by the Holy
Roman Emperor Charles V to come and find ways that they could work together together in various ways theologically was one of those ways and so as the culmination of this time of discussion and study on um June 25th it was a Saturday that year in the year 1530
Saturday June uh 25th 15:30 at 3:00 in the afternoon a a group of Lutheran princes and theologians stepped before Emperor Charles I and uh a Lutheran Theologian by the name of of uh Dr Byer and accompanied by Dr Brook holding copies of the Aur confession both in German and
Latin uh read the Augsburg confession read the the German version and then presented both to the Emperor as a statement of what it is as Lutheran that we believe based on scripture um and then also discussing things that had been changed over the previous decade or so in the churches that followed
Luther’s teaching that might be somewhat different from the practices in the Roman Catholic churches so on uh June 25th 1530 um we might consider this to in in some ways be if not the most important event the maybe the second most important date in the history of the specifically Lutheran Church uh when
You think of a date associated with Lutheran Church you’d always think obviously of October 31st 1517 Reformation day we had a big celebration of that about two and a half three years ago um and we remember that on October 31st 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis
On the door of the castle Church in Wittenberg and that’s kind of traced to be the start of the Reformation but frankly the document that Luther nailed to the door that day the 95 thesis is not all that helpful of a doctrine of of a document uh there are many many things
In the 95 thesis that Luther posted in 1517 that would say well you know he really didn’t quite get that right in that point as opposed to the Augsburg confession which comes 13 years later is a very full very mature and accurate statement of what it is that Luther came
To be convinced of through clear scriptural teaching and so uh there would be no Lutheran Churches today that would subscribe to the 95 thesis and say you know the 95 thesis is absolutely what we continue to believe and teach and confess today as opposed to the Augsburg confession is and remains next
To scripture um subservient to scripture the uh fundamental doctrine of what it is to be Lutheran what is what is it to be Lutheran well it’s what the Bible says as we understand is explained through the Augsburg confession uh presented for 490 years ago today in Augsburg Germany was there controversy around
This like was there um was there any danger to these men who were presenting this document uh what was that history leading up to this point about how Lutheranism at at that time was taken uh or understood by the people in these in these uh places there absolutely was
Controversy and there absolutely was danger in making this confession and doing so very publicly uh as you know that uh after Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the door in 1517 there was a A continuing uh debate between Scholars and theologians and politicians electors Dukes uh princes who followed Luther and those who
Followed uh the pope and Roman Catholicism and this uh dialogue had uh taken the shape of debates with Luther and uh various Catholic Scholars uh and had not been resolved there had also been the the very unfortunate unpleasant uh occurrence of the peasant war in between where people had taken Luther’s
Doctrine and pushed further than Luther would have to try to overthrow um rulers and that did not uh go well and so there had been academic uh tension and debate there had been physical Bloodshed in the time between 1517 and 1530 so yes there was tremendous tension there was tremendous controversy and
Danger uh so in terms of the the physical danger uh Luther had been called to a previous diet uh which is a a council a um a Congress of the German princes and the uh the Holy Roman Emperor at at VMS that we’re also familiar with in
1521 and there at VMS it was that Luther was told recant all of your writings uh or be declared a heretic and it was at vmes in 1521 that Luther said um or is reported who have said the the famous words uh unless I’m convinced by uh
Clear reason and scripture um I cannot and will not recant here I stand so help me God I can do no other um and so that was 1521 and as a result of that Luther was declared a heretic and any Imperial protection was removed from him meaning
That from that point on from 1521 on anyone who would uh capture Luther or have Luther arrested uh could have Luther killed and would have had the thanks of the most powerful men in the world the pope and the emperor and so from 1521 on Luther’s life was
Constantly under threat and in danger now the good news for Luther as a great gift from God he happened to live in Saxony and the Dukes of Saxony protected Luther so so long as Luther stayed in Saxony he was pretty safe he was fairly well protected because uh Emperor
Frederick the wise first and then um after that after he died Emperor uh John the steadfast or elect John the steadfast I’m sorry um protected Luther and made sure that he was able to continue writing and teaching however if Luther would leave the region of Saxony
And go to an area that was governed by a prince or a Duke that was not uh in alignment with Luther’s teaching Luther could have been almost certainly would have been uh arrested and probably executed and when Emperor Charles 5th called this next conference this next
Meeting this next diet uh he set it for Augsburg in the uh spring and summer of the Year 1530 Augsburg is a city that is not in Saxony and so Luther’s life would not have been safe there and so Luther in fact did not attend the diet of
Augsburg because he would have been arrested and quite probably executed had he actually gone to Augsburg what he did is he got as close as he could remaining in Saxony there is a magnificent Castle called cober castle that at that time was in Saxony it’s in Bavaria now I believe his borders have
Changed a little bit um but he then stayed at the cober castle uh as close as he could get to Augsburg but remaining on Saxon territory because there was tremendous danger for Luther to go into Augsburg and so he remained uh back at cerg Castle in Saxon territory and was writing letters there
Were about 70 letters that went back and forth from Luther uh from the cobre castle to make suggestions on the documents that were being put together and to give encouragement or to give advice but Luther himself was not present as specifically as you mentioned Sarah because of the tremendous danger
To him and the others that went were not entirely uh promised safety either in fact uh when the emperor first AR arrived uh he had demanded that the Lutheran princes join with him in certain very Roman Catholic Worship practices and the um the Lutheran princes uh stood and refused to join in
Those practices and the emperor you know kind of shook his finger at them and said tomorrow you will join me in this and at one point uh one of the Lutheran princes then kneel down and uh pulled back his robe to uh show his neck and
Said um no and you know uh take your sword and strike off my head uh rather than join in this practice at which point the the emperor in I think some broken German said no dear Prince not strike head not strike head dear Prince uh but you know there there was the uh
There was the the threat of the understanding that the emperor did have the authority to execute those who he found to be uh you know in challenge to his Reign uh he chose not to do that but the threat was there and so there certainly was a very real physical
Threat and then the the doctrinal division of course as you asked about Sarah had maintained all the way from 1517 and this is actually one of the the reasons why we have the document we do the princes and theologians came to Augsburg with the idea that they would
Simply present a a much shorter document um about where they had differences with the Roman Catholic teaching and where they might be able to um find a better understanding from scripture however when they arrived in Augsburg they found that one of the people who had debated Luther earlier on u a Roman Catholic
Scholar named John E had written a book in which he laid out uh 44 charges against Luther where he accused Luther of every heresy under the sun which Luther didn’t teach but there were there were different Protestant divisions and X simply painted Luther with a brush of
All of them and so if uh zwingley had made an error he said and Luther holds that error he accused Luther of you know denying such basic things as the doctrine of the Trinity um and so originally the lutherans had not plann to present a document that presented
What they you know agreed with in The Universal Church but they actually found that necessary because they had to defend themsel against this uh this these 4004 charges of doctrinal heresy from from John E and so the Augsburg confession then became not just an explanation of where they differed from
Rome but where they agreed in very very important matters of Doctrine uh as opposed to other teachings that had sprung up so it was it was both we don’t agree with these other false teachings but we do agree with the universal church on these Central points now here’s where we
Differ so there was both physical danger and there was definitely theological controversy that went into the oxburg confession you know you’re you’re talking with a a scholar of church history when one knows all the details including the day of the week in which this occurred such as a
Saturday well so much valuable history here that that that you’re bringing up and in in just a moment I want to talk about what does this history this historical event and this this this confession mean for us today I if and to the listener if you enjoy and and
Appreciate the the great history and things that that we get to to share here on the coffee hour call and pledge your support today during Sheron 1 800 730 2727 uh and you can give at any level any gift is certainly appreciated if you give a gift Sarah what if they give a
Gift at let’s say let’s say $20 $ a month or $240 we’d like to send him a thank you what is that thank you gift we’d love to send him this year it’s a super soft t-shirt these are these are the t-shirts that uh have have become famous a little
Bit in our kfuo Lutheran world uh super soft they have our nice kfu logo on the front and on the back we have our Romans 10:17 verse uh faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ which is what we do every day on kfuo a
Bunch of us are wearing these today they’re the the soft shirts you’ll ever wear and this year they’re in a nice uh burgundy color aka the LSB red it’s not quite the same as your Himel color uh but if you’d like to match your uh Lutheran service book and other Lutheran
Books on your shelf uh I would go with the burgundy one this year or there’s also a teal a nice rich teal color and uh the lettering is all in gold on these this year we went a little fancy so so you really will look like past Pastor Clayton’s getting one
Too I don’t remember which color we’re sending to Pastor Clayton which one did you request Pastor Clayton well I haven’t uh talked with my wife about the Wardrobe selection y uh if you’re going to match your Himel or not is the question that’s the the essential Lutheran Library row on my shelf here
Yes exactly we’re talking we’re discussing the uh the Augsburg confession particularly today is the anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg confession we have more to share about that with Pastor Clayton here on the coffee hour it is shareon 1 1800 730 2727 1 1800 730 2727 give us a
Call and make your gift Today on this Thursday June 25th 2020 kfuo radio celebrates with our day sponsors the Schmidt Family of St Louis Missouri the Schmidts have made a gift to kfo radio in loving memory of Irv and Wilma Schmidt and in remembrance of their wedding anniversary which was yesterday on June
24th once again kfuo says thank you to the Schmidt Family for helping us share the gospel and for being today kfu day sponsors if you enjoy our talk programs please call and support kfuo at 314 821 0850 or tollfree 1 1800 730 2727 welcome back to the Sheron edition
Of the coffee hour I’m Adie Bates I’m Sarah goth and we’re both kind of geeking out over the great history that we lesson that we’re having today with the Reverend Dr he pastor at Z Lutheran Church in msca Illinois and just digging into the history of the presentation of
The Augsburg confession that happened what did we say 490 years ago is that right Pastor Clayton 490 years ago today that’s correct so the the Augsburg confession you’ve shared with us why and you know what actually started jump in I just realized something else the the
Reading was at 300 p.m. said oh so we’re not quite on the the right time but then I just realized time which is like six hours ahead of us it’s like literally 490 years ago this minute that uh you know Dr berer was reading out the German edition of the
The formula or of the um Augsburg confession so we are actually accurate to the minute it took him about two hours to read it uh so we’re we’re within that window of the the actually 490th anniversary so happy anniversary Augsburg confession wow that is fantastic I’m sorry I interrupted you go ahead
That was a great point we a little speechless I think that that may have increased our our history nerdiness Just a Little More Level Up good good stuff so so we’ve talked about this this this bold confession and and who was presenting this it’s it’s not just uh this isn’t specifically
Luther himself now he’s certainly um providing some some direction some guidance but who are the go back again who are the people that are presenting this confession the emperor summoned the electors the princes the Dukes the the political rulers of Germany to come together in Augsburg one of the reasons
He did that is he was in uh a bit of a bind himself politically uh he was being attacked his kingdom went so far as Austria in Vienna and at this time Turkish forces were invading and were actually threatening to conquer the city of Vienna and were moving in through
Austria and so the emperor needed the support the military support of all of his princes to be able to defend his territory against attacks from the Turkish Army and so for this reason he summoned the military uh commanders the political rulers to gather for this conference to try to find ways to work
Together for military protection and then he recognized that they would be more willing to help militarily if they were also in agreement theologically and so that’s where the theological discussion comes from but the aubur confession was actually primarily attended by the rulers the princes the Dukes the electors of Germany as they
Gathered for what we would today say to be kind of a you know a session of Congress um and then because the theological issues were on the table to be discussed then the theologians came along to help shape the document and so on but that actually brings up a very
Interesting point that the Reformation certainly was um spearheaded by Luther and his determination to return to the centrality of the word of God in all that was done and taught in the church but Luther could not have undertaken this well with of God we never say never but it’s it’s much more
Unlikely that Luther’s reforms would have succeeded if he had not had the absolute steadfast support of his elector Frederick the wise and the John the steadfast and the the secular uh and lay leadership around him and so uh Luther’s work was in large part financed by not the church but by his elector
Frederick the wise John the steadfast and so we recognized through history that there are those who work in the church as theologians as pastors uh as Leaders within the the realm of the church but they are supported by the the generous help of the lay leaders around them and so uh
Augsburg is a great example that Augsburg actually was more so the U the confession publicly and standing up and saying this is our confession of the lay leadership of the church who gave everything that they were willing to give everything in support of the truth of the doctrine that Luther had shown
From scripture and so still today there are those in the church that are pastors there are those in the church that are theologians and and uh pastoral leaders but um need to have the support of the the lay leadership of the church at large as Luther did in his time with um
His electors and his princes uh and so as kfuo is part of this vital Ministry of sharing the truth of God’s word and standing firmly on God’s word and not being swayed by the misleading teachings around us but being steadfast in the word uh kufu also as that teaching voice
Of our church body needs the support of the leoty of our congregation that’s how it was at Augsburg and it’s how it always has been and continues to need to be and so would just appeal to your listeners if you appreciate as did the princes who stood at Augsburg if you
Appreciate the clear teaching of the word of God based on scripture as Luther led the church to review that then please as the Lutheran leaders at Augsburg did uh stand in support with you might not be called on to extend your neck and say uh you know uh chop off my head if
Needed but to support in every way that you can to make sure that this proclamation of the Gospel as is rooted directly in scripture um as uh returned to by Luther so that can continue through the ministry of kfuo this teaching uh Ministry this opportunity to
Hear the gospel uh around the world on your radio so Luther had the support of his princes at Augsburg and so kfuo and pastors and teachers continue to need that support so please follow in the footsteps of our our Lutheran lay fathers the princes and the uh political
Leaders at Augsburg by continuing to support this proclamation of the Gospel so what does this uh Augsburg confession mean to us today there’s so much history uh and I have way more things that I need to go research now because you brought all these things up
That I need to research uh but what does this confession then mean to us today well let me uh simply follow in the footsteps of Dr berer from reading the Augsburg confession 490 years ago this minute and read article four of the Augsburg confession the article four talks about the doctrine of
Justification that we are saved by grace through faith with without works of the law this article of the Aur confession Article 4 has oftentimes been called the the article on which the church stands and Falls if the church understands and follows in article four of the Augsburg confession everything else kind of tends
To fall in line it’s been described as the The Hub of a wheel there are other spokes that come out from that wheel and I I know um you’re big um uh bicycle fans now if a Spoke gets bent uh you can probably keep going but if the axle of
That wheel uh is damaged or falls off you know you got a serious repair on your hands and so article four is that Central article and let me just read this we have about two minutes Pastor it’s short all right it is also taught Among Us that we cannot obtain
Forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by our own merits works or satisfactions but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace for Christ’s sake through faith when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is Forgiven and
Righteousness and eternal life are given to us for God will regard and reckon this Faith as righteousness as Paul says in Romans 3 and 4 and so here we have the absolute Central teaching that God in his grace and mercy has sent Jesus Christ to die for us not because of what
We have done but because of God God’s grace and God’s love and anything that we mix into that if we say well yes and we do this or yes we do that we have then taken the glory away from God and called into question whether we are good
Enough and so this is why Article 4 is and remains absolutely the central teaching of the Lutheran Church that we’re saved by grace through faith without works of the law and that’s why the Augsburg confession continues to have significant impact and will so long as Christ allows his church to remain on Earth
Amen oh man go go read the oxburg confession it’s uh it’s in the book of Concord you can you can get that from Concordia publishing house uh you can you can find it online there are various translations of it as well go read the oxberg confession today what a great day
To do that June 25th right absolutely the Reverend Dr Kirk Clayton pastor of Zion Lutheran Church msca Illinois and uh man great church history scholar thank you so much Pastor for sharing that with us and for being a part of Sheron today as well thanks for the
Opportunity it’s always fun to be with you guys oh good stuff Sheron 2020 call and make your gift today so that we can continue to share this great church history and and to dig into not just the history but what does this mean what is the theology um that that’s being taught
Why is this theology important if it was important 490 years ago why is it still important today because it’s all about Christ for you 1 800 730 27271 800 730 2727 or if you’re in St Louis 314 821 0850 there are other ways to give as
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