Romans 4:13-17 ¹³ For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴  If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵  For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. ¹⁶  For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, ¹⁷ as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") -- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Being Lutherans, we hear often about Martin Luther and his many writings that failed to reform the church. We use his catechism to teach our young ones and adults, and we confess the same faith that he confessed—that we are saved by grace through faith. Yet something about the Reformation period is often overlooked, or should I say someone instead of something. Luther’s closest confidant, Philip Melanchthon, often does not get the credit that he deserves.

As one of the first signers of many of the Reformation documents, he often gets forgotten about, and most of the credit goes to Luther. However, Melanchthon was indeed a vital part of the Reformation. He was the primary composer of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. This document is still vital to us today because it gives us an explanation and a clearer understanding of The Augsburg Confession, or the reformers’ declaration of faith.

Melanchthon was very interested in faith, and that is the reason he was so willing to write as much as possible about it. In his work Elementorum Rhetorices Libri Duo, he writes:

“Faith means trust by which we give assent to the promises of God as in St. Paul to the Romans. For here he openly affirms when speaking about faith that we give assent to a promise. He says: “For through faith is the promise truly made strong.” It is faith, therefore, by which we give assent to the promise of God that Christ would be a sacrifice for us. This faith embraces two things: the acknowledgement of history and faithfully assenting to a promise to which that history reflects.”

I think Melanchthon’s quote is right on, and in more than one way. We can look at our congregation and see the trust that still abounds after almost seven years. We see the faith that each and every one of us has held on to, and we know that through Christ we are heirs to the promises of God. Our Lenten journey prepares us to once again celebrate the promises that God has made to us when we celebrate the resurrection of the Messiah.

In our prayers this week: Gail and Linwood, Buddy and Ann, Boyd and Maggie (having wrist surgery this Friday), Alma, the Varner Family, Michael, Chris, and Brenten.

God's Peace,

 Pastor Judson