4-23-2017

Good Morning All,

      Ephesians 2:8-9; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

  “Anfechtung.”  No, you don’t respond “Bless you.”  This is a German word that describes much of Martin Luther’s life.  It doesn’t have a real good English translation.  Some tries include “tribulations”, “temptations”, “trials”, “afflictions”; but these don’t do a lot of justice to the word.  When used to describe Luther, many are surprised that it includes the whole concept of self-doubt or unworthiness.

    Most people would think that Luther, the monk who made the pope blink, would have nerves of steel.  Yet Luther was a man of trials, tribulations, self-doubt, “anfechtung”.  This is what really propelled the Reformation.  Luther just didn’t believe that all the prayers he said, the good works he did, the Scripture reading he did, the alms he gave to the poor; none of this was enough to satisfy God’s judgment against sin.  So Luther spent much of his early life in “anfechtung”  It wasn’t until the Spirit moved him as he read verses like the one we use today, and others like it, that Luther finally grasped what the Bible really told him; you aren’t ever good enough, we are only saved because God is a God of love.

    Often times, maybe most times, we are plagued by this self-doubt, this “anfechtung”.  There are many times I have sat with someone who expresses this self-doubt.  They look at their life and think that they aren’t good enough for what they have so God will surely look to extract some form of punishment.  “My life is so good right now I am afraid of what will happen tomorrow.”  We think that God’s blessings are in some way, shape or form dependent upon our behavior or action.

     If things are going bad, we work harder at being good.  We read the Bible more; we try and impress God maybe by going to church more or putting more in the collection plate.  We see our situation as God punishing us so we try to get on God’s “good side.”  Or we look at our life and see how God has blessed us and we think “when will it all come to an end?”  “When will my bad deeds catch up to me?”  “Anfechtung” is at work.

    In many ways Luther never got past these self-doubts, even at his death.  But one of Luther’s greatest offerings to us was this simple view “We are all beggars before God.”  All we have is from God.  We can take comfort in this because when “anfechtung” kicks in, we know all depends upon God.  Our actions do not influence our salvation; God took care of it through Jesus and then gave it to us, out of love, through the faith that he gives us.  So we cling, by faith, to God’s promise.  We will still experience this self-doubt but we can and should always cling to the God who loves us so much that he died for us to pay the cost.  So as you live your life, know that bad times are just that; bad times: the result of a sinful world.  Also know that good times are not dependent upon how you act but simply upon the good and gracious nature of our God.  So the next time you “anfechtung” remember by grace you are saved.  This is what our hope rests upon.

Gracious Father, your love even overcomes my self-doubts.  When I think I am unworthy, I know that you sustain me with your mercy.  Give me the faith to hold onto you and your grace.  Please be with those who are feeling great amounts of self-doubt and guide them with your love back to the certainty of hope in you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret