Our Lord says, "what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops." That is what a handful of German princes did 468 years ago this past Thursday, June 15, 1530, at the German city of Augsburg. The Gospel that they had heard from the mouth and pen of Martin Luther they now confessed to Charles V, the Holy roman Emperor. It was a confession made not only in the presence of His imperial majesty, Charles V; it was made in the presence of Almighty God, for it was His Word that those princes were confessing. No wonder that they used Psalm 119:46 as the motto for the Augsburg Confession: "I will also speak of thy testimonies before kings, and shall not be put to shame." Armed with God's own Word and promises, these men were not ashamed of their faith and they were not afraid to confess it, even though they knew that by taking such a stand they could lose their position, lands, and even their lives.

We remember those princes who made the good confession at Augsburg not merely for their bravery and courage, but rather for the truth that they confessed. They were doing what Paul described in his letter to Timothy as he exhorted this young pastor to "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." These men were doing what the Lord Jesus mandated in today's Holy Gospel: "Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father in heaven."

To confess is to say back to God what He has said to us in His Word. It is not to be creative or clever as those are who take delight in writing their own creeds. No, to confess is to simply echo what the Lord says. We repeat what the Lord says. That's what it means to confess. And that is why we take the Confessions so seriously. That is also why many in our own day despise confessional Christianity and maintain that it is the height of arrogance to assert the correctness of any doctrinal statement to the exclusion of others. The watchwords are "tolerance" and "openness." One may speculate regarding the relative value of this or that assertion about God, Christ, or His Word. Tentative theories are entertained, but not confession. We even hear of Lutheran churchmen describing our confessions as nothing more than one window among many through which one may gain a perspective on the Christian faith (see Walter Tietjen, "The View From the Lutheran Window" in Issues in Christian Education, Spring 1998, p.5).

We are left again with Pilate's haunting question: "What is truth?" But nowadays the question is not only on the lips of those who stand outside the church; it is found on the lips of those who consider themselves to be Christians, even clergy and theologians. The confessors at Augsburg knew that there could be no neutrality when it comes to Christ and His Word. Either Christ would be confessed or He would be denied. And they knew that this confession had eternal consequences, for the Lord Jesus says, "whoever confesses Me before men, him will I confess before My Father in heaven But whoever denies Me before Men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." Listen to the voice of Hermann Sasse as he speaks of the Lutheran Confessors of the 16th century: "They knew the one thing which modern man does not know, and does not care to know. They knew that as individuals and as nations, we literally live by the truth or we die by falsehood. Hence, they never shared the cold skepticism and wearied resignation of modern relativism, which hold that there are only relative truths, and that consequently it does not pay to wrestle for the truth. Nor, with a bold 'will to believe,' did they have to satisfy themselves with half-truth or penultimate-truth in order to have some ground on which to stand. Their quest after the truth, their struggle for truth, was conditioned moreover, by the conviction that there is One who is the Truth in person. One who said to truth seekers of all ages, 'Everyone that is of the truth heareth My voice' (John 18:27). One who promised his church on earth that His Holy Spirit would guide it into all truth."

Those confessors at Augsburg confessed the truth of Jesus Christ as He had given that truth in His Word, the Holy Scriptures. Their confession was born out of a faithful hearing of God's Word which proclaims that salvation is by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Whether the Augsburg Confession was dealing with the doctrine of sin, the Lord's Supper, the unity of the church, or the office of the Holy Ministry, all Christian teaching is unfolded around this central truth upon which the church stands or falls: "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 Christ suffered for us and that for His sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us" (AC IV).

To confess is not simply to give expression to your own convictions or opinions. To confess is to repeat what God has said and proclaim what He has done. For you see, salvation is not found in our own spiritual speculations, but in the Gospel of Jesus Christ - crucified and risen - alone. Only what comes from the Lord is sure and certain. Martin Luther could conclude the explanation of each article of the Creed with the words, "This is most certainly true," because what was confessed was God's Word! Human beings may lie, deceive or err, but not God.

With that Gospel the same Lord gives us courage to confess His Name and His Word in a world that has closed its ears to the Good Shepherd's Voice. He calls us to proclaim what we have heard with our ears. He calls us to confess His Word in its fullness, not omitting that which our culture deems unacceptable or out of fashion. To confess, remember, is to say back to the Lord what He has said to us, not to remodel His Word to "fit" the short-sighted views of this present age.

We will confess and we will not be afraid, for the One who has given us His Word is the Lord of life and death. He has numbered the hairs on you head. A single sparrow does not fall to the ground apart from His will. He has made the sure promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church which He has gathered and built through His Word and Sacraments. So we make the words of Franzmann's hymn our prayer:

"Give us lips to sing thy glory, Tongues thy mercy to proclaim, Throats that shout the hope that fills us, Mouths to speak thy holy name. Alleluia! Alleluia! May the light which thou dost send Fill our songs with alleluias, Alleluias without end!"

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.