Our Declaration of Dependence

Presentation of the Augustana

June 25, 2017

Matthew 10:28

Our Declaration of Dependence

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Have you ever looked closely at the back of the two-dollar bill? You see all the founding fathers gathered around King George III handing over the Declaration of Independence in his royal throne room in London. It’s impressive to see them putting their lives into direct risk before a powerful king.

But, of course, that is not how is it happened. They did put their lives on the line, but in Philadelphia, far away from King George.

But something like I described did happen. The founding fathers of Lutherans, rulers and kings and princes, put their lives into immediate jeopardy by handing a confession of faith into the hands of a powerful king. This king, Emperor Charles V, had the legal right to put to death these men for what they were doing.

What were they doing? They had read and signed a statement of the true Christian faith. It declared that we humans are sinful from birth and that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, is our only hope for salvation. They took Jesus at His word when He declared:

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—²⁸just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

MATTHEW 10:26-28 NIV 1984

These powerful men humbled themselves before God. They saw their sin and how death would after them, save for Jesus’ sake, for His death and rising from the dead. They declared their dependence on Christ and Him alone for their rescue.

Unlike Mr. Franklin, Mr. Jefferson, and even Mr. Washington, these men:

John, Duke of Saxony;

George, Margrave of Brandenburg;

Ernest, Duke of Lueneberg;

Philip, Landgrave of Hesse;

John Frederick, Duke of Saxony;

Francis, Duke of Lueneburg; and

Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt; along with

the city councilmen of Nuremburg and Reutlingen

were glad to declare how helpless they were standing before the holy God. They knew they had nothing to offer Him, except for their pathetic attempts at self-salvation. So by faith they received life from Jesus’ death and placed their lives into His hands, come what may: persecution, insults, poverty, family strife, and death.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Amen!

Mark 10:45