(Sermon by Jorge Monsalve as an invitation to the ‘Echoing Wittenberg 2025’ conference.)

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Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jude 1:1–4 NKJV

 

Brothers and sisters,

What a precious gift it is to have received the faith through which we have access to the grace of God. We didn’t invent it, just as we couldn’t have fabricated the empty tomb, nor the Cross, nor the manger, nor the burning bush. We have received the one Christian faith, given to all saints in history. It is the revelation of the Son of God, sent by the Father, vindicated by the Spirit. It is by this faith that we become partakers of the heroic work that Jesus, the Son of God, performed on the Cross. By this faith we approach the throne of God, knowing that we’re unworthy sinners, and yet trusting in his groundless mercy. By this faith we are empowered to kill our sinful desires and to partake of the divine nature, the nature of selfless love. What a treasure. We must not pollute it, nor distort it, nor neglect it. Let us live by it and proclaim it to the world.

When Saint Jude calls us to contend for this faith – not indifferently but ardently – it is because there are those who want to smother it. They want us to abandon our confession because it contradicts their interests. Seeking not to discomfort the world, they have turned the grace of God into a license to sin. Seeking to please other teachers, they have denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. And they are doing this from our pulpits. They have taken heed of the voice of the serpent, asking them: ‘has God indeed spoken?’, ‘aren’t the Scriptures merely tales of the past?’ Depart from us, Satan. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who has spoken through the prophets. He has spoken; he has fulfilled his word; and he will hold us accountable for his revelation. Some of our leaders don’t want us to preach the Word of God, but we must obey God more than men. We must contend for this precious faith, not with weapons nor aggressions, but by the Spirit of God.

Let me remind you of one brave soldier whose faith has inspired me. His name was Shammah, one of David’s mighty men. The Bible tells how there was an invasion from the Philistines in a plot of ground. Almost everyone fled from them, but not Shammah. He took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and defeated the invaders. It was the Lord who saved him, but it was necessary for him to stand firm and resist the enemy, even when he was outnumbered. There is likewise an invasion taking place in our Protestant National Churches in Europe. Already for some decades, many of our seminaries and parishes have been flooded by an ideology that denies the supernatural, reducing Scripture to a mere human book and the Son of God to a mere dead man. Lord have mercy (🕇). In the midst of so much confusion, should we be scared? Should we keep silent in order to maintain a false harmony? No. Take your stand. First you before the face of God. Then call your family, your congregation, and if possible your synod, not to yield to these lies but to confess what God has revealed. I don’t know what the situation in your parish looks like, whether it is a stronghold, or a battlefield, or a lost ground, but don’t lose hope. Find a place from which you can join the fight, and right there, hold the line. ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’.

Some of our brothers and sisters ask us why we don’t leave our Churches. Are we not coming under an unequal yoke? This is a legitimate question. How could witnesses of the Resurrection partner with deniers of it? How could worshippers of the triune God be associated with those who confuse him with pagan gods? How can those who call the world to repentance work together with those who endorse sin of the world? …But here we stand. We will keep preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, regardless of the opposition from within and from without. As long as our Churches call on the Name of the Holy Trinity in their constitutions, as long as these constitutions declare the Holy Scriptures to be the ground for doctrine, and as long as the Confessions and Creeds that our forerunners fought for are nominally binding, this long we have a compelling reason to contend for the catholic faith from within. 

Fellow Protestants, it is time to echo the events that took place in Wittenberg 500 years ago. Let us unleash the powerful message that was revealed in Scripture, set forth in the Creeds, and to which our Confessions bear witness. Let us remind our Churches of the foundation upon which they were built: that Jesus is the anointed King. Regardless of how small we may be in number, let us submit to the Head of the Church and he will work through us. A poor monk was no match for the mighty pope, but no bishop is a match for the King of Kings. Therefore, let us preach the Word of the Cross, both to our Churches and to the world. Let us confess these new 95 theses together

Brothers and sisters in the wider Church, especially those subject to the same Confessions, please stand with us and pray for us. We need your help. Our strength is in our catholicity. Help us show to the world that there is a universal faith. The world needs to tell the difference between the voice of the shepherd and the voice of the serpent. Dear confessing pastors, take courage. There are Crossbearers praying for you. Soon, there may be a fiery Chrsitian in your parish, leading a prayer gathering, distributing edifying materials, and ready to serve the needy.  Brothers and sisters, let us be meek in service, persistent in prayer, firm in preaching, and active in our parish councils and synods. See you on Reformation Day.

O Lord, arise and may your enemies be scattered. Bring glory to your Name and use this dark hour to display the Light of your Word more brightly. Fill us with your Spirit to bear witness of your holy gospel. Our help and our expectation are in your Name, of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.