In the Smalcald Articles, Dr. Martin Luther of blessed and holy memory, asserts the work of the external Word of God saying, "Accordingly, we should and must constantly maintain that God will not deal with us except through His external Word and sacrament. Whatever is attributed to the Spirit apart from such Word and sacrament is of the devil" (Smalcald Article (SA) VIII.10). Why would Luther say this? What drove him to limit God to such confining terms? Why would Luther put God in a box and force Him to only work in His Word and sacraments? Well, before this quote, Luther said, "In Short, enthusiasm clings to Ada, and his descendants from the beginning to the end of the world. It is a poison implanted and inoculated in man by the old dragon, and it is the source, strength, and power of all heresy, including that of the papacy and Mohammedanism" (SA VIII.9).  It is not Luther that is confining God, but rather God confined Himself in His Word and Sacrament, in order that sinful man, the enthusiast, may find God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness only in Him. In short, if God did not promise where to be found in His mercy, then man, because he is an enthusiast, would never look to God but only to himself for assurance of his salvation.

Where do we see in Scripture God promising to be found, in His mercy,  in the means of grace? This can't be a doctrine the church created to combat people who think they talk to God directly, but rather the doctrine of the means of grace must flow from Scripture. Well, John 20:19-23 says, "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Romans 6:3-4 says, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." These are some of the concrete means of grace, Baptism and Holy Absolution, means by which God delivers His forgiveness for sinners. God desires to be found in external means, meaning He desires to be found where He says He is located. Because we are conceived and born in Original Sin, we cannot seek God, or find Him. Rather, God must reveal Himself to us. If it were up to us to find God, then we would never locate Him. Can God reveal Himself to man outside of the means of grace? Yes, He is God and can do whatever He wants to do. Should we seek this revelation out, meaning should we look beyond the means of grace for a inner revelation, a feeling that assures us that God is really present in our life? No, because that would be ignoring His clear Word and seeking truth outside of Jesus the Christ. If we seek God outside of where He reveals Himself, we seek not God, but the devil and satisfaction of our sinful desires.

Above all else, God comes to us in the external means of grace for our comfort. We have assurance that in Baptism, the Gospel preached, Holy Absolution, The Lord's Supper, and the mutual consolation of the brethren, we have the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. In the means of grace we have the promise delivered to us, that in these means we receive the benefits of Jesus' death and resurrection. God gives us these to assure us, to encourage us in the confidence that we are forgiven children of our gracious heavenly Father. So, my friends, may you take heart and may joy abound in your conscience in the concrete reality that you are a recipient of the means of grace, the very mercy of your Lord, Jesus the Christ.

Peace be with you. May the devil be silenced, the world be hushed, and the Old Adam be drowned anew so that you hear only the voice of your Savior Jesus who says, "I forgive you. I love you. I claim you as My own forever," Amen.

Jesus' Sheepdog,

Pastor Hull