Festival of Martin Luther, Confessor and Doctor
Posted on February 18, 2023 by under
Scripture: Jeremiah 11:1-7 (NKJV)
11:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is this day.”’”
And I answered and said, “So be it, Lord.”
6 Then the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, “Obey My voice.”
Devotion
“Obey my voice.”
Twice in the text above the Lord speaks of His mandate to Israel: “obey my voice.” We hear that entirely as Law; if we are told to “obey,” it means we are being commanded to do something. But the word has the force of “listen up!” And as it comes to the Word of the Lord, that is exactly what we are being called to do. We are to “listen up,” not just to the Law, but also to the Gospel.
This has ever and always been the message of all faithful proclaimers of the Word of God. Today we remember and give thanks to God for Martin Luther and the clear teaching of Law and Gospel which was proclaimed through him by the Lord’s powerful working.
Hear God’s Word of Law, behold your sin, and repent. But then also hear God’s Word of Gospel, and behold Jesus Christ, your Savior. Your sins are forgiven, and eternal life is yours, by grace alone, through faith alone, in the saving work of Jesus Christ alone. Our good works, this day and always, are but confessions of the righteousness we now have in Christ Jesus.
Prayer: O Lord God, Who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do: Mercifully grant that by Thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Festival of Martin Luther, Confessor and Doctor
O God, who didst give Martin Luther as a faithful teacher of the saving truth in a time of great trial, grant to Thy people zeal for Thy Word and faithful teachers for Thy Church, that they may stand steadfast against all error, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who livest and reignest with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
