Walther on Reformation Doctrine and Liturgical Practice

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Excerpt from a Reformation sermon delivered by C. F. W. Walther in 1858. 


It is true that of all the church bodies which have left the papacy, it is precisely the Lutheran Church which is accused of retaining many papal abuses and of having been the least successful in cleansing itself.  It is pointed out, for example, that in our church priestly clothing, church ornamentation, pictures, altar, crucifixes, candles, confession, the sign of the cross, and the like are still apparent.


But, my friends, whoever regards these innocent things as vestiges of the papacy knows neither what the papacy is, nor what the Bible teaches.  The very fact that the Lutheran Reformation was not aimed at indifferent adiaphora, but retained those things which were in harmony with God's Word, shows that it was not a disorderly revolution, but a Biblical reformation; for whatever did not agree with God's Word was unrelentingly cleansed from the church by the Lutheran Reformation even though it seemed to glow with angelic holiness.


The Lutheran Reformation, however, was complete not only in the destruction and tearing down of all the idols which had been erected in the church, but also in bringing forth its treasures and in setting up its truly sacred possessions.  Luther followed not only the principle, "truth and nothing but the truth," but also the principle, "and the whole truth."  Therefore, through his efforts, not only this and that truth, not just half the truth, but the whole truth of Holy Scripture was opened for the church, was used, and made the Christians' common possession.  Not only did the Lutheran Reformation get all its doctrines out of the marble quarry of the written Word of God, but there is no doctrine of the Word of God which it did not place on the candlesticks of the church like a heavenly light in its purity.  This includes the doctrine concerning God as well as the doctrine concerning man; the doctrine concerning the foundation of salvation as well as those concerning the means of salvation and the order of salvation; the doctrine concerning faith as well as those concerning love and hope.  The whole counsel of God for man’s salvation was clearly and purely brought to the light of day out of the gold mine of Scripture, beginning with the doctrine of justification; namely, that a man is righteous before God and can be saved only by grace through faith in Christ without the merits of works.  This laid the foundation on which the whole Christian doctrinal edifice rises like a holy diamond temple.  In its holy of holies the New Testament mercy seat of the holy sacraments and the absolution is enthroned.

(Excerpt of C. F. W. Walther's 1858 Reformation sermon published in "The Word of His Grace: Sermon Selections, C. F. W. Walther", Lake Mills, Iowa:  Graphic Publishing, 1978, pp. 50-53.)

Reminiscere 2026

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“Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou return.” “Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou return.” “Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou return.”

Something happens when you say that a few hundred times in a day. You realize the problem is bigger than me or you, or the scandal du jour….

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Tenth Sunday after Trinity 2022

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Our church stands in the line of the church catholic of the West. As the power of the papacy became tyrannical and heretical, and scholastic theology drifted further and further from Holy Scripture, a reformation was necessary. The temple needed to be cleansed. We are heirs of that reformation.

One of the major issues needing reform in the sixteenth century was the idea that Mass—what we call Divine Service—was a sacrifice. Go to any local Roman church and you will hear the priest invite the people to pray “that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” This idea—that the mass is our sacrifice to and for God—is the heart of why we still must remain separated from our friends in the Roman church….

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Have We Failed?

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Christians are now a minority in America. When I mentioned this somewhere else I was speaking, someone asked me afterwards, “Does this mean we’ve failed?”

What do you think? If you look at our statistics, the Missouri Synod is in decline, and doesn’t seem to be turning around. How’s the Ohio District doing? What about your own congregation? If the answer is, “Not great,” then does that mean you failed? Have we failed? …

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New Jersey District Convention Sermon

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“Repent!” That’s the first word John the Baptist preaches. It is also the first word when our Lord Jesus begins to preach. So it is to be with our own preaching.

But before we can preach, we must hear that word spoken to us. Repent!

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Cantate 2021

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The Church’s “new song” has nothing to do with musical style or instrumentation. We are a people who are liberated from the world’s “old song” of hatred, despair, and lust, the funeral dirges and anthems of kingdoms passing away. The new song is the song of the new kingdom that the LORD has inaugurated in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Church’s liturgy is the new song.

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