Letter to the Church in Response to Governor Northam's Statements on Worship

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I wrote the following to the members of Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Virginia.

Dear Christians,

One of the great blessings of America is the First Amendment's guarantee of the free exercise of religion (and the right to peaceably assemble). The government's job is to protect the rights of the people, not make religious pronouncements.

Yesterday the governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, crossed that line. Blaming churches for the spread of the Coronavirus, he said that going to church is unnecessary. “This year, we need to think about what is truly the most important thing. Is it the worship or the building? ... For me, God is wherever you are. You don’t have to sit in the church pew for God to hear your prayers.... Worship with a mask on is still worship, worship outside or worship online is still worship.”

It is important that we show honor and respect to our government and its officers. In matters of Christian doctrine, we must respectfully correct the governor's erroneous statements.

Christians gather together around Christ's Word and Sacraments (Acts 2:42, 46). The Lord's Supper is by its very nature communal (1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:17-21, 33). It is true, "God is wherever you are." However, God's omnipresence is not His gracious presence. The Lord Jesus established means of grace. These means are tangible, coming to us in water, bread, wine. The Word, while we can encounter it through print or electronic media, is intended to be proclaimed to the assembly of the faithful (Heb. 10:23-25), where the shepherd (pastor) is instructed by Holy Scripture to lay his hands on the people, pray for them, call them by name, etc.

We all want the Coronavirus to go away. Let's listen to the governor in his recommendations to wear masks, practice social distancing, cleanse our hands, and practice other mitigation measures. We will honor and pray for Governor Northam and all our federal, state, and local leaders. But in matters of theology, remember that the gathering of the Church is essential, receiving the sacraments is essential, and in these matters we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

Every good wish in Christ, 
Pastor Esget

Reformation Sunday 2018

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Justification happened on the cross. But justification is never past event but always present reality. Baptism delivers to us justification, and the entire Christian life is the living out of that justification. The name “Luther” is not important. The Bible that Luther gave to people in their own language is. The Bible teaching of justification, the free forgiveness of sins, that’s what is important. “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

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