"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Cor 15:58)
This year is the 200th anniversary of CFW Walther’s birth. He was the first president of our Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod. In my newsletter articles this year, I am sharing some aspect of his life or teaching. Last month I showed how the experiences of his young life led him to be focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This month I would like to look at the issues that led him and thousands of other German Lutherans to emigrate to the United States in the 1800's.
The early part of the 19th century was especially troubling for the Lutheran Church in Germany. Rationalism had infiltrated the clergy. All preaching and teaching had to be reasonable. The Bible was no longer taken seriously. Basic Christian doctrines such as the fall into sin, justification through faith, and the resurrection were denied by many pastors. Sermons were often discourses about current events, science, careless bathing, or the necessity of planting trees. (Sueflow p. 43) On the other hand, there were threats from the government. Many of the princes of the German lands saw no need to have both Reformed and Lutheran Churches, so they combined them into one United church. Pastors were forced to use government approved hymnals, liturgies, and rites.
There was a backlash to all of this by faithful Lutherans. In 1817 Pastor Claus Harms of Hermannsburg issued 95 Theses against the rationalism and unionism of the day and advocated a return to true Lutheran teaching.
In Prussia there were a growing number of people, who became known as “Old Lutherans.” (Altlutheraner) Many of their pastors were imprisoned and harassed by the government for not using the “official” state services. In 1839 about 1,000 of them emigrated to Buffalo, New York and Freistadt (Mequon), Wisconsin.
The city of Dresden in Saxony had such a pastor, named Martin Stephan. His services at St. John’s were filled beyond capacity. People traveled from throughout the region on foot, often leaving home at sunrise in order to get to church on time. His original Bohemian congregation of 30 families felt neglected, now that the congregation had over 1,000 members. Rationalistic pastors and the government became very wary of him and instigated a number of investigations.
Pastor Stephan exerted a strong influence on many of the younger pastors in the area. While he was still a student at Leipzig, CFW was greatly comforted by a letter that Pastor Stephan wrote to him. On January 15, 1837 Walther was called and ordained at the church in Bräunsdorf, not far from Dresden. His first sermon was on Jeremiah 1:6-8 in which the prophet claims that he is only a child. Walther’s sermon had three points: 1) A pastor does not come because of his own will, but because God is calling him; 2) he does not come with his own wisdom, but with the Word of God; and 3) he does not come with his own ability, but with the assistance of God. Walther would only serve this congregation for two years before he emigrated to America. He struggled with both his superintendent and the school teacher who were rationalists. He contended with many of the same problems that the church struggles with today, church attendance, drunkenness, rudeness, and a high number of children born out of wedlock. He was even taken to court for coming to the aid of a woman who was physically abused by her husband to the point that she was knocked unconscious. At the same time, both the church and the government were heating up their investigations of Pastor Stephan. W alther was urged to distance himself from Stephan, whose influence was becoming cult-like, but Walther replied, “Shall I forsake a man who, by God’s grace, has saved my soul?” By 1838 several pastors including CFW Walther, and a group of about 800 people, followed Pastor Stephan to emigrate to the new world.
This part of Walther’s life is something that many Christians struggle with. We want to do what is right and godly, but there are so many obstacles. We feel frustrated. It seems like no good can come of our work for the Lord. Pastor Stephan urged Walther and many of these younger pastors to flee to America with him. Later Walther would confess this as a great sin. He didn’t listen to his own first sermon. He had abandoned the congregation to which God had called him. They thought that they had to come to America to preserve the true church. Walther himself would later call this, “A great error.” (Sermons p. 30)
Walther came to learn that the church has often grown the most both spiritually and in numbers when God’s people are oppressed. On the other hand, when the church is free and unoppressed, Christians often become indifferent and apathetic with regard to their faith. It might seem to us at times as though no good can come of our work for the Lord, but when we trust in Him and share His love with those around us, we can be sure that our labor in the Lord will not be in vain.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Don Hougard