"Every Christian serving faithfully where God has called him already contributes to the mission of the church."

Rev. Dr. Armin Wenz on Lutheran Mission

Anyone who might be afraid of boredom, considering the few means of grace through which the Spirit works, will here discover that under the condition of faithfulness to Christ‘s institutions for the sake of His world-wide mission there is no community of persons except the church which is so flexible and able to live under all nations, with different customs and local traditions, with different languages, and mentalities. To be sure, the Gospel has the power to shape and reform all these mentalities, traditions, customs, and even languages. But what is preached and spread out in the mission of the church is never cultural imperialism of any kind but the reign of Christ. The spiritual character of this reign makes earthly contextualization of a Christian life possible, and at the same time sets the limits for this contextualization.38 The awareness of belonging to His kingdom thus enables Christian missionaries and even laymen to live under all kinds of earthly reigns without necessarily being forced to disobey these authorities. Öberg gives many examples from Luther‘s works where the reformer points to the ability of believers to cross cultural and geographic boundaries, which is due to the fact that they believe in an eternal home. Abraham in Canaan, Joseph in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon, Jonah in Nineveh, are early role models for Christian missionaries explicitly named by Luther.39

One main aspect of this specific Christian freedom certainly is the radical distinction between the power of the Word and the power of the sword. By criticizing the Roman system, the reformers free the mission of the church from methods that are necessary in the state or in businesses, but if applied to the church would spoil everything. AC 28, after pointing to the institution of the office of the keys as fundamental for churchly authority, solemnly states: ―Therefore the power of the Church and the civil power must not be confounded.‖ The bishops, to whom the means of grace and mission are entrusted, are to focus on their specific ecclesial calling. And in doing so they must act ―sine vi, sed verbo‖, without human force, simply by the Word.40 This methodological reductionism certainly robs the church of privileges, money, and power. But at the same time it sets free spiritual activity, divine riches, and power. Faith is a miracle of the Spirit that cannot and must not be forced by means and techniques taken from the realms of politics or economy, as was the case, for example, in the missiology of indulgences, which were supposed to help the church grow in heaven as on earth by having people pay for the wellness of their souls.

At the same time, the anti-hierarchical aspect of Lutheran ecclesiology and missiology results in a rediscovery of the three estates, politia, oeconomia, and ecclesia, in which the Christian as fruit of his saving faith has the task to act in love by serving his neighbour in the very vocation he lives in. No one who has come to faith in Christ, and is preserved therein through Word and sacraments, needs to bring forth additional marks of holiness by leaving behind his natural life. Quite to the contrary, the Lutheran Confessions teach that Christians live their faithful lives together with and next to non- Christians in the orders of creation instituted by God for all mankind.41 Thus every Christian serving faithfully where God has called him already contributes to the mission of the church, since he shows that the Saviour who died for him and the Spirit who brought him to saving faith have their origin in the one loving God who is the Creator and Preserver of mankind. The Lutheran Reformation therefore teaches that Christians as part of the priesthood of believers should first of all focus on being Christian witnesses in their everyday lives. Luther very often ascribes ―a missionizing effect‖ not only to the words of Christ but also to a ―sanctified lifestyle‖.42 Being a faithful mother or father, or a teacher, and regarding children as a gift from God to whom the Gospel shall be proclaimed, is part of God‘s universal mission. Being a ruler and preserving peace, freedom, and justice for all citizens is also part of God‘s universal mission (I Tim. 2:1-7).

Armin Wenz: Mission and Confession, in Lutheran Theological Review, vol. 22 (2009-10)37 Ap 7:10-11.

38 ÖBERG, 114; cf. p. 187.

39 ÖBERG, 103-7, here p. 105: ―The patriarchal ecclesia peregrinans is ultimately a preaching and missionary church. ... [T]he history of the patriarchs is also a chapter in mission history.‖