This argument also carries over into the last seven articles that deal with reforms. Although it is highly unlikely that modern Christians will ever be called upon to give an account of their faith in quite the same manner as the Wittenberg reformers did at Augsburg, the presentation of the Augsburg Confession may still serve as an important model to the Christian life of faith.
For this reason although Christians do not earn their salvation by confessing Christ publicly , faith necessarily gives rise to a public confession of faith through words and actions. If we believe in Jesus and the salvation he offers, we will confess that faith publicly, knowing that whatever the negative social, political, or personal consequences, the forces of this world do not have the power to control our ultimate fate.
Christ has already overcome the world Jn. But faced with the refusal of Rome, he gave in and accepted the breach he had not intended. The painter and engraver Lucas Cranach or Cranach the Elder adopted the reformation ideas of Luther as soon as his theses were posted in He was the official painter at the court of Saxony from until he died, and painted the portraits of Frederick the Wise and Charles V, among others.
He also painted several portraits of Luther as well as altarpieces conveying Reformation ideas, and executed engravings of biblical scenes. Charles the Fifth inherited a vast empire; although he saw himself as a defender of Catholicism, he was unable to prevent the spread of the Reformation Movement in the Holy Roman Empire.
He had to contend with rebellions in Spain, social unrest in Germany, war in Italy and the threat of Turkish invasion in Vienna and the Mediterranean. He spent the end of his life in a Spanish monastery. According to tradition, in , Martin Luther displayed 95 theses on the doors of the chapel of the castle of Wittenberg.
The impact was far greater than anticipated. If Martin Luther had written the Augsburg Confession, there might have been a little more passion, anger, and definitely some stronger choice of words mixed in there. Luther would not have held anything back in going against the Catholics. So then what makes the Augsburg Confession by itself so significant? From a theological perspective, I believe this where the Confession shines the most. The Augsburg Confession actually did seek reconciliation and unity of the Church.
The document confirmed what the Lutherans believed in: it is the foundation they stand on; opposing the views of the Catholics, but wanting to correct the abuses of the Catholic Church, such as communion in both kinds, sales of indulgences, etc.
From a historical perspective, The Augsburg Confession has a significance that I would rank up there with other history-changing documents like the U. The Confession was strong enough that at the Diet of Augsburg, it infuriated the Emperor so much he initially wanted it not read aloud at the diet on June 25, , but he later retracted this statement. Once read aloud, The Augsburg Confession was so powerful that it actually sparked a response, called the Confutatio Augustan , in from the Empire.
The confession was presented to the Diet of Augsburg, an assembly of political leaders in the Holy Roman Empire, on June 25, The Augsburg Confession is held in high esteem by Lutherans because it is deemed to be a catholic confession that explicates and defends essential truths of the Christian faith.
The Augsburg Confession thus claims to profess the orthodox faith, and it intentionally seeks to foster the resolution of the theological conflicts that divided the church in Europe during the 16th century. Its commemoration on June 25 serves as a persistent reminder to the spiritual heirs of the Augsburg confessors that a catholic consciousness, the quest for the unity of the church and ecumenical endeavors should continue to be clear priorities of Christians whose faith and ecclesiastical identity has been shaped by the Augsburg Confession.
The Lutheran community is still called to be a confessing, reforming and unifying movement within the church catholic. The Evangelicals also sought to make a bold confession of their faith in the Augsburg Confession, and they were keenly aware that doing so was fraught with much danger.
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