... on the 500th Anniversary of the 95 Theses...

Out of love for the truth of the Gospel, and a desire to illuminate the teachings, commands and examples of Jesus on how to live Agape Love and Grace in the Good News, I humbly offer this homage to Martin Luther’s 95 Theses on this, the 500^th Anniversary of their original posting.  We need Reform in the church.  Now.  

1.True Faithfulness and therefore true Repentance (Mark 1:15; Matthew 4:17) come from changing our thinking on what it means to follow Jesus, in order to truly be followers of Jesus. 

2.It comes in submission to His Word as the fulfiller of Law and Prophets, our professed Savior and Lord of our lives.

3.Righteousness is not personal piety, purity or holiness.

4.Those are things of God and only of God. 

5.Righteousness is faithfulness to the teachings, commands and examples modeled by Jesus on how we live Agape Love and Grace in the world, which is God’s Will for us, thus exhibiting spiritual gifts and producing the Fruit of the Spirit in the world (Galatians 5:22, 23).   

6.Faithfulness to Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord is living the Gospel Mandate, Jesus’ Manifesto on Agape Love and Grace for how we live in this part of God’s Kingdom, here and now.

7.Faithfulness to Jesus as Savior, Redeemer, Lord and fulfiller of Law and Prophets, our authority and the deliverer of God’s Will in the Good News, the New Covenant of Grace is lived by obeying Jesus’ Agape Love Command, in living what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us.

8.Self-righteousness is not righteousness.  (Romans 5:6-11; Ephesians 2:1-10) 

9.Salvation is not based on merit, as those who represent Empire  (the Holy Roman Empire in the 16ht Century, and in Jesus’ day the Roman Empire) live and promote. 

10.Salvation is not earned. 

11.It is given freely, which is by Grace through Faith. 

12.Faithfulness to living what Jesus commanded and an understanding of salvation by Grace are established in the Gospels; therefore personal salvation is not the motive of followers of Jesus.

13.Personal salvation is God’s goal for us and God’s work to be done, and is given by Grace through faith, which also cannot be made into a work toward salvation. 

14.Our motive is living what God wants us to live and letting God save, thus trusting in God’s Mercy and Grace out of faith in God.  

15.Personal salvation as a motive is “self-centered” and is therefore the work of Empire, setting some as better than others, which is not a value in the Kingdom, as we are all “beggars at the foot of the throne of Grace.” 

16.Piety, purity and holiness is of God and only given by God, so it is not about us “becoming” more pious, pure or holy but rather about us becoming more faithful to the following of God’s Kingdom Values as we have been given them in Jesus’ teachings, commands and examples. 

17.We are called and commanded to live Jesus’ Way of being a child of God in this part of God’s Kingdom, here and now.

18.Worship, praise and tithes are not necessarily works toward salvation, as is taught by Jesus (Mark 7:1-8).

19.Faith Litmus tests of spiritual gifts mean nothing, as is witnessed in the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew 7:21-23).

20.The highest spiritual gift is telling the truth of God, according to Paul (I Corinthians 14:1-5), but even that is subordinate to living the Agape Love commanded by Jesus (I Corinthians 13; Philippians 2:1-11). 

21.In short, we are to rely on the Grace and Agape of God, and live Agape and Grace in the world around us. 

22.That is righteousness for people clothed in Christ Jesus and His righteousness. 

23.That is faithfulness to Christ Jesus, according to His teachings, commandments and examples for us.

24.The church has been corrupted by the lust for power, greed and desire for prestige, position and status which are Empire values, rather than the Agape Love and Grace which are Kingdom of God Values. 

25.It was true during the time of the Holy Roman Empire under Leo X. 

26.In the time of Jesus and the writing of the Gospels it was corrupted under the Roman Empire and by the Temple Cult leaders.

27.The value of hubris in the Empire overshadowed the humility taught and modeled by Jesus in the Kingdom. 

28.It led to false teachings around wealth, prestige and power, even to the exploitation of the people under Rome and then to the selling of indulgences for salvation under Leo X, and now to the false teachings of Church Growth, Prosperity Theology and the emphasis on Personal Salvation. 

29.It has always led believers to the false view that church is an institution to be served, rather than a movement of followers of Jesus, both then and now. 

30.Worship, Praise, Prayer and Tithes as God’s only expectations of us is not a faithful belief in Jesus’ Good News. 

31.Strict adherence to the Law of Moses (selective in almost every case) leads to hypocrisy and not faithfulness as was shown then and has been seen now. 

32.It leads to corrupt misuse and abuse of power by the church and by individual Christians for their own “gain”. 

33.The Church/Church bodies are commanded by Jesus to stand with the poor, marginalized and most vulnerable in the world. 

34.Followers of Jesus are commanded not to judge others, not to refuse to help, not to abandon the most vulnerable and not to reject the stranger in the land, neither by ethnicity, faith practice, sexual orientation or any other difference. 35.Bishops, Clergy and Lay Leaders must stop abusing their power, influence and position for promoting their own gain, pushing their own ideologies and agendas, promulgating their own prejudices and preserving their narcissistic focus on self, and must serve God by serving those who God loves in Agape Love and Grace. 

36.They must stand with (advocate) the poor, marginalized and most vulnerable who Jesus loves and lead others to do so, and stand against those in politics, business, society who would hurt them and lead others to do so, if they are to be faithful to Savior and Lord. 

37.There can no longer be lip service to Jesus’ name and duplicitous devotion to Mammon (wealth), Mars (power) and Narcissus (self-indulgence).

38.Followers of Jesus are people of God and part of God’s creation.

39.We are called and commanded to be stewards of the creation, knowing that all things of the creation/Kingdom of God belong to God.

40.The pollution, waste and destruction of the creation that God loves is a sin against God.

41.The abuse of the creation for the sake of personal profit is unconscionable and immoral.

42.The destruction of others in the world for anyone’s personal or national gain through war is a sin against God and neighbor.

43.The destruction of the creation for convenience or profit destroys the creation that God loves, and is therefore a sin against future generations and against God.

44.We cannot abuse, manipulate or exploit the creation for our own gain and be right with God.

45.We must care for, nurture, protect and responsibly benefit from the creation of which we are a part, in order to be faithful to God.

46.We cannot create need or famine and create a lack of breathable air, drinkable water and viable land, especially for the sake of wealth, power or status in the world, and be right with God.

47.Jesus commanded us to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

48.As followers of Jesus, we cannot turn off our minds and responsibly follow Jesus.

49.We cannot de-value understanding and wisdom and be faithful to Jesus.

50.We cannot turn off our hearts and follow Jesus.

51.We cannot choose to not live Agape Love and be faithful to Jesus.

52.We cannot focus only on our own souls and faithfully live Jesus’ Way.

53.We cannot only concern ourselves with our own, personal salvation and be faithful to Jesus.

54.We cannot abuse our strength by have power over others and be faithful to Christ Jesus, but we must rather exercise self-control.

55.We cannot love only power for ourselves and abdicate power over ourselves and be faithful to Jesus.

56.The Church of Jesus is called and commanded to address the world with the Gospel of Jesus, not reflect worldly empire within the church. 

57.We are called to preach and teach the Agape and Grace Jesus taught, commanded and modeled and lead people to the transformative experience of living it.

58.We are called Salt and Light by Jesus in order that we might impact the world around us in Agape Love and Grace. 

59.We are called to boldly and directly address those economic, political and social expressions of greed, lust for power and prestige that are represented in Empire and which run contrary to the Kingdom values taught in the Gospels. 

60.We are commanded to address hatred for those not like us by standing with those hated with the love of Christ and standing up to those who would abuse them.  

61.We are called and commanded to reach across boundaries to embrace others, build bridges to connect and include all people and work toward peace and justice in Love and Grace.

62.Service and mercy are what are called for in the Gospel of Jesus in love. 

63.Judgment, rejection, exploitation and refusing to forgive are antithetical to the Good News of Jesus, of Agape Love and Grace.

64.Perpetrating injustice is antithetical to the teachings, commands and examples of Jesus.

65.Working toward the Shalom of all people (well-being, completeness and wholeness) is commanded by Jesus, taught by Jesus and modeled by Jesus.

66.American Civil Religion is anti-Christ - Just as Roman Empire and Holy Roman Empire held an arrogant sense of “superiority”, exceptionalism and in America Manifest Destiny opposed the teachings and commands of Jesus, so do many who profess to be “Christian” today.

67.From before the time of the Discovery Doctrine of 1493, the hubris of Euro cultures to “discover”, conquer and exploit lands, resources and peoples across the world has had an evil expression in the world.

68.These twisted beliefs “justify” their lust for power and control, “justify” their selfishness and greed for more and “justify” being Empire in the world through unjust and immoral means. 

69.None of this is justified according to the Kingdom Values of Jesus in the Gospels. 

70.Jesus taught that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” 

71.Jesus taught humility in service and mercy toward all. 

72.Jesus taught generosity of spirit and with one’s time, ability, possessions, love and advocacy. 

73.God is the God of all nations, not just Rome or Holy Roman Empire or America. 

74.Empire is not of the Kingdom nor an expression of it, but rather antithetical to its values. 

75.Clergy and church who promote such hubris, ignorance and the acceptance of hatred because it benefits them do not walk with God in Christ Jesus because it hurts those who Jesus loves. 

76.Those who claim the name of Jesus but live for and out of status, wealth, prestige and position, power do not walk with Christ Jesus because it makes them believe they can exploit those who Jesus loves for their own gain. 

77.Political Ideologies, social philosophies and economic systems that marginalize, victimize and exploit others are not of Christ. 

78.Politicians, clergy, churches, societies and nations that do so are not faithful to God.

79.The self-sacrificing, unconditional active commitment on behalf of the other that is Agape Love, which was commanded by our Lord, does not allow for the abuse, exploitation or hatred of anyone.

80.If salvation is by Grace, then the judgment of others by anyone but Christ Jesus is a tool of the evil. 

81.Grace and Agape Love deny any validity in the judgment of other faiths, sexual orientation, for any other reason by definition.

82.The belief that one is inherently superior to another by virtue of race, gender, sexuality, economic wealth, bloodline or nation/region of origin is absurd and patently false according to the Gospel of Jesus.

83.If Jesus said nothing about something, as we have that witnessed in the Gospels, how important can it be? 

84.If the First Century believers received those who were ethnically, religiously and sexually different and therefore excluded by the Law of Moses from being received into the Body of Christ (Acts 8:26-40), shouldn’t we do the same?   85.While addressing pederasty, Paul addressed the Roman status symbol of buying children for sex by straight, married men of means. 

86.That practice is unacceptable to God – using or exploiting others for one’s own pleasure is not acceptable to God. 

87.It is not from love, but from a sick desire for power and control over others, and status. 

88.Even IF, we erroneously took it to be a statement about homosexually in general or specifically, we must acknowledge that Paul equated using others for sex with the passions that everyone has, and commanded followers of Jesus, “therefore DO NOT JUDGE,” with regard to those who sleep with those of their same gender. (Romans 1:18-2:11) 

89.That was the central teaching in the passage for those who would be faithful to Christ Jesus in Rome. 

90.Twisting the Word in order to justify our prejudices, in order to manipulate others to side with us or to believe that we are spiritually superior, or in order to justify our exploitation of or discrimination against others is not faithfulness to Christ Jesus.  

91.Using selective passages of scripture to judge others harshly and falsely justify oneself is not a faithful use of scripture.

92.Using them to obfuscate one’s own sins of greed, lust for power and desire for prestige/position/status, things of which Jesus did say a great deal, according to the Gospel witness, is unconscionable and immoral.  

93.The church body, leader or member who judges others who are different goes against Christ Jesus.

94.God alone is God, and God is not our cosmic ATM into which we can punch a magic formula and receive prosperity, or our Genie who is required to give us our wishes when we call on God’s name, or Santa who rewards the nice and ignores the naughty, or the Easter Bunny who leaves us treats in the Spring or the Tooth Fairy who compensates us for every little loss we may suffer.

95. God alone is God, and God is not a Capitalist, an Oligarch, a Conservative, a static set of rules, a wrathful bully or an American, but the God of all nations and peoples who is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and all Loving, Merciful and Gracious with all nations and all peoples.                                                                               

    

The Gospel of Jesus is transformative if we are receptive to God’s working in the Holy Spirit, and are willing to live the Agape and Grace at the center of the Gospel of Jesus to which the Holy Spirit always leads and drives us.   It is transformative for individuals, communities, congregations, church bodies and society if we are willing to do what Jesus commanded in His first recorded imperative in the first chapter of the first Gospel written – “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, REPENT (metanoia – change your thinking so that your words/actions/direction will change), and BELIEVE IN THE GOOD NEWS.”  (Mark 1:15)

 

In the name of our Lord Jesus, the Christ.  Amen           October 31, 2017                           Rev. Jamie Kaufman  M.Div.