Martyrdom means witness, and this unto death, as we heard in our opening from Rev. 2: “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.” We can well imagine that these words of our Lord rang in the ears of Polycarp during his own martyrdom.
And we do see in the martyrdom of Polycarp, and indeed of all the saints, that this is not just for one’s own salvation—for one is not saved by his own death, but Christ’s. But holding fast to this confession of the truth of the crucified and risen Christ, even unto death, this a witness, a martyrdom, of love to those who follow in the footsteps of the martyrs—indeed the footsteps of each and every saint of God in His Christian Church. This is the greatest of love.
To hear and/or read the entire sermon preached for Invocavit, "Tempted As We Are," click on this link. http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3705
And we do see in the martyrdom of Polycarp, and indeed of all the saints, that this is not just for one’s own salvation—for one is not saved by his own death, but Christ’s. But holding fast to this confession of the truth of the crucified and risen Christ, even unto death, this a witness, a martyrdom, of love to those who follow in the footsteps of the martyrs—indeed the footsteps of each and every saint of God in His Christian Church. This is the greatest of love.
To hear and/or read the entire sermon preached for Invocavit, "Tempted As We Are," click on this link. http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3705
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