"Pastor, my mother is terminally ill. Would you visit her?”

I had gotten to know Sally and her mother well when Sally’s daughter was enrolled in our preschool ten years ago. The entire family attended a Pentecostal church and expressed no interest in Lutheranism . . . until now.

To my surprise, Sally told me that her mother was baptized and confirmed a Lutheran. Although her mother regularly attended the Pentecostal church with Sally and her daughter, she never was comfortable with its teaching. Consequently, she never became a member. Now that she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she desired the ministrations of a Lutheran pastor.

What makes Lutheran teachings so desirable at a deathbed? Comfort abounds in the three “solas” of our Reformation heritage: sola gratia—grace alone; sola fide—faith alone; sola Scriptura—Scripture alone. As a Lutheran, you boldly confess them in life. Your pastor will use them to comfort you in death.

Grace alone

Grace is God’s undeserved love. Most of us understand the “love” part; at times we may struggle with the “undeserved” part, especially on our deathbeds. During our busy lives, the passage “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) may never disturb us, but it might when it’s our turn to meet death. The date of death on the grave marker will be a stinging, permanent indictment of the imperfection that marked our lives and all human life.

Medications may help manage any pain or discomfort we have during the dying process. But don’t expect any of it to soften death’s blow. A faithful Lutheran pastor will not fill our heads with empty ideas about the great beyond. How can he? We’ve heard him proclaim, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56). In every sermon he’s preached, he’s told us how we have failed God’s expectations and can’t make up for our sins by the good we’ve done.

His message is the message of God. Sin is serious. If we doubt that, then we need to observe how our own bodies age. On the deathbed, when breathing becomes shallow and difficult, the cause of death becomes more evident. Nothing anyone—including doctors, nurses, and technicians—can say or do will change what is happening. Clearly we come to realize our need for divine intervention.