october 30 2022
October 30th 2022 Reformation Sunday
Old Testament: Revelation 14:6-7 “An eternal Gospel to proclaim”
Psalm: Psalm 46 “God is our refuge and strength”
Epistle: Romans 3:19-28 “All have sinned and fall short”
Gospel: John 8:31-36 “The truth will set you free”
Sermon Text: John 8:31-36 and Romans 3:19-28
Sermon Title: “Set Free … By Grace”
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. (John 8:31-32) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith”. (Romans 3:23-25a) “For we hold that one is justified by faith, apart from works of the law”. (Romans 3:28) “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. (John 8:36) These are (some of) the main texts for our celebration of the Reformation this morning.
In John chapter 8, Jesus was in the midst of one of His many long discussions (arguments) with the Pharisees. They told Him, among other things, “Your testimony is not true” (John 8:13b). In other words, they called Jesus a liar. But (as you know) Jesus always got the better of the religious leaders, even when they treated persecuted Him. Here the Gospel indicates that some heard His words and believed in Him.
Now, whether this was superficial or saving faith is not clear from the text, but John records “Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, if you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. (John 8:31-32) So, what does it mean to “abide”? It means to remain, to continue in the Word and doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ until the day we die; for our Savior said; “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of eternal life”. (Revelation 2:10b)
Knowing the truth involves more than just head knowledge, but also believing what the Word of God testifies to; that Christ Jesus is the world’s only Savior from sin. Being a disciple of Jesus includes being willing to be taught from God’s Word, “to observe all that Christ commanded you”. (Matthew 28:20a) Disciples are made not only through baptism; where they are brought into God’s family, but also through the ongoing teaching and preaching of the church. We are called to treasure God’s Word; “to store up His Word in our hearts”. (Psalm 119:11a) We are to follow the example of the Virgin Mary who after hearing the Word of God through the angels; “treasured all these things; pondering them in her heart”. (Luke 2:19) We are question to treasure God’s Word, not question it. (or to call Jesus a liar)
Again, Jesus had just spoken words that had aroused the interest of the crowd, even the beginnings of faith. If He were a modern speaker, Jesus woyld have been told that He had them right where He wanted them; in the palm of His hand so to speak; all He had to do now was to further persuade them with smooth words and a nice personality. That’s how many of us think problems are solved, but here is what really happened; when Jesus simply spoke words to them about “being free”, suddenly they want to argue with Him.
Can you imagine anyone arguing with Jesus, questioning His Word? Of course you can imagine it, not only because it is testified to throughout Holy Scripture, but also because we do it all the time. Every time we think or act in ways that indicate that we know better than God what is good for us or for the church; we are really arguing with God; telling Jesus “Your testimony is not true”. (John 8:13b)
The Pharisees “answered Him, we are descendants of Abraham, we have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it You say, you will be made free”? (John 8:33) How could the Pharisees make such a foolish argument; how could they have such a short memory of what their own Scriptures testify to? Do they not remember the Israelites being enslaved by the Egyptians and then being rescued by the Lord through the hand of Moses? Not to mention being exiled in Babylon and Persia? Not to mention the fact that they were currently under the thumb of the Roman government who watched their every move. All of these examples from their history and yet they say; No Jesus; “we have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it You say that we will become free”? (John 8:32b-33)
Of course, Jesus is not referring (primarily) to physical slavery, but rather to their slavery to sin; which they also refused to acknowledge. “Jesus answered them; truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin”. (John 8:34) Since the fall into sin, all people are born slaves to sin; doomed to eternal death and unable to even see the extent of their slavery. According to our Lutheran Confessions, “man is completely dead and corrupted as far as anything good is concerned”. (Formula of Concord, Article II; par. 7) The Apostle Paul also wrote, “you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked’. (Ephesians 2:1a)
Despite their arguing with Him, Jesus continues to teach; “The slave does not remain in the house forever, but the son remains forever”. (John 8:35) A slave can never be sure of their status in the house; it could change at any time; only the Son of God can bring true/genuine freedom and make us children of God. True freedom involves continuing to abide/remain in Christ and His holy and precious Word; which the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to saving faith and to keep us in that faith. “So, if the Son sets you free (from sin), you will be free indeed”; (John 8.36) free from the power of sin, death, and the devil in your lives by Christ’s death and bodily resurrection. This freedom from sin, death, and devil, is solely by the grace of God, received through faith in Christ Jesus; for our works merit us nothing before God.
This doctrine is called justification and it is the central teaching which comes out of the time of the Reformation. It was always taught in Scripture, but by the time of Luther it had been nearly lost through corruption in the church. When Luther rediscovered this teaching; which is the Gospel; in the writings of St. Paul, he would not be silenced. When given an ultimatum to recant/renounce his teaching in order to save his life, Luther after a brief time to think it over, said the famous words; “Here I stand, I can do no other”. Luther was confident because he was sure that this was the pure teaching of the Holy Scriptures.
As we heard from Jesus, we are all born in original sin; unable to do truly good works before God; therefore, Paul wrote, “whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be held accountable to God; for by works of the law, no one will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin”. (Romans 3:19-20) In other words, the Word of God; in this case the Law of God, proves our guilt before Him; we have transgressed every commandment of God and deserve nothing but His eternal wrath. So, in this way, the law of God “shuts the mouth” of all sinners.
As important as good works are in the life of the Christian, (for we know that faith is never without good works) they have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation; “The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it; for the righteousness of God (is) through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe”. (Romans 3:21-22a)
Good works do not earn salvation! Why? “There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:22b-23) All people, without exception, deserve God’s wrath and eternal punishment and apart from Christ, that is what they will receive. Again, our Confessions teach; “Scripture shouts everywhere, that we are far from the perfection that God’s Law requires”. (Apology of the Augsburg Confession)
“As it is written, none is righteous, no not one”. (Romans 3:10) And, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us … if we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us”. (1st John 1:8, 10) “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins”. (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
Therefore, our salvation, the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life is solely by the grace and mercy of God, without any merits or worthiness on our part. As Paul now declares, “We are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith”. (Romans 3:24-25a) Jesus has fully atoned for all of our sins (and the sins of the world) by the shedding of His precious blood on the cross; giving us His own righteousness. This is what Luther called the “great exchange”; our sin for Christ’s righteousness.
“This was to show God’s righteousness, because in divine forbearance (patience) He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus”. (Romans 3:25b-26) “That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them”. (2nd Corinthians 5:19a)
Therefore, the Apostle Paul asks, “what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded! (Because no one deserves salvation; our justification is a free gift, received by faith) By what kind of law? By a law of works? (Of course not! For Paul has already clearly taught, “by works of the law, no human being will be justified in His sight”. Romans 3:20a) No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law”. (Romans 3:27-28) “It is by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works”. (Ephesians 2:8-9a)
To summarize, this is how justification is taught in the Augsburg Confession, Article IV, “We teach that human beings cannot be justified before God by their own powers, merits, or works. But they are justified as a gift; for Christ’s sake, through faith, when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for His sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us”.
This is the “Eternal Gospel”; (Revelation 14:6a) the good news that in Christ Jesus; God justifies the ungodly/sinner; through faith. This is the Biblical doctrine that Luther “rediscovered” in 1517 and this is what we continue to proclaim to the world even today. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, that we are set free from the consequences of our sins; both physical and eternal death. Therefore, we gladly receive His gifts that He won for us on the cross; here in His Word and Sacrament. For this is where He promised to deliver them. “The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress”. (Psalm 46:7) Thanks be to God for His gracious gifts. Amen.
The peace of God …