Text: John 8:31-36

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Gospel which was read earlier.

There’s a very real, terrifying statement that appears in our Epistle reading for today, one that is not something we want to hear, and yet it is needed for us to hear: “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” There it is. I said it, but I don’t like it: I’m a sinner. But at least I find myself in good company because all of you are there along with me. That’s about as Law as Law can get. If there was only a way to turn that negative into a positive. Fortunately for all of us, there is. That positive comes in our Gospel from John 8 for this Reformation Day: “So if the Son set you free, you will be free indeed.”

Once you have heard the Law, you need to hear the Gospel. Once you have been assaulted with the truth of your sinfulness, you need to hear what happens to that sin. Unfortunately, there are different responses to what happens to that sin or what could happen. 500 years ago, the prominent teaching of the Church was that sin could be forgiven by Jesus. But it could also be forgiven by indulgences, praying to saints or relics, or just downright paying to have your sins forgiven. But that’s not what Paul says in Romans. He says, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

Whatever you do or try to do to earn your salvation, it’s man’s work. That means that man is in the driver’s seat and that never works because man is sinful. That’s a problem for you because you can’t save yourself. But in reality, that’s a not a problem for you; rather, it’s a blessing! Paul goes on to say, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law….” So, God has made it clear that the Law won’t save you. He also makes it clear who does save you: “[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.”

You see, the work of salvation is solely that of God through Jesus. Where are you in this equation? You’ve already done your part in this – you’ve sinned. And because you have sinned, that means that you are excluded from the work of salvation. And so, your salvation comes from outside of you through Jesus.

Why is this teaching so important? Because it’s the true Gospel that leads to salvation. It was that Gospel that was hidden from the people 500 years ago. That’s why it’s all the more important for us to hear our Gospel today: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” That is the Gospel my friends. The Gospel is Jesus. The Gospel is Jesus for you. That’s what was missing when the Reformation began.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we are indeed slaves to our sin. Those at the time of Jesus didn’t think they were slaves. They even tell Jesus, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.” Despite all the times God’s people were made slaves, they missed the greater point that they were slaves to their sin. Prior to our text, Jesus tells them, “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” He then follows up by saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” The only one who can set you free from sin is Jesus; the only problem was that they didn’t believe it.

At first, even Luther failed to believe it. He knew that he was trapped, but he thought it was the fact that he was sinful that was causing his slavery. He could never find freedom from that. And in a way, no one, Christian or non-Christian, ever can. We remain sinful even today. And nothing can change that fact. Nothing can redeem us from our sins except Jesus, and that was what the Jews needed to hear from Jesus, that’s what Luther needed to hear from Jesus, and that’s what you need to hear from Jesus.

You need the truth in order to be set free from sin and forgiven. The truth is only found in Jesus Christ and what He has done. The truth is that you “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Because you have sinned, there is no way that you could keep the Law. Because you have sinned, there is no way that you could do any good work to earn your salvation. Instead, you “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus….”

Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have been shown the truth. It is through that truth that God sets His people free, for it reveals Jesus and His work of salvation; through the Gospel He comes to a person and makes that person a believer in Him, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. When a person believes in Christ, he is freed from being a slave to spiritual falsehoods, freed from believing in all that deceives and gives false salvation.

Paul writes a profound truth to the Galatians, one that is a profound truth to us all: “For freedom Christ has set us free.” The message of the Scriptures uncovered by the Reformation is that by faith in Christ, before God we are free, saved by God’s grace alone, for the sake of Christ alone, through faith alone. And this is the true freedom. In Jesus, we are free from the guilt of our sin, free from the power of death to destroy us, and free to live for Jesus and for others.

But now Jesus adds, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” Abide: It means remain, sit down in, rely on, live in my teaching. You see, the Word of God is what works faith in a person. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” Scripture says. But faith not only originates in the Word; the Word of God is also what keeps faith alive. Faith always comes from the outside in. So, for faith to stay alive, not just strong or growing, but to stay alive, we must abide in the Word of God and the Word of God abide in us.

The truth will set you free. The truth is all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are all slaves to sin. What a comfort it is then to hear the words that end today’s Gospel. “The son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The Son of God Himself is the truth that sets us free. To know that truth, then, is to be set free from slavery.

There is nothing that any of us can do to gain heaven. Salvation is entirely a gift of God. A gift is something freely given, which the giver expects no payment in return. The Roman Catholic Church wanted to put a price tag on that salvation by indulgences and works. As we read the Scriptures, there is only one price tag for our salvation and that is the blood of Christ. It is the price that was to be paid for a gift that was to be freely given.

When one hears the teaching of the Church at Luther’s time, how could one accept it? How could you accept that God sent His very Son to take on human form, to live a sinless life, to die for your sinful life so that you may receive forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, but in order to receive all of this, you have to do something to earn it! That is not a gift! That is something that which you earn yourself. That’s not what the Scriptures teach.

Salvation, by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, as found in Scripture alone, is the basis of our daily Christian life because that is what the Word of God teaches. The Reformation and the work of Luther was nothing more than opening the eyes of God’s people to His holy Word so we may see that this wonderful gift of faith is ours, not because of what you and I do, but it is ours solely because of what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has done for us. In the name of Jesus, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The texts for the are the appointed readings for the Festival of the Reformation.

Today we celebrate the 501^stanniversary of the Reformation of the Church. We can also call today “Happy Gospel Day” because that is what the heart of the Reformation was all about for Martin Luther. The Reformation was centered and is still centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and so should the Church today. Unfortunately, that was not always the case of the Church.

In the 16^thCentury, things were not great in the Church. The popular thought and teaching of the Church was salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and in your works. This was the prominent teaching that stemmed from the Papacy to the clergy to the people. This was the official teaching and no one dare argue against it, but throughout the ages, there were those who argued against that teaching for one that was based on Holy Scripture alone.

Going back a century before, in the early 1400s, John Hus had spoken out against the Papacy for some of its teachings, namely, indulgences and the forgiveness which they provide. Hus had come to the conclusion that only God can grant forgiveness, and that to sell what comes only from God was a taking away of God’s power which man could not do. Hus also spoke out against the teachings of salvation and works. On July 6, 1415, Hus was burned at the stake for being a heretic.

Fast forward 100 years and now you had a new voice leading the charge, albeit weary at first. A man by the name of Martin Luther, who at the ripe age of 22, joined the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt. In his early days in the monastery, instead of finding his justification before God through good works and the sacrament of penance, he realized that due to his sinfulness, he could not find that justification that he desperately needed. He sought to obey his monastic vows to the fullest, punishing his body and going to confession as often as possible. Nothing he could do would ease his fear of damnation.

Through his study of the Scriptures, namely Romans 1, things began to change for Luther – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””  His doctrine of “justification by faith” does not mean that what God demands of us is faith, as if this were something we have to do or achieve, and which God then rewards. It means rather that both faith and justification are the work of God, a free gift to sinners.

This was the Gospel being re-revealed, or in some cases, revealed for the first time. While the Church taught justification by faith, it also taught justification by works, something which Luther could not find in the Scriptures. And so, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the Castle Church for debate, largely focusing on the practice and selling of indulgences and the forgiveness granted by them. However, the Roman Catholic Church saw no need for debate, but rather for repentance and recanting on the part of Luther for speaking out against the Church’s teaching.

St. Paul, in his writing to the Romans, and our Epistle for the day, writes this: “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Good works are a law, something that man must do. St. Paul clearly says that works of the law will not make one justified by God. So, if you strip away good works from the equation of salvation, you are left with one thing – Jesus.

This concept of salvation by Jesus alone was damning to the Church because it took away the Church’s power and authority. This was what Luther sought to restore – a restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone, with nothing else attached to it; in this case, the Law. That is why St. Paul later goes on to say, “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….” You see, salvation is not the part of man, but rather of God. Salvation is done apart from man and his actions, leaving the only action-doer Jesus. “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

That is the heart of the Reformation. When you strip away all of the man-made laws, all the extra stuff that is crammed into God’s Word, you are left with one thing and one thing only: you’re left with the Gospel, you’re left with Jesus. Jesus does the action of salvation, not you. That’s the way it has been from the very beginning, from man’s fall into sin, it’s been about Jesus. It hasto be about Jesus because it is Jesus Christ alone that saves.

Luther’s mantra for the Reformation is all about the Divine and not about man. It is Sola Scripture – Scripture alone; Sola Fide – Faith alone; Sola Gratia – Grace alone. And for good measure, we can throw one more sola in: Sola Christus – Christ alone. Where are you in that equation? You’re not there because you can’t be there. Your sin keeps you from being there because your sin separates you from God. And so, we hear the words from Ephesians: “For 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, so that no one may boast.”

Jesus Himself sets out to teach that salvation is solely through Him and nothing else. However, this thought was unpopular with the Pharisees who taught salvation by adherence to the Law. And so, Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” There is one truth when it comes to salvation and that is Jesus. Nothing else will suffice. Freedom in Christ is what we don’t have because of our sin. Our sin keeps us separated from God and there is nothing that we can do to rectify that. And so, Jesus tells the Jews in our Gospel text, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” It is only Jesus that sets you free. It’s not your works. It’s not penance. It’s not indulgences. It’s not Canon Law. It’s only Jesus.

As we celebrate the Reformation, the focus isn’t on Martin Luther, though he was instrumental. The Reformation focus is on the Gospel. The Reformation focus is on Jesus. The Reformation focus is on our salvation by grace, through faith alone in Jesus Christ. By Christ alone, we have been set free from all that separates us from God. To God alone be all glory and honor, through the salvation work of Jesus Christ, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

(Texts: Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36)

Texts: Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The texts for the sermon are the readings appointed for the Festival of the Reformation, which were read earlier.

It’s a good day for you to be here, because do I have a deal for you! You can receive forgiveness of all of your sins, for now and for all eternity, for the low, low price of a few coins when you buy a sheet of paper! How does that sound for you? That was how salvation was granted, or earned, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Salvation was not something given to you by God; rather, it was earned by your works and your money; oh, and Jesus helps out as well.

There seems to be something amiss with that thinking: Jesus + my works + money = forgiveness of sins. There was a major flaw in the thinking of the Church. This thinking ran completely contrary to what is recorded for us in Scripture. For instance, we take verses from the Epistle for today. In Romans, Paul writes, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Paul makes it rather clear that no human being will be saved by what they do or don’t do. This sounds so simple, and yet the Church neglected to hear what Scripture says. According to the doctrine of the papacy, your works made up for the short-comings of Jesus, because even though Jesus is indeed the very Son of God, He did not make full atonement of your sins and so you had to make up the difference.

This is not a comforting doctrine, but rather one that should put the very fear of God into a person. If it depends on my works to make up the difference of salvation, how many works do I need to do? The last thing that I want is to be lying on my deathbed only to find out that I am one work away from salvation.

What else does Paul say to the Romans? He continues by saying, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” I don’t know about you, but now I’m confused. Scripture clearly says that no works of the law will earn salvation, that salvation is achieved only by faith in Jesus Christ. Either the Church is correct and the Word of God is wrong or the Word of God is correct and the Church is wrong.

Looking again at our Epistle, Paul confirms yet again that we have no part in our salvation: “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” If the Word of God says one thing and the Church another, which one is right and which one is wrong? That was the question that a young monk named Martin Luther asked. While he was a monk in the Roman Catholic Church, he came to realize that the papacy said things that were in line with the Word of God and at other times, things that were contrary. So to clarify, Luther did what anyone in the Church should have done and turned to Scripture for the answer.

Luther found that the Church had erred in its doctrine of salvation. Salvation could not be achieved by works. Salvation could not be achieved by money or pieces of paper. Salvation could only be achieved by Jesus Christ and He alone. It is by Jesus Christ and His perfect life, His all-atoning sacrifice upon the cross, His blood shed that forgives and His resurrection that gives to an individual salvation and nothing else. Despite all that the Church was teaching, Luther could not neglect the words of Scripture: “For 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, so that no one may boast.”

As Jesus records in our Gospel from St. John, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” For all those early years in Luther’s life, what he thought was the truth was not. Luther needed the truth in order to be set free from sin and forgiven.

You need the truth in order to be set free from sin and forgiven. The truth is only found in Jesus Christ and what He has done.  The truth is that you “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Because you have sinned, there is no way that you could keep the Law. Because you have sinned, there is no way that you could do any good work to earn your salvation. Instead, you “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus….”

Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have been shown the truth. It is through that truth that God sets His people free, for it reveals Jesus and His work of salvation; through the Gospel He comes to a person and makes that person a believer in Him, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. When a person believes in Christ, he is freed from being a slave to spiritual falsehoods, freed from believing in all that deceives and gives false salvation.

The truth will set you free. The truth is all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are all slaves to sin. What a comfort it is then to hear the words that end today’s Gospel. “The son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The Son of God Himself is the truth that sets us free. To know that truth, then, is to be set free from slavery.

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.” Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Freedom is ours as the Holy Spirit works through God’s Word, for only His Word brings freedom and life. Only through His Word does the Son set us free and if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon is the Epistle, which was read earlier.

“Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Holy Scripture is clear that works will save no one, yet throughout the history of the Church, salvation by works has been taught and continues to plague the Church today. 496 years ago, there was a man by the name of Martin Luther who challenged the Church and its teachings.

By simply nailing a document to the door of the Castle Church, Luther ignited a war, a war that, unfortunately, needed to be waged. In his “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” or what we know as the “Ninety-Five Theses,” Luther challenged the Church and her teachings. He challenged whether or not an indulgence could free a person from purgatory. He challenged whether or not a person could find absolution through indulgences.

Luther took a stance on something that had come under debate, something that should have never come under debate: Holy Scripture. The Roman Catholic Church had taken Scripture and misinterpreted what Scripture said or did not say. One of the largest issues which Luther took head on was the doctrine of justification, or how a person is saved. According to the Roman Catholic Church, a person was saved by Christ and their works. Luther, in searching throughout the Scriptures, could not find the basis of that teaching. What Luther could find came from Ephesians 2: “For 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, so that no one may boast.” Luther could not find that teaching, and for Luther, he was convinced of one thing and one thing only – Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, and Sola Fide: saved by Scripture alone, saved by grace alone, and saved by faith alone. Luther and the other reformers turned solely to God’s own Word. Their answers were not made up to make everyone feel good, nor were they guided by what most people believed, even if those beliefs were false.

As Luther studied the Scriptures, passages such as today’s text jumped out at Luther because he knew it was referring to himself. He knew that it referred to the German people. He knew that it referred to all people. Before God the judge, all mankind stands guilty of sin and liable for punishment because of their many transgressions. Luther knew this and this became a foundation to his theology.

What was confusing to Luther was that the Church taught that through Jesus Christ and your works, you would receive salvation. But how could that be when Scripture clearly says, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”? For Luther, he saw that this contradicted the teaching of the Church and he deduced that someone had to be wrong. But the question was who: the Church or God? Luther knew that he had sinned, that he had missed the mark. Far from earning God’s declaration of righteousness, the Law only produced a clear knowledge in him of far he had missed the mark of the holiness God really demanded.

At the heart of the Reformation lied the question of salvation: are you saved by Jesus Christ alone or are you saved by your works? If it was the latter, Luther knew that he was damned because his works could never do enough. What about your works? Are they enough to earn you forgiveness in the eyes of God? Your works earn you nothing but damnation because your works cannot save you.

God declares a sinner not guilty of sin – not by what they have done but what Jesus has done for them. Free of sin, guilt, and punishment, the acquitted can enter the joys of heaven. This is the result of Christ and Christ alone, not the result of good works that we do.

As we celebrate the Reformation of the Church, it is not about starting a new church. It is not about wanting things our way. The Reformation was all about a return to the Scriptures, a return to what God had said and what He had not said. It was all about the work of Jesus doing everything for us, not about Jesus doing it for us with our help.

The avenue by which God’s declaration of “not guilty” becomes ours in faith in Jesus Christ, not by trusting in our observance of the Law or our good works to earn heaven. That is why Luther spoke out against the Church and wrote the 95 Theses. That is why Luther wrote pamphlet after pamphlet. The more that the Roman Catholic Church said that we had to do something to receive salvation, the more adamant Luther was in his writings against the Church, that salvation was from God alone and not from our works.

What a relief to know that my salvation is not dependent upon what I do! I know all the things that I have done wrong. I know all the ways that I’ve sinned. To know that through my own efforts I would receive salvation is a scary thought. There is nothing good about me. There is nothing redeemable about me, yet God has seen fit to extend to me the forgiveness of my sins, not on account of my actions, but on account of the actions of His Son, Jesus Christ. So it was for Luther, and so it is for you, as well.

Salvation is entirely a gift of God. A gift is something freely given, which the giver expects no payment. For the Christian, our salvation does not depend on us. How could a person accept that God sent His very Son to take on human form, to live a sinless life, to die for your sinful life so that you may receive forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, but, in order to receive that forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, you have to do something to earn it? That is not a gift, that’s some you have to earn.

What was at stake 496 years ago is still at stake today: salvation by Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. It is solely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ do we receive our forgiveness. God reaches down with His amazing, unmerited grace and makes our relationship with Him right and good. Nothing of our do we bring; only His unmerited love for us in Jesus, and Him alone, gives us that righteousness that we need for eternal life.

Christ alone is the heart of the Reformation. Christ is Scripture’s answer and God’s answer to the question of righteousness. Faith alone holds onto Jesus, onto God’s grace in Him. Salvation, by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, as found in Scripture alone, is the sole source of our forgiveness and the privilege of being called children of God. In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

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