Romans 3:19-28
St. John 8:31–36
In the name of the
Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Between now and
Reformation Day 2017 we will be celebrating the 500 years since Martin Luther
started the Reformation of the Church. We’ll have special services and hear
special news from the Synod. We’ll take some time to appreciate the heritage we
have in the Lutheran Church. In fact, over the next year, even other Christian
churches will have to tip their hats a bit to Martin Luther and the Lutheran
Church. Whether they liked it or not, every Christian Church in existence today
was effected in some way by the Reformation.
And
that’s all a good thing. The Reformation was an important event. You can hardly
teach a history class without dealing with it in some way. And the Lutheran
Reformation was certainly a godly event. It restored the preaching of the pure
Gospel to the Christian Church. Thanks to Luther and many other church leaders
we have now enjoyed almost 500 years of pure teaching from the Scriptures
Alone, that we are saved by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone. So
it’s a good thing for us to pull out all the stops and really celebrate.
But
there can also be a problem with anniversary celebrations like these. And the
problem is the temptation to start celebrating ourselves. It could be far too
easy for us to pat ourselves on the back, shout Rah! Rah! Rah! for Luther, and
turn it into a big rally for how great we are. It could be far too easy for us
to let the triumphalism get out of hand, to go blind to our own failures, and
to look down in pride upon those around us.
And
so as we begin this anniversary year, we might do well to consider how the Reformation
got started almost 500 years ago. It didn’t start with a parade, a pep rally,
stump speeches or fanfare. It didn’t start with an army of revolutionaries or a
grand assembly of likeminded founding fathers. It started with a monk posting
the outline for a theological debate on a church door. And even this was not as
remarkable as it may seem. The monk was a university professor. He was
concerned about the church’s teaching on indulgences and so as a professor he
wanted to have a debate, a discussion. And the hammer blows that pinned his 95
Theses up on the door were not the loud resounding booms that would shake the
church of Rome, nothing quite so dramatic. They were just announcing a
theological debate. They were announcing what any pastor and teacher of the
church should do: study God’s Word and proclaim it. Obviously the Reformation
did grow into a much greater event, involving princes and bishops, emperors and
popes. But its beginning was simple. And the very first thesis of those 95
posted by Dr. Luther was perhaps the simplest one of all, and one that we
should still keep in mind for ourselves. Thesis 1: “When our Lord Jesus Christ
said, ‘Repent,’ He willed that the whole life of believers should be
repentance.”
This
was Luther’s fundamental point: the whole life of a believer should be about
repentance. Repentance is not a momentary, once in a while thing. It’s not just
what you do when you do something really bad. Repentance is not buying an
indulgence, or trying to make up for a sin by doing a good deed, or just giving
lip-service to God’s Law. Repentance is the whole Christian outlook. It is the
way we stand before God, confessing all our sins, all our failures, to Him, and
relying solely on His grace in Jesus Christ. Repentance is the whole deal: contrition
and faith, sorrow over sin and trust in the Savior, fear of God’s wrath and
love of God’s mercy. Or as Jesus put it in our Gospel reading, repentance is
abiding in Jesus’ Word. Not just checking-in once in a while. Not just keeping
it in the back of our minds. Abiding in the Word of Jesus means having it at
the very center of our lives. Returning to His Truth again and again. Living
the life of repentance, the life of a baptized child of God, the life of
listening to His Word, learning the Truth, and being set free by the Truth.
And
so just as the Reformation was begun with a call to repentance, a call to renew
this life of confessing our sins and abiding in Jesus’ Word, so also it would
be good and right for us to begin this anniversary year with a similar call to
repentance and renewal. It is not a new call, it’s the same call to repent that
has been echoed down throughout the ages, but it is always new for us – we
always need to hear it again. Because we have sinned and need to repent. We
have lived as if God did not matter and as if we mattered most. We have let our
desires and convenience control our actions rather than God’s commands and
promises. In certain ways we have not been faithful Lutherans or faithful
Lutheran churches. We have been embarrassed by God’s Word and tried to water
down His Truth or soften it so as not to offend people, because we fear men
more than we fear God. And we have also thought we’re better than others, more
holy, more pure, more right, and so we have despised those most in need of our
witness, our support, and our love. Repent.
Repent
and abide in Jesus’ Word. Turn away from your sin and live in Jesus’ grace and
truth. “When our Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ He willed that the whole
life of believers should be repentance.” This is the life that finds its source
and its center in Jesus our Savior. For it is in Him, in His Word and
sacraments, that we receive the Gospel, the Good News of our salvation. It is
not in the Law, our achievements or efforts. This life is found for free in the
Gospel: The righteousness of God
has been manifested apart from the law. This is the righteousness that God gives to the sinner on
account of His Son. It’s the righteousness of God through faith in
Jesus Christ for all who believe. And this is a gift from God for all
people. For there is no distinction: 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.
Jesus
died for you. His holy blood was more than enough for God – an all-sufficient
payment for your sins and for the sins of the world. So that now, whoever
believes in Him, whoever abides in His Word, whoever repents and trusts in His
saving name, would be declared righteous in God’s sight. You are free from sin
and free from the demand of the Law to earn your salvation. You are righteous
in Christ, through faith in Him, by the grace of God.
This
is the great and holy treasure that Luther helped to rediscover by abiding in
Jesus’ Word, hearing it, studying it, living it in repentance and faith. And
this is the great and holy treasure we still cherish and proclaim today. That’s
the real reason to celebrate the Reformation. We’re not celebrating ourselves
or even celebrating Luther. We’re celebrating that the Gospel is proclaimed so
clearly and truly for all. The salvation achieved on Christ’s cross and
delivered in His Word is here for us and for the world. That’s the reason to
celebrate the Reformation. The Reformation is STILL all about Jesus.
In the Holy + Name
of Jesus. Amen.
