Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text for this 500th Anniversary celebration of the Reformation is the Gospel Lesson just read, John 8:31-36. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Jesus mentions two things that are particularly precious to us: truth, and freedom. It is obvious that God knows the blessedness of these two things, and wants us to have them! They are two of the chief blessings of His creation of mankind. We should never doubt that God wills us to have these things, because God is love and these are truly good things.
- If there is opposition to God – and we know that there is [the devil, the unbelieving and rebellious world, and our own sin-infected nature] – then these are two of the foundational blessings that they would like to strip us of. And throughout the history of mankind, both of these things have been attacked and imperiled.
- I suspect that our greatest challenge as Christians is to gain and retain these two blessings: truth and freedom. Jesus knew it, and so He earnestly conveys to us how these two blessings are given and retained.
- And this is what the Reformation was all about. Truth had been lost, especially the truth in regard to God’s gracious mercy and His gift of salvation in Christ Jesus. When truth is lost so is freedom – and the church was subjected to the enslaving lie that we must “save” ourselves by our own works.
- In that all of this is completely counter to the will of God, and the precious Words of Jesus, and our own blessedness, the circumstance of this enslavement of the church was intolerable. Luther, once aware of the truth and the freedom of the Gospel, was compelled to do what he did. Once “the Son sets you free” you are free indeed, and then you cannot tolerate either error or enslavement.
- Are we celebrating the 500th Anniversary of this Reformation process, one based solely in the work of Jesus to give us truth and freedom? The more important question is “are we a part of the movement – by the grace of God – wherein Jesus is freeing us by means of truth?” Is this freedom the very gist of our life – lived and celebrated every day?
- Jesus makes it clear that:
I. Knowing The Truth Comes By Abiding In Jesus’ Word – Especially In Regard To Repentance, The Gracious Mercy Of God, And God Justifying Us By Faith Alone
Text: “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Epistle: “The law speaks to those under the law 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.”
Epistle: “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. . . . There is no distinction: 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 “blood atonement” to be received by faith. . . . One is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
Statement: This is the Word of Jesus, the truth that is taught in God’s Word, the Holy Scripture, from cover to cover. It is truth even though it contradicts our sense of justice – and thank God that it is true, considering our sin and guilt! It is truth even though it contradicts our desire to “justify” ourselves and “save” ourselves by our own goodness! To think this possible is to be enslaved to a lie – for by our own works no human being will be justified! The good news of the Gospel is true even though the majority of humanity rejects it in rebellion against God. Thankfully, truth is never determined democratically, by majority vote.
Application: This truth can be lost – and along with it freedom and all blessings! The antidote to this? “Abide in Jesus’ Word.” Allow the Scripture to dictate and determine truth for you! In that it is God’s Word, there is no doubt that it does determine truth objectively! The only question, when it comes to humanity, is whether or not we are among those who “know the truth.” I cannot beg you and plead with you forcefully enough to abide in Christ’s Word! There is no better, no more blessed advice and encouragement, than to abide in Jesus’ Word! For:
II. This Truth Alone Can Bring Freedom To Human Beings
A. It Frees Us From Sin and Condemnation
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
B. It Frees Us From Fear And Ignorance Of God
John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent.”
1 John 4:16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
C. This Truth Alone Frees Us From Hypocrisy And Religiosity, And The Arrogance Of Self-Righteousness
Matt. 5:20 “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.“
Epistle: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift.”
D. This Truth Alone Frees Us To Respond To Love With Love
John 15:9,12,13 “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. . . . This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Statement: It is ignorance and slavery to think that we can free ourselves from sin and guilt, and that we can do so by simply “reforming” ourselves and doing good works. This is delusion, not truth. And it is the worst kind of delusion – enslaving one to ignorance of God as He truly is, denying that He is full of love, grace, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and eager to bless us with the gift of justification and salvation.
Application: One thing, and one thing alone can free us from this delusion and slavery: The truth, the good news of God’s redemption and salvation in Christ Jesus. And this truth is granted to us by one means only – the Word of Jesus, the Word of God, the Holy Scripture. It is true that we all need “reformation.” But that “re-formation” is something that only God can do for us. This is the gift of God in Christ Jesus!
Conclusion: This was the gist of the matter some 500 years ago – when Martin Luther and the other “reformers” were freed by Jesus and His Word. This “freedom” and truth cannot be forsaken, once it has gripped a believer’s heart. “Abiding” in the Word of Jesus makes us “truly His disciples.”
This remains the gist of the matter for each and every human being to this day – whether or not we will abide in Jesus’ Word, so that we know the truth and are set free by that truth!
The only alternative is to remain enslaved to delusion and sin, rebellion against God, and rejection of His gracious love and salvation! God forbid such a sordid and demonic state for any of us!
You have heard His Word, and you have believed in Him. As Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” God grant it to each of us! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.