Reformation Day (2023) (Observed)
Trinity • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Romans 3:19-28
Romans 3:19-28
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ we celebrate today the blessed day of the Reformation when the message of salvation that had been obscured and lost returned to the Church. For at the time the Gospel was under attack and had largely been twisted and corrupted, it had become deformed, but thanks be to God that the message of Salvation echoed forth once more through the Church of Christ.
The De-Formation of the Church
They confused Law and Gospel.
That is why we focus on these teachings that our clergy and laypeople might know the difference. Not only in our sermons, but also in our Bible Studies, confirmation and in all places, because if we confuse these two teachings, people being to lose faith and hope.
The Church taught that it was by the Law that we were justified.
This is a tremendous tragedy that the children of God were taught that the work their shepherd did for them was not enough to grant them entrance into the kingdom of heaven. All He did was provide a path, but it was up to them to get in to heaven. To atone for all your sins and to make satisfaction. So when asked if you die tonight would you go to heaven, they say I hope, but they were never sure. Have they really confessed all of their sins, have actually completed all of their penance? Can you be sure that when you stand before the gates of heaven that you have done enough to be declared worthy.
People fell into despair or pride.
Because this is all the Law offers. It either lays you down so low in the dust of the earth, that you give up entirely as you realize that there is no hope. For what is the sole reason that you have been doing these good works and trying to atone, it’s because you want to save your skin, good works are to be altruitistic and as long as you are doing them to avoid hell. You condemn yourself by them. That is why the text says, through the Law comes knowledge of sin, not salvation.
Righteousness Apart From the Law
Salvation is through faith.
But what does faith mean? The Law has you trust in the work of your own hands. The Gospel, points you to the work of Christ. For what does Jesus say there, It’s finished, every work, every demand that the Law has made of, He says that He has finished for you. For He has taken upon himself all of your sins, and atoned for them fully.
This is difficult to understand.
Because aren’t we supposed to make up for our wrongs? Aren’t we supposed to pay for the wrongs we have committed? Imagine for a moment, there are two brothers, the younger brother messes up, and the father is going to punish the younger brother, and the older brother knows that the punishment is more than he can bear and will kill him. So he says to his father, let his punishment be mine to satisfy the debt.
The Gospel is even in the Old Testament.
For it was foretold that this is what the Messiah would do, that He would suffer in our place so that our sins might be forgiven, that He would bear the weight of our sins, and He would be crushed under iniquities that we might have forgiveness and life. The forgiveness He accomplished would be a gift to us.
We are justified by grace.
If it is by grace, that means its a gift and not a result of our works, but rather given to us out of love. This is what the Reformation was about, why did they want to hide from us the love that Christ has for those he calls his brothers and sisters.
The Re-Formation of the Church
This was painful for the Church.
It was because this false teaching had run deep, to the very top of the church and had infiltrated much of what was happening in the Church, as people were decieving the people of God, and then trying to profit off of it. We celebrate Reformation because the work of Christ is glorified once again, and has been brought back to the center. The gospel is preached that Jesus has forgiven you. We are not yet done.
Even today we seek unity.
It was the fervent prayer of Christ that the Church be one, and that all of us might be brought together around the Word which is True.
But not at the cost of doctrine.
This is where folks find the Lutherans stubborn, why can’t we just set aside teaching for the sake of unity? Jesus did want the Church to come together that they might deny God’s Word, that is Holy Scripture, each Word here is God-spirited and is of great value, and so we should not set them aside.
Why? Because Christ died that we might have hope.
We have that hope in God’s Word. Do we think we can remain a faithful church, if we say that the Bible is untrue, that we are going to ignore this part or that part? No we want the pure Word of God for it is not only our hope, but our comfort as well.
The Comfort of the Gospel
The Law is good when used to show sin.
It is easy for us to villify the Law, but the Scriptures tell us that the Law is good, but what it shows is that sin dwells in us.
It shows that we dare not have faith in ourselves.
You would be a fool to trust in the work of your own hands to secure your salvation, all have faith, that is trust, or belief, the question is what does it cling to?
Rather we are justified by grace as a gift.
It wasn’t anyting that you did, anything that you offered up to God, it wasn’t because you tried hard, or did your best, or whatever people might try to say. It was a gift given to you, because Jesus loves you, and He didn’t want you to perish, so He took your sins upon himself and atoned for them all.
Jesus redeemed you!
He redeemed not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood his innocent suffering and death that you might be His own and live with him in his kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.
Jesus’ blood propitiates, protects, you.
That wrath of God, the End of the World and the coming Judgment that all rightly fear for it is terrible, Jesus has promised to keep you safe from it, like that loving brother will stand between you and the Father’s wrath that you might be safe.
The God’s Gift to You
If God didn’t punish sin, He would be unjust.
What good ruler or judge let’s evil go unpunished? There is a debt that must be paid certainly. The Scriptures are clear on that, but that debt is far more than most people realize. That is why
Jesus came to suffer for you.
You couldn’t pay that debt or cover that cost, and if you try, you will find out that it is more than you can believe, but He finished what we could not.
Gave His life as a gift for you.
I know I keep coming back to this, but I do not want you to lose sight of it. For when we lose this, we drift into false teaching that steals away the merits of Christ. For
Faith receives this.
Faith receives the forgiveness, the life, and the works of Christ and we say Amen, which means yes, yes, it shall be so. We contribute nothing, we offer nothing, Christ gives it entirely to you.
The Reformation is not Done
There are many still ensnared by false teaching.
Some might think well of course there is still the division between the Lutherans and the Catholics, but that I’m not talking just about church denominations, but the teachings.
You will find that the reliance on works is everywhere.
When you go to a funeral and you hear someone say that they were a good person as proof that they are in heaven. We say no it was Jesus who saved them. We find it in Churches who think that the Gospel is just what you give to new members, and after that they get about the real business of the CHristian life, and forget about grace.
Satan is the source of this teaching.
He has been attempting to deform the CHurch for centuries, but we keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus who for our sake became sin so that we might have peace with God. We do not rely on our works, but solely upon the work of Jesus who is there for you upon the Cross.
So my Brothers and SIsters in CHrist, let us treasure the day of the Reformation for it began the process of healing the Church from this false teaching. It’s not done yet, and Satan will continue to attack wherever the Gospel is proclaimed and the Sacraments are rightly administered. When the Satan comes to steal from us the precious Gospel, the Gift of Jesus Christ our Lord, then we shall remain rooted in the Word and say, Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, May God help me. Amen.