Claim Your Reformation Freedom

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If you had to sum up the Lutheran Reformation in one word, what would it be?  What is the one thing that sets our church apart from other churches?  What was it that Martin Luther discovered that was so important and so different that we still call ourselves Lutherans today?  It’s hard to come up with only one word, but you could make a fair case for the one word, “Freedom.”  Martin Luther discovered the secret to freeing men from the tyranny a guilty conscience, to unshackling them from their slavery to sin.  How?  He didn’t come up with a new system of laws, trying to make up for sin – he re-discovered God’s way to get rid of sin completely.  This discovery – given by God, had the power to free sinners from the paralyzing fear of God’s punishment.  But this freedom wasn’t his invention, he only found the freedom that had been proclaimed centuries earlier by Christ. This freedom comes from Christ, and it was discovered anew at the time of the reformation.  This morning we will ponder Jesus’ own words about our freedom as he encourages you:   

Claim your reformation freedom

1. True freedom is found in Christ alone 

2. Defend your freedom by remaining in his word

The short dialogue we read from John is part of a longer section of the Bible that actually spans all of chapters seven and eight.  Jesus has gone to the feast of Tabernacles, a huge festival in Jerusalem.  He is well known by this time, and past the time of his greatest popularity.  He is already strongly opposed by many of the leaders in Jerusalem, in fact they are only 6 months away from putting him to death.   He was already several days into this festival, and as he clearly testified that he was from the Father, many believed in him.  And so in the midst of these large crowds, he addressed his followers, though surely some enemies were also present in the large crowd.

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The reason they needed this encouragement was all around them.  They lived in a land that was growing increasing hostile to Christ and his message.  Jesus had already lost many of his disciples because his teachings were too hard to accept. The pressure to reject Jesus would become stronger once he was killed and his followers were banned from the synagogue and their communities.  And so they would need to hold fast to his teachings, because that was what could get them through it, and enable them to persevere as his disciples. His teaching had the power to keep them in the faith.  This power enabled them to see the truth.  It was completely accurate, and completely reliable.  But by “the truth”, he wasn’t simply talking about accuracy, but himself as God’s true messenger to tell the world THE truth – about God, man, and the relationship.  Jesus said this truth also has power.

Now some in the crowd took offense at this teaching, especially the part about setting them free.  They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants  and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” They were free.  Why did they need Jesus to set them free?  This was insulting.  They took God’s promise to Abraham very seriously – if wrongly.  They believed that a combination of their special Israelite DNA, in combination with their ritual observance of the Law mad them truly free and above all other people.  In fact at the very festival they were celebrating, they remembered how God had freed them from Egypt.  And though God had used the Babylonians and Romans to chasten the Jews, they had never been re-enslaved.  They were still free in their eyes.  So what was Jesus’ problem, some of them wondered.

As happened so often, Jesus was talking about something much deeper.  But he was dealing with sinful people who rarely got his point.  He was referring to true slavery – slavery to sin.  “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” This was something DNA and keeping the law had no power over. He was inviting them to consider:  Can your DNA free you from having sinful thoughts?  Does your Israelite heritage prevent you from doing sinful things?  Does keeping the law get rid of the guilt that comes with sin, or the punishment God has in store for sinners?  Despite their pride, they were enslaved – and they hadn’t even realized it. Jesus went on, “Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.” Jesus warned them that as slaves, they had no power to free themselves.  Their master, sin, was driving them down the road to Hell, and they couldn’t keep themselves from obeying.  To avoid Hell, they needed to recognize this reality of their slavery, and look to Jesus to find freedom.

It might seem, on the surface of things, that this account doesn’t have much to say to us.  After all, we have nothing in common with the Jews Jesus was talking to. We aren’t Jewish, or We in a synagogue.  We are Lutherans!  No matter what race we are, None of us is claiming that our DNA makes us better people, or that it earns our salvation for us, or makes God more pleased with us.  But even as Lutherans, we face the temptation to look to external things to free us from our sins.  We may look for freedom in our “being Lutheran” rather than in Christ alone.  Here we are at Reformation Sunday.  A day to congratulate ourselves – we got it right!  We are a special people, who come from the pure spiritual line of Luther, our German forefathers, and the WELS.  We have the pure doctrine, we have the best heritage anyone could ask for – so hurray us.

Do you see problem that can develop?  Not that there’s anything wrong with Lutheranism at all.  The problem is our wicked sinful nature that can take God’s greatest gifts, and twist them into something sinful and false.  Our sinful nature is full of pride.  It can’t stand the thought that our own works are worthless.  Its feelings are hurt when it hears that we have to rely on Christ alone.  And so it looks for any way it can find to contribute at least a little something to our salvation.  And so it turns to “being Lutheran”.  That can become a substitute for Jesus.

You might think that sounds a little far fetched?  We would never try to earn salvation by what we do.  But has it ever happened that you sinned, and you felt guilty about it – and you wanted that guilt to go away.  And so your turned to – going to church on Sunday.  Or giving a little extra money, or doing a little extra Bible reading.  We even send our kids to catechism.  We do our part to make up for sin.  Even in addition to Jesus – that is blasphemy.  Is Bible study or home devotions ever seem like a chore to you?  May be it’s because you’re looking at them like something you have to do for God to be happy.  Yes, our sinful pride can even turn something good into a blasphemous work that we dare to put in Christ’s place.

Of course sometimes our pride will have the opposite effect.  Instead of worrying that we need to do more to make up for our sins, we can think we’ve already done enough.  I went to church this morning, so I’ve earned the right to spend the rest of the day being selfish.  At least I’m better than those people who never go to church, or who go to the wrong church.  God should cut me a little slack for that, right?  Our sinful nature loves to be a Christian - outwardly.  Then it can feel better about itself.  And by just enough church-attendance, offerings, Christian behavior – with a little bit of Lutheran pride mixed in – we can delude ourselves into thinking we have made up for our sin.  But that is not the truth, and certainly that has nothing to do with the freedom Jesus described – it’s just a more subtle form of slavery.  And as slaves, we can’t free ourselves.  We need a son to do that.  That’s why Jesus says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Only Jesus can make us free from sin.  First of all, only Jesus has freed us from sin’s condemnation.  Once we earned God’s punishment, it couldn’t be un-done.  And so Jesus took the punishment for us.  He lived in our place, only without sin.  And he got rid of the condemnation and the guilt, not by simply erasing it, but by taking it onto himself and bearing its full weight in our place.  God the Father was pleased with Jesus’ perfect life.  He was pleased with the way Jesus was actually free from sin.  That a sinful thought never entered his mind.  That he lived as God’s free son, freely giving all he had for the salvation of sinner.  And in God’s courtroom, God the Judge declared us not guilty for what Jesus has done. He deemed that Jesus’ death sentence in our place was a valid trade.  He declared that everything the Law demanded of us has been done in Christ Jesus, and that it is credited to our account.  So there is no condemnation for us in Christ.  The not-guilty verdict is ours. Jesus resurrection was like the gavel pounding, declaring us not- guilty.  We can now go as free men and women.

In addition to the verdict, the guilty conscience is gone in Christ.  We don’t have to wonder if we’ve done enough.  We don’t have to live in worry or fear, coming to church grimly every Sunday, hoping God will forgive us again this time.  In Christ there is confidence.  You sins ARE forgiven.  What you do has no place in that equation.  You know that when God looks at your record, he doesn’t see a list of your sins, because it has been replaced with a record of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection in your place.  So sin has no power of your, either to condemn you, or even to bother your conscience.  You are under no obligation, you are not in debt – the price is paid.  Can you think of a good word to describe that?  How about FREE!  As Jesus says,  if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

And we are free.  But our freedom is under attack.  The Devil hates the true freedom we enjoy as Christians, our spiritual freedom from sin and its punishment.  He will do whatever he can to take it away from us, and bring us back as slaves to serve him.  So take Jesus’ advice:

II. Defend your freedom by remaining in his word

Returning to Jerusalem for a moment, the Jews who believed in Jesus would certainly be tempted to revert back to Judaism, and rely on their traditions, at least in part, for their freedom.  They had grown up with these traditions, they were used to work-righteousness, and many of their friends and family would reject Jesus.  And so Jesus told them plainly that they needed to remain in his word, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”

He would be gone soon.  He would die, rise, and ascend into heaven.  They could no longer follow him around and listen to his lectures.  They couldn’t have conversations with him and ask him their questions.  They might have felt as though they were left without any guidance or help.  But Jesus would still be present in his Word.  It contained all they needed to know, and it had the power to sustain their faith.  Of course, this word at first took the form of the apostolic teaching.  But very soon it was written down, and it still exists for us in the Bible.  We have that exact same word preserved for us.

And so for us as well,  there is only ONE thing that is able to keep us from falling back into the slavery of sin – Jesus’ Word.  There are lies which tempt us to sin all around.  There are movies, and billboards trying to get us to sin in our minds if not in actions.  There is money all around us – and with more money comes more temptations to be selfish and greedy.  There are false philosophies touted on television while the truth of the Bible is made fun of as out-dated and old fashioned.  Our busy American lifestyle easily convinces us that we don’t have time for God’s Word – and if we do, it’s not much time.  We’re told that if we just keep our faith to ourselves, limit it to Sunday morning, and go along with the sinful world when asked, then we will be accepted – and of course being a closet Christian can eventually snuff out our faith.

And yet we need to stay firm to the end!  How will that possibly happen against such odds?  God’s Word can keep us unshaken.  God’s Word – the divine history, poetry, prophecy, and wisdom – the message about our Savior – that contains the truth which sets us free.  God’s Word exposes our sin for what it is.  It warns us about the sin in the world all around us.  It leads us to repent of the sin in our heart.  And only God’s Word points us to Jesus –and not ourselves –as the way to true freedom.  It teaches us to despair of our own efforts completely.  It tells us to rely on God alone for our salvation.  When we are struggling, God’s Word encourages us with forgiveness and new life.  It gets us through this life, by pointing us on to eternal life.  None of this is found in the world around us.  None of this is something we can produce on our own.  It’s something only found in God’s Word, and so we cling to that word for our freedom – true freedom - freedom from sin.

So devote yourself to that Word.  It’s truly a miracle that God has given us a book with the power to do such things.  The simple words have power to change our lives in the present, and even for eternity.  So use this Word often.  Keep these words before you at all times, so you can keep the right perspective, focusing on your freedom in Christ, and not on things that try to re-enslave you.  Open up the Bible with your families, and see how God uses it to bless you, to increase your love for each other, and to unite you in the Savior’s love.  Carry the Bible in your head throughout the day.  Remember how it proclaims you as God’s child, and see how that affects your day.  When you are stressed out, or you’re having a bad day, don’t turn to the worthless things of this world for relief – turn to God’s life-giving and soul-sustaining Word.  It will lighten your heart as you think of the eternal life it promises you.  When you are having a good day, remember God’s Word, and see how much better the day becomes as you thank your God for it.  Your love for others will increase as you keep in mind Jesus’ love for you.  The more God’s Word is in your life, the stronger your faith will become, and the more you will learn to cherish living in this freedom Christ gives you.

Our reformation heritage is built upon this freedom  The confessional Lutheran Church’s greatness is not that we Lutherans have overcome sin yet in this life.  It is not even about simply having all the right answers  - our church’s teaching certainly is correct, but its greatness is beyond even that. The greatness of our church is in our pure Biblical teaching of salvation – that our salvation is 100% from God in Christ, and 0% from us - and the true freedom that this truth brings. We are happily confess that we are saved by grace alone, through faith, and we confess that even our faith is a gift from God. This true teaching comes not from us, but from God, whose Word produces this freedom. May we ever remain in his Word, so that we and future generations may always cherish this Christian freedom.

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