October 27, Reformation
REFORMATION SUNDAY
JOHN 8:31-36
How many of you here today remember the day you were born? My guess is that none of us do, but we know about that day as our parents have told us about it and shown us cute little pictures of ourselves as babies. It is a day that is usually celebrated in some manner as it is important to us and our family. Celebrating certain days is also important to the Church, they too are days of remembrance.
Today we celebrate Reformation Day as we remember Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses. His strongest objection was to the church selling what were called indulgences. The indulgences provided money for the church but led people astray by assuring them that when purchased they would help them or a loved one get into heaven. Luther insisted that we are not forgiven because of anything we do, including the buying of indulgences or doing enough good works. Instead, we are forgiven because of who God is, and we are loved and forgiven because God is full of grace and mercy. It is God alone who is at the center of all things, and only through what His son, Our Lord Jesus Christ did for us on the cross can we be saved. We can’t work our way into heaven, nor can we buy our way into heaven. It is by God’s grace alone that we can have eternal life!
Today is also a day for celebrating true freedom. In this morning’s Gospel lesson, Jesus tells the Jews who had not 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.” Notice, Jesus uses the word abide, a word that is used well over 100 times in the Bible. Abide simply means to remain, sit down in, rely on. If we do nothing but abide, we just are. This concept of “Abiding in Christ” is one of the most important aspects we can learn. The word itself is a verb, so abiding is an action. We can then say that to abide in Christ is to remain and continue in, to live and dwell in Christ.
Abiding in Christ is something we have to work at as Christians. Through daily reading the Word and prayer, we can strengthen our trust and faith in Christ, helping us to more readily abide in Him. There are many critical reasons why abiding in Christ is important to our lives as Christians. John 15:5 tells us, ”He who abides in Me (Christ) and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing,” and John 15:6 tells us, “ “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” That is, abiding in Christ affects not only our lives here on earth, but where we will spend eternity.
We live in a society that also struggles with the truth, and often telling the truth as well. As a little girl, I remember my grandfather saying that a man’s handshake was as good as his word. Honorable people kept their word no matter what. Today, there are not many who would be willing to do business on a handshake. Complicated contracts and documents have become the norm, with lawyers trying to write in protection for their clients for every conceivable possibility.
Most of us also struggle with the truth of what is really important to us in this world. The message that comes through loud and clear is that what is important is how much money we make and what things we own. Money and possessions are in fact the “gods of our age.” They are not bad things in themselves, for we do need a certain amount of money to survive, but they can bend the truth of what should be important in our lives. Most often, they take away from making God the center of importance in our lives
Christianity is based on the belief that what Jesus said and did is true. Each Sunday, for example, we express our faith by saying the words of the Apostles Creed. What are some of things we say we believe are true? Yes, we believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, that He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. We also believe that Jesus will come again to name a few. And these truths can be found in the Word of God; for it is the truth and the only truth.
If we are true disciples of Christ abiding in Him, relying on Him, we can trust His words. As true disciple of Christ, knowing the truth sets us free. About this time, you may be thinking, “Yeah, I hear you, but what does it really mean? What kind of freedom? Just what am I being set free from?”
The answer is in Jesus words themselves, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” As humans, we can’t help but sin. However, that does not mean that we should not try not to. Martin Luther had much to say about sin. Let’s listen to his words. “Strange, though I am saved from sin, I am not saved from sinning.” One of my favorites is, “Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ,” and his warning has much to teach us. “The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands.”
As we leave here this morning, let us not forget that if we are a true disciple of Christ, we are set free by God’s Word, the Truth; for we know that only Jesus can cancel and conquer our sin. The Apostle Paul wrote in the book of Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Let Martin Luther’s proclamation that we are saved by faith alone, blossom in our hearts, for it proclaims the great love and mercy that God has for each one of us as His beloved children. In faith and confession of our sin to our God, let us not forget that we are free, free from deaths sting, free from the bondage of having to conform to the pressure of our culture to buy, buy, buy what we don’t really need, and free to profess our love and faith in Christ to all who will listen. Amen.