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In the name of our living and ever-present Savior, dear friends in Christ.
Tonight we celebrate the Eve of the Reformation. Reformation Day is actually tomorrow, October 31. Why is this celebration tied to this particular day on the calendar? Because that is the day that a monk, priest, and theologian, named Martin Luther, posted his 95 Theses, which were statements concerning abuses he had uncovered in the Christian Church of his day, the Holy Roman Catholic Church. (You can read more about that in the good information Pastor Galler has included on the back of tonight’s bulletin, but please wait to do that until later, ok?)
What led Luther to post these statements, or theses? It was the practice of selling indulgences, a way to buy freedom, a way to buy forgiveness of sin. Luther’s central thought was that heaven, acceptance by God, and forgiveness of all sins, or freedom from the condemnation of God’s Law, is a free gift from God. No human being can do anything to earn it, or deserve it.
So you can see the reason for the Gospel reading chosen for our service this evening – Jesus’ words about freedom. We’ll think through these words with the help of three questions: What Binds You In? What Do You Think Sets You Free? What Really Sets You Free?
So, first, what binds you In?
Verse 34 – Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” Sin brings bondage.
The people, to whom Jesus was speaking, had sinned, and were in bondage.
These Jewish people had, first of all, an earthly bondage – their nation had been conquered by the Roman Empire, and was now occupied by, and heavily taxed by, these Romans.
But the bondage that Jesus was much more concerned with here was a spiritual bondage, a bondage to handling sin by works you did, to try to make up for it, without a living faith, in the one true God. So they were, even more, in spiritual bondage, enslaved by sin.
Martin Luther was also someone who knew, quite uncomfortably, that he had sinned. God’s Law had done its work in his life, and given him a horribly guilty conscience. He knew he was full of sin, and that God is angry over sin. A Reformation movie, that both Pastor Galler and I are fond of, titled “Martin Luther, Heretic”, portrays very clearly the depth of Luther’s anguish, and even despair, over his many sins. He was in bondage, enslaved by sin, and guilt.
And that leads us to you, and me. We sin – often, daily, and much. God’s Law clearly condemns your thoughts, your words, and your deeds, and mine also. Jesus said, in Matthew 5:48, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” (ESV). And we know that, no matter how hard we try, we are not perfect. This is not a perfect sermon, and this is not a perfect Vespers Service, because none of us, by ourselves, is perfectly righteousness, no, not one (Romans 3:10).
And our sins lead to bondage in our lives. Especially, when we experience hard times, our sins lead us to insecurity. We don’t know, for sure, what tomorrow will bring, for us, our families, our nation, our world. We often treat our God so poorly. How will He treat us, when hard times come? We, like those Jewish people, and like Martin Luther, are in bondage, enslaved by sin, and its consequences, in our lives.
Now, what do you think sets you free?
Verse 33 – They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham, and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
The answer of some of these Jews, the ones who had not believed in Jesus, is that they are not spiritual slaves, because they are children of Abraham. That was their background, their heritage.
They were trusting, or so they thought, in God’s promise to send the Messiah, who would end all their hard times, and bring about God’s promised new kingdom, of perfect peace and blessing. In fact, some of their rabbis, or teachers, taught, that the coming of the Messiah was all up to them, that if only all male Jews would keep God’s Law perfectly, for just one day, then Messiah would come.
But their answer to “What Sets You Free?” was wrong. Their heritage was worthless, without a living faith in God. And Jesus makes clear, later in this same chapter in John’s Gospel, that they weren’t true children of Abraham, because, if they were, they would have recognized Jesus as their Messiah, instead of opposing Him. In fact, in Matthew 3:9, Jesus pointed out, “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham,” (ESV). And, because of their sinful nature, it was impossible for them to even begin to keep God’s Law perfectly.
Now, what was the answer of the church of Luther’s day – What would set him free, from his guilty conscience? The answer was to believe in Jesus, yes, but also, and much more, to do good works, to try really hard to do more good, than the bad he did, which included doing lots of good things for God, and His church on earth, and giving money to that church, by buying indulgences. What keeps us separate, from the Roman Catholic Church of today, is that, sadly, we still see them giving this same answer.
But Luther, in his day, tried his hardest, leaving his planned career, to become instead a monk, so he could do more good works, and finally find peace. It didn’t work. The more he tried to do good, the more keenly aware he became of his sins, and the more his guilt increased.
So, now, what is your answer, and my answer, to this question – what do we think will set us free, from our sins, our guilty consciences, and the bondages, and insecurities that come from that?
Some of us look for help from the relationships with other people in our lives, hoping that good parents, a good spouse, good children, or friends, will set us free, from guilt, and bondage, and insecurity. Others look to the material blessings that God gives us, money, investments, property and homes, and vehicles. Some of us, like some of the Jews in Jesus’ day, may be depending upon our heritage, in our case, in the Lutheran church.
Yet all these answers can, and will, fail us. The people around us are not perfect, and they will disappoint us, and fail us, and eventually leave us. The material blessings that God gives us are temporal, meaning they are temporary, often here today, and gone tomorrow. And, if you are depending only upon your heritage in the Lutheran church, that you were baptized, and confirmed, but now have no living, active, current faith life, you will have no true spiritual freedom.
So, then, what really sets you free?
Verses 31-32, 35-36 – So Jesus said, to the Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. … The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
God’s Holy Spirit, working through God’s Word, led Luther to see that the answer for the Jews, of Jesus’ day, and for Luther was the same.
People cannot work their way into God’s favor. There may be work-righteousness in our relationships with other people, but with God there is no work-righteousness, only gift-righteousness. When some of those Jews, who were listening to Jesus, believed in Him, as their Savior, they began to abide in His Word, and were truly His disciples. The Word gave them the truth of salvation by grace, as a gift, through faith and trust in Jesus alone, as their Savior, and they were set free!
When God’s Holy Spirit brought Luther to realize, that Jesus had already fulfilled God’s requirement of perfect righteousness for him, and that this perfect righteousness, demanded by God’s Law, was God’s gift to Him, through Jesus, and through what Jesus had done for all, on the cross, then Luther became truly a disciple of Jesus, and this truth of Jesus, God’s Son, set Luther free, from his formerly guilty conscience, from his bondage – his slavery to sin, and its consequences.
And I pray that tonight our answer, to this question of “What Really Sets You Free?” is the same, as it was for the Jews of Jesus’ day, who believed in Jesus, and for Martin Luther, in his day, because that answer is clearly God’s answer.
The one thing that is truly necessary (Luke 10:42), in your life, and my life, is Jesus. The only person in your life, and my life, who can be the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), is Jesus. The only person who lived, died, and rose again, to supply your every true need (Philippians 4:19), and mine also, is Jesus. The only person that can truly set you and me free, from the heavenly consequences of our every sin, of thought, word, or deed, no matter how evil it may be, is Jesus.
And how does Jesus bring this freedom into your life? Through His Word, the Word of God, the Bible, which brings us His Gospel, as we abide in it, meaning we read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it, and struggle with it, and live it out, in our daily lives. Then we will, more and more, know the truth, of God’s love, and gift of salvation, in Jesus. And the truth sets us free, from guilty consciences, from the impossibility of self-perfection, and from our insecurities – free to live, confident of His love, and presence, with us; free to serve God, and others; free to experience His peace, and all His other blessings; now, and forever.
One of the themes, of St. Paul’s letters from prison, is freedom in Christ. I remember some words from a Christian rock song I heard in college, written about St. Paul’s experiences – “Locked up in my prison cell, you know, you know, you know, a prisoner I can’t be. I am free.”
This is the witness of St. Paul. This is the witness of Martin Luther. This is the witness of Jesus, in tonight’s Gospel: “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” May it also be your witness, and mine, for now, and for all eternity. Amen!