Brothers and sisters in Christ, as we celebrate once again the Sunday of the Reformation, we can turn our attention to one word in particular that is essential to our knowledge of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That word is truth.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus taught that there is one and only one way to know the truth- to abide in His Word. And knowing the truth is freedom.
The nature of man is to try and find the truth for ourselves- and to believe we have the truth when we experience self gratification. Yet no matter how many experts you listen to, no matter the news source you subscribe to- you will not have the truth through the wisdom of man.
The Reformation is important for us to celebrate because there is always a fierce battle for the truth in the public square. The Reformation affirmed that truth comes from the Word of God, even if the Pope should begin to say that he has the ability to determine truth and speak truth out of thin air.
Today just as much as in the 16th century the world we live in, our surroundings shape how we perceive what is the truth. The examples and attitudes of parents and teachers , and our neighbors all shape and influence your character and attitude. Whether I realize it or not, I am going to either imitate or avoid the behaviors I have experienced during my life. I live my life much more like those who influenced me than I might realize.
All the more important that I am shaped more than anything else by God’s Word. That I am shaped by God’s Word to be the beloved child the Lord has made me to be.
Martin Luther was certainly shaped by the world into which he was born a little over 500 years ago. Jesus was always shown to him as a judge ready to punish what he had done wrong, with a sword in his hand. The image of God Luther carried and learned from his surrounding culture made him scared. He even confessed , “I hate this God!”
The problem was that the church of his time had fallen away from the truth of the Bible in place of the truth of man, the way of the law. It was all about what you have to do, you have to please God by doing the right things. It’s all about the obedience and sacrifices you make.
Yet God was gracious to Luther and led him to contexts in his life where he was immersed in God’s Word- not man’s word. Although entering a Monastery only made Luther’s desperation worse, he eventually was led to reading the Bible under the guidance of a compassionate mentor Johannes von Staupitz who counseled Luther as any faithful pastor would, to look to Christ instead of looking obsessively at his own sins and his failure to keep from sinning.
Luther read through the scripture and especially in the Psalms he saw that God comes to the aid of his suffering people. As we chanted today: God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
In time Luther received a Doctorate in theology and he was appointed professor at University of Wittenburg, where he had to read and study the Bible even more to prepare for his classes. God was working through his living Word in Luther’s life. Luther was no longer living under the darkness of a gospel obscured- he was living in the dawn of knowing and cherishing God’s truth.
As God’s Word was working in Luther at this time, the Reformation was already taking shape years before October 31st of 1517. Luther was beginning to see that God is not just a God of justice, but a God of love, who sent his Son Jesus to accomplish all righteousness required from man. As the book of Romans teaches, there is nothing more that man must accomplish for his salvation – everything was paid for by Jesus on the cross. Jesus brought us from being enemies of God to being beloved children. This is the most important truth about ourselves and about our world that there is to know.
When Luther realized that salvation was a free gift of God by faith in Christ Jesus, he felt he was born anew. He was indeed beginning a new life, where he was no longer living under the shadow of threats and fears, but a life of a free beloved child of God.
And we also are free to live this new life in Christ, Christ has freed us from the bondage and slavery to sin. We no longer need to be slaves of our sin, our envy and coveting of others need not drive our life experiences. Our continual desire to look out only for ourselves need not drive our lives.
Jesus has freed us from our obsession with looking out for ourselves, because he has shown us that since he is in charge of our lives- we do not need to look out for ourselves so persistently, we can serve God and serve others, knowing that the Lord has provided and will continue to provide for our every need. We desire to do the Lord’s will out of thanksgiving for what he has done for us. As Psalm 143 celebrates: Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
The Lord provides for us according to His Word and promises, so much better than we could ever achieve on our own. This truth is greatly obscured by the world, which insists that man knows better than God what is good for him.
But no matter how fiercely the world preaches about the might of man, or the freedom of man to be whoever he wants to be- we do not need to listen to a single word of it. Because we know true freedom comes only from serving the living God.
For we can see right through Satan’s lies. We do not need the world’s truths about anything, because we have our own world in the church where the truth is known and treasured and proclaimed to the world.
We can rejoice that there is a place where Jesus’ truth is proclaimed. If the church itself cannot be relied on to have the truth, then you cannot find truth anywhere. If even the church you go to only gives you a partial truth, how difficult it would be to see clearly.
What a gift that we have a church right here, where God’s Word is freely taught without hidden agendas! The church is an oasis of freedom in a world overrun by Satan. And although the church is surrounded by the lies of this world, we continue to be free- because Satan’s lies have no hold here. Let us be thankful for this most precious of gifts- the truth of the gospel that is alive and well in the Lord’s Church. Amen.