This Changes Everything; Nothing Will Ever Be The Same
Text: Romans 3:19-28
Grace
and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
It
was like a large rock thrown into a pond causing waves to crash ashore. No, it was actually much more violent. It was
more like a large explosion that occurred in the midst of buildings, resulting
in shrapnel being scattered, walls tumbling down, and windows shattering.
What
am I talking about?
I
am talking about the sixteenth-century Reformation. Yes, I am talking about the great Reformation
that happened in the 1500s when Martin Luther and the Reformers came into sharp
conflict with the Roman Catholic Church of that time.
It
all started October 31st of 1517 when the Ninety-five Theses hit the
door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. We can still hear the echo of the hammer
today, as the nail was forced into the door hanging ninety-five concerns about church
abuses. Like a wild fire these
Ninety-five Theses were distributed to all of Germany within two weeks and all
of Europe within two months. Long story
short, the Ninety-five Theses ignited what can only be described as an
earth-shaking event, an explosion if you will. Booklets were published and
exchanged, theological debate occurred in the market place, death threats were
eventually made; people were finally burned at the stake, and so forth.
Now,
looking back upon the Reformation, it is fairly easy to witness the effects of
this great explosion. We can see the
ecclesiastical practices that resulted from the Reformation, we can see our Lutheran
Denomination that is a result of the Reformation, and we can see all the
confessional documents, books, and sermons that resulted from the
Reformation. In other words, we are able
to witness the crater that resulted from the Reformation explosion. We are able to see the burned-out embers from
the Reformation-explosion and all the Reformation-shell-fragments scattered
here and there. We are able to see the
waves in the water and continually feel these waves in the present; waves that
were created about five-hundred years ago when the Reformation rock was thrown
into the water.[1]
With
all of that said, we have yet to examine what actually caused this explosion
and what caused these waves.
So
what caused the explosion? What rock was
thrown into the pond?
The
Gospel, that is to say, the teaching of justification by grace through faith is
what exploded; it is what was hurled into the pond. Otherwise stated, when Martin Luther “raised
questions of the Gospel [towards those in church authority], he was given no
such answer. The government of the
church felt itself bothered by some unheard of little Augustinian monk from the
remote cow pasture of Wittenberg, and it told him to be quiet. Luther pleaded for discussion of the
Gospel. He was met with the naked demand
to recant and to submit to the pope. [Keep
in mind that] the Ninety-five Theses were no Declaration of Independence but a
request for discussion and debate. When
Luther recognized that the pope pulled one way and the Gospel the other, the
Reformation began…”[2] Simply stated dear friends, “The Reformation
may be described as cleaning out the human factors that had intruded into the
church and her message.”[3]
Indeed,
there was an explosion in the church some five-hundred years ago as God’s Word
revealed the precious, powerful, potent, saving message of Justification by
grace through faith.
With
all of that said, what good does this historic explosion do for us here and now
at Zion Lutheran Church? Sure, we live
in the aftermath of this great explosion and reap some of the benefits of much
that was accomplished during the Reformation.
However though, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we must stop
and confess that the church and our sinful nature have a way of cleaning up the
rubble, patching the shattered walls, and fixing that which is broken in order
to move away from the explosion and returning back to a man-centered message
that intrudes the very Gospel. We have a
way of undoing the Reformation.
Frankly,
my friends, the very message of the Gospel - that exploded and detonated the
church some five-hundred years ago - is an explosion that needs to happen in
our midst; right here and right now. It
needs to happen again. Yes, the
explosion needs to happen every year and every week in the church – in this
blessed church. You see, “The church
must be in a state of continuous reformation … a continuous return to the Word
of God. [The reason why?] Our old sinful nature continuously tempts us
to leave the Word of God behind. If we
do not continuously reform … if we do not continuously study God’s Word, then
we will slowly, but surely drift away from the truth. We will drift away until we are no longer
free.”[4]
Therefore,
blessed Saints, we do not merely study the great explosion of the Reformation
once a year on Reformation Sunday, but as a church of the Lutheran Reformation
we undergo this Reformation explosion and experience continual reformation each
and every Sunday. Why is this so; how is
this possible? It is this way because at
the heart of the Reformation was the Word of God; the Word that invaded an
Augustinian Monk and the Word of God that invaded the Roman Catholic Church, as
well as all of Europe. Furthermore, this very Word of God is the ‘same’ Word of
God that continually comes to me and to you in this Zion Lutheran Church.
Otherwise stated, the rock is thrown into our lives and the explosion is
recaptured each and every time that we read the Word of God, hear the Word of
God, and receive the Lord’s Sacraments.
For
example, consider the text that we read from Paul’s Epistle to the church in Rome
from this morning’s Epistle Lesson. Consider
the tremendous and powerful ramifications that this text has upon you and
me. You who have ears hear what the Word
says. Brace yourself for the explosion!
Romans 3:20 says, “No human being will be justified [that is (to say), made right] in God’s sight by deeds prescribed by the Law.” Otherwise stated, our relationship to God’s Holy, Perfect, and Divine Law is incapable of yielding righteousness and wholeness. Because of your sin and mine too - this wretched sinful condition that you and I have inherited from birth - our relationship to the Holiness of God is less than spectacular—it is downright damning.
Romans 3:20 says, “No human being will be justified [that is (to say), made right] in God’s sight by deeds prescribed by the Law.” Otherwise stated, our relationship to God’s Holy, Perfect, and Divine Law is incapable of yielding righteousness and wholeness. Because of your sin and mine too - this wretched sinful condition that you and I have inherited from birth - our relationship to the Holiness of God is less than spectacular—it is downright damning.
“Deeds, words, thoughts, relationships—they
are all wrong for all humankind. No one,
(only [Jesus]!) has wisdom. No one,
(only [Jesus]) has his will in a perfect orientation to God’s will. No one, (only [Jesus]) is in the image of God
and reflects from his face the glory of God.
…all humanity as a unit has gone sour, been subjected to futility, lost
the glory because of having turned away from that trusting face to face
relationship with the Lord.”[5]
Dear
friends, your relationship to the Law and God’s Holiness only leads to one
result, the knowledge of sin and mouths shut; it leads to the knowledge that
you and I are damned, guilty, and condemned sinners. Even when we naively try to inflate our
abilities in order to meet the demands of the Law, the Law is quick on our
heels to reveal our self-deceiving pride and denial of reality. Even when we arrogantly attempt to commandeer
God’s Law in order to lessen its weight, so that we can supposedly make it a
bit easier fulfill, God’s Law nevertheless cannot and will not be manipulated
to our own fancy, for it is not our Law but God’s Law.
The
Law tears down everything that you and I believe will yield brownie points,
kudos, or favor before God. It removes
us from our spiritual endeavors, our moral projects, and mystical escapades by
detonating and blowing up everything, thus putting us flat on our backs.
The
Law is spoken, mouths shut; we die.
There
is another Word for you to hear, a word that emerges from the rubble. This Word is apart from the Law; it is a Word
that makes the righteousness of God known, it states, “Since all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified [that is to say,
made right] by grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus.”[6]
Did
you hear that? While the explosion of
the Law was certainly a TNT blast, this Gospel news is an Atomic Bomb!
Listen
again, you, who have sinned, are justified by grace as a gift! Yes, outside of your relationship to the Law,
outside of your abilities in the here and now, there is a Savior who is from
heaven, the Son of God, who brings a gift from God and has the power to create
anew.
Because
of Christ living, bleeding, dying, and rising in your place, you have been
transferred from condemnation, damnation, and guilt under the Law to freedom
and forgiveness under the Gospel. You
are forgiven of your sins! In other
words, the Gospel of Jesus Christ applied to you in the Word and Sacraments
transfers you from life under sin and the Law into a life of light,
forgiveness, freedom, hope, and glory. It
is all for you!
This
has been the plan of God all along, “to give to fallen mankind a right
relationship to himself by grace through faith in the reconciling work of the
Saviour’s death on the cross.”[7] Christ came for sinners; Christ died for
sinners and considers it all worthwhile.
He is your Savior!
Do
you see how this detonates life as we know it?
Does this not change and reform everything?
It
certainly does.
No
more working or climbing to acquire righteousness; rather we receive
righteousness by grace through faith as a sheer gift. It is yours!
No
more seeking assurance on the basis of our works in relationship to the Law,
but rather receiving assurance in Christ and His relationship to you. You are baptized!
No
more looking within ourselves for certainty, for certainty does not lie within
you but lies outside of you in Christ’s Word and Sacraments. Given and shed for
you!
No
more fear of death for “death is safe for those who trust in Christ,”[8] because
Christ tasted death for you. Do not
fear, you belong to Christ!
No
more worrying about what other people think, no more worrying about what we
think about ourselves, and no more worrying about what God thinks, “because God
has said He isn’t going to think about our sin and rebellion anymore. All he thinks now is Jesus bloodied, Jesus dead,
Jesus risen. And God's Jesus-thinking is
now ALL your life.”[9]
Do
you see the rock tossed in the water? Do
you feel the blast from the detonation?
Jesus fulfilled the Law; sin was punished on Jesus; salvation was
accomplished perfectly; you are baptized into Christ name; you are absolved by
the Word of God; you are admitted to a heavenly feast. It is finished—for you.
This
changes everything; nothing will ever be the same.
Cur
plunk; splash. Bam; shatter. Christ Jesus has been crucified and
resurrected for you. You are justified
by grace through faith as a sheer gift.
The
peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] The
illustration of the Reformation being like an explosion and all of us
witnessing the remains of the explosion is an illustration used by Karl Barth
in his Commentary on Romans.
[2] Norman Nagel, Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel (St. Louis,
MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 304-304.
[3] Ibid.
[4] James T.
Batchelor, “Reformation (Observed) (26 October 2014)
http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3916 (26 October 2014).
[5] Jonathan
Grothe, The Justification of the Ungodly:
An Interpretation of Romans Second, slightly revised, reformatted edition (St.
Catharines, Ontario: 2012), 163.
[6] Romans 3:21-24.
[7] Jonathan
Grothe, The Justification of the Ungodly:
An Interpretation of Romans Second, slightly revised, reformatted edition, 179.
[8] Quote from Pr.
Donavon Riley on Twitter.
[9] Donavon
Riley, There Is Now No Condemnation for Those Who Are Being Christ-Jesused (Webster,
MN: Sermon at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2014).
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