Reformation Observed Part II 2017

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: The Gospel: The Power of God
Theme: Romans 1:16

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

“Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”1 That is what Christ says. That is what a man named Martin Luther believed. Luther knew he was a sinner. And he knew that God was the final judge of all sin. What he didn’t know- at first- was how to be assured the problem of sin could be resolved. A huge and consuming question dominated his life. He wasn’t alone. The movement of a small stone can trigger a landslide. But other conditions must exist before a large mass of material will make a dramatic shift to a new location- causing a lot of disturbance in the process. Luther was no small stone, but God used him to start an avalanche. Today we recognize that it has been 500 years since that movement started. It was called the Reformation.

Why did the Reformation happen? What circumstances led to such monumental change and turmoil? There was corruption. There was greed. There was ignorance, arrogance, and apathy within the church. But, simply put, there was an unbearable uncertainty about whether God really was gracious to sinners. The unambiguous message of the gospel was not being heard. Jesus bears the guilt of sin and gifts believers with everlasting life declaring them righteous by grace through faith. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”2

So, people felt bound. Although penance was clearly emphasized in Luther’s day, few had a proper understanding of repentance. Forgiveness was conditional. Restitution and moral improvement were requirements to stay in God’s good graces. But the burden and guilt of sin remained. It stifled the joy of Christian life. The medieval soul was saddled with the prospect of a frightening sojourn in purgatory. Luther directed the penitent to the cross. Human striving cannot merit God’s favour. Jesus did that all alone.

But that truth wasn’t fashionable in that era. Most believed some human contribution was essential to the equation. In contrast, Luther developed supreme confidence in the word of God and the sufficiency of grace. Echoing St. Paul, the church father Origen said, “It is not skillfully composed discourse, nor the mode of delivery, nor well practiced eloquence that produces conviction, but the communication of divine power.”3 The word of God has power. It has the power of the Deity, the potency of the Spirit. It can create. It can destroy. It can resurrect. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”4

It’s been widely discussed that today few people are troubled by the same questions Luther was. There is no need to reassure the heart that is not seeking solace. Perhaps many consciences today are so seared or dulled that peace is neither sought or desired. In these cases, only the Holy Spirit can speak the clear word of conviction to souls so vulnerable. Yet, as people today search for meaning in life and chase the illusory dream of perpetual youth, are they really seeking the same things but just expressing it in different categories?

According to scientists none of the red blood cells in your body are likely to be more than four months old. They do a lot of heavy lifting, and like many other cells are being constantly replaced so that our bodies are renewed. Some cells, such as intestinal cells, are replaced every few days. Certain neural cells are replaced very slowly, and some types are not replaced at all. Ageing, they say, occurs because over time the rate of cell death outpaces the rate of replacement. The basic concept is easy to grasp. The question is, Why? Why should this necessarily be?

I wish to use the fact of cellular regeneration- the ability God has built into our biology for cells to be replaced- as a point of reference and departure to discuss two important concepts about divine truth. The first reference is to highlight both the rhythmic nature of our communion with God and the necessity of teaching the faith to each generation. How could something as precious as the gospel ever be lost from human memory? How could it ‘age’ to the point of obsolescence? The gospel is immortal truth, incorruptible, ageless, without decay, ever-potent. But in our custody, our memories, our faculties, our powers of possession and retention, the gospel, is like the mana of the Israelites in the desert. The mana was sufficient for the day, but when the sun rose it was ruined. “Give us today our daily bread,” is the prayer of the faithful from the mouth of the Saviour Himself. And, so it is with the gospel. The empty stomach soon yearns for food. The parched tongue soon longs for drink. Without these the probability of survival quickly declines to zero. Is the case any different for the health of the soul? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”5

The second is to see it as a broad analogy for the Christian life- only in reverse as to our spiritual vitality. Our mortal frames reach an apex and then speed to their demise, but our spiritual lives keep gaining strength as the Scripture says, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”6 Death will overtake us. At the time of Luther, the Spanish conquistador Ponce de Leon was said to be searching for the fountain of youth in the new world. He wasn’t the first. Alexander the Great claimed to have discovered a ‘river of paradise’ in the Fourth Century BC. He won’t be the last. Today scientists still search for the secret to eternal youth. Some believe lifespans can be pushed forward indefinitely. But the Scripture says, “Sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”7 And again, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”8

Death will overtake us, but it cannot harm us. Pray for the Second Coming of the Lord, dear friends, but don’t assume you’ll be granted the privilege of Enoch or Elijah. So, while we are living, even if we are living vigorously and robustly, even when we are young and fit, we are dying. The question becomes: “What is our purpose?” What pursuits in life are worth dying for? The biblical answer is not surprising, exotic or unattainable. The daily life of the baptised, even in mundaneness, lived for the blessings of others, is the calling to which we have been called. The person who lives for nothing has already died. The person who serves faithfully right up to his or her dying breath, is really living.

Luther revived, revamped, and reinvigorated the biblical teaching on vocation. He lived in a culture where there were two classes of Christians; the clergy and the lay people. The lay person had little hope of enjoying the favour of God as readily as the priest, monk, or nun. The motivation to be a cross-bearing Christian was often driven by guilt- even desperation- instead of the conviction that one’s neighbour could be freely served in all sorts of practical, God-pleasing ways. Luther famously raised the vocation of the milkmaid to the same level of importance as that of the monk. The custodian provides just as holy and helpful of a service to society as does the High Court judge. Everyone has a different role within the body of Christ, but no one’s vocation merits special status with God. The baptized are all equally His children.

For Luther there was only one clear, unequivocal, and infallible authority: The Word of God. This Word is both the God-Man Jesus Christ, and the written word of Holy Scripture; the prophetic and apostolic word of the Holy Spirit. The human conscience cannot be unduly bound by any other authority. That doesn’t mean that Luther was an anarchist by any stretch of the imagination. He was deeply respectful of authority, both civil and spiritual, as ordained by God appropriate to their spheres of jurisdiction.

St. Paul said, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities.”9 And Jesus Himself said of the Pharisees, “You must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”10 Why obey? Because behind these authorities was the word of God and the will of God. There can be no question that there is to be no compromise of truth for the sake of peace. Many live under a false understanding of what freedom means. The conscience of a Christian is free not because it is autonomous, but because Christ is our servant. True freedom exists only within the parameters of God’s will. Self-determination- especially when we think of our relationship with God- is not freedom, but slavery. Freedom does not mean the Holy Spirit leaves you to yourself to confront the temptation of sin. He’s right in the fray contending at your side. We are free because Satan has been disarmed and hell has lost its fury.

What drives God to do what He does? The love of the Trinity in eternity was so dynamic and colossal that He created subjects to be the beneficiaries of His love and share in His life. The original relationship was shattered by sin. God doesn’t now wait anxiously or search desperately for commendable subjects to reciprocate His holiness. He resurrects them from spiritual death and gives the life. Jesus gifts sinners with forgiveness, life, and salvation. His grace cannot be earned, purchased, or commandeered. The crucified and risen Lord restores sinners to the good graces of the heavenly Father. Christ is the Advocate. He is the sacrifice. He is the scapegoat. “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.”11

Martin Luther was just a man. But Jesus Christ is NOT just a man. Resolution of the weightiest matters of existence hinge on this truth. Heaven cannot be reached without Him. Hell cannot be avoided apart from Him. Luther would have wanted his own name wiped out of memory if it meant that only one additional soul could come to knowledge of Jesus Christ. Luther lived and breathed the truth the apostle expressed, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”12 The crucified and risen Jesus doesn’t leave repentant sinners with question marks. He doesn’t leave us at all. Thanks be to God that today we can celebrate more than just 500 years of Christian heritage, we can celebrate the certainty of Christ’s love for sinners. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Reformation (Observed) combined service
5 November 2017
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 John 8:34 2 John 8:36
3 Origen, Gospel of John 4 1 Corinthians 1:18
5 Matthew 5:6 6 2 Corinthians 4:16
7 James 1:15 8 Romans 5:12
9 Romans 13:1 10 Matthew 23:3
11 Ephesians 2:8-9 12 Romans 1:18