Sermon Tone Analysis

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, “If you abide in my word you are my disciples indeed.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

John 8:31-32

These are Thy Words O Lord.

Help us, and sanctify us in the Truth.

Thy Word is Truth.

Amen.

The Reformation of the Holy Christian Church can be approached in different ways.

Some ignore it all together.

Others focus on a great man by the name of Martin Luther.

Because, from his nailing of the 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517 all the way to his death he boldly confessed the true faith in preaching, teaching, and writing, providing the church with wonderful catechisms, beautiful hymns, and a sterling example.

Luther stands today as an inspiration for millions of Christians all over the world.

Some might also consider the Reformation from the social and political perspective.

It was a tremendously important event.

No one can understand modern times without knowing something about it.

But for us as—and not just nominal or cultural Lutherans who bear the name and wear the label with no particular devotion to the truth—but as Lutherans committed to the truth of God’s saving Word, we don’t focus upon a sinful man.

We don’t believe what we believe because Luther or any other fallible human being said so.

We believe what we believe because God said so.

And while the social and political events of the 16th century are fascinating for those of us interested in history, the Reformation is not for us primarily a history lesson.

It’s much more compelling than that!

The reason we celebrate this event nearly five hundred years after it happened is because the truth revealed in 16th century Germany is as vital and important for us now as it was for them then.

The truth of the Reformation can be summed up by a Latin phrase: sola gratia, sola fide, and sola Scriptura.

Which means: grace alone, faith alone, and Scripture alone.

Our text from John’s Gospel clearly teaches the three solas of the Reformation.

Grace Alone 

We are justified, that is forgiven of our sins, saved, that is, rescued from certain death and hell, and given eternal life in heaven as God gracious gift.

“The truth shall make you free.”

You shall not make yourself free.

The truth shall.

What truth?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)  The truth sanctifies.

That is, the truth makes you holy.

Jesus prayed to his Father, “Sanctify them by your truth.”

Nobody can sanctify himself.

Nobody can save himself.

The reason we cannot make ourselves holy, nor rescue ourselves from our sins is that our sins are more powerful than we are.

Humanity flatters itself with the false doctrine known as free will.

It sounds good.

It teaches us that we all have a free will to choose the good and avoid the evil.

Otherwise, we can’t be held responsible for our actions.

We must be free in order to be accountable.

Therefore, we all have a free will in spiritual matters.

Therefore, our salvation is a matter of our own choice.

It’s a matter of choosing to do what is right and carrying through with the right decision.

It sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

But this is lying, twisted, and demonic reason.

It is a conceit that leads one to hell.

Just choose the good and avoid the evil and you’ll find your way to heaven!

Of course you will, but what about your sins?

What about your guilt?

What does the Bible say?

St.

Paul writes in today’s Epistle Lesson:

If we are not saved by God’s grace alone we are not saved at all.

It isn’t a matter of our being required to choose love over hatred.

It’s a matter of our doing what we are required to do.

Have you?  Listen: the law doesn’t say, “Do your best.”

It says to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Have you?

You have not?

Then the law shuts your mouth, says you’re guilty, and condemns you.

And should some religious know-it-all come up to you and tell you that you must choose your way out of your sin or decide your way back to God, don’t you believe him!

For as soon as you rely on your own choice and your own decision to do anything good, in comes God’s law to silence and remind you of your guilt.

The Ten Commandments are not ours to use to justify ourselves while you judge your neighbor.

God’s law judges you and indicts you and condemns you and there is nothing you can do to escape.

You need God’s grace.

You are lost without God’s grace.

You haven’t got a prayer unless God saves you by his grace alone.

“The truth shall make you free.”

Nothing less will do.

And without the truth, you are a slave, as Jesus went on to say, “Whoever sins is a slave of sin . .

.

if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Only if the Son, graciously, that is freely in love and without any help from you or anyone else, sets you free from your sin, your death, and the power of the devil over you will you ever be set free.

As St. Paul reminds us, you are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Grace alone means Christ alone.

Christ alone did the good works we needed to have done by obeying God’s law for us.

Christ alone suffered the penalty for our sins by dying in our place.

Christ alone has washed away all sins by his blood.

Christ is, as St. Paul puts it, “the atoning sacrifice by his blood,” in other words, his blood takes away God’s anger against us by taking away all of our sins.

That’s what grace means.

Jesus Christ has won for us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life in heaven and God gives it to us freely.

It is by God’s grace alone.

Faith Alone

There are false notions of what grace is.

Some say that the grace that saves us is a quality or ability that God gives us so that we can do what needs to be done to be saved.

To put it another way, God gives us just enough grace so that we can decide to follow Jesus.

With this false notion they mix grace with works.

They talk about grace, but teach salvation by works.

They begin with grace, but end up in works.

They offer the gift of God with one hand and take it away with the other.

St.

Paul rejects this sleight of hand as he writes:

If your good works help to save you in any way, you are not saved by grace alone and Jesus is not really your Savior.

And you are not saved through faith alone.

Faith receives the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation that grace gives.

God by grace gives.

By his giving, he works faith to receive what he gives.

Faith doesn’t earn God’s grace.

Faith receives it.