Reformation Day 2026

Text: John 8:31–36

I. Slaves Who Think They Are Free

“I can stop drinking whenever I want.”

“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Two very different statements, spoken by people who were separated by two thousand years, but with the same underlying problem. Both are convinced that they’re free. But both are enslaved without recognizing it.

The alcoholic’s self-deception is more obvious to us. Despite his claim, drinking has taken control of his life. But how were the people speaking to Jesus enslaved?

They had a long list of reasons for saying that they were free. They were descendants of Abraham. They belonged to God’s chosen people. They knew the Scriptures. They had a long and glorious religious heritage. And they could not imagine what Jesus was suggesting by saying that they were slaves.

But Jesus was not talking about ancestry or political circumstances. He was pointing out something far more serious. “Truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”

Much like the alcoholic, they insisted they were free, but they were enslaved without even recognizing it.

And what about you? Are you truly free or just deceiving yourself?

You are Lutherans. You know that you are sinners. You confess it every Sunday.

“I, a poor miserable sinner, confess unto Thee all my sins and iniquities, with which I have ever offended Thee and justly deserved Thy temporal and eternal punishment.”

You are not simply admitting that you have committed a few sins this past week. You are confessing that you area sinner. And what comes to mind when you confess those ‘sins and iniquities’? Are they real sins—sins that offend God and deserve His judgment—or just ‘mistakes’?

You confess that you are a sinner; your sins deserve God’s punishment; you even confess, “I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them.” How easily those words roll off our tongues. But what happens when God’s Word confronts you with the sins you keep committing?

What about that grudge you’re still holding? What about the anger you keep nursing? What about the resentment you feel toward someone who has been more successful than you?

There is always some reason why you just cannot stop yet. Yes, I could forgive that person, but he really has not proven that he’s sorry. I could stop resenting that person’s success, but he really does not deserve all of that, does he? The anger returns. The excuses continue. But you have them under control, don’t you? You can stop any time you want.

What if an alcoholic went into his A.A. meeting with the same sort of confession you make? Would anyone take him seriously?

Jesus says, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” And a slave cannot simply decide to make himself free.

And that is who you are. That’s what Christ’s Word reveals. You and I are not merely people who need to try a little harder or make a few improvements. You are sinners, enslaved to sin, unable to free yourself.

You need someone to set you free.

II. The Son Who Became a Servant

Martin Luther insisted that Christ is not a Savior for imaginary sinners. He is a Savior for real sinners, with real sins—people who have hurt others, people who have broken promises, people who have damaged relationships, people who have done things they are ashamed of.

That is precisely the Savior Jesus came to be. He came to redeem sinners with real sins that deserve temporal and eternal punishment. He came to set slaves free.

“The slave does not remain in the house forever;” He says, “the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” And He has.

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He alone is truly free.

And yet, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant.

He who had given the Law to Moses now placed Himself under that very Law. He who was the Master became the servant. He fed the hungry. He healed the sick. He touched lepers. He welcomed sinners. He washed His disciples’ feet.

And He humbled Himself even further.

He allowed Himself to be betrayed by one of His own disciples for thirty pieces of silver—the price the Law assigned to a slave who had been killed.

He allowed Himself to be arrested and bound. He stood before the high priest and before Pilate, submitting Himself to the judgment of sinful men. He was accused and condemned. He was mocked and beaten. He was stripped of His clothing.

And He became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

He suffered. He died. His lifeless body was taken down from the cross, wrapped in a linen shroud, laid in a tomb, and sealed behind the stone.

He willingly submitted to all of this.

But on the third day, He rose again. The tomb was empty. Death could not hold Him. Sin had no claim upon Him. The devil had no power over Him.

And He did not rise from the dead simply to reclaim His own freedom. He rose having won yours.

The One who was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver “has redeemed you, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.”

He was bound so that you might be set free. He submitted to the power of sinful men so that sin would no longer be your master. He gave Himself into the hands of His enemies so that you would never again belong to the devil. He entered death itself so that death would not be your prison.

In fact, He has done even more than set you free.

“The slave does not remain in the house forever;” He said, “the son remains forever.”

Jesus did not simply open the doors and set the slaves free. He brought you into His Father’s household as children of God.

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that you might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

You are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.

III. The Freed Who Become Servants

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

So, abide in His Word. Let it expose your sins. Let it confront you with the truth about yourself, even when that truth is something you would rather not hear. Confess your sins honestly. Stop pretending that you have them under control. Stop making excuses for them.

And hear what Christ says to you: Your sins are forgiven. You have been redeemed by His blood. You are no longer a slave, but a child of God.

Think about what happens when an alcoholic finally walks into an AA meeting and says, “I am an alcoholic.” He has stopped pretending that he can stop drinking whenever he wants. He has acknowledged the truth about himself. And he finds himself among other people who understand what that means. People who have struggled with the same things. People who know what it means to make excuses, to lose control, and to need help.

There ought to be something of that same honesty among us in the Church. We are not a gathering of people who have conquered every temptation, overcome every weakness, and finally managed to get our lives under control.

We are sinners.

Real sinners.

With real sins.

People who need forgiveness every day.

And here, Christ gives it.

Here, His Word proclaims forgiveness. Here, He washes sinners clean in Holy Baptism. Here, He places His holy, precious body and blood into the mouths of sinners for the forgiveness of sins. Here, He continues to nourish and strengthen the children He has brought into His Father’s household.

You have been set free. Do not give yourselves back into slavery to sin. Do not present yourselves again to the masters from whom Christ has redeemed you. Put away bitterness and wrath and anger. Put away envy and resentment and selfishness. Do not allow those sins to rule over you again.

Instead, present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. You have been set free from sin and have become servants of righteousness.

And now, through love, become servants of one another.

Martin Luther wrote that “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.” And, at the very same time, “A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.”

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Be patient with those who test your patience. Be kind to those who have been unkind to you. Be gentle with those who are struggling. Forgive those who have wronged you, as God in Christ forgave you. Admit when you have been wrong. Ask forgiveness. Seek reconciliation, even when doing so requires you to humble yourself.

Rejoice in the blessings God has given others, even when you have been disappointed. Give generously from what God has entrusted to you. Share with those who are in need. Be faithful to the people God has placed in your care, even when caring for them is difficult, exhausting, or goes unnoticed.

Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Comfort the grieving. Encourage the discouraged. Care for the sick. Bear one another’s burdens. Show mercy to those who have nothing to offer you in return.

Do not repay evil for evil. Overcome evil with good. Let your words build others up rather than tear them down. Let your actions be governed by love rather than by what you think you deserve.

And above all these things, put on love.

You are children of God. Christ has purchased you with His blood. This is the life into which He has brought you.

One day, that struggle against sin will finally be over. The resentment and selfishness and anger that still trouble you will be gone. Death itself will be destroyed. You will dwell forever in your Father’s house, where the Son has given you a place that no one can take away.

Until then, abide in His Word. Receive His forgiveness. Live in the freedom He has won for you. Serve one another in love.

For the Son has set you free.

And if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.