John 8 31-36 (SERM CENT)
The Sermon for Reformation Sunday
October 27, 1996
Christ the King Lutheran Church
The Rev. Edwin D. Peterman, Senior Pastor
The Lessons for the Day
- Jeremiah 31:31-34
- Romans 3:19-28
- John 8:31-36
How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but the light bulb has to really want to change.
Okay, now let's apply the same question to the Christian faith. How many Gods does it take to save a human being? Only one, and the human being doesn't even have to want to change at all! Got that? The human being doesn't even have to want to change at all, in order to be saved! Salvation is God's doing, not ours. God is so great, so gracious, that we don't have to contribute anything at all to our own salvation, not even the desire to be saved.
That answer is what the Lutheran Reformation was all about. That's what today's gospel is all about. And that's what the Christian faith is all about. If you get it, you can tune out for the rest of this sermon. But if you don't get it, or if you have some uncertainty about it, you might want to keep listening.
In today's gospel Jesus offers freedom to his Jewish questioners. They respond by claiming that they have never been in bondage to anyone. Jesus points out that participation in sin is bondage to sin, and from such bondage no one can create his or her own freedom. Only someone with greater authority and power than the one who holds you in bondage can set you free. If you yourself had such power and authority, you wouldn't be in bondage in the first place. So you can't set yourself free. Another has to do it.
Who is this other one, who has not only the power and authority, but also the will to set you free? It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If he declares that you are free from bondage to sin, then you are free indeed. There is no other who has the ability to do that.
So what do you have to do to convince Jesus to set you free? Nothing! You don't give him the power or the authority. His power and authority come from God the Father, not from you and me. And you certainly don't give him the will to do so. His will to redeem humankind existed from the beginning.
But can he set you free even if you don't particularly want to be set free? What if you don't have any faith in him? What if you don't even believe in him? He can't set you free then, can he? Of course he can! After all, he is the Son of God, and the Son of God can do anything he decides to do. He has the power and the authority and the will to love and forgive you at any point in your life. He doesn't need your permission or your approval. He doesn't need your faith or your belief. He doesn't need your piety or good works. He doesn't need anything from you, in order to do what it is his nature and purpose to do.
Although this is abundantly clear in the gospel and equally clear in the writings of St. Paul and others in the Bible, the Roman Catholic Church had all but hidden it from people in the time of Martin Luther. For example, the required ritual of Confession in the Roman Catholic Church included three steps:
- First, you had to feel bad about your sins. That was called contrition.
- Second, you had to have a priest hear your confession and pronounce absolution.
- And third, you had to make satisfaction for your sins by doing some good work, such as praying the Rosary or attending a certain number of masses or giving money to the church.
When and only when you had done all three of these things, you were forgiven and your salvation was assured.
Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and their compatriots rejected this notion, because it was contrary to the clear teaching of the gospel that salvation depends entirely on God and not on anything we do. Confession is a good thing, they said, because it puts us in a position to hear once more the gospel of salvation declared to us in absolution. But as far as making satisfaction for our sins is concerned, that is not necessary at all. Our forgiveness does not depend on any acts of devotion or atonement we perform, but entirely on the grace of God.
The central article of the Augsburg Confession is Article 4 on Justification, where it says,
It is... taught among us that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ's sake, through faith...
This article is like the central heating system for a great mansion. From this warm and energetic center the grace of God radiates into every church doctrine and thus into every nook and cranny of our life. Nothing we do saves us. No matter how noble and self-sacrificing our deeds, no matter how clear and correct our beliefs, no matter how strong our faith or our desire to be saved, none of these things contributes even one milligram to our salvation. We are saved by the grace of God alone.
Nowhere is this more clearly evident than in our understanding of baptism. In baptism, as in communion, God comes to us, we do not come to God. Therefore, we believe that it is entirely proper to baptize infants as well as adults. The Anabaptists in the time of Luther said that it is not right to baptize people unless they have some conscious faith and trust in God. Therefore, the baptizing of infants is precluded and invalid. To the casual observer it might appear that the only difference between Anabaptists and Lutherans is that Lutherans believe in infant baptism and Anabaptists don't. "Nothing could be farther from the truth," said Luther. "If you don't believe in infant baptism, you don't believe in baptism at all!" he said. The very essence of baptism is seen when an infant who has no particular desire to be baptized and no conscious faith is brought to the font to receive the gracious gift of God's love and forgiveness. Baptizing an infant is a clear demonstration that we are not saved by anything we do or believe or desire, but by the grace of God alone.
The same thing applies to adult baptism, as well. For adults also come to the font without any claim or entitlement. The water with the Word conveys to them the grace of God apart from anything good or bad they have done. The reason the church instructs adults prior to baptism is not to make them deserving of baptism, but to help them know how truly magnificent and mysterious the grace of God is that is bestowed on them in baptism.
Lutherans are therefore sometimes accused of not encouraging people to perform good works. That is not true! Good works are the fruit that is borne when the fact of salvation connects with people. But good works are the result of, not the prerequisite for, salvation. By the same token, attending worship, reading the Bible, praying regularly, and helping one's neighbors in the world are all the result of God's grace coming to us. They are not conditions which we must first meet in order to deserve or acquire that grace.
A man once died and appeared at the gates of heaven. St. Peter told him that he was welcome to enter, but he needed a thousand points to do so. That should be easy, the man thought to himself.
"I was an active Lutheran all my life," the man said.
"That's 50 points," replied Peter.
"I sang in the choir for many years," the man said.
"That's 50 points," said Peter.
"I dropped out of choir when I couldn't sing any more." he said.
"That's 100 points," said Peter.
About now the man began to get nervous. So he said somewhat desperately,
"One of my cousins is a pastor and I have an uncle who used to be a missionary."
"Okay," Peter said, "I'll give you 50 points for that."
"Good grief!" the man said. "I need 1,000 points to get into heaven, and I only have 250. At this rate, the only way I'll ever get into heaven is by the grace of God alone!"
"That's 750 points!" Peter said. "Come on in!"
How many Gods does it take to save a human being? Only one, and the human being doesn't even have to want to be saved. That is the nature of God the Father, and that is the mission and purpose of his Son Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit. The grace of God, freely given, has set you free indeed.
