Faith Alone

Today we continue our series on ‘the Masters’ looking at people who have transformed how we think about the Christian faith. Each week we focus on a different ‘master’ and last week we looked at Augustine, a man who wrestled with following God’s will and finally, in a moment, had his life transformed by a child singing to ‘pick it up; read it.’ He read a few verses from Romans and was never the same again as he dedicated his life to God. Our main take away was the importance of confessing our sin. We also saw how looking back on our lives can help us see how all the different pieces of it fit together in a way that brings another kind of confession - confessing our praise to God. Both help us grow spiritually, and both bring us closer to God. That’s just one of many things Augustine teaches us, but today we are moving on to a new topic and a new person. We are going to look at someone who many of you would have heard about in school. He is the reason many of our churches exist today and though Methodists don’t trace their history through him, we are profoundly impacted by him. Now we look to Martin Luther, the catalyst of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. I have to admit, I almost skipped over Luther. His protest sparked a war between Catholics and this new group of Protestants that led to the death of over five million people, but that’s getting a little ahead in the story. His impact is unmistakable and there is much we could learn from him, so let’s dive in.

We are going to hear Laura/Karen share with us from Romans 1. This is the same book that inspired Augustine, so clearly it is speaking across the generations to people. The Apostle Paul wrote it to a group of about 50,000 people who had converted to Christianity. Initially Roman Christians were all non-Jewish, because Jews had been unfairly expelled from Rome. By the time Paul is writing, though, this unfair law was repeled and Jewish Christians were now living alongside non-Jewish Christians. The two sides had very different ideas about how Christianity was supposed to look, so Paul is writing about how these groups can come together. Today we might call it racial reconciliation or crosscultural sensitivity. The Apostle starts his letter by reminding them what the core of the faith is. This is Romans 1:14-25: hear now the word of the Lord.

Romans 1:14–25 NRSV

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish —hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

And from the Gospel of John 1:12-13

John 1:12–13 NRSV

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

The word of the Lord for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Let’s join together in prayer: Lord, may we be an inclusive community passionately following Jesus Christ. Work in us a faith that is unshakeable. Draw us to your will not through works, but through faith in Christ. in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Martin Luther was the oldest child in his family. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but while in graduate school he was returning from a visit home and was caught in a terrible thunderstorm. The legend goes that lightning struck so close to him that he was knocked to the ground by the force of it. As he feared for his life he shouted out, “I will become a monk!” Because of this vow, he dropped out of school and entered one of the Monasteries of St. Augustine. His father was livid, thinking he was throwing his life away, and his friends thought this was unbelievable. Luther had always been a joyful, happy person, and joining a monastery was like a prison sentence. In fact, Luther describes it exactly as that. He said it was a season of “deep spiritual despair.” He said Jesus was, “the jailer and the hangman of my poor soul.” He would fast, pray and confess regularly, yet still felt guilty. He would punish himself for his doubt and for his sin, but still he felt like God was just waiting to crush him for his sin. He was a good student, though, and eventually became a professor at the University of Wittenberg.

It was from that post that he encountered something that didn’t sit right with him. A friar by the name of Tetzel was going around Germany collecting money for the new Vatican, which is where the Catholic Pope lives. The building had been neglected for generations, and one Pope had decided he wanted to rebuild the Vatican. There were two other reasons a new Vatican was being built, too. One was that the pope wanted to rebuild it as a memorial to himself. He wanted his tomb in the building and the whole structure to be about him. That was one reason, but a second, I didn’t know about until I had traveled to France myself. I visited the city of Cluny, which had an enormous commune called the Abbey of Cluny. It had a basilica that was, at the time, the largest in the world. They taught clergymen and women who became some of the most influential leaders in Europe. In fact, its influence was so profound that those in the Roman Vatican became jealous. They wanted to train the world’s best leaders; they wanted to have the biggest basilica in the world. But to do it, they had to get the money for it.

There solution was novel. They started selling what were called indulgences. Someone could pay money and the church told them it would “reduce the amount of punishment” a person got for their sin. People understood it to mean they would spend less time in purgatory before entering heaven. Previously an indulgence was given for saying a prayer, or doing a good deed. Now it was given for money to change a person’s eternity, and that seemed rotten to Martin Luther. He had struggled himself with these feelings of guilt. He knew he couldn’t just buy his way out of it, so why was the church selling this idea of releasing someone from their sins for money? As he studied the topic further he realized that the church was making some other mistakes, too. He wrote to his bishop to describe how it was that the church was in error. He included what today is known as the 95 theses, statements questioning the actions of the church, and that was it. He had no intention of starting a revolution or upending the church, but over the next several years, as the church demanded to know where he got these ideas from, he was disturbed. He wasn’t peddling someone else’s ideas; he was giving his own scholarly opinion. So when Luther discovered that the Pope already knew about selling indulgences to help rebuild the Vatican, and that the catholic church rejected his opinions, declaring him an enemy of the pope, he was out of options. The church excommunicated him, said it was illegal to shelter or clothe him, and that anyone could kill him without legal consequence. That’s when his response to the church finally changed.

Luther was no longer simply trying to help the church understand the ways in which she had errored; Luther was ready to change the world. Not by war, not with violence, but through the declaration of a singular doctrine that he understood to be the core of the Christian faith. His own wrestling with his sins over the years and his sense of perpetual guilt drove him to the scriptures. As he read and reread God’s word it was in Romans chapter 1 that he finally saw the light. We are not hopelessly guilty; we are not forsaken by a holy but ruthless God - we are saved by faith alone.

That’s the conclusion he comes to while he’s studying the Psalms, particularly Psalm 118. And when he goes back to Romans 1, it finally dawns on him - we are all guilty; none are righteous, and our only hope is faith alone. See, Luther had been taught to read this chapter in a particular way. When he read that the Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith” he was taught that this faith was what came from “the righteousness of God” (that’s verse 17). The righteousness of God was understood philosophically as punishment from God induced by our sin. So, for God to be holy and righteous, he was constantly being forced to punish us for our sins. This is why, when you invite some people to church, they tell you they can’t come because, if they do, the church will get struck by lightning and collapse on them. They think God must punish us for our sins (although, apparently he can only do that when we walk into a church).

But what Luther suddenly realized was that the righteousness of God doesn’t require him to punish us. It requires that all those who have faith, putting their trust in God, to be saved. No one is righteous, but that doesn’t mean we are all condemned - it means we are all equal when it comes to our access to salvation. The one thing God requires of us to save us from our sins is to have faith. That’s it. There is nothing else. Confession is good, but it doesn’t save us. Right beliefs, or better theology doesn’t save us. Giving money to the church doesn’t save us. The only thing we need is faith.

Now this is important. What is faith? Some people today will tell you faith is believing hard enough in something even if you can’t see it. They’ll try and get you to buy a hanky that’s been blessed with holy oil, or get God’s favor by buying them a new jet so they can preach in style. That’s not faith; that’s indulgences all over again. You cannot buy your way into faith. Luther reminds us that faith is one thing and one thing only - it is a gift from God. The only thing we have to do in order to have faith is to receive it. We simply say ‘yes’ to God’s offer.

Now what had Luther over a barrel was that he thought after he had this faith he had to live the right way, and if he didn’t, he was guilty all over again. God’s wrath would come after him for his sin even more so now that he was a Christian! He knew better than to sin! So to sin after salvation was even worse! Besides, anything we did to attract God’s favor was by definition a sin! Trying to win God over with holy actions is sin. Seems pretty hopeless then, doesn’t it? But the good news is faith is not righteous living after commiting oneself to God. Faith is trusting God even in your failure! Even when you sin! God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, as though you can earn your place in heaven. That’s literally impossible! The only way is to say yes to God, to trust that God has you even when its all going wrong.

As Luther realized this marvelous truth he certainly needed that kind of faith. His correction of the church sparked an unintentional war. As Emperors and Princes sought an opportunity to grow their power and overthrow the Catholic Church, they used this theological dispute as a reason to kill people. Luther totally disagreed. When his hometown was in revolt he returned there to preach on the core values of Christianity: love, patience, and freedom. But we don’t get to living out these values through violence; we get there by trusting God’s word. Within just a couple of weeks his preaching and presence had ended the uprising in his hometown. His hope was that the same would happen in other areas, too. He continued to minister, leading a new church to be born - the Lutheran church, translated the Bible from Latin, which very few people knew, to the language everyone spoke. He challenged sacerdotalism (that’s one of my favorite words to say); it means you don’t have to have a priest to forgive you. You, yourself, have direct access to God. You can go straight to the Lord with your concerns, and you can be made right with God right then and there. You don’t need a clergyperson to get right with God. And his hymns continue to be a blessing to the whole world.

Those are some of the incredible things that happened in Luther’s life. But what can we take from it? What does it mean for us that he struggled with his own salvation and learned to trust God with faith alone? I hope that one significant thing we take away is that we can’t save ourselves, that our sin condemns us and that no one is worthy of getting out of the mess in which we all find ourselves. No one! We are all guilty. Now the thing that stops us from being overcome with doubt and depression like Luther was in his early years is that we know where our hope comes from. We know that God doesn’t just leave us stuck in our sin - God made a way for everyone, every single person on this planet, to be cleaned from sin and made right with God. This is the tricky part, though. We aren’t made right by our actions. We don’t get right by living a holy and righteous life. That’s the same dead end Luther was stuck in. The only way forward with God is through faith. When you trust God, no matter your sin, your sorrow, your sickness, you are saved.

I heard this story this week that seems pretty unbelieveable to me. Its about a man from California named Noriyuki. When he was just two years old he developed spinal turberculosis and spent the next eleven years in the hospital. Most of his time there he was wrapped in a full body cast, and was told he would never walk again. He befriended a priest at the hospital who joked with him, that if he converted to catholicism he would rename his Patrick Aloyisus Ignatius Xavier Noriyuki Morita. Well after eleven years this little boy had extensive surgeries and somehow was able to walk. Years later he would leave his work as a department head with the Aerospace firm Lockheed-Martin so he could go to LA and do stand up comedy. He took on the stage name “Pat” honoring that priest who helped him all those years in the hospital. Eventually Pat took on a role he became famous for as Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid. He was also the Emperor in Mulan for the younger crowd, but the point is he didn’t give up despite eleven years in the hospital. That priest taught him God is always with you; you can trust God, not because everything is going right, but because there is a brighter day tomorrow.

Its not about how things look around you. Its not about what went wrong, or who hurt you or how little money you have. Faith is a gift from God that says if you trust him, and not any of the stuff around you, not any of the things you see with your eyes, just trust God, then you are made right with God. Its so simple, but we get roped into this idea that we can earn our salvation, that somehow our good work is the thing that saves us. No. Never. You can never do enough good work to earn God’s act of saving you. You just get it if you put your trust in God.

Eventually this idea that led Luther to break away from the Catholic church led to his excommunication, but he wasn’t afraid. He knew that he had rediscovered the very core of the Christian faith. In 1999 there was actually a document signed by Lutherans, Methodists and Catholics called ‘the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.’ It declares what Luther so boldly stood for despite the real possibility of death. Here it is, “Together we confess: by grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works.” Faith alone. There’s more that happens after faith, but it is faith alone that saves us.

Let’s me share one more story. Steve Hayner was a seminary president and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After he found out the chemotherapy wasn't working, he wrote, "What now seems clear from a purely physical perspective is that in all probability the remainder of my life on this earth is now to be counted in weeks and months." He then addressed the many people who have been praying for a miracle.

Many are praying for one of God's "big" miracles. We are as well. But it is not how God answers prayer that determines our response to God. God is committed to my ultimate healing. But being cured of my cancer may or may not be a part of that healing work … One person told me how disturbing it is to her to watch so many thousands of prayers on my behalf and yet to see a minimal of physical evidence of healing. Does God really heal? … Does the amount of prayer have any special impact? Honestly, while I understand the importance and logic of questions like this … most of these questions are not ones that are important to me.

I truly don't know what God has planned … I could receive "healing" through whatever means, or I could continue to deteriorate. But life is about a lot more than physical health. It is measured by a lot more than medical tests and vital signs. More important than the more particular aspects of God's work with us … is God's overall presence with us, nourishing, equipping, transforming, empowering, and sustaining us for whatever might be God's call to my life today. TODAY, my call might be to learn something new about rest. TODAY, my call might be to encourage another person in some very tangible way. TODAY, my call might be to learn something new about patience, endurance, and the identification with those who suffer. TODAY, my call might be to mull through a new insight about God's truth or character.

He closed by quoting the poet E. E. Cummings: "I thank you God for most this amazing day..."

I’d like to close with the words to this poem as a reminder that faith is not an action we take. It is a state of being. Trust God and you are right with God. Be with God and you are assured of righteousness. Not by doing, not by earning or buying, but simply by faith. It doesn’t get you everything you want; but it opens you to a larger world; a world where God has you in the palm of his hands. Here’s the poem:

i thank You God for most this amazing day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today, and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing breathing any—lifted from the no of all nothing—human merely being doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

May your ears and eyes be opened today by faith alone, a gift from God. Amen? Amen.

John 1:6–17 NRSV

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.