The Reformation Continues

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins in salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St.

John, the 8th chapter. So Jesus said to the

Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

They answered him, We are offspring of Abraham, and have never been enslaved to anyone. This is how is it that you say you will become free?

Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever, the son remains forever.

So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. This is the gospel of the

Lord. In the name of Jesus. Alright, so it's Reformation Sunday, the observance of the

Feast of the Reformation. And we Lutherans have a habit of wanting to reminisce, think about the good old days, when brave Martin Luther went and courageously knocked his 95

Theses onto the door of the castle church of Wittenberg, and we want to sit there and revel in the glory of all that kind of stuff.

But the reality is this, if you know the history of the Reformation, Luther wasn't trying to start a

Reformation. In fact, what ended up happening caught even Martin Luther by surprise.

But the reality is this, is that prior to him posting the 95 Theses, a more important thing happened.

In his study, Martin Luther was working through the book of Romans, and in Romans he finally understood that the righteousness of God was not a demand that was being put upon him, but a gift being given to him by God.

And that simple revelation that's so clearly taught in Scripture took his theology, flipped it on its head, and he didn't even realize the ramifications of what had taken place.

So somehow sitting here talking about how courageous Martin Luther is, of course all the artwork shows him with that stern look on his face, you know,

I'm going to go show you guys. That's not how it happened, okay? It's about as boring as watching somebody post a post -it note on the board at Starbucks, you know, would you come to our jewelry party?

You know, that's kind of the gist of it. So let's not romanticize that. Instead, let's focus on the fact that the

Reformation continues to this day, and has to continue to this day, and the reason why is because our default position theologically is self -righteousness.

We somehow have it stuck inside of our old Adam that if I'm good enough, and if I'm smart enough, then gosh darn

God will like me. That's what we think. And so we spend an inordinate amount of time trying to earn brownie points with God by doing good works.

Now I want to make something very clear. When I preach like this, there's always somebody who's saying, so are you saying that good works aren't important?

No, I'm not saying that. Good works are vital. In fact, good works are necessary, but they're not necessary for salvation.

So let's again take a look at our need to repent of our self -righteousness because we're constantly doing this, and to instead rest in the promises of Christ.

So we'll begin with our gospel text. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, believed.

There's your operative word. That's your verb. They believed in him. What did they do? How much did they serve

Jesus? Zero at this point. He just got done preaching, and they just merely believed.

Jesus said to them, if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Hmm. That's quite a statement. If you abide in my word, what does it mean to abide in the word of Christ?

Well, what is the word of Christ? Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of Christ. Oh, I know.

Romans says that the gospel is the power of God into salvation. The word of Christ is the good news that Christ came to save you, that he is the one who is the champion on the field who has held the battle all by himself.

Think of it this way. Have you all noticed that things are not getting better in your own life, in the world, and stuff like this?

Just take a look at me. I'm a perfect example. There is no gym that can fix this at this point. We're beyond the point of no return, okay?

So it just can't be fixed. It can't be done. And so we're all heading to the grave.

We're already born with one foot in the grave. And if you want a kind of a salient example, all right, so I make no apologies for the fact that I am a fan of the

Los Angeles Dodgers. I refuse to apologize for this. It's something that is very important to me.

And the reason for this is simple. My grandfather lived and grew up in Brooklyn.

And the baseball team he rooted for was Dem Bums. That's what he would call them.

And so when they moved to Los Angeles, he was very despondent. But I was raised in Southern California, so every time my grandfather would come and visit me during the baseball season, guess what we did?

We went to go see the Dodgers. And he is the one who instilled in me the love for the game and the love for this team.

But always and again, when the Dodgers would mess up, and they always do, that's the thing.

Being a fan of baseball, it is an exercise in futility.

Anyway, but you get the idea here. So there we are, we're at Dodger Stadium. We have these beautiful seats behind home plate.

He would always splurge a little bit, you know, make sure we got the best seats. And so there we are behind home plate, and the

Dodgers, they make an error. They drop the ball. They lose the game. And what does he say? Dem bums did it again, right?

I'm doing therapy here in the sermon today. Dem bums did it again. Well, the

Dodgers are in the World Series right now. Now, they're tied with the Tampa Bay Rays two games to two.

But game three was kind of glorious. The Dodgers won that one, so I was happy about dem bums.

But there was this thing that happened that reminded me yet again of the fact that we are here for such a short amount of time, that the wages of sin is death, and that each and every one of us, we are foolish if we trust in our own strength.

Youth is deceiving, man. It goes so quick. So there

I was watching game three, and there's a guy on the mound by the name of Bueller, and the guy doing the announcing has said that the torch has passed from Clayton Kershaw, who's the ace pitcher, who's two -time

Cy Young winner. He's going to the Hall of Fame. The torch has passed from Clayton Kershaw to Bueller.

What kind of name is Bueller? I can't help but think of that movie, Bueller, Bueller. And I look at this kid.

He doesn't even shave yet, right? But he has a 97 -mile -an -hour fastball.

And you're thinking, what's going on? We're watching the changing of an era.

The team that I've been rooting for for years now is changing yet again.

And the guys who were just a few years ago at the top of their game, they're on the slide down.

And that slide ends with them being off the team, being out of baseball, getting long of tooth, getting gray hairs, and eventually us remembering them after they pass.

And it's very, well, discouraging, if you think about it. But that's the reality.

And here's the thing. Which of us, who of us, can solve this problem?

This is the problem that we face. We are in a world where we are cursed.

The wages of our rebellion against God is death. And do you think for a second that you can solve this problem on your own?

Maybe what we could do is we could have a global Zoom call. We can all get together on Zoom, wear our face masks just because we want a virtue signal, let everybody know how seriously we're taking the pandemic.

And then we can sit down and we can get all the issues on the table, get the best minds on it, and we can solve this problem, right?

No, and that's kind of the point.

I'm the problem, you're the problem. Collectively, we're the problem. We can't get out of this situation.

And you'll note here, Christ is talking about being set free, and that's the point. Because of our rebellion against God, each and every one of us is born dead, door nailed dead, in trespasses, in sins.

And we cannot free ourselves from slavery to sin, slavery to death, slavery to the devil, slavery to the world, slavery to the passions that rise up within us.

We cannot solve the problem. And we are foolish if we seem to think that if this time

I just try a little harder, maybe pray a little bit more, that somehow

I can put God in my debt and I can save myself. You're out of your mind when you think this way.

This is delusional stuff. But the Scriptures say, Christ says, if you abide in my word, abide in the good news that Christ has won the day.

As Luther writes in the mighty fortress hymn that we just sang, no strength of ours can match the devil's might.

We would be lost, we would be rejected. But see, now a champion, he has come to fight, whom

God himself has elected. And so you ask who this may be. It is the Lord of hosts, is he. Christ Jesus, the mighty

Lord, God's only son adored. He is the one who holds the field victorious.

Not you, not me. So you'll note, when Christ says the son will set you free, well, some of the unbelieving

Jews react and they said, we are offspring of Abraham. We've never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say you will become free?

How can you be a student of the Old Testament and say that you are not enslaved to sin?

So Jesus answered, amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

Everybody. And see, that's the thing. We all know this by experience. This isn't some abstract concept.

Think on your own life. What are the things that you are most ashamed of?

Is it when you were being kind to somebody that you're ashamed of that? Or when you were doing your best at work, are you ashamed of that?

No, the things we are ashamed of are the things that we know are sins. And if you're not sure what a sin is, consider the 10 commandments in this regard.

We shall love the Lord, our God, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We shall not misuse the name of the

Lord, our God, remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy. We do not murder, we do not commit adultery, we do not steal, we honor our father and mother.

We do not slander our neighbor or covet our neighbor's stuff.

All the things you are ashamed of, and rightfully so, are when you've broken one of those commandments.

The darkest times in your life, you have felt like, and rightfully so, that you were enslaved to your own sin, like it was the one thing driving you.

It's kind of like that song about being your own worst enemy. But it's not that you are your own worst enemy, it's that being enslaved to sin, we oftentimes feel like we don't have any other choice than to obey its passions and its commands, which are shameful.

But Christ, in this regard, says, amen, amen. I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

And note, the slave doesn't remain in the house forever, the son, though, remains. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Who does the freeing? Not me, not you. It's only the son who can set you free.

He is the only one who can. And you'll note that what he's not interested in doing is putting you back under bondage.

And you'll note that the freedom of the gospel, the freedom of the forgiveness of sins, it is offensive to some.

I always find it fascinating when I take scriptures like this, post them on Twitter.

Oh my word, all right. There's a mini explosion on some server over in Cupertino when

I post up a text like this. Oh, so if the son sets you free, you'll be free indeed.

So you're saying that the gospel gives you the freedom to go out and sin and fornical mutilate and stuff. It's like,

I didn't say anything of the sort. Maybe you need to open a movie theater because you're projecting so much.

Sorry, I'm a little bit in a mood today. But you get the idea.

The gospel is scandalous. So are you saying that real sinners can really be forgiven for free by Jesus without any cost?

Absolutely. But don't they have to prove that they mean it?

I feel like I'm having a conversation with myself, but I know I'm not because I've had these conversations before.

In this context then, consider our epistle text. Let me start with the last verse of our epistle text.

We hold that no one, not one single human being on planet

Earth from Adam until the last guy who draws his last breath on the last day when

Jesus returns, there is not a single person who is declared righteous before God by their works.

We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

So you're saying works aren't important? No, I'm not saying that at all.

They're necessary, but they play this much into your salvation and your justification.

They are not the cause or the reason why you are saved. The only one who did the works necessary to save you and me is

Jesus Christ, and he gives salvation away totally, 100%, no strings attached, free.

And he forgives real sinners. If you don't think you're one of them, you have no point in hanging out in church and thinking that you have anything to do with Jesus or that Jesus has anything to offer you because the thing he's offering here is forgiveness of sins, eternal life, salvation all for free.

He doesn't want anything from you. He loves you, and that's the difference.

And always and again, you can tell when somebody tacitly doesn't believe that, or worse, kind of on a seething sub -level hates the idea that real sinners are forgiven for free because they always want to control the person and say, yeah, but if you're really saved, then you're not going to smoke.

If you really are saved, you won't watch those movies. If you're really saved, then they do this, they create this whole theology.

Believe me when I tell you, real Christians who are really saved, who are really forgiven do all kinds of really stupid things that are for real sinful, myself included.

This is the reason why, let me remind you, I wear black. If you were not convinced

I'm a sinner, just say, well, he keeps broadcasting that he is, and if you're not sure, come to my house, hang out with me for four minutes, and you'll never again doubt that I'm a sinner, right?

The thing is, are you convinced that you are? And that's the point.

If you really believe that you're a sinner, then you know there's nothing you can do to save yourself. You already stand condemned, and that's the point.

So consider again our epistle text in this context. We know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law so that the whole world may be held accountable to God, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world accountable to God.

I've said it before, I'll keep saying it. The purpose of the law is not to give you the to -do list. If you check it off, then you can say,

I'm good with God. The purpose of the law is to make you zip it. If I wanted to be rude,

I'd say the purpose of the law is to shut you up. But I'm a good person.

Really? But my heart's in the right place. I meant well. Really. Jesus says out of the heart comes all kinds of filth and sin.

That's the reason why you've fallen far short. Purpose of the law is to condemn you. But I heard from my apostle and my prophetess that if anyone gives me a message from God that doesn't make me feel good about myself, that I'm to reject it because God wants me to know how special I am.

Well, your apostle and your prophetess is a false apostle and a false prophetess, and they're leading you to hell.

But telling me I'm a sinner doesn't make me feel good about myself. It's not supposed to. If you're here to make me, if you're here because you want me to scratch your itching ears, to take your ego and tell you how amazing you are, you're in the wrong place.

We are here to confess that we are sinners, that we have fallen short. And when the law speaks, it silences us because we recognize by the working of the

Holy Spirit through his law that we don't measure up. But it doesn't stop there.

Paul goes on to say, for by works of the law, not a single human being will be declared righteous in God's sight because through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

Well, if the law can't save me, what can? Glad you asked.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. Although the law and the prophets, they bear witness to it.

The righteousness of God, diakosune to theu, it is his righteousness. This isn't a standard that we're supposed to achieve by our good works.

This is a gift given to us. And listen to what it says. This is the righteousness of God that is through faith in Jesus Christ.

And here's your important word. For, for, for all who believe.

So a good way to think of it. You want to know what you were like when Christ found you?

You were naked, not breathing, completely covered in filth and slime, smelled like death itself.

And what does Jesus do? He comes to you. And he washes the filth off of you.

And through the preaching of the gospel, the Holy Spirit breathes new life in you when you are raised from the dead.

Think of it this way. There's a picture, there's a wonderful picture in Genesis chapter two of how

God created Adam and Eve. And this is history, by the way, not some kind of mythology. So there's the lifeless body of Adam.

Christ has just formed it. It's not alive. It's just lying there. And what does

Jesus do? He breathes into the nostrils of Adam, the breath of life, and he becomes a living spirit.

He opens his eyes. The first thing Adam sees is the face of his creator.

It's a beautiful picture. But there you are, dead in trespasses and sins. You're not able to do a thing to save yourself because dead people don't do much.

I don't know if you've noticed that about them. They're a little inactive. But Christ finds you.

He washes away your sins. He breathes into you and you are regenerated, raised again to new life in him.

And then, then he takes his very cloak that he's wearing and he covers your nakedness and shame with it.

That's the picture of what the righteousness of God is. And this is a righteousness that is for all who believe.

It is for those who believe. And then he goes on, because there's no distinction.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Me, you, everybody,

Biden, Trump, the whole world, every one of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

And listen to what it says. And we are justified by God's grace as a gift.

Well, if it's a gift, I didn't do anything to earn it.

When you give gifts to friends or children or family members, have they earned those gifts?

No, a gift is a gift. And so God has given us the gift of salvation.

You can't earn it, you can't work for it. So he's given it by his grace as a gift. And this is through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

God is the one who put Christ forward as the atoning sacrifice for our sins by his blood.

And this is then received by faith. And that's the whole point. You see, if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

We can't carry the burden of our shame. We cannot carry the burden of our guilt. And believe me, we do not want to experience the consequences of our sin, which is far more than your mere body dying.

The real death we should fear is the second death. The second death where we are thrown, where people are thrown into the lake of fire.

And so that being said, note this, that Christ himself became sin, your sin.

Our sin was placed upon him. He bore the burden, he bore the shame, he bore the guilt.

And he is the one who was nailed to the cross to suffer in your place and mine.

And he did so in the dark on a Friday afternoon while wearing absolutely nothing.

He experienced shame and punishment and the very shame and punishment of God so that you and I can be forgiven, pardoned, and no longer be considered slaves, but set free and then adopted as children of God.

All of this because of his great love for us. You see, God showed his righteousness because in the past he had overlooked the former sins and he showed his righteousness in this time so that he might be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

So let me ask you, do you believe that Christ died for your sins? Not just the sins of the world, but yours, the ones you are ashamed of, the ones you committed last year, the ones you committed 10 years ago, the ones you committed yesterday?

Note then that believing this, you have already then received this gift of God.

And so God has declared you to be righteous. And then when that has taken place, if you've received it as a gift and Christ is the champion, he's the one who's done it, let me ask you, is there any place for boasting?

You can always tell a church where the people really don't believe the gospel because people spend an inordinate amount of time boasting about their righteousness, their sin -busting techniques, their defeat, the way they've caused the devil to be defeated and all this kind of nonsense.

I got nothing to boast about. If I'm gonna boast about anything, I'm gonna boast about the fact that I have a God who loves me so much that he saved a loser like me.

I'll boast in him, not myself. And so you know, Paul asks, what becomes of our boasting?

Boasting is excluded and it's excluded by the law of faith for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

So stop striving. In all the little ways we try to niggle or work our way back to some kind of a deal that we can work out with God based upon our goodness.

Knock it off. Repent of that nonsense. No one is justified in God's sight by works of the law.

Salvation is a gift given and received by grace through faith because of what

Christ has done for us. He is the champion, not you. In the name of Jesus, amen.

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