Reformation Sunday

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 46; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36

Pastor Gayle M. Pope

From Faith to Freedom

A slave auction was going on in the public square of a town somewhere on the east coast back in the early 1800s. A wealthy man happened to walk by as they were auctioning off a strong, healthy young African male. The wealthy man stopped and entered into the bidding.

The African would make such a valuable slave, the bidding went quite high, but the wealthy man met and increased every bid until the auctioneer declared the slave “SOLD!” The wealthy man paid for the slave, his chains were loosed and he was turned over to his new owner.

But the wealthy man simply turned and walked away. The African followed him for a time until the man turned to him and said, “You may go. I purchased your freedom. You are no longer a slave. Just go your way. You are free.”

And he turned and kept walking. But the African continued to follow. After a time, the wealthy man turned to him again and said, “You don’t understand. You are free to go and do whatever you want.” But the African said, “I do understand. But don’t you see? I want to serve YOU.”

We come into the world doomed to death because we have inherited SIN. There’s nothing we can do about it. We’re trapped. We are in bondage and cannot free ourselves.

But Jesus purchased our freedom by paying for it with his own blood – his own life.

In the waters of Baptism, we are joined to Christ and set free from our bondage to sin, death and the devil. If it wasn’t for Jesus, we would ALL be destined for eternal hell and damnation.

But we have been FREED!

Why in the world would we choose to keep our allegiance with the slave master? Why would we choose to follow the one who leads to hell – the one who offers FALSE promises of comfort, power, security, fame, righteousness and all the comforts of the earth – all of which will dissolve into nothingness the moment we take our last human breath?

Why would we continue to serve that false master rather than follow the one who loves us truly and has purchased our freedom and who gives us life and offers peace and love and joy and hope that goes deeper than anything this world has to offer?

What is missing in this picture? Faith.

The benefits promised by the slave master can be discerned by our human senses. We see them. We desire them. And we grab hold of them.

The promises and the presence and the gifts of abundant life given to us freely by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus can be apprehended only through eyes of faith.

We are freed when we believe the promise that we are free – when we place our faith and trust in the one who has freed us. We are free to follow and serve the one whose promises NEVER fail – whose love never ends – who is a rock and fortress from the enemy both HERE and NOW and FOREVER.

OR we are free to follow the one who would happily lead us to hell. There is no third way. Whatever or whomever we think we are following, if it isn’t the one true God who has revealed Himself to us in His Word and through Jesus Christ, His Word made flesh, it’s the devil.

As Lutherans, we believe that in our Baptism we have already received this gift of eternal life by being joined to Christ’s death and resurrection. Praise the Lord. Jesus has paid the price for our sin. We will be in heaven with him forever!

But we’re not there yet! We are here. And there’s a battle going on here. My old master still wants me and quite often I give in. I forget about God. I put my trust in worldly things and in myself. I take the path of least resistance. I give in to the lures of earthly pleasure. I believe the lies Satan whispers in my ears.

So I come back here to hear the promises again. To confess my sin, remember my Baptism, receive forgiveness, eat and drink the bread and wine that feeds my spirit with the life of Jesus. This is what this physical expression of the church is for – to deliver the means of grace that we may be reminded of who we are and whose we are in a world that wants us to forget.

In Martin Luther’s time, the church was no longer proclaiming the good news of freedom in Jesus. Instead it was offering the FALSE promise of salvation through other means, which really was just more bondage. When Luther’s eyes were opened by faith to understand the true freedom that was his in Christ, he would stop at nothing to proclaim it.

This is our heritage – to stop at nothing to proclaim the good news that God loves us and Jesus died to set us free from bondage to sin and death – to reject allegiance to any other purpose or promise, other than salvation by grace through faith alone – and to gladly and joyfully SERVE the one who set us free by offering our lives to be used for his purposes.

That is a tall order. But we have a God who is taller yet and a Savior who lives within us and makes all things possible. As the children sang, our God is so big, so strong and so mighty there’s nothing our God cannot do!

Let us ALL reject sin and the devil and all his empty promises and turn to the one who frees us to be children of God and inheritors of eternal life. Amen!