You Have Been Set Free by the Truth.

Reformation Day

Revelation 14:6-7

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

            Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.  In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

            Freedom.  It's a precious commodity.  So many in today's world seek freedom.  We certainly have seen the boat rocked on this word in the last 40 years.  I am free to love, peace, man.  I am free to do whatever I want with my body and if that is to abort the child growing in me, hey I'm free.  I am free to love whoever I want in whatever way I want.  So don't tell me that living with my girlfriend outside of marriage is a sin.  Or as the latest big case from the Supreme Court has tried to dictate, I am free to "marry" someone of the same sex.

            And some will try to misquote Christ, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."  Which they say is a license to engage in sin.  But my brothers and sisters, this is not the freedom that Christ speaks of.  Nor is this the freedom that the sainted Dr. Martin Luther began to bring out 498 years ago.  No, the freedom we speak of is much more real than that.  Your freedom comes through the truth of who Christ is and what he has done for you.

YOU HAVE BEEN SET FREE BY THE TRUTH.

I.

            Now you should consider yourself a slave.  More precisely, a slave to sin.  For in fact Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin."  And I'm not talking about what some would consider huge sins like I mentioned just a moment ago.  I'm talking about the weight of the crushing law.  If you simply have outright hate for another person, that's slavery to sin.  If you have unabashed lust for another person, you are a slave to sin.  If you cannot use God's name in a proper manner, you are a slave to sin. 

            I want you to look at the Jews in our text as a great example of those who think they have done nothing wrong and yet in every way are guilty.  "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone."  Ha, what a lie!  Not only have they been enslaved in the past, they were, in a way, at that moment as well!  They had been conquered over and over again.  And more pointedly, they had been enslaved in Egypt, for 400 years!  The Jews had also been led off into exile to Babylon for 70 years!  And now they were conquered by the Romans.  How slow of mind they are!  How these people lie through their teeth!

            But we are this slow as well.  You watch the news today and think well I'm glad I'm not like those people.  I'm definitely not as bad as them.  And that is very assuredly what these Jews did.  They forgot what God had done for them and they simply were glad to be children of Abraham.  God had made them his people.  He had given them the truth, the promise of the Savior.  These people were given life by God, chosen by God to be his people.  They received the sacrament of circumcision which God used to show them that they were his people. 

            They forgot that it was God who had chosen them and kept forgiving them.  They and their descendents showed disdain for the Lord by worshipping false Gods, and we do it too.  For example, I greatly enjoy sports.  I'm a soccer coach for one of my sons' team.  Two weekends ago we had a big tournament for our soccer organization, AYSO.  But I told my team we wouldn't be playing in it because the championship rounds run Sunday morning.  I expressed my displeasure to a couple of board members at their decision to not block off Sunday morning because they had asked why we weren't participating.  And one lady, upon learning that I am a pastor said, "oh God will forgive me for missing one Sunday for soccer."  What's the problem?  She had allowed herself to willingly become a slave to soccer.  It was more important for her to have her soccer match then receive Christ's Word and Sacrament.  She had distorted the truth.

            The Jews had the same problem.  They had become slaves to the Law because they thought they could keep the Law.  That is what Paul preaches against in our epistle text.  Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped.  The Law exists to keep us from saying we're ok, from saying God will forgive me no matter what I do.

            Unfortunately, You and I do this too often.  Instead of the Law causing you to shut your mouths before you say anything that would condemn you, You open your mouths and need to insert your foot.  For what we say today is that it doesn't matter what I do wrong, Jesus died for me.  It's the exact same thing the Jews were doing, "We have never been enslaved to anyone." While, in fact, it was getting worse they forgot what the promised Messiah would do. And today, the truth continues to be distorted.

II.

            But why this harsh reminder?  It is so that Christ may set you free from the self-delusion that we have today thanks to our sinful, corrupt nature born in us.  It's the hope that we read of in 1 Peter 2 "Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." This is the Gospel that is to be proclaimed to those who dwell on earth.  This is the truth that sets you free.  For despite as Paul tells you point blank, you have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, there is an additional truth.  You are his disciples and have been given the gift to know the truth of Christ's Word.  You are delivered from this bondage to sin.

            And what is the promised truth of Christ that sets you free?  You are justified by God's grace it's a free gift.  To justify means to be made right, put in a right alignment once again.  For we are completely off the straight line of holiness.  This is the truth.  Christ came to save sinners of whom I am the foremost.  You are the foremost.  You and I need saving, redeeming.  We need to be bought back from our slavery to the devil and sin.  When we realize that our sin enslaves us we confess that sin for he has already bought us back.  That is what it means to be redeemed by Christ.  You are bought back from your own sinful self. 

            And the purchase price was high.  So high, you could never pay it.  no one who is only true man could make the purchase price.  But that person also had to be true God.  Perfect.  Sinless.  And that's the truth. Christ came into this world, both true God and true man to buy you back from being lost in this sinful world, born into sin and he claims you as His. 

            You are free.  Freed by the blood of Christ.  It cost your loving God his life.  His blood, shed for you, for the remission of all your sins as he hung crucified.  We need this truth. Our life depends on it!  And how does the truth come to you?  By words, by it being spoken to you.

            Remember our hymn of the day, in verse three we sang, "one little word can fell him." Who?  The devil!  And that Word is no ordinary word, it is Jesus.  The Word made flesh comes and does what he promises.  It is Jesus who crushes the devil head, even while Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins. While suffering on the cross he defeated the Devil.  That's why Jesus says in our text, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.  Jesus was telling these disciples know that they need to wait for the whole answer that he was in process of finishing it, and that it was coming soon. It's the truth we continue to be taught today.

            And guess what, you have that truth now.  There are no multiple truths.  This is no buffet style faith where I will take what I like and leave what does not appeal to me.  Martin Luther blessed us with the truth we needed to know once more.  There is one truth.

            And there is no more wait and see. The work of salvation is done.  Now the only future work is that we will continue to receive his blessed gift of forgiveness.  Can you picture Luther's eyes opening up as he reads this blessed Epistle text and realizes what it means for God to give us Christ as a propitiation by his blood?  That propitiation means that God's wrath has been set aside, appeased by an offering, and this final propitiation is Christ's blood. It is this very precious body and blood of Christ that he invites you to eat and drink of often. 

III.

            You are freed by Christ alone, freed to abide in His Word.  It is this same message that we confess today.  You are part of God's holy house and all are invited to be members of it.  You have been released from the bondage of sin.  But not just released, claimed.  You are adopted into God's holy house through your blessed baptism.  It's why we continue to remember our baptism, making the sign of the cross.  We are reminding ourselves that we are not released from slavery in order to sin more, nor are we orphans in this world but that we are pulled from slavery and put into a family.  You belong to the family of God.  You are part of God's house. 

            And so what does it mean to be part of God's house?  We are cared for.  We are first clothed in our robes of white in baptism, dressed as part of God's holy house, and therefore he doesn't see the corrosive, harsh, grunginess of our sin.  instead he sees you as perfect children, for that is what you are because of Christ.  He also provides a roof over your head, as Jesus says, he has gone to prepare a place for us, but in the meantime Christ gives you a place to dwell.  We tabernacle we temporarily dwell here in the house of the Lord.  He has provided a place of refuge, a place that you call home, his holy sanctuary. 

            It is here that he teaches you like a father teaching his child.  He teaches you the one truth.  He is not satisfied with half-truths or out-right lies that some would say are ok as long as you believe in Jesus.  For our Lord and Savior knows that these can deceive you  and lead you away from himself.  So he invites you here to himself to hear His Truth.  And don't forget what else happens in the house!  He feeds you.  You're invited to come here often and eat and drink.  It's why the early church, every time they gathered, celebrated the Lord's Supper, because here is the promise of life, of forgiveness, of Christ giving himself to us, in this miraculous and beneficial way.  He feeds you himself for the forgiveness of all your sins.  It is this precious meal that Christ knew you needed for the sustaining and strengthening of your faith. 

            This clear message is what Luther wanted you to have today.  Be free from the doubts of your sin.  Do not allow your sin to trouble you.  Do not think that you are still a slave to sin.  Yes, even when weighed down by your sin, do not let satan cast doubt into your mind because there is no doubt that your sins have been paid for.  It is this faith that we confess out into that world, right out there.  The many out there are declaring we have never been enslaved to anyone, how is it that you say "you will become free."  Their thought is no different, but your confession provides comfort and truth.  Jesus sets you free from the works you try to do to earn forgiveness.  We need not embrace what the world says, we need not work to earn the love of God, instead rejoice.  You are free.  You are freed by the truth.  And that truth is Jesus Christ he came into this world to die for sinners like those Jews, like you, like me, and our neighbors outside these doors.

            Today is a reminder that many are still slave to sin.  You don't have to go far to find them.  They exist amongst your family and friends, they may even be you.  For those who would deceive themselves and think they are living a good life and Jesus will love them and save them because of it are most certainly the ones who are endangered to be enslaved to their sin.  What a tragedy to have such a blessed truth and not confess it to those who have fallen away and have been deceived by their own false self-justification. 

            My brothers and sisters in Christ, take heart in the Word.  Our Bible is not full of holes that would lead us to doubt Christ's promises, in fact, it is such a powerful Word that there is no doubt as to what it says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Abide in Christ's word. 

            For what is Christ's Word?  He came to save us from our sins.  And this he has most certainly done!  You are freed through the blood soaked works of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to save you from your sin.  As proof that this is the truth, he rose from the dead, and appeared visibly, triumphant over the grave, so that you may be as well, as you abide in this truth.  That is what we will celebrate next week, on All Saints Day, we are victorious over the grave because of Christ.  This truth of freedom is for all people.  Continue to trust and proclaim this truth!