Crows
Nest Lutheran Parish, November 1, 2009
Romans
3:19-24
(19) Now we know that whatever the law says
it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped,
and the whole world may be held accountable to God.(20) For by works of the law no human being
will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of
sin.(21) But now the righteousness
of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets
bear witness to it--(22) the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For
there is no distinction:(23) for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (24) and are justified by his grace as a
gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
Prayer:
Gracious God, thank you for the light of the gospel, which dispels our spiritual
gloom and gives us confidence to stand in your presence, holy, forgiven, and
full of joy. Bless now the speaking and hearing of your Word this morning. We
pray through Jesus Christ our Saving Lord, Amen.
A
little story to begin:
The
eccentric old King of Prussia, father of Frederick the Great, while visiting the
Potsdam prison, was much interested in the professions of innocence the
prisoners made. Some blamed their conviction on the prejudice of judges; others,
upon the perjury of witnesses or the tricks of bad companions. At length he
accosted a sturdy, closely-fettered prisoner with the remark, " I suppose you
are innocent, too."
"
No, your Majesty," was the unexpected response, " I am guilty, and richly
deserve all I get."
"Here,
you turnkey," thundered the monarch, "come and turn out this rascal, quick,
before he corrupts this fine lot of innocent and abused people that you have
about you."
(http://www.oldandsold.com/articles09/toast-23.shtml)
Few
people readily admit they have done the wrong thing. Even if we get caught in
middle of doing something wrong, our first reaction is usually to try to justify
ourselves. We have two sets of rules: one set applies to other people, the other
applies to us. One set of rules is strict and unyielding. The other is soft and
quite flexible.
When
other people get in our way or do the wrong thing by us, they should be
punished. But if we do the wrong thing… we can shrug our shoulders and dismiss
it as if it is not important. If the other person was offended, they should just
let it go. Overlook it. Don’t make a big thing of it.
If
the law of the land has hold of us, we may not be able to get out of it. But we
still tend to rant and rave and complain that the laws are too harsh. When other
people get off lightly, though, what do we say? The laws are too
soft!
The
common theme is that we want to say, ‘I am right. I am not a bad person. If I am
guilty, it’s only for little things. My punishment should be softened. Even
better, I should be let off, scot free!’
God’s
law cannot let us go.
Romans
3: 19-20 says “…under the law… every mouth must be stopped, and the whole world
is accountable to God. By works of the law no human being will be justified in
his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
Through
the law comes knowledge of sin.
“Near
enough” is not “good enough” in the face of God’s law. The person who has a hint
of disrespect for God or a heart that is cool or indifferent towards him is a
person who despises God and is a sinner.
In
the face of God’s law, our excuses and all our attempts to justify ourselves are
useless. Romans 3:22-23 says
“…There is no distinction: for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
What
hope is there for us?
500
years ago the Church taught people to put their hope in themselves: “Be good
enough, and you’ll be ok.” But what if they couldn’t be good enough?
Well,
if they could afford it, they could buy ‘indulgences’ which gave them access to
“spare goodness” from Christ and high-achieving saints, stored up in the
Church’s treasury of merit. This wouldn’t get them straight to heaven, but would
reduce the time they would have to spend in an in-between place called
purgatory. A place where sufferings would purge them from their sins and
eventually they could be good enough to get to heaven.
The
church also taught people that they might be able to earn their way into God’s
good books by renouncing normal work, their families and everyday life, and
become a monk or a nun. A young law student who was nearly killed by lightning
got such a fright that he decided to become a monk. His name was Martin Luther.
Like most, if not all the people of his time, he was terrified of being
condemned by Christ. Christ was presented as a stern judge.
The
Church at the time of the Reformation, 500 years ago, was not following Jesus’
words in the gospel for today. In John 8:31,32 he said, "If you remain in my
word, you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free."
They
were not remaining in the Word.
Martin
Luther tried hard to be a good monk, but only sank further into despair. It was
impossible to be ‘good enough.’ There was no way he could justify himself before
the law of an angry and demanding God.
One
day God, in mercy, revealed to Martin Luther the truth of the gospel: God
himself, through Jesus, provides all the goodness we need. God give us this
goodness freely. There is nothing we need to do, and nothing we can do, to earn
it. It is his free gift, won by Jesus’ work on the cross, and available to all
who believe. Through faith, that is, simply by believing God’s promise of
forgiveness of sins through Jesus, we are saved!
What
hope was there for Luther? What hope is there for us? Sure hope, through Jesus
Christ our Lord! Our hope is in the grace of God. Grace is unmerited
favour.
Romans
3:24 [We] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus.
God
cannot simply dismiss our sins, for that would demean himself, and all of us. He
does not say, ‘It’s ok, I excuse you, we’ll just let it go.’ Instead he says, ‘I
hold my son accountable for your sins. He will be punished in your place. In
him, you will be counted as having been punished for all your sins. Through his
sacrifice, you are set free.’
Through
the death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s law is satisfied. Justice is done.
God declares us ‘good enough.’ Fully and freely forgiven. Through Jesus Christ.
Martin
Luther and many others were delighted to know Jesus as he really is: not a stern
judge, but our loving Saviour. They dared to believe the good news. They shared
it with others and God reformed his church.
There
was much pain. There were many mistakes over the centuries, even bloodshed.
God’s people have had to endure centuries of division, suspicion and even hate.
May God forgive us all, and correct all those things that still remain as
obstacles to the free flow of his gospel.
Today
we celebrate the reformation of the church through the gospel, many years ago.
Today
we celebrate the good news that, because God has justified us, we don’t need to
worry about having to justify ourselves. We can admit freely, like the fellow in
Potsdam prison, “I am guilty, and richly deserve all I get.” But God gives us
much more than we deserve. The law cannot let us go. But Christ can. By his
grace, he has justified us. He sets us free.
Free
to be, with him, eternally. Amen.
May
the peace of God which is beyond all human understanding keep our hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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