Listen to sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, October 30, 2016
Jesus says, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples.” Here Jesus sets the bar of what a true disciple is—someone who listens and whose lifestyle reflects the teachings of Jesus. This Scripture is a good one for us to focus on the heart of what Reformation is all about. Reformation is about recovering the truth of God’s Word. We become students of God’s Word. And then we experience how it transforms lives. That is what disciple means—student, pupil, learner. A disciple is a follower. A disciple has chosen a path that has a learning curve. A disciple has begun a journey of discovery. A disciple knows she or he may need to adjust their understanding. A disciple knows that they may need to expand their knowledge and perspective.
That is what began to set apart Martin Luther, the 16th century German monk. As a young person, and later as a student of theology, he began to live in terror of God and even hate God’s righteousness. He saw God as holy, righteous, and perfect. And that he is. He was taught that God demands holiness, righteousness, and perfection from us. And that he does. That is what the Church taught—God’s Law. And Luther was a good student. He reminded people his whole life he was a doctor of theology. But instead of learning to love God, he learned to run away from God and even despise his demands.
When Jesus says that true disciples continue in his Word, among other things, the people listening to him betray their own ignorance. They say they as a people have never been slaves to anyone. They have not learned the lessons of the Hebrew Bible—that as a people they were slaves for generations in Egypt and Babylon. But the problem is not the fact that they had forgotten, or never learned, a few facts in the Scriptures. The problem is that they do not seem open to continued learning and instruction. They do not seem like they are willing to adjust and grow in their understanding.
And the same things that kept them from becoming true disciples will keep us from becoming true disciples. In Luther’s day, the same things almost kept him and the people in the church from becoming true disciples. Pride is probably the biggest. And it can take many forms. Pride can be the belief that we are entitled to God’s love—that we are born into privilege of race, ethnicity, religion, or class. We do not need to go on a journey of discovery because we believe we have already arrived. Think of what they said to Jesus: “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.” In fact, they were slaves for generations in Egypt and in Babylon. Maybe it is also laziness or complacency that keeps people from continuing in God’s Word. It will take us out of our comfort zone if we begin to see that we have believed a lie all our lives. It is jarring and alarming to realize that our view of God and of ourselves may have been wrong all along.
This is what Jesus wants to free people of. He wants us to experience the freedom that comes when we become true disciples—when we begin to learn and grow in the Word. A whole new world opens up to us—and it is true and good. Those who hear Jesus have that opportunity. It is a simple but profound truth: God adopts us as his daughters and sons through his Son and his Word. We are made children of God by Christ alone and the authority of Scripture alone. This is what Luther discovered on his faith journey. This is the heart of the Reformation that we credit him with: that he re-discovered the Good News of the Bible. It was there all along. But the Church lost her way, had forgotten, or was too proud to let go of her power over people’s lives.
Tomorrow is the 499th anniversary of the Reformation. Luther nailed the 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. It could be called the 95 rants against the church. Luther uses humor to highlight the grace of God. "If the Pope and the church can forgive sin, then why don't they do it for free?" he asks. Instead the church was charging money for indulgences to buy time out of purgatory. Luther was calling people to wake up to the truth. It was a challenge to Christians and the institutional church to continue in Christ’s Word. It was a wake up call to stop the abuses of the church and to find comfort in Jesus Christ alone. Luther went on to translate the entire Bible into German. He did so in hiding, in fear of his life, and against the wishes of the institutional church. He wanted people to be able to read, listen, and understand Scripture in their own language. How can a person continue in Christ’s Word if they have no access to it or no understanding? Luther was so confident in his understanding of the Bible that he knew that if he just pointed in the right direction, people would find freedom indeed—freedom from guilt, bondage to sin, and the assurance that true children of God enjoy.
This comes by continuing in the Word of Jesus. Scripture alone is the final authority and source of truth about sinful condition. God’s law is there to point out our sin and how we have missed the mark
every day. Yes, God still demands holiness, righteousness, and perfection from us. But the good news brings us the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He came from heaven to earth to set us free. Knowing and trusting in Jesus sets us free. By faith alone we receive all the benefits of a true child of God. In Jesus, we have a forgiveness, we have a permanent place in the household of God, we are royal daughters and sons forever. This is a lifelong journey of glorious discovery. We get to do this together. It is what we call Reformation—to continue in God’s Word together. And we become what Jesus calls “truly his disciples.”
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