“By Grace through Faith Alone” (John 8:31-36; Romans 3:19-28)

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

Pastor Tom Johnson, October 29, 2017

Some things change the course of history. The events on September 11, 2001. The rise of fascism and World War II. The invention of the automobile and airplane. The steam engine and locomotive. The industrial revolution. The colonization of what was for Europeans a new world. Today we celebrate one of those events that continues to change the course of history: the Reformation. On October 31, 1517 a German Augustinian Monk by the name Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg. A few weeks ago, I handed out a copy of all 95 theses in adult Bible class. We highlighted a number of them to try to get to the heart of the problem Luther was addressing and why historians point to that day as changing history. I think it is very simple. Pastor John Nunes, president of Concordia University in New York and I talked at length about it when he was here a month ago. Luther began a conversation—a very public and inclusive conversation. This conversation was not just for the elite in Latin but also for the not-so-educated in their German dialects. This conversation quickly crossed ethnic and linguistic barriers and spread across Europe. Today, it is still spreading throughout the world. Luther began the conversation with ideas and questions—95 of them. And they were all centered on one thing: the assurance of God’s grace. How do you know your sins are forgiven? How do you know you have eternal life? Luther was reacting to the abuse of the church in their selling of indulgences—pieces of paper that people purchased to reduce the time of punishment in the afterlife. But Luther took it further. He said it was our job to forgive sins for free.

Our Old Testament reading is a conversation between God and his people. He is giving the assurance of grace. He promises to write his Word on their hearts. People will know and love the Lord from the highest to lowest in society. He promises his forgiveness. Our Epistle is a conversation between the Apostle Paul and the church in Rome. He is giving the assurance of grace. Yes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But we are declared righteous by grace—it is a gift—through the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross—through faith. Our Gospel is a conversation between Jesus and the crowds who began to follow him. Jesus is giving the assurance of grace. It is not based on one’s ethnic heritage or social status. It is based on God’s gift in freeing us from our captivity to sin. Jesus makes us free. We receive that assurance as a gift through faith.

This sermon is a conversation—a continued conversation about the assurance of grace. How do you know your sins are forgiven? How do you know you have eternal life? Do you and I truly know the Lord? Is his Word written in our hearts? If so, then have we truly felt the conviction of our sin? That we easily ignore and resist God’s call on our lives to be a holy people? That we by our thoughts, words, and deeds—by what we have done and left undone daily sin. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our pride keeps us from realizing how pervasive sin is—how universal it is and how profoundly it harms our lives and souls. Jesus said it is slavery. It is universal slavery of humanity. What’s the point of talking about forgiveness if we don’t feel the weight and burden of sin on our lives and the world? What difference does eternal life make if we do not fear offending God and separation from God? Thankfully, the conversation continues. Do you and I believe that Jesus died and rose again for us? Has his forgiveness melted away our guilt and shame? Does his promise of eternal life give you joy today and hope for tomorrow?

The Reformation is about this truth of God’s Word. It is about putting the Word of God back into the hands of the people—that it would be written in our hearts and minds. As we take God’s Word to heart, we are assured by his Word and Spirit that we are his treasured possession. And so this conversation becomes a mission. We as God’s people lead and initiate this conversation between ourselves and the world around us. And we do so in faith and confidence that God’s Word and Spirit will powerfully impact lives. As Luther explains in his Large Catechism, the church “is the mother that begets and bears every Christian through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit reveals and preaches that Word, and by it He illumines and kindles hearts so that they grasp and accept it, cling to it, and persevere in it.”

Salvation is a gift! It’s free! It’s by his grace! We receive it through faith. We simply trust in God. Our confidence is in Jesus Christ who lived a perfect and holy life, died to pay the penalty of sin, and rose from the dead to give us eternal life. In a few moments we will continue this conversation by music and song. We are singing to the Lord a new song written by our own David Rogner. We are continuing an ancient conversation. I’m so grateful for the vision Sara Dornacker had years ago. We had many conversations about her passion for the Gospel, God’s people, and everyone in the world—especially veterans and victims of human trafficking. She wanted everyone to join the conversation and celebration of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus. And so God reforms and transforms us heart, mind, and spirit.

“Bearing the image of God” (Matthew 22:15-22)

Matthew 22:15-22

Listen to Sermon

Pastor Tom Johnson, October 22, 2017

This morning, our Gospel brings up the subject of politics and religion. The Pharisees are the religious authority. The Herodians are the Jewish political authority. Well, kind of. Since Rome had conquered, occupied, and subdued Israel, Israel’s religious and political authority was more or less tolerated and kept on a short leash. The Emperor not only had ultimate authority, he declared himself god in the flesh. Roman money had the image of the emperor and something on the coin to declare his status as a deity. One of the main way his subjects throughout the world paid tribute to him was to pay a tax. How do you feel about paying taxes?

The people of Israel not only resented this tribute but saw it as idolatry. “You shall have no other gods. You shall not make for yourself a carved image.” And here you have a coin with a false god and a depiction of him minted on a coin. That is the trap of mixing religion and politics. The religious and political authority ask him if it is right to pay this tribute and tax to Rome. If Jesus says yes, he is saying it is okay to practice idolatry. If he says no, he is committing treason against Rome. And Rome would easily put someone to death who taught that publicly. Jesus does not take the bait. He does not walk into their trap. They walk into Jesus’ trap. “Show me the coin used for the tax,” he says. Understand that none of them should have that coin. It is a false idol. And yet, they bring it to him probably with faces as red as Caesar’s face was polished silver.

Coin minted by Augustus (c. 19–18 BC)

“Whose head is this?” he asks. “The emperor’s,” they respond. Most likely the image was of a previous emperor—a dead emperor. This makes it all the more hilarious. This is the real “gotcha” moment. Jesus says, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Does the emperor want his coin back? Let him have it. Go ahead and pour the coins into his coffin or into his coffers. His reward is paid in full. Give him the coin like you would take something to lost and found. Don’t feed the lie that he is a god but do what is necessary to live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness. “Give to God the things that are God’s.” And just what do we have that is God’s? Everything. I love how the psalmist says it in Psalm 50 (v.10): “Every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” Everything in the world—whether wild or tame—is the Lord’s! Psalm 24 (v.1) says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” The gold and silver extracted from the earth is the Lord’s. You and I are the Lord’s.

And here is the amazing thing. We bear the image of God. We are minted out of the dust of the earth. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created [us], male and female he created [us]” (Genesis 1:27). God has invested in the world with our lives. He has put his likeness on us so that we will be stewards and servants to God and one another—so that we would love him with our whole being and one another as he has loved us. Over and over again, God says to his people that he does not want our gold, silver, temple sacrifices, or any material thing. What he wants our steadfast love. He wants our faithfulness. He wants us to be a godly presence to one another and bear his image faithfully to the world (Isaiah 1:11; Hosea 6:6). “He has told you,” Scripture says, “what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). We are to be God’s ambassadors. We are God’s tribute to the world. But we have failed to live up to this high calling to bear the image of God to the world. Like the Pharisees and Herodians, we have false gods hiding in our pockets. We have not fully invested our lives as a tribute to God. We have not loved one another as God has loved us in tribute and thanksgiving to the true and living God.

And so, God sent the world another coin with his image—not minted out of gold or silver—not out of the dust of the earth—but out of his own eternal and divine nature. He has no beginning and no end. He came from heaven to earth and was born of the virgin Mary—minted with perfect humanity in time and space. He is God’s perfect tribute to the world—a life of perfect obedience. Scripture in Hebrews chapter 1 says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”
God raised him up on the Cross—him who bears his image perfectly—to pay the penalty for all of our sin—“not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18,19). Then God raised him up from the empty tomb as a tribute to his victory over death, the devil, our sin, and the grave. And so God purchased a place for us in his heavenly Kingdom. And so we raise him up with our voices and our lives. Whose likeness and whose title is this? He is eternal God made flesh. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is our Redeemer who paid the penalty for our sin and a place in heaven.

Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n adore thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain.
Everlasting is Thy reign.
          ("Holy God, We Praise Thy Name," LSB 940, v. 1)

“The Peace of God” (Philippians 4:4-9)

Philippians 4:4-9

Listen to Sermon

Pastor Tom Johnson, October 15, 2017

The Christian faith promises peace. It is like no other peace. You will not find this kind of peace in all the universe. Even with all of its assets and natural resources, this world cannot give to you the peace that Jesus gives. The source of this peace is the Prince of Peace. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27). We as a church family “exchange the peace” together. We welcome one another with the words, “The peace of the Lord.” We greet one another with God’s peace. The height of our service is when we receive the Body and Blood. We hear the pronouncement, “The peace of the Lord be with you always!” Our worship ends with “peace” in the benediction. “The Lord bless you and keep you…and give you peace.”We go out into the world as God’s peace-benefactors and his peace-makers. Our Scripture today from Paul’s letter to the Philippians says, “Do not worry about anything.” When we worry, we needlessly live our lives without peace. We deny ourselves true peace. Paul tells us, “Don’t do that.” “Don’t worry” challenges us to have the courage to pursue for peace in our lives. It challenges us to hold God to his word and boldly ask him for this peace. It challenges us to surrender our worry and illusion that we are in control.

But Paul does not just tell us what not to do. He tells us what to do: “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” In other words, hand your anxiety and worry over to the One who can take it away. Surrender to the Prince of Peace. He lived and died to take away every threat to body and soul. He rose to give us the assurance we need and a hope that will not be disappointed. He takes away our anxieties and puts his peace in its place. When we turn to Jesus, we begin to count our blessings with the greatest blessing of all: Jesus. He is the sure antidote to strife, anxiety, and fear. And we should continue to count your blessings. Consider all the blessings you do have even if you feel like they are overshadowed by the bad. Our Scripture encourages us to approach “everything…with prayer and thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving is prayer, an act of worship, and a work of God in us. He promises to lift our spirits into the reality of his Kingdom. He leads us through our dark valleys on a path of peace.

“As soon the coin in the coffer rings the soul from purgatory springs.”

In each of your bulletins, you should have small paper insert. It has a picture of an indulgence on it—one that dates back more than 500 years. It has a catchy slogan: “As soon the coin in the coffer rings the soul from purgatory springs.” This is what made the German Reformer Martin Luther so mad. It’s why he wrote the 95 Theses and nailed them to the church door in Wittenberg almost 500 years ago…we are just weeks away. It is a lie and a false hope to think that money can buy God’s forgiveness. Instead, Luther challenges us to find our true treasure. And that greatest treasure is the Gospel—the Person and work of Jesus Christ. What a great place to start—to be thankful for the rich forgiveness and eternal life we have in Jesus—for free!

We ask you to prayerfully write down what you are thankful for…just as Paul says, “…with prayer and thanksgiving.” What do you thank God for? How has he already blessed you? Please let us know. We will collect them during the offering. God uses our prayer with thanksgiving. Giving thanks to God for the things that come to mind will help us along this path toward peace. And as his peace comes, it does not depend on our understanding. That is what our Scripture promises: “With prayer and thanksgiving…the peace of God which surpasses understanding—peace that transcends comprehension—will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Our brains’ circuitry cannot fully process how wonderful God’s peace is. We will never fully comprehend the height, depth, and width of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus. God’s power does not need our understanding to work in our lives.

In a few minutes from now we will receive Holy Communion—what we sometimes call the Eucharist. It is based on the New Testament word eucharisteo. The eu means good and charis means grace. In this Meal, we experience the good grace of God. Like Spanish and other Romance languages, thanksgiving is based on the word grace. We give thanks. Some of us still refer to praying at the dinner table as saying “Grace.” It is living life mindful of the grace of God with hearts filled with gratitude. It is prayerful recognition of God’s loving work in our lives. We gather around a Table this morning around the grace-filled Bread and Wine and Body and Blood of our Lord. We are mindful of God’s blessings particularly the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ. We surrender all our worries and anxieties to God at this Altar. We lift up our prayers with thanksgiving. And God gives us his peace—his mysterious, fathomless, inconceivable peace.

Sermon from the Rev. Dr. John Nunes from Philippians 2:1-13

Philippians 2:1-13

Listen to Sermon