Reformation Sunday - E - 2012 - Justified by Faith, Not by Law

The Festival of the Reformation 2012

October 28, 2012 - Pastor Adam Moline

Revelation 14:6-7        Romans 3:19-28          Matthew 11:12-19

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.  Our text today is the Epistle lesson just read, especially these words, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”  Thus far our text. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Our world is a world of law.  Everywhere we turn, there are laws that govern our lives.  If we want to receive a paycheck, we had better go to work.  If we want to avoid speeding tickets, we better go the speed limit.  We spend millions of dollars every year in elections to determine who will write our laws, and who will not.  Laws make us pay taxes, help us build roads, help us stop crime and more.  Laws are everywhere. 

But these laws, are merely human laws.  They can change at almost any time.  And these laws are ones that most of us don’t worry about too terribly much.  We know we shouldn’t speed, but we do anyways.  We know it is illegal to not pay our taxes, but we only worry about that every April.  Most of the time, we just live our lives without any fear of worldly laws.

But there is another set of laws, a set of laws that we must obey, a set of laws that are always around us, a set of laws that always displays its terrible consequences.  These laws are God’s laws, laws that we are expected to keep perfectly, laws that tell us how we ought to live our lives – in love towards God and neighbor.  These laws of God are demanding and difficult, for if we disobey them, we receive the just punishment of death. 

But we don’t obey God’s law do we?  We don’t even come close, for obedience involves perfection, something none of us, not a one, can fulfill.  For, hear again the words of our Epistle lesson today, “no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law”  No one will obey God’s law, for they can’t.  No one will perfectly love God, for they are sinners.  No one will care about all their neighbors, for they are too selfish.  Yes friends, even me, EVEN YOU, “sin and fall short of the glory of God.”

Look at your life, look at your hate, your anger, your shortcomings, your selfish deeds, your pride and false piety.  You too have sinned.  You too have fallen short of God’s glory.  You have become a slave to a law that you just cannot fulfill.  And to be honest, we don’t always want to fulfill God’s law, we don’t want to always obey what God teaches, because frankly sometimes the sinners are just more fun. 

The problem is that all these laws of God we break, all these sins we commit, all this sin does lead to suffering for us.  We have friends and family who are sick and dying.  We have people who we will no longer speak to because we are angry.  People call us names behind our back and we return the favor.  We sin daily.  We are sinful to our very core, there is no good left inside of us.

And God is a just judge.  Just as if we broke the speed limit enough times or stole a car from someone we would go to trial and be found guilty, so too does God judge us.  He looks at our care for others and say, you have fallen short.  He looks at the acts we do alone in the privacy of our homes, and says you are guilty.  He tells us that we have not lived up to his perfect expectations, and so we deserve the just punishment for those sins.  We deserve death.  We deserve an end.  We deserve what we fear in our lives.  Sickness and punishment, for we have turned against the God who gave us all that we have.

And yet, we hear in our text today, that not only have all fallen short of God’s glory, but that we have also been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ.  In other words, though you are guilty, God declares you innocent because of Jesus.  Instead of us standing before our God and Judge as guilty sinners, we stand before him in the Righteousness of Christ.  It is that righteousness that has won us away from our sin, won us away from death, and now gives us eternal life.  It is that righteousness that was given to us as Jesus hung on a cross, suffering and dying for the very sin that we committed.  And so when God looks at you he doesn’t see you sin, he sees Christ’s forgiveness, Christ’s blood, Christ’s holiness. 

For God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.  In that we are made God’s children. 

Today we celebrate that hope and good news.  Today we remember that it is our faith that looks to Jesus that saves us, that we are justified or declared innocent by his grace.  Reformation Day is all about that message, of remembering that Jesus face God’s wrath so that we might not have to.  Reformation day is about boldly declaring that I cannot by my own reason or sense come to Jesus my Lord, but that he has called me by the Gospel, the good news that he took away my sin on the cross, so that I may be his own and live under him in his kingdom.  Reformation day celebrates the fact that because of Jesus, your are free.  Because of Jesus, you may enter heaven.  Because of Jesus you are saved. 

By Grace alone, through faith alone, have you been saved.  And these through Jesus alone.  In Him, you have your salvation.  Amen.

Proper 24 - G - 2012 - The Un-greedy Jesus

The Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost - Proper 24

October 21, 2012 - Pastor Adam Moline

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is the Gospel lesson, especially these words, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”  Thus far our text.

Dear friends in Christ, We live in the United States of America, the wealthiest nation on earth by far.  The United States wealth is $4 Trillion dollars greater than the next wealthiest nation.  That should make you tremble in your shoes just a little bit, when Jesus says the words of our text today.  “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God,” Jesus says.  “Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, then for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 

Jesus can’t be talking about me, can he?  Jesus can’t mean us here in the United States.  I can’t be in the “wealthy” category, I can barely pay my bills, I can barely make ends meet.  I am worth millions less than even the poorest presidential candidate, or big business executive.  Why should it be so hard for me to get into heaven?  Why should it be difficult, when I have just enough to take care of myself?  Jesus must be talking about the super wealthy, and not me!

Wrong.  Jesus is talking about you, and every other person who thinks, “That’s mine, I earned it, it belongs to me, and the only way you’ll take it from me is by prying it from my cold, dead, fingers!”  It doesn’t matter if you’re the wealthiest person in town, or the poorest.  If you love your things, if you love your stuff more than you love God, it’s going to be difficult for you to enter the Kingdom of God. 

That’s the first commandment, isn’t it?  You shall have no other God’s.  What does this mean?  We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.  That’s the law of God, with those who break it punishable by eternal death and hell.  The problem is, not a one of us, no not any single person here, has kept that rule.  We’ve broken it, time and time again.  In fact, we’ve even turned the whole thing on its head.  We’ve feared, loved, and trusted in all things above God.

Come on Pastor, why should I share that food that I’ve worked so hard to earn through my labor, with someone who is hungry?  Why should I take up my time to help my neighbor, when they can just do themselves?  Why should I give my clothes to someone in need, when there are shelters, and clothing banks for things like that? 

It gets even more personal than that, doesn’t it?  I am just as guilty as you when it comes to possessions.  That’s a family heirloom, so no, you can’t borrow it or look at it.  Why should I put money in the offering plate before I get my own bills paid for?  Why should I care if the church down the road stays open, or if our own church has Sunday School teachers?  Live, and let live, take care of yourself, and that’s enough. 

How hard it is for those who have wealth, how hard it is for sinners like you and me, for people who trust in their things to enter the Kingdom of God.  Imagine if Jesus acted the same way that you and I do in regards to his possessions – possessions of life, righteousness and holiness.  Imagine if Jesus treated the forgiveness he earned for you the same way we treated our weekly offering.  “No, let me take care of myself first, then worry about you sinners.”

But he doesn’t.  Jesus doesn’t skimp in his gifts to you.  He earned every bit of your forgiveness by his death, by his blood, by his suffering.  He gave up his life to purchase your freedom from sin and death.  He purchased and won you, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood, innocent suffering and death, that you might be his own possession and live with him in his kingdom. 

And having won your forgiveness, Jesus now gives you his possessions freely, and generously.  Today, Jesus gives you generously and graciously his own body and blood to you today, so that you may be forgiven of your sins of greed and covetousness.  He gives you his Word, so that your faith in him may ever grow in trust in Christ alone.  And through that word, you are connected to the cross and resurrection where you are given eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and salvation. 

Where we are selfish with our possessions, Christ gives freely of his.  Where we covet the things our neighbors have, Christ only cares about us.  Where we because of our sin cannot enter heaven based on our own merits or works, Christ has given all the work necessary for us to get the eternal gifts of heaven.  There is not one gift that God gave to Jesus that he has not shared with you. 

And so now, you baptized Children of God, now your sin is dead.  You no longer look sinful, instead you look like Christ – for you are robed in his righteousness through baptism.  Instead of being sinful greedy people, we now look like Christ sharing all our possessions, sharing all our wealth, giving to our neighbor in need and who hungers.  It’s not to earn heaven, heaven’s already been given in Jesus.  It’s because in the forgiveness Christ gives you, you now look like a Christian, you share like a Christian, you love like a Christian.  And that means that even if you give all you have a way to care for your neighbor, you still have the best wealth of all – heaven.  Eternity.  Peace. 

Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.   In Christ, you have more blessings than you can even imagine.  Amen.