Loving God, you have set us free through your Son, Jesus Christ, and yet we often seem to prefer bondage to freedom. Help us to experience the joy of your salvation and the wonder of your grace, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

It was October 31, 1517. Martin Luther took his 95 theses to the Castle Church in Wittenberg, and nailed them to the door. He had chosen that date for a good reason. The next day would be All Saints Day. The church would be a busy place, what with people coming by to view all of the holy relics that would be on display. There were pieces of bones from saints, a twig from Moses' burning bush, and a piece of the true cross, among other things. It was quite the fund-raiser for the church! The people were told that if they paid the special fee and viewed the relics, then their soul's stay in purgatory would be greatly shortened. This was simply another version of the indulgences that were being sold to people at the time (pieces of paper that would reduce your suffering for your sins).

In fact, most of Martin Luther's 95 Theses had to do with those indulgences. Luther disputed the church's claim that people could earn their salvation through purchasing indulgences, or viewing holy relics, or doing any number of other works that were prescribed by the church. Instead, Luther pointed to the Scriptures, which teach that our salvation is the free gift of God. We are saved by God's grace, and not by any works of Law.

Yet, even today, people seem to prefer religion to grace. Allow me to explain. Religion is based upon doing certain things in order to get certain things in return. In religions involving God, people do certain things in order to get God to do certain things in return - for example, purchasing indulgences so that God will allow your soul into heaven. In ancient religions, people would sacrifice to the gods of the harvest in order to get a good harvest in return. In one of today's most popular religions, people sacrifice regularly to the god of money and success, in order that they might receive in return, more money, more prestige, and more power. However, in all of these religions, the sacrifice is never enough and is required over and over again. Religion ends up being very costly, and in the end doesn't leave its adherents with any peace of mind. Religion requires that you always do more, in order that God will do more for you.

However, Jesus came to announce the end of religion (from Robert Capon). We do not need to appease God or to sacrifice to God in order to get what we need. In fact, what could we possibly need from God that hasn't already been given? We have been forgiven through Jesus Christ, so we don't need to be constantly paying for our sins. Jesus has done that for us, and it's left to us to simply repent, accept this gracious gift, and live in thankfulness for what God has done. As well as this gift of forgiveness, God has given to us the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no need to "earn" our way into heaven. We could never earn it anyway, and Jesus has already earned it for us!

However, as I mentioned earlier, people still prefer religion to grace. Most people would prefer a nice, neat list of rules which, if followed, will result in entry into heaven. That way, we're not beholden to anyone. We did it ourselves, without needing anything from anybody else. However, we tend to miss the fact that when it comes to victory over sin and death, we can't do it ourselves, and we can't do it mostly by ourselves with a little help from Jesus every now and then. If that were true, then there would have been no need for Jesus to come at all. We could have just followed the rules and then been admitted to heaven.

However, in Jesus' teaching what we get is not a list of rules. Instead, we get an invitation to live as free people - as children of God rather than as slaves. Now, certainly we might be tempted to cry out with the people in the gospel that we have never been slaves to anyone. Yet, according to the Scriptures, at the very least, we have been slaves of sin (Rom. 6:17). One way to think about sin is as self-centeredness - in effect becoming slaves to ourselves - to our own wants and desires. When we are motivated only by our own wants and desires, it cuts us off not only from God, but from other people as well. If you don't believe me, ask yourself how much you enjoy hanging around with self-centered people!

At the same time, our wants and desires are not always life-giving, either to ourselves or to the people around us. If I want to go out and get drunk, I'm risking my own safety as well as the safety of others. If I want to have sex with several different partners each month, I'm putting both myself and the other people at risk. If I want to eat mounds and mounds of chocolate cheesecake, I am putting my own personal health at risk. If I want more and more wealth, I will discover that it's never enough, and I'll be depriving other people along the way. If I want to sit on the couch all day and watch football, I may be sacrificing my relationships with others as well as with God.

When the apostle Paul writes to the Romans, he compares slavery to sin with obedience that comes from the heart (6:17). Obedience that comes from the heart is a response of gratitude and thankfulness on our part - doing what God commands not because we have to, but because we want to -- doing what God commands not out of a fear of punishment, but out of love for God and for other people. Once again, we are talking about the difference between religion and grace.

For many people, their religion holds them in bondage to fear, and the greater the legalism, the greater the fear. People have been told that if they follow a particular set of guidelines and rules for how to live their lives, then they will be acceptable, both to their religious community and to God. However, if they happen to step over the line and do the wrong thing, then they will no longer be acceptable, either to other people or to God. An extreme example would be churches that follow the practice of shunning. Those who step outside of the established rules are banished from the community and told that they are no longer living in the presence of God, either.

As I indicated, this is an extreme example, but so many people live in fear of making mistakes - in fear of failure - in fear of being unacceptable to others. Listen to this observation from author Robert Capon:

The church, by and large, has had a poor record of encouraging freedom. She has spent so much time inculcating in us the fear of making mistakes that she has made us like ill-taught piano students; we play our songs, but we never really hear them, because our main concern is not to make music, but to avoid some flub that will get us in dutch. (From "Between Noon and Three" - http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john8x31.htm)

What we seem to forget so easily is that God expects that we will make mistakes. We are human. We are not perfect. This is why the forgiveness of God is needed, and is freely given! There is a famous quote from Martin Luther that reads: "Sin boldly, knowing grace abounds all the more." Now, although many have thought this to be an encouragement to go out and sin, that's not exactly what Luther was getting at. Rather, he was emphasizing that when we do make mistakes, God is there, ready to forgive, waiting for us to repent and to turn to him in faith. As one commentator says, "Get off your butt and do something - even if it's wrong. God can forgive that" (Stoffregen - http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john8x31.htm). Of course, this is as opposed to doing nothing for fear of doing the wrong thing.

As far as being acceptable to God goes, we have been created in the image of God, and loved and redeemed by God. God has said to us that we are worth the death of his Son. God does not want to see us living in bondage to sin, or in bondage to fear. Rather, God calls us to turn away from sin, and to live instead out of love for God and for the people around us. This is how all those who believe in Jesus Christ are to live, not by their own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our God is a God of grace who calls us to love. "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (Jn. 8:36). Amen.

Reformation Sunday John 8:31-36
October 29, 2006
St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore
? 2006 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved