FIRST (SCOTS) SERMONS HOW ARE WE BEING REFORMED?

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1 FIRST (SCOTS) SERMONS HOW ARE WE BEING REFORMED? Scripture Lessons: 2 Chronicles 34:14-21, 29-33; Romans 3:19-28 This sermon was preached by Dr. L. Holton Siegling, Jr. on Sunday, October 29, 2017 at First (Scots) Presbyterian Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Romans 3:19-28 (NRSV) 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For no human being will be justified in his sight by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Righteousness through Faith 21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God Let us pray Almighty and Everlasting God, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of each of our hearts be pleasing, acceptable, and even joyful in your sight, for you are our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The historical backdrop for this morning s Old Testament Lesson is some 600 years before Christ. The Assyrian Empire dominated the cultural, political and even the religious landscape of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and this also included Israel s southern kingdom, which was called Judah. By the time we pick up this morning s Old Testament Lesson, the reign of King Manasseh has come and gone, and, though he did little to discourage the introduction of pagan worship by the Assyrians, there were a still number of the faithful who sought to preserve the teaching and 1

2 the law of God. They had in their possession a book of the law which they hid in the Temple, but as time passed, that book was forgotten. Eventually Assyria s power waned enough so that when a new king came to the thrown an eight year old king named Josiah he was able to initiate a measure of religious and political reforms aimed at bringing the people back to God; back to a covenantal life of faithfulness. King Josiah s reforms crescendoed with an amazing discovery. During a Temple renovation they found the book of the law, which most scholars believe today was a form of the book that we know today as Deuteronomy. Upon finding the book and verifying its authenticity, King Josiah had it read out loud, whereupon, being shocked by what he heard, he tore his clothes in dismay. He called everyone together - the leaders, the priests, the prophets, and, of course, the people - and he had the book read out loud for everyone. What followed was a ceremony of covenant renewal as well as a purging of sorts; a scourging of as many elements of pagan influence as they could get their hands on. Idolatrous objects of worship were removed, pagan sanctuaries were burned false priests received their pink slip, if you know what I mean. Although Josiah s reforms ultimately did not last forever, it was nonetheless a new and glorious day for God s people; a blessed period of reformation which was initiated by the hearing of God s Word. This morning we harken back yet another to time of reformation in the life of God s people. It was the early-16 th century and there were, once again, a great many influences voices and perspectives / opinions right and wrong all of which sought to influence Christ s Church. But many these influences came with the added weight of ecclesiastical authority. You see, at this time in history the Roman Catholic Church functioned more like an empire. If Josiah had been crowned a king during this period, it would likely have been the church that crowned him; and, if that crown needed to be removed, well, you better believe that the Church would have been involved in that process as well. Even the reading and proclamation of God s Word had largely been bestowed upon a priestly class and it was they who told the people what they should believe and how they should live. The problem, however, was that some of what the people were being told was wrong. Like the idea that forgiveness could be purchased from the church in the form of indulgences, or, for a generous contribution to those same coffers, the time that a loved one would spend in purgatory could be lessened they d get to heaven faster. It is no surprise that such non-biblical practices didn t sit well with everyone, and this was especially true for a monk by the name of Martin Luther. As Luther grappled with the reality of sin - the church s sin and his own - and as he looked to God s Word to find out how to deal with it what he found there well, it transformed his life and it changed the course of human history as well. 2

3 Consider Ephesians 2:8, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God and not the result of works That inspired Word of God as well as many others, convicted Luther to the point that he could no longer tolerate the idea that we can do anything to earn God s favor to earn our salvation. And this was good news, because it meant that the battle Luther waged against the sin in his heart the battle he knew he could not win he learned that he didn t have to he learned that that battle had already been won! Our New Testament Lesson this morning was one of Luther s favorites, because it helped him to understand that even though we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, God nevertheless determined to reconcile us to himself to give us the free gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, for having turned to the Scriptures, Luther learned that all he had to do was to trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior. As that Biblical precept continued to be birthed in his heart, Luther was overwhelmed. And though he may not have torn his clothes as an act of penitence and renewal, as King Josiah had done years before, Luther responded in a no less a significant way by bringing to bear upon the cultural, political and religious landscape of his own time, 95 theses for debate, which he nailed to the castle church door in Wittenberg Germany on October 31, years ago. It s certainly no surprise that this didn t sit well with the institutional church, and so soon thereafter, came the expected condemnation of such protests even the excommunication of the so-called Protestants! Yet even the church s reaction in this regard, it continued to fuel the fire of reform. For example, as the Roman Catholic Church began to raise questions, if not challenge altogether, the eternal welfare of those people who were leaving the established church another reformer, a man by the name of John Calvin, he was compelled to more fully develop the doctrine of Predestination, which was first used, interestingly enough, as a doctrine of assurance...a means of helping people to know that when they professed their faith in Christ, that that very proclamation was the result of God in their life! Oh, there were a great many teachings and traditions that were changing. Around that time, there was also a clear and strong mandate against taking one s own life. It was viewed almost exclusively as a form of self-destruction, an action that precluded repentance; and, some people even today still perceive that as an unforgivable sin. On Monday of this week, Martha Ann and I traveled back to Knoxville to be with some dear friends of ours who are dealing with a heartbreaking loss. The husband and father took his own life and his widow is now left to raise their three small children. Knowing that the world s bad theology was about to rear its ugly head, I decided to talk to Melissa, the widow and mother. I told her that some people were probably going to say and with the best of intentions: We just don t understand God s will. I told her that that was a surefire indication that they didn t. I went on to say that it was not God s will that Eric took his life; that too often we forget that the God who is always for us and never against us also has a heart, and that God s heart can break! I reminded her of that story of Lazarus, and when Jesus found out about his passing, he 3

4 wept! I told her that as Jesus came to seek and save the lost who among us seems more lost than that precious soul who finds that the only way out of their distress is to take their life. I posed the question Would we dare say that one bad decision made at the end of one s life somehow negates a whole life lived in faith? Of course not, because if we say that, what we re saying is that sin is greater than grace; we re saying that sin has the last word when it doesn t. That last word belongs to God! And that sovereign right is God s! Tell me, would we dare presume that when God says that nothing will separate us from his love that somehow suicide can? That s not the Gospel I read! My point in sharing that story with you is very simple that perspective on suicide where did it come from? It came from the Reformation! It came from critical Biblical reflections that offered a counterpoint to the perspectives and the practices of the medieval church. It came from an attentiveness to God s Word and the theology that was emerging from people like Martin Luther and John Calvin, people like Knox and BuIlinger and Zwingli and so many others. There is a powerful phrase that is often attributed to the Reformation it is a Latin phrase, which, when translated, reads like this: The church reformed, always being reformed, according to the Word of God. And what a wonderful and beautiful phrase that is because it testifies to the role the Holy Spirit plays in our life and in our life lived together. It reminds us that God is continually about the business of reforming His church. But we are still people! We are still very frail and fallen! One of the tenets [or teachings] of the reformed faith is the doctrine of total depravity, which basically means that each and every one of us are inclined to sin and fall short of the glory of God, which is precisely why the last few words of that wonderful reformation phrase are so, so important. According to the Word of God. Consider again King Josiah s reforms; they came about not because of his earthly power, but by the power of God s Word. And Martin Luther and the other Reformers the Reformation was not their idea; it was not the result of their creative energy. In both cases in all cases the true reform of God s people is rooted in the will and intention of God And to understand who God is, and to know what is true, and how to reconcile who we are with who God is we need look no further that the Scriptures. Sola Scriptura, is another teaching which emerged from the Reformation; and, though it does not suggest that the Bible is God, it does affirm loud and clear that Scripture alone is the rule the standard the ultimate authority in this world, by which we can know how to live and how to love as the people of God. The Bible tells us that God s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path and Jesus himself declared that we do not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. To put it plainly, the church is called forth and is kept alive and is reformed by the power of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. 4

5 Though I wish it didn t have to be said, it does not every reform is of God. Individual churches - at times, entire denominations - they are not of one voice when it comes to matters of faith and sometimes those voices are mutually exclusive, which is to say that sometimes the things we are told are not true. Sadly, the classic mantra always being reformed it has become, in some circles, a license for corruption, which I perceive was exactly the kind of reformation Martin Luther wanted to avoid! It s difficult to imagine that Martin Luther had in mind the full blown Protestant Reformation as we know it today. On the contrary, Luther wanted to engage the church he wanted to debate the church he wanted the church to rediscover certain basic Biblical truths he wanted her to be convicted and reformed, but only inasmuch as it would be accomplished in accordance with God s Word. So it is the case with the reformation of our lives that transformation which God initiates in the hearts and minds of the His people. Faith itself, the Bible says, comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ (cf. Rom. 10:17). Friends, that is how we are reformed and that is how we are being reformed! Listen again to these words from that great hymn which our choir sang so beautifully at the outset of our service of worship: That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them abideth. The Spirit and the gifts are ours, through him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill; God s truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever. I mention that verse not as a benediction, but rather as a means of hearkening our minds back to the source of that hymn the root, as it were, because the hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God, as significant as that is if we forget that it is essentially a paraphrase of Psalm 46, then we will have forgotten why Martin Luther wrote that hymn in the first place. Indeed, the church reformed is always being reformed according to the Word of God! Let us pray Gracious and Loving God, in a world with so many different and competing voices, let us hear your voice, and may we not only hear it, but may it continue to reform us that we would live as your faithful people. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit we pray, Amen. 5