Grace, mercy and peace from God our heavenly Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The text is all three of our readings from Saint Paul s letters to Timothy and the churches at Ephesus and Rome and I will quote from them as we go. Please sit. To me, one of the strangest things to happen in the wake of the 9/11 attacks was the widespread playing of John Lennon s song, Imagine like it was some reverential hymn of universal comfort. You remember, Imagine there s no heaven, it s easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people, living for today What anyone might find comforting in that, I can t say. To me, and I m sure to most of you, the idea of everyone living for today is an image of terrifying chaos selfishness run amok. What a nightmare! But let s extend the illustration for a moment imagine there s no Bible. No written Word of God, no record of His relationship with mankind, no history of God s people. No Law, no Gospel, nothing at all about creation, our place in the universe, the meaning of life or death. No rules at all. Nothing but silence from the heavens above. How does that make you feel? Remarkably, that s how many people in our post-modern, post- Christian world choose to live. Above us only sky. Maybe that s why they find John Lennon s words somehow comforting. Just before the text in our first reading from Saint Paul s letter to Timothy he gives this warning: BUT KNOW THIS, THAT IN THE LAST DAYS PERILOUS TIMES WILL COME: FOR MEN WILL BE LOVERS OF THEMSELVES, LOVERS OF MONEY, BOASTERS, PROUD, BLASPHEMERS, DISOBEDIENT TO PARENTS, UNTHANKFUL, UNHOLY, UNLOVING, Page 1 of 8
UNFORGIVING, SLANDERERS, WITHOUT SELF-CONTROL, BRUTAL, DESPISERS OF GOOD, TRAITORS, HEADSTRONG, HAUGHTY, LOVERS OF PLEASURE RATHER THAN LOVERS OF GOD, HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS BUT DENYING ITS POWER. Then, in verse 13 - EVIL MEN AND LIARS WILL GROW WORSE AND WORSE, DECEIVING AND BEING DECEIVED. And verse 7 - ALWAYS LEARNING AND NEVER ABLE TO COME TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH MEN OF CORRUPT MINDS. Corrupt enough to be convinced that there is no absolute truth, no right or wrong, that what is true for you might be your guiding principle, but it isn t necessarily true for me. Imagine all the people, living for today LOVERS OF THEMSELVES, LOVERS OF MONEY, LOVERS OF PLEASURE RATHER THAN LOVERS OF GOD. And in this brave new world, since there is no Holy Scripture, there is no Jesus Christ. No virgin birth, no crucifixion, no heaven, no hell, no salvation. But there is faith, of course. I mean, we all have faith in something. For many people in America today it s faith in the idea of America strong, brave, and free a shining light on the hill. Or it could be faith in me, in my ability to thrive regardless of circumstances I m smart enough or clever enough, and doggone it, people like me. And I need that, since I can t count on other people to be looking out for me. Imagine all the people, living for today. That sends chills up my spine. It s a hopeless way to imagine life, and sadly, our nation is much closer to it today than we have ever been in our lifetimes. And all of us are tempted to be drawn into that culture. We re tempted to behave as if the Word of God doesn t exist. Why else would we let our Bible sit on the shelf gathering dust, rather than read it, study it, and take it into ourselves? Why else would we Page 2 of 8
dodge our daily devotions or miss an opportunity to study the Word on Sunday morning or some night during the week? I find plenty of reasons I m too busy, or I m too tired, or I just don t feel like it. Don t I know that ALL SCRIPTURE IS INSPIRED BY GOD, TO BE USED FOR TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING AND INSTRUCTING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS? Don t I know that God s word was given for my good, preserved through the millennia so I may be COMPLETELY EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK? What s wrong with me? Well, I m weak and foolish, and I suspect I m not alone. Can I get an amen on that? We re blessed to know that about ourselves thank God because God the Holy Spirit has shown us our own image in the mirror of his Word. We are weak, but God has not left us as orphans, to fend for ourselves. He has given us his Word, LIVING AND ACTIVE, SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, PIERCING EVEN TO THE DIVISION OF SOUL AND SPIRIT, A DISCERNER OF THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTS OF THE HEART. Which is why Satan and his emissaries work so hard to keep us from it. Martin Luther said: Let me tell you this you are daily in the devil s kingdom. He ceases neither day nor night to sneak up on you and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against the commandments. Where the heart is idle and the Word does not make a sound, the devil breaks in and has done the damage before we are aware. As the Holy Spirit reminds us, WE DO NOT WRESTLE AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS AGE, AGAINST SPIRITUAL HOSTS OF WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES. Satan plays on our laziness and our enormous capacity to be distracted. He plays us like a flute distracts us with anything, Page 3 of 8
so long as we are drawn away from THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE. So we take the LIVING AND ACTIVE Word of God for granted, act like it doesn t really matter. We find anything else to occupy our minds we ll even read the back of the cereal box rather than open His Word. The fact is it s not just Timothy that Saint Paul was warning in our text this morning. We ourselves have become LOVERS OF MONEY, too busy with our business to take time for his Word, lovers of ourselves and our time, our leisure, UNTHANKFUL, UNHOLY. I know I have. That s true, yes, but it s also true that for us fights the Valiant One, whom God Himself elected! So even when we ignored God s Holy Word, even when we WALKED ACCORDING TO THE COURSE OF THIS WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR, THE SPIRIT WHO NOW WORKS IN THE SONS OF DISOBEDIENCE, even when we were DEAD IN TRESPASSES AND SINS, God the Father MADE US ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST AND RAISED US UP TOGETHER IN CHRIST JESUS. We have been saved BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH, AND THAT NOT OF (OURSELVES); IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD. Luther reminded us that the Word is so effective that whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard, and used, it is bound never to be without fruit. It always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devoutness and produces a pure heart and pure thoughts. For these words are not lazy or dead, but are creative, living words. And even though no other interest or necessity moves us, this truth (alone) ought to urge everyone to the Word, because thereby the devil is put to flight and driven away. It is a gift of God that Martin Luther ever existed, that he struggled and fought with his own sinful nature and grappled with the Word Page 4 of 8
of God to rediscover the truth, buried for generations, that we need first to be saved from ourselves, and that salvation is always and forever the free gift of God in Christ Jesus. It is God s gift to us that Martin Luther led us back to Saint Paul, and that Saint Paul leads us back to the cross. Back to the certain knowledge breathed out by the Holy Spirit in God s Word - that apart from God THERE IS NO ONE RIGHTEOUS, NO ONE AT ALL, that ALL OF US HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. Not one righteous, apart from God, not the Holy Apostles, not the saints, not Martin Luther, not you, and certainly not me. Even on our best day, WE ARE ALL LIKE AN UNCLEAN THING, AND ALL OUR RIGHTEOUS DEEDS ARE LIKE FILTHY RAGS; WE ALL FADE AS A LEAF, AND OUR INIQUITIES, LIKE THE WIND, HAVE TAKEN US AWAY. We have all broken God s law, whether a little or a lot. Whether by murder or by avoiding his holy Word ALL of us HAVE SINNED. BUT NOW A RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD HAS BEEN REVEALED THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KEEPING THE LAW. A RIGHTEOUSNESS WITNESSED BY THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS. Witnessed by God s Holy Word, written and preserved for us, for our salvation! IT IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT COMES FROM GOD THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST, FOR EVERYONE AND TO EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES. BY HIS GRACE WE ARE FREELY DECLARED RIGHTEOUS, BECAUSE OF THE RANSOM CHRIST JESUS PAID! Beloved, we have been justified - declared righteous - in Christ Jesus through the faith that God gave us, which He led us to through his His LIVING AND ACTIVE Word. Declared righteous Bob and John are righteous, Joanne is righteous, even Will is righteous declared righteous by the same Voice that declared Page 5 of 8
Light is! and light was. That s what it means to be justified to be declared righteous, apart from what we have done or failed to do, for the sake of Christ alone and we hear that message through God s word alone, through Faith alone. Is it any wonder the apostle Peter answered Jesus, LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE. He did indeed, and so, by God s faithfulness and mercy, do we. How then should we live? On Scripture Alone! Nor shall I from this rock be blown, I stand on Scripture that alone! On Grace Alone! That I before Your holy throne, May fearless stand by Grace alone! On Faith Alone! In You alone, Jesus, my trust I place, Your life, Your death, Your righteousness Savior I claim these as my own To stand and live through Faith alone. God help me! Amen! Now may the living and active Word of God, breathed out by God the Holy Spirit, lead you to faith in Christ alone and preserve you into life everlasting. Amen+ Reformation Readings on next page Page 6 of 8
The Readings for Reformation Scripture Alone! Evil men and liars will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you, hold to what you have learned and been convinced of, knowing from whom you learned, and how, since childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which have power to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All Scripture is inspired by God, to be used for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and instructing in righteousness, so that a person who belongs to God can be completely equipped for every good work. And so I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead when He appears in His kingdom: Preach the Word! Grace Alone! You, who were dead through the lawlessness and sins you used to live in, fitting in with the world and with that ruler whose power is in the very air, the spirit who still is at work in those who are obstinate and we all used to live along with them, in the passions of our fallen nature, carrying out all its desires and notions, and were by nature the objects of God's anger, just like everyone else. But even while we were still dead in sins, God, who is wealthy with mercy, made us alive together with Christ. Grace has saved you! And He raised us up together with Christ and seated us, together with Christ Jesus, with Him in the heavens, so that for ages to come, He could show us the overwhelming wealth of His grace in kindness to us through Christ Jesus. Because you are saved by grace through faith and that faith doesn't come from you: It is God's gift, not from anything you have done! Page 7 of 8
Faith Alone! The Gospel is God's power to save everyone who believes, because that Good News reveals a righteousness from God that is by faith from first to last. As it is written: "He who is righteous by faith shall live!" It is written, "No one is righteous, no one at all." Everything the Law says, it says to those who are under the Law, to silence every mouth and to hold the whole world accountable to God. So no human being will be justified before God through keeping the Law. On the contrary, by the Law we become conscious of our sin! But now, a righteousness from God has been revealed that has nothing to do with keeping the Law. It is the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ for everyone and to everyone who believes. Because there isn't any difference among us. All of us have sinned and fall short of God's glory. But by His grace, we are freely declared righteous, because of the ransom Christ Jesus paid! God set Him out as a sacrifice of atonement through trusting His bloodshed, to show God s righteousness, because He had patiently left sins unpunished that were committed beforehand. But He has done this now to show His righteousness: that He is righteous and that, at the same time, He is the One who declares righteous everyone who believes in Jesus. So we conclude that a person is found innocent apart from keeping the Law! What does Scripture say? "Abraham believed God and God counted that as righteousness for him." For someone who works for pay, his pay is not considered a gift, but rather, as what is owed to him. But for someone who does not work for it, but who trusts the One who justifies the wicked, his faith is counted as righteousness. Page 8 of 8