Heidelberg Catechism Project

This Lord’s Day we will Celebrate Reformation Sunday, though as you know Reformation Day is always October 31^st, the evening before All Saints Day.

On October 31^st, 1517 things came to a head in Europe. If you think the TV Evangelists and phoney faith healers are bad today, in Luther’s Day the Vatican was financing a building project by for all practical purposes selling salvation. Johann Tetzel had a saying with which he coaxed the money out of people’s purses – “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory and into heaven springs."

Luther wrote against them (Thesis 21): “Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;”

Again in thesis 37: “Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.”

Thesis 52: “The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.”

54: “Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.”

62: “The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.”

79: “To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.”

It’s evident that in posting these theses in Latin on the castle church door, Luther had hoped for serious discussion. But in light of the outrages of the day and a new communications tool called the “printing press”, Luther ended up seeing far more than a discussion... he got a REFORMATION.

Luther’s questions go straight to the heart of the matter – just WHO IS LORD ? What is the CHURCH about?

Luther was not a lone voice in the church... the Holy Spirit was making many restless for the Good News to be faithfully preached and lived. They yearned for the masses for whom Christianity as simply a routine exercise in Church Attendance to be brought to new life.

There was a growing unrest in many throughout the West to say “it’s time to get back to the Biblical Faith with Jesus Christ at the center.” It’s funny how many people craved that and yet how entrenched forces who wanted control of money and power fought that.

You see, if people can be kept blind and compliant like a herd of cattle or a flock of sheep, they can be milked or sheared at will to keep the people at the top rich and at ease. Luther in his 86^th thesis asked: “"Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"”

Luther began quoting the scriptures such as Romans 3:19-28 which we read today to remind the people and the Church that Jesus Christ is the one who saves – as sinners none of us may earn salvation and none of us may sell it!

Naturally he received a great deal of hatred for telling the “people in charge” that, well, they had the message of God wrong. They had missed God’s Good News!

It reminds you about what happened to Our Lord in John 8:31-36...

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?"

Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who keeps on committing sin is the slave of sin.”The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Jesus started talking about being set free by the Truth, and what was their immediate reaction – and these were the people who believed in Him!?

Their reaction: “Wait a minute! We’re the children of Abraham and have never been slaves!”

Never been slaves? Are you kidding? What about that 400 years in Egypt, those 70 years in Exile, and now when the Roman soldiers told them to jump, they asked “how high”? How easily they deceived themselves! How easily we deceive OURSELVES! Ha!

Jesus doesn’t let that one pass. He tells them “Whoever commits sin is the slave of sin” – I’m sure they knew that included them! Jesus was going to give His disciples something they had never known as the Sons of Adam – the gift of being In Christ and being able, through Him, to have a clean conscience and a NEW HEART (Jer 31:31-34)

There is no hope for slaves of sin to stay in God’s house. God’s Son will remain in the house, He is the Adopted One, the One who will never be cast out and forever be blessed by God – if we are made free by this Son, Jesus, then the problem of our slavery will never be an issue again.

If we will simply admit our need for Jesus Christ to be set free from the hold that sin and Satan wish to have upon us to dominate and destroy us, then we will find freedom, then we need never fear the abandonment of God, then we need never live as orphans in God’s World again... Jesus Christ, the Truth of God, the one who suffered as a sacrifice for sinners become for us the place where God Himself offers atonement. We don’t go to a Temple, we go to Jesus. He receives us, forgives us, and gives us new life through the Holy Spirit. He sets us free.

Though Reformation Day recalls people in the past who were in need of Reformation, and we read about the Jewish People of Jesus’ day who needed their own Reformation, the truth is that we in America are slaves... we are slaves to debt, we are slaves to materialism, we are slaves to our addictions, we are slaves to an out of control government, and we are slaves to sin.

This message that Jesus can set people free in every generation is our only hope ... don’t be fooled because you grew up American thinking you lived in the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave”. We are every bit as enslaved as these Jewish people who protested so loudly that they’d never been slaves.

It’s Reformation Day – it’s not a day to gloat over our illustrious past. Churches that celebrate Reformation Day in the US these days are, by and large, rapidly dying out and very ineffective at spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ! Sure, God gave us a great start.

But what are we doing with the Good News and the Word of God today?

If we are not taking the message of Jesus Christ to the streets, if we are not living out the Good News in Word and Deed, if we are not winning people to Christ and seeing Jesus Christ set them free, we are still in bondage ourselves!

This Reformation Day, we need to make sure we ourselves are not slaves.

This Reformation Day, we need to return in repentance and trust to Jesus Christ the one who died for sinners and who is able to, as Psalm 51 says, “Create in us a clean heart!”

This Reformation Day, our renewed love for Jesus Christ and the freedom He gives should drive us to our knees to pray for the ongoing Reformation of ourselves, our homes, our churches, our nation and for the Gospel to spread to the farthest part of the earth.

I bid you a blessed Reformation Day... but I likewise must remind one and all that we ourselves must daily be renewed by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and empowered by His Spirit, lest we too fail to live in the fullness of His blessing!

Scripture Readings:

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36

Collect:

Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; and where it is divided, reunite it in all truth. This we ask for the sake of him who died and rose again, and ever lives to make intercession for us, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.