Old Testament Lesson; Jeremiah 31:31-34
Gospel Lesson; John 8:31-36
Sermon Text; Romans 3:19-28

Today is Reformation Sunday. And, it is on this Sunday of the church year, that we think back. It is hard to believe that was 490 years ago, this Wednesday, that Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany, and thus began the Lutheran Reformation.

Some people, when they look at us as Lutherans, as we celebrate the Reformation, say, "Oh it is just a glorified pep rally for Lutherans. Lutherans get together and they shout, 'You rah, rah, Lutherans!'"

Other people look at the Lutheran Reformation and they say, "It is just a Sunday in which you talk about the history of the man, Martin Luther."

Today, we will maybe touch a little bit on each of those, but it is not just a pep rally. It is not just the man, Martin Luther that we talk about, but we look at his message.

Today is really about the message of the Reformation.

I wish we could have a talk bubble coming out of Martin Luther's mouth saying,

"Lutherans,

hold fast to faith alone."

With that in mind, we look at our sermon text, from Romans, chapter 3, verses 19-28, which are some great verses that talk about how we are saved by faith alone.

"Now, we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

But now righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 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.

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the Law."

This is God's Word. These are your words, Heavenly Father. Lead us in the way of truth. Your word is truth.

Amen

In one of the Bible classes that Pastor Bartels and I co-teach, there is a lesson that talks about 'How to Get to Heaven.' That lesson really lays out (it is either two or three, depending upon the way you look at it), ways to get to Heaven. Let me just go through the lesson with you, and follow me as I go.

A person can get to Heaven, by the Law?

A person can get to Heaven, through a combination of the Law and the Gospel?

Or, a person can get to Heaven by the Gospel.

Let us look at each one of these. At the very beginning of that lesson, we look at something that somebody once asked Jesus, during His ministry. The man asked, "How can I inherit eternal life?"
Jesus knew what the man's thoughts were. He knew that he was trying to get to Heaven by what he did (by the Law). And so, Jesus said, "If you want to inherit life, if you want to inherit eternal life, obey the commandments."

And so, in our Bible class we start to talk about the Ten Commandments. The people who are there for the lesson start throwing out what some of the different Ten Commandments are. Somebody is bound to say, "The Fifth Commandment says,

You shall not kill."

And they will go on to say, "The Bible says, though, that 'whoever hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in Him.'"

And they will say, "We can't keep the Fifth Commandment."

Somebody else may say, "The Third Commandment says,

You shall keep the Day of Rest holy."

And they will say, "Well, I have not always taken time for God's Word in my daily life. I have not always taken time for God's Word in my weekly life. I have not kept the Third Commandment."

Maybe somebody else will say, "The First Commandment says,

You shall have no other gods."

They will say, "Well, I put activities in front of God. I have put family, I have put money, I have put other things in front of God and I cannot keep the First Commandment."

And what they say is true. Scripture says,

"Whoever keeps the whole Law,

and yet stumbles

at just one point

is guilty of breaking

all of it."

Or, as a verse in our text for today says,

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight, by observing the Law; rather, through the Law we become conscious of sin."

It is impossible for us to get to Heaven by the Law, because the Law only makes us conscious of sin. The Law can only condemn us.

There are still some people who may say that we get to Heaven by a combination of the Law and the Gospel. They say we partially do some good and God will then meet us half way. Take for example the illustration I used in the Children's Sermon this morning. Imagine you fall off of a ship into the ocean. Imagine the captain yelling to you, and saying, "You climb half way up the ship and then, I will throw a rope half way down and save you."

Or, think of it this way. An owner of a coal-mining shaft was once trying to tell his coal miners about the righteousness of God. The coal miners could not understand what the righteousness of God meant, so the owner of the coal mine shaft asked the miners, "How did you get to work?"

They said, "Through the elevator."

The owner of the coal-mining shaft said, "How much did it cost you?
The coal miners said, "Nothing. It was a free ride for us, but it sure was an expensive elevator for someone to build."

That is how it is with us too. It is not that we meet God part way with the Law, and then He, along with His Gospel, comes and meets us half way. Rather, salvation is a free ride, or better yet a free gift.

So, the next time you step onto an elevator, think about God's righteousness. There is nothing you have to do. Rather, that elevator gives you a free ride.

Martin Luther felt the weight of his sin. He felt the weight of the Law in his life. As he was growing up in the church, studying God's Word, he thought that he had to do something in order to inherit eternal life. After all, that is what the church was telling him. "Martin Luther, you need to do good works in order to be saved. As a matter of a fact, you can even pay money to receive the forgiveness of sins."

Martin Luther despaired, because he knew that God's Law condemned him.

Do you ever despair, because of your sin? The answer is yes; we should according to the Law.

In the movie the Wizard of Oz, a house falls on the Wicked Witch of the East and all that is left to see are some ruby red slippers. Dorothy asks the question, "Is she dead?"
Do you remember what the Munchkins said? The Munchkins said, "She is actually, totally, physically, undeniably, indisputably dead."

We can't get to Heaven by the Law or a combination of the Law and the Gospel, because we are actually, totally, physically, undeniably, indisputably dead, because of our sin. We know that, through the Law. It is that very thing that led Martin Luther to find out what it is that God's Word says. As he was reading God's Word, particularly this book in scripture, the Book of Romans, he came across a passage in scripture that talks about the righteousness from God. At first he looked at that righteousness and thought it was something that he needed to do in order to be saved. But then, he came to the realization that the righteousness is from God. When Martin Luther read Romans, chapter one, verse 17, it changed everything for him, because it says,

"For in the Gospel

a righteousness from God is revealed.

A righteousness that is by faith

from first to last,

just as it is written.

The righteous will live by his faith."

You see, God's righteousness is something that He gives to us, free.

Consider a courtroom. Let's just focus in on these three persons – the judge, the accused, and the defense attorney. God is the judge. You and I are the accused. Jesus is the defense attorney. As you and I, the accused, stand before God, we are guilty, because of our sins. God is ready to take the gavel, slam it down, and proclaim us to be guilty, because of our sin. But, Jesus, our defense attorney stands in between God the Judge and ourselves, and says, "Do not proclaim the accused to be guilty because of their sins, because I have already paid the punishment for their sin. I have paid the penalty."

And so, instead of proclaiming you and I, the accused, to be guilty because of our sin, God the Judge proclaims us to be 'not guilty.' We are ‘not guilty,’ because Jesus has taken the punishment for your sin and my sin upon Himself. We are forgiven. And, we are saved.

In our text for today that is flushed out in these words,

"This righteousness from God

comes through faith in Jesus Christ

to all who believe."

Knowing that we are saved by the Gospel, and knowing that we are saved by faith, are you always at ease with everything that happens in life? Is life going to be ‘easy street,’ between now and when God calls you to Heaven? Are there still times in your life when you despair, because you know that you fail to live up to the requirements that God has for us? Have you ever wondered to yourself, "How come God does not take us to Heaven the moment that we first come to faith?"

It is a good question, but the reason you and I are still here, is because God still has a plan for us. God still has a purpose for us.

Consider Moses. He lived 120 years. You can break down his life into 40-year sections. For the first 40 years of his life, Moses was 'it.’ He was Pharaoh’s daughter's son. He had life easy. But then, for the second 40 years of his life, Moses was a 'nobody.’ He was his father-in-law's shepherd. But then, for the last 40 years of his life, God called Moses to lead His people to the Promised Land. Just like Moses, God has a plan for you, too. God has a plan and He wants us to take what He has freely and graciously shared with us, so that you and I can in turn take that message, "By faith alone," and share it with others. God is still using you. Do not despair.

Let us cherish the message of the Reformation, "by faith alone."

On this Reformation Day, I want to share just one Martin Luther quote with you this morning, talking about how, even during the course of his ministry, he sometimes struggled with faith alone, but he believed it.

He wrote, "I am a doctor of Holy Scripture, and have now studied the lesson of faith for twenty years, and have also preached to others about it. Never the less, when the sun burns down upon me, and temptation comes along, I feel and find that I droop and wilt, as grass in the heat and draught. If God did not refresh me with His rain and dew, that is with His Word and Spirit, I would wither away. Therefore, the lesson of faith is a lesson that must be constantly practiced and rehearsed. God's Spirit, power and constant practice, are required to arrive at the point at which I ride above all things, despise of sin and death and with all confidence, cheerfully rely on God's promise."
That simply is the message of the Reformation. God in His Word says,

"For we maintain

that a man is justified by faith.

(i.e. we only get to heaven through the Gospel),

apart from observing the Law."

Have a wonderful Reformation Sunday.

And dear "Lutherans, hold fast to faith alone."

Amen.