“Putting the Law in Its Proper Place” Romans 3.19-28 Reformation Oct. ‘24

 

1.           Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word, as we observe Reformation Day, is taken from the Epistle lesson that was read a moment ago from Romans 3:19-28. It’s entitled, “Putting the Law in Its Proper Place,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.           There was once a conversation with a mother and her son. The son was about six years old, and the mother is very keen on evangelism. She asked the son, do you think that after you grow up and live your life and die that you're going to go to heaven? The boy seemed pretty confident that he would go to heaven, so the mother probed this a little bit and said, suppose you were to stand before God, and God looked you straight in the eye and said, why should I let you into heaven? What would you say? And the boy thought for a second, and then he looked up at his mom and said, if God asked me that, I would say, because I've really tried hard to be good. Then this puzzled look came over his face for a moment, and he said, well not that good. I thought that was very perceptive for a six-year-old child, because basically most of us think that all it's going to take to be acceptable to God on the day of judgment is that we have tried, that we have done our best, and that we've been basically good with our lives. But even a six-year-old child with a limited understanding of the perfection of God and his immature understanding of his own sinfulness had to think twice and realize that his goodness was not quite good enough.

3.           As we observe Reformation Day, we recognize that the Reformation not only uncovered the Good News of the Gospel, but it also put the Law of God back in its proper place in the life of the Church. It is true that today we celebrate that the Reformation recovered in the Church the Good News of the sinners’ justification by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone. But, today we not only gives thanks to God for recovering the Gospel during the Reformation, but also God’s Law. 

4.           Since the time of the Reformation, Lutherans have often been criticized of cheapening God’s grace. We place such an emphasis on the sinners’ justification by faith apart from the works of the Law, that we are sometimes accused of paying little or no attention to God’s Law (also known as antinomianism). But nothing could be further from the truth! The Reformation not only uncovered the Good News of the Gospel, but it also put the Law of God back in its proper place in the life of the Church.

5.           The Law of God in the time of Martin Luther had been diluted. Theologians in his day were cheapening God’s Law by teaching that while a person was not able to keep the whole thing “to a t,” that at least, by trying their best, God would give them an ‘A’ for effort. The Medieval Church came up with all sorts of activities by which you could earn brownie points for things as trivial as saying a “Hail Mary” to more rigorous activities like taking a spiritual pilgrimage to Rome and visiting relics of the saints there. So, on the final day when you had to give an account, you could say, “No, I didn’t do everything You demanded of me, but look at all of the things I did do!” This is taking God’s Law, which demands perfection, and toning it down.

6.           To this sort of cheapening of the Law, the Apostle Paul says in Romans 3:19: “Stop.” He writes, “Now we know that whatever the Law says it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.” Did you catch that? The Law tells us to “be quiet!” The image is a sinner on trial before God, and the Law shows him how he has no case. He should not even waste his breath trying to convince God of his righteousness. By nature, every human being is in the business of convincing God of their own righteousness, like the 6 year old boy at the beginning of our sermon who trusted in his own goodness before God’s judgment. There is no desire more fundamental to the human race than the desire to be justified. We can think of the pharisee in the Temple who justifies himself by comparing himself to others, especially the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) or the prodigal son who returns home with his story to convince his father to receive him back (Luke 15:18-20).

7.           The attempt to justify oneself before God is sometimes less obvious than we realize. Things like pilgrimages or indulgences are easy to peg as man seeking his own justification. But our attempts to justify ourselves are much more subtle than that. We tend to be in the business of making sure we have all the right answers, of living a morally pure life, or by finding the right spiritual experience. But to each and every one of our attempts at self-justification before God, the Law says, “No! It is not enough! All are condemned!” Take your filthy rags you call righteousness and get them out of here. “For by the works of the Law no human being will be justified in [God’s] sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20).

8.           In Thesis 1 of the Heidelberg Disputation, Martin Luther writes how the “Law of God, the most salutary doctrine of life, cannot advance humans on their way to righteousness, but rather hinders them.” The Law puts us in our place: “For all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “[All] who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse” (Galatians 3:1). When we cheapen God’s Law by assuming we are capable of keeping it by our own strength, we risk losing the Gospel!

9.           This is why we celebrate not only the Gospel on Reformation Sunday, but also the Law. God’s Law protects the gifts of the Gospel. It keeps us from saying to God, “I realize You want to give me the very thing You demand of me, but I do not want Your charity. That is so demeaning! I would rather take a stab at fulfilling the Law myself.” Our righteous and merciful Lord will have none of this. He loves us too much to have us keep thinking we can justify ourselves.

10.        God gives us His Law in order to silence our attempts at self-justification, to knock us to our knees, so we will have no choice but to look outside of ourselves and, instead, to Jesus for our justification before God in Heaven. “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law, …the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22). The Good News we celebrate on Reformation Sunday is that our God Himself freely gives us our righteousness as a gift (Romans 3:24-25).

11.        Christ alone is righteous. He alone fulfilled God’s holy and perfect Law. He alone met its demands. He kept the Law because you could not. And He did it all FOR US! Christ, who is the only Righteous One was obedient to His Father in all things, even unto the point of death, even death on a cross, where He shed His holy blood in order to cover us with His righteousness. To what lengths will our merciful Lord not go in order to give us His righteousness? He shuts us up with His Law in order to speak to us His Gospel. He takes our unrighteousness in order to give us His as a free gift.

12.        Having received such a gift, we do not have to worry about making our case before God. Instead, we can “save our breath” and use it, instead, to share the Gospel! Rather than worrying about justifying ourselves before God, we are free to love our neighbors with our words and deeds. The Law always accuses, but it does not only accuse! The Law becomes a good thing for us who have been justified by God’s grace. The Law of God is good and wise! It shows us not only our sin, but also how to love our neighbors. It guides us in our lives as freed and forgiven Christians. Praise God that He used Martin Luther and other reformers to put both the Law and the Gospel in their proper place for our lives as Christians. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.

“What Do You Mean, “Sacrifice” 2 Corinthians 8.3–5, Stewardship Emphasis #3, Oct. ‘24

 

 1.          Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word on this 3^rd week of our Stewardship Emphasis, “Prepare our Hearts,” is taken from 2 Cor. 8:3-5, which says, “For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”  The message is entitled, “What Do You Mean, Sacrifice?!” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

  2.         What does sacrifice look like. Farmer Brown was going to support the work of the church by donating the milk, eggs, and bacon for a fund-raising breakfast. The animals in the barnyard were discussing what this would mean. The pig was complaining to the chicken and the cow about their taking the whole thing altogether too lightly. “For you,” the pig explained, “this means a contribution. For me, it’s a sacrificial commitment!” Stewardship of the blessings God gives us includes participating in the work of the church with firstfruit offerings that are proportionate and . . . sacrificial. Today, we’re going to talk about sacrifice. We may think, “Sacrifice”?  What Do You Mean, “Sacrifice”?!

5.            What does sacrifice mean? Sacrifice is giving that makes a difference. Sacrifice is a free act of love. Sacrifice is an expression of faith in God.  I wonder what Isaac was thinking as he talked with his father on the way to the mountain God was going to show him. You know the story of how God told Abraham to offer his only son as a sacrifice.  As they were going along, a three days’ journey, Isaac says to his father, “Father?”  “Yes, son.”  “I’m carrying the wood, and you’re carrying the fire.”  “Yes, son.”  “Father?”  “Yes, son.”  “Where’s the sacrifice?”  Pause. Maybe a long pause. Abraham replied, “God will provide the sacrifice.”  I don’t know how Abraham explained what this meant or exactly what Abraham expected, but he knew God had already provided the sacrifice.

6.            We don’t worship with that kind of sacrifice today.  The Bible talks about how sacrifice is giving that makes a difference. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8:3 of our text, “They gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means.”  Sometimes, people may say about the church, “No matter how much I give, they want more.” Yes, just like a growing child. Isn’t that what we want our children to be like?

7.            Sometimes when people think about their giving, they want to know, “Well, how much will it take?” It takes a lot. It takes enough to make a difference. But here is the key question: What difference does it make to me?  John tells us in chapter 6:1-15 of his Gospel about the Feeding of the 5000 an example of sacrificial giving. The disciples thought five loaves and two fish weren’t enough to make a difference. They were. They made a difference to thousands of people, but first they made a difference to the boy. The fact that his bread was made of barley shows that he was poor. He had to assume that giving up his lunch meant he would be hungry.

8.            What do we mean by “sacrifice”? Let’s think, second, about how sacrifice is a free act of love.  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8:3-5, “Of their own accord . . . they gave themselves first to the Lord” (vv 3–5). (Rom 12:1). Why do we take time for an offering during the worship service and not just do it as we go out the door? It’s because, as Paul says in Romans 12, it is an act of worship, like kneeling or bowing.  Actions say something about our relationship. What do you give to the one you love most? When we marry the one we love most, we give her or him a ring, which is a symbol, of our very selves. No one could afford to pay for all the things husbands and wives do for each other. Our self is priceless, but we give ourselves out of love, to our spouse and to our children.

9.            God loves us even more than we can love one another. He has given us all we have. Mark tells us about a woman who realized this in Mark chapter 12:41-44.  “And [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mk 12:41–44) The original Greek says “she gave her whole living.” Sacrificial giving is giving our whole lives to God.

10.          How did I get into the offering plate? No one picked me up and put me in. I got in by myself. Everyone from Adam to Moses was like this.  St. Paul describes the Macedonians in 2 Cor. 8:3–4 of our text: “of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part” in the offering. Paul goes on to say in v 12: “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” And in the next chapter of 2 Cor. 9:7, he advises: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

11.          Think of the ways we tend to use our money cheerfully. It’s human nature to ask, “How little can I pay for what I need?” but also, “How much can I spend on what I want?” Some people will spend on snacks or drinks without thinking about it, and they’ll borrow for vacations or Christmas shopping, but they certainly check to see how much they have for groceries and carefully shop for bargains on household essentials. Notice how advertisers play to what you want, whether you need their product or not, because they know we spend freely on what we want.

12.          The Bible also teaches us that sacrifice isn’t for the sake of getting. Paul writes of the Macedonians in 2 Cor. 8:4 that they were “taking part in the relief of the saints.” They cared about others. It was famine relief.  Why do I get into the offering plate? Some would say that God promises that if we give, he’ll give more to us? Not exactly. It’s the other way around. Paul wrote about God in Romans 11: “Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” (v 35). I sacrifice not because of what I get but because of what I already have. St. Paul tells us that we as the Church are parts of the Body of Christ. We have various functions, but the parts make sacrifices for the Body. In winter, I have cold toes and fingers because those body parts are sacrificing blood and heat for the core organs, for the good of the whole body. 

13.          What do we mean by “sacrifice”? Third, let’s think about how sacrifice is an expression of faith in God.  Once again, v 3 of our text: “For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means.” There was famine in Palestine but hard economic times for the Macedonians also. How could they give anything? God obviously gave them more. Maybe they had read what Jesus said in Matthew 6, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (vv 31–33)

14.          I put myself into the offering plate to meet others’ needs. When is it time to get out of the offering plate to meet my own needs? The answer is that God delivers to me right here everything I need. When Isaac asked about the sacrifice in the book of Genesis, Abraham answered, “God himself will provide.” He didn’t know how; he only knew what he himself was to do, and he knew God would do his part. He knew God had promised him a big family through Isaac and that he had already done miracles to keep this promise. Sure enough, God provided a ram, a male lamb that had gotten hung up in a bush. This lamb was substituted for Isaac and saved his life. This, of course, is a picture of Jesus, the Lamb who was hung on a tree as a substitute for us to save our lives.

15.          To understand sacrifice is to see what Jesus did for us on the cross. Paul writes that the Macedonians did what they did “by the will of God” (2 Cor. 8:5).  Why do I climb into the offering plate? This is where Jesus is. Jesus is the real sacrifice.  In the Old Testament, there were four types of sacrifices. Two were voluntary: the grain thank offering, like our Sunday offering; and the fellowship peace offering, eaten together in worship like Holy Communion. Two kinds of offerings were required: the sin offering and the guilt offering, which were unlike anything we do today. The reason we don’t offer those sacrifices today, animal sacrifices burned on altars, is because they were to teach God’s Old Testament people about Jesus’ coming sacrifice of himself.  This is a major theme in the Letter to the Hebrews:  “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Heb 9:26–28) 

16.          Why do we sacrifice? Because we are with Jesus, who says, “Take up your cross and follow me.” What does it mean to sacrifice?  Sacrifice is giving that makes a difference to us. It is Jesus’ sacrifice that makes all the difference for us and makes a difference in us. Sacrifice is a free act of love. Jesus was taunted to come down from the cross, but love held him there. Sacrifice isn’t for the sake of getting but for the sake of others. Jesus’ sacrifice was for unworthy sinners who were still rebellious. Sacrifice is an expression of faith in God. Jesus expressed confidence in his Father when he said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Lk 23:46).  This is why we get into the offering plate, giving ourselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to others.  May God grant that this is true for each of us. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.