LutheranLectionary.org

Series A – Reformation Day – Sunday, October 25, 2020 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:28	the holy gospel according to saint john
0:31	the 8th
0:32	chapter
0:33	[Music]
0:40	so Jesus said to the jews who had
0:42	believed in him
0:44	if you abide in my word you are truly my
0:46	disciples and you will know the truth
0:48	and the truth will set you free
0:50	they answered him we are offspring of
0:52	abraham i’ve never been enslaved to
0:53	anyone
0:54	this is how is it that you say you will
0:56	become free
0:57	Jesus answered them truly truly i say to
0:59	you everyone who commits sin
1:01	is a slave to sin the slave does not
1:03	remain in the house forever the son
1:05	remains forever
1:06	so if the son sets you free you will be
1:09	free indeed
1:10	this is the gospel of the lord in the
1:12	name of Jesus
1:14	all right so it’s reformation sunday the
1:16	observance of the feast of the
1:18	reformation
1:19	and uh we lutherans have a habit of
1:21	wanting to reminisce think about the
1:23	good old days you know
1:24	when brave martin luther went and
1:27	courageously knocked his 95 theses onto
1:30	the door of the castle church of
1:32	wittenberg
1:32	and we want to sit there and revel in
1:34	the glory of all that kind of stuff
1:36	but the reality is this if you know the
1:37	history of the reformation luther wasn’t
1:40	trying to start a reformation in fact
1:44	what ended up happening caught even
1:46	martin luther
1:47	by surprise but the reality is this is
1:50	that prior to him posting the 95 theses
1:53	a more important thing happened
1:55	in his study martin luther was working
1:58	through the book of romans
2:00	and in romans he finally understood that
2:03	the righteousness of god was not a
2:04	demand that was being put upon him
2:06	but a gift being given to him by god and
2:09	that
2:10	simple revelation that so clearly taught
2:12	in scripture
2:13	took his theology flipped it on its head
2:16	and he didn’t even realize the
2:18	ramifications of what had taken place
2:21	so somehow sitting here talking about
2:23	how courageous martin luther is of
2:25	course
2:25	all the artwork shows him with that
2:26	stern look on his face you know
2:28	i’m gonna go show you guys that’s not
2:30	how it happened
2:32	okay it’s about as boring as watching
2:34	somebody post a post-it note on the
2:36	board at starbucks
2:37	you know would you come to you know to
2:40	our jewelry party
2:41	you know that’s kind of the the gist of
2:43	it so let’s not romanticize that
2:45	instead let’s focus on the fact that the
2:48	reformation
2:49	continues to this day and has to
2:52	continue to this day
2:53	and the reason why is because our
2:57	default position theologically
3:00	is self-righteousness we somehow
3:04	have it stuck inside of our old adam
3:07	that if i’m good enough and if i’m smart
3:10	enough
3:11	then gosh darn god will like me that’s
3:15	what we think and so we spend an
3:18	inordinate amount of time
3:19	trying to earn brownie points with god
3:21	by doing
3:22	good works now i want to make something
3:24	very clear when i preach like this
3:26	there’s always somebody who’s saying
3:28	so are you saying the good works are
3:30	important
3:32	no i’m not saying that good works are
3:35	vital in fact
3:36	good works are necessary but they’re not
3:39	necessary
3:40	for salvation so let’s
3:43	again take a look at our need to repent
3:47	of our self-righteousness because we’re
3:48	constantly doing this
3:50	and to instead rest in the promises of
3:53	Christ
3:54	so we’ll begin with our gospel text so
3:56	that Jesus said to the jews who had
3:58	believed in him believed there’s your
4:01	operative word
4:02	that’s your verb they believed in him
4:04	what did they do
4:06	how much did they serve Jesus zero at
4:09	this point
4:09	he just got done preaching and they just
4:12	merely believed Jesus said to them if
4:16	you abide in my word
4:18	you are truly my disciples and you will
4:20	know the truth
4:21	and the truth will set you free
4:26	it’s quite a statement if you abide in
4:28	my word
4:29	what does it mean to abide in the word
4:31	of Christ well what is the word of
4:32	Christ
4:33	faith comes by hearing hearing by the
4:35	word of Christ oh i know
4:37	romans says that the gospel is the power
4:39	of god into salvation the word of Christ
4:42	is the good news that Christ came to
4:44	save you
4:45	that he is the one who is the champion
4:47	on the field
4:48	who has held that held the battle all by
4:51	himself
4:52	you think of it this way if you if you
4:53	have you all noticed
4:55	that things are not getting better
4:58	in your own life in the world and stuff
5:01	like this
5:02	just take a look at me i’m a perfect
5:03	example there is no gym that can fix
5:06	this at this point we’re
5:07	beyond the point of no return okay so
5:10	it’s it’s just can’t be fixed
5:12	it can’t be done and so we’re all
5:14	heading to the grave we’re already born
5:16	with one foot in the grave
5:17	and if you want a kind of a salient
5:19	example all right
5:20	so i make no apologies for the fact that
5:23	i am a fan of the los angeles dodgers i
5:26	refuse to apologize for this
5:28	it’s something that is very important to
5:30	me and the reason for this is simple
5:32	my grandfather lived and grew up in
5:35	brooklyn
5:36	and baseball team he rooted for was dem
5:39	bombs that’s what he would call them and
5:41	so when they moved to los angeles he was
5:44	very despondent but
5:45	i was raised in southern california so
5:48	every time my grandfather would come and
5:50	visit me during the baseball
5:52	season guess what we did we went to go
5:55	see the dodgers
5:56	and he’s the one who instilled in me the
5:58	love for the game and the love for this
5:59	team
6:00	but always and again when the dodgers
6:02	would mess up and they always do
6:04	that’s the thing being a fan of baseball
6:06	is
6:08	it is an exercise in futility anyway but
6:11	you get the idea here so there we are
6:14	we’re at dodger stadium we have these
6:15	beautiful seats behind home plate he
6:18	would always splurge a little bit
6:20	you know make sure we got the best seats
6:22	and so there we are
6:23	behind home plate and the dodgers they
6:25	make an error they drop the ball they
6:27	lose the game
6:28	and what does he say dem bums did it
6:31	again
6:32	right i’m doing therapy
6:37	here in the sermon today dem bums did it
6:40	again
6:40	well the dodgers are in the world series
6:42	right now
6:43	now they’re tied with the tampa bay
6:47	two games to two but game three was kind
6:50	of glorious the dodgers won that one so
6:52	i was happy about dem
6:53	bums but there was this thing that
6:56	happened that reminded me yet
6:58	again of the fact that we are here for
7:01	such a short amount of time that the
7:03	wages of sin is death
7:06	and that each and every one of us we are
7:09	foolish if we trust in our own strength
7:11	youth is is deceiving man it’s
7:15	it goes so quick so there i was watching
7:18	game three
7:18	and there’s a guy on the mound by the
7:20	name of bueller
7:22	and the guy doing the announcing has
7:23	said that the torch has passed
7:26	from clayton kershaw who’s the ace
7:28	pitcher who’s two times cy young winner
7:30	he’s going to the hall of fame
7:32	the torch has passed from clayton
7:35	kershaw to
7:36	bueller what kind of name is bueller i
7:38	can’t help but think of that movie
7:40	bueller
7:41	bueller and i look at this kid he
7:43	doesn’t even
7:44	shave yet right but he has a 97 mile an
7:48	hour fastball
7:49	and you’re thinking what’s going on
7:52	we’re
7:53	we’re watching the changing of an era
7:56	the team that i’ve been rooting for for
7:59	years now
8:00	is changing yet again and the guys who
8:03	were
8:04	just a few years ago at the top of their
8:07	game
8:08	they’re on the slide down and that slide
8:11	ends with them being off the team being
8:14	out of baseball
8:16	getting long of tooth getting gray hairs
8:18	and eventually us remembering them
8:20	after they pass and it’s
8:24	very well discouraging
8:27	if you think about it but that’s the
8:29	reality and here’s the thing
8:31	which of us who of us can solve
8:34	this problem this is the problem that we
8:38	face
8:40	we are in a world where we are cursed
8:43	the wages of our rebellion against god
8:45	is death
8:46	and do you think for a second that you
8:48	can solve this problem on your own
8:50	maybe what we could do is we can have a
8:52	global zoom call
8:54	we can all get together on zoom wear our
8:56	face mask just because
8:57	we want a virtue signal let everybody
8:59	know how seriously we’re taking the
9:00	pandemic
9:02	and then we can sit down and we can get
9:03	all the issues on the table
9:05	get the best minds on it and we can
9:07	solve this problem
9:09	right no
9:15	and that’s kind of the point i’m the
9:18	problem you’re the problem
9:19	collectively we’re the problem we can’t
9:22	get out of
9:23	this situation and you’ll note here
9:26	Christ is talking about being set
9:29	free and that’s the point because
9:32	of our rebellion against god each and
9:34	every one of us is born
9:36	dead door-nailed dead in trespasses
9:39	in sins and we cannot free ourselves
9:43	from slavery to sin slavery to death
9:46	slavery to the devil slavery to the
9:48	world
9:49	slavery to the passions that rise up
9:51	within us
9:52	we cannot solve the problem
9:55	and we are foolish if we seem to think
9:58	that if
9:58	this time i just try a little harder
10:02	maybe pray a little bit more that
10:04	somehow i can put
10:06	god in my debt and i can save myself
10:10	you’re out of your mind when you think
10:12	this way
10:13	this is delusional stuff but the
10:16	scriptures
10:17	say Christ says if you abide in my word
10:20	abide in the good news that Christ has
10:22	won the day
10:22	as luther writes in the mighty fortress
10:25	him that we just
10:26	sang no strength of ours can match the
10:30	devil’s might
10:31	we would be lost we would be rejected
10:34	but see now a champion he has come to
10:36	fight whom god himself has elected
10:39	and so you ask who this may be it is the
10:41	lord of hosts is he
10:42	Christ Jesus the mighty lord god’s only
10:45	son
10:46	adored he is the one who holds the field
10:49	victorious
10:51	not you not me so you’ll note when
10:54	Christ says the son will set you free
10:56	well some of the unbelieving jews react
10:58	and they said are we we are offspring of
11:00	abraham we’ve never been
11:01	been enslaved to anyone how is it that
11:04	you say you will become free
11:07	how can you be a student of the old
11:09	testament and say that you are not
11:11	enslaved to sin
11:17	so Jesus answered amen amen i say to you
11:19	everyone who commits sin is a slave to
11:21	sin
11:24	everybody and see that’s the thing we
11:27	all know this by
11:28	experience if this isn’t some abstract
11:30	concept
11:32	think on your own life what are the
11:34	things that you
11:35	are most ashamed of is it when you were
11:38	being kind to somebody that you’re
11:41	ashamed of that
11:42	or when you were doing your best at work
11:44	are you ashamed of that
11:46	no the things we are ashamed of are the
11:48	things that we
11:49	know are sins and if you’re not sure
11:52	what a sin is consider the ten
11:53	commandments in this regard
11:55	we shall love the lord our god with all
11:57	of our hearts soul
11:59	mind and strength we shall not misuse
12:01	the name of the lord
12:02	our god remembering the sabbath day to
12:04	keep it holy we do not murder we do not
12:07	commit adultery we do not steal we honor
12:09	our father and mother
12:11	we do not slander our neighbor
12:14	or covet our neighbor’s stuff all the
12:17	things you are ashamed of
12:18	and rightfully so are when you’ve broken
12:21	one of those commandments
12:24	the darkest times in your life you have
12:26	felt like and rightfully so
12:29	that you were enslaved to your own
12:32	sin like it was the one thing driving
12:36	you it’s kind of like that song
12:40	about being your own worst enemy
12:43	but it’s not that you are your own worst
12:45	enemy it’s that being enslaved to sin
12:48	we oftentimes feel like we don’t have
12:50	any other choice than to obey
12:52	its passions and its commands which are
12:55	shameful
12:56	but Christ in this regard says amen amen
12:58	i
12:59	say to you everyone who commits sin is a
13:02	slave to sin
13:03	and note the slave doesn’t remain in the
13:05	house forever the sun though remains
13:07	so if the sun sets you free you will be
13:11	free indeed
13:15	who does the freeing not me
13:19	not you it’s only the son who can set
13:22	you free
13:23	he is the only one who can and you’ll
13:25	note that what he’s not interested in
13:27	doing
13:27	is putting you back under bondage and
13:29	you’ll note that the freedom of the
13:31	gospel the freedom the forgiveness of
13:32	sins
13:33	it is offensive to some i always find it
13:35	fascinating
13:36	when i take scriptures like this post
13:40	them on twitter
13:41	oh my word all right it there’s a mini
13:45	explosion on some server over in
13:47	cupertino
13:48	when i post up you know a text like this
13:52	oh so if the sun sets you free you’ll be
13:54	free indeed so you’re saying
13:55	that the gospel gives you the freedom to
13:57	go out and sin and formal kabuto late
13:58	and stuff it’s like
13:59	i didn’t say anything of the sword maybe
14:02	you need to open a movie theater because
14:04	you’re projecting so much
14:08	sorry i’m a little bit in the mood today
14:14	but you get the idea the gospel
14:18	is scandalous so are you saying that
14:20	real sinners can really be forgiven
14:22	for free by Jesus without any cost
14:28	absolutely
14:30	but don’t they have to prove that they
14:32	mean it
14:36	i feel like i’m having a conversation
14:38	with myself but i know i’m not because
14:40	i’ve had these conversations before
14:42	in this context then consider our
14:45	epistle text let me start with the last
14:48	verse of our epistle text
14:50	we hold that no one not one single human
14:54	being
14:55	on planet earth from adam until the last
14:58	guy who drives his last breath on the
15:01	last day when Jesus returns
15:02	there is not a single person who is
15:05	declared righteous
15:06	before god by their works we hold that
15:09	one is justified
15:10	by faith apart from works of the law
15:16	so you’re saying works aren’t important
15:19	no
15:20	i’m not saying that at all they’re
15:22	necessary
15:24	but they play this much
15:27	into your salvation and your
15:29	justification
15:31	they are not the cause or the reason why
15:33	you are saved
15:35	the only one who did the works necessary
15:38	to save you
15:39	and me is Jesus Christ and he gives
15:42	salvation away
15:44	totally 100 no strings attached
15:48	free and he forgives real sinners if you
15:51	don’t think you’re one of them
15:53	you have no point in hanging out in
15:55	church and thinking that you have
15:56	anything to do with Jesus or that Jesus
15:58	has anything to offer you
16:00	because the thing he’s offering here is
16:03	forgiveness of
16:04	sins eternal life salvation all for
16:07	free he doesn’t want anything from you
16:10	he loves you
16:14	and that’s the difference
16:18	and always and again you can tell when
16:19	somebody tacitly
16:22	doesn’t believe that or worse kind of on
16:25	a seething sub level
16:26	hates the idea that real sinners are
16:29	forgiven for free because they always
16:31	want to control the person and say
16:33	yeah but if you’re really saved then
16:35	you’re not going to smoke
16:37	if you really are saved you won’t watch
16:39	those movies
16:40	if you’re really saved then they then
16:44	they do this they create this whole
16:45	theology believe me when i tell you
16:48	real Christians who are really saved who
16:49	are really forgiven do all kinds of
16:52	really stupid things
16:54	that are for real sinful myself included
16:58	this is the reason why let me remind you
17:01	i wear black
17:02	if you were not convinced i’m a sinner
17:04	just say
17:05	well he keeps broadcasting that he is
17:08	and if you’re not sure come to my house
17:10	hang out with me for four minutes
17:12	and you’ll never again doubt that i’m a
17:14	sinner
17:16	right
17:19	but the thing is are you convinced that
17:21	you are
17:24	and that’s the point if you really
17:26	believe that you’re a sinner then you
17:27	know there’s nothing you can do to save
17:28	yourself
17:29	you already stand condemned and that’s
17:32	the point so consider again our
17:34	epistle text in this context we know
17:37	that whatever the law says
17:39	it speaks to those who are under the law
17:41	so that the whole
17:42	world may be held accountable for to god
17:45	so every mouth may be stopped and the
17:47	whole world
17:48	accountable to god i’ve said it before
17:50	i’ll keep saying it the purpose of the
17:52	law is not to give you the to-do list if
17:54	you check it off
17:55	then you can say i’m good with god the
17:57	purpose of the law
17:59	is to make you zip it
18:02	if i wanted to be rude i’d say the
18:03	purpose of the law is to shut
18:05	you up but i’m a good person
18:10	really but my heart’s in the right place
18:13	i meant
18:14	well really
18:17	Jesus says out of the heart comes all
18:18	kinds of filth and sin
18:21	that’s the reason why you’ve fallen far
18:23	short
18:24	purpose of the law is to condemn you but
18:26	i heard from my apostle and my
18:28	prophetess
18:29	that if anyone gives me a message from
18:30	god that doesn’t make me feel good about
18:32	myself
18:33	then i’m to reject it because god wants
18:35	me to know how special i
18:36	am well your apostle and your prophetess
18:38	is a false apostle and a false a prophet
18:40	false prophetess and they’re leading you
18:42	to hell
18:44	but telling me i’m a sinner doesn’t make
18:45	me feel good about myself it’s not
18:47	supposed to
18:50	if you’re here to make me
18:53	if you hear because you want me to
18:55	scratch your itching ears
18:57	to take your ego and tell you how
18:59	amazing you
19:00	are you’re in the wrong place
19:05	we are here to confess that we are
19:08	sinners
19:08	that we have fallen short and when the
19:11	law speaks
19:12	it silences us because we recognize
19:16	by the working of the holy spirit
19:18	through his law
19:20	that we don’t measure up but it doesn’t
19:24	stop there
19:26	paul goes on to say four by works of the
19:29	law
19:30	not a single human being will be
19:32	declared righteous in god’s sight
19:34	because through the law comes the
19:36	knowledge of sin
19:38	well if the law can’t save me what can
19:42	gladja asked but now the righteousness
19:45	of god
19:45	has been manifested apart from the law
19:48	although the law and the prophets they
19:50	bear witness to it the righteousness
19:52	of god diaca to theiu it is his
19:54	righteousness
19:55	this isn’t a standard that we’re
19:56	supposed to achieve by our good works
19:58	this is a gift given to us and listen to
20:00	what it says
20:01	this is the righteousness of god that is
20:03	through faith in Jesus Christ
20:05	and here’s your important word 4
20:10	4 4 all who believe
20:14	so a good way to think of it you want to
20:16	know what you were
20:17	like when Christ found you
20:20	you were naked not breathing
20:25	completely covered in filth and slime
20:28	smelled like death itself and what does
20:31	Jesus do
20:32	he comes to you and
20:36	he washes the filth off of you
20:39	and through the preaching of the gospel
20:40	the holy spirit breathes
20:42	new life in you and you are raised from
20:44	the dead think of it this way there’s a
20:46	picture there’s a wonderful picture
20:48	in genesis chapter 2
20:51	of how god created adam and eve and this
20:53	is history by the way
20:55	not some kind of mythology so there’s
20:57	the lifeless
21:00	body of adam Christ has just formed it
21:02	it’s not alive
21:04	it’s just lying there and what does
21:07	Jesus do he breathes into
21:10	the nostrils of adam the breath of life
21:13	and he becomes
21:14	a living spirit he opens his eyes the
21:16	first thing
21:17	adam sees is the face of his creator
21:21	it’s a beautiful picture but there you
21:23	are dead in trespasses and sins
21:26	you’re not able to do a thing to save
21:28	yourself because dead people don’t do
21:30	much
21:30	i don’t know if you’ve noticed that
21:32	about them they’re they’re a little
21:33	inactive
21:34	and active but Christ finds you
21:37	he washes away your sins he
21:41	breathes into you and you are
21:43	regenerated
21:45	raised again to new life in him and then
21:49	then he takes his very cloak that he’s
21:52	wearing
21:53	and he covers your nakedness and shame
21:55	with it
21:56	that’s the picture of what the
21:57	righteousness of god is
21:59	and this is a righteousness that is for
22:02	all
22:03	who believe it is for those who believe
22:07	and then he goes on because there’s no
22:09	distinction
22:10	all have sinned and fall short
22:13	of the glory of god
22:17	me you
22:20	everybody biden trump
22:24	the whole world every one of us have
22:28	sinned and fallen short of the glory of
22:29	god and listen to what it says
22:31	and we are justified by god’s grace
22:36	as a gift
22:40	well if it’s a gift
22:45	i didn’t do anything to earn it when you
22:47	give gifts to friends or children
22:50	or family members have they earned those
22:52	gifts
22:54	no a gift is a gift
22:58	and so god has given us the gift of
23:01	salvation he can’t earn it he can’t work
23:03	for it
23:04	so he’s given us by his grace as a gift
23:06	and this is through the redemption
23:08	that is in Christ Jesus god is the one
23:10	who put
23:11	Christ forward as the atoning sacrifice
23:14	for our sins
23:15	by his blood and this is then received
23:18	by
23:18	faith and that’s the whole point
23:21	you see if the sun sets you free you
23:23	will be free indeed
23:24	we can’t carry the burden of our shame
23:27	we cannot carry the burden of our guilt
23:29	and believe me we do not want to
23:31	experience the consequences
23:33	of our sin which is far more
23:36	than your mirrored body dying the real
23:39	death we should fear is the second death
23:42	the second death where we are thrown
23:44	where people are thrown into the lake of
23:45	fire
23:48	and so that being said note this
23:51	that Christ himself became sin your sin
23:55	our sin was placed upon him he bore the
23:58	burden he bore the shame
24:00	he bore the guilt and he is the one
24:03	who was nailed to the cross to suffer in
24:06	your place and mine
24:08	and he did so in the dark on a friday
24:11	afternoon
24:12	while wearing absolutely nothing
24:17	he experienced shame and punishment and
24:20	the very shame and punishment of god
24:22	so that you and i can be forgiven
24:24	pardoned
24:25	and no longer be considered slaves but
24:28	set
24:29	free and then adopted as children of god
24:32	all of this because of his great
24:34	love for us you see god showed his
24:37	righteousness
24:38	because in the past he had overlooked
24:40	the former sins
24:42	and he showed his righteousness in this
24:44	time so that he might be the justifier
24:46	of the one who has faith in Jesus
24:49	so let me ask you do you believe that
24:52	Christ died for your sins
24:55	not just the sins of the world but yours
24:58	the ones you are ashamed of the ones you
25:00	committed last year
25:01	the ones you committed 10 years ago the
25:03	ones you committed yesterday
25:08	note then that believing this you have
25:12	already then received this gift of god
25:15	and so god has declared you to be
25:17	righteous
25:19	and then when that has taken place if
25:21	you’ve received it as a gift and Christ
25:23	is the champion he’s the one who’s done
25:25	it
25:25	let me ask you is there any place for
25:27	boasting
25:29	you can always tell a church where the
25:31	people really don’t believe the gospel
25:33	because
25:34	people spend an inordinate amount of
25:36	time boasting about
25:37	their righteousness their sin busting
25:40	techniques
25:41	they’re defeat the way they’ve caused
25:43	the devil to be defeated and all this
25:45	kind of nonsense
25:46	i got nothing to boast about if i’m
25:48	going to boast about anything i’m going
25:50	to boast about the fact that i have a
25:51	god who loves me so much
25:53	that he saved a loser like me
25:58	i’ll boast in him not myself and so you
26:01	know paul asks
26:02	what becomes of our boasting boasting is
26:05	excluded
26:06	and it’s excluded by the law of faith
26:08	for we hold that one is justified
26:11	by faith apart from works
26:15	of the law so stop striving in all the
26:18	little ways we try to niggle and work
26:20	our way back
26:21	to some kind of a deal that we can work
26:23	out with god based upon our goodness
26:25	knock it off repent of that nonsense no
26:28	one is justified in god’s sight
26:30	by works of the law salvation is a gift
26:33	given
26:33	and received by grace through faith
26:37	because of what Christ has done for us
26:39	he is the champion
26:41	not you in the name of Jesus
26:45	amen

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