A, Commemoration of the Reformation - John 8:31-32, 34-36 "Get the Message Right, Get the Message Out"
Get
the message right; get the message out.
There’s
a mindset occurring in the church today that threatens the very life of the
whole church. This philosophy is one
that says, ‘we’re all Christians, it doesn’t matter what we believe; we’re all
going to the same place’. And although
there is an element of truth to the statement; at the core, stands the same
ideals and beliefs that led to the building of the Tower of Babel. Did God bless that project? No! We
must ask ourselves why?
God
gives us the message and the message is one a small child can get right. The message we’re talking about is the gospel
of our salvation, the message of redemption in the Word of God.
To
the believing Jews, Jesus said, “If you
hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
The
first half of this verse can be translated in a number of ways: If you remain
in my word; if you abide by my word; if you dwell in my word – you are truly my
learners; or, you are my disciples indeed.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Get the message right! Why is it so difficult for us to keep that
message right?
The
fundamental difference between the unity language cheaply tossed around in the
church today and the unity that Christ calls us into is this: Christ’s way is
centred on him, rather than focusing on the acceptance of other people’s ideas
and words in a bid not to offend them.
Unity in Christ listens to Christ alone and not to the ideas of
people. So, in the text we hear that if
we look to Jesus and abide by what he teaches us we are his disciples. And having held onto his Word as the truth,
it makes us holy, and it sets us free.
The
sad fact today is that most people in the churches are all too willing to
accept what someone else believes because they don’t really know what they
themselves believe. Christ is no longer
at the centre and the message is no longer right. They neither examine nor become learners of
what their own church believes nor what the other churches teach.
Most
of us don’t even know the subtle differences which we, as Christ centred
Lutherans, should reject in other church’s teaching, nor do we know the
strengths that these other denominations might offer us and the greater church.
Most
denominations are Christ centred, but their doctrines are being rejected in
favour of a shallow, pop, pleasure cultured, me-centred theology; where “god”
is the person seeking, “Lord just” prayers are the way to coerce Jesus Christ
with our self-righteousness yearnings, and our ‘thou art God speak’ just makes us
sound churchy.
Unfortunately,
the message of the Gospel gets turned back into Law. All the things that Christ gives us and has
called us to hold at the fore – don’t get rejected outright, but have the
importance taken off them in favour of things that appeal to the sinful
heart. The things that Christ has set
in place and have been proven over time in the church are misplaced in favour
of self-righteous feel-good things.
Such
as: Corporate belief and understanding of God’s Word, or a church’s doctrine
and theology, are replaced in favour of the life one must live. The means of Grace or the things Jesus personally
put in place for us to receive him and the Holy Spirit, are replaced by a public
declaration of personal faith, most often expressing itself in the statement,
‘I made a decision for Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and Saviour’.
‘Lord’
is turned from Redeemer or saviour into someone I must fearfully obey to be
good enough to gain eternal life.
‘Grace’
is not God’s death on the cross in our place, but rather grace is reduced to a
template for moral living, and salvation is only obtained if we live as Christ
did.
Ironically,
nobody could live as Jesus did when he was here! He walked to the cross alone! So, what makes anyone think they can do it now?
The preaching of the Gospel, commanded by Christ,
and passed on by the Apostles, Jesus’ first disciples or learners, is put aside
in favour of group sharing sessions usually fuelled by worldly ignorance of
God’s word.
Liturgy
is deserted in favour of free unscripted prayer; the Lord’s own prayer is
rejected as dead in favour of the prayers that come from the heart. If Christ and his prayer are rejected from
the heart, one must ask, “In what condition is the heart to pray a free prayer
anyway?”
In
fact, ritual is seen as bad, even though every one of us needs ritual. Why do you think babies become unsettled if
they don’t have a regular pattern of living?
All humans need ritual for stability and reassurance; it’s the same in
the church for Christians!
And
finally, the church or the assembly of the saints, the gathering of all who
confess and believe in the Triune God is moved to one side, sacrificing things
such as repentance and forgiveness, through confession and absolution. In its place conversion experience becomes
more important than God’s justification.
Don’t
hear me wrong. As good as these might
seem, when they are put first before God, they become destructive in our
reception of the One True God and the holiness he chooses to give through his
way — his chosen means of grace.
The
Reformation was all about placing Jesus back at the centre; remaining in his
word; getting the message right! The
church of Luther’s day had turned from Christ and his means to other means of
coming before God. So, the church of the
day had taken what was given to them as right and got it wrong.
Jesus
Christ coming down in love, was pushed out, in favour of a gospel of love
climbing up to God, doing the greater good, which is no gospel at all.
Later
on, others came along and rejected all things catholic (that is gathered by the
Holy Spirit, according to Christ), but Luther and others who followed him stood
against them. Luther and his supporters
fought against extremists reforming the church too far in the other direction
which also led to Christ still being pushed out of the centre.
As
much as Luther stood against the Roman church of the day, he still recognised
that through Christ-centred-catholicity (cath-o-liss-ity), God proclaimed the
Holy Gospel and gave himself through the means of Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and the forgiveness of sins.
Getting
the message right must come first, it must come before getting it out. If you are not focused on Christ, if you are
not a learner of his, how then can you get the right message out?
Luther
reminds us in his Large Catechism in the Third Article that where Christ isn’t
preached, there’s no Holy Spirit to create, call, and assemble the Christian
Church, outside of which nobody can come to the Lord Christ. Ask yourself, “When I get the message out, to
where does it lead?” Jesus Christ, or something else!
Get
the message right; get the message out!
When we as Lutherans place ourselves under the confessions of the
church, we place ourselves under Christ and become his disciples, learning what
the truth is and what freedom from the Law actually is.
If
we call ourselves Lutheran just for the sake of being Lutheran, we then lose
sight of the Gospel and take what is right and get it wrong. The great joy of being a Lutheran is that we
have a confession that trusts Jesus at his Word and calls us to submission
under what he did and continues to do through the Holy Spirit. This is the truth, and it sets us free!
So,
in having the right message, now we are called to get it out. Why?
Why do we need to get the message out?
Our
Lutheran confessions are a strength to the greater church. They rightly show us who we are as people:
sinners who do sinful things, brought about by our own sinful natures. But they also rightly show who we are once we
allow Christ to rid us of the curse of eternal death, and allow the Holy Spirit
to place trust, or faith, in our hearts; leading us to say, “God you are right,
I am wrong, take me, do it your way and set me free”.
Having
received such grace and faith, we can trust in these things to be enough, so we
can confidently say, “Yes, I am going to heaven, I have been forgiven and
saved, I will be saved!”
Knowing
that you have been set free from the bondage of sin, and, ‘what I have to do to
get to heaven’, you can rest in the freedom of the Gospel, being blessed
completely by the obedience of Christ’s death and resurrection on the cross.
The
passion of Christ’s death and resurrection for your salvation lived by Christ
and the Holy Spirit in you, put you
right! Then surely this message which
put you right, will be the message you might passionately want others to have
as well. This should make getting the
message out a joy, not a task!
God
gets the message right, and he gives it to us as a free gift and it saves
us. Let the Holy Spirit lead you in
getting this right message out, so others might live in the freedom of the
Gospel too.
Amen.
