Sermon for Reformation Sunday

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For ‘no human being will be justified in his sight’ by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:19-20)

You shouldn’t look at pornography on the internet. You should desire your wife above any other woman. You shouldn’t talk hurtfully about anyone behind their back. You should speak well about everyone and explain their actions in the kindest way. You shouldn’t talk rudely to your parents. You should respect, obey, love and serve them. Why does God demand that you do these things? So that your wife, your parents and even your enemies receive your love and are protected from your harm. But what happens . . . what HAPPENS when you hear these demands from God? Well, you realize how many of God’s laws your break. You realize how often you sin.

God isn’t satisfied when you do a pretty good job of loving your wife, when you mostly speak kindly about others or that you usually respect your parents. He’s not grading on a scale. With God, it’s all or nothing. Maybe you aren’t subscribing to some pornography channel, but you also probably don’t mind a little harmless nudity in your favorite feature film. You don’t start gossipy conversations about others, but if you are standing in a group and everyone starts venting their frustrations about your nemesis, you don’t just stop them. And you never talk back to your parents . . . unless they do something really stupid or unfair.

“No human being will be justified in God’s sight.” Every single one of you is guilty in God’s eyes. Guilty of sinning against God and your neighbor. Every single human being on this earth, no matter how righteous they may look in our eyes, is a sinner in God’s eyes. More particularly, you and I have no excuse. We know we aren’t supposed to do bad things, but we do them anyway—sometimes a little and sometimes a lot. But hearing God’s laws reminds us that we cannot escape our own captivation with sinning. We like to sin and can’t stop completely even if we wanted to.

“But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.”
(Romans 3:21-25a)

Something is just not right between you and God. God wants you to act in a certain way and you don’t. He keeps trying to tell you, but that hasn’t worked yet. It didn’t work for his chosen people the Israelites and it hasn’t worked with you. According to the law, he has every right to punish you to the fullest extent. In the prophet Nahum’s words, “A jealous and avenging God is the Lord, the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and rages against his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.” You, me and every human being on this earth is guilty and is God’s enemy because of sin. That’s the situation. What can you do about it? Absolutely nothing.

But God has decided to do something about it. Not just theoretically, but for you particularly. He has decided to do something new. He has every right to hate you, but instead, he just up and forgives you. When God looks at the law and measures you up against his demands you always come out lacking. But now, God has decided to look at Jesus. He looks at your relationship to Jesus instead of your relationship to the law in order to decide his final verdict. Forgiven. You are forgiven on account of Jesus. Not because you deserve it. Not because you wanted to be. But because he loves you and wants you to be able to trust him. God’s Law condemns you. Jesus Christ forgives you. You may trust in him alone. Forgiveness is God’s final word.

“He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3: 25b-26)

Did Jesus forgive you so that you could peruse the latest playboy magazine guilt free? No. Did Jesus forgive you so that you could be a jerk to your parents? No. God’s laws are still in effect. You still don’t measure up. Standing alone, all by yourself, you will never be anything more than a condemned sinner. Jesus forgives you so that you never have to stand alone before God again. When God looks at you he hears his Son Jesus saying, “This one is mine dear Father.” Jesus forgives you so that God can be justified through his Law and you can be justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Your salvation comes down to one thing: faith in Jesus Christ.

“Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” (Romans 3: 27-28)

You are a sinner through and through. Jesus forgives you completely. All you need is the faith to believe it. If you don’t think you have that faith let me tell you again. Of course you don’t, you are a sinner through and through. Jesus forgives you completely. All you need is to believe it. If you don’t think you believe it, let me tell you again. You are a sinner, through and through. Jesus forgives you completely. He forgives you for your lack of faith and writes it on your heart as a gift.

Your faith in Jesus Christ isn’t something you have to do. “For we hold that a person is justified by faith APART FROM WORKS prescribed by the law.” Your faith in Jesus is not some great spiritual achievement, “For we hold that a person is justified by faith APART FROM WORKS prescribed by the law.” Your faith in Jesus is not your “good deed”, it is simply a gift. A gift given to you from the Holy Spirit. It comes to you on the wings of the gospel and off the tongue of a preacher. This gift of faith is yours. End of story. It is not up to you to believe in Jesus Christ all by yourself. Your faith is a gift from God and it is yours today, right this very moment, in your hearing. And because of that faith you are made right in God’s sight. Amen.