The 2024 Area Reformation Service – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. John 8:31-36 “The Son Sets You Free, You will be Free Indeed”
October 26, 2024 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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The Exordium
The wind is howling and the boat is rocking. St. Paul’s final journey had him on a ship headed for Rome. For this journey, he is in chains. This is not the first time that he has experienced what it is like to be in chains. I doubt anyone would raise their hand to say they would love it if they were arrested, taken away in cuffs, and then sentenced to prison. Paul could have avoided this but instead he had appealed to Ceasar. He was going to now spend his days awaiting judgment. Why would anyone want to do this voluntarily? Why would you give up freedom for chains. Paul knew something more. Paul knew that these chains were not like the chain that he was wearing before his conversion. Those chains that he had were worse. Those chains were fitted for an eternity of slavery.
The reason we are gathered here today is because Martin Luther also knew about those chains. They were shackled to him as he stared at the judgment seat of God. He tried every which way to find relief, but his sin was before him. Through the words of St. Paul, Luther found his way out. Paul had found the key to releasing himself, or rather the keys came to him. That is what happened to Luther. This is what has happened to you. St. Paul writes, For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1). Before being Paul, he had submitted to the yoke of slavery. Luther was weighed down by the yoke as well. To try and uphold the law means you must keep it all perfectly. And while you can’t do it, Christ did it. He is the key and He takes up your yoke. As Martin Luther stood free, hearing the words of Paul you can also stand free from your eternal enemies, rising to sing stanzas 8 & 9 of Hymn # 511. Lord Jesus Christ, with Us Abide.
Thy Word shall fortify us hence,
It is Thy Church’s sure defense;
O let us in its pow’r confide,
That we may seek no other guide.
O grant that in Thy holy Word
We here may live and die, dear Lord;
And when our journey endeth here,
Receive us into glory there.
The sermon text for today is taken from the 8th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. We read the verses once more in Jesus’ name:
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
We Pray: Thanks be to You, our Father, for all the mercy and truth that You have shown to us these many years. Grant Your Word to dwell with us continually, defend Your Church against her enemies, keep us in Your grace, and preserve for us temporal and eternal peace through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. (Psalm 46 Prayer, Reading the Psalms with Luther)
Now you would think that everyone, once they realized they had a yoke of slavery on their shoulders, you would do whatever you could to get it off of you. This seems like the logical solution. For us though, if it seems like it is logical, then we will usually do the opposite because we are stubborn. Even when you hear how truly special this key is, some people will kiss the key good bye. The One who was promised to take off the yoke, did indeed reveal Himself. The religious leaders and the people heard time and time again how much their yoke weighed. They were told they were bound in chains of slavery. Did they rejoice when they heard Jesus could and would take it all away? Of course not, they were offended He would even say such a thing. They could not grasp the concept that what they were doing was wrong. So as Jesus continues to point out the error of their ways, instead of seeing those errors for correction, they would double down on them.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. This is great news! The people not only were seeing God’s promises come to life before them, they were hearing the very words they needed to hear. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” To be free though means you have to accept that you are currently under the yoke of slavery. These people who had believed in Jesus were starting to back track. They went back to their father Abraham thinking he would give them a break. Jesus and history know better. The Jews currently are not free. If that was the case, they would have been able to stone Jesus and they probably would have done it already. To them, it is through Abraham’s law they are free. To make it look like they followed it they had added so much to it. The people could feel the yoke and the chains were oh so tight.
The people had grown used to the changes of their teachings, and even though they could feel they needed change, to change their way seemed too difficult to bear. Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.” Their laws had given them a lot of wiggle room, or so they thought. You have heard the saying, “if you give someone and inch, they are going to take a mile.” The religious leaders had given them space and now they couldn’t give it back. Jesus steps in, changing nothing, only teaching and instructing what God truly says. If you are going to follow the law you have to keep it all and once you cave to sin, there is no going back. When you see what everyone is doing around you, it looks like it’s easy to join in on the fun. However, the fun is short lived. Those little fibs are lethal.
While there is one group who can struggle with hearing, they are slaves because the slavery is just too good and they think it would be better to die with those chains, there is a second group that realizes the chains are there and can believe this is how it all ends, it all ends in chains. This is what Luther thought. He saw those mighty chains wrapped around him. The devil had him and there are many days where he lies and says that he has us too. He knows we have flirted with the other group. We have deceived ourselves into thinking that it would be better to keep this wiggle room in the law so we can do what makes us feel good. He knows we haven’t fully abided in Jesus’ Word. And as he looks to give us the final blow, of crushing us with the heavy yoke of our sins, Jesus reminds us, the son remains forever. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8b).
The Old Evil Foe is no match for the Son. His chains aren’t permanent even though he wants you to believe it so. You know the truth. You hear the truth in our text for today. As the Son who remains forever, Jesus concluded, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” There is nothing the devil can do to fight against Jesus’ Word. His Word is final. He sets the people free by following God’s law perfectly. The people see they can’t follow it and it only binds them. And as their sins have them captive, The Son is the only one who can set them free and He does so because He is God. He obeys the law and He destroys the works of the devil. They would see the Son carry out the law to the end. The law demands blood for payment. The people are free indeed as an execution on a Roman cross turns into the payment for the sins of the world.
The world sees the truth of God. They see He keeps His promises. You can hear how final it is as Jesus says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus has gotten rid of the if. He has done it. As He hung on the cross and cried out, “It is finished,” the heavy yoke is taken away. As Satan tries to accuse you, as he tried to accuse Luther over 500 years ago, his accusations now fall on deaf ears. One little word fells him as Jesus reveals the chains of slavery destroyed through His death and resurrection. Your mortal enemies who would love to see you bound for all eternity can no longer crush you under their yoke. Jesus has lifted the yoke off of you. His yoke is light because He was wrapped in your chains and burst them apart.
Do you feel the yoke being lifted? I’m sure there are days that it feels like it isn’t. I’m sure there are days where it seems like the devil is going to get you and he deserves to get you. There are times you willingly bind yourselves in the chains of sin when you know better. This is why the Son remains forever. He joins you together in the truth that sets you free. You are here today, together as one church because of this beautiful truth. The truth, no matter how hard people try to cover it up or change its meaning will always stand firm. It stands firm because of God’s never-failing promises. In your failings, you can look to the truth of God’s Word with certainty. The Son of Man appeared to destroy the devil, picking up your sins, and eliminating the sting of the eternal death you deserved. Jesus points you to your freedom that He won for you and as St. John writes, but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
You are cleansed and free from sin. As you have been set free and are free indeed, this certainty is a certainty many need to hear. The world works so hard to keep the chains of slavery on its inhabitance. Most don’t even realize that they are slaves to their sinful desires. They think that they have control, and then the devil will make them feel it is too late. The same freedom that you hold onto is the same freedom that has been won for them. As the Lutheran church gathers together this week, she gathers knowing, “Faith is and, indeed, must be a steadfastness of the heart, which does not waver, wobble, shake, tremble, or doubt, but stands firm and is sure of its case” (What Luther Says, p. 474). And even though she knows this, hearing all of these words may seem like such a difficult task. The difficulty disappears when she finds her strength in the truth of Scripture. It is the truth that has kept her going for the last 507 years. In this truth from the Son of God she will always remain free and if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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