God's Word is Our Great Heritage
God's Word makes us disciples, it makes us free, and it sets us free to serve. John 8:31-36 shows us that God's Word is Our Great Heritage. November 4, 2007.
Maybe this has happened to you. It might be just a “pastor thing.” You’re engaged in a conversation which turns to religion, and the person to whom you’re speaking gets into denominational differences on the basis of a unique premise, suggesting that the earlier the start date of a particular denomination, in other words, the older the church body, the more authentic and legitimate it is. Can you detect the faulty logic? What really counts is not when a denomination was founded but what it’s founded on. The big litmus test is, “Does it go back to the words of Jesus or not? Is the church teaching and putting into practice all the Holy Scriptures or not?”
Today we observe and celebrate the four hundred ninetieth anniversary of the birth of Lutheranism, and, as we do, we have every reason to thank God for the blessings he has channeled to us through our founding fathers and mothers and through church leaders like Martin Luther. But the chief blessing we have from them and the focus for our celebration today is the heritage they have given us, which, simply stated, is this – an appreciation for the miraculous power of the Word of God. So, today we are going to listen in on a conversation Jesus had with some of his enemies, recorded in John chapter eight, which will renew our confidence in the fact that God’s Word is Our Great Heritage.
His Word makes disciples
One day Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). This was a call for people to follow him, to be his disciples. His enemies, of course, didn’t want to follow him, didn’t want to be his disciples. Why? Because they didn’t think he looked powerful enough, rich enough, flashy enough to be their leader. Besides, they figured that they really didn’t need a leader, especially when it came to finding out how to get in with God. “We are Abraham’s descendants,” they said. They were convinced that they had become members of God’s family by birth, and they believed that they had already met and surpassed whatever entrance requirements God may have for membership in his kingdom.
But Jesus issued a stunning statement, “If you do not believe that I am the One I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins” (John 8:24). That should have raised a few Pharisaic eyebrows. But what about you? Don’t you want to say to Jesus, “I don’t want to die in my sins. Please, Lord, remind me again how I became your disciple”? His answer rings out as clearly as church bells on a quiet Sunday morning, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” As much as his opponents might have wanted to talk about what they had accomplished to enter God’s kingdom, they would end up a day late and a dollar short, like waiting in line for a movie with just $8.25 in your pocket and finally getting to the cashier only to find out the movie is nine bucks. She won’t let you in. Maybe Jesus’ enemies didn’t want to believe it, but when they ended up in front of the pearly gates, they would have had to admit, and so will we, “Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Blood ties are not an automatic ticket into God’s family, even if you’re a fifth generation Lutheran. In the second lesson for this day, the apostle stated, “No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:20). Becoming a disciple and entering into Jesus’ kingdom come totally from a source outside of our own nature and ability.
Jesus is God. His teaching is none other than the Word of God. His Word has the amazing and miraculous power to work faith in a person’s heart. God’s Word makes us disciples. Paul knew that to be true. He wrote, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). We have evidence of that in the verses preceding this exchange between Jesus and his enemies. Jesus had been preaching to a crowd of people, and we are told, “Even as he spoke, many believed in him.” God’s Word not only makes us Jesus’ disciples. It also helps us remain Jesus’ disciples. It would be ridiculous, in fact murderous, to feed a baby only one meal and then expect that baby to live on by itself. Babies need nourishment. Human bodies need on-going physical nourishment. Our souls need consistent spiritual nourishment. Do you recall what Jesus said on another occasion, “People don’t live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4)?
If you and I think that we will one day stand before God and say, “Well, Lord, I’m here because I’ve earned it,” then we’ve missed the point. Worse yet, he will banish us from his sight forever. When we are before his throne, there is only one thing we can say, “Lord, thank you for doing it all.” That’s what we celebrate today. We aren’t here to honor a man named Martin Luther but to honor our God because God’s Word is our great heritage. God’s Word makes and keeps us his disciples.
His Word makes disciples free
What is it about being an American that is so wonderful? – freedom. What is it about being Jesus’ disciple that is so wonderful? Freedom! Listen to Jesus. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus’ opponents pretended like they were not tracking along, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” They knew Jesus was not talking about political freedom because the descendants of Abraham had been conquered by other nations many times over and often forced into slavery. In fact, at the time of this encounter the Israelites were under Roman control. No! They knew Jesus was talking about giving them spiritual freedom. But they objected, because they firmly believed they had earned spiritual freedom on their own.
They were wrong again. Jesus told them and tells us, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” His opponents could not escape. They had to admit that they were not perfect. Neither are we. We have to agree with the Bible writer, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make God out to be a liar and his Word has no place in our lives” (1 Timothy 1:10). Isn’t it true? Evil deeds ensnared us; the cords of sin held us fast (Proverbs 5:22). Freedom from the bondage of sin and its consequences is what I need most, what you need most.
Jesus told them and tells us what it is, “The truth will set you free.” That raises up two questions. “What truth?” and “Set us free from what?” Jesus supplies the answers to both. The truth is that God went to work to perform the greatest miracle of all time. The result of that miracle is a declaration that we are free from the burden and guilt of our sin. Listen to the Savior’s gracious promise, “If the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We can rejoice with the Bible writer, “Though we were slaves, God has not deserted us in our bondage” (Ezekiel 9:9).
If you ever wanted to visit someone in jail, you would have to go through a metal detector and leave coins, keys, and anything metal in a locker. You would be escorted through a door that buzzes open and slams shut. The good news is that you get to share a message of Jesus’ comfort with the person you are visiting. And, to tell you the truth, the other good news is that you get to leave. Can you imagine what it would be like to be loose your freedom? If you are walking around thinking, “God could never forgive me,” then you are stuck in the prison of your own guilt, and you have missed the point of Jesus’ message for you today. You are free. That’s what we are celebrating today. We rejoice that God’s Word is our great heritage. God’s Word makes us disciples who are free.
His Word makes disciples free to serve
One of the world’s greatest preachers of this message of freedom from sin’s control was the apostle Paul. Yet, as he delivered God’s freedom message, he also recognized that problems could develop. So, in one of his letters he added this caution, “Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:13). In America we enjoy being free, but that does not mean we are free to kill, to steal, and to disobey the laws of the land. Even godless people know that. In the same way the freedom given to us through God’s Word is not a license to sin.
Paul’s warning about the use of our freedom went on, “Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13). I know that’s what you have been striving to do in your life, and you want to do that more. You can because God is going to come to give you the power to do it. That power comes from his Word. That’s what we celebrate today. God’s Word is our great heritage. His Word makes us disciples, disciples who are free to serve.
We make a big deal about the Bible, and rightly so, because the Bible is God’s Word from cover to cover. But the reason we make a big deal about it is because the Bible reveals God’s plan to rescue us from Satan’s clutches and how he carried out that plan through Jesus in order to pull us into his care and keep us there. We don’t worship a book, but because the God’s Word reveals our Savior, we thank God for his miraculous book, and we recommit ourselves this day to read and hear and study and ponder what God has revealed to us through the Bible so that we can be closer to Jesus and empowered by him. We do that because God’s Word is our great heritage. Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on November 4, 2007
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