Text Study for Reformation Sunday - Free, Indeed!

Prayer of the Day

God, renewer of life and only reformer, you surround us with a great cloud of witnesses throughout time and place whom you have called into your work, witnessing to your Gospel of liberation by grace alone. Continue now to raise up witnesses for your work of renewal and reform, that we may all grow more deeply into that mystery of communion that is your church. Come now, and sustain the on-going reformation of your church. We ask this all through your son Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Reading: Romans 3:19-28

Paul’s words stand at the heart of the preaching of Martin Luther and other Reformation leaders. No human beings make themselves right with God through works of the law. We are brought into a right relationship with God through the divine activity centered in Christ’s death. This act is a gift of grace that liberates us from sin and empowers our faith in Jesus Christ.

A reading from Romans.

¹⁹Now 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. ²⁰For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

²¹But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, ²³since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; ²⁴they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

²⁷Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

Reading: John 8:31-36

Jesus speaks of truth and freedom as spiritual realities known through his word. He reveals the truth that sets people free from sin.

³¹Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ³³They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. ³⁶So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

COMMENTARY & QUESTIONS

1. What questions do you have about these readings? 
2. In case somebody hasn’t heard, this is the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation! Anyone throwing a party? No? Just me? Okay, then. 
3. One breakout sitcom from 2016 was NBC’s “The Good Place.” In an episode I just watched with Kristin, a character named Tahani is frustrated because she can never get higher than second to last place on the “rankings” in heaven, no matter how hard she works. At the end of the episode, this heaven’s architect, Michael, sits her down and explains that the rankings had to do with Tahani’s life before death - in heaven, they mean nothing. Once you’re in “The Good Place” you’re free to be what you are without proving anything to anyone.
1. In essence, Luther’s theological breakthroughs in the early 1500s brought this sense of belonging to the Christian faith, and the reading from John 8 for today emphasizes the gift of it all. “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” As Luther understood it, a Christian was perfectly free from any requirement for righteousness or justification once Jesus had declared the Christian ‘free.’ 
2. Romans 3:28 is incredibly important to the faith of the reformers: “we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” It’s important to note that one of the easiest ways to sabotage this is to turn faith into something we do: “All you have to do is believe.”  NO - even belief is a work of God on our behalf, according to Luther.
1. “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or com to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with [its] gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith.” This is from Luther’s Small Catechism, and for my money it’s the most important part of the whole thing. God’s Holy Spirit is already at work in me long before I can turn the gift of faith into a work I must undertake to make myself righteous in the eyes of God. In Baptism and Holy Communion God sets us free from such things, and in that freedom we are truly free from requirements, fears, and anxieties about whether we measure up to some hypothetical standard or stand out from those around us. 
3. Why do you think letting go of requirements and rankings is so hard for Christians? What is it about rules and standards that we find so seductive, and what is it about freedom that can be so incredibly difficult?
4. “To make the way smoother for the unlearned - for only them do I serve - I shall set down the following two propositions concerning the freedom and the bondage of the spirit: 

A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.
A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.”

1. This quote is taken from Luther’s treatise On the Freedom of a Christian, written in 1520 with an open letter to Pope Leo VIII in hopes that he might understand Luther was trying to help the church become more faithful, not attempting to rebel against the church or break away. The treatise is one of Luther’s most important in what Timothy Lull calls “his most productive year.” In it Luther lays out the central paradox which has defined true Lutheran faith for almost 500 years, even if the Lutherans themselves continue to struggle to understand, incorporate, and embody it.
2. What might it mean for a Christian to be at the same time a free lord and a dutiful servant? How does this particular understanding of Christian faith evolve from the freedom Jesus promises in John 8?