Reformation Reality—Old and New – Grace Alone
You probably have seen the four letters—BOGO. It may have been at a retail store referring to t-shirts or tennis shoes when you were at the mall. I have spotted them at a gas station relating to candy bars or slim jims when I was in line. (You can perhaps guess which one grabs my attention faster.) It stands for “buy one get one (add the word ‘free’).” [Apparently we can’t handle five letters.] I don’t want to scream false advertising, but is the second one really free? You had to pay for one to get another one. Free?
Do we really understand free?
And then God comes along with his grace. It is important that we understand what that is exactly. It means …
To show someone an undeserved favor like shoveling your neighbor’s driveway in winter when he blew all of his leaves in your lawn in fall.
To give someone an undeserved gift like if you give your wife a present today and her birthday isn’t until the end of the month.
Maybe “undeserved kindness” covers both of those thoughts. That is God’s grace. And it is unmerited, unearned—actually the opposite of what we deserve. And yet he offers it to us. Free.
That is because of who he is. And he tells us as much like if I were to ask you to describe yourself—what you were like. It could be: “I am tall.” Or “I am friendly.” [That is not autobiographical.]
Moses was to present himself before God on Mt. Sinai with two new stone tablets. Recall how he had smashed and shattered the ones when he descended the mountain the first time. The children of Israel were dancing and prancing around the Gold Calf in worship. Now the Lord was going to write again on the fresh tablets the words of the Ten Commandments. He was also going to reestablish the covenant that Israel had broken. He would still be their God and they his people.
“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “‘The LORD, the LORD’” (Ex 34:6,7). Martin Luther once labeled these words “the sermon on the name of the Lord.” That is a special name, his personal and proper name—to bless us and save us (Nu 6:22-27; Acts 4:12). And it has great significance. He is ageless and timeless and changeless (Ex 3:14)—not merciful one day and mad the next, not kind one month and cruel the next.
And his name is more than just some sounds and syllables. The LORD is:
“the compassionate … God” (Ex 34:6). This is a deep love based on and rooted in a natural relationship like between a mother and her son. God has made us his children. And that is what we are (1 Jn 3:1).
“the … gracious God” (Ex 34:6). There it is—gracious. God’s love is free—for nothing. We delight in it and enjoy it.
“slow to anger” (Ex 34:6). We don’t have to guess when someone is irate. Nostrils flare. Veins pop. But the Lord is patient even though he has every right to be upset with sinners. The picture is that God’s nose doesn’t get red. It doesn’t burn up right away. He wants all to repent—turning from sin and turning to the Savior (2 Pe 3;9).
“abounding in love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6). On a scale of 1-10, his love, his mercy, is an 11+. And he is reliable and dependable. And that will not ever stop or cease.
A self-description would also include what you do. For me, it would be “I am a pastor, preaching and teaching. ” As the Lord, he continues:
“maintaining love to thousands” (Ex 34:7). Like an ancient watchman on a city wall, God constantly keeps that mercy and love to a huge number, 1000s—not numerically, but figuratively. We would say billions just like a particular fast food restaurant claims that it serves. It goes beyond counting. And it goes on and on and on—all the way to us and for us.
“forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex 34:7). He lifts up all that is crooked, twisted, and bent and which brings guilt. He takes away all the times that we have willfully rebelled and wrongfully revolted against God, breaking our association with him. He carries off all that misses the mark.
Luther once put it this way: “Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free and will be saved. Now choose what you want. According to law and justice, your sins should no doubt remain on you, but grace has cast them upon Christ, the Lamb of God. If God had it in mind to deal with us on other terms, we would be done for” (Sermon on Nov. 3, 1539, on John 1:29).
That is the LORD—who he is and what he does.
The apostle Paul picks up the point of grace too. Really he highlights two things before that:
God’s profound love with which he loved us: “because of his great love for us” (Eph 2:4)—Jew, Gentile, Paul, us (Jn 3:16). God operates in the best interest of the individual loved. His love is active and effective, one-way and one-sided. He is love (1 Jn 4:8).
God’s ongoing mercy: “who is rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4). He has mercy in abundance like a millionaire has loads of dollar bills. Mercy is an attitude in the mind and heart of God that moves him to take pity on us when he sees our lost condition. Think of what goes through your head when you see the suffering brought about by the recent hurricanes. And you may have sent in some money for aid, showing concern for those in need, attempting to relieve the person and remove the problem.
And then there is God’s grace. “God … made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:4,5). He took those dead in sins [That is an accurate portrayal—unable to respond to anything or reply to anyone like a corpse in a coffin. And not half-dead or sort of sick—dead.] (Eph 2:1)—because of all the times that we have stumbled like a circus performer falling from a tightrope above—and gave us life together with Christ. Once spiritually dead, now spiritually alive—creating faith, giving life.
What was the means? Grace. By grace he saved us. He rescued us from an impossible situation like a hotshot firefighter snatches you out of a ring of fire as you are coughing from the smoke and collapsing to the ground in the woods—no hope whatsoever of getting out alive. And he restores you to safety. God does it all, no help or hand from us. “It is by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:5).
That is the Reformation Reality that we celebrate—grace alone saves. Happy Reformation.
Exodus 34:6,7
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.
Ephesians 2:4,5
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Reformation Reality—Old and New – Faith Alone
Finish the sentence: It is easy to have confidence in someone when … Maybe it is too simple to state: It is easy to have confidence in someone when he or she is trustworthy. It is right in the word—worthy of trust. Then we put our confidence in or our faith in that one (He 11:1).
That is what the Lord trained Abram to do. He had just freed his nephew Lot who had been captured by a coalition of 4 kings. God came to Abram to bolster his trust in him. In a vision, the Lord reassured and reminded him: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield [that is, your source of protection], your very great reward [that is, your source of blessing]” (Ge 15:1).
But there was something bothering Abram. He had no son. And therefore no Savior. The Messiah was to come from him. Abram was going to take matters into his own hands. He would adopt Eliezer, his servant, as his heir. God’s reply in a word was: “No.” He took Abram outside and told him to count the stars—if he could. That is how many offspring he would have.
Abram’s response: “Abram believed the LORD” (Ge 15:6). God caused Abram to be sure and certain that if God said so, it would be so. In a sense, Abram said “amen.” That is because of the object of his faith—the LORD—was unfailing. And that even if and when his wife was beyond childbearing years (Ro 4:19-21). If God can fill the sky with stars, he can fill a womb with a child.
“He [the LORD] credited it to him [to Abram] as righteousness” (Ge 15:6). God considered him right with him—in line with a standard, blameless. And it wasn’t because of what Abram had done, but what Abram’s descendant would do. The Lord credited Jesus’ righteousness to him like a teller deposits a check in your account. In the words of Luther: “Lord Jesus, I am your sin, you are my righteousness. I made you what you were not and you made me what I was not.”
The apostle Paul has that incident in mind when he writes to the Christians in Rome. The Jews held their forefather in pretty high regard (Ro 4:1). So do we. He is “the father of all who believe” (Ro 4:11; cf. 16). And that faith is what Paul zeroes in on as he puts Abraham on the stand like a lawyer does with a witness. “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?” (Ro 4:1).
What about Abraham? How did God declare him “not guilty?” By the many good things he had done? And the list is lengthy. Like leaving his homeland and moving to where God would show him. Like being willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac. “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God” (Ro 4:2).
No. The Bible gives the answer. “What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (Ro 4:3). That is accountant lingo. God entered in his balance sheet, “free of any and every charge.” That is what God does for us as he takes us into a courtroom. He acquits us. Faith grabs ahold of that and accepts it as true. It is the instrument that receives Jesus’ righteousness. Not what I do for God, but what God does for me in Jesus. Luther once commented: “We define a Christian as follows: A Christian is not someone who has no sin or feels no sin; he is someone to whom, because of his faith in Christ, God does not impute his sin” (AE 26:133).
Paul takes us to the workplace to illustrate that. “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation” (Ro 4:4). When I was younger, the neighbor paid me to mow his lawn. When I was done, he didn’t hand me a 5 dollar bill (I don’t know what that would translate into today with the rate of inflation) and contend, “Here is a little gift for you.” No with my sweating and straining, I gained that. And he owed that to me. Now if my brother who sat in the house, lounging on the couch and sipping lemonade, was handed a five spot, that would be a gift.
“However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Ro 4:5). Each one of us doesn’t give to God to get from God. He gives and we get. He frees us of our sin. And note what Paul labels us—“the wicked” (Ro 4:5)—those who would rather spit in God’s face than stand by his side, no reverence of him or respect for him. Those are the ones God “credits as righteousness.” To the believer. To us. Faith accepts that righteousness that is already there like a gift placed in our hands. We right with God. Faith says “Amen” with Abraham.
That is the Reformation Reality that we celebrate—faith alone believes. Happy Reformation.
Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Romans 4:1-5
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Reformation Reality—Old and New – Scripture Alone
Note the significance of each sentence:
1) A man just has to be good with his word. We can lament that the days of your word and handshake were good enough to seal the deal are long gone. But it is still the case. Your word is all that you have.
2) A man can’t just be good with words. There has to be follow though. Otherwise, they are just words. Words are just not enough.
I guess that we could summarize that with the cliché: “Say what you mean and mean what you say.” A promise made is to be a promise kept. That is how the Lord operates. Always.
There was the time when King David had a great and grandiose plan. He was living in a beautiful, cedar palace. And the temple was still a tent (2 Sa 7:1). He decided to remedy that by constructing a house for the Lord. The prophet Nathan agreed until that night when the Lord announced: “David is not going to build me a house—a physical structure. I will build his house—a Messianic dynasty.” Jesus would come from him.
When David heard that, he poured out his heart in prayer. One of his statements was: “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised” (2 Sa 7:25). To paraphrase: “Cause it to happen, Lord—this thing that you have spoken. Accomplish it. Fulfill it.”
And the Lord did. God says what he does and does what he says. That is what the angel Gabriel assured Mary when he asserted that she was going to be a virgin mother: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Lk 1:32,33). Christmas is right around the corner when we will commemorate that again.
Those two disciples on Easter Sunday afternoon were grappling with the events the last few days. They were discussing them when that unknown visitor merged onto the walkway like we do on the freeway. That is when Jesus, the Risen Savior, gave that gentle rebuke and giant reminder: “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and enter his glory?” (Lk 24:26). Yes. Yes, he did. There was that divine necessity—suffering and death, but victory and glory. And he did. Christmas and Easter go hand in hand.
But Jesus didn’t stop there: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Lk 24:27). Jesus interpreted the Old Testament for them like someone translates Luther’s German into English since it is not our first language.
We can bemoan the fact that Jesus didn’t leave us a written handout, a printed outline, or a flashy PowerPoint. While that might be nice, we can get our noses in the Old Testament for the things about Jesus. We can search the Scriptures because they testify of him and give eternal life (Jn 5:39; 20:31).
It was Moses who recorded that first gospel promise: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Ge 3:15). And there on the cross of Calvary, Jesus cries: “It is finished” (Jn 19:30).
Moses predicted the Prophet who would come and who would be like Moses (Dt 18:15). And it was Philip who proclaimed to Nathaniel: “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (Jn 1:45).
Speaking of the prophets.
Micah foretold of Bethlehem as Jesus’ birthplace (Mi 5:2; Luke 2:1ff.). The angels burst out into song the night by that little town.
Zechariah has Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech 9:9; Mt 21:5). There is Palm Sunday.
Isaiah almost camps under the cross as if he reports right under it as he describes the details that Jesus was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities—all to bring us peace (Is 53:5; Gospel accounts).
Jeremiah was right when he relates that he will be called “The LORD Our Righteousness” (Je 23:6; 2 Co 5:21).
It is these Scriptures alone, and many more, that make us wise for salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus (2 Ti 3:15). We hold on to them as tightly as Martin Luther as he stood before the Diet of Worms and utter that famous speech: “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. [Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.] God help me. Amen (Diet of Worms).
That is the Reformation Reality that we celebrate—Scripture alone reveals. Happy Reformation.
2 Samuel 7:25
“And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised.”
Luke 24:27
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
November 5, 2017
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