“Sola, Sola, Sola, Lord!”November 5, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 16:1-15 [NLTse]
1“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. 2For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. 3This is because they have never known the Father or Me. 4Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember My warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.

5“But now I am going away to the One Who sent Me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you. 8And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in Me. 10Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no more. 11Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

12“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His Own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me. 15(All that belongs to the Father is Mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever He receives from Me.’)

SERMON
Last Sunday was Reformation Sunday, a day when Protestant churches around the world celebrated the central belief of Christianity: Justification by faith; that is, God declaring us innocent of sin because of our faith in Christ. I was away last Sunday, so, I hope it’s okay that we celebrate such a wonder a little bit today…

Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk. He had been taught in his Roman Catholic church that God demanded absolute righteousness from human beings in order to be reconciled with us: Absolute love towards Him, absolute love towards our fellow human beings, and unshakeable faith like Abraham’s, who was willing to sacrifice his son. Luther knew he could never meet such a standard and so, even living as a monk, he was tortured by his sin. He came to hate what he called, “the righteous God Who punished sinners”.

In Luther’s day the Roman Catholic church was the only kind of church in Europe. The Pope, cardinals, and bishops had far-reaching power over their parishioners, claiming to have each one’s salvation in their hands! And because Bibles were available only to those who could read Latin, Hebrew, or Greek, there were few who could tell them they were wrong.
By this time, the church had fallen to proclaiming that God declared His people innocent of their sins only through a mixture of faith and works. On the surface this may sound innocent enough, I mean, the Scriptures do tell us that faith without works isn’t truly faith at all. But during this sad time in the Church’s life, abuses abounded.

For instance, from the 1100s to the 1300s – during the time of the Crusades – the Popes declared that a person could automatically be forgiven all their sins if they volunteered to go to Jerusalem to fight “the Muslim infidels” and re-take the Holy City. Notice: Their sins weren’t simply forgiven as they trusted the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, no; only if they trusted Christ and joined the Crusades, would their sins be forgiven. (And many went who were drowned at sea, captured and sold into slavery, or just out-and-out slaughtered.)

By Martin Luther’s day, the sale of “indulgences” had become the popular abuse. Because the Catholic church believed that Christians who had died had to spend time in a state called “Purgatory” to be fully purified of their sins before being allowed into God’s holy presence in Heaven, the church taught that family members could quicken their loved one’s journey to Heaven by giving money to the church. The popular slogan was, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings / a soul from Purgatory springs!”

(In its extreme, “indulgences” could even be purchased beforehand in order to grant a ruler or some wealthy person absolution and the church’s blessing upon a wrong they had not yet done but were planning to do!) It is this “sale of indulgences” where the idea came of one “buying the stairway to Heaven”!

Martin Luther was not the first to call the Catholic church to account for its wrongs and abuses. John Wycliffe in England, John Huss in Czechoslavakia, and Girolama Savonarola in Italy all tried to challenge the church. But Wycliffe was declared a heretic (and after his death his remains were dug up, burned, and his ashes were thrown into a river), Huss was burned at the stake, and Savonarola was hanged and then his body burned. (Every Reformer knew the danger of standing up to the church!)

It was in this climate that 500 years ago, on October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther publicly posted 95 Bible-based proofs showing that God declares human beings innocent of our sin for no other reason than our faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and challenging any and all of his colleagues to a debate if they wanted to try and prove him wrong.

And debate they did! As Luther’s “95 Theses” (as they came to be called) were distributed and spread, other “protesters” and their “protestant” followers across Europe were emboldened. They’d, likewise, been seeking the reform and renewal of the Roman Catholic church and a return to the Bible: Men such as Desiderius Erasmus in the Netherlands, the Waldensians in France and Switzerland, Heinrich Zwingli in Switzerland, John Calvin in Switzerland, John Knox in Scotland, and many, many others.

While the Reformation movement was widespread all across Europe, not all leaders or groups were “protesting” the same abuses, nor were they unified in every area of theology. Some were more concerned about personal holiness. Others saw the abuses of the monastic movement. Others felt the Roman Catholic church needed a thorough “house-cleaning” from top to bottom.

However, five basic, fundamental truths – often called “the Five Solas” – were consistent across the entire movement. In response to the question, “How are people saved?” all of the “protestants” agreed: “Sola fide”, that is Latin for “by faith alone”. Human beings are not eternally-saved by Worship attendance or by church membership or by participating in the Sacramemts, but – “sola fide” – by faith alone!

In response to the question, “How are people forgiven their sins?” all of the “protestants” agreed: “Sola gratia”, Latin for “by grace alone”. A person is not forgiven their sins through “penance”, that is, by trying to show how sorry they are or by trying to do more good than they’d done bad; nor can one’s sins be forgiven by a priest or any other “holy person” declaring one forgiven (since no one can forgive sins but God alone); no good work, no generous gift, nor any manner of repentance can move God to forgive human beings their sins. Sins are forgiven by God’s grace alone, His gift to those who have faith in Him alone.

In response to the question, “Who is the mediator of the Church?” that is, “Who restores Christians back into a right-relationship with God?” And the “protesters” all agreed: “Solus Christus”, Latin for “Christ alone”. Neither priests, bishops, cardinals, popes, nor any form of church hierarchy can bring human beings into a right-relationship with God. Only the sin-less, fully-God, fully-Man Jesus of Nazareth – Christ alone – can bring men and women, boys and girls, back into right-relationship with God as a free gift by God’s grace alone when they receive the Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for their sin by faith alone.

When the reformers were asked, “How do we know this to be true?” That is, “What is the ultimate basis of authority for spiritual life?” the “protesters” all agreed: “Sola Scriptura”, Latin for “by Scripture alone.” Yes, churches will always have their traditions and teachings; yes, human beings will always have the desire to “reason through” and want to make sense of things in their own minds; and, yes, people will always have all sorts of experiences that lead them to this, that, or some other belief about God, salvation, and living by faith; but, Scripture has greater authority than them all!

If a pastor, priest, pope, or church proclaims something but the Bible clearly says something else, trust and live by the Bible. If some well-known scholar or brilliant-thinker declares that this is illogical or that that is unreasonable or that some other thing makes no sense, but the Bible states clearly and repeatedly that whatever-it-is is God’s truth, trust and live by the Bible.

If you have some amazing experience that you’re sure has been with God (or if someone else tells you about an amazing experience they’ve had that they are sure was with God) and it makes you doubt all that the Bible clearly says, or even this or that little thing that the Bible clearly says, if the Bible really does clearly say it, trust and live by the Bible.

The Holy Spirit will never reveal to anyone anything that contradicts or goes against what Jesus has passed on to us in the Scriptures. As Jesus Himself has said, “[The Holy Spirit] will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me.” (John 16:14) (And, as we’ve also read, the Lord Jesus is only passing on what the Father first gave to Him!)

Lastly, when the “protesters” were asked, “What is the purpose for life and the church?” they answered with one voice, “Soli Deo Gloria”, Latin for “To glorify God alone”. It’s not to have big congregations or beautiful buildings. It’s not to feed or build homes for the poor. It’s not to get to know the Bible so well that we can quote it and teach it to others. No.

The purpose of life and of the church is to point everyone to God in a way that makes Him look good and gives Him the credit for every good and hopeful thing: To glorify God alone! (Having big congregations and beautiful buildings may glorify God. Feeding and building homes for the poor may glorify God. Getting to know the Bible well and teaching others may glorify God. But all of those wonderful things are empty and worthless if we’re not glorifying God alone, Who has revealed Himself to us by the Scriptures alone, showing us that we are forgiven our sins and eternally saved from all worry, fear, death, and darkness on account of the sacrifice of Christ alone by His free gift of grace alone through faith alone!

How about you?
1. “How are people saved?”
2. “How are people forgiven their sins?”
3. “Who restores Christians back into a right-relationship with God?”
4. “What is the ultimate basis of authority for spiritual life?”
5. “What is the purpose for life and the church?”

Are these questions settled for you?

Let’s pray…



“A Tale of Two Sins”September 10, 2017 A.D.by Pastor Ben Willis

SERMON
THE PROPHET HOSEA 14:1-9 [NLTse]

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. 2 Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises. 3 Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in You alone do the orphans find mercy.”
4 The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; My love will know no bounds, for My anger will be gone forever. 5 I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. 6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. 7 My people will again live under My shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.
8 “O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the One Who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from Me.”
9 Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.

SERMON
How many of us, here (don’t raise your hands), believe that human beings are basically good, but sometimes we make mistakes (we “sin” the Bible calls it) and so, sometimes, we need Jesus’ forgiveness and help. (Again, please don’t raise your hands, or anything.)

With that question in mind, let me read to us all from Ephesians (a letter Paul wrote to the Christians who were living in Ephesus, Greece, at that time). Paul writes: “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.” (2:1-3) And then Paul goes on to write about the change Christ brings into people’s lives when we trust in Him.

So, God the Holy Spirit (through Paul) says that before we put our trust in Jesus that you and I were dead because of our disobeying God and because of our sins. He says that everyone in the world is like that: Dead because of disobeying God and because of sin. Either people are “living” obeying Jesus or people are “dead”, obeying the devil and refusing to obey God. (But even those who are alive and obeying Jesus were at one time dead, obeying the devil and refusing to obey God.)

The Holy Spirit (through Paul) talks about life before Christ a different way in Romans (the letter Paul wrote to the Christians who lived in Rome, Italy at that time). He says, “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies. Snake venom drips from their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. They rush to commit murder. Destruction and misery always follow them. They don’t know where to find peace. They have no fear of God at all.” (3:10-18)

Notice that the Bible isn’t talking, here, about evil, wicked people. The Bible is talking, here, about all people. “No one is righteous.” “No one is seeking God.” “All have turned away.” “All have become useless.” “No one does good.”
But then a person – you or me, perhaps – puts their trust in Jesus Christ: “I believe Jesus conquered death and was resurrected from the dead; I believe Jesus is God, God’s one and only Son; I believe He died to serve the punishment I deserve for my sins; I believe that He loves me and is good and that He has a good plan for my life; I believe I can trust Him, and that He’ll be with me always to comfort and guide me…”

And something happens after a person – you or me, perhaps – puts their trust in Jesus: God forgives that person for all the sins they’ve ever done, are doing, and will ever do in the future, and from that point forward God looks at that Christian and treats that Christian as though they had never ever done anything wrong but had always behaved perfectly! (God forgiving us all of our sins – past, present, and future – is called being “justified” because of our faith, and God always looking upon us as though we were absolutely perfect-in-every-way is called being “sanctified” in His eyes.)

So, that’s how God thinks about us and that’s how God looks upon us. (Such amazing grace. Such amazing love.)
But you and I know, even though we have believed in Jesus, that we still sin and we are still far from perfect. Yes, God looks at us and treats us as though we had never sinned and were perfect (we have been justified, we have been sanctified) but there’s another kind of sanctification than just the way God looks at us. There’s a kind of sanctification that has to do with how much we’re sinning today as opposed to how much we were sinning yesterday or the day before or the year before that. And that’s a process. We are fully sanctified in God’s eyes, but we are being sanctified day by day: That is, we are sinning less today than yesterday or last year as we trust God more and more and obey Him more on account of our growing faith.

You see, Christians will always be sinners. The Bible says in 1 John, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.” (1:8) The Bible says that to the one reading it who is not yet a Christian, to the one reading it who has just become a Christian, and to the one reading it who just turned 100 and has been a Christian their whole life! “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.”

Our whole lives long there will always be temptations we give in to. There will always be better days and worse days. And, as we grow closer to the Lord year after year after year of trusting in Him, we will grow in understanding sin better and better and see sins in ourselves that we never had noticed being a part of our lives before.

I share this all with you today because we Christians seem to tend towards two different attitudes about sin: Either we don’t take sin very seriously, thinking we’re not so bad, that sinning is not so bad, and so we never make much progress against our sinful ways and hurtful habits; or, when we realize we’ve sinned it’s as though the world has come to the end and we live in fear of ever being discovered and think we’re no good and believe we could never be loved by God because we’re so foul.

But, both of these attitudes are twisted. The Christian who doesn’t think he or she is so bad doesn’t understand what it’s like to die on a cross. Jesus suffered horribly on the cross. Crucifixion is one of the sickest ways human beings have ever devised to kill each other. And if the perfect Lord Jesus Christ had to die that kind of horrible, torturous death for our sin, then our sin must be horrible and torturous (whether we think so or not)!

The Christian who thinks he or she is an abomination each and every time they sin hasn’t understood the cross, either. Because the perfect Lord Jesus died a horrible, torturous death there, and He did not die a horrible and torturous death so that we could continue to beat up on ourselves and hate and condemn ourselves and refuse to forgive ourselves for our sins. No, He died a horrible and torturous death so that we would be assured that He had indeed served the punishment for our sins, so that we would be confident that we’ve been forgiven and live grateful to Him forever because of it!