The Jews hated the Romans because they believed that God wanted them to rule themselves. In addition, the Romans were pagans, who worshipped idols, and lived in ways often directly against God’s Law. The saw Zacchaeus and Matthew as traitors who kept the Romans in power. The Pharisees mentioned them in the same breath as sinners — people who lived as they liked and ignored God’s laws completely. The feeling was often mutual. So tax collectors would often live like Romans do, cheat the people and live at their expense. Zacchaeus was like that. He was a tax farmer — a collector who employed other tax collectors. He would add a hefty surcharge to all he collected and think nothing of putting his thumb on the scales.
Zacchaeus was curious. He likely had heard all about this Rabbi, a descendant of David, who taught in a very direct way, healed the sick and loved people the Pharisees shunned. Being a short man, he climbed a sycamore tree to get a good look. The Rabbi surprised him. Jesus called him out by name, told him to come down because he had to stay in his house.
The tax collector was moved because Jesus did the unthinkable. He spoke to the tax collector. Even more, he stayed in his home and received his fellowship. This was unthinkable for a Rabbi. It would be like a pastor staying in a prostitute’s home to us today. Yet Jesus loved Zacchaeus. This love moved the tax collector to change his life and become His disciple. The tax collector was amazed. He had left God, but God had not left him.
Jesus explained why he was doing this to the crowd. In Jesus, God himself had come to this lost Son of Abraham. This was because God had sent his Son to seek and save the lost.
One day when Jesus was at home in Capernaum, the friends of a paralyzed man brought him to to Jesus to be healed. The word about Jesus’ teaching and ability to heal was spreading throughout the area. His reputation had reached the scribes, biblical scholars of the time, and they were present to hear what the new rabbi had to say. The crowds were so big that the friends could not bring the paralytic to him through the front door. So they climbed up on the roof.
In the time of Jesus, towns like his built flat roofs made of branches, dried plant material and mud. The friends of the disabled man had a brilliant idea — they dug a hole in the roof over where Jesus was sitting and lowered him down to the teacher. Jesus recognized their love for the man and their faith in God. So, he forgave the man his sins.
While that sounds like an odd thing to do for us, it didn’t to Jesus’ audience. The Pharisees and other people believed that God punished especially bad sins with sickness and disaster. They thought that the blind, the paralyzed, lepers and others like them must have done something very wrong. Sins are ultimately all committed against God. So, if a person’s sins are forgiven, there is no longer a reason for the illness.
The people also believed that only God could forgive these sins and make the person well. By forgiving the man his sin, Jesus showed that He had the authority to forgive sins and to heal. Both are impossible for man, but not so for God. To say, “your sins are forgiven” or to say “get up a walk” are just as easy to say since both should be impossible — unless you’re God. And Jesus is God in the flesh. The people missed the point. They thought it meant that people also could forgive sins.
Because Jesus took all our sins to the cross and die to pay the price for them, he has the authority forgive them all. Which he does. He also tells pastors to forgive the sins of those who repent of them.
So, Jesus wants his people to do both today. He wants us to forgive sins and to have compassion on the sick and disabled. He wants us to pray for them and to do whatever we can to care for them. In the end, it is Jesus himself who does the forgiving — right here, right now and forever.
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The theme for this morning’s sermon is this: Law and Gospel explain to us the whole meaning of the Bible.
How do we read and understand the Bible? This question was the basic question that we answered this summer during our Lutheran Faith Class. If there is one thing that matters most to us as Christians, it is Bible Study, both on our own and as a congregation. This is the question that people ask me all the time. Sure they read the Bible … but What does it mean?
How do we read and understand the Bible? We could even ask the question a different way. How are we supposed to listen to a sermon? When I first arrived here, there were many who asked me to simplify the sermon or to come down to our level. That is something I have tried to do without being condescending to any of you. That is something I have tried to do, having attended chapel each day for 8 years, hearing sermons from hundreds of different pastors, and coming from a town and state far away from here.
How do we listen to a sermon? Paul answers this in our epistle for this morning. He talks about Law and Gospel. Luther talked about Law and Gospel. C. F. W. Walther one of the founders of the Missouri Synod, wrote his most famous book on Law and Gospel. The circuit visitor in Plainville has been having a weekly video on Law and Gospel. But Pastor, what is Law and Gospel?
Law and Gospel is how we read and understand the Bible. The Law we find in the Ten Commandments. The Gospel we find in the Apostles’ Creed. The Law we find in the Confession of our sins. The Gospel we find in the Absolution of our sins. The Law we find in our three enemies, sin, death, and the power of the devil. The Gospel we find in the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Law and Gospel is found on nearly every page of the Scripture. It is the way we read and understand the Bible. What does this mean? Is the famous question from the Small Catechism, and it is the primary question that we have as Christians studying God’s Word. How do we read and understand the Bible? How am I supposed to listen to the sermon?
Law and Gospel. Take the Parable of the Good Samaritan for instance. This is our Gospel reading for the day. What is the Law portion of this reading? We take a look at the context of the parable to understand the point of the parable. A guy asks Jesus “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” We would think that that is the wrong question, but Jesus turns the guy back to the Ten Commandments. He turns him back to the Law. For this guy is a secure sinner, a self-righteous independent person who needs to hear the Law.
This we know because he then asks, “Who is my neighbor?” In other words, he made the Law so small that he could get around it. He made the Law something that is attainable. He really thinks that he is a good person. He thinks the inheritance is already his without even trying. He does not need to be told that he is forgiven, if he isn’t even repentant. What need does he have of righteousness when he already thinks that he is? He keeps the commandments among his friends and at church, why does he need to care about the poor or his enemies?
Jesus then tells the story we know so well. The robbers steal from the man, and then they hurt him. What commandments have they broken? They broke the Fifth Commandment, You shall not murder, and the Seventh Commandment, You shall not steal. Is this who we are? We ask ourselves.
We probably say that we are not, and I don’t think that is the point of Jesus’ story. We aren’t supposed to be the robbers. But do we see murderers and robbers in our country? Of course we do. They go to prison for it. There is an external civil punishment for sin. This is the Law. But so also are the lesser sins, like cutting corners in order to make a bigger profit. So also it is the Law that we help and support our neighbor in his body, whether with groceries or visiting in the hospital.
Then the priest and the Levite enter the scene. The guy is still beaten up, poor, unclean, and left for dead on the side of the road. What do they do? They should keep the Commandments, care for the man’s wounds, provide him with food, water, and shelter. They are the religious people, the church people, the Christians, the Lutherans in the story for today. They should, but they don’t.
Although they didn’t murder or steal, they did not help or support their neighbor in his body, nor did they help him to improve and protect his possessions and income. They were no better than the murdering robbers from before. This is the connection that Jesus wants to make between the self-righteous man asking Him the question about eternal life and in the story. That your neighbor might be your enemy. That your neighbor might be the poor. That your neighbor might be really suffering. That we really ought to help them.
This is the Law. Who among us could wriggle out of it? Who among has not been either the robbers or the religious people in this story? This is the part of the sermon that shows us our sins, that convicts us, that offends us, that causes us to be sorry for our sin. This is where the robber hits the road. This is where we are left for dead in our trespasses and sins.
This is where most sermons you hear on this text then get it wrong. Because most sermons you hear on the internet, most sermons you hear in our world, then make us out to be the Good Samaritan. Be the Good Samaritan today, or some such thing like that. But then we are left with more Law. Then the whole story has no Gospel at all. There is no forgiveness, there is no work of God, there is no comfort for the suffering. Be a good neighbor, love your neighbor, take care of the poor, and you’ll gain eternal life. It’s just the same as the guy asking the question. He is self-righteous and independent and don’t worry, he’s got this all under control.
No, the point of the story is that Jesus is the Good Samaritan. Jesus is the one whose neighbor is His enemy, and yet He dies for us. Jesus is the one who takes the place of the beaten man upon the cross and suffers because of the world and its sin. Jesus is the one who has mercy on us, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, bandaging up the wounded.
This is the Gospel, not more of what you must do, but the Gospel is all about what Christ has done for you. The Gospel is that free gift from God through the death of His Son. The Gospel is that the Lord Jesus Christ has perfectly obeyed the Law in order to offer you the Gospel. The Gospel is outside of you, your works, your righteousness before the world, or whatever.
The Gospel is what Christ has done for you, taking your place, redeeming with His grace, that you may be confident of the forgiveness of your sins, that you may be certain about the life everlasting, and that you may believe that He came into this world for your sins. Christ pays the price for you when you are near death, when you tempted to despair, and when you are struggling through this veil of tears. Christ Jesus is Himself the Good Samaritan, your Good Samaritan, who shall care for you each and every day.
How do you read the understand the Bible? It is through the Law and the Gospel. How do you listen to a sermon? It is through the Law and Gospel. What does this mean? It means that the Bible is full of this Law and Gospel, that the pages of Scripture apply to us. We are convicted of sin and comforted of the forgiveness of sins. We are worried about death, but Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and shall raise you also from the grave. We are tempted by the devil, but Jesus has conquered the devil by His death on the cross and that victory will never be defeated.
Jesus Christ is Lord of all, and that is the Gospel, dear friends, in its absolute sweetest.
In the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
Rev. James Peterson First Lutheran Church Phillipsburg, Kansas
You may have noticed folks who seem to be praying before coming to the altar of the Lord or after returning to their seats. What is it that they pray? Or, what/how should I pray, if I’m so inclined?
This question exists within the sphere of “what should I pray?” or “what if I don’t know what to say?” There is no shame in not knowing what to pray. The disciples asked Jesus the exact same thing.
“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’” [Luke 11:1]
And, He did. Jesus also taught us a good reason to pray at your seat, when you pray alone during lulls in the divine service.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” [Matthew 6:5-6]
There are two ways that Christians pray: corporately and privately. For corporate prayer, think of the depictions in Exodus, Samuel, and Chronicles. The divine service is that sort of prayer, all together, with one voice. Jesus is exhorting here about private prayer, humble, unobtrusive.
The very front of your hymnal (Lutheran Service Book) has a list of prayers for your benefit on the unnumbered page. Two of them are for before and after communion.
Before communing : “Dear Savior, at Your gracious invitation I come to Your table to eat and drink Your holy body and blood. Let me find favor in Your eyes to receive this holy Sacrament in faith for the salvation of my soul and the glory of Your holy name; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” [LSB -ii]
Thanksgiving after receiving the Sacrament: “Almighty and everlasting God, I thank and praise You for feeding me the life-giving body and blood of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Send Your Holy Spirit that, having with my mouth received the holy Sacrament, I may by faith obtain and eternally enjoy Your divine grace, the forgiveness of sins, unity with Christ, and life eternal; through Jesus Christ, my Lord, Amen.” [LSB -ii]
Both of these are fine examples of how to pray. They are individual, first person prayers. But, they are written focusing on the given faith, which receives the gifts of God. When you pray, pray like this.
Apart from faith we receive condemnation. But, in and through faith, we receive forgiveness, life, and salvation.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Dear saints, this morning we remember and thank God for His servant John the Baptizer. He was the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ. He boldly proclaimed God’s Holy Law and called on everyone who heard him to repent of their sins. This preaching of repentance was directed towards everyone: the common people, the Pharisees, Roman soldiers, and even the ruling authorities like Herod. The boldness of John, like the other Old Testament prophets before him, landed him in hot water. In fact, it landed him in prison. A couple of weeks ago, we heard that the saints are to be remembered so that we may strengthen our faith when we see how they experienced grace and how they were helped by faith (AC XXI). Let us, then, consider the final Old Testament prophet this morning: John the Baptist.
Our Gospel lesson begins after John’s death. Herod began hearing what Jesus was doing and reasoned that John had been raised from the dead. He felt guilt about John’s death, but why? St. Mark tells us: Herod had seized John and put him into prison. He then threw a party for himself. It was a party that no respectable person, male or female, would dare attend. At the party, a young woman performed a crude dance for the guests. The performance wowed and pleased the guests and Herod. Herod then does something extremely unwise: he makes a vow to her saying, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
The young woman goes to her mother for advice. Should she ask for money? Land? The pick of men for a husband? Her mother responds, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist.” Wow. That is evil. But this daughter is not innocent. She ratchets up the request. She immediately went back to Herod and not only asked for John’s head but that it be delivered on a platter.
Herod is gutted. And I am sure he is fearful at the request. But he is also a coward. Instead of breaking his foolish vow and calling out the girl for her evil request, he decides it is better to keep the vow and deliver the head. And so, John lost his head. It was put on a platter and delivered to the girl, who gave it to her mother.
As we remember and thank God for John this morning, we consider this morning’s collect. There we asked that the Lord would grant us daily repentance for our sin, that we would patiently suffer for the sake of the truth, and that we would fearlessly bear witness to His victory over death.
John was a preacher of repentance. That meant he called sin what it is: sin. And it did not matter your standing in the community. Slave or royalty, sin has the same result. And it has the same solution: repentance and absolution only through Jesus. John preached the Law to the people. The same Law we find ourselves wanting to keep, but constantly failing to keep. If John was standing where I am today, he would tell you to flee from the coming wrath of God. To bear fruits in keeping with repentance. I hope that this is what you hear from me, even if I am not as fiery in my speech as John was. Perhaps I should take a lesson from him for the future….
John landed in prison because he called out the sin of Herod. Herod had married Herodias, his brother’s wife. This illicit and sinful marriage needed to be repented of. And John was willing to say it. Herodias was furious and wanted John dead. But Herod, wretched as he was, realized that John was righteous and holy. He feared John, and so he protected him. He did not understand John’s preaching, but he was always willing to hear it.
In prison, he patiently suffered for the sake of the truth. And as John once said that he must decrease and Christ must increase, he may have also thought his time on earth was short. After all, he is a prophet. And we know what regularly happens to faithful prophets in the Old Testament.
And so, in time, Herod throws this banquet. The girl who danced and whet the sexual appetites of all the men there was Herodias’ daughter. She was Herod’s stepdaughter. The depravity deepens the more you hear what went on that night. And at the depravity’s height, St. John’s head is placed on a platter. Because he fearlessly bore witness of Christ, he was martyred.
John is one of those coming out of the great tribulation who have had their robes washed not in their own righteousness but in the blood of Christ. You have been washed in the waters of Holy Baptism and were clothed in that same righteousness. As you were united with Him in a death like His, you shall also be united with Him in a resurrection like His. You are raised and made able to walk in the newness of life. To walk in righteousness rather than sin.
This is, again, not your doing. It is the work of God. And it is because of Him that you shall take refuge and not be put to shame. It is why we pray the Lord’s Prayer and commit ourselves to His hands.
It is why we are not only bold to ask Him to grant that we daily repent of our sins, patiently suffer for the sake of the truth, and fearlessly bear witness to His victory over death, but why we are confident that he will grant us this request. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
Encore Post: Three thousand years ago, ten tribes of Israel broke away from King Solomon’s son and formed a new kingdom north of Jerusalem. The kings of the northern tribes built a capital, called Samaria about forty miles north of Jerusalem. When the Assyrian Empire conquered the northern kingdom, they deported many of the Israelites and resettled people from far away places. The Samaritan people were born when Israelites married their captors. The Jewish people considered them as traitors and hated them. The Samaritans hated them in return, especially when Jewish armies destroyed their temple and their city. At the time of Jesus, Jews wanted nothing to do with them. They would avoid even traveling through Samaria, even to go to Jerusalem. The worst thing one Jew could call another was a Samaritan.
One day, an expert in God’s law asked Jesus a traditional question posed to Rabbis: which is the greatest of all commandments? Jesus turned the question around to him. The expert replied with the commandments to love God and to love neighbor as yourself. Jesus agreed and told him to do these and he would inherit eternal life. So, the expert asked Jesus who is our neighbor. Jesus’ answer was the story we call the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37)
In this story, the two kinds of people you would expect would help you were priests and Levites. They led worship in the temple, where God showed His love for His people by forgiving their sins. They did not want to become unclean by touching a dead person. So they did not help the injured man. But the Samaritan felt very sorry for him, cared for him and paid a lot of money to see that he was cared for until the day he recovered.
Jesus asked the expert which of these three was a neighbor to the injured man. He answered, “The one who showed mercy.” Jesus told him to do the same. As sinners, we will fail to do this perfectly. Yet as Christians, the church responds to the love of God in Christ, has reached out in mercy to those who suffer with countless needs over two thousand years. We remember that Jesus responded to our greatest need by suffering and dying that we might be saved and inherit eternal life. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we reach out to care for those who need us the most to show them the mercy God showed us.
Dear saints, as you near Sioux Falls on 115, there is a sign on the west side of the road you may have noticed. It reads something like, “Pray for us immaculate heart of Mary.” It is sponsored by a Roman Catholic organization, but I do not recall which one. It is a pious request, but it is, at best, misguided. First, the heart of St. Mary was not immaculate. It was stained by sin, just like yours and mine. And second, she is not a mediator for us. She is the mother of our Mediator. Consider what the Augsburg Confession says:
Concerning the cult of the saints our people teach that the saints are to be remembered so that we may strengthen our faith when we see how they experienced grace and how they were helped by faith. Moreover, it is taught that each person, according to his or her calling, should take the saints’ good works as an example … However, it cannot be demonstrated from Scripture that a person should call upon the saints or seek help from them. “For there is only one single reconciler and mediator set up between God and humanity, Jesus Christ.” He is the only savior, the only high priest, the mercy seat, and intercessor before God. He alone has promised to hear our prayers. According to Scripture, in all our needs and concerns it is the highest worship to seek and call upon this same Jesus Christ with our whole heart. (AC XXI)
It is one thing for a governor or president to consider the good example of King David as they rule. It is another for them to ask him to intercede or help them. Similarly, it is good for a pastor to consider the words and recorded actions of Sts. Paul or Peter, yet it would not be good for them to ask them to reveal anything through direct mediation and extra-biblical sources.
With this in mind, we consider this morning St. Mary, the mother of our Lord. She is a young virgin, engaged to a righteous man named Joseph. She is visited by the angel Gabriel and told that she shall bear the long-awaited Messiah. And she responds in faith: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” She then travels to her relative Elizabeth’s house, whose account we heard a few moments ago.
The bulk of the lesson is Mary’s response not only to her interaction with Elizabeth but going back also to the visit from Gabriel. It comes after what may be the most important words we heard this morning, from the mouth of St. Elizabeth: “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
This, dear saints, is why we remember Mary today. Not because of a supposed immaculate conception. Not because she is a co-mediator or co-redemptrix. Rather, because she believed in the promises of God and the words of Gabriel. She does not regard herself as anything special on her own account. Instead, she considers herself as a slave to the Lord. She realizes her humble estate. But she recognizes that God has looked upon her with favor and done mighty and great things for her. She recognizes that the child she carries is the promised seed we hear of in Genesis 3.
Mary, like you and me, were born under the Law. We found ourselves by nature condemned under that Law. And we needed a Savior from that Law. And in the fullness of time, that Savior is sent. God sends forth His Son, born of a woman. And that Son redeems those who under that Law. Mary. You. Me.
In Holy Baptism, He claims you as His own and adopts you as His own son. He has sent His Holy Spirit into your heart. You may now call Him your Heavenly Father. Therefore, rather than a slave to sin, you are a son. You are an heir to the Kingdom through the work of God. Because of the work of Christ, you may sing along with Mary. You may claim that He has done great things for you.
In his commentary on Luke, Dr. Arthur Just writes, “The proper honor and praise of Mary has as its cornerstone the church’s imitation of the faith of Mary.” In Mary, we see a humble servant of God. When an angel brings news that turns her world upside down, she does not despair or doubt. Instead, she accepts God’s will in wonder, for she knows it is only the power and work of God that can accomplish Gabriel’s words. She rejoices and worships God for what He has done for her.
And today, we rejoice not only with Mary but with Cody. For Cody, like you and me and Mary, is also a humble servant of God. He is also redeemed by the Blood of Christ. And this morning, in the presence of God and His Church, he confesses the True Faith as his own. We rejoice in the work of the Holy Spirit in him. And we pray that he will share with us and Mary in the glory of our Father’s eternal kingdom.
Cody, may you continue to grow in faith. May you imitate the faith of Mary, confessing that you, a humble servant, have been shown mercy and redeemed. That you are a son and heir of God. And that He, through His Word and Sacrament, will sustain you in all things needed for life and salvation. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller Peace Lutheran Church Alcester, SD
This great question identifies a conflation of the corrupting force of Original Sin and the brokenness of this fallen creation. It ties-in to the discussion about love is love and homosexual inclinations.
To state it another way, “sin entered the world, and all of the world exhibits brokenness as a result of sin; that brokenness is sin.” The question is a logical fallacy. Sin’s corruption in the world is plainly visible from violence in the animal kingdom to viruses that sicken and kill, from weather disasters to birth defects. These things are not sin, nor are they sinful.
All of the physical weaknesses and brokenness in our flesh are a result of sin entering the world and are part of its curse. “… cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken…” [Genesis 3:17b-19a] Even the ground suffers under the curse of sin without the ability to sin.
Not all of the aspects of the curse of sin in the world and in our bodies are sin. A cleft palate, a club foot, phenylketonuria, etc.; these are examples of the brokenness of creation caused by sin’s curse on the world. They are not sin, nor are they sinful.
Sin is, however, in the things we do. And we are inclined to sin from our birth. Each of us suffers differently with the sinful inclination of our corrupted nature. Some struggle with hatred/murder, some disobedience, and others covetousness. The sin confusing our culture most today is the sin of adultery. God created us man and woman. God has commanded sex as His gift only to those joined together in life-long marriage between a woman and a man.
Our inclinations to live life outside of God’s commandments are sinful. We are to turn from that sin in ourselves. We are to condemn sin in the world too. Love of our neighbor can never excuse sin. Love of our neighbor can never embrace sin and call it righteous.
That’s not end of it either. Jesus came into the world to save us from sin and from its curse. “For our sake [the Father] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” [2 Corinthians 5:21] Forgiveness in Jesus is freedom from sin. That’s exact opposite of calling sin righteousness. He gives us forgiveness and faith that pursues righteousness.
The modern virtue of acceptance fights against the faith in us that wants to flee from sin. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who have died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” [Romans 6:1-4]
Jesus forgiving sin and driving us away from it is the struggle of this life for Christians. We are forgiven. Yet, we still battle within ourselves against sin. We still live in a world broken by the ravages of sin. But, this will be restored on the last day. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.” [Revelation 22:1-3]
In the resurrection even the earth will be restored/recreated from its brokenness. Sin will be wiped away forever. The sin of our deeds in faith is forgiven and will be eradicated from us on that day. The brokenness of creation as a result of sin will also be undone.
Praise be to the God of the resurrection!
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
As a reference librarian, I frequently get asked whether (and where!) Martin Luther said a quotation people claim he said. Most of the time when I am asked to do so, I cannot find a place where he is recorded as saying or writing such a thing. That is not the case with the Luther quote “sin boldly,” which is often used by his opponents to claim Luther rejects God’s law for Christians. The short answer is: yes, he wrote this phrase, but, no, it does not mean what his opponents think it means.
Five hundred years ago today, Luther was living in the Wartburg Castle — kind of as a safe house of sorts — under the name of Junker Jorg. At first he had a difficult time adjusting — his diet switched from that of a monk to that fit for a noble. By August he was settling in. He was far from idle there. Among the things he did was write an incredible number of letters to friends, allies, his prince and others. Few people knew exactly where he was — the letters all went to his friend Georg Spalatin, who was the chancellor for his prince Frederick the Wise. Spalatin then sent them on.
Soon Luther’s friends used the same channel to reply and to ask advice as to how to proceed in his absence. The letter where Luther writes — in Latin — “sin boldly” was penned August 1st, 1521. In it Luther addresses the questions of whether monks should be held to their monastic vows and whether priests should be allowed to marry. Luther criticized these — among other things — as man-made laws. That these were to be valued more highly than God’s Word was a false commandment. To violate them was not a sin but an imaginary sin.
Serious Christians, such as Luther himself, had tortured themselves trying to observe such traditions. They felt great burdens of guilt for breaking these. Apparently Melanchthon and Luther’s allies couldn’t decide whether or not to set these aside. Luther’s advice was not to worry about these so called sins. Be bold to just live their lives, but believe in Christ who forgives sins even more boldly.
In this sinful world, Christians will never be free of sin. As another so-called Luther quote (this one he didn’t likely say) goes: “the Old Adam is a good swimmer.” He is drowning in Baptism, but doesn’t give up without a good fight! As Christians we need to remember to look to Jesus. He bore all our real sins to the cross. There he paid the full price due for our sin and the sins it performs and removes them forever. In Christ we die to rise again on the last day without sin.
So, Luther’s Advice to Melanchthon is good here is how he put it: “If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God’s glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner.”
