WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:03.950 We live in a world that loves freedom or at least 00:00:03.950 --> 00:00:08.529 the idea of freedom Every new thing promises 00:00:08.529 --> 00:00:11.769 to set us free free from inconvenience free from 00:00:11.769 --> 00:00:16.629 waiting free from limits Think about your phone 00:00:16.629 --> 00:00:20.589 for a second And I say that loosely because I'm 00:00:20.589 --> 00:00:23.210 sure many of you do think of your phone every 00:00:23.210 --> 00:00:26.589 second when smartphones first came out They promised 00:00:26.589 --> 00:00:31.219 us freedom freedom to work anywhere, talk to 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:36.200 anyone from anywhere, access anything right there 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:41.619 in your hand, and it felt amazing at first. But 00:00:41.619 --> 00:00:45.399 now, you can't leave home without it. You can't 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:48.359 even leave the room without it. Even walking 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:51.619 away from it and knowing it's there instead of 00:00:51.619 --> 00:00:55.240 in your hand or in your pocket is kind of cringy. 00:00:55.460 --> 00:00:58.119 I mean, you're like, something does not feel 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:01.340 right. If you've misplaced it for five minutes 00:01:01.340 --> 00:01:04.579 and you start to feel your heart racing a little 00:01:04.579 --> 00:01:06.799 bit. Can you call my phone? Can you call my phone? 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:09.359 Call my phone? Yeah, check the hook. There's 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:11.280 a little tracker. Check it. Let's find out where 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:15.739 it is. And worst of all, it buzzes in your pocket, 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:20.099 hopefully only buzzing during worship, and you 00:01:20.099 --> 00:01:22.640 have to check it. But then you find out that 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:26.180 there wasn't even anything buzzing. It was a 00:01:26.180 --> 00:01:29.700 phantom vibration. Your brain is so trained to 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:32.060 expect that little jolt that it kind of makes 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:36.640 one up in your head. See, the irony is that the 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:40.359 thing that's promised to set us free has actually 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:46.040 made us slaves. Slaves to notifications, slaves 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:49.180 to comparing ourselves to other people on social 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:52.980 media. Slaves to the constant need to respond 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:55.200 because well if I don't respond they'll think 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:58.200 I'm ignoring them and Heaven forbid if you lead 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:03.700 someone on red That's exactly the kind of slavery 00:02:03.700 --> 00:02:07.780 Jesus talks about is not physical chains But 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:11.259 the invisible ones the habits the the voices 00:02:11.259 --> 00:02:15.000 the expectations that start running our lives 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.659 While we tell ourselves. Oh, we're the ones who 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:21.879 are really in control We say, I'm free, but we 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:23.740 can't even set the phone down long enough to 00:02:23.740 --> 00:02:27.150 look someone in the eye. Could you imagine? If 00:02:27.150 --> 00:02:29.629 the apostles had smartphones and Peter would 00:02:29.629 --> 00:02:32.409 have been scrolling while Jesus is out on the 00:02:32.409 --> 00:02:35.129 water, I mean, we know how that turned out already. 00:02:35.349 --> 00:02:37.849 Could you imagine, it's like, hey guys, Peter 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:40.949 here, hanging out with the Messiah. Hey, here's 00:02:40.949 --> 00:02:43.590 my bro, what's up? Yeah, I know, this is like 00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:46.689 so cool, everybody, right? Ah, wait, oh, what's 00:02:46.689 --> 00:02:48.949 he doing? I don't know. Hey, let's get out on 00:02:48.949 --> 00:02:54.270 the water, everybody. Why am I sinking? That 00:02:54.270 --> 00:03:01.090 was painful to do, by the way. You know, it's 00:03:01.090 --> 00:03:05.310 a modern parable of the same truth. When we serve 00:03:05.310 --> 00:03:08.849 the wrong master, even one that looks good, we 00:03:08.849 --> 00:03:12.490 end up losing the very freedom that we were chasing. 00:03:12.909 --> 00:03:15.789 And that's what Jesus means when he says, everyone 00:03:15.789 --> 00:03:18.870 who sins is a slave to sin, is that we don't 00:03:18.870 --> 00:03:22.270 even notice when the chains are on us. When we're 00:03:22.270 --> 00:03:25.639 comfortable. when something's familiar, when 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:29.960 something's convenient, until we realize that 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:33.120 those things may be keeping us from the life 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:37.580 that we're actually meant to have. We live in 00:03:37.580 --> 00:03:41.599 a world that loves freedom, but maybe it's just 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:45.039 the idea of it. You can tell because every commercial 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.639 promises to set you free, free from wrinkles, 00:03:47.979 --> 00:03:50.340 free from cable, free from that three -year phone 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:53.759 contract that you swore you'd never sign again. 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:58.759 And even if I go, freedom, half of you know exactly 00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:02.580 which movie I'm talking about. But have you noticed 00:04:02.580 --> 00:04:05.840 how the things that promise to set us free often 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:09.900 end up owning us? When Jesus says in John 8, 00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:12.240 if the Son sets you free, you'll be free indeed, 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:15.780 he's talking about something deeper. The kind 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:19.519 of freedom we don't even know that we need. Because 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:22.459 the truth is, most of us don't believe we're 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:25.379 captives in the first place. When Jesus told 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:27.459 the crowd, you will know the truth and the truth 00:04:27.459 --> 00:04:30.259 will set you free, how did they respond? They 00:04:30.259 --> 00:04:33.300 answered, we've never been slaves to anyone. 00:04:34.829 --> 00:04:37.829 even ignoring the fact that there was the whole 00:04:37.829 --> 00:04:42.350 history in Egypt, isn't that the human condition 00:04:42.350 --> 00:04:45.870 in a nutshell? We don't want to believe that 00:04:45.870 --> 00:04:50.069 we are ever the ones who need saving. The Jewish 00:04:50.069 --> 00:04:52.389 people were chosen by God to be a light to the 00:04:52.389 --> 00:04:56.029 nations, but over time, they started to treat 00:04:56.029 --> 00:05:00.009 that privilege as a guarantee, instead of as 00:05:00.009 --> 00:05:04.899 a privilege. Instead of as a Responsibility. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.160 They thought because we're Abraham's children, 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:10.800 we're already right with God. Everything's fine. 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:13.500 But Jesus was showing them that being God's people, 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:16.959 it doesn't mean being free from sin. It means 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:21.079 being called to trust God for freedom from sin. 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:24.899 Their identity became a source of pride rather 00:05:24.899 --> 00:05:29.379 than humility. They relied on who they were outwardly 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:32.600 instead of on what God was doing inside them. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.040 They were faithful to the law on the outside, 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.459 but their focus on rules and traditions gave 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:42.680 them a false sense of freedom from the world 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:47.199 around them. They felt free because they didn't 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:51.439 bow down to the Roman idols. They felt free because 00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:54.279 they didn't eat the Gentile food or break the 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:57.740 Sabbath, but inside they were still enslaved. 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:03.120 Inside, they were still slaves to judging others, 00:06:03.980 --> 00:06:06.720 comparing themselves to others, being afraid 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:10.220 of something making them unclean, and the need 00:06:10.220 --> 00:06:14.000 to somehow prove themselves worthy. Their national 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.379 and spiritual pride made it almost impossible 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:19.259 for them to see that they were in need of grace. 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:22.819 They looked at the Gentiles and thought, they're 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:28.060 the sinners, we're the righteous. They made repentance 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:31.500 hard because Repentance would mean admitting, 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:35.720 I need saving too. So when Jesus came offering 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:40.480 freedom, they resisted because they didn't think 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:43.800 they needed saving. They just wanted to be vindicated 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:47.579 for their actions and attitudes. Their ego told 00:06:47.579 --> 00:06:51.779 them, we're already fine. No wonder they were 00:06:51.779 --> 00:06:53.720 offended when Jesus told them, you're slaves, 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:58.120 but I came to truly make you free. Jesus saw 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:00.699 through it all. And he wasn't saying that following 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:04.660 the law was wrong. He was revealing that keeping 00:07:04.660 --> 00:07:08.620 the law without knowing we need God is just another 00:07:08.620 --> 00:07:12.379 form of bondage. Believing that we're only free 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:15.300 because we look different from everyone around 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:19.680 us. That's not freedom. See, they wanted to appear 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.759 righteous more than they wanted to be righteous. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.759 Did you catch that? They wanted to appear righteous. 00:07:27.129 --> 00:07:32.870 more than they wanted to be righteous. They kept 00:07:32.870 --> 00:07:36.529 the external stuff, the tithing and the sacrifice 00:07:36.529 --> 00:07:39.129 and the purity rituals, but they ignored the 00:07:39.129 --> 00:07:41.750 inner corruption that Jesus was exposing. And 00:07:41.750 --> 00:07:43.990 when He said, the truth will set you free, it 00:07:43.990 --> 00:07:47.089 wasn't just these abstract ideas. He meant, if 00:07:47.089 --> 00:07:52.509 you'll face the truth about your sin, then you 00:07:52.509 --> 00:07:57.500 can truly be free of it through Me. See, true 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:00.480 freedom, it's not about your background or your 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:02.779 religious practices or your self -discipline. 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:07.899 It's found in belonging to Christ. Freedom is 00:08:07.899 --> 00:08:10.139 not the absence of authority. It's making sure 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:14.240 we belong to the right master. But facing the 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:19.939 truth, it requires humility. Pride can make that 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:24.240 humility unbearable. Today, many people believe 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:25.920 they're free because they can do whatever they 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.120 want. We can scroll when we want. We can post 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:31.660 when we want. We can buy what we want. But in 00:08:31.660 --> 00:08:35.279 reality, our habits, our approval seeking, our 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:39.480 screens, all those things own us. It was hilarious 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.340 when somebody sent a video that somebody said, 00:08:42.620 --> 00:08:45.299 hey, I'm going to let you all know. Did you know 00:08:45.299 --> 00:08:50.549 that Apple Pay is not free? Because apparently 00:08:50.549 --> 00:08:52.750 people don't understand how credit cards work. 00:08:54.309 --> 00:08:56.450 Just when we think we understand what freedom 00:08:56.450 --> 00:09:00.529 is, there's something still trying to bind us. 00:09:01.490 --> 00:09:04.889 But you see, we're not free when we keep being 00:09:04.889 --> 00:09:08.690 addicted to distraction. Because we're distracted 00:09:08.690 --> 00:09:11.470 from reality in exchange for self -confidence. 00:09:12.350 --> 00:09:15.929 We are happy to be distracted from reality because 00:09:15.929 --> 00:09:19.149 in exchange, we get to always have self -confidence. 00:09:20.400 --> 00:09:23.440 But that's the part that Jesus has to confront 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:27.679 See the Jews pride in being chosen kept them 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:32.080 enslaved to sin just like we today Have our pride 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:35.100 in being independent and it keeps us enslaved 00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:39.820 ourselves and our own emotions and struggles 00:09:39.820 --> 00:09:41.980 Paul was getting at the same thing in his letter 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:44.200 to the Romans all have sinned and fall short 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:46.480 of the glory of God You can't be set free if 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:48.659 you don't believe you're captive in the first 00:09:48.659 --> 00:09:51.820 place And that's not just the first century pride, 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:55.399 that's us. We say, I'm not perfect, but I'm not 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:58.399 a bad person. We say, I make mistakes, but I'm 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.940 not a sinner. That's exactly the trap that Jesus 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:07.000 and Paul are warning us about. But let's say, 00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:11.360 though, that so many of you are fully capable 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:15.799 and good with understanding you're sinful. You 00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:20.590 need God's grace, truly. That's good. But, what 00:10:20.590 --> 00:10:24.250 happens if we finally face our brokenness, but 00:10:24.250 --> 00:10:27.110 we don't realize that the grace of God is free? 00:10:28.590 --> 00:10:31.250 That's where we find ourselves today with Reformation 00:10:31.250 --> 00:10:33.769 Sunday, where we see Martin Luther and where 00:10:33.769 --> 00:10:37.309 he found himself. That guy had issues. Y 'all 00:10:37.309 --> 00:10:41.549 gotta just be honest, okay? He had this constant 00:10:41.549 --> 00:10:43.309 sense of understanding that there was something 00:10:43.309 --> 00:10:46.710 wrong inside of him, but he couldn't fix it. 00:10:46.809 --> 00:10:51.009 He prayed constantly. He fasted regularly. He 00:10:51.009 --> 00:10:54.909 kept confessing so many minute little things 00:10:54.909 --> 00:10:57.669 to his confessor that the confessor finally looked 00:10:57.669 --> 00:10:59.970 at him and said, Martin, stop coming in here 00:10:59.970 --> 00:11:02.169 until you actually commit a sin worth confessing. 00:11:03.590 --> 00:11:05.429 Yeah, that's a problem I don't think many of 00:11:05.429 --> 00:11:09.309 us have today. Luther's problem wasn't that he 00:11:09.309 --> 00:11:12.370 didn't take God seriously. It was that he didn't 00:11:12.370 --> 00:11:16.090 yet understand how seriously God took grace. 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:19.480 He thought the gospel was about God demanding 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:22.340 more and more through the religious teachers 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:24.460 he'd been taught to follow without question. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.980 Until he realized that righteousness is not something 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:32.399 we earn, it's something we receive. When Luther 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.279 read Romans 3, we hold that a person is justified 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:38.799 by faith apart from works of the law. He said 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:41.399 it felt like the gates of paradise were opened. 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:44.440 He discovered the freedom that Jesus was talking 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:49.649 about. not freedom from effort, but freedom from 00:11:49.649 --> 00:11:54.490 fear. Not freedom from being right, but rather 00:11:54.490 --> 00:11:58.990 freedom to be loved. See, that's the thing about 00:11:58.990 --> 00:12:02.870 this is Luther, nailing those 95 theses to the 00:12:02.870 --> 00:12:05.169 door in Wittenberg, he wasn't trying to start 00:12:05.169 --> 00:12:08.210 a revolution for the world. He was more like 00:12:08.210 --> 00:12:11.110 posting on the community bulletin board. It was 00:12:11.110 --> 00:12:13.690 sort of like the Facebook wall of 1517. Boom, 00:12:13.690 --> 00:12:17.269 boom, boom. See, he didn't mean to go viral. 00:12:18.110 --> 00:12:20.250 But that's exactly what happened. He was the 00:12:20.250 --> 00:12:23.090 first person to break the internet, or at least 00:12:23.090 --> 00:12:27.429 the printing press. That wasn't my joke. Someone 00:12:27.429 --> 00:12:29.690 had it on the internet. I swear it was their 00:12:29.690 --> 00:12:32.809 idea, not mine. But you see, here's the part 00:12:32.809 --> 00:12:36.610 we often miss. The strongest backlash didn't 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:40.490 come from the outsiders. It came from within. 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:43.990 From the very people who claimed to stand for 00:12:43.990 --> 00:12:47.190 the same faith. It wasn't the atheists or the 00:12:47.190 --> 00:12:50.269 pagans who called the free grace of the gospel 00:12:50.269 --> 00:12:54.549 dangerous. It was other believers. It was other 00:12:54.549 --> 00:12:57.529 church leaders. They were the ones who were the 00:12:57.529 --> 00:13:00.090 most offended by his insistence on returning 00:13:00.090 --> 00:13:04.570 to grace and scripture. They thought he was tearing 00:13:04.570 --> 00:13:06.409 down the faith when in reality he was trying 00:13:06.409 --> 00:13:10.470 to bring people back to its foundation. And that 00:13:10.470 --> 00:13:13.370 tension, speaking truth that your community doesn't 00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:15.970 want to hear, is what led to the diet of worms. 00:13:16.929 --> 00:13:19.470 That's where Luther stands before the emperors, 00:13:19.610 --> 00:13:23.429 the bishops, the scholars, and he refuses to 00:13:23.429 --> 00:13:28.029 recant. He refuses to change. What began as a 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:31.289 simple post to the church wall became a moment 00:13:31.289 --> 00:13:33.769 for the whole world to hear the gospel again. 00:13:34.929 --> 00:13:37.710 That we're saved by grace alone. Through faith 00:13:37.710 --> 00:13:41.669 alone, in Christ alone. See, because once you 00:13:41.669 --> 00:13:45.049 know that grace is for you, you can finally stop 00:13:45.049 --> 00:13:49.669 pretending that you don't need it. You can stop 00:13:49.669 --> 00:13:53.450 defending your image and start living in freedom. 00:13:54.549 --> 00:13:56.230 Because you don't have to be afraid of others 00:13:56.230 --> 00:13:58.909 discovering you're just as sinful as they are. 00:14:00.009 --> 00:14:03.490 Surprise! You can stop pretending that you're 00:14:03.490 --> 00:14:06.470 someone that you aren't. And you have finally 00:14:06.470 --> 00:14:10.129 been loved and respected for who you are. A child 00:14:10.129 --> 00:14:13.669 of God saved by grace. And friends, we're not 00:14:13.669 --> 00:14:16.710 that different today. The church still likes 00:14:16.710 --> 00:14:19.570 to think it's the hero in the story. That we're 00:14:19.570 --> 00:14:22.250 the ones always setting people free and fixing 00:14:22.250 --> 00:14:25.649 the world and saving the culture. We imagine 00:14:25.649 --> 00:14:28.950 that if we just get everything right, the perfect 00:14:28.950 --> 00:14:31.409 theology, the perfect platform, the perfect social 00:14:31.409 --> 00:14:34.129 posturing, then everything will finally be set 00:14:34.129 --> 00:14:36.429 straight. But y 'all, that's not the gospel. 00:14:36.850 --> 00:14:41.350 And it never was. We don't set people right or 00:14:41.350 --> 00:14:45.070 free by proving we're right. We set people free 00:14:45.070 --> 00:14:48.629 by confessing we're wrong. And that we've needed 00:14:48.629 --> 00:14:52.250 forgiveness too. Because if grace isn't for sinners, 00:14:52.370 --> 00:14:57.309 it isn't for anybody. Power comes not by flaunting 00:14:57.309 --> 00:15:00.289 our sinfulness, but by humbly admitting it to 00:15:00.289 --> 00:15:03.360 be true and that it doesn't take away are worth 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:07.500 in God's eyes. Researcher Brene Brown became 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:11.879 famous not by projecting strength, but by admitting 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:16.320 weakness. When critics mocked Tay -Tay, Taylor 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:18.940 Swift, for dating too much and writing breakup 00:15:18.940 --> 00:15:21.720 songs, she started writing more of them, and 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:24.259 even poked fun at the criticism by saying, I'll 00:15:24.259 --> 00:15:27.000 just write a song about it. By naming the narrative 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:30.080 herself, she took control of it. And for all 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:34.940 of my rap, friends in the crowd. Eminem won the 00:15:34.940 --> 00:15:37.820 rap battle in Eight Mile by dissing himself before 00:15:37.820 --> 00:15:40.899 his opponent had the chance. He took away the 00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:44.340 enemy's power by owning his flaws. You see, the 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:47.200 greatest sins are not from those who admit their 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.820 flaws, but from those who continue to avoid taking 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:54.159 ownership and then continue doing the exact same 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:57.480 things. And the church still doubles down on 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:01.720 its mistakes today. If I were to say, what about 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:05.080 the church would ever deny grace to those who 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:07.799 are in need, we would say, could you imagine? 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:11.500 But could you imagine a church withholding baptism 00:16:11.500 --> 00:16:14.500 because they couldn't do it their usual way? 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:18.379 I was called into a hospital yesterday morning 00:16:18.379 --> 00:16:22.720 for a teenage girl who has such advanced brain 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:27.080 cancer that she's barely conscious. She's been 00:16:27.080 --> 00:16:31.259 wanting to be baptized for some time, but because 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:33.519 her church couldn't fully immerse her in a tub, 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:38.860 they wouldn't do it. They wanted it their way, 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:43.700 and there was no room for anything else. But 00:16:43.700 --> 00:16:47.759 since baptism, baptizo, is any washing with water, 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:51.019 her mother brought me into the room, and I freely 00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:53.639 dripped the waters of baptism on her head, in 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:55.259 the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy 00:16:55.259 --> 00:17:00.820 Spirit. Because it wasn't about whether she was 00:17:00.820 --> 00:17:03.500 able to do something well enough, and it wasn't 00:17:03.500 --> 00:17:06.839 about whether or not even at that moment she 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:11.900 could even speak all the words herself. The only 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:14.859 freedom to truly matter is the freedom to bring 00:17:14.859 --> 00:17:18.039 the gospel to those who need it. Because we might 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:20.299 not be buying indulgences anymore thinking we 00:17:20.299 --> 00:17:23.039 can buy our forgiveness with money. but we so 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:25.059 often come up with our own versions of how to 00:17:25.059 --> 00:17:27.619 make ourselves feel that we've justified ourselves 00:17:27.619 --> 00:17:31.099 in God's eyes, while completely missing how God's 00:17:31.099 --> 00:17:34.000 grace is something we all need, and that God 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:36.619 freely gives to us all without our best efforts. 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:39.960 The Reformation began when someone dared to say, 00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:44.279 no more self -justification, only grace by God's 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:48.039 justification. Someone once said the Reformation 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:50.140 began when Luther realized that the word repent 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:53.910 didn't mean do penance, but rather meant to turn 00:17:53.910 --> 00:17:58.670 around. And that's what we need to do. Honestly, 00:17:58.809 --> 00:18:01.630 that's good news for people like me. Because 00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:03.470 sometimes I need to turn around three or four 00:18:03.470 --> 00:18:06.150 times a day, or even just three or four times 00:18:06.150 --> 00:18:10.210 when I'm just even up here. And frankly, I get 00:18:10.210 --> 00:18:14.529 busy because I need it a lot. But every time 00:18:14.529 --> 00:18:17.490 we're willing to turn around, we find that Christ 00:18:17.490 --> 00:18:20.289 is already there. Not with the list of what we 00:18:20.289 --> 00:18:22.230 owe, or how to convince Him to accept us, but 00:18:22.230 --> 00:18:27.049 with open arms and a finished cross. So may today, 00:18:27.650 --> 00:18:29.970 Reformation Sunday, not just be a history lesson, 00:18:30.849 --> 00:18:32.829 but a reminder that the freedom of the Gospel 00:18:32.829 --> 00:18:36.089 is finished in Christ, and everything thereafter 00:18:36.089 --> 00:18:40.349 is freely given in return. Grace is for the sinner 00:18:40.349 --> 00:18:43.170 who knows they need saving. It's for the church 00:18:43.170 --> 00:18:45.950 that admits it's still learning. And it's for 00:18:45.950 --> 00:18:49.990 every one of us who still needs to be reformed 00:18:49.990 --> 00:18:54.990 in the image of Christ by grace alone, through 00:18:54.990 --> 00:19:00.009 faith alone, in Christ alone. Thanks be to God.