“Mixed Messages”
Text: Romans 3:19-28
10-31-2021
In the name of Him who justifies us by His grace, dear friends in Christ. Amen. Before we dive into our sermon text for today, I want to tell you how much I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers while I recuperate from my knee surgery. I’m not joking when I say that I missed you and being in God’s House so much that I just HAD to come to worship last week. I purposely sat in the far back… mainly so I could discover what the attraction is to those pews back there. Here’s a little secret: They aren’t any more comfortable than the ones up front, plus it’s more difficult to hear back there, especially when the Pastor’s microphone quits working. And one more thing. Those of you who sat near me might have seen me grimace several times during the sermon. That wasn’t because of Pastor Christiansen’s message. He did just fine. My knee was aching and I had to keep adjusting it to get comfortable.
Okay, now let’s get into the sermon. As some of you know, I listen to quite a bit of Christian radio; mostly the talk side and not the music. The reason why I do is threefold: #1- When I say that this or that church teaches a doctrine that we Lutherans reject, I have heard it directly from the horse’s mouth and didn’t just assume it. #2- It forces me to dig deeper into the Scriptures to refute their false teachings and warn you about it. 3- There is actually some good stuff that they’re saying and it stimulates my mind with ideas and ways to convey the Gospel more clearly to you. It’s the idea behind that t-shirt the youth sold last year with the Luther quote on it: “Eat the fish and spit out the bones.” Take the good stuff and leave the other junk behind.
Well, about a month ago I was driving down the road, listening to Christian radio. There was a preacher on who actually had a pretty good message. Unfortunately, the signal cuts in and out as I travel northward and it switches between Christian radio and a Rock station. Folks, you can’t make this stuff up. The preacher said something like, “People, this is how we are to live the Christian life…” {scratchy radio static} “And now it’s time to kick back and crack open a cold beer…” I laughed myself silly! But that wasn’t the end of it. A few minutes later when the signal switched back, this preacher was still talking. Suddenly the Rock station overlapped him again with the song “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne. I promise you; I’m not making this up. The line in the song screamed out, “I’ve listened to preachers, I’ve listened to fools…” I had another laughing fit that almost forced me off the road.
Now, aside from that being a funny story, I got to thinking that it’s also a great illustration for us this morning as we celebrate Reformation Sunday. It summarizes the problem that Martin Luther was so concerned with. The Christian Church was sending out mixed messages. The doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Jesus was being drowned out by the manmade doctrine of human works as the means of salvation. Instead of God’s grace being totally sufficient, it got dubbed over with the message of our own merits adding to that grace. The Bible’s clear signal that heaven and eternal life are a free gift was garbled by the Church’s offer to let you pay for your forgiveness and entrance into heaven. That’s what the sale of indulgences was all about. It was the tipping point for Luther. As he dug deeper, his eyes were opened to the other mixed-up messages the Church was sending, which were at variance with the Scriptures.
It may be funny when radio signals get crossed, but this was no laughing matter. Souls were being misled by it and their salvation was put into jeopardy. Contrary to what you may have heard, Luther wasn’t angling for some high position in the Church. Nor was he trying to form his own church body with him as the head honcho. No. His sincere hope was that the theologians and priests in the Church would tune their doctrine back to the clear message of God’s pure Word. Sadly, the powers that be wouldn’t tolerate it. To use my earlier illustration, they were so used to listening to the Rock station that they were convinced that all else was heretical static.
Thankfully, Luther was willing to fight for what he believed. He had experienced the freedom of the Gospel that had unloosed the chains of guilt he had felt. He had tried and tried to do it by himself with his own good deeds and merit but it didn’t work. His slavery to sin only intensified. But then he began studying the Book of Romans and suddenly it was like his prison cell was unlocked. That crisp and clear message of Christ’s forgiveness spoke peace to his tortured soul. It was exhilarating to finally be set free by the love of Jesus and so he wanted everyone else to be liberated in the same way.
Okay, but what was it about St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans that was so spiritually freeing for Luther (and others)? Well, this is where it’s helpful for us to understand a little background. Paul had not met the Christians at Rome at this point in time. He wasn’t the one who had converted them. Nothing wrong with that. But it explains Paul’s approach when he wrote to them. Unlike his other letters, he wasn’t addressing a controversy or some theological question that had arisen. However, Paul was fully aware of the mixed messages that were floating in and around that group of believers. That’s because he knew human nature. As one of my Seminary Professors used to say, “Human nature ALWAYS gravitates towards the Law and good works.” This congregation at Rome was a mixture of former Jews and Gentile converts. But they had one thing in common. Their human nature would gravitate towards the Law of good works for their salvation. So, from beginning to end in this letter, Paul is showing them that this is a bunch of static which mixes up and garbles the message and method of salvation found in God’s Word.
Loud and clear Paul states in verse 20, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His {God’s} sight…” That is the naked truth for anyone and everyone. You can’t get to heaven by trying to keep God’s Law or by the manmade Law of “being a good person.” The reason for this is spelled out in verses 22–23, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” In other words, even if you could be saved by the Law, no one can keep it perfectly so we all fall short. It doesn’t matter if you did better at it than me. We’re all in the same boat and we’re all sunk because God demands a 100% perfection.
Paul then goes on to explain that it’s purely by God’s grace that we’re saved. And we receive that grace via the conduit of our faith. Verse 28 was one of the main passages in Romans that unlocked Luther’s dungeon of despair. “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” The burden of living a perfect life, which none of us could possibly do, has been lifted. If we trust in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross to pay the penalty for all our Law breaking, then we are free. If we receive that gift of grace, we are then free from the threat of righteous punishment from God. The death sentence of eternal damnation has been lifted from us. That’s what Paul was proclaiming in his clear, ungarbled message, which was meant to drown out all the static of our sinful world and fallen human nature.
Folks, if that pure and clear message could get mixed up and dubbed over with false doctrine back in Paul’s day, and in Luther’s day, what makes you think it can’t or doesn’t happen today? It does! And it’s incumbent on us to watch out for anything that might garble the message of God’s pure Word of salvation by grace. The tricky part is that mixed messages creep in subtly. My job as your Pastor is to warn you about them; as I have and as I will continue to do. Whether you know it or not, you’re exposed to various false doctrines through your family, friends, and neighbors. For example, if anyone tries convincing you that your Baptism was not valid and you need another go at it, run from that false doctrine. It’s static that muffles God’s grace in Baptism by basing forgiveness and faith on your actions. There’s also a form of preaching out there called the social Gospel. Its main focus is on tolerance and love. So, things like the LGBTQ lifestyle and premarital sex are to be accepted and celebrated, but never proclaimed as damning sins in need of repentance. Run from that false doctrine too. On the other hand, are the purveyors of salvation by means of moralism. One of my Pastor friends who wasn’t raised Lutheran said their mantra was, “Don’t drink, smoke, or chew and don’t go out with girls that do.” There’s nothing wrong with trying to live a life pleasing to God, but you will muffle the message of justification if you believe that avoiding certain activities will win you brownie points with God.
To be fair, at times we Lutherans in the Missouri Synod send out mixed messages too. LCMS Church ‘A’ adheres to our Synod’s professed doctrine on living together being a sin and that we should all practice Closed Communion. But go down the road a little ways and LCMS Church ‘B’ pretty much throws those agreed upon beliefs out the window. Why? In favor of a supposedly more “loving and welcoming” atmosphere. God’s clear message is being muffled by worldliness that’s more concerned with being liked than with the “unpopular” truth of God’s Word. It sends a mixed message.
And what about your own life? Are you sending out mixed messages? You say you love the Lord and yet your zeal for being in worship is easily diverted by other activities. You avoid getting involved at your congregation because your life is already too full. Your offerings to God are hit and miss rather than being a sincere desire to show gratitude for all He’s given you. Bible Studies and fellowship activities are for others, but not you. How about your language or your temper or your willingness to forgive others? Is it identical with what you see coming from your unsaved neighbor? In all these ways we’re sending a mixed message to the people around us.
Our only hope is to turn to Jesus. Admit to Him that you’re a sinner who has fallen WAY short of the mark. Admit that you can’t save yourself. Confess to Him that you’ve listened to some of these confusing messages that distort His offer of forgiveness. And then ask God to clear the air with His pure Word. Ask Him to make you clean and justify you by the merits of Christ alone. By doing so you will experience that same unshackled freedom that Luther felt. Your soul will be set free to willingly serve the Lord in your life. And your soul will hunger regularly to be fed with the heavenly food of God’s Word and Sacrament. May the clear message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, found in Scripture alone be in our hearts and on our lips and seen in our actions. May God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen!
Soli Deo Gloria!