Today we remember October 31, 1517, the day when Martin Luther, monk and priest, posted 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. With this act began the movement known as the Reformation of the Church.
In those days, the Church was plagued by corruption and false doctrine. Most ordinary Christians did not have translations of the Bible in their own languages and their knowledge of the Bible was very limited. Sadly, the ignorance and superstition was shared by priests and bishops as well. Nearly all of Christendom had forgottten the most precious doctrine of the Bible: Justificación by faith. The Reformation was a restoration of this central doctrine.
The authorities in Rome were selling papers called "indulgences" to raise funds for the renovation of the Basilica of St. Peter, which still stands in Rome to this day. There was much poverty in Europe at that time, but the Pope and his priests were focused on grand buildings and their own authority.
Indulgences were based on the following false teaching: Sure, there is salvation and forgiveness of sins in Christ, but only in part. If you believe in Christ and are willing to be baptized, you may avoid eternity in hell, but you still will not have the full assurance of eternal life with Christ. You must pay for your venial sins in Purgatory before your entrance into heaven. Supposedly, the Roman church had the authority to shorten the time of punishment in Purgatory for you, your friends or family if you would purchase an indulgence.
Luther wrote in his 95 Theses that this doctrine and the practice of selling indulgences was completely contrary to the Bible. The Word of God does not speak of purgatory, only of salvation and damnation. And the promise of salvation is unconditional. As our epistle for today (Romans 3:21-28) says:
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
The forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ is complete and lasts forever. We have the full assurance of eternal life immediately in our baptism. If we fall into sin afterwards, we have only to remember our baptism, confess our sins and receive the absolution of God, and the strengthening of our faith in the Lord's Supper. God has done everything for us. It is not necessary to pay the Church any sum of money, repeat the Our Father or Hail Mary, or make a pilgrimage to Rome.
This is the liberty that our Lord Jesus Christ speaks of in today's Gospel. "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free." What is this truth? That God so loved the world that He sent His only-begotten Son into the world in order to save it. This truth frees us from the most profound slavery, the slavery to sin.
Sin is not simply human error, it is an enslaving force. Sinners are addicted to sin. They receive less and less satisfaction from their wicked desires, their lives may be totally destroyed, yet they cannot stop sinning.
Furthermore, they have no hope of eternal life, only the expectation of damnation and eternal death. Therefore, in his desperation, the sinner falls more deeply into sin.
However, in Jesus Christ we have a second opportunity to live lives of righteousness and love, free of desperation, lies, anger and fear, rather lives full of joy, hope and faith. This is the spiritual liberty of which Jesus speaks to us.
Many of Jesus' listeners did not understand. They thought He was talking about political liberty. "We are descendents of Abraham and we have never served anyone. How can you say, we will be free?" Note their self-deception. At that time, the Jews were subjects of the Roman Empire. Their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt and subjects of other conquerors: Babylonia, Assyria, Persia, Greece. Political liberty is a blessing from God. Often the Jews lost their political liberty because of their unfaithfulness and ingratitude toward God.
Spiritual liberty is the better gift. We may have spiritual liberty in Christ in the absence of political liberty, wealth, happy marriages, children or whatever other blessings that we may ask of God. But without the promise of salvation in Christ, the happiness we experience in these other blessings will not last. Without the hope and faith in eternal life, we cannot be happy with anything.
Let us give thanks to God for the rediscovery of the doctrine of justification by faith during the Reformation. Let us give thanks for the invention of the moveable-type printing press that allowed every to read the Scriptures for themselves. Let us give thanks for our schools where we learn to read. And let us give thanks for our confirmands, Yovany Javier Torres Ortega, and Dexi Yovana Torres Ortega, who today will reaffirm that they have received the most precious gift of salvation in their baptisms. Amen.
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