Sermon for 5/8/22: Fourth Sunday of Easter

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

No video recording. My apologies.

 
Freed for Submission
I Peter 2:11-20

 

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

 

One of Martin Luther’s earliest and most influential works is called The Freedom of the Christian. In that work, Luther laid out the Biblical case for the Christian life as one that is lived in the joy and freedom of the Gospel, but which at the same time carries certain holy responsibilities. At the very beginning of that work, he says: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” These two statements—and Luther acknowledged this—would seem to contradict each other. However, through a careful reading of Holy Scripture, they are found to be true. As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.” And this was based on that great truth that, though Jesus Christ was Lord of all, He came as the Servant of all, to redeem this world from sin. In our Epistle reading, Peter is making the same case. We are free Christian people, but our freedom also binds us to an obligation of love for God and for our neighbor.

To be sure, it is a different freedom than we usually think of. For Americans, the word freedom has always had a unique charm about it, something for which we have long been willing to sacrifice much. Christian freedom, however, has to do with another important truth: according to the words of Holy Scripture, Christians are actually “strangers and pilgrims” on this earth, meaning that we are free from certain things to which the children of this world are still bound. We are free from the bondage of the Law, because Christ perfectly kept the Law for us. Salvation is in Christ, whose obedience to the Father’s will is placed into our account. And then, through faith in Him and what He has done, we are accounted as righteous before God.

We are also free from any bondage to sin, for the blood of Christ has cleansed us from sin! Yes, sin remains because we remain bound to these mortal bodies as long as life here lasts. But we live always in the forgiveness of sins. Sin’s condemning power was fully absorbed by Jesus at His cross. And now, for that reason, there is no longer any condemnation for all whose faith is in Jesus Christ and all that He has done to save us.

We are free from bondage to death, for Christ has overcome death. That is what our Lord’s resurrection was all about. How comforting that is. At some time or another, we must all stand at the graveside of a loved one. How final that can seem. To the eyes of our flesh, it appears there that death has won the victory. But eyes of faith see in that grave the tomb of Jesus and the knowledge that His grave did not hold Him. He defeated death. Our graves will not hold us, for on the day of our Lord’s return, He will call us out of those graves to enjoy unending life with Him.

And we are free from the bondage of the devil, for Christ has crushed his power. And that is vitally important to know, isn’t it? As we look around us in this world, we see that the devil’s influence is still significant. Though he has been defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and though he will be finally consigned to the hell which has been prepared for him and all who serve him, it is evident that he is still very much a factor in this world. But you and I need not fear this. We are free from his bondage, and we will remain free so long as our faith is fed and nourished by God’s Word and Sacraments. We are free from bondage to these things.

But while we have been set free so that we may avoid the things that are evil, we are also set free to do the things that are good. Peter lays this out very nicely for us in his Epistle. Our freedom in Christ enables us to avoid those dangerous fleshly lusts that wage war against our souls. Peter puts it this way: “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

And now we are free to do all those positive things Peter describes as good and glorifying to God. We can freely and truly fear God and stand in awe and wonder at both His grace and His power. We can freely, and with good conscience, be subject to all governing authorities and all proper earthly ordinances, knowing that God desires to govern His world in these ways. We can freely honor all people as fellow creatures of God, whose lives are invested with a value and dignity only God can give. We can freely love our fellow believers as the wonderful gifts of God they truly are. We can freely serve those who are placed over us in the various walks of this life, even those whose ways with us may leave something to be desired. We can freely and even joyfully endure affliction, even when such afflictions are endured unjustly.

So, then, out of gratitude to God, let us serve God and man, avoiding evil and doing good. This is for the glory of God, the welfare of our neighbor, and even our own good, as we await that day when the glory of the Lord will finally be eternally revealed in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always.  Amen.