Sermon - Reformation Day 2020 - Hymn Meditation: Salvation unto Us Has Come

Stanzas 1-4

1 Salvation unto us has come

By God's free grace and favor;

Good works cannot avert our doom,

They help and save us never.

Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone,

Who did for all the world atone;

He is our one Redeemer.

2 What God did in His Law demand

And none to Him could render

Caused wrath and woe on ev'ry hand

For man, the vile offender.

Our flesh has not those pure desires

The spirit of the Law requires,

And lost is our condition.

3 It was a false, misleading dream

That God His Law had given

That sinners could themselves redeem

And by their works gain heaven.

The Law is but a mirror bright

To bring the inbred sin to light

That lurks within our nature.

4 From sin our flesh could not abstain,

Sin held its sway unceasing;

The task was useless and in vain,

Our guilt was e'er increasing.

None can remove sin's poisoned dart

Or purify our guileful heart--

So deep is our corruption.

Homily 1:

The central message of the Lutheran Reformation, both 503 years ago and today, is a simple one. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ as revealed in the scriptures. It’s a simple yet profound truth, however it’s a truth we’re quick to forget. This is why one of the important works of the Reformation is to put these simple profound truths on the lips of God’s people. By 1524, the Lutherans had compiled the first Lutheran hymnal, referred to as the Achtliederbuch, literally, the “eight-hymn book.”

Paul Speratus, a pastor who worked closely with Martin Luther, aided this noble endeavor of bringing the reformation theology into the lives of the local congregations by writing hymns. Today’s hymn of the day, written by Speratus, was the second hymn you’d find in the Achtliederbuch. We sang: “Salvation unto us has come by God’s free grace and favor; good works cannot avert our doom, they help and save us never. Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, who did for all the world atone; He is our one Redeemer.” Indeed, Salvation has come by God’s grace through faith in Christ.

One of the most prominent enemies of God’s free grace is the sin of self-righteousness. To be self-righteous is to believe yourself to be good and righteous, deserving of heaven, by your own merits. This was the preeminent heresy that drove the Lutherans to reformation. According to papal doctrine Christians could perform good works which made satisfaction for their debt of sin. This teaching went so far that many had even believed some could perform good works above and beyond what they needed to be righteous, and those good works could then be applied to others. Thus, you have the papal system of indulgences and purgatory. At least initially, this was the driving controversy behind the reformation.

The reason this is an issue is that self-righteousness doesn’t work. That’s what we just sang: “Good works cannot avert our doom, they help and save us never.” “It was a false, misleading dream that God His law had given that sinners could themselves redeem and by their works gain heaven.” “None can remove sin’s poison dart or purify our guileful heart - so deep is our corruption.”

Pastor Speratus wasn’t just making this all up either. God spoke quite plainly in Romans: “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Indeed, the law is a great equalizer in this regard: “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Thus, the solution of many a self-righteous Christian today, is to replace God’s law (which is impossible to fulfill) with a new law (which is obtainable for us). Thus for example the papacy set aside certain sins as mortal, so that if you abstain from doing them, you won’t be condemned. They then obligated Christians to perform certain (measurable) works in order to be saved. So if you abstain from the right sins and do the obligated works, you’re righteous.

The same thing happens today, in fact it happened a few days ago when the pope spoke in favor of civil unions for homosexuals. It’s much easier to be self-righteous if we declare that certain sins which we want to commit are no longer sins. So we still set aside certain sins, which are easy to avoid, as mortal, so that as long as we abstain from those particular easy to avoid sins we’re righteous. Furthermore, we obligate Christians to do certain works, so that as long as you do those works, you’re righteous. Thus our culture today, so long as I’ve never murdered anyone, but I wear a mask, vilify the “bad” politician/policy, and praise the “good” politician/policy, then that makes me a righteous person. Or so we think.

Now, the problem with all of that isn’t avoiding sin and performing good works; that’s a good thing to do. The problem is being so heavily focused on ourselves and what we’re doing to be righteous, that we aren’t solely focused upon Christ for our salvation. All of us are slaves of sin, as Christ says, and in Him only are we set free from sin.

Stanzas 5-7

5 Yet as the law must be fulfilled

Or we must die despairing,

Christ came and has God's anger stilled,

Our human nature sharing.

He has for us the Law obeyed

And thus the Father's vengeance stayed

Which over us impended.

6 Since Christ has full atonement made

And brought to us salvation,

Each Christian therefore may be glad

And build on this foundation.

Your grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,

Your death is now my life indeed,

For You have paid my ransom.

7 Let me not doubt, but truly see

Your Word cannot be broken:

Your call rings out, "Come unto Me!"

No falsehood have You spoken.

Baptized into Your precious name,

My faith cannot be put to shame,

And I shall never perish.

Homily 2:

“He has for us the law obeyed and thus the Father’s vengeance stayed which over us impended.” There is the simple and profound truth dear Christians! You’re not saved by avoiding the right sins and performing the right works; you’re saved by Christ who “has full atonement made and brought to us salvation.” 

Just as all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, just as every mouth has been stopped and made accountable to God, so are we “justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith...We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

That is a huge comfort to you, my friends! Your salvation does not hinge upon your performance of the law. Christ has done it all on your behalf! Your faith cannot be put to shame, and you shall never perish. Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live. 

As we’ll sing in a moment, “Faith clings to Jesus’ cross alone and rests in Him unceasing. And by its fruits true faith is known, with love and hope increasing. For faith alone can justify; works serve our neighbor and supply the proof that faith is living.” So cling to Christ, not to your works. 

Nevertheless, good works are necessary for salvation. When Christ says that He sets you free, He’s setting you free from your slavery to sin (because sinning is slavery), and now you’re to live freely as one who does good works. The freedom of a Christian means that you desire to live according to God’s good law, not for your salvation, but simply because His law is good. 

Far too often Lutherans complain about Roman Catholics and their good works, and then Lutherans live like a bunch of drunken pirates. What a shame! Our good works supply the proof that faith is living. So if we’re not performing good works and living like Christians, it’s thus questionable whether or not faith is living in us. 

Therefore, leave behind all of your self-righteousness, forsake those works of the flesh, and cling to Jesus’ cross alone! Our salvation has come by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. Let that simple and profound truth always remain upon our hearts and minds. Knowing that what Jesus says is true: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Stanzas 8-10

8 The Law reveals the guilt of sin

And makes us conscience-stricken;

But then the Gospel enters in

The sinful soul to quicken.

Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live;

The Law no peace can ever give,

No comfort and no blessing.

9 Faith clings to Jesus' cross alone

And rests in Him unceasing;

And by its fruits true faith is known,

With love and hope increasing.

For faith alone can justify;

Works serve our neighbor and supply

The proof that faith is living.

10 All blessing, honor, thanks, and praise

To Father, Son, and Spirit,

The God who saved us by His grace;

All glory to His merit.

O triune God in heav'n above,

You have revealed Your saving love;

Your blessed name we hallow.