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᛭ INI ᛭

How free are you? Not as free as you think you are…. “Whoever commits sin is sin’s slave.” Jesus says, “If you sin, you’re the opposite of free. You’re not free at all! You’re instead a slave.” To us, sinning looks likes its freedom, but it’s slavery!

Only Jesus sets you free. You can’t free yourself from your sins, your lack of doing what pleases God, or your infatuation with doing what pleases you. Only Jesus is not sin’s slave. The sinless Son of God is servant, yours and mine: “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many,” (Mt 20) for you, for me.

Laden not with His sins but yours, the Son redeemed you “with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.” Then He sets you free. He sets you free only in one particular way, for there’s only one thing that sets you free:

ONLY THE SON’S WORD SETS YOU FREE.

(I. The Son sets you free through His Word.)

ONLY THE SON’S WORD SETS YOU FREE because, first of all, the Son sets you free through His Word. Jesus has chosen to use only His Word to set you free. That’s John 8:32 & 36. “When you remain in My Word, you’re truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “Therefore, if the Son’s setting you free, you’re really free.”

God [doesn’t] want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. [Whatever’s] praised as [being] from the Spirit, [but apart from] the Word and Sacraments, is [actually] the devil himself. [11] God wanted to appear even to Moses through the burning bush and spoken Word [Exodus 3:2–15]. No prophet, neither Elijah nor Elisha, received the Spirit without the Ten Commandments ‹or the spoken Word›. [12] John the Baptist [wasn’t] conceived without the word of Gabriel coming first, nor did he leap in his mother’s womb without Mary’s voice [Luke 1:11–20, 41].” (SA III VIII 10–12)

Even though God warns us not to “put [His] Word behind us” (Ps 50), Bibles and Catechisms gather dust. We, like the ancient northern Israelites, “Do not listen. Do not do.” (2 Ki 18) We want there to be faith that exists without His Word. “But faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ.” (Rom 10)

Not having the Word in their daily lives nor being in church on Sundays, many Christians miss out on the benefits of God’s Word. “They miss out through unbelief.” (Heb 3:19) There’s also a poverty of God’s Word in many so-called contemporary churches. They might work through Books of the Bible, usually moralistically and only the books the preacher likes. Our services, however, are a geyser full of God’s Word! There’s a reading from the Old Testament, the New Testament (usually a letter), and a Gospel. There’s Introit and Gradual, which are just portions of Psalms. In the One Year Lectionary we use, all these things are geared to a single theme based on the Gospel. Parts of our service are just sung Bible passages. You can see how our hymns are based on God’s Word by checking out the verses at the bottom of the page. Some are just Bible passages turned into poetry! (746; 709–710; 470; 406) Some have set these things aside (“outdated”), and sure some do have centuries or millennia of history… (Pretty good track record, though. Not sure I’m creative enough to do better…) When you add Bible Class and Sunday School to the mix, Lutherans have the most Word in town! Not to mention Congregation at Prayer for your home…

Anyway, the freedom Son’s Word gives abounds! He “[doesn’t] give us counsel and [help] against sin in only one way. God is superabundantly generous in His grace: First, through the spoken Word, by which the forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole world [Luke 24:45–47]… Second, through Baptism,” which is “for the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2; Acts 25) and “saves you.” (1 Pet 3) “Third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar,” which is Jesus’ body and blood for you for the forgiveness of sins. “Fourth, through the Power of [Absolution].” (Quotes from SA II IV) In all these ways the Son sets you free through His Word.

(Transition.)

Yes, ONLY THE SON’S WORD SETS YOU FREE. First, because the Son sets you free through His Word. But that’s not all! Besides setting you free through His Word, the Son, second of all, sets you free toward His Word, because ONLY His WORD SETS YOU FREE.

(II. The Son sets you free toward His Word.)

When Jesus sets you free through His Word, He turns you back toward His Word, so that you are continually renewed in the freedom, the forgiveness of sins, that His Word gives. “When you remain in My Word,” He says, “you’re truly My disciples, and you’ll know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” So, if you don’t remain, then what?

He warns us because of our sinful flesh. “Whoever commits sin is sin’s slave.” “Nothing good dwells in [you], that is, in [your] flesh.” (Rom 7) “The mind that’s set on the flesh doesn’t submit to God’s Law, indeed it cannot!” (Rom 8) We must then “be renewed in the spirit if our minds.” (Eph 4) The reason Jesus says, “When you remain in My Word, you’re truly My disciples.”

But we think people can be Christians without the Word, but His Word makes you a disciple. We think people can be free from their sins while actively avoiding Jesus’ Word of forgiveness preached in Sermons, spoken in Absolution, or delivered at Communion. Yes, a single Word of God has almighty power. “Let there be light, and there was light.” (Gen 1) There’s still light! Our sinful flesh tricks us into thinking that we can move on from the Word. So Bibles and Catechisms gather dust in the months, years, or decades since confirmation or religion class. (Did it then. So I’m fine now.) Some barely engage the Word weekly and then complain that the service on Sunday, a service full of the Word, takes too long. Or they just skip that too. No harm. No foul. Yet, Jesus says, “You’re truly My disciples” “when you remain in My Word.”

Your sinful flesh is what you see in the mirror, what you feed, what you put to bed, what will eventually die. You have it until the resurrection, when it’ll be finally raised holy forever. Till then, it’ll never want the Word, so Paul “discipline[s] [his] body and keep[s] it under control.” (1 Cor 9) Sage advice! Make your flesh deaf through hearing Gospel sermons, blinded by reading your Bibles, stupid by learning your Bible and Catechism and hymns by heart! Make it mute by coming to church and singing “psalms and hymns and Spirit-filled songs.” (Col 1) Choke it to death on the Body and Blood of Jesus.

Your inner disciple will hear, see, be wise unto salvation, make a joyful noise, and be nourished. It won’t be you doing it, it’ll be the Son’s Word doing it! For ONLY THE SON’S WORD SETS YOU FREE. Absent that Word, you won’t be free. (Don’t like it? Take it up with Jesus. He said it: “When you remain in My Word, you’re my disciples…”)

Jesus causes His Word to abound in your life—in your heart, soul, and mind. He continually delivers all His Word and especially His Word of forgiveness, because the more and more you hear His Word or His Gospel or His absolution, the more and more you receive His Holy Communion, the more and more you’ll be given a clean heart (Ps 51), be at peace in your soul (Jn 14), be renewed in your mind (Eph 4). The more and more Jesus and His Word act on your heart, soul, and mind, the more He will turn your strength, what you do, toward what pleases Him. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statues and guard My just decrees, and you will do them.” (Ezek 36:27)

(Conclusion.)

ONLY THE SONS WORD SETS YOU FREE.

He sets you free: first, through His Word, and second, toward His Word. “God [doesn’t] want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. Whatever is praised as [being] from the Spirit, [but is apart from] the Word and Sacraments, is [actually] the devil himself.” (SA II VIII 10)

And so, the Son’s Word abounds! He “does not give us counsel and aid against sin in only one way. God is superabundantly generous in His grace: First, through the spoken Word, by which the forgiveness of sins is preached in the whole world [Luke 24:45–47]… Second, through Baptism. Third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar. Fourth, through the Power of [Absolution].” (SA II IV)

For, only “when the Son is setting you free, are you really free.” In His Word, that’s how free you are!

᛭ INI ᛭