I think a lot of us feel very proud of our congregation today. 15 years ago, a crazy faithful few created something new and called it Grace of God. It has been and continues to be a place of joy and comfort and support and rescue and life for all of us. And we continue to strive to live up to our name so that what people read on a sign on the outside of the building they actually experience when they come inside.
I ran into a woman a couple weeks ago who was also very happy with her church. She spoke very proudly about a position her congregation had taken that she believed was necessary even if was unpopular. I don’t know what the specific issue was but I was interested in her explanation for the position they took: “We stand on the Bible,” she said. And that was enough for her.
It is certainly good to stand on the truth of the Bible. In fact, “SCRIPTURE ALONE” is one of the pillars of the Reformation. That means we believe that the only place to find the content of our beliefs is God’s Word. This is one of the things that identifies us as a church: our faithfulness to the Word of God.
But I wondered if “standing on the Bible” is really enough. If that’s all it takes to define who we are. If this is really the bottom line. When it comes to a reforming church – an evangelical church – a church that wants to communicate the Gospel, is the BIBLE the foundation to stand on?
So I asked my confirmation students later that day, “Do you think there is a difference between a church that stands on the Bible and one that stands on the Gospel of Jesus?” And I ask you that same question on this commemorative day for our church: Is there a difference? Or is it two ways of saying the same thing?
A couple of my students responded right away. Yes, they think there is a difference. “The Bible,” one of them said, “has Law AND Gospel. (I started feeling goosebumps.) We would want the church to be built on the Gospel – like our church is. (more goosebumps) Not on the law.” Well said! I’m glad he believed that. And I’m really glad he felt that way.
And the hymn we just sang does say, “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.” It does not say, “The church’s one foundation is God’s inerrant Word.” Although that also fits the rhyming pattern.
We learned in confirmation that the center of the Bible is Jesus. Luther thought the Bible was like a manger. It kind of looks like one! He said just like the manger in Bethlehem held the baby Jesus, so the Bible cradles Christ. So if we look at it THAT way then standing on the Bible WOULD be the same as standing on Christ.
But we all know that the Bible can be manipulated to say a lot of things that may or may not be intended by the writers of it or by the Spirit who inspired them; things that may not center on Christ. A biblical church can be legalistic and judgmental and not preach the Gospel at all. And so even churches “standing on the Bible” need reforming.
For some people this emphasis on the Bible – on WORD ALONE – means that we have to circle around the Bible and make sure we don’t dilute it or water it down. As if the power of God’s Word to rescue and save could possibly be weakened or strengthened by our efforts to protect it or lack thereof! For some, standing on the Bible means we must apply all its principles, obey all its laws, comply with all its mandates — as we define them. As if any of us could do this with any amount of success.
When Luther and the reformers emphasized God’s Word as the only place to go for the content of our faith, they meant nothing can or should be added to the power of God’s Word alone to give us life and salvation. Their objections were that the church was burdening people’s consciences with ADDITIONAL things that they had to conform with: Instead of simply trusting God’s Word of forgiveness, the church demanded the payment of indulgences. In addition to the simple message of the Gospel, the people had to regard the word of the pope and the councils as authoritative. Preaching the good news was not enough for the church of Luther’s day – people also had to observe the traditions of the church. The church was using these additional things – outside of God’s Word – to control and manipulate people and keep them bound by fear and guilt and shame.
And the reason the Reformation is an ongoing movement in the church and not a 500 year old archaic historic event is that this is still happening. We have used the Word of God as a weapon to defend our own ideas and prejudices and opionions. Not as a sword of the spirit to wield against the powers of evil that keep us in bondage, but as a club to clobber our neighbor. Worse, we have used the words of Scripture as shackles to bind consciences and to burden spirits. And the church – the place of life and salvation — has used, of all things, the WORD OF GOD — to keep people tied up with guilt and shame. And the message of Jesus – the unconditional welcome and universal invitation extended by his grace – has been twisted to exclude and restrict the very ones for whom it was intended.
And all of this is in direct contradiction to Jesus’ words in our Gospel for today in which he says, “Continue in my word and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” What is this truth of God’s Word that sets us free? What is Jesus referring to? It can’t be the laws and mandates and commandments and principles of the Bible. They have never set anyone free. They don’t have the power to. They can only saddle us with burdens we can’t bear and enslave us in prisons we can never escape. The Bible – if it is shaped by our own opinions and politics — isn’t liberating truth. It’s just another way to control and manipulate. The only thing we can stand on is the truth we know from Jesus.
This truth is expressed on the outside of the building in the name of our church. This truth is what we experience inside this building and what we want strangers and visitors to see for themselves. This truth is what gives us the joy we feel and the comfort we share and the encouragement we give and receive. This truth is what gives us life. It’s what saves and rescues us. This truth is Gospel. It is God’s love in Christ and it is setting us free! And today right here by the power of his Word, he is making us new.
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