Rescue

Romans 3:19-28 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. ²¹ But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. ²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Do you remember the story from three years ago? 33 Chilean miners trapped half a mile below the surface for 69 days. They survived in sweltering heat and cramped conditions. Crippling doubts seeped into their minds over whether they would ever see daylight and their loved ones again. The miners had to survive on meager rations. It wasn’t until day 14 of their 69 day ordeal that they had received any sign from the surface. By that time, though, they were rationing their inadequate emergency food supply, down to one can of tuna and eating just one teaspoon each every 48 hours.

Cannibalism and suicide were very real thoughts for these men who had almost given up hope. One of the survivors joked later that if he died in his sleep, he would be “breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Another survivor recounted a conversation he had with a fellow miner, “If we are going to continue suffering, it would be better for us to all go to the refuge, start an engine and with the carbon monoxide, just let ourselves go.”

As the world watched, slowly but surely the 33 men were hoisted to safety in a capsule sent down from the surface. At the rescue site, there were jubilant scenes as the men were reunited with their friends and family. If a movie is ever made of the ordeal, the director will probably focus on the extraordinary drama of the pressures of surviving for so long in such hopeless conditions. Yet, the greater, more dramatic and more extraordinary story is the rescue. The miners did nothing to accomplish their escape. Everything was done for them. The Chilean government spent $20 million to dig them out. The unbelievable rescue is a tribute to the extraordinary teamwork of experts and officials who put the lives of the miners ahead of their own lives, reputations or financial costs. 

496 years ago, on October 31, 1517, a 34-year-old Augustinian monk walked up to the castle church door in Wittenberg and posted 95 theses penned in Latin for the purpose of theological debate. Martin Luther wanted to talk. He wanted to know why the teaching of his Roman Catholic church did not square with what he had learned from Holy Scripture. He had felt trapped for so long in his sins. It didn’t matter how many nights he stayed awake praying, or how many floors he scrubbed clean, or how many times he whipped himself, he could not make himself be a better person; he could not make himself love God more. In fact, Luther grew to hate Jesus, because he only saw Jesus as a condemning Judge, not as a loving Savior. Luther felt overwhelmed, trapped in the darkness and crushing weight of his sins.

But then the Holy Spirit opened the Scriptures to Luther and he learned that though he could never please God, God was pleased with him because of what Jesus had done for Luther while on the cross.  Luther was free! He was shown the light! And he wanted others to experience that same freedom. He wanted others to see the light of Christ! He wanted to know why, if the pope had the power to spring souls from purgatory, he didn’t just do so out of the goodness of his heart. He wanted to know how a piece of paper, an indulgence letter, could supposedly reduce time in purgatory, as if God was a crooked jailer who could be bought with a bribe. Luther wanted know what all this had to do with Jesus who hung dead on a cross one good, dark Friday for the sins of the world.

We need to very clear on this Festival of the Reformation. The Lutheran Reformation was not about how Lutherans got it right and Catholics got it wrong. It was not about rebellion against authority or starting a new and better church. The Reformation is about one word - rescue.

Here is a great Reformation verse: “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

All have sinned. Let that sink in for a while. All have sinned. From the most senior of citizens to the infants still in the womb, we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. From the murderers on death row, to the preachers in the pulpit to the sweet grannies in the nursing home, we have all sinned and missed the mark of God’s perfection.

We may think we’re alright, that we’re fine, that we’re not all that sinful. We may mistake God’s patience over our sin for acceptance of our sin. “In his forbearance (patience) God left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” Yet the mirror of God’s law forces us to “become conscious of our sin.” Look at what our sins do to us. Our jealousies corrupt our relationships with our neighbors. Our secret sins keep us hiding in the dark for fear of our children or spouse finding us out. Our sexual sins from the past continue to make us feel dirty and guilty. Our quick mind and our sharp tongue keep on getting us into trouble at work and school. Our worry over our children, our fear over the economy, our anxiety over our next paycheck keeps us up at night, makes us irritable toward our family, and sinks us further into depression.

And then, how do our sins affect our relationship with God? In His patience, God does not quickly bring judgment on us for our offenses against His holy Law. The truth is that sin is very serious. In fact, God says that the consequence for our sin is death. “The wages of sin is death.” And that’s more than the kind of death associated with cemeteries. The consequence of our sins – our inborn sins, our accidental sins, our intentional sins – is eternal death – condemnation in the eternal fires of hell.

You and I are like those Chilean miners. There we sat in the dark abyss of our own making, trapped under the awful rock of our own sin – sin that separated us from the light of God’s presence. We were trapped. Our situation was hopeless. We could not dig ourselves out. We could not talk ourselves out. We could not push our way out. We could do nothing. Except wait … wait for our death.

But then a rescue came! So that we might be forgiven of every and all of our sins, our gracious heavenly Father gave a promise of a Savior to sinners of all ages: “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant (promise) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that long-awaited promise!

God pierced the rock. He found a way through our self-imposed hell in the ground. He sent His Son into the dark depths of this world. On the way to rescue us, Jesus spent His life fulfilling all of the laws of God that we have ever broken. He resisted every temptation of Satan that we have ever fallen victim to. He carried upon His shoulders the very sins that have condemned us. Jesus shone the light of His salvation into our dark and depraved world. He covered our naked, shivering, sinful bodies with the white robe of His righteousness. He fed our starving souls with the Bread of Life which is His holy Word. He washed away a lifetime of filth and grime when He poured baptismal waters over us.

Finally, on the cross, Jesus completed all that had been asked of Him, all that we needed of Him, and He declared His work to be finished. He had taken our place. In fact, to demonstrate just how far our God will go in taking our place, Jesus’ dead body was placed into a dark hole in the ground. Three days later our rescue was completed when Jesus rose victoriously from the grave. Now we have been rescued. Released. Freed. We have been made alive in Christ. We have seen the light of His Easter resurrection.

That’s what it means when the Bible says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

In his life as a monk, Martin Luther tried very hard. In the monastery, he dedicated himself to a life of religious devotion. But the harder he tried, the more he realized that he did not measure up to God’s standard of perfection. Luther could not rid himself of sinful thoughts. He could not bring himself to love God wholeheartedly. Luther became painfully aware of his sinfulness, and he could not shake it or overcome it. He was waiting to be punished for his sins.

Luther only knew God’s Law. He had yet to be led by the Holy Spirit to know the good news of the Gospel in Jesus Christ. When the Bible says that God “left the sins committed beforehand unpunished,” that does not mean that God is not serious about sin. Rather, it means that He mercifully loves us. Instead of punishing us, God punished His Son. Though we may rightly experience the earthly consequences of our sin, God has graciously removed the eternal consequences for the sake of Christ. God demonstrated His justice by putting His Son under our judgment. God poured out His wrath on His own Son, so that we might be declared to be sons and daughters of the heavenly Father.

The Reformation is about the Gospel of Jesus, and the Gospel of Jesus is about your rescue. It is your freedom. It is your justification. “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”

This Bible verse needs to be engraved in our minds and burned on our hearts. It’s one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible, not for its poetry but for what it says. You – a sinner, a prodigal son and daughter of Adam who have no case, no defense – you are justified, declared righteous, holy, and innocent in God’s court of justice. You have been set free because of Jesus Christ’s living, dying and rising for you. You have been granted salvation through the gift of faith in Jesus, and not by your “good” life. Not your commandment keeping. Not your family values. Not your religious good works. Not your purpose-driven life.

On live TV, the world sat in anticipation as they got to see each miner taste his first breath of fresh air and freedom. Every day, you and I get to taste the fresh air of God’s forgiveness. Forgiveness in the waters of Baptism. Forgiveness in the words of absolution. Forgiveness found in the pages of Scripture. Forgiveness proclaimed in our Psalms and hymns. Forgiveness tasted in the Lord’s Supper. Forgiveness offered by the pastor, principal or teacher. Forgiveness between spouses, between parents and children or between siblings. The air of forgiveness so sweet, so pure, so satisfying.

Forgiveness that is so freeing. “So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:36). All because God has pierced the rock of our sin through His Son and rescued you. It is the forgiveness and freedom that found Luther 496 years ago. It is forgiveness and freedom, that by God’s grace, has found you. You are free! You are forgiven! You are rescued!  

Doesn’t that make you want to tell someone? Doesn’t that make you want to nail it to every church door in town? Amen.