CMLC 2025-10-26 Sermon

We live in a world that loves freedom or at least

the idea of freedom Every new thing promises

to set us free free from inconvenience free from

waiting free from limits Think about your phone

for a second And I say that loosely because I'm

sure many of you do think of your phone every

second when smartphones first came out They promised

us freedom freedom to work anywhere, talk to

anyone from anywhere, access anything right there

in your hand, and it felt amazing at first. But

now, you can't leave home without it. You can't

even leave the room without it. Even walking

away from it and knowing it's there instead of

in your hand or in your pocket is kind of cringy.

I mean, you're like, something does not feel

right. If you've misplaced it for five minutes

and you start to feel your heart racing a little

bit. Can you call my phone? Can you call my phone?

Call my phone? Yeah, check the hook. There's

a little tracker. Check it. Let's find out where

it is. And worst of all, it buzzes in your pocket,

hopefully only buzzing during worship, and you

have to check it. But then you find out that

there wasn't even anything buzzing. It was a

phantom vibration. Your brain is so trained to

expect that little jolt that it kind of makes

one up in your head. See, the irony is that the

thing that's promised to set us free has actually

made us slaves. Slaves to notifications, slaves

to comparing ourselves to other people on social

media. Slaves to the constant need to respond

because well if I don't respond they'll think

I'm ignoring them and Heaven forbid if you lead

someone on red That's exactly the kind of slavery

Jesus talks about is not physical chains But

the invisible ones the habits the the voices

the expectations that start running our lives

While we tell ourselves. Oh, we're the ones who

are really in control We say, I'm free, but we

can't even set the phone down long enough to

look someone in the eye. Could you imagine? If

the apostles had smartphones and Peter would

have been scrolling while Jesus is out on the

water, I mean, we know how that turned out already.

Could you imagine, it's like, hey guys, Peter

here, hanging out with the Messiah. Hey, here's

my bro, what's up? Yeah, I know, this is like

so cool, everybody, right? Ah, wait, oh, what's

he doing? I don't know. Hey, let's get out on

the water, everybody. Why am I sinking? That

was painful to do, by the way. You know, it's

a modern parable of the same truth. When we serve

the wrong master, even one that looks good, we

end up losing the very freedom that we were chasing.

And that's what Jesus means when he says, everyone

who sins is a slave to sin, is that we don't

even notice when the chains are on us. When we're

comfortable. when something's familiar, when

something's convenient, until we realize that

those things may be keeping us from the life

that we're actually meant to have. We live in

a world that loves freedom, but maybe it's just

the idea of it. You can tell because every commercial

promises to set you free, free from wrinkles,

free from cable, free from that three -year phone

contract that you swore you'd never sign again.

And even if I go, freedom, half of you know exactly

which movie I'm talking about. But have you noticed

how the things that promise to set us free often

end up owning us? When Jesus says in John 8,

if the Son sets you free, you'll be free indeed,

he's talking about something deeper. The kind

of freedom we don't even know that we need. Because

the truth is, most of us don't believe we're

captives in the first place. When Jesus told

the crowd, you will know the truth and the truth

will set you free, how did they respond? They

answered, we've never been slaves to anyone.

even ignoring the fact that there was the whole

history in Egypt, isn't that the human condition

in a nutshell? We don't want to believe that

we are ever the ones who need saving. The Jewish

people were chosen by God to be a light to the

nations, but over time, they started to treat

that privilege as a guarantee, instead of as

a privilege. Instead of as a Responsibility.

They thought because we're Abraham's children,

we're already right with God. Everything's fine.

But Jesus was showing them that being God's people,

it doesn't mean being free from sin. It means

being called to trust God for freedom from sin.

Their identity became a source of pride rather

than humility. They relied on who they were outwardly

instead of on what God was doing inside them.

They were faithful to the law on the outside,

but their focus on rules and traditions gave

them a false sense of freedom from the world

around them. They felt free because they didn't

bow down to the Roman idols. They felt free because

they didn't eat the Gentile food or break the

Sabbath, but inside they were still enslaved.

Inside, they were still slaves to judging others,

comparing themselves to others, being afraid

of something making them unclean, and the need

to somehow prove themselves worthy. Their national

and spiritual pride made it almost impossible

for them to see that they were in need of grace.

They looked at the Gentiles and thought, they're

the sinners, we're the righteous. They made repentance

hard because Repentance would mean admitting,

I need saving too. So when Jesus came offering

freedom, they resisted because they didn't think

they needed saving. They just wanted to be vindicated

for their actions and attitudes. Their ego told

them, we're already fine. No wonder they were

offended when Jesus told them, you're slaves,

but I came to truly make you free. Jesus saw

through it all. And he wasn't saying that following

the law was wrong. He was revealing that keeping

the law without knowing we need God is just another

form of bondage. Believing that we're only free

because we look different from everyone around

us. That's not freedom. See, they wanted to appear

righteous more than they wanted to be righteous.

Did you catch that? They wanted to appear righteous.

more than they wanted to be righteous. They kept

the external stuff, the tithing and the sacrifice

and the purity rituals, but they ignored the

inner corruption that Jesus was exposing. And

when He said, the truth will set you free, it

wasn't just these abstract ideas. He meant, if

you'll face the truth about your sin, then you

can truly be free of it through Me. See, true

freedom, it's not about your background or your

religious practices or your self -discipline.

It's found in belonging to Christ. Freedom is

not the absence of authority. It's making sure

we belong to the right master. But facing the

truth, it requires humility. Pride can make that

humility unbearable. Today, many people believe

they're free because they can do whatever they

want. We can scroll when we want. We can post

when we want. We can buy what we want. But in

reality, our habits, our approval seeking, our

screens, all those things own us. It was hilarious

when somebody sent a video that somebody said,

hey, I'm going to let you all know. Did you know

that Apple Pay is not free? Because apparently

people don't understand how credit cards work.

Just when we think we understand what freedom

is, there's something still trying to bind us.

But you see, we're not free when we keep being

addicted to distraction. Because we're distracted

from reality in exchange for self -confidence.

We are happy to be distracted from reality because

in exchange, we get to always have self -confidence.

But that's the part that Jesus has to confront

See the Jews pride in being chosen kept them

enslaved to sin just like we today Have our pride

in being independent and it keeps us enslaved

ourselves and our own emotions and struggles

Paul was getting at the same thing in his letter

to the Romans all have sinned and fall short

of the glory of God You can't be set free if

you don't believe you're captive in the first

place And that's not just the first century pride,

that's us. We say, I'm not perfect, but I'm not

a bad person. We say, I make mistakes, but I'm

not a sinner. That's exactly the trap that Jesus

and Paul are warning us about. But let's say,

though, that so many of you are fully capable

and good with understanding you're sinful. You

need God's grace, truly. That's good. But, what

happens if we finally face our brokenness, but

we don't realize that the grace of God is free?

That's where we find ourselves today with Reformation

Sunday, where we see Martin Luther and where

he found himself. That guy had issues. Y 'all

gotta just be honest, okay? He had this constant

sense of understanding that there was something

wrong inside of him, but he couldn't fix it.

He prayed constantly. He fasted regularly. He

kept confessing so many minute little things

to his confessor that the confessor finally looked

at him and said, Martin, stop coming in here

until you actually commit a sin worth confessing.

Yeah, that's a problem I don't think many of

us have today. Luther's problem wasn't that he

didn't take God seriously. It was that he didn't

yet understand how seriously God took grace.

He thought the gospel was about God demanding

more and more through the religious teachers

he'd been taught to follow without question.

Until he realized that righteousness is not something

we earn, it's something we receive. When Luther

read Romans 3, we hold that a person is justified

by faith apart from works of the law. He said

it felt like the gates of paradise were opened.

He discovered the freedom that Jesus was talking

about. not freedom from effort, but freedom from

fear. Not freedom from being right, but rather

freedom to be loved. See, that's the thing about

this is Luther, nailing those 95 theses to the

door in Wittenberg, he wasn't trying to start

a revolution for the world. He was more like

posting on the community bulletin board. It was

sort of like the Facebook wall of 1517. Boom,

boom, boom. See, he didn't mean to go viral.

But that's exactly what happened. He was the

first person to break the internet, or at least

the printing press. That wasn't my joke. Someone

had it on the internet. I swear it was their

idea, not mine. But you see, here's the part

we often miss. The strongest backlash didn't

come from the outsiders. It came from within.

From the very people who claimed to stand for

the same faith. It wasn't the atheists or the

pagans who called the free grace of the gospel

dangerous. It was other believers. It was other

church leaders. They were the ones who were the

most offended by his insistence on returning

to grace and scripture. They thought he was tearing

down the faith when in reality he was trying

to bring people back to its foundation. And that

tension, speaking truth that your community doesn't

want to hear, is what led to the diet of worms.

That's where Luther stands before the emperors,

the bishops, the scholars, and he refuses to

recant. He refuses to change. What began as a

simple post to the church wall became a moment

for the whole world to hear the gospel again.

That we're saved by grace alone. Through faith

alone, in Christ alone. See, because once you

know that grace is for you, you can finally stop

pretending that you don't need it. You can stop

defending your image and start living in freedom.

Because you don't have to be afraid of others

discovering you're just as sinful as they are.

Surprise! You can stop pretending that you're

someone that you aren't. And you have finally

been loved and respected for who you are. A child

of God saved by grace. And friends, we're not

that different today. The church still likes

to think it's the hero in the story. That we're

the ones always setting people free and fixing

the world and saving the culture. We imagine

that if we just get everything right, the perfect

theology, the perfect platform, the perfect social

posturing, then everything will finally be set

straight. But y 'all, that's not the gospel.

And it never was. We don't set people right or

free by proving we're right. We set people free

by confessing we're wrong. And that we've needed

forgiveness too. Because if grace isn't for sinners,

it isn't for anybody. Power comes not by flaunting

our sinfulness, but by humbly admitting it to

be true and that it doesn't take away are worth

in God's eyes. Researcher Brene Brown became

famous not by projecting strength, but by admitting

weakness. When critics mocked Tay -Tay, Taylor

Swift, for dating too much and writing breakup

songs, she started writing more of them, and

even poked fun at the criticism by saying, I'll

just write a song about it. By naming the narrative

herself, she took control of it. And for all

of my rap, friends in the crowd. Eminem won the

rap battle in Eight Mile by dissing himself before

his opponent had the chance. He took away the

enemy's power by owning his flaws. You see, the

greatest sins are not from those who admit their

flaws, but from those who continue to avoid taking

ownership and then continue doing the exact same

things. And the church still doubles down on

its mistakes today. If I were to say, what about

the church would ever deny grace to those who

are in need, we would say, could you imagine?

But could you imagine a church withholding baptism

because they couldn't do it their usual way?

I was called into a hospital yesterday morning

for a teenage girl who has such advanced brain

cancer that she's barely conscious. She's been

wanting to be baptized for some time, but because

her church couldn't fully immerse her in a tub,

they wouldn't do it. They wanted it their way,

and there was no room for anything else. But

since baptism, baptizo, is any washing with water,

her mother brought me into the room, and I freely

dripped the waters of baptism on her head, in

the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Spirit. Because it wasn't about whether she was

able to do something well enough, and it wasn't

about whether or not even at that moment she

could even speak all the words herself. The only

freedom to truly matter is the freedom to bring

the gospel to those who need it. Because we might

not be buying indulgences anymore thinking we

can buy our forgiveness with money. but we so

often come up with our own versions of how to

make ourselves feel that we've justified ourselves

in God's eyes, while completely missing how God's

grace is something we all need, and that God

freely gives to us all without our best efforts.

The Reformation began when someone dared to say,

no more self -justification, only grace by God's

justification. Someone once said the Reformation

began when Luther realized that the word repent

didn't mean do penance, but rather meant to turn

around. And that's what we need to do. Honestly,

that's good news for people like me. Because

sometimes I need to turn around three or four

times a day, or even just three or four times

when I'm just even up here. And frankly, I get

busy because I need it a lot. But every time

we're willing to turn around, we find that Christ

is already there. Not with the list of what we

owe, or how to convince Him to accept us, but

with open arms and a finished cross. So may today,

Reformation Sunday, not just be a history lesson,

but a reminder that the freedom of the Gospel

is finished in Christ, and everything thereafter

is freely given in return. Grace is for the sinner

who knows they need saving. It's for the church

that admits it's still learning. And it's for

every one of us who still needs to be reformed

in the image of Christ by grace alone, through

faith alone, in Christ alone. Thanks be to God.