Reformation: Repent

October 25, 2015
Reformation Sunday


Mark 1:15 “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.”
Matthew 4:17 “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’”
Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, #1. “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

When Jesus began his public ministry, his first words, as recorded in Mark 1:15, are “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” “Repent” means to change: to be sorry and to change your sinful behavior. “To believe the good news” means to believe the gospel message that sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ. This is what gives the power and motive to repent. When Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is near” he meant that God would soon be working with his people of Israel in a new way. The new way is the gospel way. The old way was the way of the Law, especially the Law of Moses and all the traditions and extra burdens added in the 1000 years since Moses. The traditions and teachings were first added to help people keep the Law, but finally they enslaved the people to the Law, rather than freeing them up to be joyful citizens of the Kingdom of God. The cross of Jesus is about forgiveness of sins. The old Law forgave sins through animal sacrifices that had to be repeated often. The cross of Jesus forgives sin one and for all time. We call Jesus the Savior, and some people call him a revolutionary and a reformer.

When the reformer, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, the First Theses was this: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” And so the issue for Martin Luther, just like Jesus, was about repentance and forgiveness. The Gospel of Jesus was about freedom, but in the next 1500 years many traditions and teachings had been added. At first they were to help people live the Christian life, or they were to bring forgiveness and salvation to people. But rather than the freedom of the Gospel, people were enslaved to a new law, the regulations and teachings of the church. There were teachings about purgatory, indulgences, penance, satisfaction, etc. Martin Luther wanted people to believe in the Gospel: to believe that their sins were forgiven by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. This cannot be bought with our money. It is a free gift from the mercy and grace of Christ alone.

Martin Luther did not want to start a new Kingdom of God; he did not want to start a new church. And the reformers were very careful to say that, even if they did not follow the Pope, that they were not starting a new church. But they wanted to reform the One Holy Christian and Apostolic Church: they wanted to bring it back to Christ and the scriptures. They wanted the Gospel of the Cross to be the starting place and the goal of repentance. This was the freedom of the Gospel.

The Reformation is not over. For the last 500 years the church has been saying the same thing that Jesus said. “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” The trouble is that we humans think that to make the Kingdom of God perfect or closer, we need to add new traditions and teachings and customs and rituals. At first it seemed like a good idea, a way to help us live our lives as Christians. But the freedom of the Gospel has become replaced by a slavery to new regulations and teachings. Look at all the various Christian denominations, look at all the Lutheran bodies! And so there must be a constant reformation. Of course not all customs and practices need to be the same. But the core message of the Gospel must never be covered up by other stuff. Salvation is by Christ only, by the Grace of God only, by Faith alone, as revealed only in Scripture.

Martin Luther did not approve of the practice of burning heretics at the stake. He escaped that fate. What do we do with people who do not believe exactly as we do? Somehow, with great patience and courage and love and prayer, we must still work for the reformation of the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church. And we pray for the continued fire of the Holy Spirit to reform our own congregation also.

The Reformation is not over. It is not just about church bodies and official teachings and traditions and customs. The Reformation is about you and me, individual believers in Christ. Christ says to each and every one of us, “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” “Repent” means to change: to be sorry and to change your sinful behavior. “To believe the good news” means to believe the gospel message that your sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ. This is what gives the power and motive to repent. “The kingdom of God is near” means that God is so near that he is in your heart and in your everyday life. It means that God is the King of your life. It means that we give loyal service to God in our lives. But this is not a burdensome thing of law and command; rather it is the lifestyle of the Gospel. It is the way of forgiveness, of love, and of freedom.

We are sinners: we are forgiven, and then sin again and then are forgiven again: it seems like a circle. That is why the Reformation is not over. That is why we need to observe it every year. It is about us personally. The same is true about Christmas and Easter. They are celebrations of salvation and forgiveness. They are about us personally, about our own salvation and forgiveness, which gives these celebrations special meaning for Christians. It is the Gospel. This Gospel is the power and motive for us to repent and to live our lives for Christ.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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