Freed Forgiven Lutherans Freely Forgiving
Then Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”
Today, we observe Reformation Day. A day in which the Lutheran Churches around the world celebrates the freedom of the Gospel, the freedom of the full and complete forgiveness of sins, the freedom that we are saved by grace through faith for Christ’s sake alone.
We celebrate the freedom God gave us in Baptism and the freedom we still have in those baptismal promises. We don’t say, “I was baptized.” But, “I am baptized. I am God’s child. I am free and forgiven.”
We celebrate the freedom God gives us in giving us His Son’s body and blood, given and shed for us on the cross, and present now to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins.
We celebrate that the Law shows us our sin, no way out for us without Christ, no excuses for our sin!
Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sins [Romans 3:19ff]
And we celebrate the Gospel, which shows us our salvation. Christ is the way, not only out of sin, but also the way into God’s heart and presence, the way into freedom, the way into heaven, the way into prayer and holy living.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it – the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
These freedoms do not belong to Lutherans only, but Christians and we thank God countless Christians have these God-given freedoms who do not say they are Lutheran – God be praised!
And we lament and cry that too often those who say they are Lutheran do not believe, teach, and confess or celebrate these freedoms – Lord, have mercy.
But I am Lutheran because of the Scriptural truths and freedoms.
These truths make me a Lutheran and being Lutheran – having the Small Catechism and the Large Catechism and our confessions and the liturgy and our hymns and our seminaries and our pastors and our people –
helps me to believe and live in the freedoms that the Son of God has purchased and won for me by the shedding of His precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.
And if after much prayer and study of God’s Word, you don’t think being a Lutheran gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you in these freedom and truths in the best way possible this side of heaven, then you ought not be one.
But as for me and my house, I prefer this very ancient translation of the famous John 8 passage, that if you know the truth, then the truth will make you a Lutheran [eleutherosei].
That if the Son makes you a Lutheran, then you are a Lutheran indeed.
And if we take that seriously, we don’t worry so much about what name someone bears in their church – though of course that matters and is a different sermon – what we care about the most is the truth that frees, the Son of God’s truth that free’s, of hearing and believing and confessing and sharing and living in the freedom the Son of God has won for us and the Son of God preaches to us is so many beautiful ways –
“I promise you, I forgive you of your sins.”
Which then gets the heart of Peter’s question and Jesus parable and warning for today.
Then Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”
As we again hear of the freedom we have from the Son of God and as sons and daughters of the king – we can again hear how ridiculous Peter’s question is.
“Lord, as You have treated us as Your children and not as Your slaves – for if you, you are a slave to sin, but if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.
Lord, as You have treated us not as the enemies we rightly deserved to be – when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son [Romans 5:10],
Lord, as You treated us not with the condemnation and wrath we deserved – Luther says if we understand the forgiveness of sins, it would be like staring into a loaded gun and praying that the man behind the gun isn’t mad at us –
But He isn’t. We deserve it, but He’s not. We deserve wrath, but Jesus bore that wrath as the Lamb of God.
– For God did not send His into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him and there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus [John 3:17 and Romans 8:1].
“Lord, as You have treated me like that, how often do I have to forgive my brother when he sins against me? Seven times?”
The parable points out that the King, our Lord, has forgiven you a massive debt. You owed it to God, the whole world held accountable. You could not possibly repay. The first servant in the parable owes a ridiculous amount to the King. An amount that would take literally 20,000 lifetimes of work.
And then he goes out, having been forgiven, and he finds, he seeks, someone who owes him something that would day 100 days to pay back. [100 days does help us see that others sin does, indeed, damage to us].
And begins to choke him.
“Pay back what you.”
“Throw him in prison.”
The Son, the truth, has set you free.
Set me free from guilt and shame and sin.
And also, set you free from anger and bitterness and resentment,
with both the truth of your forgiveness and the truth that vengeance belongs to the Lord and that He is King and will take care of everything in the end;”
[Then Lord, often should my brother sin against me and I forgive him, did you catch that? My brother!
This isn’t a relationship between an employer and employee where works have to play into it.
This isn’t a relationship between a citizen and a state where the state has to punish crime for as many as possible to be protected and live a peaceable and quiet life.
This is a relationship between brothers, it’s family.
[The Christian confesses the brother and sisterhood of all men and women. We are all sons and daughter of Adam and Eve, with God the Father as our creator, all made in the image and likeness of God, as last week’s Genesis reading confesses, and all died for by the Son of God, whose Father loved the brotherhood and sisterhood of the world so much that He gave into death His only begotten Son.
How often should my brother sin against me and I forgive him?
He’s your brother. She’s your sister. God is ya’ll’s Father.
And the Christian Church confesses the deeper bond of the brotherhood and sisterhood of the believers. Especially the ones we gather to hear God’s Word with, and sit at table with Jesus as both our host and our feast,
the love feast of God with us and us with God and us with each other.
God is reconciled with you. Go and be reconciled with your brother.]
Don’t be tempted to ask how often should I forgive, and instead be freed by the Son of God, believe and live in that freedom.
Be a freed forgiven Lutheran who freely forgives and gladly does good to those who sins against you.