Re-formed
Dr. Larry Thorson
Romans 1:16-17
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the
power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew,
then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is
revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is
written: "The righteous will live by faith."
Today’s
New International Version Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society
Today is Reformation Sunday, a day celebrated
on the last Sunday of October by Reformed Churches the world over. The word “re-form” means to change the shape
of a form. In this context it originally
meant to change the form of a church. That
church being “re-formed” was the Roman Catholic Church. Presbyterians
are the “re-formed” Roman Catholics out of
These days you don’t see much Roman
Catholic about our church and you don’t see much Scottish about it either. That’s because the hallmark of the Reformed
movement of the 1500’s is to be re-formed and always re-forming. That is as a church we recognize that we are
capable of falling into bad habits from time to time requiring us to re-form
our thoughts and behaviors. Humans
constantly fall into bad habits. Just
because we’ve always done a habit, doesn’t mean that’s the way God wants it
done. We’re “re-formed” and always
reforming.
We may take communion differently than
our Scottish brothers and sisters. We
may sing different kinds of songs in a different style than they do. We may have a different way to structure our
board of elders. But one thing that
never, ever changes in the Reformed churches is our belief that we are
justified by faith alone or in the words of the apostle Paul that we just read,
we have “a righteousness that is by faith
from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by
faith."
Without justification by faith, the
purpose for our church’s very existence would be missing. We’re adamant to protect and to make sure
that all of our ministers for all of our Presbyterian churches still believe
and teach it. It is what makes us who we
are. When we get away from that message
we need to be “re-formed”.
We can reform every part of our church’s
life from the music to the name on the marquee, but if we take away teaching
and believing justification by faith we become the human equivalent of a “Cash
for Clunker” car. You remember the
government’s stimulus plan where you could get up to $4,500 off the purchase of
a new car if you traded in your gas guzzling model for a more fuel efficient
car? The instructions for the dealers
who took in the gas guzzlers was to destroy the engine. They might be beautiful, low mileage well
maintained gas guzzlers but the heart and soul of that car was to be taken
out. When the engine was removed the
purpose for that car’s existence as transportation was taken away.
So on this “Re-formed” Sunday I want to
remind us what Reformed means and what it stands for. Paul says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God." We are all sinners in need of
justification. To be re-formed means we
believe that we are justified by faith in Jesus not by the church.
Justification by faith is the gospel or
the good news that Jesus’ death justifies us or makes us who are sinners right
with God. Often I hear people say
they’re forgiven because they lived a good life. I hear people say they’re forgiven because
God wouldn’t hold a grudge against anyone.
I hear people say they’re forgiven because they’ve never committed the
big sins like killing. I hear people say
they’re forgiven because they gave to the church. Thank you for your gift but it didn’t forgive
you.
When Paul says "all have
sinned" that doesn’t just refer to our misdeeds, the things we have done
that were wrong but also our sins of omission, that is those good things we
have not done like feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. And our volume
of misdeeds when we include our sins of omission, is impressive.
Our sins keep us in the words of theologian
Paul Tillich's great phrase, “estranged from God.” It’s like God is our parent but we’re not on
speaking terms. We’re not living
together. We’re not thinking together. We’re not sharing together. We’re estranged.
A park ranger was leading a group
of hikers to a lookout tower in
As the group neared the lookout
tower, they were met by a nearly breathless ranger who asked why the guide
hadn't responded to the messages on his radio. From their viewpoint, high in
the tower, some other rangers had observed a large grizzly bear stalking the
group. They had been trying desperately to warn the hikers.[1]
Sin can be as simple as being so
involved in personal activities and pursuits in this life that we don't pay
attention to the voice of God trying to get through to us like the park ranger
trying to get through to the guide. Sometimes we turn down the volume.
Sometimes we don't pay attention. Sometimes we even turn God off because we
want to do something that isn’t right.
That’s why we need a savior.
Notice I did not say that we need a good
example. Mother Teresa was a good example. Gandhi was a good example. Billy
Graham is a good example. But a good example cannot bridge the gap between
ourselves and God. A good example cannot even make us more Christ like. A good
example is like the Law that Paul railed against, and the church rules that
Martin Luther railed against. A good example can give me a picture of what I
ought to be, but it cannot transform my heart. It cannot give me the will to
change. Indeed, it can even be destructive if I look at the life of someone
like Gandhi or Mother Teresa and say to myself, "I can never measure up to
that," and thereby even quit trying. Then my life is condemned by the very
saints I chose as my good examples. No, a good example is not enough.
And notice also that I did not say
that we need a good teacher. There are many good teachers. I had good teachers
in school and I am thankful for them. But good teachers, like good examples,
can only show us the way. They don’t
have the power to make us change. The only power available to help us change our
sinful behavior is the power of the gospel.
In the old Roman Catholic Church of the 1500’s
your sins of omission and commission could be forgiven by purchasing
indulgences from the priests. Let’s say
you stole socks from Wal-Mart. You’d go
to the priest and pay maybe two dollars for that sin. Let’s say you cheated on your taxes and saved
yourself $1,600. You’d go to the priest
and buy an indulgence for maybe $200 and you’d be forgiven. These were great fundraisers for building the
great cathedrals of
But what indulgences can’t do is give
you the power to overcome those sins. If
stealing and cheating are your sins indulgences can’t help you overcome
those. Only the gospel has that power. Paul
says this gospel is the “power of God” to bring salvation to everyone regardless
of their race or background. That means
when you share this gospel with another person, it’s like having V8 power on
the pedal under your foot. When the
gospel lacks power it’s because it’s only head knowledge, and not heart
knowledge. We can know what the dictionary says, but the meaning doesn’t hit us
where we live.
What you need to consider today is
what part of your life needs re-forming.
Maybe it’s your diet. Or your
exercise plan. Or your drug
addiction. Or your relationship with
someone else. I hear this all the time
“When I’m ready to change I can do it myself.”
That’s the most common mantra I hear whether it’s a problem with another
person or a drug addiction or smoking.
“I can do it myself.” How’s that
working for you?
I’m here with the apostle Paul to tell
you that the power to change is in the power of the gospel. When you can stop saying that you can re-form
your own life and trust that God can reform you is when you experience real
life changing power.
Change happens when we finally
acknowledge that we need to change. Recovery
starts when we admit that we have a problem that we can’t pull ourselves out of
without help. That’s hard for us
independent people. Real hard. But this isn’t just about theology and the
after life. This is about right now and
your problems.
What is it in your life that needs
reforming today? There’s power to
change. But it starts by saying to Jesus
“I can’t do it, but I know that you can help me.” “I give you my life, especially this area of
my life.” Then stop doing the thing that
you know deep in your heart is the wrong thing to do and allow God to change
you. That is a favor Jesus will do for
you, unmerited favor that we didn’t earn.
That’s justification by faith.
That’s what being re-formed” means.
Grace alone.