May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing
in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:1-6)

Stand Firm in Christ's Freedom of Sins Forgiving

In Christ's name and to his glory, dear friends: The reformer, Martin Luther (1483- 1546) loved this letter to the Galatians. Just like sometimes we go away from church thinking, It's as if Pastor were speaking to me today, Pastor Luther felt like God inspired Galatians just because he knew how much Luther and his times would need it. Luther said of Galatians, This is my own little epistle. I have betrothed myself to it. It is my Katherine von Bora. Just as God had sent his beloved wife Katie to Luther to bring him joy in this life, he knew that God had sent the book of Galatians into his life to give his soul joy for now and eternity. This letter of the Bible gave Luther exactly what he needed so he could confidently say: I know that I am going to heaven and I know exactly why - because of what God has done for me in the atoning blood of Jesus. This letter also gave Luther what he needed so he could help others see this important way of salvation right at a time when Satan and his were confusing the issue mightily. Today, as we spend a few precious moments with this letter to the Galatians we use as our central thought STAND FIRM IN CHRIST'S FREEDOM OF SINS FORGIVING. May God send his Spirit to us.

Stand firm in Christ's freedom of sins forgiven because this is the only way you can be free. Let us make sure we understand Paul when he says: You are free. Don't go back to slavery. (v.1) Paul is talking about freedom from sin and the curse of God's law. Sin is in our lives. Even unbelievers admit they fail. Believers are keenly aware of sin and its consequence before our Maker. God's word breaths life into our lazy consciences. Earlier in this book our Judge says: Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law. (3:10) This is all we are capable of - bringing God's just anger, his curse, down on us. But look at what our Savior God is capable of! That 3^rd chapter goes on to say: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. This is the only way a person can get free from the eternal curse of God on sin - by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

To go back to slavery would be to turn to something other than Christ to be free from sin. This "something else" always ends up being something the sinner does to make up for his sin. Paul brings up the Old Testament law of circumcision as "something else" that his readers were looking to. There were good intentioned yet erring teachers in Galatia. They taught that one needed Jesus AND works. They claimed that God would only accept you if you became Jewish, adopting most of the Old Testament laws. They were even willing to forgo most of them but held to circumcision as the very least a person must do. But Paul calls this looking to Christ and works slavery because nothing a sinner does can truly free him from his sin. And he warns about what happens to a person who looks to something other than Christ. Christ becomes worthless - people keep looking to what they are doing, not what Christ has done for them. The sinner is on the self-merit plan - the sinner is unconsciously asking God to look at his conduct instead of Christ' sacrifice. He then must watch his every step and never break any commandment ever, not just keep a few self-chosen ones like circumcision. Finally the sinner is alienated from Christ - he is covered with his guilt since he has not gotten rid of it by his deeds and stands outside God's family. Now this is real slavery, to have a conscience fearful of God, always certain that God hates him because of his sin, dreading death because he knows what God will say to him - you're not fit for heaven! There is no rest for the wicked! (Isaiah 48:22)

In contrast to this futile, self-working way to God Paul holds up the truth - Christ's freedom of sins forgiven. And when he does this, is not a person who has merely memorized some facts and written them down. God has brought Paul to know this by experience. Paul used to think that he could do something to make his sin go away, but God told hold of his heart and made Paul see the way of Christ's freedom of sins forgiven. The same happened to our dear friend, Pastor Luther. In Luther's day he was pointed to his prayers, his ascetic monastic life, his journey to Rome to free him from guilt - to Jesus and what the sinner could do. Luther tried that but always his conscience was held captive. Then God took hold of his heart and made Luther see the way of Christ's freedom of sins forgiven. He loved this little letter to the Galatians because it spoke the clear and simple Gospel to him. A man is not justified by observing the law but by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 2:15)

And this is the precious heritage that is ours today - Christ's freedom in sins forgiven. For your soul's sake, stand firm! How very much we need this admonition. We need it because our sinful, wayward selves always revert naturally back to slavery. Satan is still crafty and powerful, and his words sound reasonable. He will say that it is dangerous to put all your eggs in one basket. He will speak to us that this is a fragile basket as well; it is too chancy to rest your soul on this one, single hope. And beside, are you and your efforts not worth something? Against these attacks we have only one defense - the simple and clear promises of God about his Son. This alone will calm our conscience and make us free from our sin and therefore free from the fear of death. Stick stubbornly to it. This is the only time God lets us be stubborn without sin - when we are saying, "I believe in what my Savior taught and I trust it whether felt or not." When you, by God's working see your sin, run to your Savior. Make no deals with him. You can do nothing that will appease him. Simply say, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." And you shall hear, "Son, daughter, your sins are forgiven."

Because error abounds, stand firm! All around us the straying church points to "something else". This very day a group of Lutherans (not in any way connected to the WELS) are not standing firm and are signing an agreement on justification with the Roman Catholic Church. But nothing really has changed. Jesus once said, By their fruits you will recognize them (Matthew 7:15,16). So, dear Catholic priests, now that you have signed this agreement, tell me. When a person comes to confess his sins, will you say, "My friend, your sins are forgiven. Jesus has carried your guilt at Calvary. You are a redeemed child of God. Go in peace. You are free." OR will you still say, "Now you must light a candle, say this or that prayer, buy a mass or some other thing." By their fruit you will know them. And the rest of general Protestantism has lost this one cardinal truth of justification as well for it like Catholicism looks to what I do in response to God rather than to what God promises for its assurance. Oh, stand firm!

And, dear friends, stand firm because in this Gospel alone you can truly help others. How can we be parents if we do not have this truth? We could teach children much about morality and goodness, but such things will not help them on Judgment Day. Nothing they do will keep them safe. There is a life to come for which we must prepare our children. The only way we will see them in heaven is to stand firm in the freedom of sins forgiven. Teach them to confess their sins and look to Jesus for forgiveness. Then they will be free. And how shall we fulfill our mission as St. Paul's if we will not stand firm? What makes us different from the other churches is the clear and simple message of forgiveness in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. And our work as a synod depends on God keeping us firm in this simple core truth. If it is lost all work will be a chasing after the wind, meaningless. But with this one truth firmly in hand and heart we shall shine, and so shall our every effort.Amen.