What to do with freedom

"What will you do with that freedom?"

Whether those words were actually uttered by William Wallace we
do not know.

They are a portion of a battlefield speech delivered by Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart in which he portrayed the legendary freedom fighter during the Wars of Scottish Independence. 

Wallace was speaking of the personal, social, political and national freedoms sought by people who had lived a long time without any of them.  

In a speech to his victorious troops he asked, now that you are free, what are your plans? Will you continue the fight to its conclusion, or will you slip back into the old ways and slowly become slaves again? 

Two centuries after William Wallace was captured and executed by England's King Edward I in 1305, Martin Luther and others like him were used by God in their time to expose a different kind of freedom for the people, achieved for us by a different victor, Jesus Christ.

The freedom won by Christ, through his death and resurrection is our release from the guilt of sin and the curse of eternal death.  It is, in fact, life itself, the freedom to follow Him.  His victory is our victory, a gift to us through faith in Christ.

But Wallace-like questions ring in our ears.  Now that you are free, what are your plans? Will you continue the fight to its conclusion, will you live the life of forgiveness and joy that you have been given, or will you slip back into the old ways and slowly become slaves again?

What will you do with that freedom? 

In the Large Catechism, Luther observed that the answer to holding on to our Gospel freedom is daily living our Baptism, saying it “is nothing else than putting to death the old Adam, and after that the resurrection of the new man, both of which must take place in us all our lives, so that a truly Christian life is nothing else than a daily Baptism, once begun and ever to be continued.

This must be practiced without ceasing, that we ever keep purging away whatever is of the old Adam, and that that which belongs to the new man come forth.” 

This is the freedom of a Christian, new life every day.  

As we observe the 500th anniversary of the Reformation it is important to understand what really happened.  

In the Reformation the Church didn't change, not the true Church anyway.  It belongs to Christ.  It never changes.  It can't change.   

People were changed when the unchanging truth of God's Word was revealed and blind, enslaved hearts were set free.

Every day is a fresh day with the freedom to follow Jesus.  It' still all about him.

By the way, if you've never seen Gibson's famous freedom speech, here is it on Youtube. 

Life alone

If you want to send my daughter over the edge, simply point out a person sitting alone in a restaurant.

When she was younger she actually began to cry if we were eating out and she spied someone dining at a table for one.  

Her soft heart equates solitary meals with loneliness.  I hope it's because we had some wonderfully happy times at the dinner table when she was growing up - at least during those times when we could get her to stop dancing and be seated!   

In my former occupation I traveled frequently for work. When I called home in the evening to check in with the family she always wanted to know with whom I had eaten dinner.

She couldn't stand the thought of Daddy sitting alone at a table in a restaurant in an unfamiliar city.  I admit there were times I fibbed just so she wouldn't feel bad.

Most people probably share her feelings - at least a little bit.  While a few souls are naturally comfortable on their own, most of us would rather spend our time with another human being, or at least a friendly pet!

The dictionary definition of 'alone' is pretty straightforward: unique, set apart, exclusive of all else. That sounds okay, almost royal. 

But if one consults a thesaurus regarding 'alone' the list of  synonyms is a sad bunch of words: abandoned, isolated, solitary, forsaken, etc.  The implication is that one should avoid 'alone-ness' at all cost because it is a life devoid of relationships!

Before this becomes a pity party, we also must recognize that there are some very positive 'alones' that have made it possible for us to enjoy one specific relationship - our relationship with God.

These are the 'alones' rediscovered during the Reformation, a time when truths about God and our relationship with him were brought to light once again through the Gospel of Jesus.

Scripture alone.  The Bible is the one and only standard by which all teachers and doctrines may be judged because it is the clear, true, powerful and unchanging Word of God.  (Sola scriptura!)

Grace alone.  The unearned and undeserved love of God for all of creation, especially for his people, that caused him to send his only Son to redeem it.  (Sola gratia!)

Faith alone.  The personal assurance that God's promises of forgiveness and everlasting life are true and reliable.  There is nothing that I must or can do to bring this about.  Such certainty is a gift from God received through the Gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (Sola fide!)

Christ alone.  The death of Jesus Christ on the cross redeemed me and all others from the curse and darkness of sin and eternal death.  It did for me what I could not do myself.  His resurrection from the dead is God's promise to me that I will live also.  (Solus Christus!)

Notice how everything about forgiveness and life comes from God? He acted in order that we would not be abandoned, isolated and forsaken but loved, encouraged and cared for forever.

Thank God that he acted alone to make us his people.  

It wouldn't have worked any other way.







   





      

The Lutheran difference

While paging through a catalog from my church body's supply company I came across several items that reminded me of one of the central tenets of the Reformation - Christian freedom.

Among the many important doctrines recovered by Martin Luther and his colleagues was that of freedom.  Not the kind of freedom we have as American citizens but freedom that comes from our redemption through Christ.

This is freedom from the law that condemns us for our sinfulness because Christ fulfilled the law for us.  Through the forgiveness of sins which he achieved on the cross, the law's power over us was terminated.  St. Paul addressed this at some depth in his first letter to the church at Corinth.

People there were troubled that some Christians were purchasing and eating meat that was sacrificed to pagan idols then sold in the marketplace.  Folks were divided over its propriety.  

Could a Christian eat this "idol" meat without sinning? And what effect would it have on Christians who believed it was an improper act? Do their feelings matter more than one's own?

Here is what God tells us through Paul:

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others." (1 Corinthians 10:23-24 NIV)

Just as secular freedom demands responsibility on our part, so also our freedom in Christ requires Christian responsibility. The Christian is released from useless rules of conduct devised by sinful men. But he must always be cognizant of how his freedom is interpreted by others, especially those whose faith is weak.

Which brings me back to the catalog.  In celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation Concordia Publishing House - a very Lutheran outfit -  is offering several commemorative items suitable for holiday giving.  

My favorites are this German-looking beer stein as well as a very useful shot glass.  Christian freedom at its finest.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."              1 Corinthians 10:31


(Just be sure to leave these in the cupboard when entertaining your Baptist friends.)

Starting over fresh

“Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.” --Aristotle

The biggest question in the church today is, where are all the young people?

You have probably read the statistics about the nationwide decline in church attendance, especially the dramatic plunge in the young adult category.

The trend has been developing for years.  Now, however, church leaders have come to the realization that the young people are gone and the baby boom generation has begun to die off.  

The outlook for church attendance 20 years from now is especially grim.  Many congregations are circling the drain.

As a result virtually every Christian community is trying to figure out how to reignite faith and congregational participation among the 20-somethings who as children sat in the pews next to their  parents.

Typically this leads to implementation of new programs, the addition of specialized staff or adoption of a particular worship style aimed at drawing a certain group of people through the doors.

It rarely works.  

If Aristotle was right (and he was wrong about a lot of things) the church isn't doing a very good job of building the faith of its children.

More correctly, parents aren't doing a very good job of building the faith of their children.

Moses told the Israelites not to neglect educating their children in the commandments of God.

"You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 11:19

Likewise, King Solomon gave this astute advice.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Martin Luther, in the opening words of his Small Catechism section on the Ten Commandments, admonished, 

"As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to his household."

It is clear where the responsibility lies. 

There are all kinds of reasons why parents of the last 50 years have failed to adequately bring up our children believing and trusting in Jesus and desiring to serve him.  We must repent, seek His forgiveness and follow his guidance. 

We often lay the blame on over-active schedules, particularly organized youth sports.  

Guess what?

An annual household survey conducted by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association confirms that organized sports participation among our youth is also falling. Among kids 13 to 17 years old the rate fell from 42.7% in 2008 to 39.3% in 2015. There was a similar decline for ages 6 to 12.

Here is another item to chew on.

Only 3% of adults who play sports currently did not play when they were young, according to a 2015 study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard University.

The old axiom is true: it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

Whether it is faith or football, if an activity or association isn't learned and appreciated when a person is young it is highly unlikely to be important in their adult life. 

Here is what must be done.

Churches must expend greater energy, focus more intently and spend more dollars supporting, encouraging and training parents to teach their children about Jesus.

Unfortunately, many Christian parents today are unable to cogently express what they believe or why they believe it regarding Jesus and their relationship with him.  

And parents must face this fact.  You have been called by God to this position of responsibility to prepare your children for eternity.  There is no job of greater importance than this.
   
Your church is here to help.