Freedom means we can do what we want, right? Well, as Martin Luther said, Sin Boldly. But own your sin and pray even more boldly!
Please listen to the sermon rather than read it. The text is included for your convenience, but it is not entirely like the delivered version, which includes nuances that can't be read.
Sermon delivered at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Berkeley.
October 25, 2015 - Reformation Sunday
"Freedom to Sin". Text is from John 8:31-36
Good morning my sisters and brothers, saints and sinners, children of God.
I want to first look at the Judeans in this passage and make it clear that they when we say that these are Judeans who had believed in Jesus and his mission, they no longer do so. And now some of them are in fact feeling antagonistic toward him.
So there is a conflict opening up here in the gospel of John, but it is in direct response to Jesus. Jesus is once again inviting the Judeans to be his disciples, the call that he has out for everyone, an offering of the understanding of what true discipleship is, and the freedom that comes from that understanding. But the Judeans have hardened their hearts toward him, and are particularly sensitive to his choice of words.
