Live to God Who gives you life in Christ.

Sermon for Trinity 6, July 28, 2019

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Romans 6:3–11  ³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  ⁴We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.  ⁵For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection.  ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin.  ⁷For the person who has died has been declared free from sin.  ⁸And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  ⁹We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he will never die again.  Death no longer has control over him.  ¹⁰For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.  ¹¹In the same way also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

            We bow our heads in prayer: Almighty and everlasting God, through whose mercy we are saved by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit, we humbly pray You, let this grace reign in us, as the power of a new holy life, whereby, denying ungodliness and worldliness, we may live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for the glorious reappearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous for all good works; to Whom, with You and the Holy Spirit be glory and honor forever.  Amen.

Live to God Who gives you life in Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            It is said that the measure of a man is found in how he behaves when no one is watching.  When temptation comes alluring, will he still do right, even if no one is there to keep him honest?  Our sermon text presents just such a challenge: will man, when he hears of God’s free grace, gladly live a more holy life, or will he be tempted into bold sinfulness?

Throughout the course of history, many church leaders have assumed that people would sin more boldly if they knew they are freely forgiven, which led those who thought that way to try to restrain sin by increasing the law, but the law has no power to help us live holy lives.  Recognizing our weakness in this regard, the Holy Spirit had St. Paul answer that fear by pointing out that it would be ludicrous for anyone to think that sin was acceptable so that grace would increase.  He therefore encouraged us to Live to God Who gives you life in Christ.

We first must recognize that our human nature doesn’t need any encouragement to sin.  That was our natural state before we were brought to faith in Christ.  From our conception, every thought, word, deed, interest, or desire we had was corrupted with sin.  The Holy Spirit declares that, “The sinful mind is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.  Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8)  St. Paul recognized that he was no different than any of the rest of us saying, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:18)  The Bible also tells us that apart from Christ we had no spiritual life, and there was nothing you could do to change that fact for “You were dead in your transgressions and sins.” (Ephesians 2:1)  Though our bodies were born physically alive, we entered this world spiritually dead and condemned to the fires of hell.

It all sounds pretty hopeless, doesn’t it?  However, God who created us wants us to have hope—in other words, He intends to give you true and certain confidence in the salvation He brings.  Thus, Paul asked, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”  Of course, you might ask, “What does being baptized into Jesus’ death do to give us hope?”  So, we read on: “We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.” 

Now, some might take this as a command—as something we must do for God.  But, the reality is that God, through our Baptisms, has done something for us.  In the blessed washing of Baptism, God connected us to Christ Jesus; first, into His death by which all our sins were transferred to the innocent Son of God who had paid the due penalty of death for our sins, and then also connecting us to Jesus in His resurrection.  “For [Paul wrote] if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection.”  Through Baptism, we, who once were dead in sin, are united with Christ and lifted up from the tomb of eternal death which Jesus conquered so that we may receive life. 

When we were under the curse of sin, we had no truth in us.  We lusted after people and things that were not ours.  By nature, we were selfish and self-absorbed, for as the Lord long ago observed, “every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” (Genesis 8:21 NIV)

However, being united with Christ is life just as He said, (John 14:6) so in Christ, we again desire to walk with God as did Adam and Eve before their fall into sin.  And, with our new connection to Christ, His holiness inspires in us the desire to put others’ needs before our own, to sacrifice our pleasure for the good of our neighbor, to concentrate not on the cares and temptations of this world, but on the love of God who gives all things for our good, and gave Himself for our salvation.  The new life we are given in Christ isn’t corrupted with the sinful nature that wants to fight against God in everything.  Thus now, we can Live to God Who gives you life in Christ.

As long as we walk on this planet earth, we will always struggle, because we still dwell in our old body of death.  At the same time, we are now equipped with a holy, spiritual life that is everlasting for Paul wrote, “We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin.  For the person who has died has been declared free from sin.”  The One who through death was set free from sin is Christ Jesus. 

Now, someone might argue, “But Christ was not subject to death for He never sinned.”  And it’s true that Jesus never sinned, but He made Himself to be sin for us by taking the sins of the world on Himself at His baptism.  Our sins condemned Jesus.  Our sins nailed Jesus to the cross and put Him in the grave.  However, by sacrificing Himself for us, the Son of God crushed the devil’s head, killed death, and broke open the gates of the grave.  Victorious over all our enemies, Jesus rose from the grave, alive, never to die again, and in Baptism, you and I are connected to His life, giving us eternal life also.  Therefore, Paul could write with all confidence, “And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he will never die again.  Death no longer has control over him.”

By God’s grace, through Baptism, we too have been set free from death.  Thus, our new spiritual life in Jesus has no connection to sin.  At the same time, the struggle between our old sinful flesh and our new spiritual life continues as long as we are physically alive.  Therefore, Paul wrote, “For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.  In the same way also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” 

For the rest of our days here on earth, we will consciously decide whom we will serve.  Will we go back to serving the desires of our sinful flesh and the devil who had stolen our souls from God, or will we, rather, gladly serve only the Savior who has rescued us from Satan, sin, and death to give us new, everlasting life?  The answer should be obvious; we Live to God Who gives us life in Christ.

We admit that every day of our physical lives will be a struggle.  Satan still roams this earth seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)  Our old flesh remains weak and often tempts us with all kinds of wicked desires and accusations, trying to turn us away from our Savior.  However, my friends, we are not alone in this battle.  We have a Savior who has rescued us from sin, and He is with us every step of the way. (Matthew 28:20)  Furthermore, as long as we remain connected to Christ in our baptismal faith, we are blessed by the certainty that “the life that He lives, He lives to God.” 

Jesus lives, now and forever, holy to God the Father.  We live with Him through faith.  Through faith and through the Means of Grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacrament, Christ continues to strengthen us for the battles of this troubled life on earth.  When we are tempted, we turn to our Savior for help and strength.  As guilt troubles us, we return to the promises of Baptism, in which our sinful nature was crucified with Christ, and we were given new life.  Each day we can return to our baptisms confessing all the sins that have afflicted us.  And each day, we will hear the absolution of our Lord and Savior, proclaiming to us that because He lives, we also live—forgiven—forever.

Dear friends, the devil likes to taunt Christians with the temptation to sin so that God’s grace might be made greater, but that’s the devil’s lie.  The amount of God’s grace isn’t dependent upon our sin.  God’s grace flows overabundantly to us solely from His love for the human race, as demonstrated by the blood that flowed from Jesus’ side on the cross.  On the cross, Jesus took the sins of the whole world upon Himself, and the judgment our sins had earned. But on the third day, Jesus destroyed death and the devil’s claim over us, when He rose triumphant to life again.  With His life, death, and resurrection, Christ set us free from sin and death.  They no longer enslave us. 

Therefore, trusting in Jesus as our one and only Savior, trusting that He has redeemed us from sin and death, believing that God the Father has declared us innocent of all charges because of Christ, and partaking often of His means of grace through which we are renewed in the Lord’s salvation and strengthened for our walk in this world, we turn away from sin and Live to God Who gives us life.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting life.  Amen.

The LORD gives hope for His people.

Sermon for Trinity 5, July 21, 2019

Grace and peace be multiplied to you from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in abundant mercy has given us a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Jeremiah 16:14-21  ¹⁴Nevertheless, listen to this.  The days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt.”  ¹⁵But they will say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out from the land in the north and from all the lands to which he exiled them.”  For I will restore them to the homeland I gave to their fathers.  ¹⁶Look, I am sending for many fishermen, declares the Lord, and they will catch them.  After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt for them on every mountain, on every high hill, and in the crevices of the rocks.  ¹⁷My eyes are watching everything they do.  It is not hidden from me, nor is their guilt hidden from my eyes.  ¹⁸But first I will pay them double for their guilt and their sin, because they defiled my land with the carcasses of their disgusting idols, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.  ¹⁹The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.  Nations will come to you from the ends of the earth and say, “Our forefathers possessed only false gods, worthless idols, and there was nothing good in them.  ²⁰Can a man make gods for himself?  Yes, but they are not gods!”  ²¹Therefore I will certainly teach them.  This time I will teach them my power and my strength, and then they will know that my name is the Lord.

The LORD gives hope for His people.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            As He was being led out to Golgotha to be put to death on the cross, Jesus gave the same warning that was given through the prophet, Hosea, Then they will begin to say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!" (Luke 23:30)  A Judgment Day is coming, and it will be a horrible day for everyone who has rejected the Lord of life. 

Likewise, judgment was soon to come upon the Children of Israel when Jeremiah wrote the words of our sermon text, and God’s warning to them was just as shattering.  The idolatry and wretched unfaithfulness of God’s chosen people had reached its zenith and would be tolerated no longer.  Neither would they be able to hide themselves or to escape from the agents of God’s wrath.  Yet, even as He declared His intention to bring just punishment upon the Children of Israel, The LORD gives hope for His people.

In many ways, the history of the nation of Israel serves as a warning, and a promise, for all the people who come after them.  Here in Jeremiah’s prophecy, this is again evident.  This chosen nation, a people that God had lifted up out of slavery and degradation so that He could pour out His blessings upon them in overwhelming abundance, had continually turned away from their Savior to follow man-made idols, either of their heathen neighbors or their own imaginations.  And, because of their multi-generational unfaithfulness to the one true God Who had loved them and cared for them, the Israelites would, now, be given into the hands of destroyers. 

Their destruction would not be pretty: " Look, I am sending for many fishermen, declares the Lord, and they will catch them.  After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt for them on every mountain, on every high hill, and in the crevices of the rocks.”  Just as a fisherman drags his catch with a hook in the lip, so the best and brightest of Israel would be snared and dragged away from the rich land their forefathers had been given into captivity in exile.  At the same time, vast numbers of the people would be slaughtered as if for sport.  The armies that were being sent to bring judgment upon Israel were not going to be satisfied with a modest victory.  Instead, they would hunt down the scattered people like vermin.  Even those who thought they could escape by hiding in mountain caves and crevices would be hunted out and cut down.  No family would escape unharmed.  Every member of the nation would feel God’s just wrath. 

Sadly, the Israelites had deceived themselves with the idea that the gods of their neighbors would give them safety, and they listened to the false belief that serving those dead idols would bring abundance to the land.  Though they pretended to worship the God of Abraham, the LORD was not fooled.  He declared, " My eyes are watching everything they do.  It is not hidden from me, nor is their guilt hidden from my eyes.  But first I will pay them double for their guilt and their sin, because they defiled my land with the carcasses of their disgusting idols, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”  Israel had been given that bountiful land with the command to eliminate the idolatrous Canaanites, but they had instead been beguiled by the idolatrous ways and had become a stench in God’s nostrils.  The reminder for us, today, is that there is no wickedness hidden from God’s attention.  Though He allows us to live in peace, the Lord doesn’t fail to notice the deceitfulness of those who serve other gods.

You see, when the LORD made Israel His chosen people, He had solemnly declared to them, "You shall have no other gods beside me…for I the LORD your God am a jealous God.  I follow up on the guilt of the fathers with their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, if they also hate me.” (Exodus 20:3, 5)  This was part of God’s covenant with Israel.  God had chosen them, solely, out of His pure mercy and grace.  They didn’t deserve His love any more than any other people, yet the LORD had poured out blessings upon Israel in rich abundance.  But, for generations, the chosen people had turned aside from the Lord to seek help and pleasure from man-made idols.  Thus, God’s righteous anger against Israel was long deserved. 

It’s a sad fact that unbelieving parents often also lead their children into unbelief.  It is also certain that apart from sincere faith in the Triune God, the end will only be destruction and eternal condemnation.  That is the lesson we must learn from this part of history.  Israel’s chief sin was unfaithfulness to God.  That, of course, led to all kinds of other sins, but it was their lack of trust in the LORD that caused their downfall.

So, how about you and me?  And, how about our nation?  Do we stand in danger of God’s just wrath?  Thinking about the present moral, ethical, social, and political situation in our world confronts us with a sobering reality, doesn’t it?  We live in a nation that God has blessed with freedom and wealth so immeasurably great that many, many people of almost every nation in our world long to live within our borders so that they, too, can share in the abundance of God’s blessing.  Yet, at the same time, it appears as if our nation has forgotten the source of these blessings, and our people have abandoned the one true God to follow idols of human imagination and pagan neighbors.  In light of this reality, therefore, we each should ask ourselves, and answer truthfully, whether we ourselves have put all our trust in the Savior God, or do we rely on the idols of our neighbors, our works, or our own imaginations? 

If we are honest, we will admit that our guilt is as great as anyone who has lived before us.  We too have sometimes trusted in governments, in human reason, and in the labors of our hands.  We too may have mistaken God’s forbearance as proof that we deserved every blessing He has given us.  At the minimum, we were born trusting in anything but the God who created us and loved us with the sacrifice of His Son.  Through Jeremiah, then, God reminds us that men do make gods for themselves, but they are not really gods, only idolatrous and dangerous imaginations. 

Like Israel, we also deserved God’s wrath, but again, the answer is faith in the one true God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who has made Himself known through His holy Scriptures; the God who loved faithful and unfaithful people alike, so much so, that He sent His only begotten Son to live and die for our redemption.  Those who trust solely in the Triune God have His promise of sure forgiveness and salvation, even as all others face His just anger as did unfaithful Israel.  Just as they were hunted down, and snared by God’s avengers, so on the last day will all the unbelieving masses of history be searched out from their hiding places to face eternal judgment.

Thanks be to God, The LORD gives hope for His people.  Through Jeremiah, He promised, "The days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt.’  But they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel out from the land in the north and from all the lands to which he exiled them.’  For I will restore them to the homeland I gave to their fathers.”  Yet again, God would demonstrate His love and mercy for all the world to see.  Those humbled people would be redeemed from their captors as another foreshadowing of the redemption God would accomplish for the whole world, and just as He rescued His chosen people from their enemies, so God rescued both Jew and Gentile from the snares of Satan and his fellow betrayers by the sacrifice of Jesus.

When Jeremiah heard God’s promise to restore a remnant people into their promised land, he rejoiced: “The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.  Nations will come to you from the ends of the earth."  That is our confession as well.  The true God who created all things is our Refuge and our Fortress.  Though we have sinned against God, God’s Son paid double for our sins upon a cross outside Jerusalem.  In His mercy, God has wiped away our guilt through faith in Christ Jesus.  Since He bore the sins of the whole world upon His innocent shoulders, Jesus has paid for your sins and mine; He paid the sin-debt of our fathers, our children, our friends, and our enemies.  Now, in the day of affliction, we have a hiding place that is sure.  In Christ Jesus, we have complete immunity from God’s righteous anger, because Jesus received all of God’s wrath and just punishment.  Jesus bore our condemnation so that we could be restored to holiness in God’s presence.  And through faith in Jesus which the Holy Spirit brought to us through Word and Sacrament, we have been restored to the rich promises God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The LORD gives hope for His people.  So that we might not be lost, the Lord said, " Therefore I will certainly teach them.  This time I will teach them my power and my strength, and then they will know that my name is the Lord.”  The nation of Israel saw many displays of God’s power and grace.  Likewise, great things have been done for you and me, as well, and the greatest display of God’s power and mercy is seen in the resurrection of His Son from the grave.  There at the open tomb, we see His power over death and everything else that could destroy us.  There, we see how Jesus’ great love, which caused Him to bear our sins and the punishment we deserved, was rewarded with life everlasting.  And there at Jesus’ open tomb, we see our future: not of death but a resurrection to everlasting life.

Unfaithful Israel had to suffer the snares of fishermen and hunters sent to tear them away from God’s blessing.  Today, however, God sends His fishermen to gather His elect into His kingdom of peace.  In our Gospel lesson a few moments ago, we heard Jesus call His first disciples to be fishers of men: fishermen Jesus appointed to spread His good news to a world so in need of salvation.  Still today, called servants of the Lord continue in that role: sharing the good news of Jesus to a dying world.  As you and I were made believers through God’s gift of grace, He also called us to participate in sharing His good news with those around us, so that more and more of those still lost may yet be gathered in. 

What does this all mean for you and me?  In Paul’s letter to the Romans, we read, “For what does Scripture say?  ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’" (Romans 4:3)  Likewise, because we, who had nothing to boast about before God, have been given saving faith in Christ Jesus, you and I are among those who have been declared righteous before God by faith, and thus, we receive an eternal welcome into God’s heavenly kingdom, and with Jeremiah we confidently sing,  “The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.   

Dear friends, God gave all of His Word so that you and I would know without doubt that we have a Savior from sin and death.  All the history recorded in the Bible has that one purpose: to teach us about Christ and His salvation.  The nation of Israel suffered much for their unfaithfulness, and those who refused God’s mercy were cut off from life.  However, everyone who believed and repented of their sins, no matter how terrible, was given the sure hope of the Savior.  Their hope is also ours.  Because of Christ Jesus, we have God’s forgiveness and a home in heaven.  Everyone who trusts in Christ for forgiveness and salvation will live with Him forever, because The LORD gives hope for His people.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Imitate your merciful Father.

Sermon for Trinity 4, July 14, 2019

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Luke 6:36–42  ³⁶“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.  ³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap.  In fact, the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.”  ³⁹He also told them a parable: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he?  Won’t they both fall into a pit?  ⁴⁰A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.  ⁴¹Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?  ⁴²Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck in your eye,’ when you do not see the beam in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.”

Imitate your merciful Father.

Dear redeemed children of God,

            How much of your father lives on in your behavior?  For most people the answer is a lot.  We are by nature mimics who learned how to live and behave by watching our parents.  That can lead to either positive or negative results.  Studies have shown that children who observe their parents reading are likely to become readers themselves, but those who see their father abuse his wife will very often also become abusers too, and parental driving habits have also proven to be a major influence on the habits with which their new-driver teens operate a vehicle. 

            Therefore, if our earthly parents (and several studies have suggested fathers, especially) are such a strong influence in how we will live, consider how important it is for all of us who have been made children of God to Imitate our merciful Father.

            When you read through the sixth chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, you will be amazed at how much of Jesus’ instruction for us also describes how Jesus honored His Father as He lived here on earth: “Love your enemies.  Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you.  Pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other too.  If someone takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes away your things do not demand them back.” (Luke 6:27-30)  It sounds exactly how Jesus lived for you and me, doesn’t it?   Displayed especially vividly as Jesus went to the cross in our place.  Thus, you come to our sermon text in which Jesus told the crowd of disciples who surrounded Him on the mountain, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

            Have you considered your heavenly Father’s mercy?  Every day since Adam and Eve fell into sin has been a demonstration of God’s loving kindness toward us.  Since that fateful day, when we all became God’s enemies who deserve only His wrath and punishment, God has mercifully allowed the human race to survive, even thrive, and has provided everything needed for body and life.  Because of our inborn, inherited sin, we were born already allied with Satan.  Yet, God still provides everything we need for our bodies here, and for our souls in eternity.  He provides parents to care for us and to train us in how we should live.  God gives us air to breath, bodies of amazing complexity, talents, and abilities, sunshine to heat this planet, and rain to make our food grow.  Jesus tells us His Father “makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)  So, if we choose not to be merciful, what father would we be imitating?  If we should refuse to be merciful to a repentant brother or sister, Jesus would then be compelled to mark us as just more of His evil opponents, of whom He has said "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to do your father’s desires.” (John 8:44)

            Jesus also instructed the people on what being merciful truly means: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap.  In fact, the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you."  It is an expansion on how Jesus taught us to pray: “Forgive us our sins, as we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” (Luke 11:4)

As we live in this difficult and sinful world, it is very easy to let the sinful nature take control of our behavior and to do the opposite of what Jesus instructs.  It is so easy to be judgmental when someone disagrees with us, and selfish when we could be generous and kind.  Our social media has made it incredibly easy for us to condemn those who hurt us, to clap back at and put down those who offend us.  How incredibly hard we find it to forgive the person who causes us pain. 

Whenever we find ourselves in the position of disobeying Jesus’ instruction, here, we really need to remember how great God’s mercy has been to us.  How many sins did God forgive of me already today, or yesterday, really every day of my life?  How many days of grace has God given me since I first disobeyed Him and earned the sentence of death?  When you think about it, it’s scary to self-examine, isn’t it?  Yet, in spite of our great weakness, God’s love for us shines out even greater.

So, how could anyone still want to be allied with Satan?  Because that’s what we are saying when we hastily and arrogantly judge hearts, condemn souls, or neglect to forgive the repentant sinner.  Conversely, if we are able to give mercy as our heavenly Father has given to us, then we show to Him, and to the world, that He really is our true Father.  When we give love and forgiveness as Christ has given to us, then we show that His love now resides in His adopted brothers and sisters, and if we are the members of God’s family He has made us, then truly we have great inheritances coming our way.  When you Imitate your merciful Father, you show appreciation that you have been adopted as Jesus’ brother, and that your true home is in heaven, not here on earth.

Of course, these passages have also been among the most misused words in the Bible as arrogant sinners pretend that we should never judge anything.  Our world is full of God’s enemies who want us to approve their sinfulness and make any disagreement concerning morality a form of discrimination and judgmental opinion.  For so many people, today, the only thing they will not tolerate is intolerance of their sinful behavior. 

However, Jesus wasn’t telling the world that we have no responsibility to God or to our neighbors.  In no way does Jesus approve of sin or immorality.  Remember, He also instructed His disciples: " Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)  So, even when the world finds our loving instruction and care for them offensive, we simply must share both Law and Gospel.

Furthermore, in the Scriptures, we do find a proper role for judgment.  God gave parents the command to teach their children and discipline them so that they do not remain lost children of the devil.  Paul wrote, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)  This certainly involves a proper role for humble judgment of their behavior.  Likewise, the role of judgment is given to government and to all in authority; God puts certain people in those positions with the command to judge, and even condemn, for the protection of His faithful children, so that anarchy doesn’t rule this world.  To those who insist that no one has the right to judge them, St. Paul warns that God’s earthly agent does have authority to judge, saying, “He does not carry the sword without reason.  He is God's servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:4)  Let the arrogant sinner be forewarned.

At the same time, Jesus taught His followers about being merciful, “He also told them a parable: ‘A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he?  Won’t they both fall into a pit?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.’”  The blind in this parable are those who don’t comprehend God’s truth.  There are many people in the world who claim wisdom, even many who claim religious authority, who have no sight of God’s true Word.  Jesus is telling us that we need to learn from the true Teacher, His Holy Spirit in the Word.  People taught by those who don’t know God’s Word, or who misuse it, remain blind and will fall into the ditch that is eternal suffering in hell. 

Jesus’ proverb, here, speaks a well-known truth.  We rarely rise above our teachers even in earthly things.  No one will ever rise above the heavenly Teacher.  Yet, Jesus promises, “Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”  Therefore, we sit at Jesus’ feet, gladly hearing His instruction, soaking up every word that His Holy Spirit caused to be written for our learning.  We reject nothing of what God teaches in the Bible, and we look forward to the day when we are no longer bound under the limitations of our sinful flesh but forevermore enjoy the perfection of our immortal resurrection into our home in heaven.

When you consider Jesus’ eyesight illustration, it makes perfect sense.  He said, “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?  Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck in your eye,’ when you do not see the beam in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.”  In this picture, the arrogant, self-righteous sinner always has a wood beam of guilt corrupting his eye.  Thus, it isn’t possible for him to remove contamination from his brother’s vision. 

Sadly though, sometimes we Christians, too, suffer from this fault.  When we forget the great mercy our heavenly Father has shown to us, we might arrogantly cause even more damage to our brother should we try to correct his problems though blinded by self-righteousness.  However, when we humbly lay our guilt at Jesus’ feet, and trust that He has paid the price for our redemption, and we remember how great the mercy of the Triune God has been in our lives so that the contamination of sin that had clouded our vision is removed, we can humbly extend the healing mercy of our heavenly Father to other hurting souls. 

Now, do we Christians ever gain perfect sight in this life?  No, of course not.  Throughout our time on this troubled earth, we will carry our human imperfections with us.  At the same time, we dare not forget that in our Baptisms our sinful nature was put to death with Christ and we were raised up cleansed and connected to His holy life.  By remaining humbly in the instruction of our great Teacher, Christ the Lord, by the effort of the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament, we can gently assist our earthly brothers and sisters, pulling out the specks and beams that cause them such great pain, the slivers that cloud their vision.  We do this as we share God’s love and mercy with hurting children of all ages, and thereby pull them from Satan’s grasp by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We do this not in sinful judgment, nor to humiliate or embarrass anyone, but so that they, too, can enjoy the eternal life with which our heavenly Father has blessed us.  Thus, dear friends, by humbly sharing His forgiving love in a hurting and sightless world, you truly do Imitate your merciful Father.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting life.  Amen.

Called into glory: humbly submit and boldly resist.

Sermon for Trinity 3, July 7, 2019

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

1 Peter 5:6–11  ⁶Therefore humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up at the appointed time.  ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.  ⁸Have sound judgment.  Be alert.  Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  ⁹Resist him by being firm in the faith.  You know that the same kinds of sufferings are being laid on your brotherhood all over the world.  ¹⁰After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you.  ¹¹To him be the glory and the power forever and ever.  Amen.

Called into glory: humbly submit and boldly resist.

Dear friends in war and peace,

            I recently saw a list of the ten longest wars in history, ranging from the Vietnam War at 19 years to the Hundred Years War lasting, obviously, one hundred years, but there is a war that supersedes all other wars both in its length and in the number of casualties.  The true longest war is the one begun by the serpent’s lies in the Garden of Eden, for that rebellion has been raging ever since, and it cost the life of every man, woman, and child who has ever been conceived and born.

When we think of war, we usually think about struggles between nations, opposing tribes and races with bloody wounds inflicted and bodies being destroyed.  We think of bullets and bombs, sword fights and sinking ships, but St. Paul warned that, primarily, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV 84)  Peter, too, writes about this epic rebellion, reminding Christians what is at stake in this war against God—our very souls and eternal lives.  Thus, we are Called into glory, to humbly submit and boldly resist.

In this battle for our eternal souls, there could not be a greater contrast between the warring sides.  The leader of the rebellion seeks only your destruction, and he doesn’t have even the remotest care for those who are deceived by his lies.  On the other side is God, who is love, who loves us so completely that He willingly provides for friend and foe alike, who gives us a time of grace on earth so that all people might hear of the salvation and life He offers, who works saving faith through the power of His Spirit in Word and Sacrament, and who gave His own beloved Son into death so that our rescue from the rebellion would be accomplished. 

In view of the great love God shows us, Peter wrote, “Therefore humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that He may lift you up at the appointed time.”  Having been corrupted by sin, humbling ourselves under God’s authority doesn’t come easy.  The moment Adam and Eve sinned, they no longer trusted God, so they hid from Him and falsely accused the God they had once loved.  Their weaknesses followed along throughout the generations down to you and me.  We too find it hard to trust God’s mercy, His providence, His kindness, and His protection.

Does that seem farfetched?  Well, consider whether you have ever worried about anything: whether you would be able to keep your job, or have enough money to pay your bills.  Did you ever worry about getting sick, injured, or dying?  Did you ever look up at the sky in terror as the lightning flashes or the wind starts to swirl in the fury of a storm?  Did you ever wonder whether those who look different than you might be a threat?  When the fields are flooding, do we wonder about our futures in the farming community?  Do the promises of politicians playing on our fears ever sound good to us?  These, and a thousand other worries and doubts trouble all of us, but every worry indicates a lack of trust in God to take care of us.  So, what do we do now?

Peter’s answer to our worries and doubts is to do this: “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”  No matter how troubled we might be, no matter what danger we might face, or how far into despair or sin we might have fallen, God cares for us—His only concern is to rescue us from the clutches of the evil one, so He kindly invites us to bring every worry, doubt, failure, or sin to Him.  Whether we understand it or not, and even for those who have never heard of the true God, God wants to bring everyone home to heaven.  God wants restored peace with all of us.  He wanted that so much that the only begotten of the Father became one of us to live for us, and finally to die in payment for the sins of our rebellion,  and now raised from the dead, He invites us to come to Him for free forgiveness and true peace. 

Could you imagine a worldly leader ever loving so much those who rebelled against Him that he would give his life to set them free?  God’s Son, Jesus, willingly took the punishment your sins deserved, and the abuse of all His rebelling enemies, so that you and I could be reconciled with God forever.  And, on top of all that, Jesus promises to hear our prayers and to answer them.  He promises to be with us and defend us, and His resurrection from the dead confirms that His victory for our salvation is accomplished.

Now, having said all this, we are still living in the war zone, and though Christ has already won the victory, the devil has not laid down his weapons, and that will not change before Judgment Day.  Some people don’t like that, but it is part of humbling ourselves under God’s plan.  Jesus didn’t come from heaven to immediately take us out of this world, but rather, to make it possible for God’s house to be filled with the multitudes who would believe and trust in Him.

Because we still reside in the war zone, Peter tells us to “Have sound judgment.  Be alert.  Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Resist him by being firm in the faith.”  Satan doesn’t steal away his victims by killing our bodies; he gains his victories by getting people to listen to his lies.  The devil tells us God won’t take care of us when we face troubles.  The slanderer tells us that God must not love us if other people have more money or better toys.  He tells us that we need to trust political solutions to the world’s problems.  He tempts us to seek our joy in temptations of the flesh, or the lusts of our eyes, to find peace in a bottle, a pill, or a smoke.  Satan even goes so far as to convince people there is no God. 

But, none of this is new.  Every generation since Cain and Abel has faced the same lies, the same temptations, the same trickery, trials, and temptations.  Every believer ever has been tempted to break God’s commandments, and just as challenging, almost ever believer has had to face the mockery and hatred of the unbelieving world.  Satan always has his misled allies doing his dirty work.  That type of trauma seems to be growing again in our times, just as it has risen up in times past.

However, what does the God of love offer you?  “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you.”  Remember, God has already called you into His kingdom.  Through faith in Christ Jesus given to you through the Gospel and baptism, God called you into His heavenly glory.  Believers in Christ, you are now, already, citizens of the glorious heaven none of us has yet experienced.  What we experience on earth is the trauma and difficulty of living in a battlefield of ongoing guerilla warfare.  Satan won’t rest until he is finally locked away for eternity with all those who have followed him. 

That doesn’t mean the devil can still win the war.  His fate is sealed, but that of the people is not.  When Jesus said, “It is finished,” the rebellion was crushed.  From that point forward, the devil can only launch his sneak attacks intended to drag the living down to death.  That’s why the Holy Spirit warns us to beware the devil’s lies, whether he pretend that we are good enough that we don’t need a Savior, or that we are too sinful for God to forgive us, or that God has forgotten us or been unfair to us.  All of those types of lies and temptations are just the devil slandering God and accusing us of sins that Jesus has already paid for.

On the other hand, dear friends, rejoice that God is not finished with us.  He will never forget or abandon those who trust in Him.  Rather, the Lord leaves us here in this troubled place to serve as His hands of kindness to others, as His ambassadors to a world caught in the web of Satan’s lies, and as His teachers and preachers of the truth of all that God has done to reconcile us with Him. 

Furthermore, this is not our end.  Either at our deaths or when Jesus returns to judge the world, “the God of all grace, who called you into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you.”  As St. Paul put it, “We will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.  When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’" (1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NIV 84)  Thus, God has certainly promised us that He will take care of us in the here and now, even through any trouble, persecution, or temptation this world might throw against us, and He will take us home to live in glory forever with Him in heaven. 

Therefore, the message for us from this text is this: Called into glory: humbly submit and boldly resist.  We have been called to faith in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.  That call gives us the forgiveness of all sin and the assurance of life everlasting with our God and Savior.  For that gift of grace, God asks us to show true humbleness by trusting Him completely and without reservation, confessing our sins, but receiving also the holiness of Christ Jesus in exchange.  And then, the Holy Spirit tells us to stand firm against the devil’s attacks, to resist the lies the deceiver uses against us, and the accusations Satan can no longer support, for God has written over our record, “justified for Jesus’ sake.”

Dear friends, boldly resist the devil and his cohorts, but at the same time humbly submit yourself to the loving God who gave all to make you His own redeemed and dearly loved children.  Doing so, you will receive, and enjoy forever, the glorious inheritance Jesus has prepared for you, for by His sacrifice, you will have a life of glory never ending.  Amen.

Now to Him who is able to strengthen you—according to the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, . . . to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ.  Amen.