Sermon
for Trinity 1, June 14, 2020
Grace and peace to you from our Triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Amen
Jeremiah
9:23-24 23 This is
what the Lord says. The wise man should not boast in his wisdom. The strong man should not boast in his
strength, nor the rich man in his riches.
24 Instead, let those who boast boast about this:
that they have understanding, and that they know me. They know that I am the Lord, who shows
mercy, justice, and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these things,
declares the Lord. (EHV)
Dear Christian
friends,
In our epistle lesson, we were taught to love God and our
brother. In the Gospel, we saw that
living one’s life focused on yourself results in eternal damnation. Now, as God tells Jeremiah of a coming
judgment against those caught up in the ways of the world, we are advised not to
put our hope for salvation in ourselves, but rather to Boast only in what
delights the Lord.
Modern
man imagines that self-elevation is a good thing. In fact, many experts teach the need to love
yourself lest you have serious problems.
In parenting books, and in our schools, it is thought imperative to
teach children to love themselves so that they develop strong self-esteem. We are compelled to continually praise our
little darlings so that they never hear a cross word, or any kind of
admonition. The idea is that we should
praise what we like and never mention what is done wrong. Repentance is unheard of, and shame is
reserved for only those who oppose the crowds.
Is it any
wonder, then, that many people don’t feel the need for a Savior? Why would you need a Savior from sin when you
don’t believe there is such a thing as sin?
To the modern mind, sin is only a matter of opinion, something old
people talk about. In our present
culture, about the only thing considered wrong, or a sin, is to go against
one’s own desires or to criticize godless immorality. Yet, the problem with putting our own desires
first is that we make ourselves into little gods. Now maybe that doesn’t matter much to those
who don’t care about anything beyond today, but what about tomorrow, especially
the big tomorrow when you die, or the Lord returns in judgment?
My
friends, Jeremiah was sent to a people who had put themselves above God. So like in our times, God was too
old-fashioned for the Israelites. His
Law didn’t allow them to indulge in all the carnal pleasures that surrounded
them. Abandoning the God of their
forefathers, they turned to foreign gods, and for their idolatry, judgment was
coming. No not the final Judgment Day,
but God’s judgment on Judah
Honestly,
the accusations against the nation of Judah sound very much like our world
today: the vast majority seeking pleasure over duty, selfish desires over what
God commands, and the overthrow of authority.
Many have turned to other gods, particularly the idols of self-interest
and self-indulgence. It makes us wonder
what disasters God has planned for our nation.
The truth
is, however, God’s plans for us haven’t changed. Primarily, our Lord wants us to believe and
trust in Him so that we will be saved from the coming destruction of Judgment
Day. Thus, we should listen to Jeremiah,
as he tells us to Boast only in what delights the Lord.
As we
look at this text, notice first that it is book-ended with the idea, “Thus says the LORD.” God wanted to make it very clear to Jeremiah,
to the Israelites, and to all people that this is the only way to enter the
glory of heaven. Apart from God’s words
of promise, there is only condemnation.
So, let’s
look at what God says we should not boast about. He said, " The wise man should not boast in his
wisdom. The strong man should not boast
in his strength, nor the rich man in his riches.” The Lord gives three examples of how
self-centeredness leads to destruction, because none of these things will save
us from the coming wrath.
First,
the wise man: each of us tends to seek wisdom, and that isn’t bad if we seek
true wisdom, but unfortunately, natural man likes to view his own thoughts as
particularly wise though human wisdom tends to change through the years. We can see a great example of this in
science. At one time the smartest men
were convinced that the sun, stars, and planets all revolved around the earth
rather than the earth moving around the sun.
Astronomers laid out detailed and elaborate models for how that supposedly
worked, and it seemed logical and wise, at the time, but today you would be
laughed out of the field if you proposed something so outlandish. At one time, scientists were sure there were
only four elements: earth, air, fire and water, none of which are considered
elements today. Sadly, some of today’s
great thinkers can’t even determine with certainty whether one is male or
female. So, if we would boast in human
wisdom, we boast upon shifting sand.
The Lord
warns also against boasting in our strength.
Physical strength is often a source of human pride. Especially when we are young, we are
confident that we can do anything, and nothing can harm us. Yet, every day young people die. Each day our designs fall apart. This world is a stage on which our plans continually
fail, our bodies age, we begin to feel the frailties of our human flesh, and it
doesn’t take too many years before we realize that our time on earth is
short.
It’s not
just individual strength that falters. World
history is littered with nations, and civilizations, that considered themselves
mighty, but most of those great kingdoms lie in dust. Lately, our nation has been considered the
only superpower on earth. We are proud
that our constitution is the oldest in use, yet we see it being attacked more
and more. In the grand scope of history,
our nation is still quite young, but as it continues to turn away from God, how
long will He continue to bless us?
Third, we
are warned that wealth can be misleading.
The more goods and treasures we accumulate, the more we assume that
money can buy anything. Yet, it won’t
buy happiness. It can’t buy peace. It can’t bring back a loved one from the dead,
and it can’t make us right with God. What
bit of gold or jewelry could we offer to God to buy Him off when He already
owns everything?
King
Solomon possessed almost endless wisdom, riches, and power, yet what did he
discover? It was all meaningless.
(Ecclesiastes 1:2) Those earthly things cannot
gain eternal joy. Human wisdom and
strength, and the baubles of this world leave us empty-handed when we stand
before God for judgment. They are God’s
gifts to be enjoyed in this world, but they do not last.
Because
our works and wealth will never be enough to impress the Judge of all things, God
has provided a better way. He told
Jeremiah, “Let those who boast boast about this: that they have understanding, and
that they know me. They know that I am
the Lord, who shows mercy, justice, and righteousness on earth, for I delight
in these things.”
God certainly gives us many blessings, and He
intends that we use our riches and talents to be a blessing to others, but those
things are all intended for use on this earth, not to gain us heaven. Therefore, God tells us to put our hope in what
He has done on our behalf, for it is His great pleasure to provide our
salvation.
Thus, we learn to Boast only in what
delights the Lord.
To have understanding and to know God is to comprehend
and trust what God has declared about Himself.
It is to believe and trust in all that God reveals in the Bible. The Bible isn’t a fairy tale, or just a
history or how-to book. It is the
message of salvation for all who believe what God has done for you and me. In the Bible, we learn how God exercises “mercy, justice, and righteousness on earth.” My friends, this is the story of Christ Jesus
and Him crucified.
Last week
in our sermon for confirmation, we explored the Hebrew word, chesid. translated here as mercy. It is God’s covenant love for all mankind;
love that caused Him to win our redemption through His Son. Love brought Jesus into this world to rescue
us from sin. Because of His love and
mercy, God refused to abandon His special creation even though we all had
turned against Him. Sin no longer
allowed us to live in God’s presence, nor could we please Him, so God provided
what was needed to restore our relationship with Him.
In His
lovingkindness, God provided judgment and righteousness. Because of God’s mercy, Jesus came into this
world to become our righteousness and to suffer the pain and death of our
judgment, as well. You and I could never
live in such a way that would satisfy a just and holy God. Neither could we suffer the punishment for
our sins and return to God. Therefore,
God sent His Son to accomplish both those tasks with His perfect life and
innocent death, and in His lovingkindness Jesus carried out the plan that
restored you and me to God’s favor.
As Jesus entered
His ministry along the banks of the Jordan River with John baptizing Him, the
Father rightly boasted from heaven, “You
are my Son, whom I love. I am well pleased with you.” (Luke 3:22) God the Father took great delight in the
self-sacrificing work of His Son, because Jesus’ great labor of love restores
us to God as His children. You and I may
boast in Christ’s perfection because His work is perfectly pleasing to the
Father. His atoning sacrifice is our
entrance ticket into the kingdom of heaven.
The
Apostle Paul later wrote to the Corinthians, “I had no intention of knowing anything among you except Jesus Christ,
and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2)
The ancient Greeks loved wisdom, the finer things of life, and military
power, but true wisdom, riches, and power is found only in the Good News that
Jesus has done everything needed to give you and me eternal life.
My
friends, boast only in Jesus and His atoning work, for it is His perfection
that makes you acceptable to God. You
and I must admit with sorrowful hearts that we are often tempted to make our
own thoughts and desires our primary motivation. On the other hand, the Good News proclaims
that Jesus set aside His glory to come down to earth to cover our frailties and
faults so that He could make us right with God.
Christ’s work truly pleases the Father.
The Son is God’s true delight. So,
let Jesus’ righteousness be your heavenly dress. Boast only in what delights the Lord. Amen.
The peace
of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment