God’s grace is confirmed by eyewitnesses.

 

Sermon for Trinity 11, August 28, 2022

Grace, mercy, and peace to all of you who are in Christ Jesus.  Amen.

God’s grace is confirmed by eyewitnesses.

Dear brothers and sisters in the grace of God,

            How do you turn a murderer into one of the world’s greatest evangelists and apostles?  How do you turn timid, scared fishermen and outcasts into bold missionaries who trust in Christ for forgiveness, life, and salvation?  How do we work out peace between ourselves and a just and righteous God?  The answer to all these questions is we don’t.  We couldn’t even bring ourselves to believe.  We couldn’t do anything to come to the Lord or receive the salvation Jesus won for all.  All of that is done only by God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. 

At the same time, we can be confident that our hope in Christ is not just an earthly comfort in times of trouble.  It is the real answer to all the world’s problems, for it is the surety of peace with God and the guarantee of a home in heaven after we are called out of this broken world.  Furthermore, we have certainty about the truth of God’s Word, because God’s grace is confirmed by eyewitnesses.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, every one of His disciples abandoned Him, from the closest twelve to the thousands that had benefited from His healing miracles.  One of the closest had betrayed Jesus, and the most bold and outspoken of them denied three times that he knew Jesus.  The crowds that welcomed God’s Son into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday turned against the Christ by Friday and called with unanimous consent for Jesus’ crucifixion.  So, what hope could any of those people have for forgiveness and salvation?

The Pharisees and Sadducees were Israel’s teachers, entrusted with the words of the prophets to teach the people to welcome the promised Savior into the world.  Those priests were to share with sinners the forgiveness God was promising to give through the Messiah, His holy Son in human flesh.  Tragically, one of the most diligent and highly trained young Pharisees made it his mission to hunt, arrest, and kill anyone who pledged faith in Jesus as the Christ, the promised Son of David.  So, who would expect Saul, later renamed Paul, to disregard great hardship and persecution to become the bold proclaimer of Jesus to the masses of the Roman empire and consequently to the world, including people like you and me?

You and I entered the picture after almost two thousand years of religious wars, political upheaval, false teachers striving under the devil’s influence to keep anyone from believing in Jesus as Savior and Redeemer, and with our own inherited sinfulness fighting against us night and day.  Born as enemies of God who hated Him even though we didn’t yet know Him or His merciful ways, who would imagine any of us becoming believers in the One Savior of the world?  Who could imagine a Savior from sin and death when we see little but temptation, trouble, pain, and death in our daily lives?

When you consider the odds against anyone coming to faith in Jesus, it all seems impossible.  On the road to Damascus, Saul certainly assumed that Jesus was nothing more than an imposter blaspheming the God he had been taught to obey.  Like Saul, no one else in the history of the world could claim any better knowledge or faith on his own.  Even Abraham, the great hero of Jewish faith didn’t find God.  Rather, God found Abram and called him out of his father’s idolatry into trusting in the one Savior God would send through Abram’s descendants.  Yet, by the power of the Holy Spirit in God’s call, “Abram believed in the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)

Today, there are many people around us that mock the Christian faith as “the opiate of the masses,” or something to help weak people feel strong, or just the disillusions of uneducated fools.  Many of these self-deluded, so-called “wise” persons believe there is no god, that this world created itself out of nothing, and that there is nothing after this life—neither punishment nor glory—just nothing but a return to the dirt in the endlessness of time.

There are two chief problems with this ancient delusion.  First, it offers no hope to anyone, neither for this life nor any possible life to come.  Godlessness leads to selfishness and the destruction of all that is good for society and pleasing to God.  The second problem is that it defies all the witnesses and evidence God has provided to show us the truth.  To reject God as Creator and Jesus as Savior, a person must reject mountains of evidence and scores of eyewitness testimony.

In his letter to the young Corinthian congregation, St. Paul calls out those who had gone astray from the truth.  This morning, the epistle lesson serves as our sermon text.  We read in Jesus’ name:

1 Corinthians 15:1-10  Brothers, I am going to call your attention to the gospel that I preached to you.  You received it, and you took your stand on it.  ²You are also being saved by that gospel that was expressed in the words I preached to you, if you keep your hold on it—unless you believed in vain.  ³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.  ⁶After that he appeared to over five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.  ⁷Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.  ⁸Last of all, he appeared also to me, the stillborn child, so to speak.  ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God’s church.  ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not ineffective.  On the contrary, I worked more than all of them (and yet it wasn’t my doing, but it was the grace of God, which was with me, that did it). (EHV) 

By these words, the Holy Spirit assures us that God’s grace is confirmed by eyewitnesses.

Dear friends, Paul became a believer when Jesus personally reached out to that persecutor on the road to Damascus.  Out of love and kindness, Jesus called one of His fiercest opponents out of darkness into the light of the truth, and bringing Saul to faith in his Savior, our Savior empowered the newly named Paul to be a faithful emissary to the pagan world.  In his former days, Paul had become well-versed in the Old Testament scriptures.  He knew God’s Word very well.  Now, by the power of the Spirit in Jesus’ personal call, Paul finally learned the truth of what God had promised in those Scriptures he knew so well.

The story is similar for all Jesus’ disciples.  Though personally instructed by Jesus for three years, they didn’t fully comprehend what Jesus came to do for them and for the world until Jesus sent the Helper, the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost.  Then, having their hearts and eyes opened to the truth of Jesus’ mission, they willingly defied rejection by ruler and hater alike in their devoted service to their Lord and Savior, and to the people around them.  They began in Jerusalem then spread across the world sharing the Good News of all Jesus has accomplished to reconcile us with God in heaven.

It is the same way for you and me.  We didn’t find God.  None of us made a decision to believe in Jesus on our own.  Instead, through Baptism and the hearing of the Good News of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit granted life to those who had stone dead hearts and worked faith in us to believe in Jesus.  As Paul wrote previously in this letter, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)  And, to the congregation in Rome, he wrote, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

Today, much of the world around us, still stuck in dead unbelief and the sin caused by Satan’s deceptions, boldly pretends that our faith lacks solid proof.  However, only blind followers of lies make that argument.  As Paul noted here, the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead on the exact day He and the prophets had foretold before Jesus was betrayed and nailed to a cross to die, verifies without any doubt that Jesus is exactly who He claims to be, and God has fulfilled His promise to send a Savior to reconcile sinners to Himself.

With over five hundred eyewitnesses who together at one time witnessed Jesus alive, with the testimony of those who had witnessed Jesus’ death and burial but then celebrated for the rest of their lives His return to the living, with the transformation of timid, scared disciples into bold preachers who would willingly give their own lives as testimony to the truth of their message, with Christ’s enemies also producing evidence that He rose from the grave, and with the complete change in Paul’s life and his bold witness regardless of where God sent him and whatever hardship his testimony brought against him, we have the most verifiable proof of any historical event.  Jesus not only died for our sins, but He also rose victorious over sin, death, and the devil, and today, He lives and reigns in heaven above ready and willing to welcome us into His heavenly home. 

Dear friends, even with all the evidence and eyewitness testimony, we must admit that we couldn’t change on our own.  It is only by God’s grace that any of us believe in Jesus as our Savior.  However, that too is to our benefit, because God welcomes only those as dear children who put no hope in themselves but trust only in Jesus as their Savior and the Redeemer of the world.  When His disciples sought to elevate themselves before God, Jesus corrected them, saying, “Amen I tell you: Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever receives a little child like this one in my name receives me.” (Matthew 18:3-5) 

When you reach the point in your Christian faith where you despair of doing anything to save yourself, then rejoice!  Rejoice, because you believe in Jesus only because God in His grace caused the Holy Spirit to work that faith in you without any contribution on your part, and that truly is God-given faith which saves.  The Holy Spirit guided St. Paul to write to fellow believers,

It is by grace you have been saved!  He also raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  He did this so that, in the coming ages, he might demonstrate the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:5-9)

Christ Jesus died the death we all deserved for our sins, but Jesus didn’t stay dead, because the Son of God has been given authority over all things, even over death and the grave.  Jesus’ resurrection on Easter morning is the proof that trumps all doubt.  No one else in the history of the world could ever match Jesus’ holiness or power, nor His divine wisdom and kindness.  Neither do we have to.

Though like St. Paul, we had no merit that would have made God love us, His merciful love for us in Christ has opened the gates of heaven to all who believe in Jesus.  The evidence of your salvation in Christ Jesus is overwhelming, and you can be sure that you are forgiven of all sin and welcome in God’s heaven, because God’s grace is confirmed by eyewitnesses.  Amen.

Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Jesus has compassion to save you.

 

Sermon for Trinity 10, August 21, 2022

Grace to you, and peace.  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  Amen.

Luke 19:41–48  ⁴¹As he came near, he saw the city and wept over it.  ⁴²He said, “If you, yes you, had only known on this day the things that would bring peace to you.  But now, it is hidden from your eyes.  ⁴³In fact, the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side.  ⁴⁴Within your walls, they will dash you and your children to the ground.  And within your walls, they will not leave one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time when God came to help you.”  ⁴⁵Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling things there.  ⁴⁶He told them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of robbers’!”  ⁴⁷Every day he was teaching in the temple courts, but the chief priests, the experts in the law, and the leaders of the people continued to look for a way to put him to death.  ⁴⁸They could not find any way to do it, because all the people were clinging to him and listening. (EHV)

Jesus has compassion to save you.

Dear friends in Christ,

            Election season has come upon us again, and for the next couple months, numerous candidates will be competing to convince us how much they care about ordinary people, and how they will help us, if only we will give them our vote.  Unfortunately, experience teaches that many of those candidates are far more concerned about their own agendas than the electorate, and even the most dedicated among them usually find out that helping the citizens is not so easily accomplished.  Competing interests make it impossible to help everyone, because most of the authorities and the governed, as well, have little interest in helping those they view as outsiders to their own interests.

Now that I have potentially offended almost every person in our country, let me tell you about one Man who truly had compassion to help His people.  Jesus is reported as weeping passionately on two occasions.  The first time was when He wept for the pain His dear friends experienced at the death of their brother.  Jesus was moved emotionally at seeing the pain death inflicted upon those He loved.

Then, in our Gospel reading of the day, we see the second time Jesus wept with great emotion.  As He entered the city of Jerusalem to the cheers and praise of the crowds on what we call Palm Sunday, He paused for a moment overlooking the city, and it is in that pause that we see how Jesus truly felt about His people.  Now, most people have compassion for their family members, friends, and close neighbors, but in this moment, we see God’s compassion for even His enemies, and it shows us without a doubt that Jesus has compassion to save you.

By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, St. Luke reported, “As [Jesus] came near, he saw the city and wept over it.  He said, ‘If you, yes you, had only known on this day the things that would bring peace to you.  But now, it is hidden from your eyes.’”  Why was Jesus weeping as He observed Jerusalem?  Oh, some might imagine that Jesus was sorrowful because He knew that week would end in His painful death.  Yet, Jesus wasn’t afraid to fulfill His Father’s plans; He knew that He had come into the world to give His life so that others might live.  Jesus certainly doesn’t weep because the people would reject Him as the king of their country, because Jesus would soon tell Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)

Instead, Jesus was weeping in such great agony for the loss of those souls who rejected Him as God’s answer to sin and death.  Like all other people in the history of the world, those Jews were looking for peace with God.  At the same time, because their leaders no longer understood God’s plan to send a Savior, many of them rejected the culmination of all God’s prophecies.  Through Ezekiel, God had pleaded with Israel, “Do I really find any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” says the Lord God. “Don’t I want him to turn from his ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23)  Thus, we learn that Jesus has compassion to save you.

For three years, Jesus had proclaimed to the people that the Kingdom of God was at hand.  For three years, He testified to the peace and safety He was bringing to the world, yet at the end of all His miracles, gentleness, and kindness, all His explanations of the prophets, and His clear testimony of God’s will to save, the greatest thought of the leaders of Jerusalem was to kill this Man who they feared would upset their apple cart.  In other words, they were afraid Jesus would upset their relationship with their Roman rulers.

The leaders of Israel hated Jesus for pointing out their hypocrisy.  They hated the fact that God’s Son, who they refused to recognize, was walking in their midst bringing the love of God to earth.  Frankly, the only reason anyone doesn’t believe in Jesus is because of a stubborn refusal to see Jesus as He is, but that refusal to accept Jesus as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world leads to certain everlasting destruction in hell.

Jesus then foretold in great detail the destruction of Jerusalem which was coming as a consequence of their rejecting Him.  We know from historical records that Jerusalem fell exactly as Jesus prophesied.  About four decades later, the Roman armies set up a horrible siege around Jerusalem that ended only when no one inside the walls of that great city could resist any longer.  Then, with hundreds of thousands dead, and any survivors led off into cruel slavery, Rome leveled the city, burning it down, and tearing down even God’s temple until not one stone remained on top another.  Jerusalem’s destruction was complete.

This is, likewise, a graphic picture foretelling the fate of all who reject Jesus.  The prophesy shows visibly that for those who refuse to believe the gracious salvation God has won for us in Christ, the end is destruction in the everlasting fires of hell.  There will be no escape when Judgement Day comes.  When the angels surround the souls of humanity on that final day, no unbeliever will avoid God’s just judgment.  “They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!” (Hosea 10:8)  Yet, there will be no place to hide and no defense for those who rejected Jesus.

At the same time, that is not God’s desire for you or anyone else.  Again, the Holy Spirit caused St. Paul to write to young Timothy, “God our Savior,… wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:3-6)  John the Baptist testified, “Look!  The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)  Jesus testified that He is the fulfillment of God’s plan to send a Savior.  God the Father testified from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.  Listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5)  The fact that Jesus’ whole life was fulfilling what the prophets had been given to foretell is testimony to the truth that we should believe in Jesus as our Savior.

Jesus spent the next few days giving those who rejected Him one more chance to turn from their wickedness and receive God’s forgiveness.  He drove out of the temple those who were misusing God’s dwelling place on earth for their own profit instead of interceding for the souls of those grieving for their sins.  Jesus continued to teach those who would listen.  He did His best to prepare His disciples for what lay ahead.  All the while, the Jewish leadership plotted to kill their greatest Friend.

The question might well be asked of us, how do we reject Jesus in our daily lives?  Do we turn from His word in disgust when it doesn’t fit our pleasure?  Do we puff up in pride at the thought of all the good things we think we do?  Do we compare ourselves favorably to others expecting God will do the same?  That would be imitating those priests and scribes who rejected Jesus.  Yet, left to that foolish thinking, our end would also be destruction.

However, Jesus has compassion to save you.  Jesus’ compassion for your eternal well being led Him through that week of trial and testing.  It led Him to fulfill every last detail of what the prophets had foretold about the Savior.  It led Jesus to the cross where, carrying every sin of the world and charged with the guilt of the whole human race, Jesus suffered death so that you and I might live in heaven forever.

Our great Savior had lived in complete harmony with God’s will every day of His life, and for His faithfulness, His own people rewarded Jesus with cruel death.  A lessor man would probably seek revenge on those who mistreated and abused him.  Jesus, on the other hand, pleaded for mercy, mercy for those wicked leaders who schemed Jesus’ arrest, conviction, and cruel crucifixion—mercy for those soldiers who so mercilessly beat and mocked Jesus and nailed Him to the cross—mercy for His disciples who abandoned Him in His moment of ultimate betrayal—mercy for you and me for every sin we might ever commit—mercy for those of us who feel our guilt.  Jesus died on that cross after suffering the rejection of His Father in heaven, the pain of hell you and I and all people deserved.  Jesus suffered it all so that God could count us forgiven and holy.

Finally, to show the world the great compassion God has for sinners, He raised Jesus from the dead triumphant over sin, death, and the devil, and because Jesus has compassion to save you, He has been sending out His servants, ever since, to testify to the reality that Jesus lived, died, and rose again so that we too might live and never die.

Before He died that cruel death, Jesus testified to His disciples, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.  If it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)  Though His own people rejected Him, Jesus carried out God’s plan to bring salvation for all people.  His good news message of salvation by faith alone in Christ Jesus alone has been going out to the world since that glorious Easter morning when Jesus rose from the grave.  By the proclamation of the Gospel, and with His holy body and blood in the bread and wine of His Supper, Jesus testifies to the world that the sins of those who believe in Him are forgiven, and we have peace with God.

Dear friends, by the cleansing water of baptism, Jesus opened your eyes so that you too may know of His love for you and the offering He made to God to release you from the devil’s hold.  Today, and every day, God’s only begotten Son, Jesus, promises, “This is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.  And I will raise him up on the Last Day.” (John 6:40) 

That evening, on the hill overlooking Jerusalem, Jesus wept on account of those who rejected Him.  However, “In view of the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of God’s throne.” (Hebrews 12:2)  You see this truth in every moment of His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has compassion to save you.  Amen.

The one who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints.  Amen.

Heed God’s warning; trust His faithfulness.

 

Sermon for Trinity 9, August 14, 2022

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 10:6–13  ⁶Now these things took place as examples to warn us not to desire evil things the way they did.  ⁷Do not become idolaters like some of them—as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to celebrate wildly.”  ⁸And let us not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell.  ⁹Let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and so were being destroyed by the serpents.  ¹⁰And do not grumble, as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer.  ¹¹All these things that were happening to them had meaning as examples, and they were written down to warn us, to whom the end of the ages has come.  ¹²So let him who thinks he stands be careful that he does not fall.  ¹³No testing has overtaken you except ordinary testing.  But God is faithful.  He will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability, but when he tests you, he will also bring about the outcome that you are able to bear it. (EHV)

Heed God’s warning; trust His faithfulness.

Dear brothers and sisters of the living Savior,

            There is a lot of concern in our times about abuse of power, police brutality, government overreach, and the general unfairness of life.  Countless pages of ink and internet ranting testify to this human desire to be treated fairly—so long as fairness means getting away with whatever someone might happen to do.

Likewise, more than a few people read the Old Testament and complain about an imagined unfairness in God’s treatment of those who do not honor and obey Him.  They view God as judgmental and harsh in His dealings with mankind.  Yet, come the Judgment Day that looms over all mankind, every person ever will have to admit that God has always been more than fair and gracious in His dealing with people of every nation and race.  Therefore, Paul urges that the Corinthian congregation, and by extension all people everywhere, Heed God’s warning; trust His faithfulness.

The descendants of Abraham, known as the Children of Israel, were God’s chosen people through which God would bring a Savior into the world.  That nation was to be a people set apart from other nations, not with a special permission to live any way they pleased, but to be “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

It was through this people that God was making Himself known to the world as a gracious God who was intent on saving mankind from sin.  As such, God was blessing Israel with special care, but also greater responsibility.  Thus, while many people, today, would be willing to judge God as being overly jealous in His dealings with Israel, God was gracious in overlooking their sins, blessing them more richly than deserved, and disciplining them not only for their everlasting good, but also for ours. 

Using the rebelliousness of some in Israel as a lasting example of how not to live, St. Paul wrote to the troubled congregation in Corinth, “Now these things took place as examples to warn us not to desire evil things the way they did.  Do not become idolaters like some of them.”  Perhaps, you have never considered ordinary sin as idolatry.  However, the Holy Spirit has shown here that no matter what sin might be perpetrated, it is all a form of idolatry, because every sin elevates one’s personal motivation, or selfish desire, over what God has deemed to be good and right. 

God gave Israel the written law of the Ten Commandments and other rules for protection from the wicked schemes of the devil and protection against our own corrupted desires.  Furthermore, those rules built a protecting fence around the nation of Israel against the evil interests of surrounding peoples.  Still, it didn’t take long before some Israelites rebelled and turned against their Defender.  Because God was displaying His love and care for the whole world through the Children of Israel, He immediately disciplined those wayward rebels so that the rest of the world would see that God is serious about building a holy people who would dwell with Him forever in the peace and joy of heaven.

While warning the Corinthian congregation against their wayward tendencies, Paul listed a few examples of how God loved us by disciplining those who had turned against Him:

Do not become idolaters like some of them—as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to celebrate wildly.”  And let us not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell.  Let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and so were being destroyed by the serpents.  And do not grumble, as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 

All of this shows the insidious nature of sin.  Sin infests us and grows stronger and more virulent if allowed to remain in our midst.  Sin separates us from God, while God wants only to be in permanent relationship of peace with all people.  To the Roman church, Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) 

God’s immediate punishment of faithless Israelites gives us a vivid illustration of the eternal danger of turning against the God who loves us and has rescued us from the darkness and slavery of sin.  “All these things that were happening to them had meaning as examples, and they were written down to warn us, to whom the end of the ages has come.”  Paul confirms that we are living in the end times.  There will never be another Savior, and we never have a second chance for salvation after our time on earth.  Thus, for everlasting peace, Heed God’s warning; trust His faithfulness.

Considering the danger to our souls, the Holy Spirit caused Paul to write, “So let him who thinks he stands be careful that he does not fall.  No testing has overtaken you except ordinary testing.”  Our whole time on earth is a time of danger and tribulation.  On our own, we would not survive the temptations and deceits of Satan’s forces.  Thus, we dare not stand alone in this battle. 

At the same time, we don’t need to stand alone against the forces of evil, or even against the temptations of our own sinful flesh.  Because God so loved us, He sent His Son to live perfectly obedient and faithful in our place.  Standing in for you and me, Jesus was ever cognizant of His purpose.  Therefore, He always strived to live according to His heavenly Father’s will.  Being the holy Son of God from all eternity, Jesus not only strived to be perfect, He remained holy and ever faithful to God in thought, word, and deed. 

Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love, sent to be holy for us, joining humanity into the Godhead with His physical birth from Mary’s womb.  Then, having lived the perfect holiness required for our acceptance into His Father’s heavenly mansions, Jesus bore our sins to eternal damnation by becoming the Lamb of God sacrificed for the world on the cross.

“God is faithful.”  This should be our guiding thought every day of our lives.  No matter what trouble, sorrow, or pain we might deal with in our time on earth, God has already accomplished the answer.  For those who wonder where we come from, or for what purpose we live, God answers that He created us to live and to be the recipients of His gracious care.  He created us to serve as His hands and helpers on earth.  He created us to demonstrate His loving goodness to those around us.

Now, much of this might sound like too much work for us to accomplish.  That is because once sin entered the world, our service to God and neighbor became burdensome and difficult.  The selfishness we inherit from our parents gets in our way.  That is why it is so important to remember God’s faithfulness.  What we could never do perfectly, Jesus did so well on our behalf that the Father declared from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love.  I am well pleased with him.” (Matthew 3:17)  In Jesus, all who believe in Him are counted righteous before God, “For just as through the disobedience of one man the many became sinners, so also through the obedience of one Man the many will become righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

Paul wrote, “God is faithful.  He will not allow you to be tested beyond your ability, but when he tests you, he will also bring about the outcome that you are able to bear it.”  Standing alone, any of us would fall and be lost to eternal condemnation.  Yet, we do not stand alone, for Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead so that we might be forgiven and granted life everlasting, and He promises those who believe in Him, “Surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) 

So that we know that Jesus has won the victory over sin, death, and Satan so that we too may live, Jesus rose from the dead Easter morning, never to die again.  From heaven, Jesus lives and reigns at His Father’s side working all things so that we may believe and be saved. (Romans 8:28)  Therefore, throughout your days on earth, walk steadfastly with Jesus who is able to keep you from the sins that could entrap you.

So that we might learn of God’s great love for us and the saving work of His Son, the Father and Son together send the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament to bring us the message of “the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)

Dear friends, God knows that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)  These are the things we could not defeat on our own.  But, “God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)  Through the redemption price of His Son, God set you free from sin, death, and condemnation.  Then, through hearing the Word of the Gospel, and being washed in the water of Baptism, God made you His own beloved children and has opened heaven for you.  Believe what God has done for you.  Remember His promises as much as His commands.  Heed God’s warning; trust His faithfulness.  Amen.

Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, everyone who is walking in His ways.  Amen.

Return to the LORD for salvation.

 

Sermon for Trinity 8, August 7, 2022

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  All who do his precepts have good understanding.  Amen.

Jeremiah 15:19-21  ¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord says.  If you repent, I will take you back, so that you may stand before me.  If what you say is worthwhile and not worthless, you will be my spokesman.  They must turn to you, but you must not turn to them.   ²⁰I will make you like a bronze wall to this people.  They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, because I am with you to save you and to rescue you, declares the Lord.  ²¹I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked, and I will deliver you from the grasp of the ruthless. (EHV)

Return to the LORD for salvation.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            Consider for a moment the mission Jeremiah was assigned.  Jeremiah’s whole life was spent in bringing a message of judgment, condemnation, destruction, and death upon his nation, including all his neighbors, relatives, associates, and rulers.  Literally everyone Jeremiah ever met needed to repent of their unfaithfulness to the LORD, and they needed to hear of the wrath that would soon be poured out upon them if they did not turn away from their idolatry and wickedness.

Because of the woeful message God had Jeremiah proclaim day in and day out, you can understand that he wasn’t a very popular fellow in the land of Judah.  Like today, people didn’t like hearing that they were offending God with their idolatrous and sinful living. 

Foreshadowing the opposition Jesus would later face, the priests and leaders hated Jeremiah for declaring that disaster was coming upon the nation because of their false teachings and wicked leadership.  They asked, what gave Jeremiah the right to scare the people and stir up this nation to turn from their evil ways?  They detested Jeremiah because he was preaching a completely different future than their own advisors and soothsayers were forecasting.  What made Jeremiah think he knew more than everyone else?  On top of all that, Jeremiah refused to participate in their idolatrous worship festivals, orgies and riotous living.  He kept himself separate from the masses except to preach their need for repentance and to declare gloom and doom upon the nation.  So who, they demanded, did he think he was?

It all finally became a little bit more than Jeremiah could bear.  Even this faithful prophet finally broke down and questioned the LORD, wishing he had never been born, and complaining that God wasn’t being so faithful as He had promised.  Jeremiah wondered, why should he, who had been so faithful to the mission God gave him, suffer so much trouble and persecution for his faithfulness?  In our sermon text, we have the LORD’s answer.  Surprisingly, God didn’t react in anger; instead, His message to Jeremiah was a gracious invitation: Return to the LORD for salvation.

The old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” comes to mind here.  We live in a world that has changed drastically since Jeremiah’s day.  We don’t have to ride donkeys as our main source of transportation.  We don’t have to write down the saving words of God on scrolls, nor do we have to walk around for weeks on end to spread God’s message among our people.  We can simply type in the truth on our computers, or phones, and instantly the message can be sent around the world.  Yet, how much has really changed?  In our nation and around the world, there are still vast populations that chase after gods other than the Creator of all things.  Though Christianity remains the largest religion in total numbers, true Christians are most likely just a small minority of the world’s population.

As has been the case since Jesus walked this earth, His followers often experience persecution for the message they bring.  Faithful Christians will always be too intolerant of sinful excess for the general population’s taste.  We will be unwilling to participate in things like sinful lifestyles that encourage trying on marriage partners long before we commit to the marriage, if commitment ever even comes.  We are viewed as old-fashioned fools for believing that the Bible speaks God’s complete Word.  And, how dare we question anyone else’s right to live any old way they choose?  What makes us think that we have the right to tell people what God says is pleasing to Him, or sinful in His eyes?  Thus, Christians are often hated, mocked, avoided, scorned, and sometimes persecuted and killed, but in all this, we experience the same things that Jeremiah was enduring.

None of this should surprise us, for the Lord Jesus told His disciples that in the last days, “They will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will put you to death.  You will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away from faith.  They will betray each other and hate each other.  Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:9-12)  These end times have been going on since Jesus ascended to heaven, yet Jesus also encouraged His followers by continuing with the promise, "But whoever endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) 

That is essentially the reply God gave Jeremiah for his complaint: Return to the LORD for salvation.  It is essential to understand that salvation is found only in faithfulness to the Lord God who loves us and has planned, and carried out, our rescue.  When we turn away from our weaknesses and sins, and follow the LORD in everything we do, He remains faithful to His promise of deliverance, life, and salvation.  God will never abandon anyone who does not abandon Him.

“Therefore this is what the Lord says.  If you repent, I will take you back, so that you may stand before me.”  Contrary to what some might guess, the LORD’s promise, here, isn’t conditional upon Jeremiah’s effort, or ours.  It is the power of the Holy Spirit’s call that would keep God’s servant faithful, and through God’s great mercy, grace, and power, He will keep all His elect faithful.  Therefore, we will then stand before God, not just on Judgment Day, but for all eternity in glory. 

God told Jeremiah, “If what you say is worthwhile and not worthless, you will be my spokesman.”  He reminded Jeremiah that he had nothing to fear as long as he remained true to God’s Word.  It’s only when straying from God’s truth that anyone should have reason to be afraid. 

Like Jeremiah, we often find it easy to feel hurt when friends and neighbors reject us for speaking the truth of God’s Word.  We might even be tempted to soften our message a bit to make it more acceptable to sinners, but the LORD wants us to hold on to what is precious—His holy Word—in its purity and truth, because God is the One calling for the world to repent, and through His Word, God tells people the Good News about Jesus and His salvation. 

When we proclaim Law and Gospel faithfully in line with God’s Word, we speak as the mouth of God Himself.  However, if we stray from that truth, even a smidgeon, we have jumped into the worthlessness of human reason which cannot compare to the glory of God and His Word.  Therefore, we must speak God’s truth as He has given it to us in the Bible.  We dare not turn to what human nature wants to hear.  Natural man always fights against the One true God.  St. Paul wrote, “There will come a time when people will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, because they have itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in line with their own desires.  They will also turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.  As for you, keep a clear head in every situation.  Bear hardship.  Do the work of an evangelist.  Fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:3-5) 

Our ministry, as followers of Christ, both publicly as pastors and privately in our personal relationships, is to proclaim His truth about our sins and about His salvation, because if Christians turn to the teachings of the world, we and all others will be lost.  Therefore, for our benefit and for the salvation of sinners around us, we need to proclaim God’s precious truth.  The LORD told Jeremiah, “They must turn to you, but you must not turn to them.”  Unbelievers need to hear the truth that will set them free from the destruction they deserve just as we needed to hear it.  All people need the message: Return to the LORD for salvation. 

The LORD promised Jeremiah, “I will make you like a bronze wall to this people.  They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, because I am with you to save you and to rescue you.”  The people of Judah were on a collision course with eternal damnation.  Most of them, and especially their leaders, were trusting in anything but the salvation God offered through repentance and faith in His promised Messiah.  They foolishly hoped to be kept safe through political alliances and the worship of idols that had absolutely no power to help. 

The words God gave Jeremiah to preach to his fellow citizens of Israel were meant to turn the people away from their rebellion against God and bring them peace.  About six hundred years later, Jesus said, “Your Father in heaven does not want even one of these little ones to perish.” (Matthew 18:14)  This will never change.  It is always God’s will that every person on earth be turned away from sin, believe in His Son, and be saved from the condemnation and death we each have earned.

God declared, "I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked, and I will deliver you from the grasp of the ruthless."  Jeremiah’s life was never easy, and it wouldn’t immediately improve.  He still had a lot of persecution and trouble ahead of him.  Therefore, God wanted His prophet to remember that no matter how hard it might seem, life on earth is short, but for God’s faithful people there is a new life coming that will never end.  God wanted Jeremiah to know that though he had sinned by complaining against the LORD, the LORD had already planned his salvation and would carry it out. 

Dear friends, for you and me, as for Jeremiah, God long ago planned deliverance from the devil’s lies and evil designs on our lives.  Even though Jeremiah had sinned in his complaint, God hadn’t turned away nor negated His promise to send a Savior.  Therefore, God assures us that His plans for the redemption of the whole human race would never be stopped.  God’s Son was coming into the world to redeem the world. 

Jeremiah needed to look forward to God’s salvation, just as we need to look back on that already accomplished fact.  Our deliverance came on a cross outside Jerusalem.  God sent His own dear Son to bear the cost of our redemption.  That is the promise given through Jeremiah here: " I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked, and I will deliver you from the grasp of the ruthless."  Because of Christ’s holy life and innocent, sacrificial death, God has removed our sins and made us acceptable to Himself once again.  Though the evil foe is constantly seeking to eat us up in temptation and sin, God has rescued us from the devil’s eternal fate. 

Therefore, whenever we ponder our own weaknesses, or when we feel the despair of worry and persecution, we can stand with St. Paul and humbly confess, “What a miserable wretch I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25) 

If the trials of this world wear you down, or you feel the painful rejection of those who want to follow what their itching ears want to hear, listen to God’s call to believe in Jesus.  Stand firm with faithful Jeremiah, who while enduring decade after decade of rejection, persecution, and even torture for staying true to God and His Word, was saved as he believed God’s promise, "I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked, and I will deliver you from the grasp of the ruthless."  Return to the LORD for salvation.  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.