Sermon for Pentecost4, June 19, 2024
Colossians 1:3-8 3We always thank God, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love
that you have for all the saints 5because of the hope that is stored
up for you in heaven. You have
already heard about this in the word of truth, the gospel 6that is
present with you now. The gospel is
bearing fruit and growing in the entire world, just as it also has been doing
among you from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth. 7You learned this from Epaphras,
our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your
behalf. 8He is the one who
told us about your love in the Spirit. (EHV)
Thank
God, the Gospel grows the hope of heaven.
Dear beloved ones in Christ,
A question
for you this morning: how much good news is too much to hear? Could that ever be a problem? Imagine that all on the same day you or your
wife gives birth to twins, and everyone is healthy, you receive a promotion at
work with a doubling of your salary, and your offer to purchase a new house is
accepted at even better terms than you expected, and then you hear the welcome
news that a dear friend who has been dealing with cancer is declared cancer
free. Would that be too much good news
for you to accept? For many people in our
world, and sometimes even in our families and our churches, the Good News of
the Bible to be too much to believe. On
the other hand, Thank God, the Gospel grows the hope of heaven.
To a congregation of Christian believers that
he likely never met, St, Paul wrote, “We always thank God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in
Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.” Paul’s joy was found in the welcome report
that those former pagans had been brought to faith in Christ Jesus. Why his joy?
Because he recognized that the gates of heaven were opened to those
people, and terror of God’s judgment and the fear of eternal torment had been
removed from them.
Just as our heavenly Father “wants all
people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” (1 Timothy
2:4) so that joy extends to all faithful Christian believers. Therefore, we give thanks to God for every
person who repents of their sin and believes in Jesus, even as in our worship
services, we give thanks to God for our sins forgiven and life everlasting
extended to all of us who once were lost in darkness and despair.
Now, it doesn’t take a genius to see that the
world is often against us. Yet, it isn’t
just Christians that are hurt by the world.
Satan and his allies work very hard to get various groups to despise and
hate each other. Jealousies and
covetousness abound in our world. Thus,
conflict rises up between people of differing colors, between employer and
employees, between tribes, families, nations, and even neighbors. You can’t turn on your computer, or phone,
listen to the radio, watch television, or read a newspaper without hearing bad
news of conflict here, there, and everywhere, and even if you do everything you
can to hide from the world, conflict will come and find you. So, where do we find our peace?
At the same time, as believers grow in faith, they
come to trust more and more that our Savior has a plan for our everlasting
good, and even when we face hardships and trials in this life, the grace He has
shown us convinces us that those pains and sorrows will be only the fleeting
torments of this world, while our future holds only glory and peace. For this, we Thank God the Gospel grows
the hope of heaven.
Paul said, “We have heard of your faith in
Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope
that is stored up for you in heaven.”
What amazing news that is. People
who once had no care for others, now in their devotion to Christ Jesus displayed
loving service to many, especially for their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our world often tries to picture Christians as
judgmental and hateful people, but the opposite is true among faithful
believers. Many hospitals, orphanages,
schools, service organizations, and mission efforts were established and
supported by Christians to help and serve those around us. These type of things have been happening
since the Word first spread around the Mediterranean area.
Paul then tells the Colossians how the same
faith that had given them hope of forgiveness and eternal life was also
spreading far and wide. He wrote, “You
have already heard about this in the word of truth, the gospel that is present
with you now. The gospel is bearing
fruit and growing in the entire world, just as it also has been doing among you
from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth.” The Roman Empire was a powerful political state
that controlled vast areas in Paul’s day, but precious few of those people had
any knowledge of the Savior God had promised mankind, until after Jesus lived,
died, rose, and ascended to heaven. All
of that was necessary before the sending out of the Apostles with the Good News
of what Jesus has done for us, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, the
Gospel was changing lives wherever Jesus’ apostles were led to go.
Never imagine that Christ’s work didn’t have
effect in this world. With the Holy
Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son and energizing the spread of the
Gospel in the world, the Christian Church grew from a tiny group into a world
changing religion. You and I benefit
from that still today, for the Christian religion now boasts the greatest
number of believers in the world. Yes,
there are still problems and disagreements among us, but the fact that we know
Jesus and believe in Him as our Savior grants us forgiveness of all sins and
life everlasting in heaven.
At the same time, we should ask, what makes the
Church grow? Is it programs? Is it the kindness of strangers? Certainly, those things can be helpful in
reaching out to people, but the source of the growth comes from outside of
us. Even as the farmer plants the fields
and tends them through the harvest, he doesn’t give the seed life or make it
grow. That life must be in the seed from
the beginning, or more factually, from all the way back at the creation. Likewise, for you and me and all believers,
the power to live and believe comes from the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.
To the Roman congregation Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of
God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16) Apart
from the Gospel, faith never grows, nor can it.
Without hearing the Good News of what Jesus has done for us, the law
would overpower and terrify anyone.
Either that, or self-righteousness would lead into condemnation, as it
has for so many. Yet, when we recognize
that we are sinners who must stand before the judgment of God in the end, how
joyful it is to receive the Good News that Jesus has taken away all guilt and
paid for all sins with His sacrifice on the cross.
I asked at the beginning of this sermon, “how
much good news is too much to hear?”
Sometimes, it seems like we grow tired of hearing the Good News. Maybe our attendance at worship services
falters as we allow familiarity to breed contempt as we assume we already know
what will be said. Perhaps, we forget to
pray to our loving God as He implores us to do.
We might even begin to wonder if He loves us as He declares. Yet is that really because we have heard too
much good news? Or is it rather, that we
have grown complacent and satisfied with the world? Does the knowledge that Jesus has taken away
all our guilt ever lead us to a lack of appreciation for all that He has
done? Does it ever lead us to withhold
that Good News from others? Woe to any
believer who forgets the love of Christ, or who forgets to love his neighbor as
himself.
That’s why Paul continued to pray for these new
Christians, and why we continue to ask God to bless and strengthen our faith in
Jesus as well as the faith of our fellow Christians around the world. Paul makes an interesting comment about the
Colossians’ faith. He said, “You
learned this from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister
of Christ on your behalf. He is the one
who told us about your love in the Spirit.”
A faithful servant of our Lord shared the Good News of Jesus among his
neighbors, and faith took hold and grew in them. The same thing happened for you and me as
faithful servants of our Lord shared with us the Good News of Jesus’ crucified
for sinners. In his joy that Jesus had
saved more of his neighbors, Epaphras shared that good news with his fellow
missionary, Paul.
This morning, I ask you, who do you know who
needs to hear about Jesus? Who do you
know who maybe is struggling to hold on to the faith? Sometimes, we approach people like that and
tell them, “You should be in church!” which while it is a true statement is law
which only condemns and alienates them all the more. What they really need to hear from you and me,
and see in our actions, is the love that Jesus showed to us. That is why we are here—to tell sinners that
their sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. Imagine the reaction from an enemy if you can
show them the love of God. Yes, some may
still hate you just because, but in some, that Good News of what Jesus did for
you and me, and them, may turn their stone-dead souls into living believing new
friends.
Many people assume that we go to church to
praise God or to earn points toward our salvation. While we do joyfully praise our Savior for
all He has done for us, we actually are gathered together in worship by the
power of the Gospel precisely because God knows that we need His support to
keep us on the road to everlasting joy.
Therefore, as our loving Father in heaven, He has His faithful ministers
preach the law to you—not to condemn you, but to call you to repentance.
That is why God’s faithful preachers always
follow the law with the Good News of what Jesus has done for us. It is the Good News that Jesus lived, died,
and rose again, taking away all our guilt and shame, to give us life, and hope,
and a future, that empowers our faith and strengthens us to go out in this
world and keeps us from ever being turned away from the path of righteousness
in Jesus.
In the Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes to us and
works in our hearts the confidence to walk in a world opposed to God and His
Son, knowing that Jesus has opened the way to heaven for all who believe in
Him. Thank God, the Gospel grows the
hope of heaven. Amen.
How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
everyone who is walking in his ways.
Amen.
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