Sermon for 7/23/23: Seventh Sunday After Trinity

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A Free Gift

Romans 6:19-23

 

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

 

 

All things considered, the Bible is fairly easy to understand. All you have to do is read it as if it’s all talking about Jesus, and you’re doing fine. So if this is the case, why are there so many different interpretations of it? The thing is, the Bible is clear, but we are not. What God says in the Bible is clear, but we don’t think the way God thinks. In the book of Isaiah we hear, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Clearly God reveals His thoughts to us when He writes them down in Scripture, so of course we can know them. The problem is, we disagree with them. This is why there are so many different interpretations of God’s clear biblical teaching. People disagree with God because He doesn’t think like they do. For example, people disagree with God regarding the consequences of sin. He says, “The wages of sin is death.” People hear what God says, and they understand it, but they then reject it. They think they may do as they please without paying the consequences for their sins. They think that, since they can make excuses, change the subject, point the finger at others, and avoid confronting their own sin, the wages of sin don’t have to be paid. They are wrong. What God says, goes. They all die. They all face judgment. 

People also disagree with God on how to get to heaven. They think that the road to heaven is paved by their own good deeds. They ascribe this opinion to God. But God says, “The gift of God is eternal life.” They hear what He says, but they assume He cannot mean it. “Surely there must be something we can do or think or say to earn our place in the Kingdom of God,” they think. So they try to figure out some way to change the plain meaning of God’s Word so it will teach what they have already decided God must think.

The reason people reject what God says in the Bible is because they elevate their own reason or feelings or experiences above what God clearly says. They think they are Bible-believing, but they reject what the Bible says. This is why people deny that babies sin and so need to be born again in Holy Baptism; this is why they deny that Jesus clearly says that the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper really are His body and blood; this why they deny that Jesus can set a man apart so that he can speak words that give Christ’s forgiveness of sins. The Bible clearly teaches these things, but sinners cannot understand how they can be true. So they deny what they cannot understand.

Some people reject the Christian faith after suffering the loss of a loved one, especially in tragic circumstances. How could a kind and loving God permit such a thing? But when St. Paul writes, “The wages of sin is death,” he is not ascribing cruelty to God. God is kind, loving, and full of mercy. But “the wages of sin is death.” People die because they are sinners, because sin dwells within them from conception until the day they die. Sin isn’t God’s fault; He didn’t create us to be sinful. He created us in His image: to know Him and to love Him and to be like He is. Sin comes from ignoring the Word of God and trusting lies instead.

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul wrote this to the Romans in response to the false idea that the free gift of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life is an encouragement to disobey the law. Nobody who understands sin would make such an argument. Sin isn’t freedom to do as you please. It is slavery to the darkest passions of the sinful heart. Sin kills you. Sinners die.

This is why the death of Jesus is such a wonderful event. It couldn’t have been for His own sin that he died. After all, Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Law; He committed no sin. He died for us; He died to pay the price for our sin. He paid the wages of our sin with His innocent life. Life is not cheap. The purchase price for our lives was the blood of God’s only begotten Son. “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You cannot buy it. You cannot earn it. You do not deserve it.

Take what He gives you. Believe Him when He tells you that He has removed your sins from you as far as the east is from the west as He washes you in the waters of Holy Baptism. Believe Him when He tells you your sins are forgiven, even we He speaks it through the mouth of a sinful pastor. Believe Him when He tells you that the body and blood that you eat and drink in the bread and wine of the Sacrament of the Altar take away your sins and give you eternal life.

Jesus earned the gift of eternal life for you by His holy obedience and sacrificial death. God gives the gift of eternal life to you in His Word and the Holy Sacraments. You receive the gift of eternal life by faith, which is another gift from God. You need do nothing to earn it; indeed, there is nothing you can do to earn or deserve it. It is a gift. It is for you: a free gift to give you life in His name. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

 

Sermon for 7/16/23: Sixth Sunday After Trinity

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The Perfect Life

Exodus 20:1-17

 

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

 

 

Imagine a world in which everyone gave honor and praise and glory solely to our God and Father in heaven. Everyone would be united in perfect love, receiving true love from God, honoring His name. We would pray in perfect unity and never misuse God’s name to promote lies. We would find spiritual rest together by receiving the Word of God in pure faith, never doubting His goodness. Parents and other authorities would be respected and obeyed. There would be no fighting, no murdering, no abortion, no euthanasia, and no hatred. Marriage would be between one man and one woman, and every couple would remain faithful to their vows. Theft would be unknown. Nobody would deal in lies or gossip, and we would be happy recounting the many good and wonderful things others have done. Everyone would be content with what he had and would not try to take advantage of his neighbor. What a wonderful world this would be, if only we would obey the Ten Commandments.

You don’t need to be a Christian to see this. People who don’t know Christ still know that a good life is a life of humility, mercy, purity, generosity, self-control, and faithfulness. People have by nature a basic understanding of God’s Law, and we call that knowledge “conscience.” God’s Law is written on the hearts of all people. It resonates with people of every religion. They know that these commandments are just; if we would only obey them, we would be living righteous lives.

The Law and the Gospel are the two main teachings of God’s Word. The Law, which we just heard summarized, tells us what we must do if we are to enjoy God’s blessings. The Gospel, which is revealed in Christ alone, tells us what Christ has done to win for us God’s eternal blessings. The Law shows us our sins and rightly condemns us for them; the Gospel shows us our Savior and gives us forgiveness of sins. The Law must be preached to sinners who hold on to their sins and refuse to repent of them. The Gospel must be preached to those who admit their sins and want to be rid of them. The Law can only accuse and condemn. The Gospel always forgives and saves.

We need to hear both of these. Without the Law, we cannot know or learn of our need for a Savior. Only when our sins have been exposed to our conscience can we receive through faith the forgiveness of sins that God gives us in Christ Jesus. The Law that God gave Israel on Mount Sinai is not what set Israel free—not from slavery in Egypt, nor from bondage to sin and death. Not one of us present today can perfectly keep God’s Law, and only in perfect obedience to the righteous Law of God would we be able to save ourselves.

This is why St. Paul calls us back to our Baptism: we live holy lives only as we are joined to the death and resurrection of Christ in Holy Baptism. God washes away our sins. This is how He sets us free. He places His name upon us in Holy Baptism. He kills our sinful flesh, drowning the Old Adam within us. He removes our sins from us as far as East is from West. It is precisely when you recognize your inability to keep God’s Law and place your trust instead in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus that you begin to do what the Ten Commandments tell you to do.

So look at these commandments God has given to you. Does your life correspond to what God says in these commandments? It does not. Do you perfectly love God? Do you perfectly love your neighbor? Of course not. So repent. Return to your Baptism, where you will find the righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. It is the righteousness of Christ. It is reckoned to you. Jesus is your God; He is your brother and your Redeemer. He obeyed the law you disobeyed; He suffered the death you deserved for your sins. This good news, this Gospel, is God’s Word to you. It is His Word to you when your heart condemns you because the Law rightly judges you to be a sinner. The Gospel silences the judgment of the Law. Of course you can’t perfectly obey, so Christ did it for you.

Listen to the Gospel. Cling to your Savior with all the might you possess. Cling to your Baptism. Because you have been washed and covered with the baptismal robe of your Savior’s perfect righteousness, God sees none of your sins. Christ has covered them with His blood. He looks at you, and all God sees is His own dear child who pleases Him in body and soul. That’s the life of the Christian. It is the life God has given us in Holy Baptism, and it is a life worth living. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

         

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 7/9/23: Fifth Sunday After Trinity

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Defending Your Hope

I Peter 3:8-15

 

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

 

 

Jesus Christ instituted and established the Ministry of the Word when He sent out the apostles as His first pastors. The duties of this Ministry are simple: Christ’s pastors are to preach His Gospel and administer His Sacraments. This is the net that brings people into the church. The pastor must faithfully preach and teach the faith he has received from Christ. This teaching is from heaven. It is from the Holy Spirit. The Gospel and the Sacraments are the means by which the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the Holy Christian Church on earth. The Word does not come from men; it is Christ Himself coming to His people and serving them through His Called pastor.

When you receive the Word of God through faith, you have a hope living within you. It is true that we live with doubts, and sometimes the doubts can cause us real spiritual pain. But the Holy Spirit brings us confidence through the Means of Grace. When you begin to doubt your faith and wonder about your future and even question your salvation, the last thing you should do is to fade away from the Church. Instead you should run to worship every Sunday. The Gospel is not a dead letter or a myth devised in the hearts of men; it is the power of God to save you. God overcomes your doubts and replaces uncertainly with true faith.

The fact that God chooses to live within us in the midst of our sins and doubts shows us how much He loves us. He won’t abandon you in your need. We waver; we wonder; we doubt. But God keeps on coming to us in the Gospel. Baptism keeps on washing us; it remains the washing of rebirth throughout our lives. We aren’t born again only when we are baptized; we are born again daily when we drown all our sins and doubts in the life-giving washing with which the Holy Spirit has washed us.

This is also how you “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” It may sound strange to sanctify God, as He is already holy. But God teaches you here to confess Him for who and what He is. And before you can confess what you believe to others, you must know yourself what you believe and in whom you trust.

Your faith ought to be the topic of the daily conversations of every Christian. It is not only pastors who ought to be interested in theology. When we talk about what we as Christians believe, we are talking about what’s most important. Are you ready to defend the faith when called upon to do so—even when a gun is pointed at you? Do you know why you believe what you believe? Where does your hope rest? How do you know you are going to heaven? Are you sure? There is nothing wrong with going to your pastor with questions about what the Word teaches. He’s your servant to speak the Word to you. But your pastor cannot believe for you. Faith is always personal, and it rests on the Word, centered around the death and resurrection of Jesus for your forgiveness. It rests on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Everything God teaches you is important. He doesn’t talk to hear His own voice. He wants you to receive His teaching as if you were hungry for it.

When Christians become fat and satisfied in their faith, they begin to lose interest in learning God’s Word. They take the truth for granted and even begin to despise the Word. They want something different, something to tickle their ears, something new and exciting. They tire of repenting of their sins; they tire of crying out to the gracious God who forgives them for the sake of Christ. They tire of the same old Law and Gospel preaching. They tire of the daily contrition and repentance to which God called them in Holy Baptism. There are so many unfaithful preachers today—so many Joel Osteens and Joyce Meyers and Benny Hinns, ELCAs and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons and Muslims—because we sinners demand them. St. Paul predicted this when he wrote to Timothy, saying, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will raise up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

In the face of these enemies of the Gospel, God calls on every Christian to defend the faith. It is your duty to ensure your pastor preaches only the pure Word of God, to make sure you and your family hunger and thirst for this Word. God calls on every Christian to defend the hope God has given him. It is our duty to confess Jesus Christ and His holy Word. When we do this, God speaks through us, just as surely as He speaks through pastors. We must speak not in a spirit of arrogance or pride, but in humility and fear. After all, we live by mercy, and it is only by God’s grace that we know the truth.

What is the reason for your hope? You must confess, even in the face of death, that your Savior, Jesus Christ, took away your sin on the cross and gives you eternal life in His Word and gifts. Do you believe that, dear Christian? Then confess it, defend it, and don’t ever back away from it. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
        

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.

Sermon for 7/2/23: Fourth Sunday After Trinity

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Forgiven, Forgiving

Luke 6:36-42

 

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

 

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is really giving a variation on the Golden Rule. Instead of saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” He says, “Do unto others as you would have your heavenly Father do unto you.” If you do not want Him to judge and condemn you in your sinfulness, then don’t you be judging and condemning others in their sinfulness. If you want God to forgive your sins and give you richly all things to enjoy, then let go of those grudges and put stinginess far away from you. That’s what it all boils down to.

But there is something inside us that doesn’t like this Word of God at all. There is something in us that enjoys judging and condemning others. There is something in us that is reluctant to let go of wrongs suffered, that enjoys playing the scene repeatedly in our mind’s eye to fan the flames of resentment and keep the bitterness burning. There is something in us that thinks Jesus surely got it wrong when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

That something inside us is the Old Adam. He like to judge and condemn others because he is filled with pride. He thinks better of himself than he has any right to think. And the one sure way he has of raising himself up is to knock others down: to point out the failings of others, to gossip about and condemn our neighbors. And the old Adam wants to hold grudges and refuses to let go of the wrongs he has suffered because he is selfish. He thinks in his heart that, if he doesn’t look out for himself, who will? He doesn’t want to be a doormat that others will wipe their feet on. The Old Adam does not trust that vengeance belongs to the Lord, and that He will repay, as St. Paul teaches. Does that old fellow sound familiar to you? He should. He prowls around inside of you, like just he lives inside of me. And he wants to boss us around. He wants to run our lives. And he wants us to ruin our lives and the lives of our neighbors.

But we have been claimed by Another. We have been marked with the sign of the holy cross. Bearing that sign, soaked in the waters of Holy Baptism, we belong to the New Adam, to the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. We’ve been baptized into Him. His life has been given us as our own. Jesus did not come into this world to judge and condemn; He came to rescue us, because we were judged and condemned by the law as worthy of death. “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” He did not come to pay us back for the countless times we have risen up in rebellion against Him; He came to separate us from our sins by taking them from us and bearing them Himself under His Father’s judgment as He hung on the cross. “Father, forgive them...” was His cry. And all who take shelter under His cross in faith are forgiven, just as He said. His cross is like a great fortress that shields us from the righteous wrath of God.

Unlike the Old Adam with his distrust of God, our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the work of salvation by trusting His Father. And His trust was not disappointed. Our Lord Jesus—the One who had not judged and had not condemned; the One who had forgiven everything, even to the point of laying down His own life—our Lord was raised on the third day, vindicated as the Righteous One, raised to the right hand of the Father to rule over all things.

His perfect life of trust is the life He has given us in our Baptism. He calls us to drown that Old Adam and his distrust of God. He calls us to confess that we have logs in our own eyes: logs of pride, resentment, stinginess, and—behind all of those—distrust. As you confess this to God and receive His forgiveness, you “take the log out of your own eye,” and you can finally be of some use to your neighbor. When you see yourself as a justly condemned prisoner who has now been given an undeserved pardon and reprieve, then you are a sinner who can serve others. You even get to carry the good news of that free pardon to other sinners, telling them of the forgiveness which the death of Christ has won for them. You get to be merciful, just as you have received mercy from God. You get to do unto others as your heavenly Father has done unto you” in Christ. We go out from this place with joy to live out the forgiveness we have received in our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.