The Reformation

Sermon for the Circuit Reformation Day service based on John 8:31-36

Dear heirs of the Reformation: grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Reformation is not the story of Martin Luther. It is not the story of Luther versus the pope. It’s not the story of Germany versus Italy or even of Lutherans versus the Roman Catholics. The Reformation is the story of the freedom of the Gospel versus the slavery of the Law. It is the story of God versus the devil. The Reformation is the story of the truth versus lies. However, the story of the Reformation does include the Roman Catholics, the pope, Martin Luther, and the Lutherans.

The Roman Catholic church of the sixteenth century was no longer the catholic church of the prophets and apostles. The freedom and truth of the Gospel had been lost in most of the church, instead replaced by slavery to the law.

And it’s not the Law of God the Roman Catholics wanted to follow. They abolished the Law of God and invented their own laws. They dreamed up their own laws that they taught earn merit with God. They invented monasticism, pilgrimages, viewing relics, and observing festivals as supposed good works that please God. They touted celibacy, even tearing apart families as a supposed good work, although their monasteries and churches were full of vices and debauchery better left unmentioned.

The invented works of man were held in such high regard, that well-known Roman theologian Thomas Aquinas even said that the monastic profession is equal to Baptism.[1] In other words, he said that leaving society to be a monk at some monastery has the same benefits as Baptism.

As if this were not enough, the Roman Church further taught that those who followed these man-made rules earned so many merit points from God that they could sell them to others. So, the Roman church preyed on weak and despairing people, promising eternal life to them and their loved ones if they gave the church money. The church got rich from stealing from the poor and the widows. They invented a place they named “purgatory” and told grieving families that their dead loved ones were suffering there, burning in the fires of this fake temporary hell. The families were scammed and coerced into giving sums of money to the church to reduce the time their loved ones would suffer in their invented place of torment.

The Roman church thus taught the people to see God as a mean judge and to be afraid Him. Instead of praying to God, the Roman church told people to pray to Mary or other saints. Why would you pray to Jesus if you are afraid of Him? Pray instead to His mother who can put in a good word for you with her son. The Roman church thus turned people away from Jesus as their Saviour.

To those who did believe that the death of Jesus saves us, the Roman Catholic church said, “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, let him be anathema.”^[2] Also, “If anyone says that… the Gospel [is] a bare and absolute promise of eternal life without the condition of observing the commandments, let him be anathema.”^[3]

The Roman Catholic church says that if you believe that you are saved by faith alone you are anathema, that is cursed to hell. They say that if you do not believe that you also need to work your way into heaven you are cursed to hell. They say that if you do not believe that by your own power and strength you must work to save yourself, you are going to hell.

Can you image the freedom then, when the Gospel again came to light? When the lies of the pope and the Roman Church were exposed to be nothing more than Satan’s work? When the truth of the Word of God was once again preached, telling the people that the made-up works of the Roman church are nonsense; that you cannot buy forgiveness of sins with money? When the people again heard that their sins are forgiven freely, without cost to us, without any merit or worthiness in us?

The Gospel brought the people out of slavery to the Law to freedom in Christ. With the return to God’s Word, we can see what Jesus was talking about in today’s Gospel reading when He said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The truth of the Gospel sets us free from the Law that we cannot fulfil. I’m not talking about some man-made laws which are utter nonsense. I’m speaking of God’s Law with its demand that we be perfect in thought, word, and deed. The Gospel sets us free from the demands of the Law because the Gospel tells us that Jesus fulfilled what we cannot fulfil. Jesus kept the Law of God perfectly for us since we cannot do it. He took the punishment that we deserve for our sins onto Himself. By His suffering and death on the cross, He paid the price of our sins in full, with no payment remaining for us to make.

We do not need to be afraid of Jesus as if He is a mean judge. He loves us so much that He came to live for us and die for us. He loves us so much that He was judged in our place so that we stand acquitted.

Concerning those who make up their own rules to follow while claiming to be disciples of God, Jesus says, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matt. 15:9)

Concerning those who say the death of Christ is not enough, that we must also work to save ourselves, Scripture teaches that by works of the Law no human being will be justified (Rom. 3:20), but rather we are justified by His grace as a gift (Rom. 3:24), we are justified apart from the works of the Law (Rom. 3:28), and Christ is of no advantage to them because they are again submitting to a yoke of slavery to the Law (Gal. 5:1-2). Galatians 5 says, “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” (Gal. 5:4)

There can be no middle ground on this. We cannot tolerate the commandments of men, but must cling to the Word of God. We cannot give any ground to the teaching that we must work to save ourselves. We must cling to the freedom of the Gospel instead of submitting again to a yoke of slavery.

The Lutherans responded to Aquinas and his claim that being a monk is equal to Baptism by saying, “It is madness to put a human tradition, which has neither a command nor a promise of God, on the same level with an ordinance of Christ, which has both a command and a promise of God, and which contains a covenant of grace and eternal life.”[4] You cannot invent some supposed good work and say that God will give you merits if you do it. We must not submit to a yoke of slavery from which we have been freed by Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Son has set us free, so we are free indeed.

We rejoice that with the Reformation the freedom of the Gospel was once again taught and learned. Unfortunately, sin does not lie dormant, but is crouching at the door (Gen. 4:7). In all too many places, the freedom of the Gospel was misunderstood to mean freedom to indulge the flesh.

Luther made official visitations of congregations and writes, “The deplorable, miserable condition which I discovered lately when I, too, was a visitor, has forced and urged me to prepare this Catechism, or Christian doctrine, in this small, plain, simple form. Mercy! Good God, what manifold misery I beheld! The common people, especially in the villages, have no knowledge whatever of Christian doctrine, and, alas, many pastors are altogether incapable and incompetent to teach [so much so, that one is ashamed to speak of it]. Nevertheless, all maintain that they are Christians, have been baptized and receive the holy Sacraments. Yet they [do not understand and] cannot [even] recite either the Lord’s Prayer, or the Creed, or the Ten Commandments; they live like dumb brutes and irrational hogs; and yet, now that the Gospel has come, they have nicely learned to abuse all liberty like experts.” (SC Preface)

Friends in Christ, we still live in the time of the Reformation. The Roman Church still denies the Gospel and condemns to hell those who believe it. The Lutheran church still struggles with the abuse of the freedom of the Gospel, as if we are free to do whatever we want because our sins are forgiven. We have nicely learned to abuse all liberty like experts under the guise of the freedom of the Gospel.

We must be clear. We are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law. Our salvation is not because of our works, but solely because of Jesus’ work of salvation.  But we are not to continue in sin so that grace may abound (Rom. 6:1-2). We are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, making us obey its passions (Rom. 6:12). By the help of the Holy Spirit we are to put to death the deeds of the body (Rom. 8:13).

This is possible only because God continues to forgive our sin and strengthen our faith through His Word and Sacraments. Our Baptism is a daily reminder that we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, so we will rise from the dead as He rose from the dead. The Lord’s Supper is a regular meal of spiritual nourishment, giving us the forgiveness of sins and strengthening our faith. God has given us His Word in which we abide, so that we know the truth, and the truth sets us free. Since the Son has set us free, we are free indeed. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

 

 

 

[1] S Th II, 2, q. 189, a. 3, ad 3

[2] Canons Concerning Justification, Canon 9. Cited from H. J. Schroeder. Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent. (Saint Louis: B. Herder Book, 1960), 43.

[3] Ibid. Canon 20. 44.

[4] Ap XXVII.20

Freedom

Sermon for Reformation Day based on John 8:31-36

Dear heirs of the Reformation: grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, ‘If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, “You will become free”?’”

Never enslaved to anyone? That simply isn’t true. The offspring of Abraham were enslaved in Egypt by Pharaoh. Pharaoh oppressed them and set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. The Egyptians ruthlessly made the offspring of Abraham to work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service. Pharaoh even commanded that every son born to the offspring of Abraham be murdered by throwing them into the Nile (see Ex. 1-5). The offspring of Abraham had been enslaved to the Egyptians.

The offspring of Abraham were also enslaved by the Assyrians. Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, overran Israelite cities and carried the people captive to Assyria (II Kings 15:29). Shalmaneser V and Sargon II continued the assault and the capital city of Samaria was captured and the offspring of Abraham were enslaved in Assyria (see II Kings 17:3-6).

The offspring of Abraham were later also enslaved to the Babylonians. King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took it. All the treasures of the king’s house were taken and the vessels in the Lord’s house were smashed and the Lord’s house was burned to the ground along with the king’s house and every other great house. The offspring of Abraham were taken into exile in Babylon while the poorest were left to work the land for the King of Babylon. The offspring of Abraham had been enslaved to the Babylonians (see II Kings 25).

Finally, even at the time that the Jews said to Jesus that they had never been enslaved to anyone, they were not a free people. The Romans had invaded and taken over the land of the offspring of Abraham. Their land was converted into a Roman province and they were forced to pay taxes to Caesar, the Roman emperor, and to follow Roman laws as Roman soldiers marched their streets. The offspring of Abraham were not free. They were enslaved to the Romans even as they told Jesus that they have never been enslaved to anyone.

But is this the slavery to which Jesus was referring? Was Jesus promising freedom from the Roman occupation by abiding in His Word of truth? No, not at all.

Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” This is the slavery Jesus is talking about – slavery to sin. This is the condition of sinful man from conception whether it is realized or not. As surely as these Jews were blind to their slavery to other kingdoms past and present, so they were blind to their slavery to sin.

We also can be blind to our sin. We can argue that we do our best. We look around and see everyone else’s sin and we figure we’re doing better than them. But the Law doesn’t say “Do your best.” The Law says “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mt. 22:37, 39) Have you or have you not? Have you always put God first in everything? You’ve never doubted God or His will? You’ve never desired something that you don’t have? You’ve never spoken about someone behind their back? You’ve never neglected to help someone in need? You’ve never neglecting hearing and reading God’s Word?

In our Epistle we heard, “Now we know that whatever the Law says it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world held accountable to God.” (Rom. 3:19) God’s Law shuts our mouths and our claims of doing our best. The Law shuts our mouths from our excuses, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) The Law shuts our mouths because we’re guilty. Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin so we’ve got nothing to say. Our excuses fall short. Pointing fingers doesn’t help. Our claims of having done our best are rubbish.

We cannot save ourselves from the slavery of sin any more than the offspring of Abraham could save themselves from their slavery. The Israelites never got themselves out of slavery; they were helpless at the hands of their oppressors. So also, we cannot get ourselves out of slavery to sin; we are helpless at the hands of sin, death, and the devil. They are more powerful than we are.

But Jesus says, “If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” What truth is that? The truth that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The truth that if the Son of God sets you free from the slavery of sin, you will be free indeed.

Jesus, the Son of God, has set you free by doing what you cannot do. He fulfilled the entire Law of God with all its legal demands. He left no Law undone. He did what you were supposed to do but could not. Then He died on the cross, taking the punishment of all your sins on Himself. He took your chains and shackles of sin onto Himself. He suffered the punishment of hell for you and in your place. He conquered your enemies of sin, death, and the devil and He set you free.

Your freedom is not your doing. It is a gift. In the words of our Epistle, “We are justified by His grace as a gift.” You are declared righteous and pleasing to God not on account of anything you have done or left undone, but on account of what Jesus has done for you. We are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law.

This truth is what the Reformation was all about. It was about returning to the truth of God’s Word that we are not saved by our own works or merits, but by the work and merit of Jesus.

The Reformation was about correcting the lie that we must do our part in salvation; the lie that we are justified through our works not by grace as a gift. The Reformation was about making the truth of God’s Word known once again. It was a return to Jesus’ words, “If you abide in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus says, “You will know the truth.” You will have certainty concerning the truth. You can say it with conviction. It is not an opinion or a feeling. It’s not wishing or thinking. This flies in the face of what the world says about the truth, that there is no way to know what is really true and we can all hold to different so-called “truths” even when they contradict each other. But Jesus says, “You will know the truth.” You will have certainty concerning the truth. You know the truth with confidence because God says it in His own Word; you know the truth because God tells you and He cannot lie. That truth is: if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. You are justified by His grace as a gift. You are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law.

The offspring of Abraham were never able to free themselves from slavery. They were helpless at the hands of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans. God rescued them from slavery in Egypt through the waters of the Red Sea and He has rescued us from the slavery to sin though the waters of Holy Baptism. God rescued the offspring of Abraham from slavery in Babylon by sending Cyrus, king of Persia, to defeat the Babylonians (Is. 44-45; Ez. 1) and God has rescued us from slavery to sin by sending Jesus, His only Son, to defeat our enemies of sin, death, and the devil.

That is the truth of God’s Word. Blindness to your sin does not set you free. Jesus’ death in your place sets you free. Claiming that you’ve never been enslaved to anyone does not set you free. Claiming the merits of Jesus sets you free. Jesus, the Son of God has set you free. Because the Son has set you free, you are free indeed. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

God, Be Merciful to Me, the Sinner

Sermon for the Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost based on Luke 18:9-17

Dear people gathered in the house of God: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

When you come to God’s house, you can come as the Pharisee or you can come as the tax collector. You can come as one who relies on his own works, or you can come as one who relies on what Jesus has done. You can come to thank God how good you are, or you can come praying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

Our trouble is that we have a hard time seeing our own sin. Our eyes are blinded by our own sin so that we do not always recognize it to be sin. It is easy for us to come to God’s house thinking about our own good works: how we help our neighbour; how we give offerings to God; even about how we come to church in the first place while so many others don’t.

It’s easy to look at the world, to listen to, read, or watch the news and think, “The world is full of horrible people. The world is full of awful sinners. Thank God I’m not one of those murderers, arsonists, or terrorists. God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” It’s easy to trust in ourselves that we are righteous, while treating others with contempt.

Scripture, however, teaches that “whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” (James 2:10) The same Law that says you shall not murder tells you not to sin when you get angry (Eph. 4:26) and to help your neighbour in every physical need (SC I.5). The same Law that says you shall not commit adultery tells you not to lust (Matt. 5:28) or even speak crudely or foolishly (Eph. 5:3-4). The same Law that says you shall not steal tells you not to be dishonest and to actually help your neighbour improve and protect his possessions and income (SC I.7).

You cannot come to God on your own merits because you don’t have any. You cannot rely on your own good works because they cannot save you. Scripture says that our good works are like filthy rags (Is. 64:6) so how polluted do you think our evil works are; how polluted our sins are? If we come to God relying on our own works, we will not go home justified.

If you take the case of the Pharisee praying in God’s house, the Temple, you will see that he wasn’t lying in the eyes of men. He was not an extortioner in the eyes of men. He wasn’t unjust in the eyes of men, nor was he an adulterer in the eyes of men. He didn’t sin in these open ways that others could see. He kept his sins hidden. He did such a good job hiding his sins that he had even convinced himself that they weren’t sins. All he came to God with was his own merits, his own works: “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” He claims to be doing even more than the Law demanded of him. He’s fasting more than the Law demands and giving a tithe of more than the Law demands.

The Pharisee’s prayers were a charade. Prayer is an act of worship, but the Pharisee wasn’t worshiping God. He was worshiping himself. He trusted in himself as righteous and treated others with contempt.

Since prayers were normally spoken out loud, whether in private or in public, the Pharisee also prayed to be heard by others. He wanted everyone else to see how good he is and worship him, too. Maybe even the tax collector could hear him saying, “Thank you God that I am not like this tax collector.” He hides his own sins and compares himself to those whose sins can be seen by the whole world, so that in the eyes of men, he would be justified and righteous.

But Jesus says that that Pharisee did not go to his home justified. God did not declare him righteous. He could fool men, but no one can fool God.

The tax collector, however, came to God’s house in humble repentance. Were there worse sinners than him in God’s house? He didn’t care. They weren’t his concern. He didn’t compare himself with others or his sins with others. He hung his head in shame and prayed saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” He actually uses the definite article, not calling himself “a” sinner, but “the” sinner. God, be merciful to me, the sinner, like he is the only sinner on earth. No one else’s sins mattered to him. Why should they? You cannot use someone else’s sin as an excuse for yours. It benefits you not at all that someone is a worse sinner than you.

We should all say to ourselves, “My sin is why Jesus died. I crucified Him. My sins are the reason Jesus came and suffered. My sins are inexcusable and undeniable. God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

True worship is not being in church so that others can see you. True worship is not pretending to be good or trying to get men to think that you are good.

True worship is receiving the gifts of God. True worship is believing God’s promises and receiving blessings from Him. True worship is coming in humble repentance to God’s house and praying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

Praying “God, be merciful to me” is praying that God would be propitiated to me. God set your anger aside. Do not deal with me in your anger and wrath. Be merciful to me.

God is merciful. He has never and will never refuse to forgive a penitent sinner. He has never and will never charge a repentant sinner with his sins because Jesus was charged with and paid the price all sin. God has never and will never reject the sinner who comes to Him relying not on his own works, but on what Jesus has done.

We can rely on what Jesus has done. Jesus never failed even in one point of the Law, yet He was held accountable for all of it. He was held accountable for all our failures to fulfil the Law. He was held accountable for all of our sins of thought, word, and deed. Jesus was held accountable for the sins of the entire world, and suffered the wrath and punishment of God for all sin.

You can rely on what Jesus has accomplished because He has accomplished everything for your salvation. The price of your sins has been paid in full. God is not propitiated to you because of your pleas for mercy, but on account of Jesus. Jesus bore the punishment and wrath of God for your sin. That’s why the Bible says that Jesus is the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:10). Jesus turns God’s anger away. On account of Jesus, God is merciful to you.

So you can say, “Jesus’ death on the cross was for my sin. My sins are forgiven. My sins are forgiven whether they are known to others or if they are secret. I have peace with God. God has been merciful to me, the sinner.”

You will go home justified. You will go home declared righteous. In God’s house you receive the forgiveness of sins that Jesus earned for you by His life, death, and resurrection. Through Absolution you have been declared righteous. Through the true body and blood of Jesus you will be justified because you will receive forgiveness. Through the Lord’s Supper you are united in communion with Christ, so when God looks at you, He does not see your sin. He sees Jesus. God sees His own Son who has fulfilled the Law.

God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Don’t make excuses. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t tell God what good you’ve done. Rely on what Jesus has done for you. Rely on the forgiveness you will receive in the true body and blood of Jesus, and you will go home justified. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Cure for Itching Ears

Sermon for the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost based on II Timothy 3:14-4:5

Dear people with ears to hear: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Holy Spirit prophesied through the Apostle Paul saying, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.”

That time has come. People do not endure sound teaching. Every excuse is made to ignore what the Bible says. They say that society is so different now, what the Bible says doesn’t apply any more today. They say that you can pick and choose what you want to believe from the Bible. They say that God forgives my sin so I can do whatever I want to do.

If they have a pastor who follows Scripture and says it does still apply today, they leave the church. If they have a pastor who says you cannot pick and choose what you like and dislike in the Bible, they go find a new pastor. If they have a pastor who says they cannot do whatever their sinful flesh wants to do, they go find someone who tells them what they want to hear.

This is what the Holy Spirit is talking about in saying “having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.”

Whatever passion they pursue, they can find someone to say what their itching ears want to hear. Is their passion to pursue after wealth? Then they find a preacher who says God wants them to be rich and he’s going to give them lots of money. Is their passion to pursue sex outside of marriage? Then they find a preacher who tells them marriage was not instituted by God in Paradise but is rather a social construct that they can ignore as they like. Is their passion to pursue feminist desires of women teaching and exercising authority over men? Then they find a preacher who tells them that patriarchy is oppressive to women and God’s designed order of creation means nothing today.

The Bible meanwhile says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Scripture cannot be profitable for teaching if it doesn’t apply any more today. Scripture cannot be profitable for reproof and correction if we’re supposed to follow society instead of God’s Word. Scripture cannot be profitable for training in righteousness if we can choose for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.

Contrary to what some might say, the Word of the Lord endures forever. Isaiah writes that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever (Is. 40:8). Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matt 24:35) Jesus also says, “not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matt. 5:18)

The Word of the Lord endures forever. It doesn’t change with the seasons or with the earthly kingdoms that rise and fall. It will not bend to the whims of society or the passions of man. God’s Word doesn’t change according to the passions and desires of man.

What God says is what goes, regardless of what anyone thinks of it. What does Scripture say of those who oppose God and His Word? What does Scripture say concerning those who think they can throw away God’s Word as if it is shackles from which they must free themselves? Scripture says, “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then He will speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them with His fury.” (Ps. 2:4-5)

It doesn’t matter how great the nations and the numbers of those who reject God’s Word. It doesn’t matter if all the nations of the earth rage and plot against God. It doesn’t matter if the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together to overthrow God’s Word. It will come to nothing it will not come to pass. They will be broken with a rod of iron and dashed into pieces like a potter’s vessel (Ps. 2:9). God’s Word will not be overthrown. God’s Word will endure forever.

The fact that God promises that His Word endures forever is actually of great comfort to you. It means that despite the changes in society, God’s promises to you stand fast. It means that despite others chasing what their itching ears want to hear, you hear the Word of God that gives you life.

Because the Word of the Lord endures forever, Christ’s death in your place still stands and will stand forever. Because the Word of the Lord endures forever, your Baptism does not wear out or lose its power, but it also stands forever. Because the Word of the Lord endures forever, He still gives us the true body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins because His institution of the Lord’s Supper still stands.

Only the Word of the Lord is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Without God’s Word, you would not know of Jesus death for you. Whatever you can learn about God from creation, from your conscience, or through your thinking, the only place you can learn of God’s love for you in Christ Jesus our Lord is the Bible. There is no other place.

That is the primary reason why we treasure God’s precious Word. It is our only hope of salvation. It is the only way we know that the price of our sins has been paid and that we stand as forgiven saints because we are covered by the blood of the Lamb. It is the only way we know that we are adopted children of God through Baptism. It is the only way we know that we are joined in communion with Christ and all the saints of all time and all places as we celebrate the most holy of Suppers.

Sometimes God’s Word might feel like a knock upside the head when it cuts us deep by condemning our sinful passions. It may feel more like shackles than freedom. But God condemns our sins so that we would turn away from them and receive forgiveness. God condemns our sins so that He might rescue us from death and bring us to life. God condemns our sins which are the actual chains and shackles that try to hold us imprisoned.

The world can and does rebel against God. The people can follow their itching ears. But may God keep us in the faith so that we would not rebel against Him. May God strengthen our faith in His Word which endures forever. May God grant us faith to cling to the cross of Christ for mercy, that mercy which is promised us in His Word, which endures forever.

The Word of the Lord endures forever. That means that God’s promises to you endure forever. No matter what the world’s itching ears are listening to today, our ears hear that our sins are forgiven. No matter what the latest trending false teacher is saying, our eternal Saviour gives us His eternal promise of eternal life. No matter the clutter of things to listen to, our ears hear the eternal truth of God’s eternal Word. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Giver of Gifts

Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost based on Luke 17:11-19

Dear thankful recipients of God’s gifts: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lepers were the walking dead of the first century. There was no cure leprosy. There was no treatment. For lepers, there was only waiting for death.

In addition to this, a leper was also ceremonially unclean. That means he was excluded from the Temple and from worship in synagogues; seemingly excluded from salvation. He was forced out of his own home, leaving his wife and children so that he would not make them unclean. He was forced out of the city, as the law demanded that lepers live outside the city walls. He had to wear torn clothes and let his long hair hang loose so that he would be recognized from far away as being an unclean leper, as a warning to others not to come closer. And if someone came within earshot, they had to further warn them by shouting out, “Unclean, unclean!” (See Lv. 13 for laws relating to leprosy)

As Jesus approached, the ten lepers from our reading in Luke did not call out, “Unclean, unclean!” Rather, they called out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” No doctor had any hope to offer lepers, but they had faith that Jesus did have something to offer them. They prayed for mercy, trusting that Jesus could and would show them mercy and heal them.

Jesus did heal them. He healed all ten of the lepers from the death sentence of their illness. All ten were healed, but only one returned to Jesus to fall at His feet in thanksgiving.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m sure the other nine healed lepers were also thankful. How could they not be? Do you know anyone who would not be thankful after receiving healing from illness? Who would be thankless and unappreciative of being given a new lease on life, being able to return to their city and family, and no longer being an outcast and exile? The other nine lepers undoubtedly were thankful and probably even gave thanks to God at the Temple, but only one returned to Jesus to fall at His feet in thanksgiving.

This is exactly the goal of all the gifts of God. All the gifts of God are given to bring us to Jesus to fall at His feet for salvation. The gift itself is not the end goal. The healing of the lepers was not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal was for the lepers to look past the gift of healing to the giver of the gift and come to Him for salvation.

This is true for all of the blessings you also have been given this past year. Those blessings themselves are not the goal. Rather, those blessings are given by God for you to look past the gifts to the giver of the gifts. Those blessings are given to you so that you will fall at the feet of Jesus for salvation.

Instead of counting your blessings, look through your blessings to Christ. Instead of focusing on your blessings, look through your blessings to Christ who gives you those blessings.

If you focus on the blessings themselves, you do not focus on Christ. If you focus on the blessings as the end goal, then you will not be thankful without those blessings. If you focus on the blessings as the end goal, then you do not recognize your need for Jesus, because “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone even without our prayers, even to all evil people” (SC III.4).

It is true that having great earthly blessings can block our view of Christ, but so can having very few earthly blessings. What if you’re one of the lepers Jesus didn’t heal? What if you haven’t had a good year since last Thanksgiving? What if your harvest was poor because of bad weather, or you lost earthly goods due to tragedy? What if you received a bad diagnosis from a doctor this year? If your focus is on these blessings, you will not look past them to Christ who is the giver of all good things; you will not focus on the greatest gift of all – eternal life.

If you look past the material blessings to Christ, the giver of gifts, you will see that the material gifts are not the end goal, and you will be thankful even without those gifts. If you look past the material blessings to Christ, the giver of gifts, you will see that He is withholding nothing good from you. He has even given His very life for you.

Was there ever a Sunday where He withheld His spiritual gifts from you? Was there ever a Sunday where He did not freely give you the forgiveness of sins? Was there ever a Sunday where His absolution was not freely given; where His body and blood where not freely offered? There is never a day, never a moment when you do not have His Word which gives and sustains faith.

God has eternal gifts in store for you, more wonderful than you can possibly imagine. There is a place promised for you in the Father’s house (John 14:2); a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine (Is. 25:6); a place without illness, without death, without tears (Is. 25:8).

To make sure you get there, God gives you spiritual gifts now. Through Baptism, He has already given this eternal kingdom to you as your inheritance. Through His Word, He gives you the promise of the eternal kingdom so that you would know that it is yours. Through His holy Supper, He gives you a foretaste of the feast to come, strengthening you in your fight against sin and giving you the forgiveness of sins. These spiritual gifts are far greater than any earthly blessings because they give to you what Jesus earned for you by His life, death, and resurrection.

Baptism is a greater gift than having rain when it is needed, running water in the house, or even having water to drink. The Lord’s Supper is a greater gift that the most lavish of earthly feasts and banquets. These gifts are so grand because through these means of grace, God saves you from the death sentence of your sins. Through these gifts you receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. There is no greater gift that you can receive.

Only one leper looked past His gift of healing to Christ, the giver of the gift, and returned to Him, falling at His feet in thanksgiving. The other nine, although they were thankful, looked only at their gift of healing, as if that were the end goal.

Let us learn to be like the one leper who looked past the gift to the giver of the gift. In all our blessings, let us see Jesus blessing us in order to bring us to Himself, to fall at His feet for salvation. His earthly blessings are to demonstrate how generous He is towards us, so that we would place even greater value on the spiritual gifts He gives, the gifts of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Mustard Seed Defeats Millstone

Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost based on Luke 17:1-10

Dear believers with faith like a grain of mustard seed: Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Do not cause one of Jesus’ little ones to sin. Jesus says it would be better for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and be cast into the sea than to cause one of His little ones to be scandalized and fall away.

How do you cause one of Jesus’ little ones to sin? Jesus mentions two ways: failing to rebuke him, and failing to forgive him.

Jesus says, “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him.” If your brother sins, you are to rebuke, reprove, and warn your brother so that he does not fall away. You must point out your brother’s sin to him so that he will turn away from his sin. If you do not reprove his sin, he may become hardened in his sin and turn away from God. If you do not warn him of his sin and the danger of hell, your brother may end up in hell because of your failure to do what Jesus commands you to do. If you do not rebuke your brother who sins, it would be better for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and be cast into the sea.

That’s not what the world tells you to do. The world tells you to live and let live. Be tolerant. Be easy-going, non-judgmental, and accepting of sin. The world claims that the loving thing to do is to accept your brother and the depravity in which he is engaged.

That’s not the loving thing to do! Your failure to warn your brother could mean that he goes to hell. How loving is that? Of course, the world doesn’t believe in hell, only in heaven, and they think that everyone ends up in heaven with or without Jesus, but that’s why they’re not going to heaven.

The loving thing to do if your brother sins is to rebuke him. If you love your brother and don’t want him to go to hell, warn him when he sins. That’s what Jesus tells you to do. No, don’t go tell your neighbours. No, don’t go tell your friends. No, don’t go tell your pastor. Go to your brother who sinned and tell him. Show him his fault between you and him alone (Matt. 18:15).

Are you going to let your brother die eternally without concern? Are you not grieved at all, even though impenitence is the true death of the soul? Do you look on without concern? Do you show careless neglect? Then it’s back to the millstone for you.

Jesus continues, “and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

This can be difficult, especially if he has badly hurt you, repeatedly. It’s difficult enough to forgive one sin. The memories of hurt can still linger years after the fact. We can still remember sins against us even if the offending party has passed away. This memory of sin leaves a wedge between you even if it is forgiven, because it is remembered.

Jesus speaks of continuing to forgive, even if the offender continues to sin against you. Each time he asks you for forgiveness, you must forgive him. If you do not forgive him, we are back at the millstone again.

To top it all off, Jesus says that if you do these two things perfectly, then you haven’t done anything special; you’ve only done what you were commanded by your master. If you’ve lovingly rebuked every sinner and forgiven everyone who has sinned against you (grievously or otherwise, repeatedly or not), then you have only done your duty. Jesus says you’d still be an unworthy servant. Do not expect God to give you any thanks for doing what you are supposed to do as His servant.

No wonder the disciples responded to Jesus by saying, “Increase our faith!” They recognized how impossible this is. They realized how often they turned the other way when their brother sinned because they didn’t want a confrontation. They recognized how difficult it is to forgive at all, and even more so to continuously forgive a repeat offender who says he repents but shows no sign of repentance. They were cut to the heart and understood that they deserve the millstone hung around their necks.

But more faith is not the answer. Faith like a grain of mustard seed is the answer. The tiniest speck of faith is all it takes. Why? Because faith gives you all the benefits of Jesus fulfilling what you cannot fulfil. Faith gives you the forgiveness of sins because it clings to Jesus not to your own attentiveness to rebuke your brother’s sin or your own ability to forgive those who sin against you.

Faith realizes that your sins of holding your tongue when you should rebuke and struggling to forgive were already punished. Jesus already took the punishment for your sins. Jesus already took your millstone, my millstone, and every millstone and was plunged into the abyss of death for us.

It is faith that enables us to avoid causing Jesus’ little ones to sin. It is faith that enables us to rebuke now where we have failed to rebuke and to forgive now where we have failed to forgive. It is faith that can give thanks for the rebukes we ourselves have received and for the forgiveness we have received.

And God’s forgiveness is not like the forgiveness of man. God completely forgives and actually forgets your sins even if your neighbor cannot forget and you cannot forget. God says, “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Is. 43:25). He says, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:34; cited also Heb. 10:17).

What this means is that each time God forgives you your sin, it is like the first time that He forgives you. He is not counting up your sins on a tablet throughout your life. He doesn’t add your sins onto His scales of justice, weighing them out for punishment. Every time you are absolved, your sins are wiped clean and removed from you as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). Every time you receive the true body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins God treads your sins underfoot and throws them into the depths of the sea (Mi. 7:19). Your sins are washed away and God remembers them no more.

God’s forgiveness is perfect. It is complete. Jesus’ death was the perfect and complete sacrifice for all sin and all sinners, so no sin remains for those who are in Christ. Jesus crushed the scales of justice since He took the weight of and paid the price of everyone’s sin. God throwing your sins into the depths of the sea is like Him taking the millstone from your neck, tying it to your sins, and throwing them altogether into the sea.

Jesus’ love for you is also seen in His command to your brothers that they rebuke you and forgive you. Jesus is looking out for you through your brothers in Christ, by having them rebuke you when you sin, and by having them forgive you when you sin.

The answer is not more faith. The answer is the faith that we already have, faith like a grain of mustard seed, and clinging to the promise of forgiveness for Christ’s sake who has taken our millstones and our sins away. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.