Archive for October, 2007

As the church calendar year normally has it, the Sunday after Reformation is All Saints Day with the following three readings: Revelation 7:2-17 (The five angels); 1 John 3:1-3 (We are children of God) and Matthew 5:1-12 (Beatitudes). The text for preaching is 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be.”

At first reading it appears that we have a contradiction while on the one hand the text says “we are children of God” but then it says “it has not yet been revealed what we shall be.” Is it that in time we will no longer be children? No, that isn’t the case for Christians will always be children of God. However, there are two kinds of children. The first are those who are begotten. But we are not begotten children of God since there is only One Who is the only-begotten of God and His name is Jesus.

Instead, we are adopted children. We are living in a society that finds its purpose and meaning by our works. For many, including every other religion except Christianity, the goal is to become right with God which translates to do right things for God. As at the time of the Reformation, many today are deluded into thinking that becoming right with God means that we have to do right things for God!

That is why a far better Biblical analogy for the concept of salvation is being a member of the family. And that occurs through adoption. Adopted children do not become more or less adopted depending upon their behavior. The relationship is not based on works but on whether the parents truly adopted the child.

So also with the holy Trinity Who through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ brought us into the Family as children of God. When Christ spoke the words, “It is finished” it meant that what really separated us from God; namely, the curse of the Law, has been paid. No longer does sin result in damnation. The new paradigm under the new covenant is whether one has faith. Sinners who are unbelievers go to hell; sinners who are believers go to heaven.

Yes, we will always remain children of God but we will soon be transformed at the coming of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ Who will change our vile body to be like His without spot or sin. Then, we will not just be declared righteous but become righteous by grace in the heavenlies forever and ever.

While it is true that Easter is the high festival of the church year, a close second for Lutherans is Reformation Sunday being celebrated in 2007 on Oct. 28. The three assigned readings are Revelation 14:6-7 (Angel flying); Romans 3:19-28 (Righteousness apart from the law) and either John 8:31-36 (Truth make you free) or Matthew 11:12-19 (Jesus a glutton). Chosen to preach on is Romans 3:19, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

A person’s understanding of how the law is spiritually used tells a lot about his understanding of salvation. In every religion outside of Christianity, the purpose of the Law is to help one get right with God through obedience or some other spiritual activity. However, in Christianity, the purpose of the Law in the spiritual realm is to reveal that there is nothing an unbeliever can do, say or think to get right with God.

Instead of comforting a person that they now know the direction God wants them to travel in order to get right with Him, the Law stops all mouths from boasting of works as the reason for one’s salvation. The purpose of the Law is not to provide directions for getting right with God; instead the purpose is to declare the entire world as guilty before God.

Now if all are guilty before God, how does one get saved? The world’s religions would suggest that one either stops disobeying and therefore is no longer guilty or else makes it up to God to pay for the punishment of that guilt. Christianity, on the other hand, reveals that God Himself declares us righteous by faith apart from the deeds of the law (verse 28).

The real barrier between man and God is not sin but the resulting curse of the Law that demands eternal punishment. What Jesus Christ did was to take upon Himself the curse of the Law by dying the death which included being forsaken by the Father as the Sinner He became by carrying our sins to the cross. The “It is finished” signaled the end of the curse upon all who trust that His death and resurrection did indeed result in victory over our sin, death and the devil.

The Reformation insight argues that our good works avail for nothing. Our salvation is grounded, based and founded on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness which both paid the debt we owed and dressed us in His glorious good works in the sight of God the Father. He died so that we live and live eternally by grace, through faith on account of Jesus Christ. This is most certainly true.

For the 21st Sunday after Pentecost the three assigned readings are Genesis 32:22-30 (Jacob wrestling with God); 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 (Scripture profitable for doctrine) and Luke 18:1-8 (Parable of Unjust Judge). While we are sorely tempted to write about the Parable of the Unjust Judge, that was a recent L&G hour on AM 850 KFUO. In fact, the entire 16 hours of “Renaming Parables” is now available by CD at a cost of $40.00 by emailing me at lawgospel@lawgospel.com with your address. The text chosen to illustrate is 2 Timothy 3:15, “And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

There are two ways to interpret/apply every passage in the Bible. One is wrong; the other is correct. The wrong way is to examine it from a Living Under The Law point of view; the correct way is from a Living Under The Gospel perspective. The question before us is whether a person comes to faith by believing the Bible or by believing in Christ Jesus. The answer makes a big difference in evangelism.

If a person comes to faith by believing the Bible, then it is important to help the hearer understand that the Bible is truthful in all that it reveals. There are actually those who imagine that people do not come to faith because they have a low view of the historical accuracy of the holy Scriptures. To offset this view, they practice a form of apologetics (defense) of the Bible that looks to evidence to convince the skeptic that the Bible is correct.

There are a number of avenues followed including demonstrating how creationism is superior to evolution from a scientific point of view; that the only reasonable explanation for an empty tomb is that Jesus rose from the dead and so forth. We are not opposed to writing and defending the Bible’s history in regard to creation and the resurrection of Jesus Christ so that believers can be helped. However, we do not agree that such an appproach is proper with unbelievers.

It is incorrect to suggest that people are saved by believing the historical accounts as found in the Bible. For is it not true that though the devils know that Jesus was born of a virgin, died under Pontius Pilate, bodily rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, they still have eternal hell as their destiny? What saves is not agreement with the historical events of the Bible but trust in the gracious promises of the Gospel in regard to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The problem is that such promises cannot possibly be discovered by natural knowledge of God or by our experience. Apart from the revelation of the Holy Scriptures–which is even needed for Adam and Eve in their state of innocence–one simply knows neither the will of God nor His plan for our salvation.

What Paul is writing to Timothy is the fact that through the Bible Timothy has come to know about how Christ Jesus has saved him. It is NOT that the Bible provides wisdom as to what Timothy is to do or even decide to believe in order to be saved (Theologian of Glory) but that the Bible reveals both Law and Gospel accurately with the conclusion that though there is nothing Timothy can do to save himself, God has stepped in and gets all the credit in saving him

The Bible is indeed the source of our knowledge of how God has saved us; belief in the Bible is not the basis or the cause or the reason for our salvation. Such faith is simply like a garden hose which receives the saving Water of Life; namely, Jesus Christ Himself. Thus, we are not saved by more Bible knowledge; we are saved by grace through faith on account of Jesus Christ. It is indeed a Law and Gospel distinction.

This Sunday, October 14, 2007 has the following 3 assigned readings: Ruth 1:1-19a (Your God, my God); 2 Timothy 2:1-13 (Die with Him; Live with Him) and Luke 17:11-19 (10 Lepers). Three verses from 2 Timothy 2:11-13 make up our study: “This is a faithful saying. For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

Verse 11 does not say, “If we will die with Him” but rather “For if we died with Him.” That is a past referring therefore not to our future physical death but our spiritual death which began with His death on the accursed tree and led to our death in the waters of baptism (Romans 6:4-5). That is a sure promise insofar as verse 12 reveals that we endure.

The point of enduring only makes sense if there are those who do not endure to the end. Thus, “once saved, always saved” is a false teaching. What occurs in those who do not endure to the end? Verse 12 continues, “If we deny Him, He also will deny us.” The consequences of such denial is clearly stated by Jesus Himself in Matthew 10:33, “But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” This refers to the only unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit which is unbelief.

On the other hand, verse 13 states that “If we are faithless, He remains faithful.” How is faithlessness different from denial? Denial is the sin of unbelief while faithlessness consists of our daily sins of thought, word and deed. As God reveals in Jeremiah 3:6, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there.” This refers to idolatry which happens in light of the First Commandment which is broken every time we sin according to the other nine.

But listen to God’s response in verses 12 and 13, “Return, faithless Israel. I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious. I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity.” And what happens to those who repent? Verse 14 reveals, “And I will bring you to Zion.”

The Law is clear. Unbelief (denial of Jesus) leads to eternal perdition. The Gospel is also clear. Sincere repentance, which includes faith in the true God, results in the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. And that repentance is itself a gift from God so that looking at the big picture, God and He alone gets all the credit for your salvation!

Oops. Got a call from one of our faithful blog readers and it appears that the sermon for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost for September 20, 2007 did not appear on the blog. I did have a sore throat and was off the air for a few days but it did not effect my fingers to type up the blog. So here goes. The three readings were Amos 6:1-7 (Woe to Zion); 1 Timothy 3:1-13 (Bishop must be blameless) and Luke 16:19-31 (Lazarus the beggar). The chosen text to analyze is Luke 16:31, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”

There is much confusion today in regard as to what and where is the Church. Some contend that the Church is wherever Christians gather and if that includes a Christian group building homes for the homeless, that is the Church at work. Others suggest that the Church is whenever a worship service takes place regardless of the form of the liturgy or the content of the sermon.

However, while it is true that Christians may be involved in good works or a form of worship, the Church is not really in play unless the Head is present. And what makes for the Head of the body, Jesus Christ, to be present. The Reformation rediscovered the biblical revelation that Christ is present only when His means of grace are present.

The means of grace refer to that through which the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection are bestowed upon the hearers. Thus, the means of grace refer to a proper teaching of the Word of God and a proper administration of the Sacraments. It is simply untrue that anyone came to faith by seeing a miracle. Miracles, of course, were important for Jesus to accomplish. But they were the evidence of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises to those who already had faith in the coming of the Messiah to assure them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

Though many sermons on the basis of Lazarus and the rich man will speak of the dangers of wealth, that is not the point of this parable. A proper understanding of wealth keeps a balance between the two ditches of love of money and cash is trash. But that really belongs to another sermon or Bible study.

The law/gospel application of this parable is that the Word of God (Moses and the prophets) is that which creates a proper repentance and faith. Even if someone were to rise from the dead, that would not be effective in creating true faith. In fact, is that not what actually happened? For when Jesus rose from the dead, and the Pharisees knew it, they paid the soldiers to lie about it with a story that the disciples had stolen the body!

The Church exists where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments administered properly. Thus, not only the sermon but also the liturgy, hymns and prayers need to be focused on the only means of grace that comforts and saves; namely, the gracious promises of God related to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For the 19th Sunday after Pentecost on October 7, 2007, the three assigned readings are Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 (Burdens of the prophet); 2 Timothy 1:1-14 (Saved by grace) and Luke 17:1-10 (Unprofitable servants). Chosen to elaborate on is Habakkuk 1:3, “Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises.”

Normally when we think of the purpose of the Law in the Church, it is to accuse us of our sins in preparation for a hearing of the Gospel. But the Law is much more than information about our fallen nature; it also reveals the fallenness of nature itself. Habakkuk is not burdened only with his own sin but also with the inquity, plundering, violence, strife and contention in the world.

Werner Elert speaks of nomological existence. The term “nomological” comes from the two Greek words of “nomos” meaning “law” and “Logos” meaning “word.” Nomological existence is therefore a word about how the Law impacts us. Unlike other religions that hope for a better world, Christianity is a revelation from God Himself about the fallen nature of not only me but also of creation.

Here’s how Romans 8:19ff puts it, “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

In a sense, this is a comfort to the Christian. For when we experience the sufferings of this world, this reminds us that it is not because God is taking out His justice against us but that this is how the fallen world is. Our hope is not in straightening out this world into some kind of utopia but rather in focusing on the Day of Judgment when this mortal will put on immortality. If for this world we only have hope, we are of all men most miserable.

Hakakkuk reminds us of both the Law and the Gospel. The Law mirrors not only our sinful condition but the fallen condition of the entire creation. The Gospel is not that things will get better prior to the Day of Judgment. Rather, the promises of God will sustain us through whatever we experience as part of this fallen world.

That Gospel promise comes through clearly in the closing verses of Hakakkuk, chapter 3, verses 17-19, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; he will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.”