Archive for September, 2009

For the 18th Sunday after Pentecost for Series B, the 3 assigned readings are Genesis 2:18-25; Hebrews 2:1-18 and Mark 10:2-16. Chosen to preach on is Hebrews 2:14, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewsie shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

It is not often that you find a passage of Scripture that so well summarizes the essence of the death of Jesus Christ as does Hebrews 2:14. At the same time it is a verse that is not only not that well known but even so misunderstood. Most readers would conclude that the purpose of Christ’s death was to destroy the devil. However, that doesn’t make sense since we continue to be tempted by the world, our flesh and…the devil! So how exactly does the cross of Christ relate to the destruction of the devil?

The key phrase in verse 14 is not “the devil” but “who had the power of death.” It is the devil’s possession of the power of death that really is humanity’s problem which somehow Jesus solved by the death on the cross. How so? Our answer is found in the 15th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, which is also known as the resurrection chapter. In verse 55 Paul asks, “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” Here Paul ties together the abode of Satan with the sting of Death.

Verse 56 is Paul’s answer, “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.” Most Christians can see that our death somehow relates to the fact that we sin but they are often at a loss as to how the law is the strength of sin. That is because when the law is thought of, the reference is often either the Ten Commandments, or the moral, civil and ceremonial law or the first, second or third uses which God makes of the Law. While theology is the art of making distinctions, none of these differences explains what Paul is revealing.

If sin has no strength apart from the law, there must be a law that gives strength or power to our sin in such a way that Satan possesses us. The part of the law that is the power of sin is not the law itself but the curse of the law. That curse is from God Himself Who promised that in the day we sin, death is the result. And not even a temporal physical death–as is evident by the fact that Adam and Eve did not die–but a spiritual death of deserving eternal hell as punishment for our sin. This curse was not upon all parts of creation such as trees or lions. The curse was given to only two elements in creation–angels and human beings.

While there is no way of salvation given by God for fallen angels, God did provide a way of salvation for fallen human beings. As verse 57 of 1 Corinthians 15 states, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” How precisely did that take place? What Jesus did on the cross was not to take away our sins–just look in a mirror. No, instead He took away the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. That He became a curse is clear from His words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” That He provided the benefit of salvation was also heard, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

The best understanding of “forgiveness of sins” is that God no longer holds you accountable for sin. Yes, you sin but no, you never have to spiritually pay for it with an eternity in hell. Jesus was your substitute taking upon Himself the punishment you deserved. And you know He did it for you because he did it not just for believers but for the whole world. Thus, our message to the world is not, “If you believe in Jesus Christ, your sins will be forgiven.” Instead, it is the Good News that “Your sins have been forgiven; believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

For the 17th Sunday after Pentecost the Series B readings are Numbers 11:4-6,10-16, 24-29; James 5:1-20 and Mark 9:38-50. The text chosen to preach about is Numbers 11:11, “So Moses said to the Lord, ‘Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me?’”

Here we have a classic distinction between the theologian of self-glory and the theologian of the cross. The former lives under the Law while the latter lives under the Gospel. One of the defining characteristics of the theologican of self-glory is that he receives his information about God’s attitude toward himself from his experience, not from the Word of God. Moses is clearly showing his old Adam self in criticizing God for his predicament. Not only does Moses conclude that the cries of the people are his affliction but he also concludes that God no longer looks upon Moses favorably because of this burden.

This is a wonderful opportunity to use the Law in pointing out how every member of the congregation is just like Moses. For how many times has a pastor visited with a member who has undergone some kind of crisis only to hear this question, “Pastor, why did I do to deserve this?” The pastor should realize that such an attitude on the part of members is common. For in all their experience in the temporal realm what they do makes a difference in how others regard them. It’s true about children and their obedience, about students and their grades and about employees and their work habits. So why not with God?

Again we find the only two religions in the world: Christianity and everything else. And while everything else attempts to figure out God’s attitude towards them by what is happening in their lives, Christianity reveals God’s true attitude toward us through His holy Word. And not just the promises of the Bible but the Word, Jesus, the Christ. For in Him all the fullness of the godhead dwells bodily. You want to know what God the Father is like? Jesus says, “If you see Me, you see the Father” and “I and the Father are one.”

Faith is that gift from God which trusts the promises of God in spite of the evidence to the contrary. That is, we get our values confused in calling evil good and good evil. One example is our works. From God’s perspective, for us to do a good work and then hand it to God as a way of balancing out our sins is evil. And is it not true how often we look at suffering as an evil when God uses it for our good? Yes, even Moses, the great prophet of God, was prone to thinking with his old Adam rather than his new Man. It is a problem we all have with the solution again found at the foot of the cross of Jesus.

For the 16th Sunday after Pentecost the three assigned readings are Jeremiah 11:18-20; James 3:13-4:10 and Mark 9:30-37. The text chosen for the sermon is James 3:3, “You ask and do not receive.”

What is so interesting about this verse is that verse 2 concludes with, “You do not have because you do not ask.” Then verse 3 begins, “You ask and do not receive.” Does that not sound like a contradiction? Elsewhere the Bible says, “Ask and you will receive.” How do we resolve this paradox?

Context is primary followed by the distinctions between Law and Gospel. The context is the rest of verse 3, “You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” The Law and Gospel distinction that is relevant here is that the theologian of self glory is one who seeks his own glory while the theologian of the cross seeks the glory of Jesus. What James is saying is that even if you ask with the wrong motivation, you will not receive because you ask amiss.

To make it more clear, James points out that asking for your own pleasures is to be a friend of the world and an enemy of God. All of our prayers and desires is to give God the glory and not ourselves. But in light of the fact that we are sinners in all that we do, how can we ever ask rightly? The answer is found in verse 10 in which James exhorts us to humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.

What is humbling in the sight of the Lord? It is repentance which is the life of the Christian. Repentance referring to both contrition over our sin and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In our requests to God we humble ourselves by first acknowleding that apart from His grace we are unworthhy to come before Him. Then when we pray we add “If it be Thy will” leaving in His hands the answer to our prayer. In that way we need not be anxious because He promises always to answer to our good as He sees it.

The three readings assigned for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost are Isaiah 50:4-10; James 3:1-12 and Mark 9:14-29. The text to be preached is Mark 9:24, “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!’”

How can you have at the same time both faith and unbelief? Is that not a rarity among Christians? Well, in point of fact, that is the constant state of the Christian mindset. At the same time one believes, he also has unbelief. How so? It all has to do with God’s understanding of the Law. Proper preaching of the Law never permits the Law to be used as a way of saving oneself. God uses the law to curb wickedness (temporal use), to show sin and to reveal His will (spiritual uses). Never does God use the Law to tell us what we can do in order to receive salvation. Salvation is a gift received by faith and faith alone in the promises of the Gospel which are always connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In fact, every time you sin, it is not just a matter of disobedience but also of unbelief in a promise of God. For example, when you steal from someone else, by that action you are telling God that you do not believe His promises to take care of you as He does the birds in the air and the flowers in the field. In fact, it is even worse than unbelief; it is idolatry! For when you steal something you are correcting God’s mistake in giving the item not to you but to another. This paradox of believing and not believing is part of the Christian life as a saint and sinner at one and the same time.

One only needs to read the latter verses in Romans 7 to see how even the apostle Paul struggled with the old Adam. Yes, the new Man in Christ desires to do the will of God but the old Adam is often too powerful to overcome. What is the solution to this terrible dilemma? The solution is found in chapter 8 of Romans by which Jesus did for us what we were unable to do for ourselves. He fulfilled the Law perfectly, died on the cross in our place and then transfers to us all His righteousness He did on earth with the robe of righteousness.

Each of us is truly like the father who believes that God loves us and that Jesus died and rose for our salvation. But we constantly struggle in that faith because there is no evidence that God keeps His promises except for the Word of God revealed to us. As sinner/saints that we are, we continue to have this battle with the old Adam until that Day of the resurrection of all flesh when this mortal will be replaced with immortality and we will be received forever into the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by grace through faith alone.

For the 14th Sunday after Pentecost the three readings include Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-10, 14-18 and Mark 7:24-37. The text to preach about is James 2:17, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

For a time, even Martin Luther wondered whether the book of James was truly biblical primarily on the basis of verses such as James 2:17. One can understand how this verse appears to contradict the theme of Christianity that we are saved not by works at all but by faith and faith alone. However, James makes clear that if faith is by itself without any works, it is dead. How can we resolve this apparent contradiction between Paul and James?

Theology is the art of making distinctions. While Law and Gospel head the top of distinctions in understanding and applying God’s Word, the specific L&G distinction for this verse is that between justification and sanctification. Justification is that event by which God declares you the sinner to be sinless in His sight because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul is very clear that in regard to our justification, no work, thought or word of ours contributes to our becoming saved and adopted children of God. We are indeed saved by grace, through faith alone on account of Jesus Christ.

Then how can James speak of faith being dead if it does not have works? The key to understanding this apparent dilemma is that James is not describing the event that saves us but rather those events that follow our being totally saved. The analogy of adoption is most helpful in resolving this dilemma. Is it not a fact that the two-month old infant neither cooperates or contributes to his adoption? However, having been adopted, the infant begins to do all kinds of works. Really? What works? Works like eating the food he is given; sleeping in the crib in which he is laid, wearing the clothes in which he is dressed, and so forth.

An adoption without any consequence of being adopted is unthinkable. So also, the faith that saves is filled with consequences; the first being that one believes the promises of the holy Trinity. The Bible is clear that there is a difference between good works and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Good works can be done by atheists if one considers only the outward good works such as feeding the hungry, visiting the imprisoned and so forth. However, because Christians have the Holy Spirit, their motivation includes love of Jesus Christ which, from God’s point of view, makes a good work into a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Making use of these distinctions, one can rephrase the passage of James as follows, “Therefore, true faith alone saves but when faith is present it is never by itself for without the product of good works, that faith is not living but dead faith.” Examples of dead faith would include that of the demons and the unbelieving Pharisees. They believed that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. The Pharisees paid the guards to lie about it and considered the resurrection to be a trick of the devil as they thought of the raising of Lazarus. In essence, there is no difference between the apostles of faith, Paul and James, in regard to faith and works.