For the 19th Sunday after Pentecost in Series C readings, the passages are Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; 2 Timothy 1:1-14 and Luke 17:1-10. For the sermon the entire first chapter of Second Timothy is chosen.

There are only 2 religions in the world:  Christianity and everything else! And everything else reflects a “living under the Law” perspective in that what you do, say or think makes the difference as to whether you go to heaven or hell. In contrast, the Christian faith is unique in that it’s foundation is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This means that salvation is not by works but by grace through faith in the promises connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And these promises are unconditional.

It is true that there are many individual passages which reveal the true nature of the Christian faith. But it is rare when in one chapter there are found 12 specific instances of unique Christian thought. The first chapter of Second Timothy is one such passage. What follows is a listing of the 12 unique statements of the Christian faith that can be individually expanded in a sermon or as a total package during a Bible study.

1) by the will of God; 2) the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus; 3) Grace; 4) Mercy; 5) Peace; 6) the genuine faith that is in you; 7) the gift of God which is in you; not according to our works; 9) who has abolished death; 10) through the gospel; 11) to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day and 12) keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Now it is clear that there are certain concepts listed that are used by other religions such as grace, mercy and peace. For example, ”grace” is regarded as some kind of power source with which we humans cooperate in order to be saved. But God’s view of “grace” points to His gracious attitude toward sinners in giving to us what we do not deserve. Therefore, all other religions do not define or use these concepts according to the Will of God. Instead, they have a human dimension in them and do not realize the gracious and Christ-centered facet of each of these phrases. Each of the 12 are truly a fine example of the distinctions between Law and Gospel.

For the 18th Sunday after Pentecost in Series C the three readings are Amos 6:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:1-13 or I Timothy 6:6-19 and Luke 16:19-31. The text chosen for the sermon is Luke 16:27, “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house.’”

Normally, the primary theme in this parable is that miraculous signs and wonders have no effect on bringing someone to faith. Instead, the means God uses to do so is Moses and the prophets. In other words, the means of grace is God’s Word with specific attention to the Gospel promises of Jesus Christ connected to His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave. 

However, for this sermon we will focus on the attitude of the rich man; named Dives from the Latin Vulgate as Jerome translated the word for “rich”. First, it appears that Dives has not changed his attitude toward Lazarus as a beggar with the task of serving the rich. He tells Abraham to order Lazarus to bring a tip of his finger with water to him. Then, he orders Abraham to send Lazarus to the five brothers of Dives so that they will not come to this place of torment. Finally, he argues with Abraham that the Word of God is not sufficient to save but what is needed is that someone, like Lazarus, should rise from the dead.

Dives’ attitude of unbelief even in hell results in no repentance for the way that he had treated Lazarus. Instead, the universe still revolves around Dives as he attempts to order Lazarus around and seeks comfort and help only for those of his own household. It is true that nowhere in the Bible is there an indication that those in hell will repent of their sins. In fact, will they not be like Satan who prefers hell to worshipping the true God?

The attitude and predicament of Dives is in strong contrast to that of Lazarus who is said to be in the bosom of Abraham. That is significant as we remember how John was also in that position at the Last Supper. That beggar and impoverished Lazarus would be near Abraham after death while Dives is in another dimension of existence apart from Abraham would be a shock to the hearers of Jesus’ day. For they imagined that riches were a result of God’s blessings while poverty was a result of His curses. How different is the Christian faith from that not only of Judaism but from every other law-centered religion of the world!

For the 17th Sunday after Pentecost the three assigned C: readings are Amos 8:4-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-15 and Luke 16:1-15. The passage upon which the sermon is based is Luke 16:8, “So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”

The so-called parable of the Unjust Steward is one of the most difficult portions of the Bible to preach on because of the multitude of different interpretations that are provided. At last count there were at least 16 different understandings. The main questions are whether either or both of the master and steward are ethical or unethical, why the steward was commended if what he did was unethical, what exactly was the reduction of the bill and how is it that the way we handle money here on earth makes a difference as to whether or not we go to heaven.

In my opinion, there are two primary possibilities. On the one hand is to assume this is a parable and on the other hand that it is not a parable. The passage itself does not mention it is a parable nor are the normal attributes of a parable present. If a parable specifically reveals how the kingdom of God on earth actually works, it is difficult to find Jesus. The best one can do is to conclude that Jesus is the steward Who is only considered unjust by the people and religious leaders of His day. He reduces the debt of sin in a way that is not normal (death on a cross) and the Father forsakes Him because of the sin He placed on Himself.

On the other hand, if it is not an actual parable, it certainly appears to have an emphasis on the proper stewardship. I prefer the parabolic nature of the passage although if anyone insists on a specific interpretation for this text, I would be most happy to hear it. As indicated earlier, it is one of the most difficult passages to both interpret and apply.

The three readings for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost for Series C are Ezekiel 34:11-24; 1 Timothy 1:5-17 and Luke 15:1-10.  The text on which to preach is Luke 15:10, “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

One would think that the interpretation of this parable is somewhat obvious. Jesus is the Shepherd; we are the lost sheep; the 99 are the Pharisee and scribes. But not according to so-called “scholars” with their unique interpretations. One suggests that this parable is about you and me finding the kingdom of God and rejoicing when we take it back home and tell all our friends about it. Another suggests that the 99 refer to the angels because they don’t need repentance.

Of the various interpretations, they all fall into 2 camps–the Law camp and the Gospel camp. The Law camp suggests that this is a parable telling us what to do in either finding the kingdom of God ourselves or finding those outside of the kingdom and bringing them home. The problem with such an interpretation is that humans are the real actors of the parable in obedience to the commands of God. The Gospel camp understands that God is the actor in not only in finding the Lost Sheep–which are the sinners referred to in verse 2–but also in giving us a definition of repentance.

When Jesus concludes that “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” He is providing how God understands what repentance is. We often think of the results of repentance which are sorrow and contrition over sin. But repentance is actually the work of God in coming to us as unbelievers and saving us without any cooperation or contribution on our part

In fact, verse 10, while specifically referring to the women and the lost coins is synonymous with verse 7 about repentance. It is even more obvious in regard to the lost coin than the lost sheep that the coin does nothing in either becoming found or being returned to its rightful place as a possession of the woman. Law and Gospel are indeed the critical marks of distinction that are so needed in regard to proper interpretation and application.

For the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, the Series C readings are Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Philemon 1-21 and Luke 14:25-35 with Luke 14 26 as the sermon text, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.”

Here we go again with one of those Biblical passages that appears to contradict the message of Scripture that we are to love everyone. How is that possible if at the same time you are to hate your father and mother? Many young people are leaving the organized church not because of passages like this but because of the interpretation and application of passages like this. Unless one keeps the distinctions between Law and Gospel, verses like this one will appear not only to contradict other parts of the Bible but also result in a rejection of such a god who would want us to hate our parents. So how do we understand this properly?

First, the word translated as “hate” does mean “hate” so that one cannot wiggle out of Jesus’ words by sleight of hand of translation. Once more the key to proper interpretation of the Scripture is not your pastor, the denomination leaders, the pope or church councils. Instead, Scripture interprets Scripture. That means both the immediate and wider context. Now it is clear that we are to love one another as Jesus loved us. However, is there something within the narrow context that might help us more fully understand what Jesus is saying?

Verse 26 itself reveals that this hating of relatives takes place when one “comes to Jesus.” Verse 27 includes the concept of “bearing one’s cross.” and verse 33 clarifies this by saying that one cannot become the disciple of Jesus unless he forsakes all that he has. What we are dealing with here is the fact that when one becomes a disciple of Jesus, crosses will appear by which one will have to make a decision whether we forsake the world or Jesus.

Let’s use the phrase in verse 26 to make the point which says that we need to hate our own life also. What does that mean? Well, what kind of life does a person have prior to faith in Jesus Christ? He has a life of sin. Jesus’ point is clear. When you become His disciple, you will still be tempted not to follow Jesus. That temptation will come from your own selfish life of desires, perhaps from members of your family, certainly because of your possessions. To choose Jesus in situations when there is a choice is the cross we bear.

The following is an example of how some choose parents over Jesus. How many times does a pastor face a couple from different denominations that wants to get married. Even when both agree that the Lutheran faith is the correct summary of holy Scripture, it is not unusual that the non-Lutheran still will not change because he or she does not want to upset parents. That places love of parents above love for Jesus. Jesus Himself faced that decision when Mary, his brothers and sisters were tempting Him to stop His “silly” preaching about Himself being the Messiah. Jesus replied that those who are truly His family are the ones who believe His Word.

Now none of us are capable of following the will of Jesus perfectly. That’s why He, as our substitute, so hated the world, sin and the devil that He became our substitute in taking upon Himself the punishment that should have been ours. He died so that we will never really die but be raised from the deadness of our mortal life to be with Him and the heavenly host eternally. It’s a message worth sharing with others who remain in the darkness of unbelief.