Sunday, October 28, 2012

Reformation Sunday Romans 3:19-28


And we know that whatever the Law says, to those in the Law it speaks, in order that every mouth may be shut, and all the world become liable to judgment in God. Through that, out of the works of the Law all flesh will not be made righteous before Him, for through the Law–knowledge of sin. And now, separate from the Law, righteousness of God is revealed, witnessed by the Torah and the Prophets, and righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ, into all the ones believing, for there is no difference, for all miss the mark & lack the reflection of God, being made righteous–a gift in His grace through the ransoming–the one in Christ Jesus; Whom God placed before–a appeasement through faith in His blood, into a demonstration of His righteousness, through the letting go of sins unpunished which were done before; in the holding back of God, to the demonstration of His righteousness in the now-season, into Him being righteous, and making righteous the one having the faith of Jesus. Where then, the bragging? Excluded. Through what Law? Of the works? No, but through a law of faith. For we consider a man to be made righteous in faith, separate from works of the Law. 

This week we celebrate a holiday which embraces what is alien, that which seem strange, things that appear weird, foreign notions to what we consider normal–a holiday that celebrates uniqueness and difference. Of course the holiday I'm talking about is...Reformation Day! Yes, October 31st is the day the Lutheran reformation began as Martin Luther shook up the establishment church of his day by daring to debate the teachings and practices of Rome. By doing so, Lutherans favor what is alien. 

Alien?! Really? Yes. I know what you are thinking, that things alien are no good. When the aliens from Mars attacked in War of the Worlds with their heat rays, that was bad. When illegal aliens cross the border to take our jobs, use up our welfare, and send money back to their homeland, that is bad. But not everything foreign or alien is bad. Sometimes the cuisine from other lands is downright tasty! So we do well to appreciate the alien things, the foreign things which the Lutheran reformation embraces.

You see, the Roman church of Luther's day needed a reformation. It had embraced the common notion that doing good gets you into heaven, and doing evil sends you to the other place. So the Roman church pushed self-righteousness on all the people. You had to do this, jump through that hoop, avoid this other thing, and strive, struggle, and strain yourself until you did enough. But you never did. So they placed you in the fictitious place called purgatory to burn your sins from you first.

But this was not what God taught in His word, Luther noted. The Bible talked about salvation by grace, through faith, and not of your works, but instead, a gift through the ransoming in Jesus at the cross. Where the Roman church had veered from its moorings in scripture over time, Luther rediscovered the truth of salvation as true gift, purchased and won by Christ alone at Calvary. Where the Roman church made you into some sort of co-Savior, Luther returned Jesus to status as sole-Savior! 

This notion was not really anything new, but it was foreign to how the Roman church had been teaching for centuries. It seemed so weird & strange to so many who were ignorant of what God actually taught in Scripture. These alien notions of Luther caused him to be condemned as a heretic. But his conscience was held captive to God's Word alone, and he and his fellow Lutherans stood firm to this seemingly foreign and alien notion which the supreme Pope just would not tolerate.

But in Luther's case, *alien* was "good"! For the works which save you from sin, death and from the power of the devil are not your own. You can't seek self-righteousness in order to please God, so He'll let you into His heaven one day. For that you'd have to be perfect for your whole lifetime! You haven't been even close. Even your best efforts at righteousness, Isaiah calls "filthy rags" in God's sight. You can't ever make yourself good enough to earn eternal life. You can't do enough to merit heaven.

Since your own righteousness will never measure up, you must have a completely different sort of righteousness. Yes you need a righteousness that is "foreign" to you. You require an "alien" righteousness, one that is far removed from yourself. For this God is your righteousness. Your righteousness is found in Christ Jesus. He is the only Righteous One Who kept the commandments perfectly. Jesus alone did all the right things to earn heaven. It's all about Him being righteous for you!

Jesus traded your sins for His righteousness at the cross. He gives you faith in His blood, shed for you for your forgiveness. You are made righteous by God in faith, by Christ's alien righteousness to save you! .

Amen!

Hymns for today from LSB:

#578  Thy Strong Word  stanzas to sing along
#655  Lord Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word
#555  Salvation Unto Us has Come   stanzas
#656  A Mighty Fortress is Our God from Psalm 46









Sunday, October 21, 2012

Pentecost 21 (Proper 24) Hebrew 4:1-13


You look, brothers, (that there) not be sometime in anyone of you an evil heart of unbelief, in standing away from the living God. But you are called to be alongside one another according to each day, until which it is called "today" , so that not anyone out of you may be hardened in seduction of sin. For we have become partakers of the Christ, if ever indeed we hold down stable the beginning of the confidence until the end. In the saying, "Today, if ever of His voice you hear, do not harden your hearts as at the embitterment. For which ones, having heard, caused embitterment,  but (was it) not all the ones having gone out of Egypt through Moses. And in which ones did He become disgusted with 40 years? (Was it) not to the ones having sinned, of whom the dead carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to which ones did He swear not to enter into His sabbath rest, if not to the ones having disobeyed? And we see that they were not able to enter through unbelief.
  
What exactly causes so many to miss out on the blessings of heaven, winding up in hell instead? Amos tells us those who seek good enter the sabbath rest of heaven, and those who seek evil don't receive life. Jesus tells the rich man he must sell all he has and then follow Christ into heaven. The writer to the Hebrews says not to harden your hearts against God in unbelief. At first glance, it seems a bit confusing as to how one avoids going to hell. Seek good...do good...avoid evil and a hard heart...

One popular notion is that "it's all up to you". Famous preachers from Billy Graham to David Jeremiah teach this false gospel of "decision theology", which sadly many a Lutheran falls for. This lie of the devil says that you are completely free to choose heaven or hell. "You can seek God or not" they say. "You can invite Jesus into your heart or exclude Him" they teach. You are completely in charge...

But you know, of course, that you are not in complete control of your salvation. God is almighty, you aren't. You can't by your own decision sprout wings and fly yourself into heaven. Only by God's grace for you in Christ Jesus does He gift you with eternal life. He baptizes you, He feeds you at communion, He comforts you with the message of Christ's love in dying on the cross for you.

Another popular idea banks on God's almighty-ness, that your eternal fate is "all up to Him". These Christians cling to the Calvinist false teaching that God's sovereignty rules out your will completely. Since God speaks of the "book of life" in heaven, these folks wrongly assume He also has a "book of death" in which He condemns folks he hates to damnation. You are a pawn in God's chess game... 

But scripture declares that God wants all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. God didn't so love a certain number of people, but He loved the whole world so much that He sent His son Jesus to die for them all, paying the price at Calvary of His body given and blood shed in death in exchange for the lives of all people. Sadly, though, not all people receive this bought and paid for gift from Jesus.

So if heaven or hell isn't 100% up to God, and it's not 100% up to you, some think salvation must be some sort of "cooperation" between God and man. Such folks foolishly think that either Jesus got the ball rolling for your salvation and you must complete it, or that you must strive first to save yourself and Jesus finishes the job.  This is just as wrong too, for this makes Christ only a partial Savior.

You know that you have only one Savior, Jesus the Christ. He saves you by His twin gifts of grace and faith. His grace for you was in giving up Himself on the tree of Calvary as your ransom price, paid in full to redeem you from sin, death and hell. His faith in you is the gift and work of His Holy Spirit, that you trust in Him to receive the forgiveness, the life, and the salvation He gives you in Word and Sacrament.

So with all these crazy notions out there among Christians as to how one gets to heaven or hell, what is the truth? Truth #1 is that the question "Who chooses heaven or hell for a person?" is unanswerable, because it's a lousy question. If you answer with "God chooses heaven or hell" you end up in one ditch, and if you answer "man chooses heaven/hell" you wind up in the opposite ditch.

The only answer to such a bad unbiblical question is to ditch it and ask to separate questions: 1)  Who chooses hell? The person who persists in stubborn unbelief, by not believing, they are not receiving the forgiveness Jesus offers in His word proclaimed and sacraments offered, so they remain in their sins. And 2) Who chose heaven for you? Answer: Jesus, Who died for you at Calvary! In Him you are forgiven! In Christ you have complete salvation! In your Lord and Savior you have the sabbath rest of life eternal in the paradise of heaven by God-given grace, and faith worked in your heart.

Amen.

Hymns from LSB:
# 689 Let Me be Thine Forever
# 690 Hope of the World
# 748 I'm but a Stranger here







Sunday, October 14, 2012

Pentecost 20 (Proper 23) Hebrews 3:12-19

You look, brothers, (that there) not be sometime in anyone of you an evil heart of unbelief, in standing away from the living God. But you are called to be alongside one another according to each day, until which it is called "today" , so that not anyone out of you may be hardened in seduction of sin. For we have become partakers of the Christ, if ever indeed we hold down stable the beginning of the confidence until the end. In the saying, "Today, if ever of His voice you hear, do not harden your hearts as at the embitterment. For which ones, having heard, caused embitterment,  but (was it) not all the ones having gone out of Egypt through Moses. And in which ones did He become disgusted with 40 years? (Was it) not to the ones having sinned, of whom the dead carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to which ones did He swear not to enter into His sabbath rest, if not to the ones having disobeyed? And we see that they were not able to enter through unbelief.

  
What exactly causes so many to miss out on the blessings of heaven, winding up in hell instead? Amos tells us those who seek good enter the sabbath rest of heaven, and those who seek evil don't receive life. Jesus tells the rich man he must sell all he has and then follow Christ into heaven. The writer to the Hebrews says not to harden your hearts against God in unbelief. At first glance, it seems a bit confusing as to how one avoids going to hell. Seek good...do good...avoid evil and a hard heart...

One popular notion is that "it's all up to you". Famous preachers from Billy Graham to David Jeremiah teach this false gospel of "decision theology", which sadly many a Lutheran falls for. This lie of the devil says that you are completely free to choose heaven or hell. "You can seek God or not" they say. "You can invite Jesus into your heart or exclude Him" they teach. You are completely in charge...

But you know, of course, that you are not in complete control of your salvation. God is almighty, you aren't. You can't by your own decision sprout wings and fly yourself into heaven. Only by God's grace for you in Christ Jesus does He gift you with eternal life. He baptizes you, He feeds you at communion, He comforts you with the message of Christ's love in dying on the cross for you.

Another popular idea banks on God's almighty-ness, that your eternal fate is "all up to Him". These Christians cling to the Calvinist false teaching that God's sovereignty rules out your will completely. Since God speaks of the "book of life" in heaven, these folks wrongly assume He also has a "book of death" in which He condemns folks he hates to damnation. You are a pawn in God's chess game... 

But scripture declares that God wants all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. God didn't so love a certain # of people, but He loved the whole world so much that He sent His son Jesus to die for them all, paying the price at Calvary of His body given and blood shed in death in exchange for the lives of all people. Sadly, though, not all people receive this bought and paid for gift from Jesus.

So if heaven or hell isn't 100% up to God, and it's not 100% up to you, some think salvation must be some sort of "cooperation" between God and man. Such folks foolishly think that either Jesus got the ball rolling for your salvation and you must complete it, or that you must strive first to save yourself and Jesus finishes the job.  This is just as wrong too, for this makes Christ only a partial Savior.

You know that you have only one Savior, Jesus the Christ. He saves you by His twin gifts of grace and faith. His grace for you was in giving up Himself on the tree of Calvary as your ransom price, paid in full to redeem you from sin, death and hell. His faith in you is the gift and work of His Holy Spirit, that you trust in Him to receive the forgiveness, the life, and the salvation He gives you in word and sacrament.

So with all these crazy notions out there among Christians as to how one gets to heaven or hell, what is the truth? Truth #1 is that the question "Who chooses heaven or hell for a person?" is unanswerable, because it's a lousy question. If you answer with "God chooses heaven or hell" you end up in one ditch, and if you answer "man chooses heaven/hell" you wind up in the opposite ditch.

The only answer to such a bad unbiblical question is to ditch it and ask to separate questions: 1)  Who chooses hell? The person who persists in stubborn unbelief, by not believing, they are not receiving the forgiveness Jesus offers in His word proclaimed & sacraments offered, so they remain in their sins. And 2) Who chose heaven for you? Answer: Jesus, Who died for you at Calvary! In Him you are forgiven! In Christ you have complete salvation! In your Lord and Savior you have the sabbath rest of life eternal in the paradise of heaven by God-given grace, and faith worked in your heart.

Amen.

Hymns from LSB:
#858  Oh Father, All Creating
#863  Our Father, by Whose Name
#834  O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth  stanzas to sing along

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Pentecost 19 (Proper 22) Hebrews 2:1-13

On account of this, it is abundantly necessary to pay close attention to the things we have heard, otherwise we will drift away. For if the word spoken through angels became confirmed, and if every transgression and disregarding received righteous retribution, how will we ourselves escape, having neglected so great a salvation? Of such a kind as at the beginning taken, to be spoken through the Lord , by the ones hearing into us it was confirmed, God with testifying upon in both signs and wonders and a variety of powers and Holy Spirit apportionments according to His will?  For not to angels did He subject the inhabited world about to be, concerning of what we speak. But someone through testimony somewhere was saying, "Who is mankind that You consider him, or the Son of Man that You look upon Him? You made Him less important than the angels for a bit; in glory and in honor you have crowned Him; all things you make to submit under His feet." For in the submitting of all things, He left nothing unsubmissive to Him. Yet now we do not see all things submissive to Him. But the One made less important than angels for a bit, we do see–Jesus, on account of the suffering of the death, in glory and honor He is crowned, so that in God's grace, on behalf of all He should taste death.         
   
OK, so folks ask me, "Who wrote the letter to the Hebrews, Pastor?" and I respond, "I have no idea. It is unknown." Then we have this anonymous writer of Hebrews saying that "Someone, somewhere once said, ‘What is mankind that you would consider it..." Now, if you tried to turn in a paper without your name on it, quoting anonymous sources, you wouldn't expect a good grade. But it is fitting that the writer of Hebrews is unknown, and that he doesn't cite the source of these important words. 
   
Why? Because that's the whole point! What is man? Man is puny compared to Almighty God. Man doesn't deserve to be mentioned alongside the Lord and His Word. Mankind is unworthy of being in his Savior's presence. We should be like Wayne and Garth in the Wayne's World skits and movies, falling down on our faces before our creator, saying, "We're not worthy!" The Father above shouldn't give a second thought to poor, miserable sinners like you and me. So why should anyone's name matter.
   
Well, if you are curious, the writer to the Hebrews is actually quoting King David's fine psalm, Psalm 8, which praises God tremendously, while at the same time downplaying the role of human beings. But the writer to the Hebrews is inspired by the Holy Ghost not to mention great King David's name at all. Why? Because the point is not about you or me, or any other simple human being. It's all about One greater than all mankind put together. It's about the Son of Man, worthy of all consideration.
   
Jesus became man and came into a world full of families breaking up. Husbands and wives were divorcing left and right, and the children were caught in the cross-fire. Mankind at its worst. Those who use children as pawns to get back at their ex-spouse are the very folks Jesus said would be better off to have had a mill-stone tied around their necks and tossed into the sea! What is mankind to so easily toss aside God's gift of joining husband to wife as though this were not a sin against Him?
   
So, who is man in God's sight? Not much at all. But Who is the Son of Man in God's sight? Jesus is the only good person; He alone is the only One who deserves the glory and honor of eternal life in heaven. So if God had wanted to, He could have done away with everybody else, including you and me, and reserved the crown of life for His only-begotten Son Jesus, alone. Who could blame the Father if He chose to do that? None of us are worthy of paradise. Only Jesus is worthy of God's love.
   
That's just when God surprises us. You have these messengers from God who serve you called "angels", right. They are your servants, much lower than you. God the Father decided to take the Son of Man, Jesus, and make Him even lower than servants. Jesus became the slave of slaves, having come to serve and give His life as a ransom for you! On account of the suffering of His death on the cross, you are no longer out of the Father's consideration. He is now mindful of you in Christ Jesus!
   
For Jesus tasted death for your sake.  He endured your death at the cross–the eternal condemnation you deserved. Everything now submits itself to Jesus, including your sins which were washed from you to Jesus at the cross through your baptism; including death which is defeated in Jesus' death, His body given and blood shed now yours for your life and salvation; including the condemnation of hell which Jesus bore for you on Calvary's tree. You see this submitting to Jesus in word and sacrament. Amen