11/28/10 - Stewardship - 1 Chron. 29:14

WHO ARE WE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO GIVE?

All that gold didn’t go to waste. The Lord’s temple, that was finally built during the reign of King Solomon, made good use of all the gifts that had been gathered over the years by David and his people. The entire inside of that temple was eventually overlaid with gold and that gold was covered in engravings of palm trees and cherubim and other intricate designs. The two cherubim sculptures whose wing spans were a combined 30 feet wide were set in the Most Holy Place and also covered in pure gold. They even used golden nails in this building! There were ten golden lampstands, a golden altar, solid gold utensils, golden sprinkling bowls, golden censers, and even the doors of the temple were covered in gold. The billions and billions of dollars worth of this precious metal that had been collected over the years were used to beautify God’s house and glorify his name in many different ways. And you can imagine how magnificent the results were! This richly ornamented and extravagantly decorated temple was a testament to the dedication of God’s people to the worship of their Lord as well as an indication of how much their Lord had blessed them to give. And so it was a grand celebration on the dedication day of this temple and the entire land of Israel held a great festival of praise for two straight weeks. And when this special celebration came to an end, Solomon “sent the people to their homes, joyful and glad in heart for the good things the LORD had done for David and Solomon and for his people Israel” (2 Chron. 7:10).
But, of course, David wasn’t there. He had died about ten years earlier. He didn’t have a chance to be part of this wonderful celebration. He never got to see what he had worked so hard for and what he had given so much to and what he had looked forward to for so long. But David knew that was the way it was going to be. And he was fine with it! David was overjoyed simply to prepare for this house of the Lord that would one day be built by his son. Because listen to his excitement and his gratitude to the Lord for what he and his people had been able to do: “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
It honestly didn’t bother David that he wouldn’t be allowed to actually construct the temple for his Lord. It didn’t bother him that he would never see the results of all his planning. It didn’t bother him that what he had asked for and what he had wanted to do for the Lord so badly would be a privilege given to someone else. David was just happy that he was able to give! He was overjoyed in the fact that the Lord had blessed him in such a way that he could give back to him in so many different areas! David was not bitter or frustrated or disappointed. David just wanted to give. And he couldn’t thank the Lord enough for supplying him with the means and the opportunity to do just that.
I’m not so sure we always look at giving to the Lord in that way. I know that my attitude isn’t always what David’s was when he was preparing for the temple. Because the thought that runs through our minds is not: “What a great thing it is that we are able to give! What can I give, Lord? Just give me a chance! Give me an opportunity! I can’t wait to get rid of some of these blessings that you have showered upon me in this life! How can I do that, Lord?” No, I think our attitudes are usually more along the lines of: “What should I give? What am I supposed to give? What seems reasonable? I’ve gathered everything that I have and I’ve laid it all out in front of me on the table and now much of all this should I give back? Of course, I really like to do this and I would really like to keep this part of my life the way it is and I really want of few of these things that I don’t have yet and this event is coming up in the near future and this major purchase is something I’d like to be able to do and this trip is going to cost a pretty penny… but I probably should give something back, right? I probably should participate in a couple different things this year at church. I probably should offer my time and talents in some way… What am I supposed to do? What should I give?”
There’s a big difference between “What should I do” and “What can I do” isn’t there? It’s a battle between what I want for myself and what I want to give to the Lord. Now it’s not wrong, of course, for you to buy things that you want or do things that you want or plan for things that you want. You should enjoy the blessings that the Lord has given you in this world. It would be a sin not to. But when it comes to the manner in which we approach giving back to the Lord, sometimes we treat it as another bill we have to pay or an obligation we have to meet or something we should probably do because we would feel guilty if we didn’t. And that mindset stems from the fact that we are all a little needy and greedy. We think that we need a lot of things that we probably don’t need in the end. We think that we need to rely on things that we probably don’t have to rely on. We think that we need certain things to make us happy when we probably could be just as happy without them. And then, of course, we always want more too. We want the better things and the nicer things and the newer things and the bigger things. And so after all the things that we could buy and after all the things that we could do and after all the things that we could get involved with and after all the things that we could spend our time on and after all the things that we could expend our efforts on in our lives, sometimes there’s not a whole lot left for the Lord. And it’s no longer “what can I give” or “how can I give it,” it becomes “what should I give” or even “what do I have left in the tank that I can bear to part with?”
That thought process is a long way off from the way David acted at the end of 1 Chronicles, isn’t it? “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?” David didn’t feel obligated to give in any way. He didn’t feel like he “had to” or that he absolutely “should” give something back to the Lord because of some requirement or command. In fact, the Lord commanded him not to build the temple! The Lord commanded him to leave the construction to his son. The Lord commanded him that although his heart was in the right place, he was not going to be the king who would end up building the house of the Lord. David didn’t have to do anything! David wasn’t obligated to give toward the building of this temple at all! He could have legitimately left all of the planning and all of the preparations and all of the gathering of the gifts to his son Solomon; and that would have been perfectly OK. But David just couldn’t do that! He couldn’t hold back the blessings that he had been given! He had been blessed with so many things in this life that he wanted nothing more than to give as much of it back as he could! And so he spent the time and the effort to raise and gather and save over 181 billion dollars in gold. And then from his own personal checkbook he gave another 5.3 billion dollars in gold to this future building that he would never lay eyes on. And he was happy about that! He was ecstatic that he was able contribute to the Lord’s house even though he would never see the results.
Why was David so content? Why was David so pleased that he was able to simply give to the Lord? David was so eager to give because of what the Lord had given to him. The Lord had promised David that he would always be with him throughout his life. The Lord had promised David that his own son would sit on the throne after him (and that was a big deal because it had never happened before). The Lord had promised David that Solomon would build a magnificent temple for his people. The Lord had promised David that his line would be established and blessed forever. And, most importantly, the Lord had promised David that the Messiah himself would be one of his own descendants. And so not only had David been blessed with plenty of physical wealth while he lived on this earth, the Lord also gave to David riches beyond gold and silver; the Lord had given David a Savior. And in response to that, David let loose! He was not about to hold back something that he was able to give! How could he after all that the Lord had done for him and promised him and given him?
Is there any reason why we shouldn’t let loose? Is there any reason why we should hold back? That Savior wasn’t just for David! That Savior is for us too! And that Savior gave up everything for us! Everything Jesus had, he let loose. Everything he could offer to us, he did. Everything that was in his ability to do for our good, he got it done. He didn’t hold anything back from us. He didn’t keep anything for himself. His comfortable life in heaven? He gave it up for a time so that he would be just as uncomfortable as we are on this sinful earth. His almighty power? He put it behind his back in a way to suffer at the hands of the same enemies we face in this life. The many opportunities he had to settle down and have a big family and nice house and a well-paying job? It didn’t even cross his mind. He gave that life up because that’s not what he was here to do. His sleep? He went without on many occasions just to pray for us. His health? He handed that over when he allowed himself to be captured by that Judas-Iscariot-led mob in the Garden. His happiness? He lived in grief so that we could be happy. His perfection? He took that place on the cross as if he were the most awful sinner just to earn our forgiveness. His life? Not even his life was he going to hold back from us. Everything that he had, he gave. And everything he has now he gives us still.
Our generous Lord supplies us with more things than we know what to do with. He blesses us with more talents than we can use. And he gives us more opportunities to give back to him than we can possibly take advantage of. The Lord keeps giving and giving and giving to us out of his endless supply of blessings not only so that we can be happy and enjoy a little bit of this life, but so that we are able to give back to him. He is supplying us with the ways and the means with which we can thank him! We are able to give! Isn’t that great! We have been blessed with so much - with the physical blessings we have and the talents he has given us each individually and the time he has allowed us to use in each of our own lives - we have been given so much that we aren’t just surviving, we are thriving! We have over and above! We have extra! And yes, the Lord has supplied each of us with a different set of blessings in different ways and at different times. One Christian may be able to give this. Another Christian may be able to offer this. Another Christian may be able to use this particular talent. Another Christian may be able to put in this amount of time. But no matter who you are as a Christian and no matter what station in life the Lord has placed you at this time, it’s not what should you give, it’s what can you give. You are able to give back to the Lord! Understand what an outstanding blessing that really is!
The leaders during David’s day understood that well. Some of them gave gold to the building of the temple. But others gave silver, some gave bronze, some gave iron, and some gave precious stones. But no matter what an individual gave and no matter what amount it was, “the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD” (1 Chron. 29:9). In whatever you do and wherever you are, give freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. There is no coercion here. There are no inspections or evaluations. There is no guilt. There is only joy and happiness and an uncontrollable urge to give back to the Lord whatever we can. And there has been joy and happiness and an uncontrollable urge to give in this congregation, hasn’t there? I’ve been amazed over the years at what you are able and willing to give. The gifts you give so that this congregation can function. The time you sacrifice to make sure the day to day operations are taken care of. The efforts you make so that our evangelism and outreach attempts are done well. The offerings you present for the sake of a piece of property and a building and a preschool. Look back over these years and marvel at the way the Lord has blessed us and moved us to give! Continue to make use of those opportunities to give and look for others way that you might be able to show your appreciation to your God. After all, who am I, and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from our Lord, and we have given only what comes from his hand.
Amen.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands.” - Psalm 90:17

11/21/10 - Christ the King - Luke 23:35-43

THIS IS OUR KING?

Today is the last Sunday of the Christian church year, the final Sunday in the season of “End Times.” And in the recent past this last Sunday has been designated as “Christ the King” Sunday. A day on which we celebrate our Lord’s power and might and rule and authority. A day on which we picture our risen Savior clothed in royal robes, sitting on his judgment throne, with a crown on his head and a scepter in his hand and all of his subjects under his feet. And words like “majesty” and “grandeur” and “glory” are used to describe our Almighty Lord and his eternal reign over all things. And so out of all the Scripture passages about this mighty King that are found in the Bible, what section of God’s Word do you think we have for the basis of our sermon today? A portion of Revelation chapter nineteen? “Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:15-16). Or maybe the story from Palm Sunday when the people praised Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey? “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel” (John 12:13)! Or maybe even the Old Testament reading we had earlier this morning from Jeremiah 23? “The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness” (Jer. 23:5-6). What powerful sections of Scripture that describe our powerful King! What incredible words of the Bible that depict the King’s incredible acts! But our sermon text isn’t any of the above. In fact, our sermon text isn’t anything like these magnificent descriptions of our King. This morning, instead of having one of these great prophecies or stories or visions that fill our minds with grand pictures of Christ the King in all his majesty, we have a story from the book of Luke that gives us the details about the King’s murder. Instead of the reign of Christ our King we see him ridiculed. Instead of the dominion of Christ our King, we read of his death. Here we have Christ our King on a cross:
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This is our King? This is the passage that we are going to use to celebrate “Christ the King” Sunday? He certainly had a crown, but it was a crown of twisted thorn branches. There was a staff, but not in his hand; the soldiers used it to hit him in the head before they had brought him out to this place of his execution. He had a robe: put on by the soldiers in mockery a couple hours before and then ripped off of him along with the rest of his clothes. His subjects were there under his feet, but only to shout obscenities at him as he hung there. His throne was a cross to which he was nailed. His “advisors” were criminals, one on each side. And in place of glory, shame. In place of praise, derision. In place of honor, humiliation. In place of power, weakness. This is our King? This is really the best portion of Scripture that could be picked for a day like today?
It seems a little out of place that this would be the portion of Scripture picked for this Sunday because Jesus isn’t powerful here or mighty or impressive… or kingly in any way! He looks pitiful and pathetic and dying. It just doesn’t seem to be the appropriate moment in his life that we would want to hold up and brag about and celebrate as an accurate representation of Christ our glorious King. And that’s exactly what the people at that time thought too. This was no king! This was no powerful ruler! This was a guy who claimed big things about himself and whom a lot of people followed around, but someone who couldn’t prevent his own arrest and sentencing and crucifixion. And so the rulers of the Jewish people who were there on the scene started to say, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” Prove it! If you really are the chosen Messiah, get yourself down from there and prove who you claim to be! Then we’ll believe you! Then we’ll admit that you’re right! But that wasn’t the only time that day someone dared the Savior to save himself. The Roman soldiers, too, came up to him and sneered, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” The sign above your head claims that’s who you are! But your own Jewish countrymen put you up there! And what kind of king if forced to hang on a cross anyway! Come down, Jesus! Live on, Jesus! Show us what you got! And then even one of the criminals hanging there with Christ, someone who should have empathized with his situation, started to blaspheme Jesus’ name: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
“Save yourself!” the heartless criminal scoffed. “Save yourself!” the Roman soldiers challenged. “Save yourself!” the Jewish leaders snickered. But that was the whole point: Jesus was up on that cross because he didn’t want to save himself. Jesus was up there because he wanted to save us. He was up there to save the man beside him who was mocking him to his face. He was up there for the soldiers who were ridiculing him, who were dividing up his clothes in front of him, the ones who probably also scourged him and pressed that thorny crown into his skull and beat him with a rod. He was up there to save the rulers of the people who had gathered the crowds in the first place to scream for his crucifixion and who were now standing there heckling him as he died. He was up there for all those people on the scene, watching. Those people who were not pleading for mercy, not shielding their children’s eyes from the gory execution outside of Jerusalem’s walls, but staring, waiting for the King to be tortured to death by his own subjects. Jesus was on that cross because he knew that’s where he needed to be. And Jesus remained on that cross because he knew that’s where we needed him to die.
What love this King displays! What passion! What patience! He doesn’t react in anger to the mocking. He doesn’t give in to the jeers and the taunting. He doesn’t prove everyone wrong, come down from the cross as he could have, and pronounce judgment on all those who were speaking against him. Oh, the King would come down from the cross alright, but only as a corpse. And the King would prove them wrong, but not in an immediate act of condemnation that Friday afternoon; he would prove them wrong by the miracle of his resurrection the following Sunday morning. This King may not have been all that majestic at that very moment, but he was altogether merciful. He may not have been all that outwardly impressive as he cried out in agony, but he was impressively compassionate. This is your King. This is your King at his worst and at his best. This is your King dying, but winning. This is your King worth being proud about.
Because where are you in this whole scenario? Your King shouldn’t have had to do this! Your King shouldn’t have had to humiliate himself in such a way or put up with the relentless taunting from his executioners or undergo such excruciating pain. He deserves unending glory and honor and praise from everyone and everything. But here he is anyway! The King of kings and the Lord of lords, the one who created this entire universe with a word, the one whom heavenly angels fall down in front of in trembling awe, the one whose glory is so intense and overwhelming that no one here can look at it and live, this one, this King, is slowly bleeding to death. Why? Because of you. And because of me. The failures and the disobedience and the flat out rebellion of his subjects forced him there. We should be the ones who sacrifice for him! We should be the ones who give things up for him! We should be the ones to serve him! But it’s the King who serves us, who gives everything up for us, who sacrifices for us! Everything is mixed up, isn’t it? Everything is twisted around. The King is putting himself in the position of a slave - shouldering all of the burden - while we stand around like kings doing nothing!
I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to just stand around and watch if other people are working. And especially if someone is working on my behalf. I feel guilty if I just stand there and can’t pitch in or help out in some way. But here our King hangs and he bleeds and he agonizes… and we can’t do a thing about it. Even if we wanted to we couldn’t do anything to help him; we couldn’t do anything to lend a hand. All we can do is stand here and watch him suffer. All we can do is wait for him die and think about all those sins that we have personally committed that he is now paying for. All of those selfish mistakes and all of those hurtful words and all of those nasty thoughts that our King is forced to endure. And we can’t lift a finger. We can’t conjure up one encouraging word. We can’t even offer any moral support because we are immoral by nature. There is nothing that is going to help Jesus get through this. There is nothing that we can possibly do to ease his pain. We’ve done enough already...
And there was at least one person there that Friday afternoon who understood that. There was at least one person there who realized that this King was dying because of and on behalf of him. It was the criminal on Jesus’ right hand side. And after rebuking the other man for mocking Jesus, this criminal boldly asked, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” It was a simple statement, but a powerful one. A confession of sins and a confession of faith. He knew what Jesus was doing; he knew who Jesus was; and he publically professed that he believed Jesus had a kingdom; and although this King would die that afternoon this man fully believed that Jesus would live in his kingdom forever. And here, in answer to this repentant criminal’s plea, in the middle of his own crucifixion, is where this battered and bloodied King finally displays the full extent of his power. Because here this King guarantees this criminal a place in heaven! At the height of his weakness, during the darkest hour of his life, on the edge of death, our King shows how powerful he really is: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” He promises this convict an instant life in eternal glory. He assures this sinner that his sins won’t count against him in heaven’s courtroom. The King grants pardon to this man condemned to death. And the King would give it to him - on that very day! This King who had been beaten and scourged and who was now running out of breath would on that very day take this man hanging next to him into Paradise! Is this not power? Is this not strength? Is this not authority? Is this not mercy?
And he shows this same mercy and displays this same power for you. This King, your King, promises you: “Today or tomorrow or the next day you will be with me in Paradise. I have the power to do it. And my suffering and my death and my resurrection will it happen. Do not let these bruises and cuts and blood puddles fool you. I am your King. I am all-powerful. I am perfectly in control. And all of this torture and pain and terror on this wooden cross is exactly what I have planned. And once I am done, you will be saved. And once you are done in this life, you will have life with me. You will be with me in Paradise.” This is your King. Someone who would rather serve you than be served by this world. This is your King. Someone who would rather die for you than live without you. This is your King. This is your Savior.
Amen.

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” - Rev. 5:12

11/14/10 - Saints Triumphant - Isaiah 65:17-25

INCOMPARABLE

One afternoon near the Sea of Galilee Jesus went up on a mountain side with his disciples. And while they were sitting there together a large crowd of people found out where they were and started to gather around Jesus - there were about 5000 men in that group, plus women and children. But these people were far from home, they were hungry, and it was getting late. And so with just five loaves of bread and two small fish, Jesus fed this crowd of probably 10,000+ people and even had twelve basketfuls of leftovers after everyone had eaten their fill. You know this story; you’re familiar with the miracle of the Feeding of the 5000; but don’t forget about what the gospel writer John says the people were thinking because of what had just happened, “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (John 6:15). The people wanted Jesus to be their ruler right then and there on this earth; and you can see why! He could supply them with all the food they could ever want, after all! He could make it possible that they would never have to work again! What a great deal! What a wonderful leader he would be! But Jesus wasn’t interested in staying here. He didn’t come into this world in order to give us a good life here. Instead, he came from heaven to earth so that we could one day go from earth to heaven. And those people who were miraculously fed by those few loaves of bread a couple fish didn’t realize that whatever blessings they might enjoy here would be incomparable to the joys awaiting them in heaven.
It’s always been a product of the sinful nature of human beings to be a little impatient, to want instant gratification, to want God to be an earthly ruler right here and right now and supply us with everything we could ever imagine. The Samaritan woman who met Jesus at Jacob’s well thought he was going to give her some kind of special water that would quench her physical thirst for the rest of her life! She didn’t realize that Jesus was talking about faith in her Savior and ultimately life in heaven. Pontius Pilate was under the impression that the Lord’s kingdom was supposed to be somewhere here on this earth; not somewhere up above. Even Jesus’ own disciples asked him right before he ascended into heaven if he was going to restore at that very moment the nation of Israel to a great world power again. No one seemed to understand that while Jesus was here on earth, he was always looking ahead to heaven. And all of the joys of this world and all of the glory that could be gathered here and all of the happiness that could be experienced and all of the wealth that could be enjoyed could not compare to what was to come. Only in heaven will Jesus finally unleash the full might of his power and release all of the blessings that he can give.
But is that good enough for us? Are we satisfied with what we will receive, what the future is supposed to bring? Are we happy and perfectly content if we don’t have the things we want in this life? Sometimes that’s not enough, is it? Sometimes we act as if we aren’t really all that happy if we don’t get some of those good things right away. Because we like to think to ourselves, “Yeah, but what about now?” “Why can’t I have some of the things I want in this life now, Lord?” “Why can’t you help me out with this problem now, Lord?” “Why can’t my body work the way it should now, Lord?” “Why do I have to be in so much pain now, Lord?” “Why do you allow me be so lonely now, Lord?” “Why is it so hard for me now, Lord?” “Why can’t I have the life I want to have right now, Lord?” I think there are times in every one of our lives when we would like Jesus to be a ruler of this world, a president of sorts on this earth - to do for us everything that we want and to give us everything that we desire.
But we forget, just like many people during Jesus’ day forgot, that the Lord’s goal isn’t to bless us with every good thing on this earth. His ultimate goal is to bless us with every good thing in Paradise. Yes, he likes to give us blessings in this life to enjoy and to use and to appreciate, but those gifts - no matter how great they may seem - are nothing when it comes to what God has in mind for his children for the rest of eternity. What Jesus has planned for you in heaven is incomparable to any little gift he could possibly give you on this earth. Because think of the nice blessings you have in this life: The best food in this world will eventually spoil. The healthiest body will grow old. The most loving friend will pass away. The nicest house will start falling apart. The easiest and most enjoyable life that you can think of will still be filled with difficulties and sorrows. And so don’t get too attached to the things of this world. Don’t put too much stock into their ability to make you happy. And don’t try to pull God down onto an earthly throne in some way and long for him to be a ruler of this world. He’s not going to do it. He doesn’t want to do it. This world is too messed up. It’s too sinful. Being a ruler of this sinful world and giving us all of the things that we want in this sinful world is like putting new tires and a new windshield and new upholstery in a car that doesn’t run. Those things might be kind of nice at first, but they’re not really going to make a difference in the end. The blessings that God gives us in this world might be kind of nice at first, but they’re not really going to make a difference in the end. No blessing in this life can last. And the Lord’s got something better waiting in the wings anyway. And what the Lord has waiting for us he describes through the prophet Isaiah:
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.
Doesn’t that life sound nice? Everything is going to be “new” - it will be nothing like we have right now: no weeping or crying, no death, no disaster, no war, no heartache, no pain, no friction of any kind. It’s not just going to be an improvement; it’s not just going to be a revamping of what we know now. No, it’s going to be completely new; it’s going to be altogether different. And it’s going to be so great that God himself says that “the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” The blessings you will enjoy in heaven are going to be so overwhelmingly wonderful that whatever good things you had on this earth will be forgotten about! They won’t even cross your mind!
Would you allow me to tell a story that I’ve told a number of you already? There was an orphanage in the middle of Moscow. It was an inner city orphanage in a rundown building with little to no government funding. There wasn’t much to eat; there wasn’t much to wear; and there wasn’t much to do about it. There was a little boy named Andre in that orphanage, six years old, there almost from the day of his birth. He didn’t know anything else; he didn’t know any other life. But one day the head of the orphanage ran up to him and said, “Andre, you’re going to America! An American couple has decided to adopt you and you’re leaving next week! It’s going to be the greatest thing that has ever happened to you! I can’t tell you how wonderful it’s going to be!” Andre looks at her and says, “I guess it sounds all right, but will they have potato soup there?” “Potato soup?” the owner of the orphanage says. “You mean the old pieces of potato boiled in water that we get once a month? Why would you ask that?” “Well,” Andre says, “potato soup is my favorite meal here. If they don’t have it in America I don’t think I’ll be happy.” “Oh, but Andre, you’re going to have so much food in America that you won’t be able to eat it all. And it will be better food than you have ever had before. And you’ll have your own family and your own bed and your own back yard and brothers and sisters… You don’t understand! That life will be nothing like this one. That life will be incomparable. And once you get there you won’t ever want this potato soup again.”
This life is nothing but potato soup. Sure, there are moments: things that make us happy and experiences that we can and should enjoy. But it’s really nothing but potato soup. There is no bland morsel on this earth that can possibly compare with the rich and mouth-watering flavors of heaven. And so you can see why the Lord isn’t all that concerned about supplying us with extra glasses of dirty water of this world and more pieces of stale bread of this life just because that is all we know and that is what we think we really want. Jesus didn’t go through the effort and the humiliation of taking the form of a human being and living in a sin-filled world and allowing himself to be harassed by his arch enemy the devil the entire time just so that he could supply us with things in this life that don’t even last! Jesus did not pour out his own blood and give up his own life so that we might be able to be somewhat happy with a few meager possessions on this earth! Jesus didn’t throw himself into the torture chamber of the deepest pits of hell while he hung on that cross just so that we might have a relatively easy life on this earth and die a peaceful death! Jesus did not rise from the grave and conquer every possible enemy we will ever have just so that we can taste some good food and take some nice vacations and see some nice people and accomplish some nice things and enjoy a nice life for the few years we are living in this sinful world! All of Jesus’ efforts and his bloody selfless sacrifice were for something much more permanent and much more important than that. All of Jesus’ efforts and his bloody selfless sacrifice were for your forgiveness and for your life - but for not your life here; for your life there. And so as long as you are still living here, that’s going to be Jesus’ main focus: to get you from here to there! And if that means he gives you some earthly blessings along the way… then great! And if that means he takes some of those blessings away from you to make sure that you end up where he wants you to be… then great! He always has your eternal life in mind. And so he’s going to do everything necessary to guarantee that you will one day enjoy that eternal life with him in heaven.
That’s why when he describes his heaven in Isaiah 65 he says, “Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create.” We should be thankful for what he has given us here, but we should rejoice in what he will give us in the future. Because he knows that life here isn’t always all that great. He’s been through it! He knows that life here can be a little painful. He’s suffered it all! He knows that life here is filled with sorrows and disappointments and death. He knows that better than any of us. And so he wants us to look forward and to rejoice in and to be glad with what he is creating for us in the life to come. He wants the best for you. He’s creating the best for you. And he doesn’t want to give you anything less. This life, this life is not the point. This life is just a waiting room, it’s a hallway, it’s a cold front porch. And on this cold front porch there’s nothing here worth holding on to. On this cold front porch there’s nothing worth distracting you from the goal. On this cold front porch there’s nothing here that is comparable to the riches inside the mansion that you will one day soon call your home. You don’t have a home here; you have a home there. Look forward to that home because God himself promises you that you will walk through its front doors arm in arm with your Savior.
Amen.

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory.” - Rev. 19:6-7

11/7/10 - Last Judgment - 2 Thess. 1:5-10

WHAT REALLY MATTERS?

The Holy Spirit is good at getting right to the point. In his Bible that he had human beings copy down, the Holy Spirit doesn’t spend a whole lot of time dramatizing the scene or constructing elaborate sub-plots. He doesn’t waste a whole lot of paper on things that make no difference to the main thrust of the story and he never goes off on tangents. The Holy Spirit is concerned about what really matters. And so when he describes the crucifixion of Jesus, for example, in the book of Mark, he doesn’t get into the gory details of all the blood and the pain and nails and the screaming; all he gives us is a four word sentence: “And they crucified him” (Mark 15:24). And when the Holy Spirit tells us the story of Jesus’ birth in the book of Luke, he doesn’t elaborate on the uncomfortable and unsanitized surroundings of the barn or the length of the labor or how Joseph handled it all with being a first-time dad with no one else around to help him deliver the Son of God himself. All the Holy Spirit says in the middle of a sentence is, “…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son…” (Luke 2:7). And so it is no surprise to us that when the Holy Spirit talks about Jesus’ 2nd Coming, his return to this earth on Judgment Day, he doesn’t dwell on too many of the details of the Lord’s grand entrance. Instead, he quickly gets straight to the point; the Holy Spirit wants to let us know what the bottom line is, what really matters.
“The Lord Jesus [will be] revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.”
He will come in blazing fire and with his powerful angels! And what else? We want to know more! We want to hear more details about this incredible event because it’s going to be unlike anything we have ever seen or experienced in our life before! What else is going to happen? What exactly is he going to look like in all of his glory? How much of the sky will all those angels fill? There are so many unanswered questions. But that’s not what the Holy Spirit wants us to be concerned about. He wants us to be concerned about what really matters on that Final Day. And so did you miss it? Did you miss what really matters here? The Holy Spirit says through Paul right at the end of our reading, “[Jesus will] be glorified in his holy people and… marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” That’s the bottom line; that’s what really matters: you will be saved. When Christ comes again - whatever that may look like and however we may react and whenever that may be - you will be saved because you believe in what Jesus had done for your salvation in his life and on that cross and out of that tomb. In the end, there is nothing else that matters. In the end, faith in your Savior is the only thing that’s going to make a difference. In the end, God will grant you eternal life for free… guaranteed.
It’s hard to remember that, though. When you are just going about your day to day life, when you are in the middle of dealing with the difficulties and the problems and the schedules and the headaches, even when you are surrounded by the joys and the blessings of this life, it’s sometimes hard to remember what really matters. Our minds aren’t always focused on that one Day of Judgment because, quite frankly, we’ve been waiting for it now for quite a while and it hasn’t come yet and it doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to come in our lifetime and we have a lot on our plate to deal with right now anyway... And so instead of being driven by the joy of heaven on Judgment Day we are driven by what we can get in this world in the meantime and what we can enjoy tomorrow and what we can hold on to if we already have it. And when we start to lose sight of what really matters: faith in our Savior and the inheritance God will give us on the Last Day, suddenly those trivial and minor things in this life are really important to us. That day off at the end of the week starts to really matter a lot to you and you’re going to be angry if you can’t enjoy it in the way you intend to. And those couple stock market points really matter a lot to you because you don’t know how your retirement will go without them. And watching your favorite tv show really matters a lot to you and visiting that good friend this Thursday really matters a lot to you and that one thing that this one person said really matters a lot to you and that stain on the carpet really matters a lot to you…
Does that stain on the carpet really matter? Does that one thing that one person said really matter? Does the chance to visit your friend or watching that tv show or those few stock market points or that day off really matter in the end? Sometimes we lose our perspective. Sometimes we lose sight of Jesus’ grand entrance on Judgment Day and the salvation he is going to give to us who believe in him because we are too busy looking down at each one of our steps in the meantime. And that’s not a good thing. The Lord doesn’t want you to lose track of his promises. He doesn’t want you to become so enamored in this earthly life that you become angry and upset and frustrated and concerned and stressed out about things that don’t really matter.
Here is the only thing that really matters: on the final day the Lord will come with his mighty angels in blazing fire. And when he comes he will send those who do not believe in his gospel to hell; and he will bring those who do believe in the Bible’s testimony about him to heaven. That means you will be forgiven of all those mistakes you have made, not judged. You will be pardoned of all those sins you have committed, not sentenced. You will be released from all of those errors that are attached to your name; you will not be held accountable. Because what Christ did on that cross outside of Jerusalem will be finalized by what Christ does on that throne coming on the clouds. He will make the final decision about your eternal welfare not based on what you have done in this life, but on what he has done for you in his death. Judgment Day is the day you will finally receive all of the blessings made possible by that Good Friday and Easter Sunday weekend. Judgment Day is the day your salvation will be official and forever. Judgment Day is the day when God’s last and greatest promise to you will be fulfilled. That is what really matters.
And if that is what really matters, what should your life on this earth look like while you wait for that day to come? What should your motivation be to work the way you work and strive for what you strive for and say the things you say and how you say them? What should be the reason for the decisions you make or even the options you consider? Should you be driven by what can make you happy in this life or how many things you can get or what kinds of things you can accomplish? Or should you be driven by that one day, that Last Day, and the Savior whom you are going to see and the spiritual health of your faith through which you will be taken home?
And if that’s what really matters, let’s take it a step farther: When things in your life don’t turn out so well, when those things you strive for don’t materialize, when what you work for and long for and enjoy in this life doesn’t happen or it isn’t as great as you thought it was going to be or when the blessings in this life that you love so much are completely lost, then what? At those crucial times and in those difficult situations, what is really going to matter?
When Joseph was sold by his own brothers, falsely accused of attempted rape, and left in prison by a friend who said he would never forget him, what really mattered? Did his freedom matter? Did his good name matter? Did a nice relationship with his brothers matter? Or did his faith in the Lord matter and what his Lord promised to do? When the disciple John saw his brother, James, murdered by Herod, when the Christian Church of John’s day was scattered because of intense persecution, when John himself was exiled to the island of Patmos because of what he believed, what really mattered? Did his release matter? Did a comfortable life as a church leader matter? Did missed opportunities to bond with his brother who was now dead matter? Or did his faith in the Lord matter and what his Lord promised to do? When the congregation in Thessalonica that Paul wrote this letter to was troubled and afflicted by enemies in that town, when they were harassed and surrounded by false prophets, when their own congregation had a bad reputation because there were some people among them who were known as lazy freeloaders, what really mattered? Did their reputation matter? Did an easy life matter? Did pleasant neighbors matter? Or did their faith in their Lord matter and what their Lord promised to do? “God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God,” Paul told this group of Christians. And why would they be counted worthy? “Because you believed our testimony to you [about Christ].” And so you tell me: despite all of the persecutions and all of the troubles that this congregation had to endure, what really mattered in the end?
When I was attending Nebraska Lutheran High School I had a tutor and dorm supervisor there for a couple years who had been assigned from the Seminary. He was then called to serve as a tutor and coach at Martin Luther College at the time I went to school there. He is now a pastor of a congregation in Tennessee. But less than two weeks ago, on October 25th, he and his wife attended the funeral for their own two-year-old daughter. The mother had gone in to wake her daughter up from her nap and she didn’t wake up. What do you think really matters to that pastor and his wife right now? And on a day like today, as they are also celebrating “Last Judgment” Sunday like we are, as they are also singing hymns about heaven and reading about our salvation through faith in Christ, what do you think is on their minds? How to get a nicer house? When they’re going to take their Sunday afternoon walk? If they are going to wash the car this week? What to do with the electric bill they have to pay? Or do you suppose they just might be thinking right now about their baptized daughter in heaven resting in Jesus’ arms and the Lord’s promise to them that they will see her again?
Death sometimes bring things into perspective for us. And the death of a family member can force us take a step back and slow down a bit and consider what really matters. I hope that you have a good handle on what really matters before one of your family members dies. And I pray that the death of Christ himself has already made you take a step back, slow down a bit, and consider what things are the most important. Because that’s what really matters! His death, his resurrection, and his coming again. Look forward to that day. Keep his return in mind. Because as you wait patiently in this life for your Savior to show up in blazing fire with all of his powerful angels, know that when he appears you will be lifted home just as Jesus was lifted up on that cross. You will rest in Paradise just as Jesus rested in that tomb. You will rise to glory just as Jesus rose from the gloom of the grave. In the end, you will live with your Lord forever. In the end, no matter what troubles you’ve had to experience in this life, no matter what difficulties you’ve had to go through, no matter what catastrophes you’ve had to experience, in the end everything is going to end up perfectly. That’s what really matters. And that’s what is going to happen.
Amen.

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come Lord Jesus.” - Rev. 22:20

10/31/10 - Joint Reformation - Eph. 2:8-9

SOLA

In the winter of 1530, Wittenberg’s pastor, John Bugenhagen, was once again called away on a business trip for the church. And as had happened before, Martin Luther was asked to take over the preaching duties in the town since he was a professor at the university there. Which meant that for the next two years Luther began to preach on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings and Saturday evenings in addition to his full teaching schedule. On those Saturdays nights he decided to preach a sermon series on the gospel of John. And in one of these sermons, as he was expounding on the final verses of the sixth chapter, talking about salvation by grace through faith in Christ, he quoted Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” And after reading these well-known verses in front of the congregation Luther then said, “This is the essence of true Christianity.” And it is. Salvation by the grace of God, through faith in Christ Jesus, in the Scriptures of the Holy Spirit - this is the essence of true Christianity. And Ephesians 2:8-9 sums it up beautifully! In fact, you would be hard pressed to find another passage that combines these truths of our salvation is such a clear and succinct way. It is one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture because of it. And for our purposes today it is a passage that shows us that these Latin phrases we have been using in our worship service this afternoon are nothing other than what God tells us in the Bible. Sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura: “By grace alone, through faith alone, in Scripture alone.” This is the essence of true Christianity.
Which means these concepts are not just Lutheran teachings. They weren’t merely conjured up by a few theologians in the territory of Saxony during the time of the Reformation. No! Sola gratia, sola fide, and sola scriptura are timeless teachings of Scripture itself. Because that is what Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly says. doesn’t it? We know in this Scripture passage that by grace we have been saved through faith. Don’t let the Latin fool you. The teachings of sola gratia, sola fide, and sola scripture were around long before Luther ever posted those 95 Theses on the Castle Church door in the city of Wittenberg.
In fact, this teaching about our salvation was around long before the New Testament was ever written. Ephesians 2:8-9 was not the first time that the concept of “sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura” was ever mentioned in the Bible. It’s all throughout the Old Testament as well. Maybe not in such a nice straight-forward way as it is in Paul’s letter to the believers in Ephesus, but salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Scripture alone is revealed in the countless stories of the Old Testament believers.
The story of Adam and Eve is a great example. They had everything, didn’t they? A perfect world in which to live, perfect weather every day, perfect food to eat whenever they wanted, a perfect marriage to enjoy, a perfect life in every respect. And then they gave all of that perfection up by eating some fruit from the one tree they weren’t supposed to eat from because they wanted even more. But what happened next? Did God instantly destroy them as he should have? Did he send the fury of his wrath upon their heads for doing such an ungrateful thing? Did he turn his back on them and leave Adam and Eve to wallow in their sinfulness for the rest of eternity? No! He came down to talk to them! He reached out to them! And then he promised to send them a Savior that would clean up the mess they had made - one of their own descendants who would undo what they did and make it possible for them to go to heaven instead of hell. Adam and Eve, just minutes after they had ruined God’s entire creation and his plan for their eternity, were rescued by that same God! And why did God save them? Sola gratia - by grace alone. There was no other reason for God to save them. In fact, everything they had done should have prompted God not to save them! But they are both in heaven right now, enjoying perfection once again - by grace alone.
Samson is another good example. You remember him, don’t you? A powerful judge of the nation of Israel, blessed with superhuman strength but hindered by a hot temper and a weakness for ungodly women. He was also supposed to be a Narzarite - which meant he was not supposed to touch dead bodies, among other requirements. But, as you know, he touched plenty of dead bodies - including a lion’s carcass without any qualms. He also routinely murdered Philistines just to get revenge, he destroyed their crops in anger, he married unchristian women from that nation - an act that went directly against God’s Word for the Israelites, he slept with prostitutes, he was arrogant, he was selfish, and he was a poor spiritual leader. But if you would read the “Heroes of Faith” chapter in the New Testament - Hebrews 11 - there alongside the names of Abraham and Moses and Noah, you’ll find the name of Samson. Because at the end of his life, when he was captured, blinded, and mocked by the enemies he had harassed throughout his life, he finally trusted in the Lord and relied on him for his strength. And so Samson too is in heaven right now. Why? Sola fide - through faith alone. It certainly wasn’t because of what he had done throughout his life! He was a terrible Christian! In fact, it is debatable if he even was a Christian before the very end of his life. But he believed in his Savior at his death and because of what his Savior would one day do for him on the cross, Samson is enjoying life with him right now - through faith alone.
Josiah, a king of the southern land of Judah, was only eight years old when he took the throne. He had grown up in an ungodly household, under a father who worshiped false gods and was even assassinated by his own officials. Josiah didn’t know the Lord or anything about his Word. But when he was 26 years old, the high priest at that time found the lost Book of the Law - another name for the Bible at that time - in the temple of the Lord. And when Josiah read the words of the Book of the Law he tore his clothes in grief because he realized how sinful he and his people had been. He then called all of the people of his kingdom together and he rededicated himself and the entire nation to the Lord and his Word. He promised that he would uphold the words of the Lord and believe and do everything in it. Josiah began to celebrate the festivals, offering the sacrifices, and listen to the reading of Scripture once again. Josiah came to know his Savior who would one day come from his own family tree. And right now, King Josiah is in heaven enjoying life with The King himself. Why? Sola scriptura - in Scripture alone. Josiah wouldn’t have known that he had been sinning or what his Savior would do about his sins without that very special Book. And now he is one of the people in that very special Book so that others might read and believe and be saved - in Scripture alone.
Sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura. This is how God saved his people in the Old Testament. Sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura. This is how God saved his people in the New Testament. Sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura. And this is how God saves you right now: Grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone. Everything about your salvation rests on him. Nothing about your salvation is up to you. And that’s a good thing because you aren’t good enough to be saved.
Has anyone every told you that before? You aren’t good enough. And I’m serious! You aren’t good enough to be saved. You aren’t likeable enough to be saved. You aren’t pretty enough to be saved. You aren’t honest enough to be saved. You aren’t nice enough to be saved. You don’t try hard enough to be saved. You don’t want it badly enough to be saved. You are incapable of being the kind of person or doing the kinds of things to gain salvation. And so, in the end, you are not even worth saving.
I’m sorry to have to tell you that you aren’t going to get some kind of motivational, self-esteem, confidence boosting speech today. I’m not going to stand up here and tell you about the potential you have inside of you or what great things you can do if you just put your mind to it. Because that’s not what Scripture is all about. The Bible isn’t written to tell us how good we are on our own. On the contrary, the Bible oftentimes lets us know how bad we are, how rotten we are, how totally and completely corrupted we are. Are you corrupted? Yes you are. Am I corrupted? You better believe it! And that is something we have to come to terms with before we go back to Ephesians 2:8-9. We have to understand how sinful we really are. We have to swallow that. It’s just hard to get that lump down the throat, isn’t it? It’s hard to admit that we are so saturated with sin in every aspect of our lives and even in every aspect of our personalities that we can’t possibly do anything to gain God’s favor; we can’t do anything to get on his good side; we can’t do anything to make him want to save us in any way. Because he demands perfection and nothing we do or say or think is even close to that standard. We are failures! We are sinners to the core. And because of that, not one of us here is worth saving. But “by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” You are not worth saving, but you are saved anyway - sola gratia - by grace alone.
Grace is a familiar word to all of us. We hear it here in church all the time. And it’s usually defined as “undeserved love,” but it’s not something that we as human beings can grasp all that well. Because we aren’t used to grace. Nothing in this world really comes all that close to the grace that God has shown to us. Some might say that a mother loving her newborn child is undeserved love: the infant doesn’t earn it, the infant doesn’t give it back, the infant even cries in the middle of the night and is incessantly demanding and is completely self-centered. But even that kind of love for a child isn’t really grace. Grace is loving someone who is actually your enemy. Someone who isn’t just vile and hateful, but someone who has been vile and hateful to you! Someone who has hurt you and doesn’t care; someone who goes out of his way to cause you harm. Welcome to Jesus’ life on this earth! He was surrounded by those kinds of people. He was plotted against by those kinds of people. He was betrayed by those kinds of people. He was crucified by those kinds of people. And while he was being hammered to a cross like piece of paper what did he say? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus actually loved those who hated him. And Jesus actually loved us when we hated him too. When we were unbelievers we were no better than those who nailed Christ to the cross. We were his enemies. We were his adversaries. But God loved us anyway. And he loved us so much he died for us. That’s grace. And that’s why we’re saved. By grace alone. And through faith alone.
There is only one way we can believe in that grace of our God: through faith alone. And even that faith is a gift from God! We don’t decide to have it, we don’t accept Christ into our hearts, we don’t choose to let him come into our lives… Christ decides to save us, Christ accepts us; Christ chooses us. “By grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” It’s free. It’s without obligation. It’s not earned. Faith is a gift of God. Without it we wouldn’t be saved. Without it we wouldn’t believe. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone. In Scripture alone.
There is only one way the Holy Spirit gives us that faith: in Scripture alone. He does not come to you when you are sleeping in your bed or meditating under your backyard tree or peacefully sitting in your recliner at home. The Holy Spirit comes to you only through the Word. And yes, it is true that he comes to you in baptism too. But it’s not the water that is so powerful, it is the Word of God connected to that water that supplies the power on a human heart. In Scripture alone can baptism do such wonderful things. In Scripture alone can you be brought to faith. In Scripture alone can you be saved.
Sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura. These phrases were not just an ancient rallying cry for German Lutherans under the hand of the Roman Catholic church. They were not some deep theological categories that make no sense today and make even less of a difference. They are not just some cute and concise words used for a worship theme on a late afternoon in Grand Junction, CO. These words are a summary of the Words of God. These phrases speak of the way to eternal life. They are your salvation. Sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura. By grace alone you are saved. Through faith alone you are saved. In Scripture alone you are saved. To God alone be the glory.
Amen.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers [and sisters]. Amen.” - Gal. 6:18

10/31/10 - Reformation - John 8:31-36

WE ARE FREE

Three years after Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the Castle Church door, the pope issued an official document called a “papal bull” against Luther and those who agreed with him. In this public proclamation the Roman Catholic church listed 41 teachings Martin Luther promoted that disagreed with Catholic doctrine and they concluded that, “We condemn, reprobate, and reject completely each of these theses or errors as either heretical, scandalous, false, offensive to pious ears or seductive of simple minds, and against Catholic truth. By listing them, we decree and declare that all the faithful of both sexes must regard them as condemned, reprobated, and rejected… under the penalty of an automatic major excommunication.” This same papal bull also prohibited anyone in the kingdom to read, print, or defend anything that Luther wrote or taught as well as including a command to Luther himself to stop preaching, teaching, or carrying out any of the duties of a minister.
Two months later, because Luther did not take back any of his writings or bow to the authority of the Roman Catholic church, he was officially excommunicated along with anyone who supported him. The next year, at the Diet of Worms (the meeting in the city of Worms) Luther was placed under the imperial ban by the Holy Roman Emperor, a decree that condemned him as an outlaw, stripped him of his rights as a citizen, and made it legal for anyone to rob him, injure him, arrest him, or even kill him without any repercussion. Soon after that event, some of his friends “kidnapped” him and took him to the Wartburg Castle where he was not allowed to leave for a time because his life was in so much danger. In 1530, when the Lutheran leaders gathered together in Augsburg to present their confession of faith, Luther himself was not in attendance. He was back at a place called the Coburg Castle 160 miles away because he was still under the imperial ban and he could have been killed if he had made the trip. Throughout his life Luther was prevented from doing what he wanted to do, going where he wanted to go, and in fact he wasn’t even supposed to say what he wanted to say. And so why, after all of the freedoms that had been taken away from him, would Luther say to his students in Wittenberg in one of his classroom lectures on Psalm 45, that “We are free”?
Free? Luther and those with him didn’t seem to be free at all. He was still under the imperial ban (a civil sentence he would live under until he died), his life was still in danger if he left certain parts of the kingdom, he was still under the excommunication of the only church that called themselves “Christian” in the world at that time, and he was still technically not allowed to preach or teach or write anything in any place for any reason. Free? I think if we were to describe his situation and the situation of all those involved with the Reformation of the 16th century, we would probably say that they was more oppressed and confined and restricted and subjugated rather than being “free.”
Because if anyone knows what freedom is, we do, don’t we? We as people living in the United States know what it’s like to be free. We love being free. We fight to be free. And we complain and kick and scream when any of our freedoms seem to be impinged upon in any way. And in our expert opinion: those Christians during the time of the Reformation weren’t free at all! They had none of the liberties that we enjoy in this country and none of the rights that we take for granted. The Roman Catholic church and the governing authorities of that area had made it impossible for them to live in freedom because they were declared to be enemies of the state. “We are free”? It seems like a strange thing for Luther to say to people who were anything but free.
But the freedom Luther was talking about, of course, was of a different kind. The freedom he was referring to had nothing to do with what was happening in the world around them; it had to do with what Jesus did on the cross a millennium and a half before. This is the fuller version of what Luther said to his students on that day in 1532, “Through baptism and the Word we are free from death, sin, and the devil.” And what Luther taught his students in a Wittenberg classroom on Psalm 45 was really just a repetition of what Jesus teaches all of us in John 8:31: “If you remain in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” Jesus, of course, wasn’t talking about the freedom to say what you want to say or the freedom to go where you want to go or the freedom to have the rights and privileges that you think you are entitled to. He was talking about freedom from sin and guilt, freedom from the punishment and consequences that we rightly deserved. A freedom not given to those born in the right place at the right time, but a freedom given to those who are born again in the water and Word of baptism. A freedom not brought about by any flag or any country, but a freedom brought about by the Truth of God’s Word. A freedom not obtained by privilege, but a freedom given to those who had no right to have it at all.
Because the fact of the matter is: we were not born free; we were born chained. We were not born in a neutral place at a neutral time in a neutral way; we were born as prisoners in a maximum security facility automatically on death row. We were not born with guaranteed rights and privileges; we were born with a sentence of death hanging over our heads. And we deserved it! We were sinful human beings from the very start and nothing but unbelievers when we entered this world. Which means we were more than indifferent; we were indignant! We were directly opposed to God before we even had a conscious thought float through our minds! “Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me,” David says in Psalm 51:5. We were shackled in sin while we were still in the womb. We were sealed behind the iron doors of eternal death that wouldn’t open and trapped behind towering walls that we could not climb. And there was no way out. There was no possibility of pardon or release or escape. There was no hope, no prospect, no chance to be set free.
Remember what you used to be. Remember where you used to live. And remember why you enjoy the freedom that you have right now. It wasn’t because of your efforts. It wasn’t because of your desire. It wasn’t because you were so good or so determined or so stubborn. You are free today because the Truth of God’s Word has set you free. And what is that Truth? The Truth is this: Jesus took the shackles of sin that were tightly clamped around your wrists and ankles and he placed them on his own. He took that sentence of death that was hanging over your head and he placed it over his. He took the guilt and the punishment and the responsibility and the blame that was weighing on your shoulders and he placed it on his. And he lifted it up onto a cross and he carried it down into hell and he bore up under it while his own Father left him there to suffer all alone. Jesus let his hands and feet be pounded through with nails so that the chains could fall from your own hands and feet. Jesus bound himself in the torments of hell so that you would be released before you ever got there. Jesus underwent his Father’s just anger so that you could be free to experience his Father’s merciful love. That is the Truth about your freedom. And that is the Truth that can only be found in God’s Word.
That’s what the Reformation was all about. It wasn’t about a leader’s strong personality. It wasn’t about a group of Christians simply standing up to a religious bully. And it wasn’t about bucking the system or refusing to conform. It was about the clear Truth of God’s Word. The Roman Catholic church at that time had hundreds of years of traditions and big-name theologians and grand cathedrals and lavish ceremonies and countless commands and rules and laws, but the Christians of the Reformation had the true Word of God. They had the Truth about what Christ had done and what Christ had won. This is why the Reformation is so important to us as Christians living in the 21st century. And we celebrate it each year not because of the people back then, but because it was the place in which the Lord brought his people back to the Word of God. It was the time during which he revealed to them the Truth. It was the way with which Christ and his cross and his tomb were finally brought back into focus without any of our works or any of our efforts getting in the way of what Jesus did to set us free.
Not that this was the first time that the Lord had to bring his Word back into focus. The people Jesus was speaking to in John 8 about this kind of freedom didn’t quite understand it either. Just like the Roman Catholic church that excommunicated thousands of Christians during the time of the Reformation, some of the Jews during Jesus’ time didn’t comprehend that freedom really had nothing to do with them either. “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone,” they said to Jesus, “How can you say that we shall be set free?” They figured that because they were of Jewish origin, because they were blood relatives of Abraham himself, they were good! They didn’t have to be set free because they already were! They were guaranteed a spot in heaven simply because of their lineage! Of course, that wasn’t the way it worked. They were not free from the consequences of sin and the punishment of eternal death just because of their ancestry. Nor was that the way it worked for those in the Germanic states in the 1500s or the way it works for us today either. Just because you call yourself a Lutheran doesn’t mean you have a ticket into heaven. Just because you grew up in a Christian family doesn’t mean you have an automatic spot in Paradise. Christ does not give out family passes. He does not base heaven’s membership list on a membership list of any congregation here on earth. Now, it is certainly very important to belong to a church that teaches the true Word of God; you want your faith to be fed with the uncontaminated words of Scripture on a regular basis, and you want to worship and interact with like-minded Christians. But to think that eternal life has something to do with you or the list your name is included on or the group to which you join together with is a dangerous mistake. Eternal life has only to do with Christ and what he has done to set us free.
Martin Luther preached quite a few sermons on this very topic: the freedom we receive from Christ and his Word in John 8. And some of his words are worth repeating here: “We who believe in Him are promised a good conscience, salvation, a merciful God, and freedom from all harm. But we must advance beyond the position of beginners or novices, who never reach the point where they taste and experience that God is a Man who can deliver from both physical and spiritual need…. The divine Word alone is the cornerstone, the I-beam, the girder, the stanchion, and the pillar undergirding our constancy. Therefore it is imperative that we hold to the plain Word of God, that we cling to the words of Christ. Then we will experience God’s help in the midst of danger and upheaval.” There are few Christians in this world who knew how important God’s Word was “in the midst of danger and upheaval” than those Christians did during the time of the Reformation. They had to hold on to God’s clear Word and the freedom that it offered because they had nothing else; they had no other allays, they had no other freedoms.
I would pray that a day like today and a worship service like we have this morning would remind you of your freedom in Christ and the Truth of God’s Word that made it possible. Remain in that Word. Continue to read and to hear and to study that Truth. You were once chained and barred and shackled by sin. But those days of imprisonment are long behind you. Because you have heard the Word of Truth about Christ your Savior who was imprisoned for you, who was sentenced for you; who was executed for you. You are pardoned. You are released. You are free.
Amen.

“May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers. May he never leave or forsake us.” - 1 Kings 8:57