What Does Believing Look Like?

Green and growing. The color for the season of Epiphany is green. Green is the color of growth. During this season we see Jesus growing. At every stage and every age of his life Jesus became our Savior. He perfectly obeyed God’s law in our place for us. But this season of Epiphany doesn’t just teach us that he grew. Jesus gives to us the Holy Spirit. He gives to us this gift of faith. Now we are his disciples. And this morning it leads us to ask the question: What Does A Believer Look like? And so, in the Old Testament, we find this prophet Jonah. And through his ministry the Holy Spirit leads us into an answer to that question. And so we read in Jonah 3: “Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city—a visit required three days. On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” (Jonah 3:3–5 NIV)

What does believing in the Lord look like? Here in these words we see it in action. Believing means leaving. Years ago there was a boy in a field. He spent hours playing with his friends in the field. And, at the end of the day he was hungry. And off, in the distance, he saw an apple tree. “who knows” he thought to himself “maybe this tree has some apples on it still. He got to the tree and couldn’t find any apples. So, in the sunset light, he looked in the grass for an apple. He found one. He picked it up and brought the apple to his mouth. But then he suddenly stopped. With shock and horror he remembered that there were horses in this field. And with how horrible this apple smelled, he realized that he was not holding an apple. And so, what did he do with the apple? He dropped it?

Think of this picture when you think of the Ninevites. Jonah came through town and in one day crushed them. He preached his sermon theme: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” (Jonah 3:4 NIV)¹ And the weight of his words crushed them. All of a sudden their sinful lives smelled as good as a horse-apple.

They felt the crushing weight of Jonah’s words. But even worse, the heard the crushing verdict of Jonah’s words. Because they were sinful God would overturn Nineveh just as he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. And then after that God would punish them in hell.

And so, my brothers and sisters. That is what they left. But along with that we need to ask another question. What did they leave? Their lives had changed. And they quickly gave up people, places and things. The people they used to lead into sin and be led into sin with—they abandoned them. The places that tempted them to sin, they left. The things which were their lives meant nothing to them anymore. So they left them.

And what was in their hearts showed itself in their hands. Jonah tells us that they declared a fast.² And they put on sackcloth.³ Now, my brothers and sisters, this is something you have to picture. Picture a hundred thousand people sitting in the streets. Picture the ones who used to wear comfortable and costly clothing now wearing sackcloth. Picture a hundred thousand people burning trees to make ashes. And then when they had those cold ashes on their heads to show everyone around them and God above that they were worth as much as dirt, or even less because of their sin. They left their sinful lives. If you want to know what believing looks like just look there. Look at those dusty streets filled with people pouring dusty ashes on themselves.

Believing the Lord means leaving a sinful life. If that’s what it looks like for them, it hasn’t changed for us. And, unless you find yourself there with the Ninevites with the sackcloth on your back and the ashes and dust on your head, you will never make it into heaven. What I mean it this: Jesus doesn’t just call on us to leave our sinful lives behind on that one day he came to us with water and word and gave us this gift of faith and forgiveness. No, he calls on us to leave our sinful lives every day.

Believing is leaving. And so, let me ask you questions that you can ask yourself. Are you leaving your sinful life or are you loving it? There might be people in your life who are constantly seek to take you away from Jesus. Are you willing to follow them or Jesus? There might be places which you know you shouldn’t be—places which lead you back into your sinful life. Are you wiling to leave them and follow Jesus? And finally, what about the things? If ever there were a source for temptation for us, it’s our things. Whether it’s your hunting rifle or your sewing needle; your book in the bedroom or your cable tv in the living room, how often do they tempt you to cling to them and to love them instead of following your Savior? How often will you gladly buy a book, pay a cable tv bill or go to a movie, but when it comes to giving generously and graciously in the offering plate, there is where we hesitate.

Believing is leaving. If the people, places and things of this life are more precious and more of a priority than the Lord you need to sit there in the streets of Nineveh. You need to smell the stench of your sin. You need to see the hell where it leads to.

Believing is leaving. That’s what being a disciple of Christ looks like. But my brothers and sisters, that’s not all that it looks like. Believing is also receiving. Jonah tells us: “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” (Jonah 3:10 NIV)

Years ago I remember seeing a little boy about two years old. He was in his little car seat in the back seat of his mini-van. He was playing with his ball with such joy and such contentment. Then he looked out of his window. And there above the trees he saw the water tower. But the boy didn’t know it was a water tower. His eyes got big. His mouth dropped. And with profound wonder in his voice he said “BALL!” And the ball in his hands silently fell to the floor.

And my brothers and sisters, that is what believing is. Believing is not just leaving the sinful life. It’s receiving far more than we can ask for or imagine. And that is exactly what the Ninevites got. They didn’t ask for it. They didn’t didn’t search for it. But God searched for them and found them.

And through this gift of faith they dropped their sinful lives and received God’s great gift of forgiveness and all that comes with it. Jonah tells us that the Lord had compassion on them.⁴ He poured out his mercy on them. He rescued them from the fire falling from the sky. He rescued them from the eternal fire of hell. Why? It all comes down to that one word, mercy.

And when God showed that mercy to them it changed their lives. It changed the people, places and things in their lives. With only a little imagination we can picture a hundred thousand people who are moved by God’s Spirit to lead each other to God’s word instead of to sin. With only a little imagination we can see the places changing too. They used to go to pagan temples. But now they gather together. And they maybe even built synagogues and new places to worship the Lord. And what about the things? With so little imagination we can see a people who used to save up money for themselves—their clothing, their hobbies. But now, picture people saving up money for a place of worship. Or, picture people saving up money so that they can take that long journey to the temple in Jerusalem. They received this forgiveness gladly. And then they lived gladly for their Lord.

My brothers and sisters, look at these Ninevites and see yourselves. See a pagan people whom God has showered his mercy on. See a people who used to bear the shame and guilt of sin, but now wear Christ’s righteousness. See a people who willingly leave their sinful lives behind. One of the most treasured parts of Luther’s Small catechism is the fourth part of baptism. Do you remember it? Listen to these familiar words yet once more and see what God moves you do and to be:

Fourth: What does baptizing with water mean?

Baptism means that the Old Adam in us should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Baptism moves us to drown our sinful nature and all its evil desires every day. It moves us to confess our sins. It moves us to leave our sinful life because the faith he gives us through baptism is that strong. And the Savior to which our faith clings is just that merciful.

Believing is leaving. And rejoice! For it is also receiving. After that day, those Ninevites gathered together. But they no longer gathered together in sadness. Instead they gathered together in gladness. They gladly heard God’s word. They gladly shared God’s word. They gladly gave to support the ministry of that word. I invite you to do the same. Look back at those dusty streets and dusty heads and take to heart what believing is. Believing is leaving. And believing is receiving.

¹ עוֹד אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְנִינְוֵה נֶהְפָּכֶ

² וַיִּקְרְאוּ־צוֹם

³ וַיִּלְבְּשׁוּ שַׂקִּים

⁴ וַיִּנָּחֶם

There Is More To God’s Word.

But wait! There’s more! If you’ve ever watched TV on Saturday morning or late at night, you’ve probably heard that phrase, “but wait! There’s more!” You hear those words in advertisements. They say “this knife is great. It cuts through tomatoes. But wait! There’s more! It also cuts through tin cans!”

In the words we are looking at this morning, in a very non-joking way, the apostle Paul is telling us this fact. There’s more to God’s word than you might have known. And so Paul tells us: “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV)

Paul told the Christians in Thessolonica that God had chosen them and saved them through belief in the truth. And here is where that phrase “But wait! There’s more!” comes true. God saves us through belief in the truth.¹ Human trust is always shaky, isn’t it? We put our trust in many things here on this earth knowing that we can’t fully trust in them. You take your car to the mechanic trusting that he will fix it and charge the right amount of money. But you have no guarantee. Your tooth is causing you mass amounts of pain. So you go to the dentist trusting that he will be able to fix it. But you have no guarantee. At the very most in all these examples we put our trust in ourselves.

However, we trust in the truth of God’s word in a completely different way. You see, we trust in God’s word not because we are able to convince ourselves that it is true. We trust in God’s word because it convinces us that it is true. And that’s where we say “but wait! There’s more!” We all know that we as Christians are supposed to trust God’s word. But, what you probably haven’t thought about is that it is up to God’s word to prove to us that it is true. Or, to word it as Paul does here, “he chose us for salvation…through faith in the truth.”

But here is where there is that voice inside of every Christian which speaks up and shouts at us from the depths of our soul. If God’s word convinces me that it is true, then why do I doubt? If God, right here in these words is promising to me that I am saved from sin, death and the Devil, then why do I continually fear dying?

The answer to that question is very clear. You have a sinful nature. Adam and Eve rebelled in the garden. They abandoned God. And that hatred toward of God they passed down to us so that now, when God’s word promises something to us our natural reaction is to doubt. Our natural reaction is to be terrified. Our natural reaction is to despair.

But wait, my brothers and sisters, there’s more to know about God’s word than this. Yes, we have this sinful nature. And we will have it till our last day and last breath. But what else do we have? As Paul tells us, we have the Holy Spirit continually making us holy. We have the truth of God’s continually comforting and convincing our doubting and despairing hearts.

And so, my brothers and sisters, what a joy it is to know that there’s more there to learn about God’s word than we initially thought. We don’t convince ourselves that God’s word is truth. No, the truth of God’s word convinces us that it is true. But wait! There’s more to God’s word than this. It does much much more. Paul tells us: “He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14 NIV)

God convinces us through his word. But what does he do? He calls us through his word too. Now, this word, call, is a very important word.² It’s the picture of a king who wants someone. So what does he do? He sends one of his servants out to find the person he wants. The servant says to that person “The king wants you.” You can see then why this is a very fitting word for what we would call ‘conversion.’ We all were unbelievers. But then what happened? Jesus chose you from before the beginning of the world. He sent someone to speak this word to you. Oh, but here is where it gets interesting. Here is where we can say “but wait! There’s more!” The gospel, the good news doesn’t just let us know that there is a king. The gospel introduces us to the King. God’s word doesn’t just say “you need to be saved.” No, instead it also brings to us the salvation that Jesus won for us on the cross. God’s word doesn’t just offer to you the glory of God. It gives to you the glory of God.

My brothers, this fact that God calls you through the gospel is such an important fact. It is so vitally important because so many churches miss this point. So many teach and preach that Jesus died for your sins. But then they miss this great and wonderful truth here in these words. They say that you can only get it if you show enough effort. They say you can only get salvation if you show enough intellect. They say you can only get it if you show enough emotion.

There is more, my brothers and sisters. There is so much more to God’s word than what we might initially think is there. It is more and does more than we can grasp or imagine. So then, the words that Paul speaks in the next verse don’t surprise us at all: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15 NIV)

Since there is so much more there in God’s word than we might expect, notice what Paul encourages his people to do. He encourages them to continually hold onto it. And here is where we see our own sin. Have you ever been waterskiing? Waterskiing is tough. It’s tough because you have to hold onto that rope with just the right balance when you start. But, what makes it even more difficult is that you need to continually and constantly keep holding onto it with all your strength. For, if you don’t, when that wave comes up, if you’re not holding on, you’ll let go and slam into a lake-full of water.

For us, as Lutherans, our sin isn’t as much that we fall into the trap of thinking that we can get to God by choosing him or earning him. No, we have learned from little on up what grace is—God’s undeserved love for us. No, instead, our sin is that God’s word is something we visit on Sunday mornings but let go of during the week. And so we preach, not with our mouths, but with our actions, that we are far more willing to watch the Steelers lose for three hours straight than sit down and see Jesus win against the Devil day after day. Paul, with urgency and sincerity tells you to hold onto God’s word. But you don’t. You don’t continually and constantly cling to his word by reading it and growing in it. There is more. God’s word shows us that there is more sin in us and it is more evil than we might have thought.

There’s so much more. There is so much more sin in us that we see. But, my brothers and sisters, there is so much more grace, mercy and forgiveness in Christ. This morning we see it so clearly in his word. Jesus doesn’t come to us and say “my word is true, now convince yourself that it is true.” No, just the opposite, he says “This is my word. Let it convince you!” He comes to us. But he doesn’t say “I made forgiveness available.” No, instead he says “I promise that you are forgiven.” He doesn’t say “let go of what was handed down to you.” No, instead he says “hold onto it.”

So then, my brothers and sisters, hold onto God’s word. Set aside time day by day to read God’s word because there’s more. Yes, there’s more to learn about your sin. But even more so, there is so much more to learn about God’s word. Here this morning you learn that God’s truth convinces you that your sins are forgiven and you have eternal. Here this morning you learn that God has called you through the gospel. Through the gospel in word and sacrament he has brought you into his kingdom. But, there is more. There is more that our Savior has done. And there is more that he does through his word. Set aside the place in your heart and the time in your day and read it! Hold onto it—constantly and continually. Amen.

¹ εἰς σωτηρίαν ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος καὶ πίστει ἀληθείας

² ἐκάλεσεν ὑμᾶς

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I Am Pleased With You

How does the OT connect with the NT? Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you pick up any bible the first three-quarters of the book is the Old Testament. But, where do we spend most of our time and energy? We spend most of our time in the New Testament. And that is proper and good, since, in the New Testament we see Jesus so very clearly. But what does the Old Testament have to do with Jesus? In the words we read from the beginning of Mark we see that they are intricately connected to the Old Testament. Mark tells us: “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”” (Mark 1:9–11 NIV)

John baptizes Jesus. And when that happens the sky tears itself open. The Holy Spirit comes down and rests on Jesus. And God, the Father says “You are my son; my beloved one; I am perfectly pleased with you.”¹ And there, right there we have an impressive and important bridge between the Old Testament and New Testament. Did you hear it? Did you understand it? Did you see the Holy Spirit bridging the gap between the Old and New Testaments?

You see, when God, the Father says “You are my dear Son; I am perfectly pleased with you” he is taking us back, deep into the Old Testament. He’s taking us back to the words we read in our first lesson. In the prophet Isaiah we read these words: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;” (Isaiah 42:1 NIV)

Through Isaiah, the Lord says that he “delights in” his servant.² About 800 years before John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan the Lord speaks the same words about his servant as he speaks to Jesus. Here in Mark 1 we find a beautiful bridge between the Old and New Testaments. The servant that is mentioned in Isaiah’s time is Jesus.

And what’s even more impressive is that, as we read through these words in Isaiah 42 we can see Jesus fulfilling them throughout this season of Epiphany. We see this in two ways:

1. Gently: Jesus reaches out and acts gently. Isaiah tells us: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Isaiah 42:3 NIV) What an amazing picture. One of the biggest problems we face is trusting that what God’s word says is true. And the longer we are away from God’s word and his church the more we are like a bruised reed. The reed is so close—so very close to dying. But Jesus does not act quickly or harshly to step on it. We are like a flickering flame and smoldering wick. At any moment we could be extinguished. But gently, carefully he cares for our faith. He tends it so that instead of knowing that there is a god out there somewhere we know who the true God is. We know our Father above. We know this gentle servant, Jesus. And as you travel throughout this Epiphany season leading into Lent you will see many examples of this.




2. Gentiles: Not only does the servant, Jesus reach out gently, he also reaches out to the gentiles. Isaiah tells us: ““I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:6–7 NIV) Jesus is a light for the Gentiles. We who are not children of God by bloodlines get to be children of God by grace. This servant, Jesus shines out to us who dwell in darkness. And again, throughout Epiphany we see this theme fulfilled. Look for it in the weeks to come.

And so, on this day when Jesus is baptized by John, God the Father speaks from heaven, saying “You are my son, my beloved one; I am perfectly pleased with you.” And as we look back to Isaiah we see why the Father was pleased with him. He was pleased with him because Jesus is the gentle servant that Isaiah predicted and promised.

And my brothers and sisters, here is where we see that this gentle servant is exactly what we need. If our Father in heaven opened up the skies and came down to you could he say the same thing? Could he say that he was perfectly pleased with you? Would he see someone who continually and perfectly was careful and gentle with those who weak in their faith? Would he be able to see someone who saw those who were on the outside-looking-in and reached out and brought them in?

With sober and sad reflection, we have to say “no.” God, the Father can say “I am perfectly pleased” to Jesus and about Jesus. But he cannot say that to us as he looks at the many sins we have piled up. But here my brothers and sisters is where the good news is. Jesus wasn’t a perfect servant to inspire you to somehow be better. No, he was a perfect servant as your substitute and savior. Jesus was perfect because you could not be. His perfect service for more than 30 years here on earth and his perfect payment on Good Friday—they are what God sees.

So, with these words the Holy Spirit bridges the 800 year gap between the Old And New Testaments. With these words he so clearly shows that this gentle servant is Jesus, our Savior. But in these words there is more. Mark doesn’t just bridge the gap between the Old Testament and the New. He also bridges the gap between Jesus’ baptism and ours. In the beginning of these words, in verse four we read: “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:4 NIV)

Baptism brings the forgiveness of sins. Why did all these great crowds of people come out into the desert to be baptized? They came to receive the forgiveness of sins.³ But this passage forces us to ask a question. Why did Jesus allow himself to be baptized? Jesus didn’t have any sins to be forgiven. In truth, Jesus did not need to be baptized. But we needed him to be baptized. We needed him to be baptized to fulfill scripture. We needed him to be baptized to show us and all those living at that time that Jesus was officially beginning his ministry as the Lord’s servant. We needed him to be baptized so that our baptisms would have power.

In verses 7-8 John tells the people: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:7–8 NIV) John is the guy who pours the water on the people. But who is the one who wins the forgiveness and brings the forgiveness promised in baptism? Jesus is.

And so, with every good thought and reason, God, the father can look down from heaven and say to his Servant and Son, “I am perfectly pleased with you.” He won your salvation by being the perfect servant you could not be. And he was baptized so that when that water rolls down your forehead and those words reach your ears it would actually do something. Your baptisms bring the salvation to you that the Lord’s servant won for you. And finally then, with all joy and confidence, the Lord doesn’t just say “I am perfectly pleased” to his Son. He says these words to you. Amen.

¹ σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα

² רָצְתָה

³ εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν

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Who Follows A Star?

Do you like surprises? There are those people out there, aren’t there? There are those people out there who like surprises. They like not knowing what might be around the next bend. They like the thrill of having to think on their feet. On the other hand, there is the other group of people. There is the group that likes to see what it coming around the next bend. There is the group that knows that the surest way to make a fool of yourself is to be surprised.

In the words we look at tonight, whether the people were ready or not, God was just about to shock and surprise them. Matthew tells us in chapter two: (Matthew 2:1–3 NIV) “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”

Whether two or twenty—those wise men showed up. And they surprised everyone. The word Matthew uses here is a very powerful word. It describes water that should be calm and smooth. Instead it’s turbulent and torn-up.¹ These wise men showed up and everyone was surprised and scared.

And, as we look at the context of these words there were two huge reasons why Herod and all Jerusalem were surprised and scared. The first reason people were scared was the wise men. It was either really, really good if wise men showed up or really, really bad. Kingdoms rose and fell at the words of wise men. Just look in the Old Testament. Daniel was one of these wise men.² The king Belshazzar was giving a banquet. A hand appeared on the wall and wrote “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.” (Daniel 5:25 NIV) Daniel told Belshazzar that his kingdom would be taken from him and that very night Belshazzar was killed.³ When wise men spoke, people listened.

So, first of all, Herod was surprised and scared. But then very shortly after that all of Jerusalem was surprised and scared. Because if Herod was scared he had usually one way of dealing with the source of his fear. He killed it. In the ten years before Jesus was born Herod killed three of his sons because he was scared that they were trying to take the throne away from him. And, as if that weren’t scary enough, his sister, Salome told him that his wife was plotting against him. And so his beautiful wife that he loved, he killed.⁴ And so all in Jerusalem were surprised and scared. Herod was scared at what the wise men might predict. The people were terrified that when the wise men predicted Herod would persecute.

And so, when these wise men appeared everyone, the king, the scribes—everyone listened to them. But what did they say? What did they want? Matthew tells us: ““Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”” (Matthew 2:2–6 NIV)

In their minds, all of them, from Herod to the lowest servant in the court, they all wanted to know what these wise men wanted. What would drive them to cross the hundreds of miles of desert sand to come to Jerusalem? They didn’t hear them predict the downfall of a nation. But what they did say might have been even worse. They came for one purpose: to worship the newborn king. That was their plan. That was their purpose.

Since these wise men knew that the king of the Jews was just born another question needed to be answered. Where? Where was this king born? Now, my brothers and sisters in Christ, listen very closely to what happens next: “Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”” (Matthew 2:7–8 NIV)

Herod tells them to go and find the king so that he could worship him. Now here is where there is a bizarre twist. Here is where the wise men show that instead of being the wisest men in the room they are the stupidest. Everyone in that room from Herod, all the way down the lowest slave holding a pitcher of water knew what Herod meant. They knew that when he said “worship him,” what he really meant is “so that I can kill him.”

And, my brothers and sisters, in the midst of Herod’s lies we find our sin. It is so very easy for us to look back and know what happened. It’s so very easy for us to look back and see that God took care of everything. God would protect the wise men. He would protect the newborn king. And through him he would take away the sins of the world.

We see this looking back. But it is so very easy for us to forget this today. It is so very easy to see all of the enemies of Jesus waging war against him and his church. It is so very easy to doubt that he has a plan and a purpose. Just look at the last ten years in Iraq. Iraq might have a working democracy. Iraq might even have peace. But the Christian church that used to at least endure in Iraq has all but been driven out. For every two Christians that were in Iraq a few short years ago, there is only one left.

And even worse than this, not only do we doubt that God has a plan and a purpose, but, when he doesn’t come to us in our dreams and tell us exactly what that plan is we are tempted to get so angry with him. For not only does it seem like he is allowing so much evil in the world, but he also seems to go out of his way to make us look stupid.

Just look at those wise men. On that day, in that room, everyone there knew what Herod meant—everyone except the wise men. I don’t know if they were tempted to be angry with God. But I know I have been. There have been many times I have gone into places and into conversations blind. There were times that the only thing that person I was talking to wanted was to tear down the nearest Christian. And when the conversation is done and you’re replaying the tape in your mind of what you and the other person said, at some point you just get angry and say “God you knew this would happen. Why did you let it happen?”

In all of this we see our sin. We sin when we do not trust God’s protection. We sin when are angry at God in our times of persecution. And, as we see our sin, it drives us to look again at those wise men. What sort of people were they? What drove them to cross the desert sand? What drove them to endure Herod’s lies? What drove them to endure such embarrassment? To answer that question we need to see what they saw in the manger: “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” (Matthew 2:11–12 NIV)

After months and months of travel they found him. And when they found him they fell. Gladly, joyfully, they fell before this child. And they didn’t just fall before him in obedience. They fell before him in worship. This was the king who would pay the price for their sin. This was the king who would allow them into his kingdom even though they were not God’s chosen people. This was the king that they met so many months ago in his word and now see face to face.

And tonight we have the same privilege. We have the same privilege of bowing before him and simply worshipping him. For we know what this king did and we know how he did it. We know the king who perfectly trusted his Father in heaven. We know the king who was never angry at his father even when it meant he would die an unfair, unjust death. We know this king and how he ruled. We know the price he paid. We see the victory he proved when he rose.

And so, my brothers and sisters, what sort of a person follows a star? The person who follows a star is the same sort of person who worships a child. Let us ever and always bow before our King, Jesus. For one day, along side those wise men we will see this king. And with the same joy in our hearts we will fall before him. We will worship him. Amen.

¹ ἐταράχθη

² חַכִּים

³ (Daniel 5:31)

⁴ Surburg, Raymond. Introduction to the intertestamental period. p. 47

^{Image courtesy of Stock Xchnge}

Call On The Name Of The Lord

Call on the name of the Lord. When I think of this phrase I think of a story I heard years ago. The story was about the art of translation. A person told me that translating one language into another is like biology class. You’ll remember back to those days in high school. And how was it that you were supposed to learn about how beautiful and wondrous God’s creation of a frog was? The first thing you did was kill it. Then after there was no more life left you then took out a scalpel and cut it apart. Translation can end up being the same sort of thing. There is the danger that when we take these words from their original language and try to convey the beauty of it in english we can end up killing the meaning of the word.

I mention this because there is so much meaning and beauty in that phrase, call on the name of the Lord. We first see it being used in the book of Genesis. The descendants of the unbelievers went to work learning about food, technology and arts. That was their life. That was their god. But the believers—what did they spend their time in? They began to call on the name of the Lord.¹ That phrase means more than you might expect. It means to call to the Lord. It means to call based on the name of the Lord. We would call this preaching. In other words, while the world was so busy and engaged in its hobbies and work, what did the believers spend their time doing? They set aside time for public worship. That is what it means to call on the name of the Lord.

This evening, our psalm is really quite simple. In these words the psalmist invites us to call on the name of the Lord in the fullness of its meaning. He invites us to call to the Lord and speak based on the Lord and his name. And, after giving us the invitation, he gives us real reasons for calling on his name: “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!”” (Psalms 116:1–4 NIV)

The psalmist says “I love the Lord and I called out to him.” Why did he do this? Why did he call out to the Lord? He called out to him because “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me” (Psalms 116:3 NIV) You’ll notice something in how he speaks. He doesn’t give us many details, does he? We might like to know more about what he went through. But, what we do know is enough. What he went through was enough to bring him to the brink of death.

Now this torment could have been an anguish on the outside. It could have been a physical problem. He could have had a disease. He could have been wounded. But the Lord rescued him. But this problem could have instead been a problem on the inside. He could have had something so traumatic happen to him or someone around him that it caused him to doubt his faith and tempt him to despair. And so, the death he speaks of here could have been spiritual death, hell, instead of physical death.

We don’t know all the details. But what we do know is enough. What the psalmist went through was bad—very bad. But the Lord heard him. And perhaps it’s good for us to not know the details. For if we knew the details we might be tempted to say “Well, I didn’t go through that. So this part of God’s word doesn’t apply to me.” But with the wording as open as it is we can find find ourselves in them. For, if you have a pulse and if you live in this sinful world, then whether physically or spiritually, all of you have had times when death was at your door or despair almost overtook you.

And our great sin, especially tonight, as we look back at the past year, is that we know two things. We know that we have had this deep anguish in the past. And we know that the Lord has delivered us. We know these things and yet we forget. We forget that these evil events happened to us. We forget to praise and call on the one who rescued us from them.

And even when we ponder this fact these words very quickly become important to us, don’t they? For here in these words the Psalmist is doing what we so very often do not. The Lord rescued him because he called out to him. And because the Lord rescued him, now he continues to call out to him.

And with these words he invites you to call on his name too. Call on his name because you can look back in the past and see many times that he has rescued you from strangling and entangling of death. And even more times he has rescued you but you can’t see him working with his angels. All that much more so, call out to him because of what he did.

The psalmist continues though. And he answers another question we might have. If we have the question “why did the Lord rescue him,” notice what the answer is: “The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” (Psalms 116:5–7 NIV)

The Lord didn’t rescue the psalmist because he was good enough or smart enough or in any way deserved his help. The Lord rescued him because of who he is. Notice the three words the psalmist uses to describe the Lord:

1. Merciful:² Mercy is this amazing quality where God looks down on us, his fallen creation. And he has pity on us. It’s like all those people out there who never planned on having pets. But, either on the street or in their back yard they saw a dog or cat. And they knew that if they didn’t didn’t take care of it, then it would die. That is the same sort of attitude our Lord has for us.




2. Righteous:³ This right here is the word that Luther stumbled on for months and years. God is righteous. God is holy. God is without flaw or sin. And the only way we can come into his presence is we are holy. And Luther was so joyous and so thankful to be taught by the Holy Spirit that the Holiness God demands he gives to us in Christ. This is the sort of God we have—one who knows how helpless we are, so he declares us “not guilty.” Then in our baptisms he clothes us with the righteousness Jesus won for us.




3. Compassionate:⁴ This word is a very motherly sort of word. It describes the tenderness, the care and the concern a mother has for her children.

The psalmist invites us to call on the name of the Lord and worship him. He invites us to do this because of what he has done in the past. But, even more so, he invites us to do this because of who the Lord is and what he is like. He is merciful, righteous and compassionate. And then, just so that we know what he means, in the next verse, he moves on from abstract adjectives and gives examples of how the Lord shows that he is merciful, righteous and compassionate: “The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me” (Psalms 116:6 NIV)

Simple and small. These are the two types of people the Lord guards and guides. These two words describe the humility we have. As Christians we know how weak and helpless we are. We also know that it is not our job and task to get vengeance. It is not our goal to get even. So, day by day, we learn to call on the name of our Lord. We learn to go to him when we need justice. We learn to cry out to him who is perfectly able to make things right and fair.

Years ago, I remember visiting one of my shut-ins. She was a widow. But every month I stopped over to visit she had her bible on the desk and the offering envelope on top of her bible. She suffered from health problems on the outside and loneliness on the inside. But she had joy and strength in her Lord. For she had learned what the psalmist here sings about. Her goal in her life was not to be more and more self-sufficient. No, instead, her goal was to be more and more Christ-dependent. And so she called on his name daily.

My prayer for you this evening is that the Holy Spirit would continue to give this sort of attitude to you. Call on the name of the Lord. Call on his name because of what he has done for you in the past. But also call on his name because of who he is. He is merciful, righteous and compassionate. And he shows it by guarding the simple and small. Amen.

¹ Gen. 4:26

² חַנּוּן

³ צַדִּיק

⁴ מְרַחֵם

^{Image courtesy of Stock Xchnge}

What Do You See In The Manger?

Seeing isn’t always believing. One of the harsh lessons you learn when you are a child is that the biggest presents aren’t always the best. You found a present under the tree with your name on it. It’s big. It might even be heavy. It has to be a good gift. But, then when you open it, what do you get? Your present is 5 lbs of fruitcake. Fruitcake! You can’t eat it. You can’t use it as a bookend. You can’t even use it as a door stop out of fear that you might damage the door. Oh, but that present looked so good before you opened it.

Sometimes seeing isn’t believing. Sometimes seeing is just simply deceiving. It’s true when it comes to the presents under the tree. It’s even more true when it comes to Jesus, this baby in the manger. And so, this Christmas, since our eyes so easily deceive, we choose a better way of finding the truth. We hear God speaking to us in his word. In the book of Hebrews, chapter one, we read these words: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV)

What do we see there in that manger? In order to answer that question, we will spend our time in this one verse in the book of Hebrews. And, trust me, it’s enough. For, if we ask the question “What Do We See There In That Manger,” the answer here in this verse is far above and beyond what we might see with our eyes. There in that manger we see who God is.

The writer to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV)¹ These are words to pause on and ponder. The glory of God is a very important phrase to understand. God is holy. He cannot sin. And he cannot tolerate sin. Later on in this book, the writer to the Hebrews tells us that our God is a consuming fire.² What does a raging forest fire do to everything it comes in contact with? It devours it.

This is something we so very easily forget. Adam and Eve sinned. And through them all of creation is corrupted by sin. Your are corrupted by sin. I am corrupted by sin. And if we came into contact with God in his glory it would devour us because God’s glory and sin cannot be with each other.

We forget what happened in the garden. We also forget what happened what sin has done to us now. I remember when I was a little child. And there were times after church when my parents would be talking to seemingly everyone they could. So, as so many children, I would start running around in the church. And I remember when I was running by my mom and she quickly grabbed my arm. She looked at me right in the eyes and said: “You don’t run in this house. This is God’s house.”

What was she trying to teach me? She wasn’t just teaching me how to be polite. She was teaching me theology. God is a consuming fire. We tread in his house carefully and reverently. Jesus is a consuming fire.

When we look in that manger, be thankful that you don’t see the glory of God. Be thankful that in his great love for you, God hides himself. He wraps up his punishing perfection in flesh and blood. He covers his consuming fire in strips of clothing.

Jesus’ disciples often forgot this. Towards the beginning of his earthly ministry Jesus went to the temple for the festival. And what he saw there caused him to burn with anger. Instead of worship and prayer he saw stealing and greed. His burning anger moved him to set aside not just the time to weave together a whip. His burning anger moved him to drive all the animals and all the people out of the temple area. The disciples were shocked at how brightly Jesus’ anger burned and how long it burned.

Jesus is God’s glory shining out to us. But he is also much more. The writer to the Hebrews tells us: “The Son is … the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV) If ever there were a more difficult phrase to translate into english, I couldn’t find it. What does “exact representation” mean?³ What does “being” mean?⁴

The word used here, translated at “exact representation” is an impression. Our girls have play-doh. And they have these molds for the play-doh. When you look at the mold, you have a very difficult time figuring out what shape it is supposed to be. But, when you put the play-doh in the mold and press it down, then, when you take it out of the mold, you know exactly what that mold is for.

Jesus is the exact shape. But he’s not the exact expression of a play-doh. He is the exact expression of God’s being. In other words, if you want to know who God is—what he is truly like and who he truly is, then look at this child in the manger.

Every year in our catechism class we teach our children that there are many ways that people can conclude that there is a god. People can look out at creation. They can look up at the stars above or the valleys below and conclude that someone had to make this. And that someone had to be powerful. So also, every person on the face of the planet has a conscience. They all feel bad over what they have done. And they live in fear that when they die there will be someone who will punish them because of their sins.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, what a dismal and abysmal conclusion to reach, because all of that is true. There is a God. He is powerful and he does punish. That is what we see. But seeing can be deceiving. For that is not all of the truth. In Christ, in that baby in the manger we see the rest of the truth. In that manger we do not just see an all-consuming fire. We also see God’s great and amazing grace to us. And, as if to answer the question that immediately pops into our heads, the writer to the Hebrews tells us more about this Son of God. If we ask the question “If God punishes, then what is the other side of the coin? What is the grace and good that he shows to us?” We read: “sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV)

Jesus provided purification for sins. That’s what that child in the manger was for. He was there to be perfect in your place. He was there to grow up so that as a man he could die for your sins. And there is where we really, truly begin to understand who God is. Yes, his glory is a consuming fire. But God pours out all his wrath on that baby in your place. Yes, God’s glory is a consuming fire that does not tolerate sin. So what does God do? He sends to you his word. And through these pages and promises of scripture he gives you faith so that you know not just God’s punishing glory, but also his promise of purification from sins. And the glory that should have burned against you now burns in you.

Years ago, when I was a little child running around in church with too much candy coursing through my veins, I did not know how sinful I was. And I did not fully appreciate that God’s glory is a consuming fire. And it was good to have my mom remind me of this fact. But, my brothers and sisters, there are many today who do not need that lesson. There are many who if they know anything about God at all, that’s all they know—that God is a consuming fire.

And so, my brothers and sisters, above all, when you look at this manger see this: See how God’s consuming fire was poured out on Jesus. See a Savior who purified us from sin. See God’s glory shining out to you and given to you. See who God really and truly is. And then when you have seen this tell others where to look. Tell them not to find salvation in a science lab or in stars in the sky. Show them that they cannot find salvation in the emotions in their hearts or the opinions in their brains. Teach them to look there in the manger. There God’s glory shines out to us. There God’s grace is revealed to us. Amen.

¹ ὃς ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης

² Heb. 12:29

³ χαρακτὴρ

⁴ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ,

Hold Onto The Miracle of Confidence

There are times when we need to hold on. Years ago, when I was a child we used to go sledding in the snow. When I was really young I used to go sledding with my older brother, Del. Then, when I got a little older I was ready to go sledding on my own—or so I thought. Del handed me the round sled. And he told me the most important information I needed to know about that sled. He told me to make sure I held on–no matter what! So, armed with that information I carried that sled up that hill, sat down on it and went down the hill. And the sled did what all of those round sleds do. It picked up speed. I got scared. So I put my hand behind me to stop myself. Then I slid off the front of the sled. The sled filled up with snow and then ran me over. Later on I learned the true name of the sled. It was named the “suicide saucer.”

There are times when we need to hold on. Last week, the writer to the Hebrews told us to hold onto such a great salvation. This week he tells us to hold on too: “But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.” (Hebrews 3:6 NIV)

The writer to the Hebrews tells us to hold onto two things in this verse. First he tells us to hold onto our confidence. The great blessing and gift that we have as Christians is confidence. While the world around us tries to trust their doubt, we have confidence. We have confidence that this little child was born. We have confidence that he was born for us, to take away our sin.

But along with confidence what else do we have? We have a hope-filled boast. We can shout and sing in the darkness and against the darkness that Jesus has taken away our sins and we can look forward to our day of death with courage.

The writer to the Hebrews tells us to hold on. Hold onto your confidence. Hold onto your hope-filled boasting. And this encouragement drives us to ask a question: why should we hold onto our confidence? After all, if something is sure, reliable and certain you don’t need to worry about it, right? But the answer we find tonight is that we do need to hold onto our confidence. We need to hold onto our confidence for one simple reason. The confidence we have is a miracle. Two weeks ago we learned that it is a miracle that God cared for men enough to become one of them. Last week we learned that it was a miracle that Jesus was born of a virgin to save the world through suffering. And tonight we arrive at the last miracle. It is a miracle that anyone believes it at all.

My brothers and sisters, just look at the words that John uses in the beginning of his gospel. John tells us that The Light came into the darkness. But the darkness did not welcome the light it needed.¹ The creator of the world came into the world. But the created did not welcome their creator.² Jesus came to his own. But his own refused him.³ What does this teach us? It is a miracle that anyone believes in Jesus at all.

So few received him when he walked the earth. But has anything changed today? What do the people of today receive? What do they welcome? They welcome a Santa in a sleigh instead of a Savior on a cross. They welcome presents under a tree instead of eternal joy in heaven. They welcome fruitcake for their stomach as if it could somehow fill the deep darkness in their souls. It is a great and amazing miracle that anyone believes in Jesus at all—especially a humble, fragile baby as a rescuer from hell.

So the writer to the Hebrews tells us to hold onto this confidence that we have in Christ. Hold on because it is a miracle and a great gift to have it all. But there’s also another reason to hold onto it. It is a miracle that you can let go of. And, to prove his point, the writer to the Hebrews reminds them of their past: “So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”” (Hebrews 3:7–11 NIV)

Here in these words the writer to the Hebrews is taking us back to the book of Numbers. You’ll remember, there was that time when the Hebrews were just about to go into the promised land. They sent in twelve spies to scout out the land. The spies came back. Two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua said “let’s go, the Lord will be with us.” The other ten spies said “we were like grasshoppers to them. We can never fight against them and win.” The Hebrews listened to the complaining ten instead of the trusting two. The Lord reached the end of his rope. And in his anger he swore an oath. And like so many Hebrew oaths it was a negative oath. In other words, the Lord said to himself: “If I let these people who deliberately, continually, and passionately harden their hearts against me into the land of rest, then how could I be true to my myself?” And the obvious answer was that if let them into the land of rest in Israel or in the land of rest in heaven then he wouldn’t be true to himself. So, he told them that he would not let them into the land of rest. And in their unbelief they threw themselves at the Canaanites—not because they trusted in the Lord. No, they threw themselves at the Canaanites and died in battle because the thought of being in the desert any longer was too much for them to bear.

Now, what is the point that the writer to the Hebrews is making by taking them back to Numbers 14? For 40 years the Lord poured out miracle after miracle, sign after sign to them, wonder after wonder. Every day they woke up to manna they did not make. They wok up to quail they did not catch. This should have proved to them two things: It should have proved to them that God could take care of every need they needed for their bodies. And even more so, God could provide a Messiah to take away their sins. But the Lord’s miracles weren’t enough. No miracle was enough to keep them from abandoning the miracle of confidence he had given to them.

This confidence we have in Christ is a miracle. It is miracle that we have it all. And it is a miracle that we continue to have it. When I was studying these words days ago it made me ponder once again just how powerful sin is. It works with all of its strength to make sure that we don’t believe in this Savior who came into the world. And then when the Holy Spirit gives us this confidence to know Jesus and trust in him, this sinful nature does all it can to drive faith from our hearts. How many people in the Old Testament had this confidence and then let it go? How many people in Jesus’ day had this confidence and lost it? How many people today have this confidence in Christ? And how many will abandon it? Will I?

The writer to the Hebrews knew that if we pondered this miracle of faith at all, we would eventually arrive at that question. So, in our final words this evening, he shares with us some beautiful, encouraging words: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.” (Hebrews 3:12–14 NIV)

He tells us to encourage each other. Encourage each other with what? Notice what he tells us. We have become sharers in Christ.⁴
Yes, we have sin. That sin is real and its power is real. But what else do we have? We have Christ. He belongs to us. And we belong to him.

Encourage each other with that fact. But the writer to the Hebrews isn’t done yet. The writer to the Hebrews says that we are sharers in Christ…if. Let’s talk about this ‘if’ a little. When we hear ‘if’ in english we usually assume doubt and failure with it. This ‘if’ is not that kind of ‘if.’ It is an if based on confidence.⁵ Here in these words he is saying “if you hold on—and I have every reason to believe that you will!” This is an ‘if’ of fact, not an ‘if’ of fiction.

So he tells them that they are sharers of Christ as they hold on. But what will they hold onto? He tells them to hold onto their real start.⁶ The beginning of their life in Christ was real. It was a real miracle. It was a real gift. And then he tells them to hold onto their real start all the way until they reach their reliable finish.⁷ The writer holds out heaven to them at a sure, certain, reliable promise—a finish line that is far more real than what your eyes can see our your feet can feel.

Finally then, if the writer to the Hebrews asked his own people to encourage each other with these words, how can I keep from doing the same with you? Encourage each other to hold onto your confidence in Christ. For it is miracle. Hold onto it by remembering these promises. You share in Christ. You had a real start. And you have the promise of a reliable finish. Amen.

¹ John 1:5

² John 1:10

³ John 1:11

⁴ μέτοχοι γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ

⁵ ἐάνπερ

⁶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ὑποστάσεως

⁷ τέλους βεβαίαν

Are You Embarrassed Of Jesus?

Do you like to be woken up during the night? Whenever I read these words here in 2 Samuel I think of that. I don’t like to be woken up in the middle of the night. I don’t know anyone who does. But in these words there was someone whom the Lord woke up in the middle of the night. We are told that David finally had peace on all sides. And with peace comes spare time. He built himself a beautiful house with beautiful cedar walls. But the ark of the covenant—the place where the Lord dwelled among his people, was still in a tent. So he went the prophet of the Lord, Nathan. He asked him if he could built the Lord a house worthy of his name. Nathan replies with these words: “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Samuel 7:3 NIV11) Nathan should have spoken to the Lord on behalf of David. But he didn’t. So, in the middle of the night, the Lord wakes him up. He tells him to deliver this message to David: “Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’” (2 Samuel 7:5–7 NIV11)

Assumptions can be horrible things, can’t they? David assumed that the Lord wasn’t happy in his humble tent. David assumed that a tabernacle was not worthy of the Lord’s name. And notice how the Lord answers him. He says “are you going to built me a house?” There were dozens of leaders before you, David. Did I ever tell them that that tent wasn’t good enough?”

David was embarrassed of God. And it wasn’t so much that he was embarrassed of God, himself. No, instead he was embarrassed of how the Lord worked. He was embarrassed at how the Lord chose to get his work done. The Lord chose to place his ark in a tent on a dusty, dirty floor. It was good enough for the Lord. It should have been good enough for David.

David’s attitude very quickly and clearly reveals an attitude that can have too. It is ever-so-tempting to look back at how Jesus came to this earth and be embarrassed. Jesus was born as a baby. He was human in every way as any other baby boy was, but was without sin. And it’s not only the beginning of his life we can be embarrassed of. How he ended his earthly life can be embarrassing too. He was born to suffer. He was born to grow up and die. And our greatest embarrassment is there hung on the wall behind me. A cross is where God chose to save.

But, it gets even worse. We are tempted to be embarrassed not just of how Jesus chose to work in his own time. We are also embarrassed of how he chooses to work now. Why do we read God’s word every week from that lectern? There is where he gets his work done today. Why do we spend so much time hearing a guy preach to us who stutters and stumbles in what he preaches? Here is where Jesus gets his work done—through the preaching of this jar of clay.

Why would Jesus attach his body and blood to bread and wine? A child goes to catechism class for two hours every single class for two years. And then that child goes up to that rail and kneels. And it’s so tempting for that child to then say to himself as he’s walking away “Why did I bother? Nothing happened.” And yet, there is where Jesus promises to get his work done. Though the gospel we hear spoken and Jesus’ body and blood which he shares Jesus offers and gives us the forgiveness of sins—yes, even when we are embarrassed of the very tools he uses to deliver that forgiveness to us.

No doubt, when David heard these words he was no longer embarrassed of the Lord and how he works. Instead, he was embarrassed of his own sin. But, very quickly as the Lord spoke, David’s attitude changed to something else entirely: “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.” (2 Samuel 7:11–12 NIV11)

In all gentleness and joy the Lord changes the course of the conversation. He says: ‘No, David, you’re not going to build a house for me. Instead, I’m going to build a house for you.’ In these words there is a word-play. In the Hebrew, the word, house can mean either a building or a bloodline. So, he’s saying to David, you are not going to build me a building. But I will give you a bloodline—and not just any bloodline. Listen to what he says about this bloodline: “He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me ; your throne will be established forever.’ ”” (2 Samuel 7:13–16 NIV11)

In these word there are really two promises. First, he promises that one of his sons will take the throne after him. This son will mess up. He will sin. The Lord will discipline him. And he will repent. But then after this son there will another son, another descendant who will be a king. And this king will be different. He will be different in two ways:

1. He has a unique father: One of David’s sons, one of his descendants will not have a normal, flesh and blood father. Instead, his father will be the Lord.




2. His kingdom will last forever: David’s reign was about to end. And after him, Solomon’s reign would end. But this son who would be born later, his reign would never end.

Today, years later, we don’t have to work too hard to find out who this eternal king is, do we? In the gospel this morning we just got done reading these words: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”” (Luke 1:32–33 NIV)

Jesus is that Son of David and Son of God. It is that eternal king who came to take away the sin of the entire world. It is that eternal king who comes to us through the gospel to deliver this forgiveness to us. It is that eternal king who will come again to bring us to heaven.

David started out embarrassed at his Lord and how he got his work done. But notice where he ended up. He ended up boasting about his Lord and the eternal king that would come through his own family line: ““Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord? “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.” (2 Samuel 7:18–22 NIV)

David boasted in the Lord’s work. But he’s not the only one. Imagine the joy Gabriel had at saying these words to Mary: “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31 NIV) And when Mary heard these words that she would be the mother of this Son of David, what was her response? She told Gabriel: “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38 NIV)

Notice the response all of them had. They all boasted. But they did not boast in themselves. For none of them had anything to do with salvation. The Lord did this by himself. But the boast isn’t just for himself. It is for us too.

And so, my brothers and sisters, if David, Gabriel, and Mary boasted in the Lord, what do you suppose our attitude will be this morning? Boast! Set your embarrassment aside and boast. For Jesus won your forgiveness in his humility. Jesus gives you this forgiveness through a humble gospel today. And boast still more for his return one day will be the opposite of humble. Amen.

Why Did Jesus Have To Be A Baby?

Would I have done it that way? When you come to a section of God’s word, it is good to ask yourself that question: would I have done it that way? When you do, God’s word will surprise you. About a year ago I preached on the part of God’s word which mentions the wise men coming to Jesus and worshipping him. And soon after they are done worshipping him they run back to the east. And Jesus flees to Egypt. Or, to be even more accurate, Jesus’ parents are the ones who flee. And they take their baby with them. When I read those words, I ended up asking that question: would I have done it that way? Would I have sent a Savior from sin who is as frail and weak as a baby? Just think about that. For so many animals, when they have their young, those little creatures are able to stand on their own two feet. They are able to at least run away when danger is near. In Christ—in this baby we find a Savior who is so helpless that he isn’t able to run. That, my brothers and sisters is embarrassing to think of. But, it is vitally important for us to ponder this question and see what sort of answer the Holy Spirit gives us in his word. Why did Jesus have to be a baby? In Hebrews 2, we find these words: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14 NIV)

Notice from these words that there was a very real and important reason why Jesus had to be a baby. There was a very real reason why he had to share flesh and blood just as we do. Why? He was born with flesh and blood so that he could die. This is the sort of answer that is difficult to hear simply because it is so much the opposite of how we might answer the question. We might be tempted to say that Jesus was born so that he could be our hero and destroy sin, death and the Devil. And he did all of that. But how did he accomplish this? The God who is incapable of dying became a baby so that he could die. And so the greatest miracle this world has known will always defy our human hearts. For the infant holy was also the infant lowly. Our God destroyed death by dying.

This is a truth which is worth pondering. But notice how in these words the writer to the Hebrews doesn’t just let Christ’s incarnation be a thought which floats around in the hidden corners of our minds. Christ’s incarnation affects the very heart of who we are and what we face. The writer to the Hebrews tells us: “he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14–15 NIV)

Christ’s death isn’t just an abstract idea. It is also a meaningful fact. Jesus died to set you free from fear. For there are many fears we humans have. But what is the greatest of all fears? Death. We fear the pain involved in dying. We fear what is on the other side of death. We fear the thought of our loved ones dying maybe even more than the fear of ourselves dying. This great and powerful fear enslaves us. That is the tool the Devil uses to tempt us to sin. We sin when we wallow in this fear. We sin when we worship this fear. We sin when we let the fact of death wash away all the comfort of the gospel.

But, my brothers and sisters in Christ, look! Look at what this baby means for you and brings to you. God chose to be a baby so that he could die. And he died not because of his sins. No, he died because of your sins—to take them away forever. Or, as the writer to the Hebrews tells us: He died to make the Devil’s most powerful tool, death useless.¹ This little baby grew up and died for you and for me and for the world. And he didn’t remain dead. He rose from the dead. And his great promise to you is that you will too.

And so you see my brothers and sisters, Jesus had to be a baby; Jesus had to take on human flesh and blood so that he could die. And through his death now, we have no need for or fear of death. And that right there would be a fitting answer to the question, why did Jesus have to be a baby. But the writer to the Hebrews has another answer for us: “For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants” (Hebrews 2:16 NIV)

Notice how the writer to the Hebrews answers the question. Why did Jesus have to be a baby? He needed to be a baby because he didn’t reach out to help angels. Humans were the ones who fell into sin. Humans were the ones who had flesh and blood. So, in order to help humans, he became one.

What follows from here then is another answer to that question, why did he need to be a baby with flesh and blood? We read: “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17 NIV)

He had to be human because he had to be a priest. This, again, is an answer which we might not have expected to hear. But this is a huge theme in the book of Hebrews. What was the purpose of having priests in the Old Testament? Priests prayed and sacrificed. Again and again they sacrificed animals. They killed them and let their blood pour over the altar. And after they were done killing the animals, then they killed more animals. But the blood of these animals never took away sin. What then did they do? They connected the Old Testament believer to blood which would take away sin—perfect, holy blood. Jesus was the perfect priest because he was the perfect sacrifice.

And the same is true with the prayers. Jesus was perfect in all his prayers. Just look at our prayers. When it comes to prayer, our first sin is that we don’t pray much at all. We rob ourselves of this precious privilege. Then when we do pray what is the first word which escapes our lips? “Me. Jesus give me…” And that might even be fine by itself. But so very often we find ourselves wanting and praying for nearsighted, shallow gifts instead of the ones which will last.

Jesus was just the opposite. He prayed continually, perfectly and selflessly. But even more amazing, he prayed like this even from the very days of his infancy. And the result of this perfect praying and perfect sacrifice is very clear. He did what every other priest could not. His service as a priest took away the sins of the world.

Notice then how practical and poignant this answer is. Jesus had to be a baby to be our High Priest. And there is one final thought that the writer to the Hebrews shares with us: “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18 NIV)

Jesus served perfectly and faithfully as our High Priest. This means that your sin is atoned for. But it means much more than that. It means that your merciful Savior is able to help you. He knows what it is to suffer. He knows what it is to be tempted. This is an amazing truth to share, my brothers and sisters. You can take this truth and share it with adults. Jesus was an adult. He knows all the temptations you go through as adults. But even more than this, he knows what it is like to be a teenager. He knows exactly the temptations teenagers go through because he was there, sharing our flesh and blood, living out those teenage years perfectly. Oh, and don’t forget, Jesus knows what it is like to be a baby. He knows the temptations that those little tiny babies go through. Why? Because he was one of them. He was tempted in every way that babies are but was without sin.

And so, when you are tempted, remember these words. Jesus knows your pain. Jesus knows your pressure. And even more so, when you give in to temptation, return to the sacrifice that Jesus made for you. For his blood covers that sin too.

It is a great and amazing miracle that Jesus became a human. But even more so, it is an amazing mystery and miracle that he became a baby. He became a baby so that he could die and take away your fear of death. He became a baby so that he could help you in all your temptations throughout all your life. Amen.

¹ ἵνα διὰ τοῦ θανάτου καταργήσῃ τὸν τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου, τοῦτ᾿ ἔστιν τὸν διάβολον,

Why Would God Care For Man?

Which is easier? It is easier to get into a raft and then float down a raging river? Or is it easier to jump onto a raft that is already riding down a raging river? The answer is clear and obvious, isn’t it? Get on at the beginning. This evening we aren’t going to do that. We are starting our Midweek Advent series in Hebrews 2, not Hebrews 1. So, I’m going to do my best to bring you on board.

Here in the beginning of chapter 2, the writer to the Hebrews holds out to his people this warning: “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” (Hebrews 2:1 NIV)

The writer starts out these words with a stern, severe warning. He tells them that they need to hold onto what they have heard. If they don’t, they will drift away. And in the verses which follow, detail by detail, he lets them know how great a punishment is waiting for them if they let this great and amazing gift of salvation slip from their grasps. In the words which follow the writer to the Hebrews shows them how real this salvation is and how true God’s word is.

1. God wanted to let them know that his message was real and serious by not just sending anyone to share it. God sent his powerful angels so show and prove his sincerity. Now can you understand why Gabriel was so angry with Zechariah? The angel Gabriel goes to Zechariah serving at the temple. He tells Zechariah that his son will be the second Elijah, the one who would plow and pave a way for the Lord to come. Zechariah doubted. Just think about that. God sent an angel to him. And he responds by doubting. Not surprisingly, Gabriel rebuked him and disciplined him. He tells him that he is the “Mighty one of God.”¹ God cared for his people so much that he sent angels to share his truth with them.
2. Not only were there angels. There were also human witnesses. There were patriarchs. There were prophets. There were apostles. There were so many of their fellow believers to affirm that God’s word was true and salvation was real.




3. There were angels. There were witnesses. But God, himself testified that his word was true and his salvation was real with signs, wonders and powers.




4. And you would think that that would be enough. But he did more. He sent to us his Spirit. And his Spirit poured out his gifts into us. He gave us faith to know this salvation and trust in it.

The writer gives them four unshakable proofs showing that God’s word is true and their salvation is real. Then he asks them the question: how will you escape? If you are careless with so great a salvation, how will you escape punishment?

These are piercing and powerful words, aren’t they? I look into myself and find many ways and many times that I have not held onto the words I have heard. There have been those times that God has gone out of his way to show me that his word is true. But I doubt. There have been so many times that God has shown me what is good and bad in his word and I debate. There have been so many times that God has shared with me his salvation and I respond by despising this great salvation. And I despise him in the exact same way as the Hebrews—not with outbursts of anger, but instead, with cool, careless apathy.²

The writer holds out to you and to me the same warning as he did to his Hebrews: Hold onto this great salvation. Because if you let it slip away, how will you ever escape punishment in hell?

The writer to the Hebrews starts out with real warning of wrath. But, in the words which follow he gives us another reason to hold onto this great salvation. The writer to the Hebrews tells us: “But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (Hebrews 2:6 NIV)

Very quickly, the writer to the Hebrews is going to talk about Jesus. But what does he talk about first? He talks about us. He steps back and ponders a question from the psalms: what sort of thing is mankind that you would continually keep him in your mind? What sort of thing are the sons of men that you would continually care for them?

It’s a really good question, isn’t it? For if we think about it even a little bit, there are many, many reasons why God should not care for us nor keep us in his mind. Humanity at its best isn’t very much. Look at Adam and Eve in the garden. Look at them before they fell into sin. Neither of them was as pretty or powerful as the spirits of wind and fire, the Lord’s angels. Humanity at its best wasn’t very much. And yet, we see the Lord doting on them and fawning over them. We see such concern and care as he creates these humans and cares for them.

And if humanity wasn’t much before the fall, then what is it worth after the fall into sin? How many thousands and millions of humans has the Lord allowed into this world who are born hating him? We are not worth thinking about. We are not worth caring for. We are worth throwing away so that the Lord can move onto bigger, better tasks. We are worth being thrown away like the spiritual garbage we are.

Notice how the writer to the Hebrews asks the sort of questions we don’t want to ask. It has become popular to ask the sort of questions which point the finger at our God above. It has become popular to ask “if God was truly good, then why did he allow sin into the world at all?” It is a question that has no answer and pretends to know more than God does. But the writer to the Hebrews points the finger at you and asks the real question: why should God care about you?

It’s the sort of question that is impossible to answer, isn’t it? It’s the sort of question that makes you think that there is no answer. But, my brothers and sisters in Christ, there is an answer. Listen to what the writer to the Hebrews tells us: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9 NIV)

The answer that we cannot find by ourselves or in ourselves we find here. The grace of God is the answer. So great is his love for the unlovable that he gave such a great salvation to us. And in our final verse he describes what this grace means for us: “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.” (Hebrews 2:10 NIV)

It is fitting. It’s not surprising. It’s just makes sense that a God who says that he is gracious, then shows that he is gracious by bringing Jesus to his glorious goal. Notice then the three ways God shows his grace:

1. God brings Jesus to his goal, for whom and by whom the universe was made. God created the universe for humans. But do not forget, that God created the universe for Jesus and by Jesus. Why? He created the universe for Jesus so that Jesus could rescue the universe from the wrath of its sin through suffering.




2. God brings Jesus to his goal of glory. But what is Jesus doing? He is leading many sons to glory. Oh, my brothers and sisters, how great is the grace of our God that he isn’t just concerned about humans to save them. No his grace is so great that he saves them by becoming one of them. He breathes our air. He is surrounded by us sinners. And one by one, he brings us, his brothers and sisters to our goal of heaven through suffering—but not our suffering. He brings us to heaven through his own.




3. God brings his son to his Son to glory for a final reason. He brings him to glory because, if Jesus started this work of salvation then he needed to finish it. And the only way it could be finished was through suffering. The only way Jesus could finish the work of salvation was to taste death in our place.

How great is God’s grace that he gives us an answer to the question. How great is this salvation that Jesus would show his undeserved love by becoming our brother and saving us through suffering. What a great miracle. What a great truth.

Let me leave you tonight where we began. As the writer to the Hebrews told his people to not let go of what they heard, I say the same to you. Do not let what you heard from God’s word drift away. Do not let cool and careless apathy wash away your joy. Instead hold onto this great salvation. For God thinks about you and cares for you. And he proved this by becoming one of you. Amen.

¹ גַּבְרִיאֵל

² τηλικαύτης ἀμελήσαντες σωτηρίας

What Is The Problem With Repentance?

Forgiveness and repentance go hand in hand. Every Christian knows this. In order for you to get into heaven you need to have both repentance and forgiveness. But, as soon as we start to reflect on that fact, there enters into our minds another question: how much do we need? How much repentance do we need?

About 150 years ago there was a pastor in the old Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. His name was C.F.W. Walther. And he was taught that in order to be forgiven he had to be repentant. But, that’s not all he was taught. He was taught that the only way to know if his sins were forgiven is if he were truly forgiven is if he were truly repentant. And so, before he would go into church to confess his sins, he would spend minutes and hours thinking of all his sins he had committed. And then when he had remembered them all he then tried to make himself feel sorry—truly sorry for each and every one of those sins. He drove himself to the point of a nervous breakdown because he was taught that the only way a person could know that his sins were forgiven is if he were truly repentant.

And there’s the problem with repentance. How do we know if we are truly repentant? How do we know if we are repentant enough? That is a real question which deserves a real answer. So, as always, we turn to God’s word for answers. And this morning, at the beginning of the book of Mark we meet a man named John. John was the cousin of Jesus. And it was John’s call and ministry to prepare the way for the Messiah to come. And in that context we learn about repentance: “It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” — “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:2–4 NIV)

John the Baptizer preached a baptism of repentance. In order for us to answer the question of how much repentance we need to get forgiveness, we first need to answer another question: What is repentance?

The word that John uses here means a change.¹ Repentance is a change in your heart. It is a change in your mind. It is a change in your whole attitude. And we see this change showing itself in two ways. First, there is a change in your attitude toward sin. Where there is repentance there is an intense hatred toward sin. Repentant hearts look out at the world. And when they see sin there, they say “yuck!” And even more important, when they see sin in themselves, even more so, they say “yuck!” Repentance is a change in attitude toward sin. We used to say “yes” to sin. We used to rejoice in sin. Now we say “yuck.”

We see this so clearly shown here in the words of Mark: “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” (Mark 1:5 NIV)

Many, many people came out to wilderness to be baptized by John. But what did they also do? They confessed their sins. Their attitude toward sin had changed. They hated what they used to love. And this repentance didn’t just show in what they said. It also showed in what they did. When Luke writes about John the Baptizer and his ministry, he tells us: ““What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”” (Luke 3:10–14 NIV)

Repentance is a change in attitude toward sin. Repentance is also a change in our attitude toward our Savior. We used to love our sin and hate our Savior. Repentant people love their Savior and hate their sin. For Jesus is the one who rescues us from sin, death and the Devil.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, now that we know what repentance is we can then tackle the problem of repentance. How much repentance do we need? How many sins do we need to confess? How bad do we need to feel when it comes to our sin? How joyous do we need to feel when it comes to our Savior? In Psalm 19, King David writes: “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.” (Psalms 19:12 NIV)

You see, David gets at the real issue here. Our sinful natures are so big and expansive that we are only aware of a very small portion of the sins we commit. Almost all of our sin is hidden like an iceberg in the ocean. We see only a tiny bit peaking out of the top of the water. But most of it is hidden below. So, my brothers and sisters, you will never be able to confess all your sin—never. Why? Because you will never know how sinful you really are.

How powerful is our sinful nature! Not only does it hide how bad it really, truly is from us. But it also convinces us that we can earn our way to heaven by confessing our sin. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul writes: “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.” (Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV)

Grace, salvation and faith are the opposite of works. And they are the opposite of boasting. But notice how wretched our sinful natures are. They want us to find proof that our sins are forgiven not in Christ’s work for us. No, instead they want us to find proof in ourselves. They want us to say I know that my sins are forgiven because I spent this long confessing my sins; I felt this bad about my sins; I felt this good about Jesus. That, my brothers and sisters, is boasting. And it’s a weird, perverse boasting.

If the problem of repentance is knowing how much we need to be repentant, then this is the solution: knowing that there is a change in us but not putting some sort of measure on what that change needs to be. It is enough to know that we are sinful and confess it. For, as David reminds us, we will never be able to know how many our sins are or how evil they are. We cannot feel as bad as we need to about our sins because we will never know how many and how evil our sins are. And it is enough to confess our sins because we will never be able to fully appreciate how truly wonderful Christ and his forgiveness. And that is the fact that so many clinically depressed people have rejoiced in over the years. They might not feel the joy that should be there as much as others. But their feeling about Christ and his forgiveness doesn’t change the fact. Their feelings don’t change the forgiveness Jesus won for them and gives to them.

And so, my brothers, when it comes to repentance it is enough to have a change in attitude toward sin and toward your Savior. But there is another problem with repentance to tackle this morning: where does repentance come from? Does it come from us? Or does it come from God? Mark tells us: “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:4 NIV)

Notice, my dear friends, what does baptism bring? This baptism brought repentance.² This baptism brought to them the forgiveness of sins.³ And, to highlight this fact even more, just a couple of verses later, John the Baptizer tells us: “I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”” (Mark 1:8 NIV)

John was there clearly and openly saying “I’m here putting water on this person and speaking the name of the Triune God over this person. But who is the one doing the work? Jesus and the Holy Spirit are.” And the same is true today. A pastor is replaceable. He is the one who pours water on the person. He is the one who speaks the words. But who is the one who gives the forgiveness? Who is the one who gives the Holy Spirit through that water? Who is the one who causes repentance? Jesus is.⁴

I say this because in so many ways, telling someone to repent is like using kind, gentle words to make a rabid dog calm down. Kind words will not make a rabid, angry dog calm down and be nice to you. Telling someone to repent is much the same using logic and reason to speak to a rabid dog. The person is unable to respond. Repentance doesn’t come from inside us. It comes from outside us. It comes from God’s word. Jesus isn’t just the one who demands repentance. He is also the one who gives repentance. He gives repentance through the preaching of his word. When we hear God’s word, it works miracles. Through God’s word he changes our attitude toward sin. Now we hate sin. Through God’s word Jesus changes our attitude toward him. We used to hate him. Now he is our priceless treasure. But Jesus, in his great love for us, does even more. He attaches his word to water. And it does for us the same thing that the word does. It produces repentance. It gives to us the forgiveness that Jesus won for the world.

When it comes to repentance there are these problems and questions in our hearts: how much repentance and where does it come from. Let your hearts be at rest. We need a change in attitude toward our sin and our Savior. Rejoice that this change did not come from you. It came from your God above. He gave you repentance as a free gift. He gave your forgiveness in baptism as a full promise. Amen.

¹ βάπτισμα μετανοίας

² objective gen. or gen of product

³ Telic εἰς

⁴ Acts 5:31, Acts 5:31, 2Tim. 2:25.

Why Did The Lord Send A Flood?

Genocide. When it comes to what the Lord did in Noah’s time, there is no other word to describe it. The Lord killed and destroyed all humans on the face of the planet except for eight people. What other word could you use? The Lord committed genocide. And ever after that day all humans have struggled to deal with that fact. The pagan unbelievers of long ago dealt with the fact of the flood by adding the flood to their mythology stories. If they spoke about the flood in the same way they spoke about their made-up gods, then the reality of it would fade away. The unbelievers today say that no good god would send a flood to destroy his own creation. The unbelievers today say that the flood never even happened.

All people, of all ages since Noah have wrestled with the flood. How could a good, forgiving God send such a powerful, devastating flood? That is the question that Moses tackles this morning in Genesis six: “When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.” (Genesis 6:1–2 NIV)

When we speak about the Lord destroying the world with a flood, it might be tempting to think that one day he all-of-a-sudden thought it would be good to send a flood. But when we look in the bible we see a different picture. We see a patient, loving God who is worn down by the evil he sees in his creation.

And what is the first evil he sees? The sons of God married the daughters of men. This is a strange phrase at first. When we see the words “sons of” in the bible they can go two directions. They can either mean the literal blood descendants of someone. Or they can show us a strong connection to something.¹ In these words the “sons of” shows us those who have a strong connection to God. In other words, Moses here is speaking about believers. The daughters of men were then unbelieving women.

So the Lord looks down and sees that the believing men were marrying unbelieving women. But, before we go any further, we need to realize that the fact that they were marrying unbelieving people wasn’t the real issue.² Both Paul and Peter in the New Testament acknowledge the fact that there were believing people married to unbelieving people. And neither Paul nor Peter told them that what they needed to do was leave their unbelieving spouses.

The sin isn’t that they married unbelievers. The sin was why and how they married them. Some of the believing men married the unbelieving women so that they could not be under the burden of having to hear God’s word all the time. Others married unbelieving women not counting the cost. Instead of making sure the women they were about to marry understood that they would always “play second fiddle” to their Lord above, they let their unbelieving wives take the first place in their lives. And no one can serve two masters. They ended up choosing their godless wives instead of their Lord above.

So, you see, it wasn’t as if the Lord woke up one day and said “you know what, I think I’ll start over today.” It was gradual. He saw an entire generation worship their unbelieving wives. He saw their children then growing up having never heard of the Lord.

But, my brothers and sisters, it gets worse. Moses tells us: “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them.”” (Genesis 6:5–7 NIV)

Instead of itemizing, detailing and coming up with a huge list of the sins they committed, what does Moses do? He doesn’t tell us what they did. He tells us who they were. He tells us what they were like on the inside. And notice the three ways he does this. First, all their thoughts were only evil. Second, they were only evil all the time.

Year after year, decade after decade, century after century the Lord looked down and saw them. First he saw believers who worshipped their spouses instead of their God. And after that he saw one generation out do the one before it in rejoicing in evil.

Finally then, in verse 11 we hear the final verdict: “So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them.”” (Genesis 6:7 NIV) The Lord resolved to wipe the world clean like you do when you’re cleaning out a messy bowl.

And just in case anyone who was reading the words before this was asleep, Moses says the same thing in different words, answering that question ‘why’:
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.” (Genesis 6:11 NIV) The word the NIV translates here as “corrupt” is the word used for rotten food.³ A little while ago I sat down with the girls and carved their pumpkins with them. They were so excited. But then, after I opened up the top on Priscilla’s pumpkin, I saw that the pumpkin was filled with mold. Now, let me ask you, what do you think I did with the pumpkin? Do you think I let her play with the moldy, corrupted pumpkin? Do you think I let her get it on her hands or anywhere near her? No, I threw it out. If that is what anyone with any common sense does with a rotten pumpkin, what do you do with a rotten, corrupted world? You wipe it clean by getting rid of all the rotten, corrupted parts.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, Moses didn’t write these words for the people of Noah’s time. He wrote them for the people after Noah. He wrote them for you. Yes, he wrote these words as a sort of window into what life was like back then and why the Lord would send a flood. But he also wrote them as a mirror. He wrote them as a mirror to show us that we too have a sinful nature that is only evil all the time. He wrote these words to show us how evil it is to set people, places and things in our lives above the Lord. For the answer to the question is not a pretty one is it? If the Lord sent a flood to wipe the world clean of sin, then see very clearly that the Lord will most definitely send another flood to destroy the universe with fire.⁴

Moses lifts up this mirror into our lives to show us our sinful nature and our need for repentance. But Moses also has another reason to speak of the flood: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God” (Genesis 6:8–9 NIV)

The world was rotten. But Noah was different. Noah found favor with the Lord. Noah was righteous. The question we ask is ‘how?’ How is it that Noah was righteous? In the New Testament, Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness.⁵ But, my brothers and sisters, he wasn’t a preacher of his own righteousness. He was a preacher of Christ’s righteousness.

You see, Noah was righteous the same way we are: through Jesus. The promise that the Lord had made in the garden to Adam and Eve that there would be a man who would come and crush Satan he gave to Noah and his sons.⁶ Noah believed in the Savior to come who would crush Satan. And Noah’s Savior is our Savior. Jesus kept that promise and covenant by never, ever sinning even once. In stark contrast to all the people on the face of the planet who were filled with violence and were only evil all the time, Jesus was perfect and holy. Jesus forgave your sins by being perfect in your place. Jesus forgave your sins by enduring the punishment you deserved on the cross. And in those waters of baptism Jesus wipes you clean. Look how Peter describes these waters of baptism in our second lesson this morning: “In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.” (1 Peter 3:20–21 NIV)

Just as God wiped the world clean in Noah’s day with water, so also he wipes us clean with water and word. Baptism doesn’t wipe the dirt off of our skin. It wipes the sin off of our souls. As Peter tells us: it saves us. It brings the Salvation that Jesus won for us and delivers it to us so that we know when the Lord comes for us on Judgement Day he will not come to destroy us. No, instead, he will come to rescue us.

Finally then, since the Lord flooded the world with water then and will flood the world with fire any day now, how should you live? How should you make your way through this world? Remind yourselves and teach your children this: It is good to have a spouse. But it is essential to have a Savior. Remind yourselves and teach your children that the rice thrown at you on your wedding day means so very little compared to the water poured on you on your Baptism day. Amen.

¹ e.g 1Th. 5:5; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 9:26; John 12:36; et multa

² cf. 1Cor. 7:14; 1Pet. 3:1

³ וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ

⁴ 1 Pet 3:3-7

⁵ 2 Pet 2:5

⁶ Gen 6:10

Every Good And Perfect Gift is From Above

Sometimes it is good to be surprised. A long time ago I was in a spelling bee. I had won the spelling bee at my school. And from there I went to the “all-city spelling bee.” I felt pretty good about myself the first round. I had a pretty easy word to spell. But then the second round came. The word I was given to spell was “phlegm.” I hadn’t heard that word ever before. So I took a shot in the dark—and, of course, was wrong. That was a surprising, shocking day. I had been so proud of myself, that I had won my school’s spelling bee. But, then to lose in the second round of the All-city spelling bee—that was shocking, surprising and embarrassing.

But, looking back, it was good to be surprised. I saw so very clearly at that time that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. And even more, I saw who it was who gave me the knowledge I did have. Months later I came across this verse in the book of James which confirmed my conclusion: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17 NIV)

Everything you have and are is from God. It is a simple thought. But, it really deserves some deep pondering. What James says here is very, very important. First, he says that every good act of giving is from God.¹ Just like me at that spelling bee, God has a way of surprising and shocking us with the truth. Every good act of giving is from God. In other words, the only one who can give from a good and pure heart is our Father above.

Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. All of us, because we have a sinful nature, is unable to give in a loving and selfless way. Just look at the gifts parents give to their children at Christmas. I always wondered why parents and grandparents gave so much stuff to those children at Christmas. At first I thought that it was out of love for the children. But then I grew a little older and realized that, because we have a sinful nature, the biggest reason we give gifts is for ourselves. We like to be known as the great gift-giver. We like to see those little children lose their sanity as they unwrap those presents. Whenever we give, we do so to get. Our Father above is not like that. He is the only one who is able to give with pure thoughts and motives.

Every good giving is from our Father above. But the second part of that verse is just as surprising and important. Every act of giving is from our Father. But every gift is also from our Father.² So very often we shatter the first commandment not because we give gifts. No, instead we shatter the first commandment because we forget who gave us those gifts. All the good gifts we have to give others came from one place. They came from heaven.

Remember this the next time someone thanks you. There is nothing wrong with saying “thank you.” But there is everything wrong and evil with forgetting who it is who gave us every gift we have—especially the gifts we give to others.

Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above. This shows us how real and strong our sinful nature is. We think that we can give perfectly. We think we deserve what we have. We think we can forget who gave us all the blessings we have. This shows us how strong our sinful nature is. But this also shows us how sincere our Savior is.

The last part of verse 17 is truly beautiful: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 NIV)

Every good giving and perfect gift comes down from the Father. Now, what follows is strange to our ears. Just what exactly does James mean when he says “the Father of the heavenly lights”? (James 1:17 NIV) James expresses a very biblical and Hebrew way of saying that our Father is the Father of pure light.³ Pure light is powerful and dependable. It does not change. However shadows do, don’t they? A couple of months ago I was seriously considering buying a sun dial. But the directions for setting it up and maintaining it were only a little less complicated than the directions for running a nuclear submarine. And what made them so difficult is the fact that, if you try to tell time by looking at the shadows then you will never be able to truly depend on it—because it always changes.

Now, what is the point James is making? When our Father gives a complete and perfect gift, you can depend on it. And what I love about James is that, at just the point where we start thinking “what sort of gift do you mean, James”, he gives us an example of what he means: “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth” (James 1:18 NIV)

What gift does James highlight? What sort of gift does he emphasize? He emphasizes the gift of faith. First, who is choosing whom? Do we choose him? No, he is the one who chooses us. Second, what did our Father choose to do? He chose to give us birth. As we spoke about on Sunday, every human being needs to be born again. Why? We need to be born again because when we come into this world we are spiritually dead. We hate God and we show it in our thanklessness thoughts and actions. And third, just what exactly does the Father use to bring us to faith? His word is the instrument he uses.

Now, put these two verses together. If our Father gives us gifts that are dependable. And if our faith in Christ is a gift from God, then what can we conclude? This gift of faith is both good and dependable. Jesus has died for the sins of the entire world. He has given us a new birth through his word. Do we then have to fear that our Father will suddenly, arbitrarily, capriciously take away our connection to Christ? No. For just as the son in the sky is dependable, so also is God’s Son in heaven.

Every good and perfect gift is from above. Our Father who does not change has given to us a gift which will not change like shifting shadows. And this leaves us with one final question: why. Why did our Father give us new birth? James tells us: “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” (James 1:18 NIV)

He gives us faith so that we would be fruit—and not just any fruit. He gave us faith that we would be his firstfruits. This is a strange picture, isn’t it? Who of us wants to be a fruit? But, when you understand this word in its context, it’s a very beautiful picture. In the Old Testament the Lord had his people give to him their firstfruits. So, you have to picture this. Picture a family harvesting their crop. And the first in time and the best in quality goes to the temple.

The irony in this verse is absolutely beautiful. Adam and Eve rebelled in the garden. They lost any right to be called God’s chosen or his best. They lost any right to be called “the Father’s firstfruits.” And we lost that right along with them. But our Father, only out of his pure grace gave us a new birth through water and word. Now, in his eyes, we are his firstfruits. We are his chosen.

My father-in-law is a gardener. And when we visited there last he had a bunch of vegetables carefully spread out on the kitchen table. And on each plate, attached to one of the vegetables, was a ribbon. You see, he had entered them in the local fair. And he won ribbons and awards for the best looking and best quality of vegetables. He had them there to show them off—and why not? For they were really nice vegetables.

My brothers and sisters, if gardeners show off their fruit, why should it surprise you that your Father in heaven would show you off. For you are his firstfruits. He chose you from eternity. He sent his son to take away all of your sins. He scrubbed your dirty sins clean in those waters of baptism. And now he shows off his work.

How surprising and humbling that our Father would choose us as his firstfruits. We could not earn this new birth that our Father gives to us. We couldn’t even ask for it. But now that we have it and now that we are his firstfruits, what can we do? We can thank him. We can thank him by remembering who it was who gave us our gifts. We can thank him by acting like the firstfruits he has chosen us to be. We can thank him by cherishing the fact that our Father does not change like shifting shadows.

For, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17 NIV) Amen.

¹ πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ…ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς

² καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον…

³ §136f: Plural of intensity (Joüon–Muraoka, 470.)

^{Image courtesy of Stock Xchnge}

Judgement Is A Matter Of Life and Death

Why do we need witnesses? I want you to picture a trafic accident. There’s a fender-bender. And there’s two people arguing on the side of the road. Each person says the other person is at fault. The police show up. And the police officer doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t have enough evidence to figure out who was to blame. So what does he do? He Looks for a witness—or two or three. And with these witnesses he is able to piece together what happened.

Witnesses are important. And if they are important in everyday, earthly matters, how much more important are they in heavenly matters? In the words we look at this morning, John the evangelist is a witness. And what he sees he shares with us: “I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God” (Revelation 20:4 NIV)

What sort of life does John see here? In answering this question the first topic we need to tackle is what John did not see. There are many Christians who see this passage as proof that, at some point in the future, Jesus will come down from heaven and reign in Jerusalem for a thousands years. This teaching that many hold and teach is clearly and boldly against what John shows us here.

So, if John is not speaking about Jesus reigning here on earth for a thousand years, then what is he speaking about? Notice the details John gives to us. First, John sees beheaded souls. He sees the spirits of those Christians who have fought the good fight, ran their race and have taken their place in heaven. John does not see bodies and souls. He just sees souls.

Second, notice who is reigning with whom. In other words, does Jesus come down to Jerusalem here and set up shop? Or do Christians who have died now join Jesus in heaven? It’s the second option, isn’t it? These Christians join Jesus and reign with him in heaven.

Finally then, how long do these souls reign with Jesus? They reign with him for a thousand years. The number 10 is the number for completeness in the bible. Earlier on in Revelation we are told that the sum total of people in heaven is 144,000.¹ Then, immediately after John gives us this number he then tells us that this 144,000 is more than anyone can count.²

I mention this for one reason. The number 10 in the book of Revelation is very often a figurative number. It is the number of completeness. In this context it is the number of the complete amount of time until Judgement Day. Those who have died in Christ are there in heaven. And right now they are reigning with him for a perfect, complete amount of time in heaven.

So notice, my brothers and sisters in Christ, John shows us what he sees. He sees life and he shows us. But he also shows us death. In verse 5 we read: “(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)” (Revelation 20:5 NIV)

These words are an example of the fact that the NIV, the translation we use in our church is not perfect. The translators could have done a better job with this verse and the verse which came before this. In the previous verse we read that the saints in heaven “came to life.” The better and clearer translation is just simply the word “live.”³ In other words, when Christians die they don’t really die. Sure, physically, they die. The body returns to the earth and slowly returns to dust and ashes. But what happens to their souls? Do you remember Jesus’ words to Martha?: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25–26 NIV)

Christians never die. Even when we die physically, at that very moment we will continue to live with Jesus in heaven. Christians never die. But notice that the other side of the coin is also true. Just as Christians live in Christ now, when we die we live with Christ, so also, those who stubbornly refuse and reject Jesus now don’t really live. They don’t enjoy the blessings of forgiveness and comfort that Jesus freely and truly gives to them. And when they die they will continue to be dead. They will continue to not enjoy Christ and the forgiveness he won for them and gives to them. Why? Because with all their strength and with all their might they opposed him. They didn’t have the real life here on earth. And for the entire length of time until Judgement Day they continue to not have life. So, I don’t do this very often, but in these words here in verses 4 and 5, I urge you to correct the words “came to life” to read “lived.”

Now, at this point, you might be saying to yourself “Thank you John for showing us what you saw. But what I would really appreciate is if you were to explain what you saw. What does all of this mean?” And, if that is your question, then John is more than happy to give you an answer in the words which follow: “This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:5–6 NIV)

Notice then, that there are two deaths and two resurrections. The first death is the one you are born into. Every human comes into this world very physically alive, but very spiritually dead. And they show this spiritual death in their actions. Every parent knows this. Parents, did you have to teach your children to be good or to be bad? How many hours and years have you spent teaching, training, telling your children not to be bad? Indeed, all of us come into this world dead. We hate God and run from him.

If then, a person dies in this condition then they will endure the second death. If a person dies not knowing Christ now then they will live forever in hell not ever knowing him.

So those are the two deaths. But what about the two resurrections? The first resurrection is that instant and moment that Jesus converts our hearts and gives to us this amazing gift of faith. The apostle, Paul tells us: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:4–5 NIV)

Now, notice what John says about this first resurrection: “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them…” (Revelation 20:6 NIV) Through water and word Jesus raises you from spiritual death. Because of this, even if you were to die tonight you would live and reign with Jesus forever in heaven. Because you have the first resurrection—faith in Christ, you will enjoy the second resurrection on the Last Day.

Everything that is theological is practical. And notice how that is true in the words which follow. You see, it’s not just some interesting bit of knowledge that there are two lives and two deaths. They are a matter of life and death. Why? Judgement Day will come at any time. That complete, perfect amount of time—that 1000 years will end. And then, what will that look like?: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.” (Revelation 20:11 NIV)

Judgment Day comes. The King of Kings and Lord of lords takes his seat. And what happens next?: “Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them” (Revelation 20:11 NIV) Jesus takes his seat and all the unbelievers run. But there’s no place to hide.

Then what happens?: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it…” (Revelation 20:12–14 NIV) Nobody can run, nobody can hide. You can’t hide in the sky, on the ground or even in the sea.

Notice then what happens next. There are two books. In one book all of your thoughts, words and actions are written down and read aloud. Now, that would be fine if our thoughts, words and actions were perfect, holy and clean. But, they are not. There have been so many times you have thought evil, hate-filled, selfish thoughts. There have been so many times you have acted on those thoughts. And with this book, Jesus proves that you do not deserve to live and reign with him in heaven. Instead you deserve Hell.

But look! there’s another book. It’s a little book. And inside of it are not records of sins and shame. Inside of it are just names. Now you see that all this talk about two lives and two deaths is important. For only those who have the first resurrection will not be thrown into the lake of fire. Only those who hate their sin and cling to Jesus will escape this second death. Now you see that this Judgement Day which could come at any time is a matter of life and death.

We deserve to be in that lake of fire. But because Jesus has given to us this gift of faith, what will happen to us on that Last Day? John tells us: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2 NIV)

Did you ever notice that brides are very concerned about their dresses? The bride wants to find the perfect dress. It has to look perfect. It has to fit perfectly. It has to be perfectly clean and white. The brides obsess about the dress all the days leading up to the wedding. And on the wedding day it’s the maid of honor’s job to obsess over it. She makes sure that there is no spot, no stain, no blemish on that dress. For even the smallest little stain would ruin the dress.

My brothers and sisters, you are a bride. You are Christ’s bride. And on that day, whether it’s tonight or years in the future, you will not be clothed in your sin and shame. You will be clothed with the perfection that Jesus won for you on the cross and gave to you in your baptisms. And on that day you do not need to worry about anything. For your dress will look perfect because it is perfect.

Finally then, my brothers and sisters, since Judgement Day is a matter of life and death, how should you live right now? Do not live for your sin and shame. Continually repent of and run from your sin. And continually try on that dress which Jesus has given to you. If you were a woman who had a dress that was worth thousands of dollars, wouldn’t you try it on before the wedding day? Wouldn’t you put on the dress and veil, dreaming of what that wedding day will look like? So also, when it comes to Judgement Day, do the same. Yes, repent of your sin. But even more so, rejoice that you are a baptized child of Jesus, clothed with his perfection. Rejoice that your name is not written in that first book. Your name is written in the little book, the book of life. Rejoice that you will live and reign with Christ forever. Amen.

¹ Rev 7:4

² Rev 7:9

³ “Constative Aorist.” ^{Robertson. p. 833}.

Why Does Jesus Promise You Life?

It must be hard to teach right before lunch. I’ve always felt bad for teachers and professors who have to teach right before lunch. The teacher works and strives to put good information in his students’ heads. But all the students yearn for is food for their stomachs. I can’t help but think of that picture when I read these words in John, chapter 6. Jesus wants to give them food for their souls. But what do the people want? They want food for their stomachs. We read: “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe” (John 6:35–36 NIV)

Jesus wasn’t promising them munchies for their stomachs. Instead he was promising them a better, greater gift. He was promising eternal life to them. But what was their reaction? The great crowds of people didn’t want to be freed from death. They wanted food for their stomachs and that’s it.

There was a pastor once who had to deal with people who would ask him for food. And one day he met a lady who wanted some food. So he went over across the church building, got her some food and set it in front of her. She sat there, eyeing the food in front of her not knowing what to do next. Finally the confusion in her heart spilled out from her lips. She said: “Isn’t this the part where you’re supposed to tell me that I’m a sinner and that if I believe in Jesus then I’ll be saved?”

You see, to her Jesus and his church was nothing more than a way to get free food. And she was so used to enduring the promise of eternal life to get food for her stomach that she was confused when she wasn’t given the opportunity to hear the promise and reject it.

Oh, my brothers and sisters, how thankful we are that when Jesus promises eternal life to us we rejoice. Look at what Jesus says here in verse 35 and rejoice. Jesus says that everyone who comes to me will never ever hunger.¹ This sounds like an amazing promise, doesn’t it? All we have to do is come to Jesus and he will give us eternal life.

There’s one huge problem though. We are unable to come to Jesus because of our sin. In the book of Romans, Paul tells us: “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:7 NIV) Every person who comes into this world hates God. And because of that sinful hatred they are unable to come to him.

We are unable to ask for Jesus. We are unable to find him. We are unable to earn him with our hands or our hearts. So, in his great love for us, what is our Savior’s solution? In the last verse of our section, Jesus tells us: ““No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44 NIV)

Because we cannot go to the Father, he sends the Son to us. And through his word he draws us to himself and gives us faith to believe that this promise of eternal life is spoken to us.² He gives us faith to believe that when Jesus died on the cross his blood covered my sins too.

So then, notice the great promise Jesus gives to us. Whoever comes to Jesus will never ever hunger. So that we can come to him and be with him he gives us faith. And with that faith he gives us the same promise: ‘whoever believes in me will never ever thirst.’³

Notice then why Jesus promises you eternal life. He promises you eternal life to rescue you from death and hell. For any hungering and any thirsting now is nothing when you compare it to the hungering and thirsting that so many are enduring in hell.

Jesus gives you this promise of eterna life to rescue you from death. But there is another reason he promises eternal life to you: “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”” (John 6:40 NIV)

Year ago, when I was a boy, I used to make paper airplanes. And I didn’t just like them. I really liked them. I used to cut out my own designs and tape them together. Then I’d launch the airplanes off of our deck in the backyard. And I thought to myself, ‘if it’s fun to design paper airplanes, how much more fun would it be make real airplanes?’ I was so busy for those months dreaming of airplanes that the pains and pressures of every day life didn’t seem so heavy anymore.

My brothers and sisters, you don’t have the dream of airplanes in your heads, do you? Instead, you have the promise of eternal life. And here is where we see our sin. When God allows pain and pressure to come into our lives, where does our focus go? It so easily goes to the pain, right? We think of our problems, ponder them and pray about them.

But, my brothers and sisters, if that’s all we do, then how are we any different than those crowds of people Jesus was speaking to? Jesus has promised eternal life to you. Isn’t that worth pondering? Isn’t that worth praising God for? Isn’t that worth praying about? Look at how the apostle Paul speaks about the promise of eternal life given to him. In the book of Romans he writes: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18 NIV)

When Paul was tempted to ponder his earthly misery he instead ponders his heavenly delivery. So now, I invite you to do the same. If God has allowed pain to come into your life, just imagine how much pleasure he has waiting for you in heaven. If God has taken something away from you here in this life, just imagine what he will give you in the next life. I remember years ago talking to an elderly woman with a weak and frail voice. And one day I found out that she used to have a very beautiful singing voice. And one day I asked her if she missed her voice. And she said ‘I suppose. But when I start thinking that way, I just remind myself what my voice will sound like in heaven.’ So the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

And if you are surrounded by people now who have no use for the promise of eternal life that you cling to—and if they want to take this eternal life from you, then what should you ponder? Should you ponder the pressure they put on you? Instead place your thoughts in heaven. Don’t think as much about who surrounds you now. Instead think about who will surround you in heaven.

I had a professor once whose task it was to teach us doctrine and church history. And when we got to a difficult or beautiful part of scripture he would pause. He would sort of look off to the side and say: “when I get to heaven I’m going to ask him. I’m going to ask Moses what it was like to see the Lord in the burning bush. I’m going to ask those two disciples on the road to Emmaus what it was like to have Jesus open up the scriptures to them.”

It was shocking to hear him speak this way. For instead of speaking in vague, abstract language, he spoke as if it would actually. Because, in fact, it would! It was shocking and wonderful to see a man share with us the times he pondered this promise of eternal life and what it meant for him.

And so, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if we ask the question Why Does Jesus Promise You Life, cherish the answers he gives you through his word. Through this promise he rescues you from death. But even more than that. Through this promise he reminds you of what you have waiting for you. Let that be your light in the darkness. Let that be your pleasure amidst all the pain of this life. Let that be your dream that is based on reality. Jesus promises to you eternal life. Amen.

¹ ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρὸς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ πεινάσῃ

² cf also: “He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted to him by the Father.”” (John 6:65 HCSB)

³ ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ μὴ διψήσει πώποτε

^{Image courtesy of Stock Xchange}

Repent…Please!

What can i learn from clay? I wonder if that was the question Jeremiah was asking himself. The Lord told him to go to the potter’s house. So that’s exactly what he did. And what did he see? He saw a man working with clay very skillfully with his hands. And then, suddenly, when the potter saw something that he couldn’t fix in the clay—maybe it was a small pebble, maybe it was a part of the clay that was hardened—when the potter saw this, he mashed the clay down and moved it to the side.

What is it then that the Lord wanted Jeremiah to learn? What is it that he wanted all the people of Judah to learn? Jeremiah tells us: “Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:5–6 NIV)

The Lord has the right to change his actions. Now, when I say this, I need to very carefully explain what I mean. Our Lord above does not change. His attitude does not ever change. But his actions do. They change because we change. Just think of that potter. He pours all his effort and all of his talent into making that bowl or jar. But then he finds the flaw and throws it away. Did the potter plan for there to be a pebble stuck in the clay? Did he want there to be a hardened part of the clay that was unworkable? No. His attitude stays the same. He wants to make something from the clay. The problem is not with the potter. The problem is with the clay. So also, our Lord does not change his attitude. But because we change, he has to change his actions.

And, no doubt, when Jeremiah shared these words with the people of Judah they asked the question “what do you mean?” So the Lord has Jeremiah give a couple of examples: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned” (Jeremiah 18:7–8 NIV)

The Lord promises to destroy people who are unrepentant. But then he changes his actions. Why? Because they turn. They turn away from their sin. They turn toward God. He changes his actions. But in all of this, his attitude is the same. He wants them to be saved.

He then gives another example which is just the opposite of the first one: “And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.” (Jeremiah 18:9–10 NIV)

The Lord says that he will be good to a people. He promises to build them up and make them grow. But then what does he do? He changes his actions. Why? Because they didn’t repent. They didn’t obey. They didn’t listen. They concluded that since God said that he would be good to them, then they could be as bad and as wicked as they wanted and God wouldn’t notice or go back on his word. But what happened? The Lord “relented.” He changed his actions because they changed their hearts against him.

From here the Lord makes the people of Judah ask the question “which group am I in? Am I in the group that will be built up and flourish? Or am I in the group which will be torn down and go to hell?” ““Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’” (Jeremiah 18:11 NIV)

Notice the two huge thoughts the Lord wants the people of Judah to know. First, The Lord is telling them that they are in the second group, not the first. They are in the group that has heard the Lord promise to be good to them. And as a result, what did they do? They used his words against him. They used his promises as an excuse to sin.

So, the Lord tells them that they are in that second group that is on its way to be destroyed. Then he preaches one word to them. He tells them “turn.” And it’s not just what he says that is so surprising. It’s how he says it. He says “repent…Please!”¹ In the Hebrew, there’s a little, tiny word that the Lord attaches to the end of the word, repent to show how caringly and carefully he wants them to turn. The closest we can come to translating that word in english is the word “please.”

From here it would seem as if the end of the story writes itself. There is such an obvious conclusion to these words, right? Any stupid idiot could see that the common sense action to take would be to repent. For who wants to have God tear them down and send them to hell, right? But, is that how these words end? Listen closely: “But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”” (Jeremiah 18:12 NIV)

The Lord says “repent!” The Lord caringly and carefully says “please!” But the Lord’s people respond by saying two terrible and tragic statement. First, they say “It’s no use.” Now, notice what they are not saying. They are not saying that their own sins and where their own sins are leading them is of no use. Instead, they say that the Lord’s plan is useless and worthless.

Then notice their reason. Why is the Lord’s word and his way so useless and worthless to them? Because they have chosen to follow their own plans and their own paths. Why is the Lord’s word and way so useless to them? Each of them will act on the evil and hardness in their hearts.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, when the Lord in caring and careful words came to his own people in the Old Testament and told them “Repent…Please,” so very many of them worshipped their own sin and would not give in—even in the slightest. So the Lord carried them away to Babylon. And then when they died he carried them away to Hell.

So, my brothers and sisters, when the Lord comes to you as he is today, don’t say “it’s not use.” When he says “repent,” don’t say to him “let me follow my own way.” When he so carefully and caringly says “please,” don’t respond by hardening your hearts and resolving to do evil.

Listen to his words and take them to heart. Repent…Please! Confess your sins to your Lord and Savior. Confess your sins to your Lord who has never changed his attitude toward you. As Christians who already know your Savior, Jesus, I invite you to repent. Confess your sins and cling to that forgiveness that Jesus won for you.

Here, however, is where I need to speak in more detail. For it’s easy to say “repent.” The problem is that usually just as soon as our new man inside us turns to God, that very same moment our sinful nature plans a way and a time to turn back to our sin. When then is the solution?

Last week was Reformation. And at the very beginning of the Reformation Martin Luther wrote down some topics he wanted to talk about. He took that list and nailed it to a door. There were 95 topics he wanted to discuss. At the very top of the list he wrote these words: Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, when he said ‘repent,’ he meant that the entire life of a believer be repentance.”² Do you get the point that Luther was making? Repentance isn’t a one-time-event for us. We sin every day. So we repent every day. Repentance is like breathing. Every day, every moment your body is breathing out the bad and breathing in the good. And so our souls do the same. We constantly breathe out our sins and confess them. And we constantly breathe in the forgiveness Jesus won for us. That is what gives us the power to both see our sin and struggle against it.

The other problem we face is just as difficult as the first. On the one hand, we see our sinful nature—how powerful it is and how it seems as it’s no good to repent because we will just go back to our sins. And so our Savior says “repent…please.” And he promises to be our strength and our shield. That’s the first difficulty. But the other is just as hard. What if you don’t feel very sinful at all? What if, when you sit down at night to confess your sins and say your prayers and you really can’t think of a whole lot that you’ve done that’s wrong. If that is where you are, then mourn, be sad! For that is not a sign of your spiritual health. It is a sign that your conscience is almost dead.

Your condition reminds me of when I was in CPR class years ago. And in the Red Cross text book it said that first degree burns are painful. Then it said that second degree burns are even more painful. And I was expecting it to say that when it gets to third degree burns it’s even more painful. But it didn’t. You see, if the burn is that deep, the nerve endings that tell your brain that you are in bad shape are destroyed. And the section on burns concluded by saying that many people who have third degree burns don’t live very long after they have third degree burns.

If you cannot feel any need to repent, then you have third degree burns—not on your skin—no, instead, you have deep burns on your soul. And so, carefully and caringly, your Lord says “Repent…Please!” Repent of your sin and relent of sadness. Receive the forgiveness Jesus gives. And rejoice in the victory Jesus promises. Amen.

¹ שׁוּבוּ נָא

² Dominus et magister nĩ Jesus chrĩ dicendo—Penitentiam agite. iẽ. omnẽ vitam fidelium penitentiam esse voluit.

^{Image courtesy of Stock Xchnge}

By Scripture Alone we find truth and hope

Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? It’s a good question, isn’t it? If you were having problems in your life is that what you would do? Would you be driving along in your car, thinking “I have so many difficulties and problems. How will I find a solution to them?” Then you see a dead carcass on the side of the road. You pull over and start talking to it right? Because everybody knows that if you want real answers you have to talk to things that are already dead, right? Of course not!

Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? And yet, in the Old Testament, this is what they did. In order to find the answers to problems they tried to talk to people who had died. And the only way they could talk to people who had died was to talk to the people whom the dead spirits possessed.

Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? The idea is madness to us. But then notice Isaiah’s answer to the dilemma: “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn” (Isaiah 8:20 NIV)

The only source for answers, truth and hope is God’s word. It’s the only place we find answers to our questions and solution to our sin. And yet, we act just as foolishly as they did, don’t we? Instead of trusting in the only way God promises to speak to us, where to we place our trust? Sometimes we place our trust here in our gut. We go through our lives saying “I’m going to do this because it feels right.” Is it inline with God’s word? We don’t know. But we know that it feels right.

Or instead of being tempted with our gut, we are tempted by our brains. We go through life thinking “This makes sense.” Is what makes sense to us inline with God’s word? We don’t know. And maybe we don’t even care. But it makes sense to us.

The truth, of course, is that our guts can lie, can’t they? And our brains can arrive at perfectly logical conclusions and yet still be wrong. I remember years ago hearing someone preach. She said that God is love. And if two people truly love each other, then it shouldn’t matter those two people are the same gender. What had she done? Oh, the people in the Old Testament consulted the lies of the dead instead of the truth of the living God. But she did much the same thing. When it came to choosing between God’s word and her gut, she chose her gut. And then she dragged her mind in to prove to herself and to others that her gut was true—even if it was directly against God’s word.

And all of us have done the same sort of thing, haven’t we? I remember my teenage years. I remember knowing from God’s word that I was supposed to obey my parents. But, my gut kept telling me that God’s word was wrong. And my brain kept coming up with tempting reasons to follow my gut.

But what Isaiah says is true: “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn” (Isaiah 8:20 NIV) Our gut leads us straight to death. And our brains shovel dirt on top of us. But look at what God’s word does. God’s word is the only brightness to our darkness. For that’s exactly the word that Isaiah uses.¹ It’s the morning red and orange that washes away the darkness. God’s word is the only tool that he uses to speak to us. It is the only voice that speaks to truth to us. It is the only message that gives us true, lasting hope. Amen.

By Scripture Alone we are saved

When my sister, Lori went to High School, she drove a 1964 Rambler. Now, for those of you who don’t know what a rambler is, picture a massive station wagon cruising down the road. And don’t just picture a station wagon. Picture it in its natural color, baby blue. And then, as you see it strolling down the road, picture it picking up speed. And as the driver puts the pedal down there is a cloud of exhaust fumes which trail after the car. But it’s not a cloud of black or grey smoke which follows the car. No, instead, it’s blue smoke—the same color as the car.

My sister was embarrassed of that car. She used to drive to high school all hunkered down in the driver’s seat, not wanting anyone to see her. But they did anyway. And even though she started out being embarrassed by that car, later she wasn’t. Later on she was thankful for that car. Why? Because it did the one thing it was supposed to. It got her to school and back safely.

Our lives as Christians are much like my sister and her car. Paul tells us: “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21 NIV) The world is embarrassed of the message you are hearing this morning. They cringe at hearing about sin and grace. They are frustrated when you speak to them about Jesus and what he came here to do. They are embarrassed and uncomfortable for one reason: they think Jesus and the message about him is nothing but foolishness.

But, my brothers and sisters, we aren’t. The very message about the cross that the word despises because it doesn’t understand, we appreciate. Even more than that: we treasure that message. Why? We treasure God’s word because it saves us. What exactly does it save us from? Does it save us from having a bad hair day? Does it save us from low self-esteem? No, it saves us from sin. Jesus died on the cross. He rose from the dead. As a result, all sins of all people are forgiven. But here in these words we have an answer to a very important question: how does that salvation come to me? I can’t earn it with my heart. I can’t earn it with my hands. So, instead, God comes to me and preaches this message to me, personally.

Not only does the heard message save us, but the seen message saves us too. In other word, there is the promise that our sins are forgiven given to us in God’s word by itself. But then there are those times that God connects this promise to earthly things around us. In baptism God connects the promise of forgiveness to water. And what does this water and word do? Baptism saves us.² So also in the Lord’s Supper the same happens. Jesus connects his own body and blood to bread and wine. But what does it do? Jesus tells you: “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” … “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:19–20 NIV) Notice those two huge thoughts. First, there’s that word “you.” Jesus died for all people. But in the Lord’s Supper, there is his body for you. And then we find those words: “for the forgiveness of sins.” Why did Jesus give you his body and blood? He gives you his body and blood to take away your sins.

See then what all of this comes back to. God’s word saves. And it is the only tool God uses to bring this forgiveness to us. So then, my brothers and sisters, cherish it. Read it. Memorize it. Ponder it. Grow in it. Cling to it. And share it.

By Scripture Alone we have life.

What is life? Years ago I saw a bumper sticker. It said “life is a game. Whoever ends with the most toys wins.” For most people that is life. And to them, that is the only life they will know. The people who wrote that bumper sticker had the same definition for “life” as the people Jesus was speaking to. For them life was the food in their stomachs and the dreams in their heads.

So then, let me ask you, what is life? Let Jesus answer that question for you: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63 NIV)

The Holy Spirit is the only one who gives life.³ And what does the Holy Spirit use to give us life? The Holy Spirit uses the words Jesus speaks to us to give us life.⁴

Notice then how that brings us back to the question: What is life? In my bible introduction class for adults I tell this story about one of my professors. Why do people celebrate a baby’s birthday? What you are saying is ‘Look! another sinner!’ Why not instead celebrate your baby’s baptism birthday. For that was the day your baby got life—real life.”

He has a point, doesn’t he? We are all born into this world dead. Oh, sure, we have a pulse. We breathe. But inside we are dead. There is no spiritual life in us. We desperately hate God. And want more than anything to be where God is not. But then what happened? Our parents carried us up to the baptismal font. And there God’s word along with water gave us life.

And this life, this faith, this forgiveness brings along with it so much more. Because we live now, we will live forever. In this same chapter, in John 6, Jesus tells us: “everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”” (John 6:40 NIV) That is what life—real life is. It is forgiveness now and life Jesus forever because of what he has done for us.

Notice my brothers and sisters how the answer that God’s word gives us to that question is not only different than the world, but it also gives something different. The unbelieving world has their toys now. But on the Last Day what will they have and what they be? All their toys will be destroyed by fire. And they will be punished with fire. They will not be winners. They will be the most pathetic of all losers.

With this in mind then, my brothers and sisters, how should you pray? And what should you pray for? Pray that the word which gives real life would sink deep into their hearts and give them the truth, forgiveness, and peace that you have now and forever. Amen.

¹ אֵין־לוֹ שָׁחַר

² 1 Pet 3:21

³ τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν τὸ ζῳοποιοῦν

⁴ τὰ ῥήματα…πνεῦμά ἐστιν καὶ ζωή ἐστιν

I Am With You

Satan attacks at the weakest spot. He does not attack us where we are strongest. No, he chooses to strike when we are at our weakest. As I read these words from the Old Testament book Haggai, I was reminded of this fact. Here in these words we meet refugees. They had been conquered by the Babylonians. They had been carted off to Babylon as slaves. Years later they were allowed to return to Israel. And many of them did just that. They returned to Israel. They had nothing. And so they started to build. They built their houses. They even put wood paneling on the inside of their houses so that their homes were more comfy and more cozy to stay in. And that’s when Satan struck. They got so busy with their own houses that they forgot. The prophet Haggai tells us: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come for the Lord’s house to be built.’” Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”” (Haggai 1:2–4 NIV)

Satan struck. And his attack was successful. The Israelites were so busy with their own homes that they forgot about the Lord’s house. And then when the prophets came to the people and said “what about the Lord’s house? What about the temple which needs to be rebuilt?”, the Israelites said: “It’s not time yet.” Time and time again the prophets would say: “what about the Lord’s house?” And again and again the people would say “It’s not time yet. Let me get my house in order, then I’ll take care of the Lord’s house.”

Notice then, my brothers and sisters in Christ how the Lord responded to their misplaced priorities: “You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.” (Haggai 1:6–8 NIV)

Because their own houses and their own hobbies and their own work and their own projects were more important that the Lord and his house—notice then what the Lord’s solution was. He threatened to take away the prosperity they enjoyed.

Satan always strikes at out weakest place. It was true then. It is true now. Our Lord above demands that he is the first place in our hearts. So also, he demands that his house—this place of worship is the first house in our lives. And just like them, we see that we are faced with these temptations to put our own houses and what goes on in them above this house.

And if you want to see just how true what I’m saying is, all you have to do ask one simple question: How do you treat guests? Just ponder this question for a moment. When you invite guests over to your house, how do you show them that they are welcome and wanted? You do everything you can to make them comfortable and cozy, don’t you. At the end of the month we’re going to have a Halloween party over at our home. And I know what it looks like to have guests over. It means two things. It means that for an entire week before the guests set foot in my home I’m going to be cleaning house. I don’t want them to see the stinkbugs in the corner. I don’t want them to see spiders racing across the floor. We clean off the tables and counters so that the guests can rest their drinks there and feel welcome. So also, if it’s cold out, we’ll crank the heat up. During the winter months we just put more layers on. Ahh, but when the guests come over, we turn up the heat. Why? We do this so that they will know that they are wanted here with us and welcome among us.

And it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the same were true of you. You do the same, don’t you? Why is it then that we spend such time and money when it comes to guests in our houses. But when it comes to guests in our Lord’s house our actions are different. Why is it that, at the very times we are most likely to have guests and visitors in our church we are more than content to show them that they are not welcome here. We don’t even have to say a word to them. All we have to do is let them come in here and sit in our pews. All they have to do is look around and realize that we only clean our church two times a year. All they have to do is sit in these pews and boil in their own sweat in the summer months. And they would concluded—and rightly so, that this people here in this church does not care about their Lord. And they show it by not caring for the guest who visit this church.

When I mention these parts of God’s word, I usually hear an objection. And not surprisingly, it’s the same objection Haggai heard. It’s not the right time. It’s not the right time to get air-conditioning for our church. It’s not the right time to save up to replace our 30 year old Kubota. It’s not the right time, because, as we all know, the economy is down. It’s tough to find jobs. It’s tough to keep jobs.

To the people who say that it’s not the right time, let me say this boldly and clearly. The government does not create jobs. Businesses do not create jobs. The only one who creates and sustains jobs is our God above. He is the only one. And this is a hard lesson to learn.

I remember years ago I made a living for a summer guest preaching. I only knew one sermon. Oh, but I knew it well. And so pastors would go on vacation and they invited me to guest preach while they were gone. And I remember driving out to the middle of nowhere. Nothing but flat land and cornfields to see for miles around. And there, off in the distance, poking out of the corn or alfalfa, there was a church steeple. And when I saw that steeple I knew that was the place I was going to be preaching at.

And when I got done preaching I used to walk around the church looking for its cornerstone. And what amazed me is that many, many of these churches were built at the same time. They were built in the 1030’s. Now, let me ask you, what was going on in the 1930’s? Yes, in the middle of the Great Depression your forefathers built new churches.

And the same pattern is true with our very own Seminary. Years ago a farmer died and gave his land to our beloved Synod. In the the 1920’s we started work in Thiensville, WI, building our Seminary. We finished on August 18^th, 1929—just in time for the Great Depression. There we were, several million dollars in debt at the beginning of the Great Depression. But, my brothers and sisters, fifteen years later all of that debt was paid off. And it was paid off in the middle of the Great Depression.

You see, these people living years ago read these words in the bible and they took them to heart. They had far, far less than you have. And they gave joyously, generously to their church. Their houses were wood. Ahh, but their churches were brick and stone, with stained glass. For they realized: If you have Jesus in your house and in your church, you have everything. If you don’t have him, then you have nothing.

When Haggai preached these words, the people heard them: “Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.” (Haggai 1:12–13 NIV)

The people heard the Lord’s word and they repented. They feared the Lord very much. The Lord’s message for them was extremely short. It’s two words in Hebrew.¹ It’s three words in english. He said: “I am with you.” (Haggai 1:13 NIV) And those few words were all they needed. Despite their selfish and fearful sins, the Lord was still with them. He had not abandoned them. He was still there to give them food, clothing and houses. Even more than that, he was still there with them to take away their sins day after day after day.

And our Lord still holds out to us this same promise today: “I am with you.” (Haggai 1:13 NIV) He is with you to provided safety, security, food, shelter, clothing, jobs, careers, money and savings. He is still here. We may forget about him, but he has not abandoned us. Jesus is still here week after week to share his word with you. The same salvation you received in your baptisms is here with you today. The same body and blood that Jesus gave to his first disciples he gives to you along with that bread and wine week after week. He still promises to us today: “I am with you.” (Haggai 1:13 NIV)

The Lord spoke that simple and precious promise, “I am with you.” (Haggai 1:13 NIV) And just look at what happened next: “So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God,” (Haggai 1:14 NIV)

The Lord stirred up the spirit of his people. They didn’t just see that the work had to be done. They wanted to build the temple. When I read these words I can’t help but think of John Achtzehn. John once told me that at the beginning this church only had three or four acres of land. But even though they were in the middle of a building project with the church and with the parsonage, it only made sense to get those couple of spare acres before others did. So he went to the District Mission Board. And he told them: “we want these other acres.” And the guy on the Mission Board said “No, you’re in the middle of a big building project. You’ll never be able to afford this.” And, not surprisingly, John got into a heated discussion with the man. Finally then, what was it that won the guy over? John said “God has been with us so far. He will continue to be with us.”

And John, that very same man who, with his beat-red face won over the guy on the mission board got a face that was just as red as he drove up this hill and got a sun-burn summer after summer. For, if the Lord would be with us enough to give us a church building and seven acres, then he would live his life thanking his Lord by mowing it and taking care of it.

The Lord moved Zerubbabel to act. The Lord moved John Achtzehn to act. And it is my prayer that he will move you to act too. Let the promise that John clung to ring in your ears: “I am with you.” (Haggai 1:13 NIV) And with your time and with your treasures let that promise show in your lives. Make this church into a place which screams out to every visitor: “You are wanted here. You are welcome here. For this is the Lord’s house. And he is with us here.” Amen.

¹ אֲנִי אִתְּכֶם

^{Image courtesy of Stock-Xchnge}

Joyful Service Matters

What sort of work matters? All of us work, don’t we? From the child in school to the retired worker, we all work. But what sort of work matters? What sort of service is worth pouring our time and energy into? A couple of days ago Steve Jobs died. He was a fascinating man. And the world we live in today is now looking back at his life and concluding that the sort of work he did mattered. He made the lives of millions of people better, simpler and more productive. And he made a sizable amount of money. The world looks at him and concludes: ‘That was the sort of work that matters.’

But what does the bible say? In the words of Mark this morning we see the sort of service that really matters: “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.” (Mark 1:29–31 NIV)

By the time we catch up with Jesus in these words it had already been a busy day. He had preached in the synagogue earlier that day. He had driven out a demon. It was time for him to find a place to eat and take a nap. But, as we read, that is not what happened. They went to the house of Peter’s mother-in-law. We learn that she was sick. She was lying down in bed with a fever. And the fever continued to make her sick.¹ The disciples told Jesus about her. So Jesus helped her. Jesus raised her up out of bed. But how he raised her up out of bed is very interesting. He gently held onto her hand.² And as soon as he did this her fever and all of her sickness went away.

Now, this is the part that is amazing to us. As soon as she is cured, what does she do? She begins to serve. She starts to wait on Jesus. And not only does she wait on Jesus and serve him. Mark tells us that she served them. And not only does she serve them, she continues to serve them till long after the sun goes down. You can almost picture this, can’t you? You can almost see her making a meal for Jesus and the four disciples. You can almost see her sewing the holes in their clothes or sweeping the floor.

And as you picture her her there working so diligently and continually, we find ourselves back with the question we started with. What sort of service matters? The kind of service that matters is service done by Christians with joy in their hearts. That is what the bible shows us. Christians doing their everyday, 9-5, menial work. That’s what counts. And even more so, doing those everyday tasks with joy in our hearts. That’s what really matters.

What matters in the end are not the powerful men who crushed enemies and changed lives. No, what matters is Christians serving people with joy. When we ponder this fact we so very easily see our sin. How often have we served like the world around us serves? How often have we served for recognition and pats on our shoulders? How often have we served ourselves instead of serving others. How often have we chosen the ways we would like to serve instead of serving in the ways that God has placed in our lives? The world has no use for the faithful housewife who cleans out the diapers or the faithful husband working at his boring job because there is no fame, no fortune and no fans. But our Savior doesn’t see our service this way. What matters to him is Christians serving with joy. And we see our sin so clearly when we serve out of boredom, compulsion and guilt.

Since it is true that joyful service is what matters, how then can we get that joy? Mark tells us the rest of what happened that day: “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.” (Mark 1:32–34 NIV)

Peter’s mother-in-law served with joy. But there are two important questions we need to ask as we consider this fact. We need to ask why and how? Why did she serve with joy? She did not serve with joy so that she could earn God’s favor. She did not serve with joy so that by serving joyfully she could get rid of her sin. She served out of joy because there, right in front of her was her Savior, her Messiah, her Christ. Just as surely as he drove away the sickness in her body, he would also drive away the sin infecting her soul.

She served with joy not in order to get saved. Instead, she served with joy because she had been saved. That’s why she served. But just as important is the question how. How was she able to serve with joy. There before her she saw her Savior, Jesus saving her and the world from its sin. How? There, right in front of her she saw a Savior with a pure and perfect heart serving with nothing but joy in his heart. She saw a Savior who not only reached out his caring hand and gently healed her, but many, many others. In short, Jesus did what she could not. He perfectly served everyone with pure joy in his heart. He did this as her substitute. He did this for her because she could not do this for herself. And later on then, when Jesus died on the cross she would see the full extent of his love and his joy. There on the cross Jesus paid the price for her sin. There on the cross the demand of joyful service that God demanded was met in Jesus.

And notice, my brothers and sisters in Christ, what that means for you. Because Jesus paid the perfect price for you sins and because he served joyfully in your place, your sins are forgiven. Just as surely as Jesus drove away this woman’s fever and the demons he saw that day, he has forgiven all the times you didn’t serve. He has forgiven all the times you have served with fear, guilt, shame and every other motive except joy.

Finally then, my fellow saints in Christ, if serving with joy matters to our Savior, then do just that. Children, when you do your homework and pick up your toys, know that Jesus is giving you these ways of serving so that you can thank him. So also, you grown ups, look at all the tasks you do in a day as joyful ways of serving Jesus. It doesn’t matter if they are small tasks or large ones. Look at them as joyful ways of serving and thanking your Lord above. For Joyful service matters. Our joyful service matters to God because Jesus’ joyful service to us saved us from our sins. Amen.

¹ πυρέσσουσα

² ἤγειρεν αὐτὴν κρατήσας τῆς χειρός

How Many Times Shall I forgive?

Forgiveness isn’t easy, is it? When we sin and are full of embarrassment, it’s not easy to ask for. And when others sin against us it hurts so very much that it’s not easy to give. In the opening words here in Matthew 18, Peter asks a very important question about forgiveness. He says to his Savior: “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21 NIV11)

How many times? How many times does my friend or family member get to sin against me before I get to say ‘no?’ How many times do I have to go to him or her and show them their sin?¹ You see, the popular opinion of the day had an answer. The Jewish teachers of that time said that if you forgave someone three—at the most four times, then you had done all you could do.² Peter thought that he was going way above even what the teachers of the law taught. He increased the number to seven. Notice what Jesus says in response: “Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:22 NIV11)

Peter asks a simple question and gets a simple answer. How many times do I forgive someone who sins against me? Not three times. Not four times. Not even seven times. How many times do I forgive? 70 times. Peter did not understand these words. Jesus was telling him that he had to be willing to forgive so many times that he loses track. He needs to forgive so many times that it’s automatic. He needs to forgive so many times that the forgiveness that he gives is both free and full. Jesus sees the huge questions marks in his brain and the confusion in his heart. And he tells him a story. For the only way that Peter is going to is going to be able to forgive is if he sees forgiveness from Our Father’s point of view. So he tells Peter this story: “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.” (Matthew 18:23–27 NIV)

The master calls the slave in to settle the debt. And the debt was enormous—more than the slave could ever pay back.³ And what does the master do? He cancels his debt. But notice: he doesn’t cancel his debt because the slave could pay it back. He doesn’t cancel his debt because the slave was so eloquent or sincere. Why does he cancel his debt? Pity.⁴ The master saw what would happen if he didn’t cancel his debt. He saw a man starving in jail. Even worse, he saw that man’s wife and children starving and dying in prison. The slave repented of is sin and begged him. And the master’s deep pity moved him to forgive the debt.

It was only when Peter saw that he was the debtor in that parable that he began to understand from Our Father’s point of view what forgiveness looks like. Peter could not pay for or even pay down the price of his sin. God, the Father forgave Peter purely and completely out of pity. Only when Peter realized his debt could he see how much he was forgiven. Only when he saw how much he was forgiven could he forgive others. And the same is true for us, isn’t it?

So, how many times shall we forgive? We forgive freely. But notice that Jesus isn’t done with his parable yet: ““But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.” (Matthew 18:28–30 NIV)

Forgive freely. But do not forgive foolishly. You see, there are many people out there who say “forgive me.” But they really don’t want forgiveness. They want forgiveness from sin so that they can have freedom to sin. At some point every parent learns this. Whether the child is two years old or twelve years old, the child will say “I’m sorry.” And the child will appear to actually mean it. And then, shortly after you say “I forgive you”, the child goes off and does that same horrible sin again. And you realize that it was not just a matter of that child falling into sin by accident. No, the child said those words “I’m sorry” knowing that those are the magic words that free him or her from punishment. It’s the sort of sin that toddlers learn and teenagers perfect.

Notice what the master did to that sort of person in this parable? In his anger he handed the slave over to the jailor until he could pay back every little, tiny bit of what he owed. That’s what Our Father does. And we, out of love for those around us do the same. Where people are not repentant we do not give out forgiveness. And notice: this has so very little to do with us. We, as Christians, are ready to forgive, for we see how much in Christ we have been forgiven. But what good is it to throw forgiveness out there when people don’t want it? What good is it to offer forgiveness to people will trample on it and turn against us?⁵ We are always ready to forgive freely. But do not forgive foolishly.

Peter wanted a simple solution to a simple problem. But sin doesn’t work that way, does it? Sin makes everything difficult and divisive. Look what sin has done to you. At the beginning of so many of our divine services we ask for forgiveness. But inside of every one of you is that person who doesn’t focus on the words you are saying because that person doesn’t think you need to say them. So often we say in the Lord’s Prayer “forgive us our sins.” But our sinful nature willingly chooses to forget that other part, right? Let’s forget to forgive those around us. They hurt us and embarrassed us. The don’t deserve our forgiveness. And even when we say “forgive me” to our Father above, we show in our daily lives that we don’t mean it. Where is our fight? Where is our struggle to not say or do those evil words or actions again?

You see, my brothers and sisters, forgiveness isn’t a number. It’s a need that we have and a gift that Our Father gives. How then will we get this forgiveness, live this forgiveness and then give this forgiveness to others?

Sin has made it so convoluted and complicated. But the answer is pretty simple. Go to God’s word. As you open the pages of this book you will see the great pity your Father has for you. You will see it in a Savior who came to people who did not ask for him. You will see it in a Savior who came to save a people who did not search for him. You will see it here in Peter who was forgiven even though he did not earn it. You will see a shepherd who goes after lost sheep. You will see a lamb who dies in the place of those same lost sheep. And your Father gives this forgiveness to you freely through his word.

Ahh, but how do I live this forgiveness? How can I say “forgive me, O Lord” and mean it? How can I say those words and then show it? Again, go to God’s word. The Holy Spirit works though his word. As we are in God’s word, the Holy Spirit will give us pure hearts to see our sin and repent of it. And even more, he promises to change our attitude and our actions so that slowly, day by day, we begin to live for him.

And finally, how do we give this forgiveness? Again, go to God’s word. It isn’t difficult. It isn’t this horrible, wretched task to forgive when every day and in so many ways we see our debt of our sin daily and fully erased and forgiven. It flows naturally through God’s word to us.

So then, my brothers and sisters in Christ? How many times shall I forgive? Forgive freely, but not foolishly. Find that forgiveness in God’s word. Amen.

¹ Matthew 18:15-17

² Ylvisaker, p. 426

³ ⲙⲩⲣⲓⲟⲥ: μύριοι, ‘ten thousand’ (Mt. 18:24) and μυρίοι, ‘many thousands’ (1 Cor. 4:15). (Robertson. p. 283.)

⁴ σπλαγχνισθεὶς

⁵ Matt. 7:6

How Do The Angels Serve God?

Why are photo albums so important? When I was young I used to ask myself that question. Just why is it that whenever we went to an aunt or uncle’s house they always took out this massive tome filled with pictures. And our parents made us sit there as they went through one page of pictures after another. Now, years later I think I might finally understand. There is something good and vital about capturing the important parts of your life so that you can look at it and see just exactly what things looked like.

When we are walking through the poetry in this last book of the bible, this is the picture we have to keep in our mind. The Revelation of John is not a manual to your lawnmower. It’s not a movie on the tv. So much of Revelation is poetry filled with vivid images. And it shouldn’t surprise us then when there are parts of this beautiful book which flash in front of us like a photo album. You see the picture for a moment. You study it. Then you turn the page to a new photo.

They Struggle

In these first couple of verses we see a picture of how the angels served God long ago: “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:7–9 NIV)

As we hear these words and see the image they give to us there are a number of questions we naturally ask. First, who is Michael? Now, before we answer this question we need to be very careful. God does not tell us many details about angels in the bible. We need to be very careful that we do not say more than God’s word says. From this verse then, what can we say about Michael?

Michael is not just an angel. He is the archangel. There are not just angels in heaven. The angels that are in heaven are “his” angels. Jesus placed him in a position of leadership over the rest of all the angels. So, if we ask the question “who is Michael,” there’s your answer. He’s the archangel.

What did Michael and the angels do at the beginning? They struggled. They waged war against Satan. Notice here the four names John gives Satan:

• Dragon.

• Serpent: In these words he’s letting us know that the snake in the garden was not just a normal snake. It was a snake that Satan took over.

• Devil: The word means “slanderer.” Satan continually lies about us to anyone who will listen.

• Satan. This word is much the same as Devil. It too means “to slander.”

Now, from this verse, realize two important facts. Michael was the one who waged war first. Michael and his angels fought against Satan. Then Satan and his angels fought against Michael. The second fact is just as important. John gives us these four names so that we might see what sort of enemy Michael faced. Satan is evil and powerful.

They sing

There is our first snapshot. Michael and his angels served God by struggling. They waged war with Satan and his angels. They threw those evil angels out of heaven. And now we move on to the next snapshot: “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” (Revelation 12:10–11 NIV)

Not only did the angels struggle against Satan. They also sing. This is not a surprising example. The angels sang in the Old Testament. They sang when Jesus was born. Here they sing too. But notice the reasons they have to sing: First, The saints in heaven conquered because of the blood of the lamb. Jesus died on the cross and took away the sins of the world. Second, they conquered because of the message—the message they heard and the message they shared.¹ Jesus died for the sins of ever human. But what good would that be if everyone remained in unbelief. So, God sent people out to share his word. And through that word God gave people this amazing gift of faith. And they conquered for one final reason: They did not love their earthly lives so much that they were willing to give up the place Jesus had promised to them in heaven.

They save from danger

So, in the first snapshot we see Michael and his angels waging war. We see them throwing Satan and his angels out of heaven. In the second picture we see the angels singing. They praise Jesus for giving up his own life so they would have life forever in heaven. They praise him for sending out his word which brought them to faith. And now we reach the third snapshot: “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”” (Revelation 12:12 NIV)

In the first picture we see the angels at war in the beginning. In the second picture we see the Christians who have gone before. In the last picture who do you see? The last picture is a picture of you. And what word does the Holy Spirit speak to you? Woe!

You see so much of these words we know already, don’t we. But how easily we forget that Satan is still real. He still is a powerful dragon. He is still a crafty serpent. He still is a liar and deceiver. We know this in our heads. But in our lives we so quickly and easily forget this fact. If we remembered these words we would avoid sinful thoughts words and actions. If we remembered these words we would act like these singing saints in heaven. We would hate our earthly, worldly, sinful lives and live and yearn for heaven. Instead, what do we see as we look at our lives. We forget Satan’s power. We forget the angels whom God has sent to serve us. Yes, they struggled in the beginning. They sing in heaven. But they are still around us. They are still working. Every day they save and rescue you from evil. And even that too we forget.

Let these pictures do what pictures are so good at doing. Let them remind you. Let them remind you who these angels are and what they do. Since Satan is still here, Michael is still struggling and fighting against him. And since we sin every day, let us be victorious the same exact way these singing saints were. Let us remember the blood that the Lamb of God poured out for us. Let us cherish the word that brought this salvation to us. And finally, let us live our lives like those before us did. Jesus once said: “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25 NIV)

John shows you these three snapshots. But this evening let me give you one more. Picture yourself on your deathbed. Picture your body covered in Christ’s forgiving blood. Picture angels around you, still struggling and saving you from evil angels. And Picture yourself. Picture the look on your face as the Holy Spirit makes what Jesus says a reality. Picture a person who hates his life in this world and yearns for his home above. Amen.

¹ “καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς μαρτυρίας αὐτῶν” (Revelation 12:11 GNT-T)

Only Christ Can Tame Your Tongue

Montana is on fire. Don’t be too alarmed. Montana is on fire every summer. But right now, as I speak there are well over 32,000 acres on fire in one forest alone. How these fires start is always interesting. Usually it’s a guy driving in a car who puts his cigarette out and the tosses it out of the car. But he didn’t put it all the way out. And with that one spark, a forest fire starts. Or it’s the camper who dumps water on the campfire but the coals underneath are still hot. And after the water dries up the coals either set a root on fire or a single spark flies away and lands on dry grass. Such a simple, easy mistake. Such a huge amount of damage. James uses the same picture for the tongue, doesn’t he: “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” (James 3:3–5 NIV)

Just like a spark on dry grass, your tongue can cause so much trouble. And James isn’t content to just say that the tongue can do damage. He goes into detail, showing us what sort of damage our tongues can do: “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6 NIV)

Our tongues are such small parts of our bodies and who we are. But they can do so much damage to us. Why is it that they do so much damage? Our tongues put themselves in charge over the other parts of our bodies.¹ We would like people to see our good qualities. We would like our God above to see the same. But instead, what do they see? They see our sinful tongues.

It’s not very difficult to see what this looks like in our own lives, is it? Men, you might want those around you to see you as a strong man worth having around. But when you complain they don’t see this. When you complain about your co-workers, your boss, your government, people have more than you do—when you complain about all these people don’t see you as a strong man. No they see you as a weak man. And if you complain enough, don’t be surprised when your co-workers prey on your weakness. Don’t be surprised when they deliberately bring up topics and people that make you mad—not so that they can complain with you. No, they do this because it’s entertaining to see you make a fool of yourself, parading your powerlessness. Those around you see your weakness. And your God above sees your wickedness. For instead of speaking to the person who sins against you, you complain against them. For, instead of praying for those who persecute you, instead you complain against them.

If men’s tongues cause so much evil, women’s tongues do too. Women, Maybe you’ve spent some extra time working out and you look healthier—and nobody compliments you. Maybe you’ve spent long years going to school and you have insights to share, but nobody listens to you. Maybe you know what you are doing and you think that you deserve some respect. Well maybe the problem is not with the insights in your head or the hard work in your hands. Maybe the problem is your tongue. Maybe your tongue is getting in the way. When you gossip, who will see your wisdom or care about your kindness? The only thing your tongue is teaching them is that you cannot be trusted. The world will make you friendless. And your God above will see you as faithless.

All of this is what it looks like to have your tongue in charge of your life. When your sinful tongue is in front who can see anything else? What then is the solution to this problem? James tells us: “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:7–8 NIV)

Notice what James says. Look at all those beasts out there. Look at the birds in the air or the beasts on the ground. Look at the creatures on the ground or the fish in the sea. Sure, we can tame them. But no one is able to tame his own tongue.

And that that is exactly the trap that Satan wants us to fall into. He wants us to deal with our sinful tongues by trying harder. I remember the end of my vicar year. I remember yearning to be done with my vicar year not because I had grown so much that I was ready to move on. No, I yearned to be done with that year because I had said so many foolish and hurtful words, that I just wanted to turn my back on them and never see them again. Then Call Day came. I was called to my first congregation and what happened? After two or three years there I found myself yearning for a call to a different congregation—not because I had grown out of the one I was in. No, I wanted to move on because I was embarrassed at the foolish, sinful words I spoke there. And you know what? I got a call. I took it. Here I am. And I can tell you with full confidence, what James says is true. It doesn’t matter if you get a fresh start. It doesn’t matter if you try harder. You cannot tame the tongue.

So then, my brothers and sisters, if we cannot tame our tongue, who can? The Old Testament prophet Isaiah had the same problem as we have. He was called to be a prophet. But notice what he said: ““Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”” (Isaiah 6:5 NIV)

Isaiah realized what we so very often forget. The great barrier between us and God and use and each other is the sin on our lips. Notice then the solution: “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”” (Isaiah 6:6–7 NIV)

What Isaiah couldn’t do, the Lord did for him. God purified his tongue and atoned for his sin. That was the solution hundreds of years ago. And that is the solution today. We cannot tame our tongues. But Jesus atoned for our sin. The tongue that we use so often for cursing, Jesus used for praising his Father and praying for us. We complain and forget to pray, but we see in the bible something different in Jesus. Jesus prayed perfectly for you. And even better, Jesus still prays for you. For Jesus did not go up into heaven to take a nap. He now intercedes for you.²

With perfect lips Jesus spoke perfect, holy words in your place. But Jesus also endured punishment in our place. Some of the most painful parts of Good Friday were the words the people spoke to him. The soldiers beat him, whipped him and then called him ‘king.’ The jews laughed at him as he was dying on the cross. With their words they killed him. And Jesus willingly endured that sort of pain and that sort of punishment to take away all the times your tongue could not be tamed.

And so, what we cannot do for ourselves, Jesus did. He forgave our sins. But, thankfully, he does even more. He gives us a new tongue guided by his Holy Spirit. In the book of Romans, Paul writes: “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you” (Romans 8:8–9 NIV)

What a beautiful promise. What a beautiful picture! It is ever true that our sinful tongue pushes its way to the front so that what people see is our sin. But Jesus not only takes away our sin, but he also gives us a new tongue. And this tongue is not controlled by hell.³ No, instead it is controlled by the Holy Spirit. And so, what does this new tongue do? It asks for forgiveness. It speaks to people about their sin and their Savior. It pray with Christians and for unbelievers.

So then, my brothers and sisters, use this new tongue. Use your tamed-tongue to praise your Savior, Jesus. Use your tongue to pray even for those who might persecute you. Use your tongue to speak the truth in love to all those around you. For Christ is the only one who could tame your tongue. And he did. He did so by atoning for your old tongue and giving you a new tongue. Amen.

¹ ἡ γλῶσσα καθίσταται ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν

² 1Tim. 2:5

³ “καὶ φλογιζομένη ὑπὸ τῆς γεέννης.” (James 3:6 GNT-T)

^{Image courtesy of Stock Xchange}

Obeying Is Better

The Old Testament was bloody. There’s no getting around that fact. The Old Testament was a bloody place. In the words we are looking at this morning, from 1 Samuel 15, Israel’s first king has been given a task. The Lord commanded him to go out, fight and kill every Amalekite. It was Saul’s task to go out with his armies and kill every man, woman, child and animal that belonged to the Amalekites. If we ask the question why the Lord wanted him to do this, we could spend hours and hours answering it. But it is enough here to know that the Amalekites deserved it. The Amalekites tried to kill all the Hebrews. The Amalekites practiced divination, witchcraft, religious prostitution and child sacrifice. When it came to the Amalekites, the question was not “what did they do to deserve this punishment.” No, the better question is “what did they not do?” So then, it was the Lord’s command and it was Saul’s commission to go out and kill all the Amalekites. But what happened? We read: “When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”” (1 Samuel 15:13–14 NIV)

Samuel tolk Saul exactly what the Lord wanted him to do. Everything that breathed that belonged to the Amalekites needed to die.¹ So Samuel walks up the road and passes hundreds of animals that should have died. And there was the Amalekite king too. He was still alive. Saul boldly and even joyfully tells Samuel that he did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do. Samuel challenges him. And he says “if what you’re saying is true, then why do I hear all these animals? They should all be dead.” Now, notice Saul’s answer: ““The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.”” (1 Samuel 15:15 NIV)

The Lord told Saul to destroy everything that belonged to the Amalekites. Saul twisted and redefined what God had said. But what’s even worse than that, not only did he twist God’s word, he made it seem as if he were twisting God’s word for God’s benefit. He told Samuel that he should really thank him because he came up with a better solution that the one the Lord, himself had commanded him.

That, my brothers and sisters is hypocrisy. Imagine for a moment that you were a parent. I realize that this is not so hard for some of you. But nevertheless, imagine. And not only are you a parent, you also have two sons. And you tell them: “I’m going to be gone for a little while.” You don’t get into a fight while I’m gone. You go away and come back and what do you see? You see both of your boys with black eyes. The older son comes up to you and says “Mom, I cleaned up my room and did all of my homework.” Let me ask you, do you really care about the meaningless words that come out of his mouth? No! You care about the fact that the very thing you told him not to do he did.

But it is useful for us to see Saul—the hypocrite that he is in these words. For, as we look at our sinful nature, we are the same. Saul twisted and redefined God’s word and so do we. How often do we say or think this: I don’t come to church much, but I pray a lot. I don’t read my bible, but I do my best to lead a Christian life. I use foul language, but I’m a whole lot nicer to people than others are. What you are is a hypocrite. That is what your sinful nature makes you. That is what my sinful nature makes me. It makes me sidestep what God commands and offer up to God what he didn’t ask for. Like us, Saul was a hypocrite. But how did the Lord deal with his sin? Samuel said to him: ““Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22 NIV)

Obeying is better. That is what Samuel told Saul. Obeying God’s word is better than making up commands which don’t exist. This is what is so wrong and wretched with organizations such as Lodges, Masons and Boy Scouts. Not only do they lie to people and say that you can get to heaven apart from Christ, but even worse, they teach people to offer up their own works and efforts as if God should be pleased with our sin instead of our Savior’s sacrifice.

Obeying is better. God demands us and commands us to worship him with our hands and with our hearts. Samuel spoke these piercing words not so that Saul would try harder. Samuel spoke these words so that Saul would give up trying. He spoke these words so that Saul would despair of his own invented worship and way to heaven and instead trust in a Messiah who would take away his sins.

What Samuel preached to Saul, I now preach to you. God commands you not so that you can try harder and work your way to heaven. That sort of preaching leads to one place, hypocrisy. No, Samuel preaches these words to you so that you would despair of your own effort, your own excuses, your own rationalizations. Samuel preaches these words so that you would throw yourselves on the mercy of the same Messiah that Samuel did. For we have a Messiah and a Savior who obeyed his Father perfectly in your place. And now, when the Father sees you, he does not see your hypocrisy. Instead, he sees Jesus’ obedience.

We repent. Samuel repented. But did Saul repent? Samuel told him that obeying was better. It’s better than bulls on altars. It’s better than building a ladder to heaven with our own made-up worship. But what was Saul’s response?: “Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them. Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”” (1 Samuel 15:24–25 NIV)

Samuel said that obeying is better. But what what was Saul’s response? Saul was afraid. Saul should have been afraid of the Lord. He should have been afraid of the Lord’s wrath and anger at Saul’s sin. But who was it that he was afraid of? Saul was afraid of the people.

So Saul was not just a hypocrite by twisting God’s word. He was also a hypocrite by allowing himself to be terrified by the people instead of trusting God’s word. And, from God’s point of view, what is it that Saul needed to see? “Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agag came to him confidently, thinking, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.” (1 Samuel 15:32–33 NIV)

What did Saul need to see? And what did the Israelites need to learn? What God says, he means. God commanded that all the Amalekites be killed. And so, Samuel called the king, Agag to himself. He said “just as you killed many children of mothers, so also your mother will lose her son.” And what did he do? He killed Agag. But it’s not enough to simply say that Samuel killed Agag. It is vitally important that we see how he killed him. He hacked him to pieces.² He struck him with his sword again and again. Blood sprayed all over his robe. He broke his bones and cut off his limbs.

Why? Why did Samuel cut him to pieces? My brothers and sisters, that is what faith looks like. Abraham lifted a knife to kill his only son because he trusted God above all else. Samuel hacked Agag to pieces because Agag deserved it. But even more importantly, he trusted that if God ordered it, and if God is better, wiser, and more gracious and forgiving than we are, then he would obey him.

And even in this we see our sin too, don’t we? Instead of trusting our wise and good God we are terrified of the world around us. So, instead of living boldly for our Savior we hide. We hide behind our fear. We cower before people instead of trusting God. But the world around us is not fooled. They see our hypocrisy as clear as the sun at noon.

And for these sins too we have a Savior. Obeying is better, isn’t it? And here I’m not talking about my obedience or yours. I’m speaking about Christ’s obedience. We hide Jesus because we are afraid of people. Jesus revealed himself because he loved the people. We are terrorized by fear. And through his word Jesus fills us with faith. We do not follow God’s commands. Jesus followed them all—even when it meant he had to die for our sins. Saul refused to kill a king who deserved it. Out of love for you, your King died for you—even though he didn’t deserve it.

Obeying is better. Christ’s obedience is better. It’s better than the ladders we build to heaven without permission. It’s better than the terror the world holds over us. His obedience is better because it is the only solution to our hypocrisy. He takes our hypocrisy on himself and dies for it. And through is word he gives to us his perfection.

So then, my brothers and sisters, since Christ’s obedience is better, let yours be better too. Live genuine, sincere, humble lives. Live lives that trust God’s word despite the opinions of the people out there. Live lives that are willing to face persecution because because you strive to be genuine just as Christ is genuine. And day by day, do what Saul did not. Repent. And rest in God’s mercy. Amen.

¹ 1Sam. 15:1

² וַיְשַׁסֵּף שְׁמוּאֵל אֶת־אֲגָג לִפְנֵי יְהוָה

Remember Your Creator

Do you ever forget things? I know I do. I forget things all the time. What is it that people do so that they don’t forget what they are supposed to do? They make calendars. Sure, calendars tell us how many days there are in a month. And they tell us what day of the week it is. But they do much more than that. They help us remember.

The very first word which starts out this section is a very important word. An old, wise man, named King Solomon says “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NIV) So, how do we remember him? We take out our calendars and we mark up the days that we are going to set aside to remember him so that we don’t forget him. And what day do we set aside every week to remember Jesus on? Excellent. We remember him every day. But we especially remember him on Sundays. But that leads us to a question…

The Creator Gives

What does our Creator, Jesus want us to remember? Who is the one who gave you your mind so that you can learn new things? Who is the one who gave you legs so that you can go out on the playground and run? Yes, your Creator, Jesus did this. He gave you all these. And King Solomon reminds you that it is important to remember your Creator. It is important to thank him. It is a sin when we forget the God who gave us our mind, our legs and all our abilities. We remember Jesus because he gives us so very many good things in our lives. But there is also another reason we remember him…

The Creator takes away

King Solomon writes: Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before…”the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few” (Ecclesiastes 12:3 NIV)

Why do you brush your teeth? Sure, you brush your teeth so that they don’t stink. But you also brush them so that they don’t fall out. And one of the things that happens when you get older is that some of your teeth fall out. Maybe even most of your teeth will fall out.

Jesus gives. But Jesus also takes away. When you get older, day by day, year by year Jesus will take away what he has given to you. When you get older you will not have the energy you have now. When you get older your muscles and bones will not feel as good as they do now. When you get older your teeth might fall out. When you get older Jesus will take these and so many more things away from you.

All of this is because of sin. If Adam and Eve had not chosen to trust Satan instead of God, it wouldn’t be like this. But, because of sin, we are young and strong. And then we get old and weak.

So, our Creator takes away one gift after another until he then takes away one last gift. King Solomon writes: “and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Everything is meaningless!”” (Ecclesiastes 12:7–8 NIV)

In the days of your youth, the Creator gives you your energy and strength. Then, day by day, he takes that away. Then, what is the last gift he takes back? He takes your life. You die. And when that happens your body goes into the ground and turns back to dirt. For that’s what God made you from. And your soul goes to Jesus in heaven.

Now, this is very important to understand. This usually happens when you are old. But it can happen before this. Ten years ago there were young people in a jet-plane on the other side of the state. They were young. They were strong. But they died. For it was their time to die.

The Creator gives even better

And this leads us then to a final question: Why does our Creator take away all of these gifts and then we die? Your Creator, Jesus does not do this because he hates you. He takes away all these gifts so that he can give you even better gifts.

You see, Adam and Eve disobeyed their Creator. And that brought sin into the world. And sin brought death. But Jesus came. He was punished in your place so that when you die you will be with him and with his Father in heaven forever.

But it gets even better than that. Your Creator takes away these gifts so that he can give you even better gifts. Sure, you can go out on the playground and run, can’t you? But, if you run long enough, you get tired right? Listen to what God’s words says about what your body will be like in heaven: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)

Imagine what it will be like to run and not get tired! See, Jesus takes away all of these gifts not because he hates us. No, he takes them away because he loves us. He takes away our youth, our strength, our teeth even our life so that he can give us better, perfect gifts in heaven.

So then, my children, remember all your Creator! Remember Jesus who gave you your strength, your energy and your life. Praise him even when he takes away all these gifts. For he has amazing, better gifts waiting for you in heaven. Amen.

How Do We Treat Our Talents?

What do you get when you play a country song backwards? You get your dog. You get your truck. You get your woman. The only thing that makes this joke funny at all is how patterned and predictable country songs are.
But when you read the bible you find a different pattern. In fact, when you read the parables of Jesus it’s almost as if he deliberately throws away the patterns and the expectations we have in order to teach us. From the opening words of this parable we see this. In verse 14 we read: “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.” (Matthew 25:14 NIV11)

So here we meet a master. And there are two details in this verse which are strange. First, he’s going away from home for a long time.¹. What master with any common sense would do that? There’s that old proverb When the cat’s away, the mice will play. The man is going away and expecting that things will just naturally, magically be ok at home.

But if that detail is strange, what follows is even stranger. The second detail is that he takes what he has and entrusts it to his slaves.² He didn’t just leave them a little bit of money. No, he gave them massive amounts of money. A talent was worth 6000 denarii.³ And, of course, a denarius was worth a day’s wages.⁴ So, one talent was worth 6000 days’ wages. It’s a staggering amount of wealth to give to slaves. But that’s exactly what the master does.

So he gives out his money and goes away for a long, long time. He comes back and sits down with his slaves to see how much money they made. The first two doubled what they were given. But then there’s this third slave. And this slave surprises us. What surprises us is both his wickedness and his foolishness. He says this to his master: “‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’” (Matthew 25:24–25 NIV11)

Wicked—there’s no other word for this slave. The master entrusts his own money to the slave. And what does he do? He does two things which show how wicked he is: He buries his master’s treasure in the ground.
He blames his master for his own laziness. Now, think about that. It’s one thing to be lazy—that’s bad enough. But, when this slave is called to account for what he did not do and should have, he puts the blame on his master. Just look at what he says: “I know you, that you are a hard man.”⁵

But just as stunning as his wickedness is, his foolishness is just as stunning. He tells these lies to his master’s face because he is convinced that because his master is generous then he must also then be gullible. But, that’s not how it pans out in reality, is it? The master uses the slave’s own words to incriminate him. He says to his wicked slave: “So I’m so wicked and you’re so afraid of me. If that were true, then what you needed to do to fool me was to at the very least was to put the money in a bank and get interest. But you show that you are full of lies because you didn’t even do this.” The master proves exactly how wicked and exactly how foolish this slave was and throws him into the darkness outside.

So there’s the parable. And while it might be tempting to say ‘amen’ here, we are Lutherans, so we ask the very important question ‘what does this mean?’ So, first of all, what are these talents that Jesus is speaking of? What do they mean? These talents are not God’s word. Jesus gives to everyone equal access and use of his word. No, these words are speaking about something else. They are speaking about the individual gifts and abilities that Jesus has given to each one of us.

Why does God give these talents to us? God does not give these talents to us so that by doing them we might earn our way to heaven. What the Prophet Isaiah said is true: “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NIV) God does not give us these abilities to earn our way into heaven. Look at what Jesus is saying in this parable. The master owns these slaves. They belong to him. They belong to him and all of their abilities belong to him as well. So also, with us the same is true. Jesus bought us not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood.⁶ We belong to him. And all we have and are belongs to him. If we ask the question “Why does God give us these talents and abilities”, it is enough for us to know that we belong to him and he asks us to use them.

Finally then, how do we treat our talents? How should we look at them? This is the most frustrating question to answer. Jesus does not speak this parable to give us warm, peaceful thoughts. Any parable that ends with “darkness” and eternal “weeping” is being preached to us to show us our sin. And that’s exactly what we see in these words. For our Savior has given gift—real gifts to us. He has given us abilities and talents that we need to use in his kingdom for him.

And here is where we see our sin. Here is where we see that same wicked slave that the master throws away inside of us. For, there are so many times that we spend our time envying the gifts and talents that others have. But when it comes to our own gifts, how often do we act like this slave who was so full of wickedness and foolishness? We bury the abilities God has given to us. And when people might see our sin, then we blame God for our own sin.

And isn’t it sickening to be reminded how easily we fall into this sin? As a pastor, I see it in myself and in you whenever that word, “permission” is used. I grow so weary of hearing that sentence “Pastor, you didn’t tell me I had to do this.” Let me tell you boldly and clearly, there are so many things in this church that you don’t need permission for. When you come up for Communion and see the bugs piled up on the baptismal font and on the window sills, you don’t need my permission to clean it up. When you drive up the hill and see that the grass is getting taller, you don’t need my permission to mow the lawn. Ladies, you don’t need my permission to help set up communion. Men, you don’t need my permission to help out with ushers.

And if it’s true in church, how much more is it true at home? Children, you don’t need your parents’ permission to clean your room and take out the trash. You don’t need their permission to do your homework well and listen to your parents. And parents you don’t need permission to do the laundry and go out to work with joy in your heart.

And if all of this is true when it comes to simple, ordinary abilities, then how much more is it true when it comes to talents that you have that I don’t—or abilities that I have that you don’t? How we see our own wickedness and foolishness that not only do we bury our talents, but then we blame God that he didn’t send us a hand-written invitation. And what do we deserve for burying our talents and then blaming Jesus? We deserve the same punishment as this slave: eternal darkness and eternal weeping.

Jesus speaks these words to us so that we would appraise our own laziness and appreciate his forgiveness. And from that understanding then the other details Jesus speaks to us have meaning. You do not belong to yourself. You belong to the Triune God. The price was Jesus’ blood. The proof is your baptism. And my brothers and sisters, this is good news. For if we belong to Jesus, then who do we not belong to? We do not belong to Satan. On the Last Day Satan and all those who belong to him will go to the darkness outside and to place of eternal weeping. But you will not. Because you belong to Jesus. You are his slave. And what a blessed slavery that is! Have you every had a boss or a teacher that you appreciated and respected? How much more do we appreciate our God and Savior, Jesus. He took away our sin. And as if that weren’t enough, every day, every hour he gives us ways of thanking him with our words and with our actions. Now, we are the opposite of that wicked slave in the story. We do not live in fear of our master. Instead we bow down in holy joy.

You belong to Jesus, but don’t miss out on the other detail Jesus preaches to us. To those first two slaves Jesus says: “Go into the joy of your master.”⁷ These words are worth pondering. Because Jesus paid the price for your laziness in his own blood and since you have the proof in your own baptisms, you can hear these words as if they were spoken directly to you—for they are.

Go into the joy of your master. Your Father above is pleased with you. He is overjoyed with you. And his joy isn’t just for himself. It’s also for you. Jesus says “go into your master’s joy.” And we can do just that. We now serve Jesus with the talents and abilities we have knowing that Jesus is pleased with them. So, I invite you: How should you treat your talents? As you consider the price Jesus paid and the proof in your baptisms, treat your talents joyously, thankfully and zealously. Amen.

¹ ἀποδημῶν

² ἐκάλεσεν τοὺς ἰδίους δούλους καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοῖς τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ,

³ 6.82. L&N

⁴ 6.75. L&N

⁵ ἔγνων σε ὅτι σκληρὸς εἶ ἄνθρωπος

⁶ (1 Peter 1:19 NIV)

⁷ εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου

Will The Foundation Frustrate the Fire?

Will it last? That is the question that every architect and every builder asks. Will it last? Every builder and every architect who is actually faithful asks that question. I was driving up north to visit one of our members a couple of weeks ago. And I got to the bridge in Boston. It was closed. And I asked myself “Did they guy who planned this bridge and the builders who built it ask themselves that question: How can I build this bridge in such a way that it will last?” It’s not just builders who build things that can be seen who ask that question. The teacher in the classroom asks herself “I’m teaching these kids what they will need to know. But what I’m teaching them—will it last?” And not surprisingly at all, Pastors, preachers and prophets have always asked that question too. The apostle Paul tackles that question here in 1 Corinthians 3: “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:10–11 NIV)

Paul wondered if what he had preached and what he had taught would last. And as he ponders that question he gives some words of warning and some words of wisdom to the pastors who followed him. He tells them that there is only one foundation that will last. Then he tells them why Jesus is the only foundation which will last: “If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.” (1 Corinthians 3:12–13 NIV)

If you drive through Chicago still to this day you’ll notice that it’s different than many other cities. If you drive through the older sections of the city you’ll find one brick house after another. For me, growing up in Montana where almost all the houses were made out of wood, this was weird to see. So I asked the question, why are all of these houses made out of brick? Where are the wood houses? The fire. That was the answer. In 1871the houses were made out of wood and they were built very close to each other. When one started on fire the rest did as well. And no one was able to stop it.

That is the picture you have to have in mind when you read these words of Paul. Paul lists a number of building materials. And there’s only one question Paul makes us ask ourselves as we think about these materials: will these materials frustrate the fire or instead, will they fuel it? Paul is very clear isn’t he? Judgement Day will come. And it will come at a day and hour that is unknown. And on that day how every pastor has carried out his ministry will be revealed. Every sermon, every statement, every bible study that he built on Jesus and his word will endure. But every false sermon, every misleading statement, every untrue bible study will be burnt up on the last day. Is he speaking and preaching about Jesus and what he has done for you to rescue you from the slavery of sin, the fear of death and the wrath of Satan? Or is he preaching something else?

Do you understand Paul’s words so far? He’s asking the question “Will the foundation your pastor is laying—will it frustrate the fire on Judgment Day? Or will it fuel it?” You need to understand Paul’s question. For if you don’t, the words which follow will lost to you. Paul says: “If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” (