Saturday, August 27, 2011
Happy Birthday Luann!
Today is my wife, Luann's, birthday. She truly is a blessing to me! Enjoy the day, Luann. Happy birthday and I love you!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Beware of False Prophets
BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS
MATTHEW 7:13-23
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
In the name of Jesus:
Jesus in our text for today warns us about false prophets, more accurately, lying prophets or prophets who appear to be speaking for Jesus when they are not. Things are many times do not appear to be what they seem. I was reminded of this recently when I read about a kindergarten teacher who was accepting gifts from her pupils at the end of the school year. The kids brought their gifts to her in big, brown paper bags. The teacher had no trouble guessing that there were flowers in the bag brought to her by the florist’s son, or a box of chocolates in the bag from the daughter of a candy storeowner. But the bag given to her by the son of a liquor storeowner presented a challenge. It was leaking yellowish liquid. She put her finger to the liquid, tasted it and asked: “Is it wine? Champagne?” “No” the little boy replied with a smile, “It is a puppy.”
Things are not always what they seem. And this holds true in the area of religion and the Church. Jesus in our text warns us to beware of, to guard against, to stay away from and steer from false prophets. It isn’t “politically correct” to bash others who teach and preach in the name of Jesus. After all, we should just be “nice nice” and not say anything that would be in any way cause anyone trouble. But this is not what Jesus says! Note what Jesus says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount: “13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” Jesus is here talking about going to heaven. The road to heaven is narrow, so one enters through the narrow gate. While it is true that God wants all to be saved, salvation only comes to those who have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other road other than Jesus. The Scriptures are clear, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved,” “Jesus says I am the Way, Truth and Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me,” “a person is saved by grace through faith in Christ, not of works, so that no one may boast.” THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN IS BY TRUSTING IN CHRIST!!!
So Jesus warns you and me to beware of false prophets. He is clear, they exist and they are present today. The way that the false teachers proclaim leads to destruction. How then can we know who they are so that we can avoid them? Jesus gives clear instructions as to who these people are and what they will teach.
Listen to Jesus: “. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
A mark of a false prophet is that the lies that they proclaim will be dressed as the truth. Deceit always masquerades as the truth. A magician will ply his trade so that you think his performance is real, when in actuality he is tricking you, for there is always a trick up the magician’s sleeve. The same holds true for those who are false prophets. They have always existed, seeking to proclaim their wisdom instead of the Lord’s Word. Just listen to what Jeremiah the prophet says about them: “16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” And “26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name?” These false prophets speak their own wisdom; they speak visions of their own heart, and CLAIM THAT THEY ARE SPEAKING FOR THE LORD! They do not speak of sin, or repentance, or judgment. They speak of peace, they preach prosperity, and they preach what man can do to become a child of God. Noticeably absent from any of their teaching is the proclamation of sin and grace, repentance and forgiveness. And what does Jesus say of them? “You will recognize them by their fruits.”
You know what it means by knowing something by its fruit! When you go to the market to pick summer fruit, you take the time to look for good fruit, separating the good from the bad. The fruit of a true prophet doesn’t preach outward righteousness, success, or prosperity. The true prophet isn’t interested in preaching or pushing an agenda or cause. The true prophet only is concerned about one thing, preaching Christ and Him crucified and rose from the dead. The true prophet isn’t interested in his or her own ministry, isn’t concerned about the glory and praise of men, the true prophet IS only interested and concerned about the glory of God in Jesus Christ.
Note what Jesus says about these false prophets. He calls them wolves in sheep clothing. They look innocent but their teaching is deadly. They appear harmless but their teaching leads to Hell. But how can this be, because they look so nice, they appear to be clean cut and likeable. Yet Jesus says they are known by their fruits, these people are rotten to the core.
Listen to the Apostle Paul’s warning to the Church in Acts 20: “29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.” Paul continued to warn believers about false teachers in his day and age. Note again what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:13 for such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” For not everyone who says to Jesus: “‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
So what is the Christian to do? Certainly Christ warns us NOT to listen to these false prophets. So who are you to listen to? Jesus, only Jesus! Jesus speaks to you through His Word. Jesus says told the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, but THE SCRIPTURES TESTIFY OF ME.” Jesus also says:” Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” The fruit of a true preacher of Christ points people to Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins that He alone offers by His shed blood on the cross. You belong to Jesus ONLY BECAUSE OF HIS SHED BLOOD FROM HIS CROSS. Luther reminds us in his Small Catechism: You were purchased, not with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ.”
When the Apostle Peter confessed his faith in Christ, he confessed that he believed that Jesus was the promised Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus, previous to Peter’s confession, asked the disciples: Who do people say that the Son of Man is? Each and every response was lacking. Some said that Jesus was a good teacher, that type of faith wasn’t good enough. Some said that Jesus was a good preacher, that response wasn’t good enough. Some said that Jesus did many wonders, that He could work miracles in your life. That response wasn’t good enough. Only one response was good enough, Peter’s response, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter confessed his faith in the person of Jesus and HIS MISSION to seek and save the lost. The false responses and false prophets of Jesus’ day and age described a different Jesus. Jesus warns you to beware of those today who offer to you a different Jesus than the ONE that is testified of by the Bible, namely, that salvation is offered only by Christ’s cross, His shed blood, and His resurrection from the grave.
How do you guard yourself from the deceptions of these false teachers? By clinging to Christ. In Baptism Jesus was washed away your sins. You belong to Christ. So listen to His voice. His voice is heard when you hear the Word of God. The Word of God is the weapon that God has given to His Church, and to you, to ward off the assaults of the devil and the lies of false teachers. God has saved you in Christ. He wants you to listen to Christ. John the Baptist, in his ministry, took great pains not to point sinners to himself, rather, he pointed people to Jesus. John said of Jesus: “He must increase, and I must decrease.” God calls us to “seek the Lord where He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Where is Jesus to be found today? Only in His Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. For in Baptism we have been place in Christ, and in His Supper He feeds us with His true body and blood for forgiveness and eternal life.
Dear brother and sister in Christ, things are not always what they appear or seem. Note well the words of Scripture: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4: 1). Dear friend, we live in a dangerous world. Satan is alive and well and seeks your destruction. So cling to Jesus. Trust in Him alone. Be faithful to Christ unto death, and He will give you the crown of everlasting life.
Amen
MATTHEW 7:13-23
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
In the name of Jesus:
Jesus in our text for today warns us about false prophets, more accurately, lying prophets or prophets who appear to be speaking for Jesus when they are not. Things are many times do not appear to be what they seem. I was reminded of this recently when I read about a kindergarten teacher who was accepting gifts from her pupils at the end of the school year. The kids brought their gifts to her in big, brown paper bags. The teacher had no trouble guessing that there were flowers in the bag brought to her by the florist’s son, or a box of chocolates in the bag from the daughter of a candy storeowner. But the bag given to her by the son of a liquor storeowner presented a challenge. It was leaking yellowish liquid. She put her finger to the liquid, tasted it and asked: “Is it wine? Champagne?” “No” the little boy replied with a smile, “It is a puppy.”
Things are not always what they seem. And this holds true in the area of religion and the Church. Jesus in our text warns us to beware of, to guard against, to stay away from and steer from false prophets. It isn’t “politically correct” to bash others who teach and preach in the name of Jesus. After all, we should just be “nice nice” and not say anything that would be in any way cause anyone trouble. But this is not what Jesus says! Note what Jesus says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount: “13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” Jesus is here talking about going to heaven. The road to heaven is narrow, so one enters through the narrow gate. While it is true that God wants all to be saved, salvation only comes to those who have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other road other than Jesus. The Scriptures are clear, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved,” “Jesus says I am the Way, Truth and Life, no one comes to the Father but by Me,” “a person is saved by grace through faith in Christ, not of works, so that no one may boast.” THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN IS BY TRUSTING IN CHRIST!!!
So Jesus warns you and me to beware of false prophets. He is clear, they exist and they are present today. The way that the false teachers proclaim leads to destruction. How then can we know who they are so that we can avoid them? Jesus gives clear instructions as to who these people are and what they will teach.
Listen to Jesus: “. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
A mark of a false prophet is that the lies that they proclaim will be dressed as the truth. Deceit always masquerades as the truth. A magician will ply his trade so that you think his performance is real, when in actuality he is tricking you, for there is always a trick up the magician’s sleeve. The same holds true for those who are false prophets. They have always existed, seeking to proclaim their wisdom instead of the Lord’s Word. Just listen to what Jeremiah the prophet says about them: “16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” And “26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name?” These false prophets speak their own wisdom; they speak visions of their own heart, and CLAIM THAT THEY ARE SPEAKING FOR THE LORD! They do not speak of sin, or repentance, or judgment. They speak of peace, they preach prosperity, and they preach what man can do to become a child of God. Noticeably absent from any of their teaching is the proclamation of sin and grace, repentance and forgiveness. And what does Jesus say of them? “You will recognize them by their fruits.”
You know what it means by knowing something by its fruit! When you go to the market to pick summer fruit, you take the time to look for good fruit, separating the good from the bad. The fruit of a true prophet doesn’t preach outward righteousness, success, or prosperity. The true prophet isn’t interested in preaching or pushing an agenda or cause. The true prophet only is concerned about one thing, preaching Christ and Him crucified and rose from the dead. The true prophet isn’t interested in his or her own ministry, isn’t concerned about the glory and praise of men, the true prophet IS only interested and concerned about the glory of God in Jesus Christ.
Note what Jesus says about these false prophets. He calls them wolves in sheep clothing. They look innocent but their teaching is deadly. They appear harmless but their teaching leads to Hell. But how can this be, because they look so nice, they appear to be clean cut and likeable. Yet Jesus says they are known by their fruits, these people are rotten to the core.
Listen to the Apostle Paul’s warning to the Church in Acts 20: “29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.” Paul continued to warn believers about false teachers in his day and age. Note again what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:13 for such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” For not everyone who says to Jesus: “‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
So what is the Christian to do? Certainly Christ warns us NOT to listen to these false prophets. So who are you to listen to? Jesus, only Jesus! Jesus speaks to you through His Word. Jesus says told the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, but THE SCRIPTURES TESTIFY OF ME.” Jesus also says:” Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” The fruit of a true preacher of Christ points people to Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sins that He alone offers by His shed blood on the cross. You belong to Jesus ONLY BECAUSE OF HIS SHED BLOOD FROM HIS CROSS. Luther reminds us in his Small Catechism: You were purchased, not with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ.”
When the Apostle Peter confessed his faith in Christ, he confessed that he believed that Jesus was the promised Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus, previous to Peter’s confession, asked the disciples: Who do people say that the Son of Man is? Each and every response was lacking. Some said that Jesus was a good teacher, that type of faith wasn’t good enough. Some said that Jesus was a good preacher, that response wasn’t good enough. Some said that Jesus did many wonders, that He could work miracles in your life. That response wasn’t good enough. Only one response was good enough, Peter’s response, that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter confessed his faith in the person of Jesus and HIS MISSION to seek and save the lost. The false responses and false prophets of Jesus’ day and age described a different Jesus. Jesus warns you to beware of those today who offer to you a different Jesus than the ONE that is testified of by the Bible, namely, that salvation is offered only by Christ’s cross, His shed blood, and His resurrection from the grave.
How do you guard yourself from the deceptions of these false teachers? By clinging to Christ. In Baptism Jesus was washed away your sins. You belong to Christ. So listen to His voice. His voice is heard when you hear the Word of God. The Word of God is the weapon that God has given to His Church, and to you, to ward off the assaults of the devil and the lies of false teachers. God has saved you in Christ. He wants you to listen to Christ. John the Baptist, in his ministry, took great pains not to point sinners to himself, rather, he pointed people to Jesus. John said of Jesus: “He must increase, and I must decrease.” God calls us to “seek the Lord where He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Where is Jesus to be found today? Only in His Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. For in Baptism we have been place in Christ, and in His Supper He feeds us with His true body and blood for forgiveness and eternal life.
Dear brother and sister in Christ, things are not always what they appear or seem. Note well the words of Scripture: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4: 1). Dear friend, we live in a dangerous world. Satan is alive and well and seeks your destruction. So cling to Jesus. Trust in Him alone. Be faithful to Christ unto death, and He will give you the crown of everlasting life.
Amen
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Lest We Forget
LEST WE FORGET
MARK 8:1-9
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.
In the name of Jesus:
Lest we Forget is a phrase, first made popular in a poem by Rudyard Kipling. The phrase is found in the refrain of Kipling’s poem called “Recessional”. In the poem, Kipling warns about self-confidence, where a nation would become so full of pride or self-confidence that they would forget where they came from and thus suffer a decline as a nation.
More recently, “Lest we forget” has become a popular slogan for the Prisoner of War/ Missing in Action campaign. The phrase reminds us to remember not just the sacrifices of the military as a whole but the ultimate sacrifice made by those who have been lost in battle or captured by the enemy. “Lest we Forget” has become a rallying cry of sorts after the Korean and Vietnam wars, so that we as a nation never forget those who are MIA or POW’s and that we continue to strive to bring them home to our country.
Lest we forget should serve as the rallying cry for the Christian Church, because in spite of the many blessings that God bestows on His children, we who are followers of Christ soon forget those blessings. And even today, as we gather around God’s Word and Sacrament, we come as a people who have, at times, forgotten God’s mercy and compassion to us in Christ. But God still has compassion on us in Christ, He forgives, renews, and strengthens, so that we might not forget His mercies but continue to trust in Christ, and show that faith in our daily lives.
Note our text: In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.” Did you catch that? Again a great crowd gathered. This has happened before! In fact, it happened four pages ago, in Mark 7 where we see that a great crowd gathered at that time, and Jesus at that time had compassion on the people and fed 5000 with five loaves of bread and two fish.
Here we are, some time later, and the same thing happens, a great crowd gathers and they had nothing to eat. Mark records that Jesus, seeing the crowd, and knowing their needs (because He is the Son of God in human flesh) has compassion on them. Compassion, Jesus felt compassion, a feeling in your gut where you are moved to action out of love and concern for another. And so Jesus, in compassion, acts.
In the feeding of the 5000, Jesus tells His disciples to give them something to eat. The disciples ask the first time where are we going to get something to eat for all these people? Knowing the situation Jesus at this time in the feeding of the 4000, Jesus simply states the problem: “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” What a set up! Surely the disciples will remember what happened last time. Won’t they? Certainly they will remember who is with them! Or will they? How we forget! For the disciples say to Jesus: “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” They say to Jesus: “What can WE do? How easily they forgot who Jesus is and what Jesus had done for them in the past!
So note what Jesus does: He takes what is available and blesses it. And the people were fed! Listen: “And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.”
The people were fed. They were satisfied. Their needs were met, the hunger pangs were quelled and they had no more need to be fed. Having been fed once again there were leftovers! Over seven baskets of leftovers were collected. And the Scriptures state that they went on their way. Did they remember what happened? What would be their response when trouble would arise again?
Dear friends, how easily we forget the mercies of the Lord! The Bible says: Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever!” God is always merciful and gracious, even to us, and yet, sadly, we forget God’s mercies and grace. When push comes to shove, and when you have needs or are faced with troubling issues in your lives, how do you respond? God has promised to take care of you. Do you remember that, or do you easily forget?
How many times have you worried about your physical needs: will you have enough to live on; can you make ends meet; who will take care of you when you are in need of care; will your children be provided for; what about your health; your friends; what is it that you have fretted about, worried about, what has caused you a sleepless night or two? What is it that your have worried about?
Hasn’t the Lord promised to take care of you? Hasn’t He helped you in the past? Your help has come in the name of the Lord? He has given to you what you need. He has richly and daily provided for all that you have needed to support your body and life. How easily you have forgotten how much the Lord loves you and how much He cares for you. He has never failed you, but you have failed to remember that the Lord your God is good and gracious and that He has been faithful to His promises to you. Your sinful heart has accepted God’s gifts, but has failed to thank Him. You have accepted help from the Lord but sadly, when faced with new challenges and difficulties; you easily forget God and His grace.
Freely you have received mercy from God. But how often as sinners do we fail to show it to others! God has forgiven in Christ and yet we find it within our power to hold a grudge, to withhold forgiveness to someone who has wronged us, and we even seek to pay back evil for evil. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, but we would rather take maters into our own hands instead of trusting in the Lord to work all things out for us.
You see, time and again the Lord continues to provide for you and His children. But how easily we forget His mercies! Rather than thanking God we run from Him to the pleasures of this world. All too often we despise the Lord, His Word, and His gifts.
But Christ has compassion. On you and for you! Even as He had fed the 5000, and then again the 4000, so also He feeds you today with His Body and Blood. Come and taste and see once again that the Lord is good! His mercy lasts forever! His forgiveness is for sinners! For Jesus became sin for you, enduring the cross, paying the price for your life by giving His life unto death on the cross. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ! (Romans 6:23). Jesus is the Good Shepherd of the sheep. He as the Good Shepherd laid down His life for you! He has called you by name in the waters of your Baptism. You do not belong to yourself, or the sinful world. You belong to God!
See what God continues to do for you today! He feeds and cares for you. Jesus says that He is the bread of life, and this bread, which nourishes to eternal life, is given freely this day in His Word and Sacrament. His Word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. Jesus comes in, with, and under the bread and wine to give you Himself, so that your sins are forgiven and that your soul is fed. Jesus sees your sins and in compassion forgives you your sins in this Sacrament. He feeds you with Himself so that you can once again taste and see that the Lord is good and that His mercy endures forever. Jesus bids you to come to this altar, to take and eat and take and drink His true body and blood in remembrance of Him. He is really present and in your partaking of this Meal Jesus calls to your remembrance the price He paid for your salvation: nothing else but His body and blood which is given to you in this Sacrament. Come to the Lord this day you who labor and are heavy laden with sin, for in Christ there is forgiveness of your sins. Here God meets your greatest need, for where there is forgiveness of sin, and then there is life and salvation.
Luther said to God’s people in his day on preaching on this text (and his words are poignant for you and me today): “The lesson is that we get our priorities straight and make the searching of God’s Word our first priority. We have a generous Lord, who is concerned about all of our need and in whom we should therefore trust to provide everything that is essential. Even though at times it may seem to us that we are lacking in necessities, he will always take care of us so long as we diligently hear His Word, believe it, and live a life that is pleasing to God. For when Christ is our provider, there will always be an abundance of everything, even when there is nothing, as we clearly see from this Gospel lesson…. We should burn this lesson into our memories so that we may learn to believe that, regardless how poor we may be, if we faithfully and diligently cling to God’s promises, our Lord Christ will still provide us with food and nourishment” (Complete Works of Martin Luther Vol 6: 333ff).
Jesus frequently said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear! And how we need to hear this lesson, remember it, and believe it today! The news is filled with reports of another down turn in the economy, as if there was ever an upturn in the economy! Yes, the economy today is not doing well. People still don’t have jobs; many are struggling to make ends meet. But God reminds you and me today in this passage that He loves us with an everlasting love. Rather than worry and be anxious over things that we need, He reminds us in the feeding of the 4000 and 5000 of His compassion for sinners. Christ will provide. So turn from your worry, repent of your sins, and do not forget that Christ loves you and will continue to take care of you. Make the Lord and His Word your first love and priority! Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and then all these things will be added to you.
Amen
MARK 8:1-9
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.
In the name of Jesus:
Lest we Forget is a phrase, first made popular in a poem by Rudyard Kipling. The phrase is found in the refrain of Kipling’s poem called “Recessional”. In the poem, Kipling warns about self-confidence, where a nation would become so full of pride or self-confidence that they would forget where they came from and thus suffer a decline as a nation.
More recently, “Lest we forget” has become a popular slogan for the Prisoner of War/ Missing in Action campaign. The phrase reminds us to remember not just the sacrifices of the military as a whole but the ultimate sacrifice made by those who have been lost in battle or captured by the enemy. “Lest we Forget” has become a rallying cry of sorts after the Korean and Vietnam wars, so that we as a nation never forget those who are MIA or POW’s and that we continue to strive to bring them home to our country.
Lest we forget should serve as the rallying cry for the Christian Church, because in spite of the many blessings that God bestows on His children, we who are followers of Christ soon forget those blessings. And even today, as we gather around God’s Word and Sacrament, we come as a people who have, at times, forgotten God’s mercy and compassion to us in Christ. But God still has compassion on us in Christ, He forgives, renews, and strengthens, so that we might not forget His mercies but continue to trust in Christ, and show that faith in our daily lives.
Note our text: In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.” Did you catch that? Again a great crowd gathered. This has happened before! In fact, it happened four pages ago, in Mark 7 where we see that a great crowd gathered at that time, and Jesus at that time had compassion on the people and fed 5000 with five loaves of bread and two fish.
Here we are, some time later, and the same thing happens, a great crowd gathers and they had nothing to eat. Mark records that Jesus, seeing the crowd, and knowing their needs (because He is the Son of God in human flesh) has compassion on them. Compassion, Jesus felt compassion, a feeling in your gut where you are moved to action out of love and concern for another. And so Jesus, in compassion, acts.
In the feeding of the 5000, Jesus tells His disciples to give them something to eat. The disciples ask the first time where are we going to get something to eat for all these people? Knowing the situation Jesus at this time in the feeding of the 4000, Jesus simply states the problem: “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” What a set up! Surely the disciples will remember what happened last time. Won’t they? Certainly they will remember who is with them! Or will they? How we forget! For the disciples say to Jesus: “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” They say to Jesus: “What can WE do? How easily they forgot who Jesus is and what Jesus had done for them in the past!
So note what Jesus does: He takes what is available and blesses it. And the people were fed! Listen: “And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.”
The people were fed. They were satisfied. Their needs were met, the hunger pangs were quelled and they had no more need to be fed. Having been fed once again there were leftovers! Over seven baskets of leftovers were collected. And the Scriptures state that they went on their way. Did they remember what happened? What would be their response when trouble would arise again?
Dear friends, how easily we forget the mercies of the Lord! The Bible says: Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever!” God is always merciful and gracious, even to us, and yet, sadly, we forget God’s mercies and grace. When push comes to shove, and when you have needs or are faced with troubling issues in your lives, how do you respond? God has promised to take care of you. Do you remember that, or do you easily forget?
How many times have you worried about your physical needs: will you have enough to live on; can you make ends meet; who will take care of you when you are in need of care; will your children be provided for; what about your health; your friends; what is it that you have fretted about, worried about, what has caused you a sleepless night or two? What is it that your have worried about?
Hasn’t the Lord promised to take care of you? Hasn’t He helped you in the past? Your help has come in the name of the Lord? He has given to you what you need. He has richly and daily provided for all that you have needed to support your body and life. How easily you have forgotten how much the Lord loves you and how much He cares for you. He has never failed you, but you have failed to remember that the Lord your God is good and gracious and that He has been faithful to His promises to you. Your sinful heart has accepted God’s gifts, but has failed to thank Him. You have accepted help from the Lord but sadly, when faced with new challenges and difficulties; you easily forget God and His grace.
Freely you have received mercy from God. But how often as sinners do we fail to show it to others! God has forgiven in Christ and yet we find it within our power to hold a grudge, to withhold forgiveness to someone who has wronged us, and we even seek to pay back evil for evil. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, but we would rather take maters into our own hands instead of trusting in the Lord to work all things out for us.
You see, time and again the Lord continues to provide for you and His children. But how easily we forget His mercies! Rather than thanking God we run from Him to the pleasures of this world. All too often we despise the Lord, His Word, and His gifts.
But Christ has compassion. On you and for you! Even as He had fed the 5000, and then again the 4000, so also He feeds you today with His Body and Blood. Come and taste and see once again that the Lord is good! His mercy lasts forever! His forgiveness is for sinners! For Jesus became sin for you, enduring the cross, paying the price for your life by giving His life unto death on the cross. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ! (Romans 6:23). Jesus is the Good Shepherd of the sheep. He as the Good Shepherd laid down His life for you! He has called you by name in the waters of your Baptism. You do not belong to yourself, or the sinful world. You belong to God!
See what God continues to do for you today! He feeds and cares for you. Jesus says that He is the bread of life, and this bread, which nourishes to eternal life, is given freely this day in His Word and Sacrament. His Word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. Jesus comes in, with, and under the bread and wine to give you Himself, so that your sins are forgiven and that your soul is fed. Jesus sees your sins and in compassion forgives you your sins in this Sacrament. He feeds you with Himself so that you can once again taste and see that the Lord is good and that His mercy endures forever. Jesus bids you to come to this altar, to take and eat and take and drink His true body and blood in remembrance of Him. He is really present and in your partaking of this Meal Jesus calls to your remembrance the price He paid for your salvation: nothing else but His body and blood which is given to you in this Sacrament. Come to the Lord this day you who labor and are heavy laden with sin, for in Christ there is forgiveness of your sins. Here God meets your greatest need, for where there is forgiveness of sin, and then there is life and salvation.
Luther said to God’s people in his day on preaching on this text (and his words are poignant for you and me today): “The lesson is that we get our priorities straight and make the searching of God’s Word our first priority. We have a generous Lord, who is concerned about all of our need and in whom we should therefore trust to provide everything that is essential. Even though at times it may seem to us that we are lacking in necessities, he will always take care of us so long as we diligently hear His Word, believe it, and live a life that is pleasing to God. For when Christ is our provider, there will always be an abundance of everything, even when there is nothing, as we clearly see from this Gospel lesson…. We should burn this lesson into our memories so that we may learn to believe that, regardless how poor we may be, if we faithfully and diligently cling to God’s promises, our Lord Christ will still provide us with food and nourishment” (Complete Works of Martin Luther Vol 6: 333ff).
Jesus frequently said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear! And how we need to hear this lesson, remember it, and believe it today! The news is filled with reports of another down turn in the economy, as if there was ever an upturn in the economy! Yes, the economy today is not doing well. People still don’t have jobs; many are struggling to make ends meet. But God reminds you and me today in this passage that He loves us with an everlasting love. Rather than worry and be anxious over things that we need, He reminds us in the feeding of the 4000 and 5000 of His compassion for sinners. Christ will provide. So turn from your worry, repent of your sins, and do not forget that Christ loves you and will continue to take care of you. Make the Lord and His Word your first love and priority! Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and then all these things will be added to you.
Amen
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Your Only Hope
YOUR ONLY HOPE
MATTHEW 5:17-26
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
In the name of Jesus:
I read about an instant cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn't understand why it didn't sell -- until their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that required only water. Apparently people thought it was too easy. So the company altered the formula and changed the directions to call for adding an egg to the mix in addition to the water. The idea worked and sales jumped dramatically.
This story simply illustrates the reaction that many have to salvation by grace through faith in Christ. For some who balk at God’s grace, it sounds too easy and simple to be true, even though the Bible says, "By grace you have been saved through faith... it is the gift of God, not of works" (Eph. 2:8-9). They think that there has to be more to it, that there is something more they must do, something they must add to God's "recipe" for salvation. They think they must perform good works to gain God's favor and earn eternal life. But the Bible is clear -- we are saved, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy" (Titus 3:5). God has not changed the Gospel. The Good News is that He saves by a free gift of His love through faith in Jesus Christ. Our good works are merely thank yous, flowing from grateful hearts to God.
When Jesus ushered in the Kingdom by calling sinners to repentance, He proclaimed the Law of God in its sternest terms. This is what He does today. It is the meaning of His words: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.” True righteousness, a right standing with God exists only because a right relationship with Jesus. Salvation is given by God’s grace through faith in Christ. The Scribes and Pharisees didn’t grasp this concept because of their hatred of Jesus.
In the Old Testament lesson for today, we read of God’s Ten Commandments. The Law of God was given by God to curb lawlessness, show sinners their sinfulness, and as a third use is to be used by Christians as a guide or rule for thankful living to God. For the Pharisees and Scribes, whose hatred of Jesus blinded them, the Law of God was not enough to be right with God. More was needed, much more.
Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in two verses: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In addition to this, love your neighbor as yourself. These words sum up the Ten Commandments perfectly. But for the Pharisees, this wasn’t enough. The Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws. They continued to invent new laws for new situations. Even though God was the judge, they believed that they could judge others and so they held people accountable to their own standard of righteousness. People had to live to please the Pharisees, not God. The Pharisee and his version of righteousness was cold and heartless, it was not produced by love for God, it was more interested in the praise of men, instead of God’s will and lives lived to His glory.
Make no mistake, the scribes and Pharisees were religious people. They were more interested in the externals; a life rooted in works, thinking that by their works God would be pleased. They rejected Jesus and His message of love and grace. But Jesus rejected their teachings and their works. I like what author Frederick Buechner wrote: “The trouble with religious people is that they try to be more spiritual than God.” How true. The trouble with the scribes and Pharisees is that they tried to be more spiritual than God. They thought that they could live lives, which would give them a right relationship with God.
Who can do this? Not the Scribes, not the Pharisees, and certainly not you or me! NO one can keep God’s Law perfectly, this is what He commands when He says Be holy as I the Lord your God am holy. God requires perfection in thought, word, and deed. His standard is the perfect keeping of HIS commandments, not man made ones. And in this you and I and every human being falls far short!
God demands perfection! God demands holiness! Nothing more and nothing less! And so Jesus says: Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you won’t enter the Kingdom of heaven. Examine your life in light of God’s law: Have you loved God above all things? Or have money, power, prestige taken the place of God? Have you played God in your life, or has God had His way with you? Have you acted in anger, spite, or envy of another? Have you honored those who serve God in the government as His agents and prayed for those over you, or have you complained or have been indifferent?
If you are honest with God, and yourself, you will note that you have fallen far short of God’s standard of perfection. You have not been perfect as God is perfect, your life has not been holy at all times, you have not allowed God to use you, rather you have tried to use God and play the part of God in your life. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Even if you were to deny your sinfulness, you can’t deny the inevitability of your death. Death is the payoff for a sinful life. You HAVE sinned, you HAVE fallen short of God’s standard of perfection, and you WILL die.
So where can you go for help? Your help, the sinners’ help is in the name of the Lord. Turn to Christ; trust in what He has done for you. Trust in Jesus, for He is your HOPE, your righteousness, and your ever-present help in times of trouble.
Jesus came to be YOUR righteousness because you can never be right in and of yourself before God. This is why Jesus says: “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Jesus came to keep the Law on your behalf. He came to keep the Ten Commandments perfectly for you in your place. Jesus fulfilled all that was written of Him in the Law and the Prophets. The writer to the Hebrews states: “15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16).
Your only hope for salvation is Jesus! For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus is your righteousness before the Father for He gave His perfect life in death as your Substitute and Savior. Jesus is the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus has accomplished all that is needed for your salvation. His righteousness, and His alone EXCEED the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. And Jesus gives you this righteousness as a free gift.
This gift was given to you in your Baptism. Note what Paul says of Baptism: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-4). You have died to sin in Baptism. In your Baptism the Holy Spirit has washed your filthy rags of righteousness. Just as Christ died so too in Baptism you were baptized into His death, so that you might die to sin and rise to newness of life in Christ. This new life in Christ has been given as a GIFT to you in your Baptism. So that, just as Jesus rose from the grave, so daily you are called to rise daily by the power of the Spirit to live for God.
The life you now live, you live to the glory of God. It is done in keeping the Ten Commandments, joyfully, in thanks to Jesus to the glory of God. Jesus explains what this life looks like when He says: “13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16). You are now raised with Christ to walk in newness of life and to share in His resurrection on the Last Day. And so you are to live as if you are dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ, living out your life as a shining light to others revealing the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Today Christians just shake their heads at the state of things in our world today. It seems as if everything is falling apart at the seams. Those Christian values, which we grew up with and held so dear, are now marginalized and trivialized. I ran across an interesting comment by retired Anglican pastor John Stott. Stott, who was a pastor in London England, once remarked concerning what he saw as the declining values in America by saying:
‘You know what your own country is like. I'm a visitor, and I wouldn't presume to speak about America. But I know what Great Britain is like. I know something about the growing dishonesty, corruption, immorality, violence, pornography, the diminishing respect for human life, and the increase in abortion. Whose fault is it? Let me put it like this: if the house is dark at night, there is no sense in blaming the house. That's what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, "Where is the light?” if meat goes bad, there is no sense in blaming the meat. That is what happens when the bacteria are allowed to breed unchecked. The question to ask is, "Where is the salt?” if society becomes corrupt like a dark night or stinking fish, there's no sense in blaming society. That's what happens when fallen human society is left to itself and human evil is unrestrained and unchecked. The question to ask is "Where is the church?"
Where is the Church? Dear friend, YOU ARE THE CHURCH! You have been called in Baptism to follow Christ, showing by your words and action the God given faith you have in Jesus. The light of Christ has been given to you to shine in this dark world. Your only hope for your salvation is Jesus Christ. The only hope for this lost and fallen world is Jesus Christ! God seeks to use you to bring Light to the darkness and hope to the hopeless. Your hope is built on nothing less than Jesus. The only hope our neighborhoods and communities have is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has changed your life so that others might be saved!
The power of the Gospel, the power of Christ is most vividly seen in the story told when George Bush was Vice President. As Vice President, George Bush (41 not 43) represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest.
There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.
Jesus has had mercy on you. He died and rose for you and gives you His light and life. He has called you by name to give hope to the hopeless by living out your faith in Jesus. So let your light shine, giving glory to God, and hope to many. In Jesus’ name.
Amen
MATTHEW 5:17-26
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
In the name of Jesus:
I read about an instant cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn't understand why it didn't sell -- until their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that required only water. Apparently people thought it was too easy. So the company altered the formula and changed the directions to call for adding an egg to the mix in addition to the water. The idea worked and sales jumped dramatically.
This story simply illustrates the reaction that many have to salvation by grace through faith in Christ. For some who balk at God’s grace, it sounds too easy and simple to be true, even though the Bible says, "By grace you have been saved through faith... it is the gift of God, not of works" (Eph. 2:8-9). They think that there has to be more to it, that there is something more they must do, something they must add to God's "recipe" for salvation. They think they must perform good works to gain God's favor and earn eternal life. But the Bible is clear -- we are saved, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy" (Titus 3:5). God has not changed the Gospel. The Good News is that He saves by a free gift of His love through faith in Jesus Christ. Our good works are merely thank yous, flowing from grateful hearts to God.
When Jesus ushered in the Kingdom by calling sinners to repentance, He proclaimed the Law of God in its sternest terms. This is what He does today. It is the meaning of His words: “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.” True righteousness, a right standing with God exists only because a right relationship with Jesus. Salvation is given by God’s grace through faith in Christ. The Scribes and Pharisees didn’t grasp this concept because of their hatred of Jesus.
In the Old Testament lesson for today, we read of God’s Ten Commandments. The Law of God was given by God to curb lawlessness, show sinners their sinfulness, and as a third use is to be used by Christians as a guide or rule for thankful living to God. For the Pharisees and Scribes, whose hatred of Jesus blinded them, the Law of God was not enough to be right with God. More was needed, much more.
Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in two verses: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In addition to this, love your neighbor as yourself. These words sum up the Ten Commandments perfectly. But for the Pharisees, this wasn’t enough. The Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws. They continued to invent new laws for new situations. Even though God was the judge, they believed that they could judge others and so they held people accountable to their own standard of righteousness. People had to live to please the Pharisees, not God. The Pharisee and his version of righteousness was cold and heartless, it was not produced by love for God, it was more interested in the praise of men, instead of God’s will and lives lived to His glory.
Make no mistake, the scribes and Pharisees were religious people. They were more interested in the externals; a life rooted in works, thinking that by their works God would be pleased. They rejected Jesus and His message of love and grace. But Jesus rejected their teachings and their works. I like what author Frederick Buechner wrote: “The trouble with religious people is that they try to be more spiritual than God.” How true. The trouble with the scribes and Pharisees is that they tried to be more spiritual than God. They thought that they could live lives, which would give them a right relationship with God.
Who can do this? Not the Scribes, not the Pharisees, and certainly not you or me! NO one can keep God’s Law perfectly, this is what He commands when He says Be holy as I the Lord your God am holy. God requires perfection in thought, word, and deed. His standard is the perfect keeping of HIS commandments, not man made ones. And in this you and I and every human being falls far short!
God demands perfection! God demands holiness! Nothing more and nothing less! And so Jesus says: Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you won’t enter the Kingdom of heaven. Examine your life in light of God’s law: Have you loved God above all things? Or have money, power, prestige taken the place of God? Have you played God in your life, or has God had His way with you? Have you acted in anger, spite, or envy of another? Have you honored those who serve God in the government as His agents and prayed for those over you, or have you complained or have been indifferent?
If you are honest with God, and yourself, you will note that you have fallen far short of God’s standard of perfection. You have not been perfect as God is perfect, your life has not been holy at all times, you have not allowed God to use you, rather you have tried to use God and play the part of God in your life. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Even if you were to deny your sinfulness, you can’t deny the inevitability of your death. Death is the payoff for a sinful life. You HAVE sinned, you HAVE fallen short of God’s standard of perfection, and you WILL die.
So where can you go for help? Your help, the sinners’ help is in the name of the Lord. Turn to Christ; trust in what He has done for you. Trust in Jesus, for He is your HOPE, your righteousness, and your ever-present help in times of trouble.
Jesus came to be YOUR righteousness because you can never be right in and of yourself before God. This is why Jesus says: “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Jesus came to keep the Law on your behalf. He came to keep the Ten Commandments perfectly for you in your place. Jesus fulfilled all that was written of Him in the Law and the Prophets. The writer to the Hebrews states: “15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16).
Your only hope for salvation is Jesus! For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus is your righteousness before the Father for He gave His perfect life in death as your Substitute and Savior. Jesus is the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus has accomplished all that is needed for your salvation. His righteousness, and His alone EXCEED the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. And Jesus gives you this righteousness as a free gift.
This gift was given to you in your Baptism. Note what Paul says of Baptism: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-4). You have died to sin in Baptism. In your Baptism the Holy Spirit has washed your filthy rags of righteousness. Just as Christ died so too in Baptism you were baptized into His death, so that you might die to sin and rise to newness of life in Christ. This new life in Christ has been given as a GIFT to you in your Baptism. So that, just as Jesus rose from the grave, so daily you are called to rise daily by the power of the Spirit to live for God.
The life you now live, you live to the glory of God. It is done in keeping the Ten Commandments, joyfully, in thanks to Jesus to the glory of God. Jesus explains what this life looks like when He says: “13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16). You are now raised with Christ to walk in newness of life and to share in His resurrection on the Last Day. And so you are to live as if you are dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ, living out your life as a shining light to others revealing the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Today Christians just shake their heads at the state of things in our world today. It seems as if everything is falling apart at the seams. Those Christian values, which we grew up with and held so dear, are now marginalized and trivialized. I ran across an interesting comment by retired Anglican pastor John Stott. Stott, who was a pastor in London England, once remarked concerning what he saw as the declining values in America by saying:
‘You know what your own country is like. I'm a visitor, and I wouldn't presume to speak about America. But I know what Great Britain is like. I know something about the growing dishonesty, corruption, immorality, violence, pornography, the diminishing respect for human life, and the increase in abortion. Whose fault is it? Let me put it like this: if the house is dark at night, there is no sense in blaming the house. That's what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, "Where is the light?” if meat goes bad, there is no sense in blaming the meat. That is what happens when the bacteria are allowed to breed unchecked. The question to ask is, "Where is the salt?” if society becomes corrupt like a dark night or stinking fish, there's no sense in blaming society. That's what happens when fallen human society is left to itself and human evil is unrestrained and unchecked. The question to ask is "Where is the church?"
Where is the Church? Dear friend, YOU ARE THE CHURCH! You have been called in Baptism to follow Christ, showing by your words and action the God given faith you have in Jesus. The light of Christ has been given to you to shine in this dark world. Your only hope for your salvation is Jesus Christ. The only hope for this lost and fallen world is Jesus Christ! God seeks to use you to bring Light to the darkness and hope to the hopeless. Your hope is built on nothing less than Jesus. The only hope our neighborhoods and communities have is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has changed your life so that others might be saved!
The power of the Gospel, the power of Christ is most vividly seen in the story told when George Bush was Vice President. As Vice President, George Bush (41 not 43) represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest.
There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.
Jesus has had mercy on you. He died and rose for you and gives you His light and life. He has called you by name to give hope to the hopeless by living out your faith in Jesus. So let your light shine, giving glory to God, and hope to many. In Jesus’ name.
Amen
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