Sermon for Pentecost 15: "In Christ Alone, We Receive Access to the Father" (1 Timothy 2:1-5)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

[Intro]

 

In today’s world, you may be surprised to hear that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of world religions. Each of these world religions promises something. They could promise anything from economic prosperity to eternal salvation. But, which one is true? They can’t all be true could they?

 

In the world of pluralism – in which we live – today’s society would like you to think that all world religions contain truth. It’s likely that most of us have seen those cute bumper stickers that say “Coexist” or “Tolerance” in religious symbols. Maybe you have even thought: “Why can’t we just all get along?”

 

But, again, I ask you this question: “Which world religion is true?” They can’t all be true, could they?

 

[The Truth]

 

In this morning’s epistle lesson, the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to answer that burning question that the world often asks.

 

He writes to Timothy: “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:3-6).

 

Did you notice that Paul wrote: “to come to the knowledge of the truth?” Notice that he didn’t write: “to come to the knowledge of a truth.” Paul is writing to us that there is one truth, not many truths. And, this one truth is that Jesus is the one mediator between God the Father and us.

 

But, what about the other religions? As Paul says to Timothy, only Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all. So, every other false god always comes up short. No other god has given itself as a ransom for all people so they could be saved. Only Jesus has given Himself for all people, so everyone would be saved through Him.

 

So, there is no need to search for the way to the Father, because the Way has come to us. All we have to do is to follow Jesus and we receive the Kingdom of God.

 

This may seem obvious to us today, but when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy – who served as the leader of the Ephesian churches – Paul was aware that there were false teachings being spoken about that would lead many in the Church astray. In his letter, Paul is giving Timothy instructions on how to keep Christ’s Church pure.

 

So, what was Timothy to do? Well, in those days, there were no physical church buildings in Ephesus. Instead, each Christian worshipped in house churches and each house church was led by its own pastor.

 

Since Ephesus became the numerical and geographical center of Christendom, there were hundreds of churches in this city. So, Timothy’s work was to teach these pastors the one true Christian faith and these pastors were to teach their congregations.

 

So, Timothy went from house church to house church teaching these pastors. He taught the pastors to watch out for false teachers. He taught the pastors about prayer. He taught the pastors about Christian modesty. He taught the pastors how to shepherd their flock.

 

[Exclusiveness]

 

In today’s epistle lesson, Paul teaches Timothy and us that Christians are to pray for all people. We pray for all people – no matter if kind or evil, Christian or not – so that we may live peaceful, godly lives. Christians are able to pray for all people, because we have received access to God the Father through the one mediator Christ Jesus.

 

We are only able to make requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings to God the Father through Christ Jesus who gave Himself as a ransom for all people through His atoning death upon the cross and His resurrection from the dead. So, outside of faith in Christ in our prayers, there is no other way to pray to God the Father. There is no other proper way to pray, since Jesus is the only way to God the Father.

 

For those outside the Christian faith, they may believe that Christians are mean to think this way. They may say: “How dare Christians be so exclusive!?”

 

Well, Christianity is exclusive, because God is exclusive. God the Father sent His only begotten Son Jesus to be the one Savior of the world. We can only be saved through the blood of Jesus. Jesus in fact says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). For Christians, this sounds like pure gospel. For non-Christians, this sounds scandalous. Non-Christians may say: “I’m a good person, I’m nice to people and I give to charity, so why can’t I be saved?” Yes, you may be a good person, but being good doesn’t result in being saved. We are only saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[Another way to salvation?]

 

Now, many of you are aware that I served as a voting delegate at the LCMS convention in Tampa, Florida at the end of July. But, you may not be aware that the LCMS was not the only Lutheran synod to have a convention during the summer. The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) also held conventions.

 

Now, only one of these conventions made national headlines: The ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee. One of those headlines dealt with our epistle.

 

Again, Paul writes to us: “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:3-5).

 

It appears that the ELCA voting delegates focused on the fact that God desires all people to be saved, but they forgot how God does the saving.

 

In a resolution titled “A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment: A policy statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,”[1] with men and women on the assembly stage representing world religions, such as Islam, Reform Judaism, Hinduism and Baha’i, the ELCA voted by a whopping 97 percent that Jesus may not be the only way to salvation.[2] This resolution offers the opportunity that people who believe in false gods could be saved.

 

Before this vote, one delegate put forward an amendment striking out Universalist language and replacing that section with the very words of Jesus from John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” But, his amendment failed. Again, his amendment failed.

 

Recall the very words of Jesus: “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).

 

The very words of Jesus were voted down by the convention delegates, because as the resolution put it, the ELCA wants a posture of curiosity and humility as it seeks to learn from their inter-religious neighbors.[3]

 

So, in their effort to be curious and “humble” toward false religions, the ELCA has removed the exclusiveness of Christianity. In doing so, in my opinion, the ELCA church body has ceased to be Christian. Yes, there is a remnant of Christians within the ELCA, but the ELCA leadership is now promoting Universalism, which is heresy – false teachings that do not lead to salvation.

 

With this vote, the delegates decided that the ELCA no longer follows Jesus as Lord, but instead has chosen to follow the sinful culture as its lord. The ELCA is no longer seeking to evangelize the lost, but to instead say: “You are fine the way you are. We don’t need Jesus to be saved, just be a good person.”

 

Paul warned Timothy of false teachers. Paul taught Timothy and us that there is no other mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. There is no other way to be saved.

[Sinners Need a Mediator]

 

Now, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. But, how can a person come to saving faith through teachings that are contrary to the truth revealed in Holy Scripture?

 

The Church must know God’s saving gospel in all its truth and proclaim it faithfully into all the world.

 

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” With these words Paul shows us why it is so important to come to the knowledge of the truth. There are not numerous gods, each providing truth and salvation. There is only one true God. Between God the Father and us, there is only one mediator, the man Christ Jesus, who at the same time is also true God.

 

Because of our sin, we need a mediator. You see, sin has separated all of humanity from the one and only God.

 

On our own, we could never achieve salvation. We have sinned in thought, word, and deed by our own fault, by our own grievous fault. We don’t always look to the one true God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – for all our needs, but instead look inward, or to other false gods and idols that provide temporary relief, but never eternal comfort.

 

But we have a mediator – our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, who died for our sins and rose three days later to redeem all who trust in Him from sin, death, and Satan. Through His death and resurrection, He has purchased us as His own! So, everyone who trusts in Jesus is now seen as righteous and blameless by God the Father.

 

But, each time we sin, we are separating ourselves from God the Father. Without Jesus, we would be lost in our trespasses. But, we indeed have a mediator between God and men – the Man Christ Jesus – so we are able to repent and confess our sins to God the Father. In return, God the Father forgives our sins on behalf of His Son.

 

As the mediator, Jesus comes to us through the Means of Grace – Word and Sacrament.  Here, Jesus strengthens our weak faith and forgives our sins as we hear God’s Word and receive His Sacrament. Here, Jesus again restores us access to God the Father.

 

God the Father sent Jesus so humanity would be saved through Him, who alone is the way, and the truth, and the life – Jesus, the one mediator between God and men. Amen.

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

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[1] A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment: A policy statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America https://elca.org/Faith/Ecumenical-and-Inter-Religious-Relations/Inter-Religious-Relations/Draft-Policy-Statement

[2] https://juicyecumenism.com/2019/08/12/elca-goes-universalist/

[3] ELCA YouTube, Churchwide Assembly Plenary 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9nw4GVTPaI

Sermon for Pentecost 12: "He Who Humbles Himself Will be Exalted" (Luke 14)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

[Intro]

 

C.S. Lewis once wrote: “If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.” (Mere Christianity, book III, chapter 8, paragraph 14)

 

This morning, Jesus teaches us about humility.

 

So, how can anyone become humble? Well, if we try to become humble, then we aren’t really being humble at all.

 

[The Situation]

 

In our gospel reading, Jesus is in a place that we may not expect. He is dining at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees on the Sabbath. Now, something we would expect does happen – conflict.

 

Now, we do not know all the details on why Jesus was dining with a Pharisee, but He was there. He was there with not one Pharisee it appears, since Luke tells us that “they were watching him carefully” (Luke 14:1b). These Pharisees and lawyers were likely hoping to catch Jesus violating the Jewish Law.

 

We also do not know the exact details on why a man with dropsy – a swelling disorder – was also there. Could the Pharisees have invited this man in order to trap Jesus? Possibly, but we don’t know.

 

It was the Sabbath and according to the Jewish Law, Jews were not to do any work on the Sabbath.

 

While at the meal, Jesus sees this man with dropsy and asks those at the dinner table: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” (Luke 14:3b) The Pharisees remained silent.

 

In their silence, Jesus healed the man and said, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” (Luke 14:5)

 

Again, silence. These men didn’t have the strength to reply to Jesus, for they all knew that they could not leave their son for dead. They all realized that mercy takes precedent over following regulations.

 

[Choosing the Places of Honor]

 

Now, prior to the dinner, Jesus noticed something else. He noticed how each man carefully chose where he sat. They each scrambled for places of honor.

 

At a dinner like this, what would be the places of honor?

 

Now, instead of chairs like today, Jews then reclined on couches at the table that would hold three or more people. Now, the choice places were those at the left end of each couch, since the guests in those places had the best view of the host and the other guests.

 

So, prior to the meal, these men were scrambling to get the best seat at the table. For me, that would have been a sight.

 

So, Jesus takes this opportunity to teach about humility as He says a parable about guests at a wedding feast.

 

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place” (Luke 14:8-9).

 

Here, Jesus purposely chose a wedding feast because many guests would be present. At such a feast, the place of honor would be the left of the couch, which is nearest to the groom. So, if a guest chose the place of honor before so many guests, he would be seen as “self-important” or “pushy.”

 

And, if this person were asked to change seats, he would have to take the least desirable place – that is, one on the couch farthest away from the groom and also face deep humiliation in the eyes of many guests.

 

Now, Jesus isn’t talking about proper table manners. Here, Jesus is teaching about humility and not fake humility.

 

The Pharisees’ habit of claiming places of honor at a feast was only a symptom of a serious spiritual sickness: the right relationship with God.

 

The point of the parable is this: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

 

Some persons “will be humbled,” while others “will be exalted.”

 

Now, who will do the humbling? God, or course. These Pharisees were puffed up with conceit over their imagined holiness. They were very proud men. They believed they had the right to judge, but in fact, it is God who judges.

 

Jesus told them this parable in order to save them from their unholy pride. Likewise, Jesus is reminding us, as well, since we are as likely to fall into sinful pride.

 

Just this past week, when I was driving to a shut-in, I heard the radio host say, “I am humbled to be one of the top radio shows and I am humbled to be the most-watched cable program.” The first thing I thought was he was not being humble. He is confusing humility with pride.

 

Many times, we like to show off how great we are to others – sometimes without even realizing it.

 

As Americans, we don’t like the idea of being humble. We argue who is the best at this and greatest at that.

 

[Real Humility]

 

So, how can we truly be humble? We can’t on our own. As I said earlier, once we think about being humble, we are actually becoming filled with sinful pride. We want to think about ourselves.

 

Jesus is teaching us to be humble. So, how could we become humble?

 

We can only become humble by trusting in Jesus. You see, Christ “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

 

Jesus humbled Himself for you and for me. Jesus is truly God and He lowered Himself to become man, so that in His lowly state, He would lift us up.

 

On our own, we could never become humble, because we are drenched in our sin. We are naturally inclined to look inward toward ourselves. We think, “We can do it on our own.” But, we could never inherit salvation without faith and trust in Jesus.

 

In our sinful estate, which makes us poor, crippled, lame and blind (Luke 14:13), Jesus invites us to His table. Jesus welcomes us. Jesus hears our confession of sins and we receive His forgiveness. Jesus strengthens us as we hear His Word and receive His Sacrament. We could never possibly repay Jesus for all that He has done for us.

 

Through Christ’s death and resurrection, all who trust in Him receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

 

You see, Jesus regards you and me more important than Himself. This is true humility. He suffered in order to sanctify us through His own blood. Through His death, He is now exalted. Through His resurrection, all who trust in Jesus are likewise exalted.

 

We can only become humble through Jesus. We can do nothing to inherit salvation on our own. All we can do is receive salvation by faith through the grace of God. Amen.

 

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

 

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T