Sermon for Reformation Day: "Set Free" (John 8:31-36)

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]

As the executioner was about to light the pyre at the feet of the reformer, he said, “Now we will cook the goose.”

The condemned man replied, “Yes, but there will come an eagle in a hundred years that you will not reach.”

This “cooked goose” was John Huss, for “Huss” is Bohemian for goose. Huss was burned at the stake as a condemned heretic for his attempted reformation. As he felt the heat of the flames, Huss spoke of an eagle who would not be condemned to death.

Some 102 years later, on October 31, 1517, another Reformation was sparked when Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses for Debate on the Wittenberg Castle Church door. Later on June 25, 1530, the teachings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church were first subscribed in the Augsburg Confession.

Between October 31, 1517 and June 25, 1530 a miracle happened: The Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – led Luther to rediscover the Gospel that had been hidden for too long of a time. Now, do not be mistaken, the Gospel was not totally hidden, but the Gospel was severely repressed from God’s people, including most of the clergy, as it was rarely heard.

For Luther, the Triune God lined everything up for him. You see, God worked through Luther to get the Gospel – the good news of Christ’s forgiveness – out to the people. God worked these events. As Luther did not know what would happen tomorrow, God foreknew His saving work that He would accomplish through His servant Martin Luther.

Today on this Reformation Day, God the Father reveals His heritage that has been passed down to us through His Son Jesus Christ that all who abide in Jesus have been set free from the bondage to sin.

[You Will Know the Truth]

To the Jews who had believed in Jesus, He said to them: “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Today, many of us hear people say, “my truth” when referring to “the truth.” You see, our sinful nature – which on its own is blind to the truth – believes self is the source of authority. What is really going on here is a confusion between objective truth and subjective opinion. 

Here Jesus is giving us a preview to John 14:6 where He says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” So, when Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” He is referring to Himself. Christ is not saying, “I have the truth,” like another Elijah; but “I am the truth.” Christ is not merely of the truth, but He is the actual embodiment of the Truth. He is the very reality of God the Father’s plans of grace and their execution.

To the Jews that day, they avoided the truth. They believed that as God’s chosen people, they were set free. So, when Jesus said: “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32), they were offended.

They thought: “How dare this Jesus say this about us?!” “We are the offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free?’” (John 8:33)

Oh, how quick they are to overlook their current condition. At that very moment, these Jews did not have their own nation as they were subjects of the Roman Empire. And not too long ago, these same people were ruled by the Persians and the Babylonians. At present, they are held in bondage to the laws of outsiders.

[Slaves to Sin]

But Jesus – as He always does – goes deeper. He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34).

The bigger issue is sin itself. Sin indeed separates us from God and also separates us from each other. You see, sin’s focus is inward – to our wants and desires – instead of loving God and serving our neighbor.

And when we are in sin, we are unable to keep God’s Law perfectly. But the thing is, the demands of God’s Law are still required of us by God. So, in our sin, we are doomed to eternal separation apart from God. We are doomed to the depravity of our sins, which is eternal damnation. Even if we don’t like hearing the following, it is most certainly true: everyone who opposes the Gospel is working for Satan. So, if we continue to live in our sin as if our sin doesn’t matter, we are on the side of Satan, rather than on the side of Christ.

What Jesus is teaching us is to not be superficial. By saying “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples,” Jesus is requiring all His disciples to be genuine and accept all of Christ’s teachings and remain faithful to all of it.

This means that as a follower of Christ, we are to at all times and in all places abide in Christ’s Word. For Jesus never said, “My disciples can pick and choose what they want to believe.”

But the thing is, even if we desire to keep all of God’s Law as revealed in the Ten Commandments, we can’t. “For by works of the Law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). So, by works alone, no human being can be justified. We are stuck, since “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

So, what would life look like if we were enslaved under the demands of the Law? It would not look good. It would be sad and extremely depressing. Whatever I could do would never be enough. This is what life was like before God led Luther to rediscover the Gospel.

[In Christ, We are Declared Not Guilty]

Now, God is just. God is holy. So, if God is just, He cannot be unjust. If God is just, then a little sin is akin to great sin. Sin is sin and all sin separates us from Him. Sin is against His very nature.

But God is also the justifier who declares us not guilty, so we can be in His perfect realm of holiness. If He is just, how could this be?

“[We] are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:24). The only way sinners could be found not guilty of sin is if there was payment for that sin. Jesus Christ was that one payment for all time. He paid the price for our sin, so that the just God can declare us not guilty. So, God the Father put forward His only begotten Son Jesus Christ as a propitiation by His blood, so through Christ’s suffering and death, God the Father is satisfied, so that by grace through faith in Jesus, we too, are covered in Christ’s blood and are redeemed as righteous with God the Father.

So, we are justified just as Abraham was – by faith. Abraham had faith in the promise of the Messiah. We have faith in that promise fulfilled, Jesus Christ alone.

In response to being justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, we live out our faith in Jesus in our sanctified life. Through Christ alone, we uphold the Law (Romans 3:31).

Now, the Law that the Apostle Paul is referring to is Moral Law. You see, we ought not be following the winds and waves of the sinful world, but instead abide in God’s Word. If we are no different from the unbelieving world in how we think, speak, and act, then we are in an extremely bad place.

You see, if we are no different from the unbelieving world around us then we have replaced the one true God with a false idol that we put our faith and trust in, such as the god of safety and the god of comfort, which are popular these days. So, if you find yourself trusting in a false god, then you are still under the bondage of sin.

But no matter what, the Triune God is a loving God since His steadfast love endures forever, even if we fall into sin. Again, when we sin, we are unable to keep the Law. But the thing is, when we confess those sins to God the Father by repenting of them, God says to us: “You are forgiven. Now go and sin no more.” Those sins that once separated us from God are wiped clean as if they never happened.

These sins are wiped clean, since God the Father sees everyone in Christ as He sees His own Son: righteous. We are at perfect peace, due to  our faith in Christ. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Christ is offering us something that is forever: the eternal Gospel. He is offering us His inheritance that He won for all people through His suffering and death upon the cross: the forgiveness of sins, which begets eternal life and salvation.

Our reading this morning highlights three aspects of this eternal Gospel. 

First, the content is Truth (John 8:32). Truth is more than a body of truth but is embodied in the Person of Jesus Christ Himself.

Second, the vehicle is the words spoken about the Truth and what Jesus has done for our salvation, so if you abide in Christ’s Word, you shall know the incarnate Word. You shall know Jesus.

Third, the result of the Truth, which is freedom. Now, this isn’t political freedom, but a spiritual freedom. The result is freedom from bondage to sin and bondage to Satan, a freedom in which we are free indeed and a freedom that we shall enjoy forever as sons and daughters of God.

Christ has won the battle for us. Through His death and bodily resurrection, He has destroyed the power of sin, death, and Satan. “Our victory has been won; the Kingdom ours remaineth.” In Christ alone, we are set free. Amen.

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Preached at Trinity Lutheran Church in Gallatin, Tennessee.

An Example of Discipleship

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). These were the crying words Jesus heard said from a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

We have much in common with Bartimaeus. For Bartimaeus, he was begging to people he could not actually see. Yet, oddly enough, he is an example of a model disciple. Despite being blind, he recognizes Jesus. He “sees” Jesus through his spiritual eyes. He “sees” Jesus through his faith.

We, too, “see” Jesus through our faith in Him. Like Bartimaeus, we are also beggars. Now, we may not be as noticeably poor as Bartimaeus in fear of if we will eat that day, but we are poor: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We all live in poverty in our own sin, since we are all born sinful.

Like Bartimaeus, we also call on Jesus and trust in His power to deliver us from our poverty of sin. Apart from Jesus, we are doomed to suffer the depravity of our sin, which is eternal damnation. But the Triune God — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is a loving God. Due to God’s love for us, Jesus became a beggar for us, as He took upon Himself our human flesh and suffered and died for our sins, so we could be saved. Each time we say the Kyrie (“Lord, have mercy!”) and call upon Him in prayer, we call on Christ as our Savior to save us from sin, eternal death, and Satan. And each time, we call upon our Lord, Jesus says to us: “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (Mark 10:52).

Each time we call upon the Lord, Jesus compassionately responds to us — just as He healed Bartimaeus’ sight — as He takes upon Himself the depravity of our sins and replaces it with His righteousness. 

This interaction between Jesus and Bartimaeus had a profound effect upon Martin Luther. It is recorded that Luther’s last words were “We are beggars. This is true.”

We are all beggars as we cling to Jesus for all of our needs of body and soul.

In Christ,

Pastor Adelsen

Sermon for Pentecost 20: "What Must I Do?" (Mark 10:17-22)

 

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]

“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17b). This is the question an urgent man asked of Jesus. This is a question that is asked by many today: “What must I do to be saved?”

For the man we meet today, his actions of running up to Jesus and kneeling down before Him display his eagerness and fervor of his desire. For this man, he hopes that Jesus would be able to give him the vital information he so much desires.

Today, on the 20^th Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus gives us the answer that ponders many: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What works must I do to be saved?” Christ teaches us this morning what is really precious and what we ought to possess.

[What Must I Do?]

Now, this man does not ask Jesus how he may obtain eternal life. Instead, he asks Jesus, what must he do to acquire eternal life for himself. For this man, he had the right intuition: he was attracted to Jesus. He was so close, but at the same time, he was so far from eternal life.

So, urgently, this man says to Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17b) You see, this man believes that Jesus has figured out this question. He believes Jesus has the answer. It is as if this man is asking, “Good Teacher, how did you do it? Tell me, so that I may do likewise.”

Here lies the assumption that this man has the necessary ability that he may easily reach the goal that Jesus has reached. All this man wants is to know what he may do to inherit eternal life.

Jesus replies saying, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).

Now, do not be confused. Jesus is not saying here that He is not God. But what He is saying is that only one being is good: God alone. For Jesus, the word “good” if implied in its common sense is too cheap for Him. “Good” does not just mean “kind,” but it also means “beneficial.” Using this meaning, Jesus is teaching what is morally beneficial and who alone bestows salvation.

You see, this man needed to be reminded that God alone is “beneficial,” that God alone is the very source of salvation.

[Second Table of the Law]

So, Jesus proceeds to answer this man’s question, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother” (Mark 10:19).

Now, Jesus chose these commandments because He knew that these were this man’s “favorites.” For the works-righteous person, these are always the favorites. For the works righteous, they argue that they stand well with God because of their good lives. So, what do they say?

“I’m a good person.” “I’ve never hurt anybody.” “I’m a faithful husband.” “I’m a faithful wife.” “I pay my bills.” “I never cheat anybody.” “I don’t go around gossiping about people or slander them.”  “I’m good to my father and mother.”

Our sinful nature gives us the thought that we can keep these commandments without too much trouble. Our sinful nature believes we are quite sure that we have a good moral record.

The reason why we can feel so self-satisfied is that, due to our sinful nature, we often overlook God’s requirements of more than an outward obedience to these commandments:

• Many times, we fail to realize that harboring anger or hate in our hearts against a neighbor is breaking the Fifth Commandment: “You shall not murder.”
• Or that sexual lust is breaking the Sixth Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.”
• Or that taking advantage of others is breaking the Seventh Commandment: “You shall not steal.”
• Or that complaining about our neighbors, spreading rumors, and telling secrets is breaking the Eighth Commandment: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” In other words, if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all. And, if you have to say it, speak only to the person you are at issue with, and not to others.
• Or that taking for ourselves what belongs to our neighbor is breaking the Ninth and Tenth Commandments: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
• Or that rebellious thoughts against parents and others in authority are breaking the Fourth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.”

Due to our sinful nature, we have a blind spot to the truth. Now, God demands nothing less than a pure heart that is filled only with love toward the neighbor and devoid of every sinful thought.

So, how does this man respond to Jesus? He says: “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth” (Mark 10:20). Without even the blinking of an eye, this man says he has done all of this. He says he has fulfilled the Second Table of the Law. He claims He has loved his neighbor as himself since his youth.

For this man, God’s Law does not terrify him, since, according to him, he has kept the Law. This man, much like our own sinful nature, believed he was self-righteous in the face of the Law. For him, he was perhaps disappointed to hear Jesus recite nothing but the Second Table of the Commandments, which he claimed, he has kept from his youth.

Now, in citing the Commandments, Jesus was using the Law in preparation for the Gospel. You see, Jesus used the Law to bring this man to the point where he would no longer think that he could keep the Law for his salvation but would realize his utter sinfulness. But in response, this man says, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth” (Mark 10:20).

[Speaking the Truth in Love]

Now, Jesus foresaw this answer. He is the incarnate Son of God, after all! He knew the Second Table of the Law would not make a dent in this man’s self-righteousness. All the while, Jesus was preparing for the next step. He was going to apply the holy Law of God in a way that would shake and shatter this man’s assumption that he had achieved righteousness.

As Jesus lovingly looked at the man, He did not shrink from the hard course required by love. He put the man to a stern test and said, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mark 10:21).

Here, Jesus spoke the truth in love, just as we ought to do. He “admonished the idle, encouraged the fainthearted, helped the weak, and was patient” as He teaches us in 1 Thessalonians 5:14.

Speaking the truth in love is speaking truthfully to others for their well-being by building them up toward the mature fullness of life we have in Christ. This includes gently admonishing or encouraging people to repent of their sin and pointing out the dangers of false teachings and false teachers. This may be preaching the secure sinner within an inch of hell before we can preach them into heaven. You see, each secure sinner needs to realize how filthy they all are before they are reminded that those sins are cloaked by the robe of Christ’s righteousness. And if you say, you are not a sinner, you are only deceiving yourself.

For us, when we speak the Law in a Law moment, we have done the right thing, even if we don’t see the result that we want to see, which is repentance. But when we see repentance, we rejoice! Sometimes, this takes a while; other times, it’s instant. One thing is for sure, our sinful nature never wants to see people walk away sorrowful and angry. So, when we speak Law or Gospel when that moment is called for, we may not always see the results. All we can do is leave it up to God.

For the man in today’s Gospel lesson, Christ’s words were devasting. They shattered his self-delusion that from boyhood on he had kept all of God’s Law. For this man, his love of possessions had become his idol. The one thing this man lacked was the most important thing: a single-hearted devotion to God. He had other gods in his life. He wasn’t fearing, loving, and trusting in the one true God above all things. He had turned his riches into an idol – a false god. He broke the First Commandment and thus he broke every commandment that followed.

The one thing this man needed to inherit eternal life was a complete inward change. He needed to come to the realization that all his works righteousness was in vain.

Here, Jesus is not saying to get rid of all earthly possessions in order to inherit eternal life, but He is laying the finger on the chief sin in this man’s heart: his love of his earthly possessions. You see, he clung to his earthly wealth with all of his heart.

Now, what about us? Is God first in your life, or is there a false idol taking God’s place? What in your life are you not willing to let go? Do you have a grudge against someone? Have you turned your possessions into an idol? Are you worshiping sinful men, rather than worshiping the Triune God? Have you turned yourself into your own god?

[Inheriting the Treasure in Heaven]

Today’s Gospel lesson does not end with a resolution. We don’t know what happens next. But Jesus never gives up on this man. Likewise, Jesus never gives up on us.

The thrust of Jesus’ words today is to summon inward change within this man, and within us. This change is to begin with contrition by realizing our sinfulness, our guilt and our sorrowing over them. So, when we have felt the weight of God’s Law, Jesus turns us to Him in faith as our only Savior from sin and guilt. Once we trust only in Jesus by clinging to Him, we inherit “treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21). We inherit forgiveness of sins, which leads to eternal life and salvation!

Jesus is offering us something infinitely greater than anything we can have here on earth. He is offering us eternal life that He alone has accomplished for us through His suffering and death, which satisfied God the Father’s wrath over our sins – our thoughts, words, and deeds against God. And all we have to do is cling to Jesus by trusting in Him alone and His inheritance is ours. All He asks of us is to “come, follow Me” (Mark 10:21).

Through the working of the Holy Spirit that began at your Baptism, when the one True God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – made you His own, we are able to follow Christ. God alone has the power to strengthen our faith and this is what He does through His Means of Grace. Through the hearing of His Word, repenting of our sins and receiving His forgiveness through Confession and Absolution, as well as by eating and drinking Christ’s very Body and very Blood under the bread and wine, by faith in Him, we inherit eternal life.

So, what must we do to inherit eternal life? It’s simple: repent and follow Jesus. By following Jesus, He possesses us and in turn, we possess Him. It’s as simple as that, so trust in His grace for Christ alone is our treasure! In Him alone, we have eternal life! 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

Sermon for Pentecost 19: "Fulfilling Our Every Need" (Genesis 2:18-25)

 

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]

The Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18a).

If there is anything that we have come to learn over the past couple years: it is not good to be alone. Mankind was never meant to be alone, secluded by oneself. When we are by ourselves, we are incomplete. We are incomplete, because the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – created man and woman as social beings.

All throughout the Days of Creation, God calls everything good. God created light; God created the sky; God created land and plants and gathered waters into seas; God created the sun, moon, and stars to fill the heavens; God created birds to fill the skies and sea creatures to fill the seas; God created land animals and people to fill the land. God looks at everything He created and says, “It is very good.”

When all seems perfect, God says what we would think is the unexpected: “It is not good.” “It is not good that the man should be alone.”

But for Adam, he had no idea that he needed companionship. Adam had no idea he was incomplete. So, according to God’s definite plan, God built woman from man.

Ultimately, today’s Old Testament and Gospel lessons are about marriage. It’s about how all humanity was created by God as distinct from each other as male or female. It’s about how God ordained marriage as the one flesh union of man and wife. But there is much more! Our readings from God’s Word inform us of our need for relationships — our need to be together — our need of family, friends, and neighbors.

Today on this 19^th Sunday after Pentecost, God assures us that He knows our every need. He assures us that He fulfills our every need.

[God Provides for Adam]

Now, even before Adam realizes that he has no companion, even before Adam realizes that he is lacking a helper, God says: “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18).

But before God builds a helper for Adam, God gave Adam a task: to name all livestock, to name all the birds of the heavens, and to name every beast of the field. By a single word, Adam was able to compel the lions, tigers, bears, apes, hawks, eagles, and every other animal to come to him to be named. But as Adam chose the names of each animal, he came to realize that each other animal had a mate. Every other creature had a companion. 

Now, do not feel sorry for Adam. For he was innocent and righteous. So, he perfectly trusted God.

“But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:20b). 

You see, God wanted Adam to discover for himself that no other creature was like him. The Lord was using the process of naming the animals and birds as a teaching devise to bring Adam’s loneliness home to him. Every other living creature had suitable mates, but Adam had none.

As Adam now longed for a mate, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon him. Now, just as God gave special care and attention to the creation of Adam, He did the same in the case of Eve. As Adam was asleep, he spared him the sight of having part of his own body removed. With great care God built Eve who was to be the companion Adam sorely needed, and who would become the matriarch of mankind.

When God fashioned Eve, He brought her to Adam. With this act, God instituted marriage and He gave His approval to the estate of holy matrimony.

At once, Adam recognized this great blessing that God has given him in this wife and proclaimed, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23).

With joy and satisfaction, and with praise to God, Adam found Eve to be just the companion he needed to complete his happiness. God fulfilled Adam’s need for a companion.

From this point forward, “the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25).

You see, everything about Adam was an open book to Eve. Everything about Eve was an open book to Adam. There was no selfishness. There were no secrets. There was no shame. No uncleanness. 

[Paradise Lost]

Tragically, this time of perfect righteousness would soon come to an end. The very next verse begins Genesis Chapter 3: The Fall. Paradise would soon come to an end.

Due to the Fall, we are ashamed. Due to the Fall, we have sinful thoughts and selfish desires. Due to the Fall, our pride leads us to think that we are our own god. Due to the Fall, our sinful nature causes us to question even our own identity. Our sinful nature even leads people to question how God created us.

Again, this is how God created us: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:27-28).

Everything that has been corrupted in the world was due to the Fall into sin. Animals no longer simply trust humans. Humans no longer trust humans. Marriages aren’t all happily ever after. Friendships are broken.

How can this be? As humans, we are God’s crowning glory. After all, we are all created in the image of God! How could everything become so corrupted? Well, that answer is sin.

Sin invades our marriages. Today, a sinful man and a sinful woman are joined together in marriage. Sin invades our families. Sin invades our friendships. Sin destroys reputations.

Due to sin, we look inward – to ourselves, to our wants and our desires – instead of looking outward as we ought to do in loving God and serving our neighbor.

[Paradise Restored]

Despite sin entering the world, by dividing us from God, and us from each other, God prepares for everything. Nothing comes to the surprise of God. He again fulfills our every need. He knows our need before we even know our need. He gives us our Daily Bread, our bodily needs: food, clothing, and shelter. But that is just a small fraction of God’s love for us. From the offspring of Adam and Eve would come the Savior of the world — the Savior from sin, eternal death, and Satan. From Adam and Eve’s offspring would come the incarnate Son of God, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ.

So, where there is forgiveness of sins that Jesus earned for all upon the cross, those sinful thoughts, those sinful desires, that do cross our minds, that do invade our marriages and come between husband and wife, that do invade our friendships and come between friends, knowing that Christ has died for every sin, and that Christ has forgiven them and takes them upon Himself is the way that all companions — husbands and wives, as well as friendships — can once again become together and be unashamed.

Through Christ’s forgiveness won for us, we receive a sampling of what Adam and Eve had in the Garden before the Fall. Through Christ’s forgiveness won for us, we learn how to forgive one another. And, by faith in Christ alone, Paradise is restored!

Christ has indeed defeated sin’s power over all who cling to Him alone! With sin’s power destroyed, we inherit eternal life and salvation!

The Triune God continues to fulfill our every need! He alone builds the house. He builds the house as He increases our faith through His Means of Grace. He reconciles us. He brings us back to Him. And not only that, He sustains us through His Means of Grace. He makes us complete!

Through hearing His Word and receiving Christ’s very body and blood under the bread and the wine, He fulfills our every need. He brings us into relationship with Him and with each other. He brings us into fellowship with Him and with each other. Our true identity as a child of God is strengthened. This is what happens at each Divine Service.

Here, at each Divine Service, we are at true fellowship with God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – as He unites us to Him by forgiving our sins, by strengthening our faith in Christ, and by strengthening our love toward Him and to service for our neighbor.

Now, faith in Christ is not something that we can figure out on our own — by our own logic and reason. As Christ says, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it” (Mark 10:15). Faith in Christ is receiving what is given. Faith is pure trust, like infants instinctively trusting their parents for all their needs. Faith in Christ was given to us by God in our Baptism. This faith and identity in Christ is what God nourishes in us in His Means of Grace.

Today, God gives us a glimpse of His work on the sixth day of creation. God gives us a glimpse of Paradise. But even as we live on this side of the Fall, God the Father continues to fulfill our every need through His Son Jesus Christ! 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