Eddie, Sandi, Todd, and Michelle, family and friends of Dorothy:
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
Each stanza of the hymn “Just as I Am, without One Plea” begins with the memorable adverb “just.” This single word ought to grab our attention. This single word proclaims the doctrine of justification. This doctrine, upon which the Church stands or falls, is reinforced stanza by stanza.
In Christ, God reconciled the world to Himself. This is the fact of Calvary. To be justified is to be bought back, to have the account settled, to have the transaction closed.
By her faith in Christ, Dorothy was reconciled to God. Now, Dorothy’s faith in Christ is not something she accomplished by herself. In fact, she did nothing. You see, the Lord gave her faith at that waters of Holy Baptism, and the Lord sustained that faith. Dorothy was justified by her faith in Christ, but that justification was Christ’s doing.
This “one act of righteousness” (Romans 5:18) that led to being justified was Christ’s work in His death and His bodily resurrection. Likewise, by “the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). This act of obedience was Christ’s fulfillment of the Law and His substitutionary death. There, Christ paid for our sins, so that God the Father can only look at those who trust in His Son as without sin.
Today, Dorothy is resting from her labors as she has been declared righteous by her faith in Jesus Christ!
For Dorothy, faith and family were the most important aspects of her life. She was an active member of First Lutheran Church. She also cherished the time she had with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Dorothy’s family would also include not just blood relatives. I’m sure she would think of the Glencoe VFW Auxiliary, her bowling friends, and her fellow volunteers at the thrift store as family.
For us this morning, Dorothy’s death may have come as a surprise. But remember, God numbers all of our days, so we ought to live each day to the fullest and as a gift from God. That is how Dorothy lived her life. But even with that in mind, we all still experience mourning. Death is our enemy. And, if you recall, humanity was not created by God to die. But due to our first parents – Adam and Eve – we all die, because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). And so, we mourn. But mourning is a good and godly work, since Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus.
We mourn because of the reality of death. We mourn because we were never intended to die and should live forever. But we do not mourn as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We mourn, but our mourning is mixed with hope. Our tears are mixed with faith. Our sadness is mixed with joy.
But just “as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and the life for all men” (Romans 5:18). So, just as Adam’s sin infected the whole world, the righteous conduct of one Man – Jesus Christ – is credited to that same world of sinners. So, because of what Christ has done for the world of sinners through His death and bodily resurrection, God the Father now looks upon those who cling to Jesus as being holy and sinless!
[Justified by Faith in Christ Alone]
In our reading from Romans 5 and in the hymn “Just as I Am, without One Plea,” we hear and sing what Christ alone has done for Dorothy and for you and me!
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come. (LSB 570, stanza 4)
Justification is all about Jesus, who bears our sin. We are all “poor, wretched, blind,” but Jesus takes upon Himself every sin – not just some of our sins, but all of our sins and our sinfulness; not only small sins, but also sins of any size and magnitude.
Everything that Christ did for us – through His active obedience in fulfilling God’s Law, to His suffering, atoning death, and His bodily resurrection – counts for us. And all these benefits – forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation – are given to us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!
Now this does not mean that God overlooks our sins or ignores them. Our sins are as real as Jesus, who suffered and shed His blood on the cross. Justification means that Jesus acted as our substitute both in His life and in His death. It means that in faith, we are declared righteous because Jesus is righteous.
Justification is Jesus answering for God the Father’s wrath over all our sins. Then with the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to deliver the forgiveness of sins through His Means of Grace: Baptism, Absolution, hearing the Word, and in partaking of the Lord’s Supper for which Dorothy received all her life.
It is through Christ alone that Dorothy is declared righteous. Like Dorothy, we receive – and only receive! Faith is nothing but receiving the Lord’s gifts.
For all the faithful, death is only but a gate to heaven. There, they give God praises day and night as they hunger no more, neither thirst anymore (Revelation 7:15-17). For Dorothy and her fellow saints in the Church Triumphant, they are completely satisfied as they are in the presence of the Good Shepherd.
But heaven is not the end. There is even more to come! Although, Dorothy’s body will be placed in a grave this day, one day in the future, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52) – that grave will be as empty as the grave of Jesus! The body buried will be the body raised on that glorious resurrection day!
For everyone in Christ, we are declared righteous in God’s sight.
[So,] Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am; Thy love unknown
Has broken ev’ry barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come. (LSB 570, stanzas 5-6)
Text: Public domain
God’s immeasurable love has set aside every barrier, and the believer, unhindered, is His alone by grace through faith in Christ alone. Remember, faith is nothing but receiving the Lord’s gifts! May we follow Dorothy’s example by clinging to Christ and receiving His righteousness – just as I am! Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
Dorothy Voigt's obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/dorothy-m-voigt/
Dorothy Voigt's funeral service: https://www.facebook.com/FirstLutheranGlencoe/videos/1326304284514405
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