"The Great Confessions" (Acts 4:8-13) - The Confession of St. Peter

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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:

“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

 

In this season of Epiphany, we celebrate the revelation of Jesus to the world as God’s only Son, and our only Savior from the power of sin, death, and the devil. But today, in particular, we celebrate the confession of St. Peter, which is not really about Peter, but about his confession.

 

To His apostles, Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29a). And this has been the question put to every person ever since. Who is Jesus?

 

Peter and the other apostles had seen Jesus do ordinary things. They saw Him eat and drink, grow tired and sleep, tell stories, and even pray. But they’d also seen Him do things that no other human being could ever do. They saw Jesus walk on water as though it were dry land! They saw Jesus command the winds and they obeyed! They saw Jesus multiply five loaves of bread and two fish to feed the vast multitudes. They heard Jesus speak words of truth that cut to the heart like no one ever could. Who is Jesus?

 

On that day in Caesarea Philippi, Peter spoke up for the Twelve and for all Christians of all ages saying, “You are the Christ!” (Mark 8:29b).

 

What Peter is saying on the behalf of the other apostles is that Jesus is the One for whom they and all of Israel have long waited. He is saying, “Jesus, You are the promised King of Israel from David’s line. Jesus, You are one of us, yet, You are so much more. Jesus, You are the Son of the living God!”

 

That is a great confession! Then Jesus says, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood had not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17).

 

This confession was a real turning point in Christ’s ministry. This great confession of faith at Caesarea Philippi is certainly worth remembering. But could there be a greater confession?

 

In our First Reading this morning from Acts 4, this same Peter speaks another confession as he and John stand before the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews and boldly speaks: “Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by Him” (Acts 4:10) we healed a lame man. This time, Peter’s life is on the line. Yes, his confession at Caesarea Philippi was certainly a great confession, but could this confession before the Sanhedrin be a greater confession?

 

Certainly, Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi took divine insight, but it didn’t take much courage. It didn’t take much courage to confess in front of Jesus and the others. To tell Jesus that He was the Christ was more like the “Sunday School answer.” Peter, then, had nothing to fear. But Peter, now, has much to fear. This confession to the Sanhedrin could mean his life is cut short.

 

And Peter doesn’t stop here, He continues with an even greater confession saying, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Such courage!

 

In our collect for today, we prayed: “Heavenly Father, You revealed to the apostle Peter the blessed truth that Your Son Jesus is the Christ. Strengthen us by the proclamation of this truth that we too may joyfully confess that there is salvation in no one else.” This prayer is also a confession.

 

But do we always joyfully confess that there is salvation in no one else but Jesus? This is easy for us to confess on a Sunday morning or Monday evening here in the friendly confines of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, but what about out there? We are like Peter at Caesarea Philippi in here. But what is it like out there?

 

It certainly takes more courage to confess Jesus as the Christ out there, especially when the world is practically pagan. Many places of work openly mock Jesus. Many places of education openly mock Jesus. 

 

What about to your non-Christian friends or family? Do you joyfully confess Christ to them?

 

It certainly takes more courage than Peter at Caesarea Philippi for us to say to our non-believing friends and family that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. 

 

So, was Peter’s confession before the Sanhedrin his greater confession?

 

Certainly, Peter’s confession before the Sanhedrin was great – and it was indeed braver, because it could have cost him his life. 

 

But in the end, it was no greater than his confession at Caesarea Philippi. They are both great and greater as both confessions confessed Jesus to be the Christ.

 

Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi was great because Jesus is the suffering Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter’s confession before the Sanhedrin was great because Jesus, who was crucified, raised and ascended, saves us.

 

You see, both of Peter’s confessions were great, because Jesus is great.

 

So, no matter how you confess Jesus to your family or friends to help them understand His truth more fully, you are making a great confession.

 

But there is no greater confession than the one that so many of us made without even saying a word – it was when the Holy Spirit brought us to confess the triune God through our Baptism. This morning, Bella, though with words, made that great confession as the Holy Spirit brought her to the waters of Holy Baptism.

 

And we also make a great confession each time we, among our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ meet at the Communion rail to receive Christ’s Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins as we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again.

 

As we confess Jesus to be the Christ, this is the confession Christ Himself uses to build His Church. You see, those gates of hell do not stand a chance against this confession. Through this confession, the Holy Spirit still calls and gathers, enlightens and sanctifies believers. And through it, Jesus binds hearts to Him and builds up His Church as the very temple of God upon earth.

 

Today, is not only the day we remember St. Peter’s great confessions, as today is also Sanctity of Life Sunday. As fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we not only confess Jesus as our Redeemer, but we also confess Jesus as our Creator. We confess with the Psalmist: “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it well” (Psalm 139:13-14).

 

Every single human being, from the least to the greatest, was carefully handmade by God. He planned our all our days even before He skillfully knit us together in our mother’s wombs. So, we confess that all life is precious from conception to natural death. We confess that all lives have value. We confess that Jesus purchased all lives – those born and unborn – “with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20), which was His holy precious blood. Jesus bore the shame of the cross to grant us peace with God.

 

For “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10). 

 

So, let us all joyfully confess Jesus to be the Christ, the Creator and Redeemer, the Savior of the world! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 9: "The Treasured Possession" (Matthew 13:44-52)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God the Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Today’s Gospel lesson delivers three parables for the price of one. This is quite a bargain price! To get caught up, parables are stories comparing the kingdom of heaven to common things on earth. Parables are intended to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom to believers, but hide them from unbelievers, making the hearer dependent on Jesus. 

 

Over the past couple weeks, we have heard Jesus speak parables about seeds and soils, wheat and weeds. To those parables, the disciples needed further explanation of what those stories meant. So, Jesus revealed the meaning. Today, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to buried treasure, a pearl-seeking merchant, and as a dragnet trolling the waters. But to this three-in-one parable spectacular, Jesus asks His disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” To that, they reply, “Yes.”

 

But did the disciples truly understand? Do you understand? Remember, Jesus explained the Parable of the Sower. He explained the Parable of the Weeds. But Jesus never explains the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, the Parable of the Pearl of Great Value, and the Parable of the Net. He only asked His disciples, “Do you understand?”

 

I don’t know if they truly understood. Maybe they did? Or could they just not want another explanation. We do not know. But due to the non-explanation, today’s parables come with some questions. What does it all mean?

 

First, the Parable of the Hidden Treasure. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).

 

So, the kingdom of heaven is hidden from plain sight like a buried treasure. People have walked right over it, picnicked on it, or planted grain on it for years, not knowing that treasure was buried right beneath.

 

Since Christ never explained this parable, a couple interpretations have been taught on its meaning. 

First, for centuries, the consensus of the early church and medieval church was that Jesus is the treasure hidden in the field. So, it is up to us to sell our possessions and follow Him. You may be very familiar with that interpretation. It’s a discipleship reading. It’s about giving up everything for Jesus, which shows our complete trust in Him.

 

But what about this other interpretation. What if the treasure is not Jesus, but you and me? What if Jesus is the one who finds us – the hidden treasure?

 

Now, we don’t deserve to be regarded as treasure. We don’t deserve to be called treasure at all, since we are poor, miserable sinners who fail to trust in God and His promises. Instead, we like to trust in other created beings who make promises that they are unable to fulfill. But despite our sin of lack of trust, Jesus does calls you His treasure. He calls you treasure, because of His grace toward sinners. Jesus found you and He rejoiced! So, in His joy, He sold everything He had. In 1 Corinthians 6(:20), the Apostle Paul was inspired to write, “You were bought with a price.” 

 

You see, Christ paid the purchase price for the whole field. He purchased us all. He emptied Himself and became obedient to death even death on the cross. He redeemed the field for you! 

 

But which interpretation is right? Could they both be right?

 

Jesus continues, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45-46).

 

So, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking pearls. Imagine a Middle Eastern pearl dealer working the venders in the jewelry market. He bargains, he wheels, he deals, looking for the best pearl at the best price. But then he finds the one, the pearl of pearls, the rarest and finest that ever popped from an oyster, and for the sheer joy of owning it, he literally sells everything he has.

 

Like the hidden treasure, one of the interpretations of this parable was that Jesus is the pearl and we are the merchant. But what if it is actually the other way? What if you are the pearl and Jesus is the merchant? It’s not hard to see that. Remember John 3:16? “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son”?

 

Look at it this way: Jesus looked for you intently like a merchant who knew what He wanted. And when He found you, you were like a fine pearl to Him. Yes, you. You with your sin stained all over you. Yes, you. That’s called grace. Then Jesus spent it all on you. He died to give you eternal life.

 

So, the kingdom of heaven is like the seeking love of God, who searches high and low for that one pearl of infinite value, the apple of His eye, the world He created and loves, and, finding it, gives everything He has, His only-begotten Son, in order to make it His treasured possession.

 

We think we can bargain with God. We think we’re the shrewd merchant who works through the pearls of the religious jewelry market and having found Jesus, gives up everything to own Him. Don’t you want to be the hero of these parables? But do you really want to give up everything to follow Jesus? Recall that rich ruler in Luke 18, when he was given that prospect, what did he do? He turned around and went home with a long face. Now, we can’t scoff at that rich ruler since we’d likely do the same.

 

Thankfully, the kingdom of heaven isn’t up to us. The kingdom of heaven is about God seeking us and God saving us. The kingdom of God is about the love of God in Christ Jesus that stops at nothing to rescue us – and the entire world – from sin and death. It’s about the God who works hiddenly and mysteriously, in, with, and under the things of this world to redeem the world. The kingdom of God is about your value – as His hidden treasure and His fine pearl. 

 

Never forget, you are precious to God. You are worthy of His only Son, His shed blood, His innocent suffering, and death. That’s what He paid to redeem you, to make you His own, so that you might live under Him in His kingdom.

 

Now, what about the third parable? Jesus says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind” (Matthew 13:47).

 

Well, this one is the easiest of today’s trifecta. The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea. This dragnet is big – it’s huge – it’s wide, and it hauls in everything. I mean everything. It hauls in good fish, bad fish, old tires, shoes, hubcaps, those plastic rings that go on our sixpacks of pop and beer. It hauls in the entire world in all its goodness and badness and ugliness. No one and nothing is outside the dragnet of Jesus’ death and resurrection. He died for everyone. He rose for everyone. This is known as universal grace, since Christ embraces all in His death. 

 

Now, if it was up to us, we may have wanted to be more selective when it comes to salvation. Why not fish with a fishing pole? Why a net? Shouldn’t salvation only be for the good? Well, God’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts.

 

Instead of being selective, God drags the whole world into one dark death on a cross and then out of that death raises up a new creation. Then and only then can good and evil be properly sorted.

 

But what about this sorting? “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:49-50).

 

Well, there are only two destinations. You are either numbered among the righteous or you are numbered among the evil. As sinner-saints, the line separating the evil and the righteous runs right through each of us. We ought to be deeply grateful knowing that the net drags in everybody, because if God only picked up what was good, we would be left out, due to our sin.

 

But God doesn’t do that. Again, He hauls in everybody. In fact, we are still in the process of being caught. He is growing us up into Him through His Word and Sacraments in repentance and faith. So, while we were still dead in our sin, He rescued us. He pulled us in.

 

Now, for those who are continually opposed to God, they will receive their just reward. By denying Christ, they are choosing to separate themselves from God. But Jesus came to save them too. They were in this dragnet, but they chose to have nothing to do with God, so they will receive the same judgment as Satan in the fiery furnace of hell. But for us, who are in Christ, this dragnet is comforting. He chose you! He chooses everyone! The only ones who are not saved are those who continually deny Christ. 

 

Until Christ returns, everyone is in this dragnet, since we are all of great value to God. We are His priceless, hidden treasure. We are His priceless, precious pearl. We are all gathered into His net.

 

You may not always feel like you have great value. You may feel like you are insignificant. But you are priceless to God. He died for you. God purchased you when you were against Him. He saved you before you got the notion of being saved. He rescued you before you even called for help. He purchased you. He redeemed you while you were still dead in your trespasses and sins.

 

Even if Christ didn’t explain these parables, we do know one thing for certain: we are His treasured possession, since Jesus died for you, so that you could experience the kingdom of heaven and all by grace through faith in Him. Amen.

 

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Epiphany 5: "Living as Salt and Light" (Matthew 5:13-20)

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:

Some time ago, I heard it said to me: “You know what would gain church attendance?” “What?” I asked. “Stop talking about repentance. People don’t want to hear that. Let me worship God in my own way. You need to adapt to the culture.”

 

Let me ask you, what would happen if we did just that? Our numbers may increase, but that’s doubtful. It’s doubtful, because the ones who want the church to adapt to the culture are the ones who have no intention on coming anyway. But, if we did that, would Prince of Peace Lutheran Church still be a Christian Church? If you ceased speaking God’s truth, would you still be a Christian? If we ceased calling sinners to repentance, would we still need a Savior from our sins?

 

Last week, Jesus began His most famous sermon, which is known as “The Sermon on the Mount” with the Beatitudes. Jesus began speaking of God’s blessings that rests on every true believer in Him. Today, Jesus continues as He speaks of the blessings we prove to be to the unbelieving world as we live as salt and light.

 

Jesus begins saying to His followers: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13a). It is likely that when you think of salt, you think of salt as a seasoning. It certainly is, but in the first century salt was used primarily for another purpose: as a preservative. Back in a time before refrigerators and freezers, salt was used to preserve food from spoiling. But how are we “salt of the earth”? How are we a preservative?

 

Jesus says “blessed are you” to be salt of the earth. We are blessed to be given a responsibility. As the preservative, Christians are called to be the check of moral corruption in the world. Jesus says, “You are,” and not, “You ought to be.” As the salt of the earth, we curb the immoral, godless living of the unconverted world. 

 

Oh, how things would have been much different if there had been ten righteous preservatives in the city of Sodom. God would have spared Sodom. Today, God preserves the whole world through His salt of the earth – you and me. God uses us as His preservative in order for Him to rescue lost souls from destruction by bringing them the saving gospel of Christ.

 

But the sinful and corrupt world will not love us for acting as salt in it. The sinful and corrupt world would rather prefer us to be like honey. This is the greatest temptation for Christians. As honey, we try to not offend unbelievers by trying to be a salt that doesn’t really bite into those who ignore or reject God. This is what Jesus was referring to when He said: “But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown down and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13b).

 

Remember, Satan rules this fallen world that we live in. He is known by what he first said to our first parents: “Did God really say?” Ever since Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, each generation has faced that age-old question: “Did God really say?”

 

To the unbelieving world, they are not as aware of Satan’s deception as we are. Most think of Satan as a cartoon character with a pitchfork, or really as a figment of man’s imagination. And that is the way Satan prefers it to be. He isn’t all about wanting credit for his deceptions. He just wants us to go down with him. He never wanted to eternally suffer in hell by himself so he tries to take as many of us down with him.

 

Satan’s first deceit was questioning the truth of God. He has perfected this age-old trick. “Did God really say every Word He says in the Bible is true?” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) “Did God really say repent?” (Matthew 4:17) “Did God really say there are only two sexes: male and female?” (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6) “Did God really say living together before marriage is immoral?”(Genesis 2:24; 1 Corinthians 7:8-9; Hebrews 13:4) “Did God really say abortion is murder?” (Psalm 139; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) “Did God really say that adulterers and homosexuals will not inherit His kingdom?” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) “Why not just adapt to the culture?” “Isn’t God working through the culture to show what He approves of anyway?”

 

As the world has become less salty, we see the outcome. The world has become more and more rotten, since there are fewer preservatives. Life is no longer sacred. This past Tuesday in our neighboring state of Minnesota, elective abortion was legalized up until birth.[1] The Wisconsin governor hopes to do the same.

 

In years past, we heard it said, “Why do you care what goes on in the privacy of the bedroom?” to justify civil unions. So many Christians remained quiet. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it’s deemed medically necessary to mutilate children if they feel like they are of the opposite sex. 

From what was deemed private has come into the public sphere with drag shows at libraries and even during the halftime show at a recent Milwaukee Bucks game. The rotten world is actively grooming both children and adults.

 

Many wonder what happened? What happened to our culture? I have heard it said: “It didn’t used to be this way!” Maybe it’s because Christians by and large toned down our witness of Christ? Or we said things and did things that would make Christianity more palatable to the unbelieving world? Or are we attempting to serve Christ from our sofas, rather than engaging one another? In doing so, much of Christianity has lost its saltiness.

 

Within the recent past, so many Christians and their denominations have lost their saltiness as they have failed to live and practice what they professed. One thing to note: if the corrupt and sinful world approves and respects you as a Christian or as a church, are you really being “salt of the earth”? Now, that is a good question.

 

So, if we should yield completely to the temptation and try to be salt that has no bite to it, if we should pattern our lives after those of the world, we would cease to be members of His kingdom. Then we bring the Lord’s judgment upon ourselves: we are no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled upon.

 

During the earthly life of Jesus, impure salt would not be thrown into a field, since it would kill the vegetation. It was certainly not good enough to eat. Instead, impure salt would be thrown into the roads, since there it would do no harm, for nothing could grow there anyway.

 

As Christians, we preserve the world as a curb to immoral living. We live as “salt of the earth” as we preserve the earth from spoiling. But Jesus continues. He also says that we “are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). 

 

Again, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world,” and not, “You ought to be light of the world.” Due to sin, this whole earth is corrupt. To this corruption, God uses us as His salt. But this world is still living in deep darkness, deep ignorance, falseness, and spiritual blindness. To dispel this darkness, Jesus has placed His followers as the light of the world. 

 

But how are we “light”? Recall what Jesus calls Himself: “I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12). So, when we follow Him, we walk in the Light, and only then. Apart from Jesus, we are not the light of the world. In other words, we have all our light from Him. Jesus is the sun (s-u-n), and we are the moons reflecting His light. Our Lord transmits this light to us and fills us with it through His Word and Sacrament.

 

In Christ, we are the light that shines in a dark world. Jesus adds: “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14b). What Jesus is saying is this: “The Christians in the world, will, by their very nature, bring the saving light God has given them to a world lying in otherwise hopeless night.”

 

Though the light shining from Christ’s church cannot and will not be hidden, we may be tempted to hide the light, just as we may be tempted to become tasteless salt – out of fear of those who shun and hate all light from above. To this, Jesus adds: “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” (Matthew 5:15).

 

It makes no sense for a lamp to be placed under a basket, since the room is as dark as it was before. Instead, people put the lamp on a lampstand, so that light can shine out and illuminate the room for those using it.

 

So, a Christian who hides his light in this world is acting contrary to the character Jesus has given him. So, if we cease to bring the Light of Christ to others, we not only fail to carry out our function as the light, but we would also lose the light and plunge back into darkness.

 

Think of it this way: if you put a burning lamp under a bowl, eventually the burning lamp will use up all of its oxygen and go out.

 

Now, Jesus is not telling us to parade our piety. He is rather urging us to live our faith even in the presence of the ungodly. 

 

A couple weeks ago, a Philadelphia Fliers defenceman named Ivan Provorov was criticized and called “homophobic” and “transphobic” for refusing to wear a “Pride Night” hockey sweater during warmups. One sports commentator said of Provorov: “The theme is hockey is for everyone. … Stop offending people. This [sport] is supposed to be about inclusivity. What I heard him say was offensive. It didn’t make any sense.”[2]

 

So, what did this hockey player say? “I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say.” Then the media questioned him, “What’s your religion?” He said: “Russian Orthodox.”[3]

 

To this, that sports commentator concluded: “Nothing scares me more than any human being who says: ‘I am not doing this because of my religious beliefs.’ Don’t give me that! Don’t feed me the religious beliefs line. The [NHL] today needs to fine that organization a million dollars and reevaluate how they support gay rights, because that is insulting.” In other words, he’s saying: keep your Christian faith to yourself, keep it hidden.

 

Provorov could have given in and wore the hockey sweater, but he didn’t. He refused to relax his Christian faith. He may not have realized it, but he was salting the earth and being a light of the world. Even if the ungodly ridicule our godly ways, the time will come when they have to acknowledge our works to be good. St. Peter proclaims: “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” – that is, the day God reveals Himself to them (1 Peter 2:12). You see, experiences with Christians may make unbelievers more likely to consider what Christians teach.

 

The question for all of us is this: Do people outside these church walls know that you are a Christian? Or do you just blend in with the world? It is not enough to say that you are a Christian. It’s not enough to only know God intellectually. We must also bear witness to the world that He is our Father and we are His children.

 

Now, in case you are wondering if your saltiness and your light isn’t where it should be, the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – has the antidote. This antidote is His Means of Grace: Word and Sacrament! This is why you are here in this place today! Through hearing His Word and receiving Christ’s Body and Blood, He strengthens our faith so that it is tasted and is seen!

 

Yes, we may still be hesitant in proclaiming the one true Christian faith. But all it takes is courage. If we do not publicly profess what we believe, to a certain point, we won’t believe it. Remember what Christ’s calls His disciples: blessed. And so, we are!  

 

Praise be to God that He is patient and does not quickly discard us when we fail. He leads us to repent, to renounce the ways of sin and darkness, to be forgiven for the sake of the cross, and to strive anew to follow Him and live a godly Christian life as the salt and light of the world. Amen.

 

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

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

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[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/walz-to-sign-pro-act-tuesday-codifying-abortion-rights-in-state-law/?fbclid=IwAR083GCUsst7yYRPY0ia4-A7KXAyV-rboceWw2G3YRapscVE8Dd5xtLPJt4

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yGm_E9Nj2Y&t=205s

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nce9VTthdgE&t=34s

Sermon for Lent 3: "The Way of Escape" (1 Corinthians 10:1-13)

 

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]

It has been said: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” History sure has a way in repeating itself. And if history doesn’t necessarily repeat itself, it certainly mimics. As God reminds us: “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Well, the whole point of learning the past is so we don’t make the same mistakes as those who lived before us.

Paul, too, through the Holy Spirit, proclaims the same: “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did” (1 Corinthians 10:6).

So, it is true that if we do not remember the past, we are condemned to repeat it. It is also good to keep in mind that God cannot tolerate sin. He cannot participate or be connected to any sin.

Today on this Third Sunday in Lent, the Holy Spirit leads Paul to proclaim the way of escape from sin, while he issues warnings from Israel’s history so that we do not fall from God’s grace.

[Five Illustrations for Our Instruction]

Everyone of us faces temptation. But the way we respond to temptation is the issue. If we delight at the temptation, we succumb to sin. Today, Paul gives us a clear warning against sin. He does this through five illustrations from the history of Israel. Now, these illustrations were likely chosen because of their relevance to the ongoing situation in Corinth. You see, these Corinthians were prone to these sins, just as Israel was before them.

Paul informs us saying: “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did” (1 Corinthians 10:6). This first illustration refers to how Israel yielded to an intense craving for the meat and vegetables that were plentiful in Egypt, and their bitter complaining about the manna.

Now, these foods were not necessarily evil, but they were evil because of their association with the idolatrous land of Egypt, and because the people preferred them over what God graciously gave them in the wilderness. In craving these things – by longing for the past – these people were preferring slavery, idolatry, and impurity to the worship of the one true God.

Likewise, many within the Church in Corinth preferred the meat offered in idol temples. And such coveting amounted to sin against the Tenth Commandment, “You shall not covet,” and was in itself a form of idolatry, that is, a sin against the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods.”

This coveting can also foster grosser forms of idolatry, which leads to the second illustration. Paul writes: “Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play’” (1 Corinthians 10:7).

Paul, here, is referring to the golden calf incident. Here, Paul is warning the Corinthians against falling into similar idolatry. So, just as the Israelites had fallen to the temptation of sitting down and eating in honor of a false idol, which brought the Lord’s wrath, so some of the Corinthians were reclining and drinking in an idol’s temple. And this can only end in disaster.

In the case of the golden calf, the people’s worship denigrated into sexual immorality as “they rose up to play” (Exodus 32:6). This is about sexual play. So, breaking the First Commandment led them to also break the Sixth Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.”

The Corinthians, too, were guilty of sexual immorality, since they tolerated prostitution, incest, and homosexuality. And for the sexually immoral, Paul warns us all that those who practice such things “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9).

Paul continues: “We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day” (1 Corinthians 10:8). Just as the golden calf incident led to idol worship and from there to fornication, so this pattern was repeated at Shittim in the plains of Moab with his third illustration. While there, the Moabites invited the Israelites to participate in their fertility rites in honor of their false god Baal of Peor, which led to many of the Israelite men into having intercourse with the Moabite women. Since the Israelites disobeyed God by having relations outside the Israelite people, God sent a plague that left 23,000 dead in the wilderness.

Here, Paul is warning us to not fall into the same trap of idolatry, which leads to immorality.

Paul concludes with his fourth and fifth illustration: “We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer” (1 Corinthians 10:9-10). The Israelites certainly tested the Lord’s patience. Likewise, Christians ought not to follow Israel’s example in grumbling against the Lord. So, in response to their complaints against Moses and Aaron, “the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah” (Numbers 16:32).

Paul’s point is that if the Christians in Corinth persisted in their grumbling – against Paul and his fellow apostles – they ran the risk of suffering the same destruction. For the Church today, similar grumblings would be to question and even to rebel against the authority of the Scriptures, or even against pastors who faithfully proclaim and live by the Scriptures.

Paul sums it up this way: All these disasters happened to the Israelites as examples for us. These events were recorded not just for Israel’s sake, but for our instruction, so we would learn from their mistakes. Paul’s concern reflects that of Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Likewise, those Corinthians who prided themselves on their power and freedom in the Spirit should be careful not to fall from grace.

Now, we may not have all the same idols as Israel and the Corinthian church, but we all have idols that we won’t let go that need to be smashed. What is your idol or your idols? Could it be your need for temporal safety? Could it be self-centered living? Could it be love of money and finances? Could it be longing for the past? Could it be sexual lust or pornography? Could it be wanting to be told how to live from earthly princes?

We must all repent of our false idols, or else we will surely perish as those who did before us who failed to trust in God’s provisions. You see, the life of a Christian is a life of repentance. We are all naturally prone to sin. Still, that is no excuse to God. Sin is not something to take lightly. We cannot stand in sin. We cannot live in sin. So, we must all turn away from sin – repent – and turn to Christ to receive His unconditional forgiveness.

[The Way of Escape]

Thanks be to God that He is faithful even when we aren’t faithful. Even though we don’t deserve it – through His faithfulness – He always provides the Way of escape from sin.

God provided Baptism and spiritual food and drink to His Israelite people, just as He does for us today.

At the Red Sea, the covenant people “were baptized into Moses” (1 Corinthians 10:2). There, they submitted to Moses’ leadership as he guided them through the waters and when they saw what the Lord accomplished there, they “believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31).

Just as they received a type of Baptism, so they also received a type of the Lord’s Supper. All of them were sustained by the manna, which is the “grain of heaven” and the “bread of angels,” which the Lord “rained … on them to eat” (Psalm 78:24). Likewise, they all received “the same spiritual drink,” which the Lord provided them with the miraculous water from the Rock. Jesus was the spiritual Rock who accompanied Israel.

We, too, experience the real presence of God in the Means of Grace: Word and Sacrament. Christ is present in the Scriptures and in His Sacraments. His presence provides the way out of sins that continue to tempt us and threaten us with death.

In the Lord’s Supper, Christ – the very Lamb of God who gave His life for the sins of the world – gives us His own Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins. This forgiveness sets us free from our sinful past, in which eternal death was our only future. Each time we receive Christ’s Body and Blood, He gives us new life and a new future, for where sin is forgiven, there is life with God and salvation everlasting.

We have the way of escape from sin and death and don’t forget it! So, repent and trust in God and His Word. He alone is faithful, the Rock Jesus who feeds us with His “spiritual food” and pours out His “spiritual drink” for our forgiveness. Amen.

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

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

Sermon for Pentecost 14: "The Heart of Man" (Mark 7:14-23)

 

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: Follow Your Heart]

Follow your heart. Oftentimes when people ask questions when looking for advice, the response is “follow your heart.” You may hear:

• "You can’t live a lie. You have to follow your heart.”
• “Follow your heart. You must walk your own path.”
• “You’ll never find peace of mind unless you listen to your heart.”“Your own heart never lies.”
• “Trust your inner voice, your heart knows what is good for you.”
• “There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
• “Always follow your heart! When your heart feels at peace, rest assured, you are on the right track.”

But is trusting your heart the best advice? Are we to always follow our hearts? Are we to always trust our feelings?

Thanks be to God, we have the gift of logic and reason. But our logic and reason is often flawed, due to our sinful nature.

Today on this 14^th Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus gives us the correct answer.

So, would Jesus tell us to follow our hearts? Let’s hear His answer, God’s answer: He says, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).

Ouch! This is a pretty ugly list. This is what occurs when a person follows their heart. According to Jesus, following your heart is the worst advice a person could give to another, since it is all about trusting your emotions. Instead, we are to be disciplined by the Word of God.

Naturally, our heart is opposed to God. Our heart leads us to do what we want, rather than what we ought to do, as God commands and teaches. Our heart’s condition only leads us to condemnation, that is, eternal death apart from God.

[What Defiles a Person?]

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is defining what the word “defile” actually means. For the Pharisees, they believed “defile” meant ceremonially unclean. The Pharisees were focused on the external, the public display of ritual washing, rather than on a decent lifestyle. Jesus turned this definition upside down and corrected this error. Jesus said “defile” means “to make not holy, not set apart.”

As the Pharisees were more concerned with outward appearances, Jesus said it’s not ultimately about that. This defilement has a source, and its source is the heart.

So, the real defilement is not just outward things – the words and deeds. The real issue is the source of these words and deeds. These actions – the words and deeds – are sinful and hideous because they come from an evil, ugly source – the heart, the source of your thoughts.

As the Pharisees were looking for only outward actions, Jesus ups the ante. For the Pharisees, this assessment of the Law is radical, unsettling, and offensive to any pious Jew.

So, Jesus rattles off a list that nobody wants to hear – the Jews then, and us today. Who would not feel guilty? Everyone on earth is included in this list of vices.

The first nine of the 12 vices deal essentially with the Second Table of the Ten Commandments, with sins against our neighbor: sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, and envy. The final three deal with the First Table of the Law, with sins against God – essentially making oneself “god” and the focus of attention: slander, pride, and foolishness.

Our sinful nature certainly does not like this list of vices. Our sinful nature would like to run away from this list of vices and do just what we want. Our sinful nature says: “Follow your heart.”

Through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, the Apostle Paul writes that those who do these such things “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10). We have all certainly thought, spoke of, and done many of the vices on Jesus’ list. So, are we doomed? No! God does not say that such people are ejected from the kingdom of God immediately. But God does say that those who continue in these sins are in grave danger of exclusion from God’s gracious reign and rule, because those who do such things will not inherit God’s kingdom, in the end.

This is even a struggle within the wider Christian Church on earth. This is what makes this list of vices even more difficult. Why do some denominations and churches say these vices do not matter? Why do some denominations encourage many of these vices? This often causes so much conflict and doubt – and frankly church hopping. Again, this all goes back to our heart. With the “follow your heart” mentality, many of us choose a church based on personal feelings rather than on God’s truth.

[The Clean Heart]

In our Old Testament lesson, God commanded Moses to teach the Israelites and said: “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).

God’s commandments must be kept unaltered and untouched. Nothing must be added or removed. So, we should only lean solely on the Word of God, neither adding or subtracting anything. This still applies today – even if our sinful hearts do not like it. Moses said: “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

To this, Luther taught: “Watch yourself, therefore, as often as the Word of God is understood, so often it must be repeated. Scripture has two modes: the one, of teaching, by which we are wearied; the other, of exhorting, by which we are buoyed up. These two the Scriptures have everywhere.”[1]

So, how do we follow God’s commandments? We are only able to follow God’s commandments when we trust that only God is the source of all that is just, right, and good. Apart from God, our hearts are the source of only evil.

Today’s Introit gives us a big clue. After Nathan confronted King David with his sin, David recognized how thoroughly corrupt he was. He was corrupt because he followed his heart which led to adultery with Bathsheba. Even as he was thoroughly corrupt due to his sin, David trusted in His Lord for forgiveness. He wrote these familiar words:

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

(Psalm 51:7, 10-12; antiphon: v. 2)

Although David was corrupt due to his heart, he believed that only God could create a clean heart. We, too, can have a clean heart, but we cannot produce this clean heart by ourselves.

In order for us to receive clean hearts, God the Father sent His only begotten Son Jesus to take upon Himself our filthy hearts as He was declared guilty of all the sin and evil in this world. So, “for our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This, Christ accomplished for us through His suffering and death upon the cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead, so that we – by faith in Him – would become clean.

Although His death and resurrection is where we become clean, God’s grace is always flowing over, so He gives us so many other means by which He cleans our hearts.

You see, at each Divine Service, God purifies our dirty hearts through His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacrament.

Ultimately, “[Christ] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Through our Baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection, we were given Christ’s robe of righteousness that covers all of our sins. And when we do sin – in thought, word, and deed against God – recall your Baptism, confess your sin, and trust in Him for your forgiveness.

He also purifies us through His Word as Jesus proclaims to us: “Already you are clean because of the Word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). Even in today’s Gospel text, which is full of Law, Jesus is making us clean. He is making us clean through His very voice of warning. You see, God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Even in this Word of warning, God is showing His steadfast love.

We are also purified through Christ’s very Body and Blood in and under the bread and wine, which forgives our sins and strengthens our faith.

Remember, when the Lord washes us, we are clean, we are as white as snow. With the Lord, no dirt of sin remains.

Through repentance and faith in God, Christ alone has taken all of our sins upon Himself and replaces it with Himself dwelling in us. By grace through faith in Christ alone, we are clean!

With our New and Clean Heart, we follow His commandments as we are disciplined by the Word of God. And when we fail, we repent and receive God’s forgiveness. With our Clean Heart, we are set apart as holy people as we live in the world, but not of the world. With the Clean Heart, outsiders may want to know who and what the true God is all about, since we love one another, including those who do not yet know Christ. With the Clean Heart, we love in ways that the world does not do. This is living out the Clean Heart.

Today, Jesus certainly nails us with our sin. He certainly sees right through us. But He also creates in us Clean Hearts and all by grace through faith in Him alone!

6    By grace! On this I’ll rest when dying;
    In Jesus’ promise I rejoice;
For though I know my heart’s condition,
    I also know my Savior’s voice.
My heart is glad, all grief has flown
Since I am saved by grace alone. (By Grace I’m Saved, LSB 566, stanza 6)

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] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Volume 9: Lectures on Deuteronomy (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1960), 57.