Sermon for Pentecost 14: "Through Sufferings, We Receive the Promise" (Jeremiah 15:15-21)

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: 

Being God’s mouthpiece is not always easy. In fact, those who speak God’s unchanging truth so often speak what is considered offensive to what people want to hear. Just look at Jeremiah. He did not want to be a prophet.

 

He knew what the response by the people would be when he would proclaim anything unpopular. The people would attack him and ridicule him. Just as they did to the prophets before him. 

 

After being called by God to be His prophet, Jeremiah tried to get out of his calling, saying to God: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth” (Jeremiah 1:6). But the Lord said, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:7-8).

 

Jeremiah knew the life of a prophet. It was lonely. He would face opposition and suffering. God prepared him for that. But God also gave him a promise: “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you” (Jeremiah 1:19).

 

Jeremiah didn’t want to be God’s prophet, but he was called by God to be a prophet and he fulfilled God’s command. Like Jeremiah, at first, I didn’t want to be a pastor. I thought those people were different. I thought they were “special.” I thought, do I really want to go to church every Sunday? Then I thought, that’s what I’m practically doing already. So, God poked and prodded me in good times and bad times through the hearing of His Word and through the people God placed in my life.

 

Jeremiah was called by God, and despite his initial refusal, he became God’s mouthpiece. We are all called by God to live in a particular place and at a particular time. Some times appear to be easier than others. 

 

We all like to reminisce back to the 1950s when the Church was the bedrock of society. But each time has its own challenges, including the 1950s. For Jeremiah, he knew that his time as prophet was going to be rough. He knew that as God’s mouthpiece, he was going to have an uphill battle and likely losing battle before him.

 

First, let’s get some context on what led to the calling of Jeremiah. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was embracing the worship styles of the contemporary false gods. Under King Ahaz, Judah integrated additional sacrifices, including the king sacrificing his own son as an offering. This angered God. Eventually Ahaz died, and his other son Hezekiah who was not sacrificed became king. Hezekiah was the complete opposite of his father, as he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He listened to the Lord and tore down all the false worship his father instituted. The days were good in Judah. But then Hezekiah died, and his son Manasseh becomes king.

 

Manasseh brought back all the evil of his grandfather. All the evil returned and more of it. Manasseh is described as being the most wicked king ever in Judah. He, like his grandfather, sacrificed a son to false gods.

 

This is where we find Jeremiah the prophet. Due to the increasing evil of the kings, and their influence upon the people, Jeremiah is sent to speak of God’s judgment. He becomes a man of contention. He is called to preach repentance to Judah, but the people of Judah refuse. Due to their hardness of heart and their failing to repent, God called Jeremiah to announce the destruction of Judah. 

 

To God’s pronounced judgment, the people of Judah refused to listen to Jeremiah. Instead, they lashed out at him saying, “If it wasn’t for Jeremiah and his incessant preaching of judgment, Judah would be at peace. Quit preaching and let us be!” They believed the problem was Jeremiah, not them.

 

Now, every faithful preacher has met the wrath of a hearer who was offended by God’s unchanging truth. And every Christian has known skepticism, the scorn, the dismissal that comes from taking a stand on some unpopular truth of God’s Word.

 

In the year of our Lord 2023, our government permits so much evil, and permits so many activities that are contrary to God’s Word, such as today’s hot-button issues: elective abortion, no-fault divorce, and same-sex sexual relationships, which have been confused as being secular political issues as all result in strong opinions and strong emotions.

 

§  On elective abortion, sticking with Jeremiah, God’s Word tells us: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5) and “when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41). Here, and so many other places, God says life is precious to Him and is never a burden and that life ought to be precious to everyone. 

§  On no-fault divorce, Jesus says: “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery” (Matthew 19:8-9). So, divorce is not to be taken lightly. God desires reconciliation, but divorce is permitted when it's the last possible action.

§  On same-sex relationships, God’s Word says: “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:24-25). So, same-sex sexual relationships reject God’s intention of men and women complementing each other, for mutual companionship, and procreation.

 

Like I said, each of those issues are hot-button issues. They each result in strong emotions. But why is that the case? This is the case, because so very often, we fall into Satan’s trap of deception. This is where Peter found himself. You see, instead of setting his mind on the things of God, he was setting his mind on the things of man. After Jesus foretold of His upcoming death and resurrection, Peter could not allow Jesus to die. Like Peter, we, too, can get caught up with our desires, while becoming intolerant to what God desires. This is our natural tendency. This is what our sinful nature desires. And what does Jesus say about that? He says all things that are not of God are of Satan. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

 

During Jeremiah’s time, he faced many false prophets just as we do with wolves who are disguised as pastors today. The false prophets were preaching what the people wanted to hear saying, “God just wants you to be happy!” But, behind that so-called friendly face of that false prophet is Satan’s deception. Outwardly, the false and genuine prophets look the same. They have the same liturgy and hymns, but the preaching and teaching is what sets them apart. Jeremiah is preaching repentance as the false prophets are saying, “Don’t worry about it, everything will be fine!”

 

Like Jeremiah’s day, faithful preaching and hearing of God’s Word attracts opposition and suffering, but it also delivers God’s precious promise of salvation in Jesus Christ.

 

In our text from Jeremiah 15, the prophet is doing a lot of complaining. Jeremiah remained faithful to his calling, but his prophetic office was difficult and lonely. Nobody wanted to hear him, and if he heard any response to his preaching, he heard insults.

 

Jeremiah felt like a failure. His hearers did not believe him when he spoke for God. And when Jeremiah interceded on behalf of the people, God would not listen to him. Jeremiah complained that he bore reproach on account of God’s Word. He was filled with indignation and sharp pain. In his despair, he even accused God of deceit and unfaithfulness saying, “Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?” (Jeremiah 15:18)

 

Jeremiah was beginning to believe that his preaching was getting him nowhere. He was conflicted. He desired what we all desire: approval. He was called to be God’s watchman, but he was starting to think it may be a better life if he just gave up and join those to whom he was preaching. He thought, “Life would be so much easier if I just gave the people what they want to hear. I wouldn’t hear insults, but praise.”

 

When he was about to give everything up, God responds to Jeremiah with a call to repentance with Gospel promises. God called him to repent of his doubt: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before Me” (Jeremiah 15:19). God gave him joy in His words for each word God spoke he inwardly digested. He said, “Your words were found, and I ate them” (Jeremiah 15:16a). To us, that may be a surprise. We would expect Jeremiah to say, “Your words were found, and I read them, or studied them, or memorized them” but not “ate them.” Words are academic and intellectual. But not God’s Word! God’s Word is more like food than ideas – although it is both. God’s Word doesn’t just consist of information, teachings, precepts, and concepts. God’s Word contains vitamins and calories, but of a spiritual sort. God’s Word gives life – spiritual life. God’s Word feeds and nourishes us.

 

Despite his doubts, God’s Word always gave Jeremiah a sure and certain joy. Even in this instance, God’s Word promised him salvation, deliverance, and redemption.

 

So, if you have or are experiencing doubts, if you have experienced shame for trusting in God’s Word, you are not alone. You are right in line with Jeremiah the prophet. You see, even though Jeremiah experienced so many troubles, God never gave up on him. God never took away His promises.

 

So, we can identify with Jeremiah, in our sins, our doubts, and our failures. We, too, are sometimes plagued with doubt and despair. As pastors and hearers, we may complain with Jeremiah to God and question His faithfulness.

 

Like Jeremiah, God calls us to repentance and faith. We like sheep have all gone astray. We have all been enticed by Satan. We have all given in to sinful desires. All God desires from us is repentance and faith in Him. As we come to Him seeking forgiveness, He turns us so that we are turned away from sin and unbelief and now look to Him for grace and mercy. Like Jeremiah, He promises that His Word is like a fortified city that is able to withstand the attacks of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. God bestows salvation, deliverance, and redemption to all who trust His Word.

 

In our text, you may wonder, “Where is Jesus in all of this?” You may recall that Jeremiah was once considered as a possible, but wrong answer to “Who is the Son of Man?” But Jesus and Jeremiah are much alike. They both spoke to little success. Due to the people’s unbelief, Jesus was declared a blasphemer. He was mocked for preaching the truth. Even His own disciples didn’t fully believe Him to be the Messiah until His resurrection from the dead. But through Christ’s death, He would suffer our perpetual pains and incurable wounds of our sins. He took our punishment. His blood is our full redemption price. His death is our deliverance. His resurrection is our salvation and justification.

 

All of us share in the sufferings of Jeremiah and of Christ as we bear His cross in our various vocations. But as we bear His cross as parent, child, employer, and employee, we are also given the same promise that He gave to Jeremiah. We are given the promise that God is the strong and fortified city, so that when we face sufferings due to the faith, we rejoice in hope, are patient in tribulation, and are constant in prayer. By grace through faith in Christ alone, we are given the sure and certain hope that despite Satan’s constant attacks, Christ is always with us as He delivers His promises of forgiveness, life and salvation through His unchanging Word and His blessed Sacraments. 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 Easter 5: "The Way, the Truth, the Life" (John 14:1-14)

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:

With nowhere to go, the Children of Israel saw no path. Behind them, they see and hear Pharaoh and his armies drawing near. The Children of Israel were terrified. Death appears to be imminent. Here they are standing on the shore of the Red Sea and there is no way to safety. They see Pharaoh’s armies on one side and the sea on the other side. They are trapped. There is no way out. They need a way out, and they cannot provide a way out by themselves.

 

So, the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they cried out to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11-12).

 

Moses said to the Children of Israel, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13-14).

 

There, upon the shore, the Children of Israel believed all was lost. They believed they were about to experience their demise. When it all appeared desperate, God tells Moses to lift up his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Children of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. Moses did as God commanded.

 

Suddenly, there was a way. God provides for them the way. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind and made the sea dry ground, and the waters were divided.

 

Even as the Children of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, doubts did not cease. Many thought, “Could the sea close over us and drown us all in a moment?”

 

Even when they have the way, doubts still haunt them. Doubts haunt us, too. There must be another way, but every other way is a wrong way, a way that leads to only death. They needed certainty. They needed the truth.

And before long, the Children of Israel noticed that Pharaoh’s armies appeared behind them. The same peril they had before the Red Sea divided has returned. Doubts and fears increase. The army is nearing them.

 

But as soon as the last Israelite reaches the shore, following God’s command, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the sea fell upon the Egyptians and swallowed them up. The Children of Israel have life.

 

God provided the Children of Israel the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

 

In today’s Gospel lesson, we return to Maundy Thursday. This is Jesus’ farewell speech to His disciples. Knowing this, Jesus is determined to comfort His disciples knowing full well what is about to happen within the next 24 hours: He is going to be arrested, tried, beaten, spit upon, given the crown of thorns, crucified, dead, and buried. 

 

Jesus knows that His disciples will be frustrated, confused, and scared. They have seen Jesus perform miracles and signs – even showing His power over sin and death. But what they are about to witness is going to test them. So, to calm them, Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1a), since He is going to prepare a place for them. He also says that they know the way to where He is going. This way is as the Lamb of God who will die for the sins of the world. But they don’t understand.

 

Thomas says to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5)

 

Like the Children of Israel trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea, Thomas and his fellow apostles are lost. They don’t know what to do and where to go.

 

So, Jesus says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

 

Notice what Jesus says here. He doesn’t say, “I will show you the way,” like a second Moses; but “I am the Way.” Nor “I have the truth,” like another Elijah; but “I am the Truth.” Not only, “I lead to life,” but, “I am the Life.”

 

Jesus is the Way that bridges a chasm. If a bridge lacks as little as an inch of reaching across, it plunges down and becomes rubble. It may have intended to be a bridge, but all it serves as is rubble.

Just as the Children of Israel passed through the Red Sea physically, dry-footed, and unhindered they had no other way. They had no other way to salvation. Jesus provided them the way.

 

Like the Israelites then, we too, need salvation. We may not have Pharaoh’s army chasing us, but we have sin, eternal death, and Satan coming right at us – and from all sides. We need the way to go. Without a Savior from sin, death, and Satan, we are trapped.

 

Satan has convinced the fallen world that there are many ways, and many truths, and that when we die, life is over, so that our only fate is that we will all become worm food.

 

For some people, they hear Jesus’ words – “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” – as condemnation. That is unfortunate, since Jesus’ purpose is salvation, not condemnation. For He says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17).

 

For many, Jesus’ claim strikes them as unfair. I recall one episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah was discussing salvation and heaven when she went on to say, “One of the mistakes that human beings make is that there is only one way to live, and that we don’t accept that there are diverse ways of being in the world, that there are millions of ways to be a human being, and many paths to what you call God.”[1]

 

This soon led into a discussion with her audience. One lady challenged Oprah by saying that there is only one way to heaven and that way is Jesus. To that, Oprah said, “There couldn’t be just possibly one way. If you are somewhere on the planet and you never hear the name of Jesus, but you live with a loving heart, you live as Jesus would have had you to live, but you are in some remote part of the earth and you have never heard the name of Jesus, you can’t get to heaven? Does God care about your heart, or does He care if you call His Son Jesus?”

 

Well, what about Oprah’s questions? Did God the Father suddenly change the rules and limit salvation to only Christians? When Jesus announced Himself as the Way, was He shrinking the path of salvation? 

No, He was opening the door to heaven. Without Christ, the number saved is zero, since “no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12). But with Christ, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

 

These words of Christ are an invitation. He’s inviting all to trust in Him and find life in Him.

 

But what about those who lived before the coming of Christ? What about those Old Testament believers? Are they doomed? Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). These words apply to us now. We haven’t seen Jesus with our eyes, yet we believe and are blessed by faith. The same goes with the faithful of the Old Testament times, since they also did not see Jesus with their own eyes, but they had faith in the promise of a Savior.

 

Satan does his best to lead us away from the one way of salvation. He tries to convince us that there must have been another way for the Israelites beside the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. Satan wants us all to compromise our way to salvation.

 

Now, there are many issues that we can compromise. We can compromise on the style and color of carpeting. We can compromise on the shade of paint on the walls. We can always compromise on the things that do not particularly matter. There, we can meet in the middle. But some issues, we cannot compromise.

 

There is one area where we can never compromise, and this is truth. Truth is fact. Facts don’t change. Two plus two equals four. The sky is blue.

 

But where is the source of truth? God’s written Word is the sole source of the knowledge of truth. Again, Jesus says, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life." He also says, "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).

 

Sometimes compromising becomes the worst outcome. One day two women came up to King Solomon, both women gave birth to a child, but one child later died (1 Kings 3:16-28). To the surprise of one of the women, the other woman placed her deceased child with her that night while she was sleeping, and the other woman took the living child to live with her. When morning came, the other woman noticed that the child was dead, but she also realized that this child was not her offspring. 

So, the two came to Solomon for his wisdom. Solomon said, “Bring me a sword.” So, a sword was brought before the king. And Solomon said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.”

 

Then the woman whose son was alive said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” Solomon answered, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.”

 

Satan deceives the world into thinking that we can compromise on truth. He says we can compromise on the Word of God, but if we did compromise, whose word is it? God’s Word or man’s word? 

 

So, everyone who imagines that they have found the truth apart from Jesus and His Word is deluding himself. Without God, there is no truth. 

 

Last Sunday as I was driving back home from church, my radio was set to WIZM. To my surprise NBC’s Meet the Press was on. The host Chuck Todd asked his guest, “Are you confident that gender is not a spectrum? There is a lot of scientific research that says that gender is a spectrum.”[2]

 

As those were the first words I heard on my radio, I thought, “Would this have even been a question five years ago? We have certainly come a long way in so short of time. Just stating that there is scientific research doesn’t make it fact. Tell me more about this ‘scientific research.’ Prove it!”

 

Also last week, I saw a clip from ABC’s The View where co-host Whoopi Goldberg argued that God would be in favor of gender reassignment surgeries. She said, “What Bible are [they] reading? Because God was really clear!”[3] Just stating that the Bible approves what you want doesn’t make it fact. Prove it. Show me the chapter and the verse!

 

In Scripture, God reveals that He knitted us together in our mother’s womb as male and female (Psalm 139:13, Genesis 1). Jesus, God in human flesh, also affirmed this truth (Matthew 19:4).

We can’t compromise on truth. It’s either a baby or it isn’t. Men cannot become women. Women cannot become men.

 

If a society is no longer based on truth, then what do we have? We have lies and Satan is the Father of Lies.

 

We cannot live by lies. We can only live by Jesus, who is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. Living by lies can only lead to eternal death. But sometimes, we can get caught up in lies, since lies are so attractive. And when we come to the realization that we have been fooled, we repent and ask God for His forgiveness for which He always forgives.

 

Living only in God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, we have life. Jesus alone provides the assurance of eternal life. Every other “way” leads to eternal death. Jesus assures us of eternal life through His Means of Grace: Word and Sacrament.

 

Here, in this place, Jesus leads us, He teaches us, and He gives us eternal life. Jesus is the only way to true joy and true life. His death on the cross changed everything. His resurrection from the dead is what secures for us the joys that transcend all the changes of this fallen, sinful world.

 

So, when we cling to Jesus and His Word, we cling to none other than God Himself. In Christ, we are certain and secure in a changing world. This is why He continually comforts us and reassures us that He is in still in control as we receive His forgiveness, hear His unchanging Word, and receive His medicine of immortality at the Lord’s Table. Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life of salvation through God the Father. Amen.

 

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

 

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

---

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noO_dCWtB1E

[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/april-30-sec-mayorkas-vivek-ramaswamy-and-luke-russert-171913797525

[3] https://www.christianpost.com/news/whoopi-goldberg-appeals-to-bible-in-debate-on-trans-surgeries.html

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 Easter 5: "Into All Truth" (John 16:12-22)

 

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]

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus said to His apostles: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13a).

Pontius Pilate famously asked Jesus: “What is truth?” (John 18:38). How would we know truth from fiction? From online fact checkers? From the “Ministry of Truth”?

All too recently, we were told to trust the science. But what happens when the science changes? Do we continually trust the shifting sands? Is truth today considered “fluid”? Is it the nature of truth to change?

So, what is Jesus telling us by saying, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth”? Today on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, Jesus gives us the answer to the question that is still asked today: “What is truth?”

[The Truth is Out There]

As I have said, there are so many questions in regard to truth. Today, truth has undertaken a new meaning: opinion. Today, opinion seems to matter more than fact. Today, opinion has taken center stage to some big questions, such as: When does life begin? Is it just a clump of cells until I say it’s life? How do I know my sex or gender? Is it assigned to me, or do I choose? What is a woman? What is a man?

In a world without truth, nothing has meaning. But as the television show X-Files proclaims: The truth is out there. It’s certainly out there, but where?

How are we to distinguish truth from lies?

To this, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. He does this to contrast with the spirit of lies – the devil – who turns everything on its head: evil is good, good is evil, and truth is exchanged for a lie. Jesus proclaims that the Holy Spirit will teach the apostles and show them that everything He told them is the truth.

Everything Jesus taught is the Truth, for He said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Now, many men have told us the truth, but no Man ever embodied it except for Jesus Christ. You see, if a man proposes to teach moral truth, his character makes all the difference in the world. Moral truth cannot be conveyed solely in words; it must be conveyed by example. Many people could say: “I have taught you the truth.” But only Jesus says: “I am the Truth.”

But how did the unbelieving world react to Jesus? They called Him a blasphemer. They called Him a liar. They said He was crazy. They shouted, “Crucify Him!”

What did Jesus say of Paul being His chosen instrument in proclaiming the Gospel? “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My name” (Acts 9:16).

How is this any different from today? It is the fate of every Christian to suffer for the truth because Christ suffered as the Truth. We are to suffer whatever grief the devil and the world can inflict upon us. The question then is: why would anyone want to be a Christian? Who would want to be a Christian if there is guaranteed suffering? Human reason says, “No way!” But the Holy Spirit says otherwise. He is the Spirit of Truth because in spite of what may appear to be suffering – when we are mocked and ridiculed for speaking God’s Word – He strengthens and preserves our hearts in the one true faith.

Without the Holy Spirit, no one would have believed in Jesus for any length of time, or would still believe today, that Jesus is the Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father, and who was crucified as a criminal by His own people is the true God.

It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to live and to die by the truth. The Holy Spirit is the guide who leads us into all truth. The Holy Spirit occupies Himself in how to rescue men from sin and death by making them children of God, righteous and heirs of eternal life. The Holy Spirit is about building the kingdom of God and destroying the kingdom of hell. He teaches us how to fight against the devil and overcome him. He gives us comfort, strength, and support to a believing conscience. The Holy Spirit does all of this so we may remain alive in the midst of death and may be able to keep a good conscience even when we are aware of our sins, so that we confess those sins to God our Father and receive reconciliation.

It is certainly necessary to fight and grapple with the devil and sin. Here nothing but eternal things – eternal life or eternal death – is at issue. As Baptized Christians, Satan constantly goes after us with all his fury. He wants us to denounce our inheritance as children of the heavenly Father. So, in this life, we are faced with either gaining the victory over the devil and sin by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, or being their captives and lost forever.

As Christians, we are opposed by an enemy who is not interested in our temporal knowledge which we possess. No, he struggles and strives to hold our consciences bound in sin and to plague us from the eternal terrors of hell and with despair to drag us down with him from the kingdom of God and from all communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and into eternal damnation and the fire of hell. Such battles cannot be fought and such victories cannot be won without the Holy Spirit. Our reason and strength alone get us nowhere, as all temporal things will pass away.

Therefore, let us cling to this truth which the Holy Spirit teaches: how we can retain faith in Christ; tread the devil, sin, and death underfoot; bear and overcome the world’s wrath and raging; build God’s kingdom and gain eternal life. And where does the Holy Spirit work in us to retain this? It is only through His Means of Grace.

[Holy Spirit in Means of Grace]

When we hear God’s Word proclaimed and preached, receive Christ’s forgiveness in holy absolution and in receiving Christ’s very Body and Blood under the bread and the wine, we receive forgiveness of sins, which is supplied through Christ’s work of reconciliation, hence God’s grace. It is through these Means of Grace that God reveals and declares to believers that he or she is fully reconciled through Christ. The efficacious power of the Means of Grace consists of this, that through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Spirit works and strengthens faith, faith in the very forgiveness, God’s love and grace, which these means declare and reveal.

So, when we avoid the Means of Grace, we are depriving the Holy Spirit from awaking and strengthening our faith in Jesus Christ. For, as Martin Luther has said, “God does not wish to deal with us otherwise than through the spoken Word and Sacraments. It is the devil himself who is extolled as spirit without the Word and the Sacrament.”[1]

It is through the Means of Grace that the Holy Spirit works through us the preservation of the pure doctrine and of faith; victory over sin, the devil, and hell; and also love and obedience to God and our neighbor.

So, we know the truth from the Holy Spirit working within us through His Means of Grace. But does truth change with the times? Can men become women? Does life begin at conception or at birth, or even after birth?

[The Guide into All Truth]

To that question, Jesus says: “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13b-c).

Here, Jesus defines the Holy Spirit’s office. The Holy Spirit is the guide into all truth.

There are two kinds of teachers. There are some who speak on their own authority by evolving their message from their own reasoning and judgment. And, there are those who do not speak on their own authority.

The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority, and His message will not be a human dream and thought like those who speak on their own authority of things which they have never seen nor experienced. The Holy Spirit’s message has substance: It is certain and absolute truth, for He proclaims what He has received from the Father and the Son.

We recognize the Holy Spirit by the fact that He does not speak on His own authority – as the spirit of lies, the devil, and his mobs do – but will proclaim what He will hear. The Holy Spirit speaks exclusively of Jesus and glorifies Jesus, so that people would believe in Jesus as their crucified and risen Savior.

In this way, Jesus sets the bounds for the message of the Holy Spirit Himself. He does not preach anything new or anything else than Christ and His Word. Thus, we have a sure guide and touchstone for judging false spirits.

Christ teaches His followers: “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). We come to know the truth through the nature of the Scriptures. You see, the entire Scriptures – the prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments – are inspired by the Holy Spirit. Everything in the Scriptures has its origin in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. These are the very words of Jesus that have been preserved by the Holy Spirit.

So, all who imagine that they have found truth elsewhere are deluding themselves, because as Psalm 119 proclaims: “the sum of Your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever” (Psalm 119:160).

So, what does the Spirit of Truth say to some of today’s questions?

• On Life: Jeremiah 1(:5a): “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” and Psalm 139 (:13-14a, 15-16) “For You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. … My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
• On Sex or gender: Genesis 1(:27): “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them,” Matthew 19(:4) “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,” and Jesus Himself says in today’s Gospel lesson that only women give birth as He compares the birth of a baby to the joy of His resurrection (John 16:21).

We can only be adequately informed of the truth in God’s Means of Grace: Word and Sacrament.

Although, we aspire to be perfect in following God’s commandments, His Law is impossible for us since we are all sinners. We all do what we should not do, and we all forget from time to time on the things we ought to be doing. Thanks be to God that we have Jesus who is perfect and He gives us His perfection that He won for us upon the cross. He gives us reconciliation through repentance and the forgiveness of sins.

It is the Holy Spirit who takes all things that belong to Jesus and gives forgiveness of sins, life and salvation to us. So, do not be deceived by the spirit of lies, who is at work within the sinful hearts of humanity, who attempts to deceive us into lies. Instead, always remember that the Holy Spirit dwells in believers through their Baptism into Christ, through the Lord’s Supper, and in the Scriptures that “are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5b), which reveal to us God’s love and salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who supports and comforts believers with Christ’s gift of peace! Amen.

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

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Portions of the Sermon cited from:

Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works American Edition: Volume 24, Sermons on the Gospel of St. John, Chapters 14-16 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1961), 357-371.

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[1] Trigl. 495, Part III, Art. VIII, 3-10