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God's Grace is Undeserved, Universal, But Not Absolute

6/23/2023

Romans 5:6-15
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men[e] because all sinned-- 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 

Trinity 2/Pentecost 3
Romans 5:6-15
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church, Ottumwa and Faith Lutheran Church, Mount Pleasant
June 17 and 18, 2023

At the beginning of Romans chapter 5, St. Paul writes, “Through [our Lord Jesus Christ] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand…” So, by faith we obtain access to God’s grace. But what is God’s grace? Many define God’s grace as God’s help. We are weak, so God helps us with his grace to make us strong. And there are examples in Scripture of grace being used in that way. However, when it comes to us being justified, reconciled to God, and saved, grace is not mere help. Grace is much more than help. Grace is God’s undeserved love for us. Grace is everything. Grace is God raising the dead, changing the sinner’s heart, converting His enemy!
“For while we were still weak at the right time Christ died for the ungodly…God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is God’s grace in action. While we are ungodly, Christ dies for us. While we are sinners and want nothing to do with God, God sends His Son to pay for our sins. While we are His enemies, He makes restitution for our sins, so that we may be reconciled to Him. This isn’t we do our part and God does His. This isn’t God seeing that there is some good in us, so He gives us a nudge in the right direction. No, we were God’s enemies, and God sent His Son to die for us. We were in debt to God and merited eternal damnation, and God paid our debt. He didn’t owe us anything, but He gave us everything. That is God’s grace.
This definition of grace tears down the proud and exalts the lowly. If you think you deserve to go to heaven, this definition of grace will cast you down to hell. If you think that you don’t deserve to go to hell or that God should let you into heaven because of your own goodness, this definition of grace will humble you. Yet, if you recognize that your sins put you at enmity with God, that you have followed the ruler of this world by your sins, and that you deserve to go to hell, then this definition of grace raises you from the depths of woe, and sets you in the heavenly places. God did not send His Son to die for you, because you deserve to go to heaven. He didn’t make peace with you, because you were willing to make peace with Him. God made peace with you when you hated Him. If you are the worst sinner on this planet earth, God sent His Son to die for you.
This brings us to our next point about God’s grace. First, we learned that God’s grace is undeserved. Second, we learn that God’s grace is universal. This means that God’s grace is for everyone. This is significant, because everyone needs God’s grace. If God does not rescue you entirely from your sins, then you cannot be saved. And there is no human being, except Jesus Christ alone, who does not need to be rescued by God.
St. Paul teaches this point by showing that Adam is a type of Christ. A type is a figure, which foreshadows a figure to come. Paul calls Adam a type, meaning Christ is the Antitype. There are plenty of examples of types and antitypes in Scripture. St. Peter tells us that Baptism is an antitype of Noah’s flood, making the flood a type of Baptism (1 Peter 3:21). Just as the flood washed away all wickedness, yet Noah’s family was saved through the ark to receive a new life, so Baptism washes away all sin and grants you new life. Moses is said to be a type of Christ, because like Christ, he led God’s people Israel, baptized them, taught them God’s Word, and even fed them miraculously. David too is a type of Christ, as he slays Goliath, a figure of Satan, and leads the people of Israel as their king. And there are many other types of Christ in Scripture. All these types of Christ of course were flawed. They were sinners, who ultimately failed to grant God’s people the salvation they needed. Yet, none of them failed as catastrophically as Adam! So, why is Adam included as a type of Christ?
It is exactly because of the magnitude of his failure that Adam is a type of Christ. Paul points out that Adam is very dissimilar from Christ in the result of his action. Adam’s disobedience led to sin, death, and condemnation for all mankind, while Jesus’ obedience led to righteousness and life for all mankind. And here is why Adam is a type of Christ, because as Adam’s action affected the entire human race universally, so does Christ’s action affect the entire human race universally.
Through Adam all are made sinners, and so, all die. Through Adam, all become disobedient and merit condemnation. Adam is the father of us all. And through Adam, every one of us has inherited original sin. Original sin is the inborn desire to sin. We sin, because we are sinners. We are born without original righteousness, without fear, love, and trust in God. That is our inheritance as Adam’s children. Only Christ, the Virgin-born, was born free of original sin.
Yet, Jesus was born a human. Although He did not inherit Adam’s original sin as we did, He does share in our human flesh and blood. As Adam is the father of us all, so Christ Jesus is the brother of us all. He is the Second Adam.
Adam’s effect on the human race is total. Every human being born of natural conception is conceived and born in sin. Every human is born an enemy of God. Every human is born with the innate desire to sin against God. And so, every child of Adam has merited eternal condemnation. Jesus’ effect on the human race is total. The sins of every human being have been washed away in Jesus’ blood. Every human being has been reconciled to God. Every human being has been declared righteous by God.
St. Paul cannot get any clearer. He writes in verse 18, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” To be justified means to be declared righteous. To be justified means that you are in a right relationship with God. Justification is the same as reconciliation. Reconciliation is the act of making an enemy into a friend. God reconciled the world to Himself by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins, so that we may be forgiven. Whom did He reconcile to God? Everyone. St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
This is the message of the Gospel. God has reconciled the world to Himself. He has forgiven the sins of the whole world. He has made atonement for every sin. As Adam plunged the entire human race into sin, death, and condemnation, so God has justified every human being through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So, we have learned that God’s grace is undeserved. Christ died for us while we were God’s enemies. We have learned that God’s grace is universal. There is no one for whom Jesus did not die and reconcile to God the Father. Yet, God’s grace is not absolute. What this means is, not everyone is saved. Although Christ has won reconciliation between God and man for all people, has washed away their sins in His blood, and indeed has justified every man, woman, and child, yet not everyone is ultimately saved. Because this justification and reconciliation must be received through faith.
The first words of this chapter of Romans are, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God. through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace.” Faith is believing and trusting that God is reconciled to you for the sake of Jesus Christ. If you do not have this faith, you cannot receive this reconciliation. If faith does not receive it, then you lose it.
People often equate justification and salvation, and for good reason. If you are justified, then you will be saved. Yet, you will be saved is in the future. Yes, even St. Paul will speak of salvation as in the completed past tense, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” (Ephesians 2:8) Paul speaks as if salvation is a completed task. And in a way we should think so. You should not doubt your salvation. If you have faith in Christ Jesus, you should have confidence that you will inherit salvation. St. Paul writes, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.” He writes, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” Yet again, that is in the future, isn’t it? When you are saved, you no longer sin. When you are saved, you no longer suffer and die! When you are saved, you live in paradise, no longer in danger of the devil and his attacks!
And so, while we should be absolutely confident in our salvation through Jesus Christ, we should remember that we have not yet obtained that salvation. We still must travel through this valley of the shadow of death. And so, we must continue to live by faith in Christ, repenting of our sins and trusting that God is reconciled with us now, that we are justified before God now, so that through trial and hardship, we may finally obtain our promised salvation. St. Paul again writes in this chapter, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
And so, the Holy Spirit must continue to pour God’s love into our hearts, so that we may maintain this saving faith and so obtain the salvation promised to us by grace. Yet, how does the Holy Spirit accomplish that? Through the proclamation of the Gospel. In our Gospel lesson, Jesus sends out His disciples to proclaim the Gospel. If people don’t hear the Gospel, they cannot be brought to faith. If they are not brought to faith, then they lose God’s reconciliation and justification, and with that their salvation. Yet, this faith is not just given to us once and done. We need to maintain this faith by continuing to hear and learn God’s Word. Our old sinful Adam will not let us hang onto this faith without a fight. Satan will oppose it until we obtain our salvation. This world wants you to lose this faith. So, Christ has designed for you to hear the Gospel often, to sustain you on the way.
Recently, all three “Jeopardy!” contestants were stumped by the following statement. “Our Father, Which art in heaven, this be Thy name.” None of them even ventured a guess. They had plenty of knowledge between those ears, but not the knowledge needed most. We need to hear the message that God is reconciled to us through Christ Jesus. And we need to continue to hear this message, until we finally receive our long-promised salvation. May God keep us faithful to His promise until we receive this salvation. Amen.

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What is Love?

6/16/2023

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Trinity 1
1 John 4:16-21
Trinity Lutheran Church
Pastor James Preus
June 11, 2023

“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” These are true and immensely important words written by the Apostle John; however, unless you know what love is, you can never understand what John’s statement means. Few words are as misunderstood by the world as the word love. A prime example is the observance of so called “Pride Month.” June has been designated by the executive branch of our federal government as LGBT+ Pride Month, which celebrates people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, etcetera. And our culture has largely joined in the celebration. Even children’s shows now teach children to celebrate LGBT Pride. And many churches and Christians have joined in celebrating LGBT Pride with the argument that it is loving. If you abide in God, you abide in love. And it is loving to affirm a person’s identity, or so they say.
But is it loving to affirm what God says is sin? Certainly not. Holy Scripture says that love “does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). And literally everything that is celebrated in LGBT Pride month is wrongdoing. First, take pride. Pride is evil. Nowhere in Scripture is pride ever promoted as good. Proverbs 11:2 states, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” And Proverbs 16:18 states, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The Virgin Mary sings of God, “He scatters the proud in the imagination of their hearts.” (Luke 1:51) And our Lord Jesus said repeatedly, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11; 18:14; Matthew 23:12) So, it is clear from Holy Scripture that we should never celebrate pride in any form. Rather, Scripture says, “The one who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17)
Pride is evil, even if your pride is in something good, like your work ethic, your healthy body, your beautiful garden, or your talented children. But to have pride in something sinful is all the more evil. This month we are told to celebrate LGBT+ Pride. LGBT+ refers to two sins: homosexual activity and transsexualism. Homosexual activity is called sinful in both the Old and the New Testament. God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in part for their homosexual activities. In Leviticus 18:22, Moses writes, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” And this is not a ceremonial law like the prohibition to eat pork or shell fish, which no longer applies to us (Colossians 2:16-17). It is a moral law, which cannot be done away with. The New Testament too prohibits homosexual activity. Romans 1 states, “For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” And in 1 Corinthians 6, St. Paul writes, “men who practice homosexuality… will not inherit the kingdom of God.” If you believe that the Bible is God’s Word, then you must acknowledge that homosexual activity is sinful and displeasing to God. Yet, even if we did not have these explicit passages, we would know that such activity is wrong, because it is an abuse of the sexual relationship which God has consecrated for marriage between a man and a woman, which in principle produces children (Genesis 1:28; 2:24).
What is now called transgenderism is also sinful. Jesus tells us, “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’” (Mark 10:6) To claim that a person can be the opposite sex or neither sex is contrary to Scripture. And those who promote such ideas cause immense harm to vulnerable individuals, many of whom are children. And the so-called doctors, who perform procedures attempting to change a person’s sex attempt to play God like Dr. Frankenstein. This ideology can be described as nothing less than demonic.
But am I being too harsh? I mean, these are real people who have these thoughts and feelings. Am I belittling them by speaking this way? Is it unloving to point out that these behaviors are sinful? By no means! We all have sinful passions and desires within us, which we must curb each end every day. It is not unloving to warn people to turn away from sin! And the fact that some of the most vocal critics of these sins are those who have turned from these lifestyles and have embraced Christ as their Savior gives credence that it is not unloving to call sin, sin.
We must remember what the wages of sin is. Death, eternal death! Where did the rich man go after he died? He went to hell, where there was an endless flame and constant torment. And that is what God threatens to everyone who does not turn from his sins! It is not loving to affirm people in their sinful desires. Rather, we should protect our children from such evil ideologies, and warn others to turn from these sins, so that they may be forgiven by Christ.
Yet, if Scripture is so clear that these activities are sinful and that those who do such things without repenting will not inherit the kingdom of God, why do so many Christians approve? Why are they so afraid to call sin, sin? Christians are not confident to defend the biblical teaching of love, because they suffer from a guilty conscience. St. Paul asks, “You who say that you must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?” (Romans 2:22) So, the Christian, who has given into his lusts and sinful passions does not feel adequate to call others out on their sins. Jesus declares, “With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38) So, Christians, fearful that they will be judged for their own sins, refuse to call sin, sin.
But is that what Scripture means when it tells us not to judge, that we should condone sin? Certainly not! Doesn’t St. Paul warn that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? (1 Corinthians 5:6) If we condone sin, not only will those trapped in sin die and be judged for their sins, but our own sins will grow worse. Rather, the solution to both a guilty conscience and misunderstanding what God means by love is to understand the love God has for us. When God’s love makes our conscience clean, then we are confident to address sin, with the hope that others may be forgiven and have a clean conscience.
St. John writes, “We love, because He first loved us.” (John 4:19) Again, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Christ shows what love is by putting our needs before His own, denying Himself for our sake, suffering and dying for our sins. He does not condone sin. He pays its price, so that we may be freed from its shackles. It is true that we should take the log out of our own eye before pointing out the speck in our brother’s eye. We take the log out of our eye by repenting of our own sins and trusting in Christ Jesus for forgiveness, because He died for those sins. Then we should with gentleness take the speck out of our brother’s eye, by warning him of his sin and pointing to Christ, who takes away all sins.
We are not saved by our love, yet those who are saved love. We are saved through faith in Jesus’ love. This is shown in our Gospel lesson by Lazarus ascending to Abraham’s bosom. Abraham is the man of faith. To him God promised that He would bless all nations through his seed. Abraham’s bosom represents God’s promise of salvation through Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham, through whom all nations are blessed. Lazarus ascended to heaven to be with Christ and to receive from Him everything God promises and which Lazarus trusted he would receive through faith.
Faith produces love toward God and toward our neighbor. We cannot love God until we first believe that He loves us and forgives our sins. And this faith in God’s love produces a true love from our hearts, a love that would lose all things on earth rather than lose God. When we love God, we forsake sin for God’s sake, because it is our delight to please Him. Love toward our neighbor means that we desire for him what we desire for ourselves. So, we forgive as we have been forgiven and do not hold grudges against those who sin against us. And when we see our brother or sister in need, we seek to help, as St. John writes, “By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” So, we see that true love is not satisfying one’s sexual lusts, but putting others before ourselves, starting with God.
The reason people get so confused concerning something so basic as love is because they ignore God’s Word in Holy Scripture. When we ignore God’s Word, we are ruled by our own sinful desires and are influenced by the wicked world and Satan. Abraham tells us that if one does not want to go to hell, he should listen to Moses and the Prophets (Luke 16:29, 31). Moses and the Prophets are Holy Scripture. But why does Abraham, who died hundreds of years before Moses wrote the first books of the Bible tell us that if we desire to go to heaven, we must hear the words of Scripture? Because all of Scripture teaches us the faith of Abraham, by which he was saved and by which everyone must be saved. Jesus says that all of Scripture hinges on the command to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:40). And Scripture also teaches us that we cannot love until we first learn that God loves us through Jesus. Abraham believed God’s love for him, so he in turn loved God and his neighbor. And God works such love in everyone who has faith in God’s love.
Sadly, the reason people avoid going to church to hear these saving words of Scripture is the reason they need to hear these words in the first place. They avoid hearing God’s Word either because they do not love God or because they do not love their neighbor. People skip church to make money and to spend money, to gain what they truly value in this life and to spend what they truly value in this life. In both cases, it shows that they do not value God, who won and gives them salvation. People skip church, because they are not reconciled with others who go to church. They think they’ve been dissed or they have become offended somehow, so instead of talking to the person who has offended them, they avoid going to church. But Scripture tells us not to neglect meeting together, but to encourage one another, which would also include being reconciled with one another through the blood of Christ.
It is those who most need to hear God’s Word from Holy Scripture, who least want to hear it. And we should remember that for ourselves. When we don’t want to hear God’s Word, that is when we should run to hear it. It is by hearing God’s Word that we learn how God loved us first and redeemed us from our sins and rescued us from hell. And it is by hearing God’s Word that we learn to love God, forsaking our sinful desires, and to love our neighbor by looking out for what he needs. And it is gathering to hear God’s Word where we bring these two loves together, loving God and through such love loving our neighbor. This is the love we should desire. This is the love that comes from God. And this is the love that will not pass away, even in eternity. Amen.

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You Must Be Born Again

6/9/2023

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Trinity Sunday
John 3:1-15
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
June 4, 2023

Jesus cannot get any clearer, if you are to be saved and enter the Kingdom of God, you must be born again? Your first birth does you no good. You must die and come to life again. You must become a new person, if you are to be saved.
But what does this mean to be born again? Three things happen to you when you are born again. First, you have faith in the one true God. Jesus says, “That which is born of flesh is flesh.” Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). According to your natural birth, you are a sinner. Even worse, according to your natural birth, you are incapable of pleasing God or believing in Him. A person born of the flesh cannot fear, love, and trust in God. This is how St. Paul describes those born of the flesh in Ephesians chapter 2, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” This is why the Apostle states in Romans 8, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
So, unless you are born again, you cannot fear, love, or trust in God. You cannot accept Jesus as your Savior. You cannot have saving faith. Yet, one who is born again does have faith. The Evangelist John describes it this way, “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) To be born again is a work of God. God grants you faith as a gift. God rescues you when you are dead in sin and otherwise would only resist Him. To be born again means that God has granted you faith in Christ as a gift.
Second, to be born again means that your sins are forgiven and that you are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. This is why we can say that in God’s eyes, you will never be more holy than you are when you are Baptized. A Christian does not fluctuate in righteousness before God, because he does not claim his own righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ through faith (Philippians 3:9). This is why St. Paul writes in Galatians 3, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” When God looks at you through your new birth, He does not see your sins, but He sees Christ’s righteousness. The Prophet Isaiah describes this righteousness given in rebirth in Isaiah chapter 61, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” All who have been born again have faith in Christ Jesus, are forgiven of all their sins, and stand righteous before God.
Third, to be born again means that you fight against sin every day and strive to do what is right. If your old self, born of the flesh, always resists the Holy Spirit and desires to satisfy its own desires, then your new self, born of the Spirit, always desires to work with the Holy Spirit and do what is right. This is why St. Paul writes to the Colossians in chapter 3, “seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” While through faith in Christ, you always bear the righteousness of Christ, you still bear in your body your old sinful Adam. And so, you must fight your sinful impulses each day, so that they daily grow weaker and your new self grows stronger, as St. Paul writes in Galatians 5, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Here, we must make a distinction between sins of weakness and ruling sins, otherwise known as venial and mortal sins. Many Lutherans think that we do not make a distinction between venial and mortal sins, but that is not true. Rather, we define them differently than the Roman Catholics do. The Roman Church teaches that venial sins are sins that in and of themselves are not damning. Lutherans hold that all sins damn. The distinction between venial and mortal sins is the distinction between sins of weakness and ruling sins. Scripture is clear that no one is without sin, even Christians (1 John 1:8). And St. Paul laments that he does not do the good he wants, but the evil he does not want is what he keeps on doing (Romans 7:19). Here he describes sins of weakness, or venial sins. Venial means pardonable. Christians still sin, but they fight against these sins every day and attempt to resist temptation. But no Christian gets through life without sinning. That is why Jesus teaches us to pray daily, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” And he promises to forgive us.
The sins a Christian commits remain venial, that is, forgivable, through faith in Christ, when a sinner repents and believes that God forgives him for Christ’s sake. Yet, when a person persists in sin without repenting, then those sins are no longer venial, but mortal and damning. This is what happened to King David when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah. David fell out of grace, because his sins ruled him. He would have gone to hell had he died then, but God sent Nathan to bring David to repentance (2 Samuel 11-12). This is why St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” If you persist in your sins without repenting, you are throwing away your rebirth and letting sin rule you. However, if you repent of your sin, even if it is a mortal sin such as adultery, homosexuality, or murder, then you are forgiven. Even your mortal sin becomes venial through faith in Christ.
So, we have learned that those born again are granted faith by God as a gift, receive the forgiveness of sins and are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, and they continue to drown and kill the old Adam in them through daily contrition and repentance, so that the new self rises to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). But, how is a person born again? Jesus is clear. Through Baptism.
Jesus says, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Baptism is the rebirth of water and the Spirit. Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word. It is not the water that causes the rebirth, grants faith, forgives sins, and grants the Holy Spirit, but it is the Word of God in and with the water, which does this along with the faith, which trusts the word of God in the water (Titus 3:5-8).
Now, there are many who argue that Baptism cannot cause a person to be born again, because Baptism is an earthly thing. Yet, these people should consider that it is not we who ascend to heaven to be born again, but God who descends from heaven to us to grant us new birth. Jesus says, “No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” It is Christ, who took on our human flesh and shed His blood to take away our sins. If Christ can join Himself to flesh and blood so to make atonement for our sins, so too can the Holy Spirit join Himself to the waters of Baptism and grant us new birth! Scripture is clear that God grants such precious benefits through Baptism. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,” Jesus says (Mark 16:16). St. Paul tells us that Christ sanctifies His Church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word (Ephesians 5:26). We should not let nay-sayers, who place restrictions on God, which He does not place on Himself, belittle Baptism and say that God can’t grant rebirth through Baptism. Scripture makes clear that Baptism grants new birth.
Still, the nay-sayers will object and say that there are those who were not baptized, yet were born again, such as those in the Old Testament or the thief on the cross. For sure, God can cause a person to be born again without Baptism. But what does Jesus say? “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” We are not to question what God can or cannot do. God can do everything. We are to listen to the words of our Lord Jesus and believe them. Jesus promises that Baptism grants a new birth from above. We should trust in this promise and not put God to the test.
God can save a person without Baptism, but a person can also get in a house through the window. In extraordinary circumstances going through the window might be necessary. But ordinarily, going through the window is inappropriate. Baptism is the door, because Jesus has joined Himself so closely to Baptism, that all who are baptized should believe that they are clothed in Christ. This is why we should baptize babies. Babies are born according to the flesh, so they can have no fear or love of God until they are born again of the Spirit. Adults are not more capable of faith than babies. Faith is a gift granted by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works through Baptism to grant this gift.
Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19). Baptism is in the name of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, yet three persons. The Holy Trinity is the only God, who saves. The Holy Spirit grants us new birth, so that we can have faith in Jesus Christ and be forgiven. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was sent from the Father to suffer and die for our sins. Baptism joins us to Christ’s death and resurrection. The Father sent His Son to save us and the Holy Spirit to grant us new birth. When we are born again, we are united with the Holy Trinity, who lives and reigns forever.
The Holy Spirit does not cause you to be born again apart from the Father and the Son. It is the Holy Trinity that grants you faith, forgives your sins, and clothes you in Christ’s righteousness. And it is the Holy Trinity, who will sustain you in the saving faith, daily forgiving your sins, until you inherit eternal life. When you are born again, you are born to live for eternity with the Holy Trinity. And so, as Baptized Christians, we devote our lives to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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The Work of the Holy Spirit

6/3/2023

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Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-21
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
May 28, 2023

Pentecost celebrates the work of the Holy Spirit. What is the work of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit sanctifies us. What does it mean to sanctify? To sanctify means to make holy. But what does it mean to make holy? To make holy means to set apart for God’s special purpose. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by gathering us into the Holy Christian Church, which is the kingdom of Christ, where He sustains us and all believers in the one true faith.
You’ll notice that St. Luke writes in Acts chapter two that the disciples were gathered on the day of Pentecost. I thought Pentecost was a Christian holiday? It is. But it was also a Jewish holiday in the Old Testament. As with everything in the Bible, the New Testament Pentecost is better than the Old Testament Pentecost. Likewise, the New Testament Passover is better than the Old Testament Passover. The Old Testament Passover was when the children of Israel slaughtered and ate a lamb for each household and smeared the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, so that the Angel of Death would pass over them and not kill their firstborn sons as he did to the Egyptians as the tenth plague against Egypt (Exodus 12). The Israelites celebrated this Passover feast every year by sacrificing Passover lambs. The New Testament Passover Lamb is Christ. We celebrate this Passover by celebrating Christ’s suffering and death for our sins and His resurrection from the dead. We celebrate the New Testament Passover on Easter as well as every Sunday.
The Old Testament Pentecost took place fifty days after the Passover, which is why it was called Pentecost, which is Greek for fifty. Fifty days after the first Passover, God gave the people of Israel the Ten Commandments when Moses went up on Mount Sinai. Every year, fifty days after the Passover, the people of Israel would celebrate God giving the Law through Moses. Now, in Acts 2, fifty days after the greater Passover, when Christ Jesus the true and final Passover Lamb was sacrificed for our sins, so that eternal death would pass over us, a greater Pentecost comes. This Pentecost is greater, because it follows a greater Passover and so grants greater gifts (Hebrews 8:6).
Christ is the greater Passover Lamb, because He is true God and being the fulfillment of all the prophesies, also true man. He lived under the Law in our place and was truly without blemish. And He suffered and died for our sins. The Passover lambs of the Old Testament were only signs of the coming Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ. They could not take away any sins, but Jesus takes away all sins. Yet, Jesus’ suffering and death for your sins and His resurrection would do you no good if the Father and the Son did not send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, who is true God with the Father and the Son, delivers to you what Christ won. And if the Holy Spirit does not deliver Christ to you, then you will die in your sins. The Holy Spirit’s work to sanctify you is as important to your salvation as the Son’s work in redeeming you.
So, how does the Holy Spirit sanctify you? He uses words, God’s words. In the first Old Testament Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave Moses ten words of Law. These words told Israel how they should behave. And yet, while these words were perfect and holy, they did not save the people, but rather condemned them by accusing them of sin. In the first Pentecost of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit gave the Apostles words. But these words were different. They did not simply give commands for us to follow, but they told of the mighty works of God in Christ Jesus. The words of God in the Old Testament Pentecost required works, which were never done. The words of God in the New Testament Pentecost told of the work already done for us by Christ. These words are received through faith.
This is very much what St. Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, “God made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” By letter Paul means the words of the law inscribed in stone (2 Cor. 3:7), and by Spirit, he means the Gospel of Christ proclaimed by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. Now, indeed the Holy Spirit uses both the letter of the Law and the letter of the Gospel, but He does not save with the Law. Only the Gospel saves, because it depends on Jesus’ completed work and is received through faith. The Holy Spirit uses the Law to convict you of sin and bring the threat of death and hell upon your conscience. He does this so that you will be sorry for your sins. Yet, the Holy Spirit does not desire to leave you there. The Holy Spirit’s greatest work is convincing you that God has forgiven you all your sins for Christ’s sake. The Holy Spirit’s greatest joy and work is proclaiming Christ’s work of salvation for you.
The Holy Spirit works through words to sanctify you, to gather you into the safety of the Christian Church, so that you may be saved through faith in Jesus’ blood. People get distracted by the lesser works of the Holy Spirit, which accompanied the Holy Spirit’s greater works on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit caused the disciples to speak in languages they had never learned. So, people try to speak in tongues to prove they have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit caused the disciples to prophesy, so people seek to prophesy messages from God outside of Holy Scripture to prove that they have the Holy Spirit. And they do the same thing with healings, because the Apostles also healed many people. Yet, the attempts today to speak in tongues, prophecy, and heal do not give any certainty of the Holy Spirit’s work. They are all dubious at best. Besides, St. Paul said that prophecies and tongues would cease (1 Corinthians 13:8).
The Holy Spirit caused the disciples to speak in languages they had never learned to show that the Gospel is meant for all people of every language and nation. And it promises us that the Holy Spirit can work in our own language. The Holy Spirit caused the disciples to prophecy to fulfill Scripture and so that people would know that they were sent by Christ. Yet, Scripture doesn’t promise that these gifts will continue, nor do we need them. We have the Holy Scriptures, which the Holy Spirit has caused to be written. And we have the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which have Christ’s word and promise.
And here is why it is so important that we hold fast to God’s Word in Holy Scripture, to the Gospel of Christ and the Sacraments He instituted. That is how we know that the Holy Spirit is working among us! Did that guy on TV really speak in tongues? I don’t know. Probably not. Are you baptized? Yes? Then the Holy Spirit came to you and made you God’s child! Did that fellow on the internet really come up with a new prophecy from God? No. But the Gospel truth that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners remains true today!
The Holy Spirit works through God’s Word, which means that He works in His Church, where the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity and where the Sacraments are rightly administered. You don’t need to doubt where the Holy Spirit works. And you don’t need to doubt that He continues to work today! He works every time a child is baptized and when a sinner comes to Jesus. He works every time His Church gathers for worship and when a Christian confesses Christ. He works in your hearts with a burning that is as real as those tongues of fire on the disciples. He works to save your soul and grant you everlasting life.
The work of the Holy Spirit is the greatest work being done on this earth right now. What was accomplished on that first New Testament Pentecost? Three thousand souls were baptized and added to the number of the saved; three thousand souls that would have spent eternity in hell, but rather will spend eternity in paradise! And the Holy Spirit has continued to add to the number of those being saved even to this day!
We want more practical knowledge and skills, so most ignore the workings and teachings of the Holy Spirit, as if we know enough. But what knowledge or skill on this earth can grant you eternal life? “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid,” says Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us this peace with God by converting us to faith in Jesus! This isn’t shallow superficial peace, where you go along to get along, but have no true love for anyone. The Holy Spirit grants you eternal peace with God.
This peace with God grants you joy that the world cannot take away from you. You can lose your house, your money, your wife, children, everything you have, but the joy of being at peace with God can not be taken away from you, so long as you have faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit also gives you courage to confess Christ and do what is right. Consider Peter, who was afraid to acknowledge Christ to a servant girl, but now preaches to all the Jews in Jerusalem, including those who cried, “Crucify him!” to Pontius Pilate just fifty odd days earlier. When you hear and learn Holy Scripture, study it, and receive the Sacrament, the Holy Spirit grants you courage to face Satan and the world and not back down.
Finally, through the ministry of the Word, the Holy Spirit grants you love for your fellow Christian. At the end of Acts 2, St. Luke records that the Christians held everything in common with each other. They loved each other as their own bodies and didn’t consider anything their own! So filled they were with the Holy Spirit. This is part of the Holy Spirit sanctifying. He continues to work in you to bring you out of this world and into another. Just because you have faith in Christ, does not mean that the Holy Spirit is done working on you. The Holy Spirit must continue to work to sustain you in the faith, to increase your love, and joy and courage. If the Holy Spirit does not continue this work in you through His Word, then you will lose His work, including saving faith.
A final note: through whom does the Holy Spirit work? You are right if you say through the pastor. The pastor is called by God to proclaim God’s Word and be a steward of God’s mysteries. And so, we know the Holy Spirit works through the ministry of the Word and Sacraments. Yet, the Holy Spirit is not connected to the pastor apart from the Word. Moreover, the Holy Spirit is not separate from you when you speak His Word.
Now it is right that no one should publicly preach or teach without being called. And Holy Scripture has forbidden women from serving as pastors, from publicly preaching, teaching, and exercising authority in the Church (1 Timothy 2:11-12; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35); a teaching, which has become even more relevant as our world has rejected every distinction between men and women. Yet, every Christian is called to confess Christ. You don’t need to be a pastor to give a defense for the reason for the hope that is in you. Joel prophesied that both sons and daughters would prophesy. All of you in whom the Holy Spirit dwells are called to acknowledge Christ before men (Matthew 10:32). And the Holy Spirit promises to work even through your words to convert and save. Speak to your children about Christ. Talk to your family, friends, and neighbors about your faith in Jesus. And if you do not have the confidence to do so, then come to church and Bible study and learn more until you have such confidence. This is the greatest work God is doing today! The Holy Spirit is still adding to the number of those being saved. And we should be confident that He works through us when we confess the true Gospel. Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

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Rev. James Preus

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