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

The Scriptures Clearly Reveal God’s Grace

2/24/2020

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Picture
Eustache Le Sueur, Christ Healing the Blind Man, 17c, Public Domain. commons.wikimedia.org
Quinquagesima 
Luke 18:31-43 
 
Jesus said to his disciples, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” Jesus says that everything written in the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. Jesus is speaking about the Holy Scriptures, specifically, the Old Testament. The Old Testament speaks of Jesus, his birth, works, suffering and death, and of course, his resurrection on the third day. Whenever we do a Bible study on a book of the Old Testament we discover this. Christ is proclaimed in every chapter.  
Yet, nowhere in the Old Testament does it declare this message so clearly and distinctly as Jesus does here. Jesus speaks in no uncertain terms. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. He will be mocked and shamefully treated. He even includes the detail that they will spit on him! He will be killed and he will rise on the third day. These are not difficult words to understand. If faithful believers read the Old Testament and from its words believed and hoped in Christ, then certainly the disciples should understand these clear words. But his disciples don’t understand what Jesus is talking about. And this was the third time Jesus told them that he would suffer and die and rise on the third day, yet his disciples did not grasp what Jesus said.  
The disciples did not grasp what Jesus said, because their sinful flesh wouldn’t let them. When we think of our sinful flesh, also called our sinful nature, we often think of our unholy desires, our sinful cravings. Yet, the sinful flesh also affects the mind. The disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying, because their sinful human reason did not want to understand Jesus’ clear words. Jesus was their master. He healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, walked on water and calmed storms, and fed thousands. He certainly should ascend as king over all the people. It makes no sense that he should suffer and die. How could this man, who had proven himself to be the Christ, the Son of God, be treated so terribly. How could he die?  
This is our natural disposition to what God says. We judge what God says according to what we think and feel. This is called magisterial reason. You use magisterial reason when your reason rules over the Bible. You judge what it says and you make it fit how you think. The disciples did this with what Jesus said. And since their reason could not fit what Jesus said into how they already thought of him, they thought his clear words were some sort of riddle.  
People do this all the time. They read the Bible and rule over it, so that it agrees with what they want to believe. In fact, Christians and false Christians are the worst at this! Unbelievers will read the Bible, understand the plain words, and reject it saying, “I see what it says and I don’t believe it.” But, people who want to be considered Christians will read the Bible, not like what it says and say, “I read it, but it’s not clear. I don’t know what it says.”  
And this is how we now have a situation in the Christian church where the clearest teachings in Scripture are rejected. Christians and so-called Christian churches cannot take a stand against abortion, which is the killing of unborn children. Scripture is not unclear on this. Scripture states, “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) and “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.” (Psalm 139:13-14)  
Christ Jesus says, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6) Yet, the Christian church on earth fails to teach that marriage is between one man and one woman and that this is a lifelong union that should not be broken. People actually have the gall to state that Jesus would not have a problem with same-sex so-called marriage! If Jesus is not clear enough here, we have the words of St. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, who writes by inspiration of the Holy Spirit:  
 “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. 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 since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:26-27) and later, “Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:32) 
Scripture clearly says that God made them male and female, yet in recent years our children have been taught that a man can decide to be a woman and a woman can decide to be a man or if a person decides he doesn’t want to be either, that is fine too. Children are encouraged to reject how God has made them based on their feelings. And many churches and Christians remain silent.  
The Sixth Commandment is not a complicated commandment. “You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14) This means that we should fear and love God so that we lead a chaste and descent life in what we say and do and husband and wife should love and honor each other, as Hebrews chapter 13 states, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (vs. 4) Yet most Christians turn a blind eye to fornication and accept it as just a fact of the times.  
Why do so many Christians and churches reject the clear words of Scripture? Why do they say that the Bible is unclear? Because they don’t like what it says. They don’t like that God calls these behaviors sinful! They don’t like that God demands that we exercise self-discipline. The words of God offend them, so they reject them.  
And this reveals a very bad spiritual condition of many in the church. Why is it offensive to call homosexuality, fornication, divorce, abortion, and transgenderism sinful? Well, it’s hurtful to say such things. It means that these individuals who practice or have done some of these things are doing something wrong or that there is something wrong with them! Well, yes, that’s true. It is hurtful to say such things. It does mean that they are doing something wrong and that there is something wrong with them. But what do you think of your own sins and your own sinful condition? What sins are you trying to hide from God? 
I think it’s pretty clear that the reason why Christians do not want to call behavior, which the Bible calls sinful, sinful, is because they don’t want to acknowledge that their own hearts are sinful, that they themselves need to repent. This is self-righteousness; the sin of the Pharisees. We should not try to protect ourselves from the judgment of God’s Law by denying that God’s Law says what it clearly says. That will only lead to impenitence, pride, false belief, and finally condemnation.  
Yet, how does Scripture tell us to deal with our sins? And what does Scripture tell those who have had abortions, or have homosexual desires, or have committed fornication, or any other sinful behavior? Repent and believe in the Gospel! (Mark 1:15).  
Listen to how St. Paul addresses some of these same sins in his letter to the Corinthians, “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.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) 
St. Paul didn’t tell them that their sins weren’t sins. And the Church in Corinth, which God built through the labors of St. Paul, was not made up of a bunch of perfect people who never sinned. Rather, St. Paul confronted these people with their sins, they repented, and he declared to them the free forgiveness and salvation that comes from Jesus Christ. The Church must continue to call sin, sin, even as Holy Scripture does, so that sinners can look to Jesus, who saves sinners.  
Scripture clearly teaches that God saves sinners not by their own works, but rather through the merits of Christ Jesus who died for all our sins. Scripture clearly teaches that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will have eternal life.  Scripture says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) And again in Romans 4, “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” And Jesus says in John chapter 6, “This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (vs. 40) Yet, despite these clear passages our human reason does not want to believe that we are saved apart from anything we do. We want to earn our salvation. This is also why many refuse to acknowledge their sins, because they don’t truly believe in God’s grace to forgive.  
In short, our human reason does not want to believe in the Gospel. Our magisterial reason wants to rule over Scripture and make it say something that makes sense to us.  
And so, we need to be not like the disciples in our lesson, but rather like the blind beggar. The blind beggar wasn’t even there when Jesus clearly told his disciples about his death and resurrection. Yet, this blind beggar has concluded from what he had heard about Jesus, and what he had heard about the Christ, the Son of David in Scripture, that he would “open the eyes that are blind” (Isaiah 42:7), and he cried out to Jesus for mercy.  
Here we have an example of ministerial reason. Now, I’ve spoken quite a bit about how our human reason works against God and rejects his word. That is called magisterial reason. Yet, ministerial reason is different. Ministerial reason is when God uses our reason, so that we understand his word. That is what God did for the blind man. The blind beggar used his ministerial reason, meaning, he used his senses to listen to the promises of Scripture and listen to the report of Jesus of Nazareth, and conclude that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of David, who opens the eyes of the blind. 
The blind beggar teaches us what true faith is. True faith trusts in God’s promises despite what your feelings say or what conventional wisdom says. True faith seeks to understand what God actually says in Scripture and clings to that promise.  
The blind beggar cried to Jesus for mercy, because he believed that Jesus would make him see. Often when we think of crying for mercy, we think that God is angry at us and we are asking him to stop being angry, to change his disposition toward us. Yet, that is not how the blind man cried for mercy. He cried for mercy with the belief that Jesus wanted to make his eyes see.  
Before Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins, he told his disciples three times that he would go and suffer greatly, die, and rise again. It was not an accident that Jesus went to the cross. Jesus knew that he would go and die for our sins. He himself said, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” (John 10:17-18)  
This shows us that Jesus wanted to go to the cross to save us from our sins. He desired our eternal salvation. He knew what he was doing. And this shows us that when we cry to God for mercy; to heal our diseases; to take away our pain; and most especially, to forgive our sins and give us eternal life; God wants to do this for us. When we say, “Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.” We are asking God to be who he is: merciful. And we are asking God to do what he wants to do: give forgive us and give us eternal life.  
Scripture clearly reveals to us a merciful God. When we listen to Scripture and don’t let our emotions or reason rule over Scripture, we see a God to whom we can cry for mercy and know we will receive it. Amen.  
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God Saves the Elect through His Word

2/17/2020

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Picture
Behold, A Sower Went Forth to Sow, George Han, 1893, Public Domain. Commons.wikimedia.org
Luke 8:4-15 

February 16, 2020 
 
As Jesus preaches to this large crowd, he describes to them in a parable what is happening to the words he is preaching. He calls his word, seed, and his preaching, sowing. Jesus sows his word into the ears of his listeners. The word goes into the ears of some, but the devil quickly snatches the word away like a bird gobbling up seed on a road. Many people fall into this group. They hear the word of God. They understand the words and grammar. But they pay no attention to its meaning. Some follow the lies of Satan and follow after other religions, seeking wisdom from manmade philosophies, which cannot grasp the truth of Christ and his redemption for our human race. Others reject the notion of God completely and imagine that nature produced itself through random processes.  
The word goes into the ears of others and they actually receive it with joy! They believe for a while, but at time of testing they fall away. “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus teaches us that whoever would be his disciple must take up his cross and follow him. Faith in Christ comes with a cross: persecution. The most notorious of these crosses comes from intolerant governments, which forbid the preaching of the word: The ancient pagan Romans, the Communist regimes from yesterday and today, Islamic theocracies. Even in nominally Christian lands, Christians face persecution from their government. Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola, who is the Dean of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese in Finland was interviewed by the Helsinki Police Department last Tuesday, because he is suspected of inciting hatred against a group. Why is he suspected of inciting hatred? Because as editor of the publication The Lutheran Foundation Finland, he published a booklet, which argued on biblical grounds that homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity. Of course, homosexual relationships do challenge the Christian concept of humanity. God created them male and female. Yet now, in Finland, declaring such a truth puts you at risk of punishment from the government. Meanwhile the national Lutheran Church in Finland has given into the pressure of the secular world and so, does not bear this cross.  
Pastor Pohjola must bear a cross for Jesus’ sake, just as John the Baptist and the apostles bore their cross for the sake of Christ and his teaching. Yet, for many, the cross is too heavy. Even when the government leaves us alone, there is the pressure from family and friends. What will you choose? Disapproval from friends and family or being faithful to the Word of God? When the hot sun rises those seedlings that sprouted on the rocks whither up. And so does the faith of those, who desire the comforts of the flesh and the acceptance of people when these niceties are threatened.  
The word is sown into the ears of yet others, but along with the good seed grow thorns. The cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life are the thorns, which choke out the word. Such unlikely culprits, don’t you think? How are cares thorns? Shouldn’t I care about what my children eat and wear, the condition of my home, the quality of my car? How are riches and pleasures of this life thorns? Don’t we pray for such things when we ask for our daily bread? Don’t I need these things? Aren’t these things gifts from God?  
Indeed, food and clothing, spouse and children, house and cars, these are all things we pray for and our heavenly Father gives them to us out of his fatherly divine goodness and mercy. Yet, when we set these things above God and his word, they become false gods, idols. Yet, this appears to be the most dangerous and prevalent attack on the word in the Church today. God has made us rich. Yet, we worry more than ever and we want more than ever. We neglect hearing the word of God, so that we can work and make money. Though there are 168 hours in the week to make money, we can’t take a couple hours to listen to God’s Word. We have 24 hours in the day, yet we can’t afford 15 minutes to read scripture and pray. In our foolishness we value the gifts God gives us for our body more than the gift he gives us for our eternal soul, which will give eternal life to our bodies as well! 
Although, it might be understandable that the weak in faith would choose the necessities of the body over the necessities of the soul at times of weakness, we abandon the word of God for nearly any reason we can find. Sports, sleep, vacation, friends. We teach our children that literally anything is more important than hearing the words of Christ. The thorns that choke out the word are made up of the least threatening things: job, kid’s sports, hobbies, friends, family. Yet, these good things truly are thorns that choke out the saving word when we place them before God and his word.  
Finally, there is the good soil. The word is sown in their ears and bears much fruit. Yet, that does not mean that the good soil does not endure attacks from the devil, or trials, or thorns. They must bear all these things. Yet, Jesus says, with patience they overcome.  
Despite attacks from the devil, the allurements of the world, and the weakness of the sinful flesh, these in the good soil receive the word and let it grow to produce much fruit. Yet, this is not because those who are good soil are better than those who are bad soil. They did not believe and come to their Lord Jesus Christ by their own reason and strength or overcome the devil, world, and their sinful flesh by their own power. Rather, as Jesus says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God.” It has been given; as in, a gift. It is as if Jesus said, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).  
The good soil is good soil, because God made the soil good, not because some individuals are better than other or have made themselves better. Salvation is a pure gift of God. Even faith, which receives forgiveness and salvation apart from works is a gift given by God. St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians in chapter 1, “Even as [God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world,” (vs. 4) and “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace,” (vss. 4-6). This is what Jesus means when he says, “To you it has been given”. God makes you good soil that can receive the good seed and bear fruit.  
This teaching is offensive for two reasons. First, because it offends our pride. We want to believe that we are Christians and that we will be saved, because of something we have done. Even if it’s that we chose God. Yet, Jesus makes clear, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” 
This teaching is also offensive, because it offends our reason. We reason that if God chose some before the foundation of the world to be saved, then he must have chosen others from the foundation of the world to go to hell. It seems pretty logical. In fact, there are many churches that teach this: God chooses some to go to heaven and he chooses others to go to hell. But this is not what the Bible teaches. Rather, holy Scripture teaches us that God desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). Scripture teaches that God does not delight in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live (Ezekiel 33:11). The Bible teaches that Christ Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2) 
Even is this parable, Jesus shows God’s desire to save all people by how the sower recklessly throws his seed into the most hostile places. No farmer would throw his seed onto the road, or onto rocks, or in thorn bushes. Yet, God desires his word to be proclaimed everywhere, so that all may hear of his love and desire to save. Here we must make a distinction between God’s election and God’s foreknowledge. God knows everything that will happen. But that does not mean that he has chosen for it to happen. God has not chosen anyone for hell. Yet, he does know who will reject him. Yet, God’s election is not simply his foreknowledge. God does not simply know beforehand that you will believe in him. God has chosen you before the foundation of the world to believe in Jesus Christ and be saved.  
This is a difficult teaching and a mystery that goes beyond our human understanding. Yet, it is the truth revealed from Scripture. Faith is a gift from God, given by God to those whom he predestined. Yet, those who do not have faith cannot blame God for their unbelief. If you reject the word, it is your own fault. God desires all people to be saved, which he shows by proclaiming his word throughout the world, even to those, whom he knows will reject it. It is as Jesus said when he mourned over Jerusalem, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” (Luke 13:34).  
This teaching should not lead you to be complacent. Some may think, “Well, if God chooses who will be saved before the foundation of the world, then what does it matter what I do. I can’t save myself anyway. If it is God’s will that I go to heaven or hell, I can’t change that.” That is not the message Jesus is giving us. Rather, Jesus teaches us that it is by means of his word that we are saved. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) And St. Paul warns us, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)  
God indeed chose you before the foundation of the world to believe in Christ, but he did not choose you apart from Christ. God does not save anyone apart from the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, which washed away all our sins. And he does not call you apart from Christ’s word. It is only through the word that you can hear and believe this Gospel of Jesus. This is why it is important for us to continue to hear the words of Christ, because that is the only way God has revealed to us that he creates saving faith and forgives our sins.  
The teaching of election can seem scary, but it is actually a very comforting teaching to those who hear the words of Christ. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29) The teaching of election teaches you that you are secure in God’s hand and no one, not the devil, not the world, not your sinful flesh, can snatch you out from the safety of your heavenly Father’s hand. That is comforting. That is assurance that can stand against every attack of the devil. And how do you know that you are elect? How do you know that you are secure in the Father’s hand? “My sheep hear my voice,” Jesus says. By hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that Jesus died for you and has taken away all your sins, and by believing this, you know that you are secure forever.  
The importance of hearing the words of Christ cannot be overstated. We have real enemies. The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh all seek to destroy our faith in Christ. Yet, God promises that his word bears fruit. It does not go out from his mouth and return empty, but it accomplishes that which God purposes. So we hear the word of God with the belief that God will keep us in his hand. And we proclaim this word to our children, so that they too hear the voice of their shepherd. “He who has ears, let him hear.” our Lord says. So, let us hear. Amen.  
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February 10th, 2020

2/10/2020

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Picture
Dietrich, Workers in the Vineyard, 1750s, Public Domain. Commons.wikimedia.org
Septuagesima 2020 
Saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ Alone 
Matthew 20:1-16 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
February 9, 2020 
 
The kingdom of heaven is like a master paying those who worked twelve hours in his vineyard the same as those who worked an hour. It’s obvious that the payment did not depend on the work, otherwise the payment would have varied with the number of hours each laborer worked. Rather, the payment is given based on the generosity of the master. This parable of Jesus teaches us that the kingdom of heaven is not like any place of employment you know here on earth, whether it is a vineyard or an office building. Rather, our Lord Jesus teaches us today that in the kingdom of heaven one is saved by grace.  
The consistent teaching throughout all of Scripture is that sinners are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. And these three: Grace, Faith, and Jesus must not be separated.  
To be saved by grace means to be saved apart from your works. Scripture states in Romans chapter 3 that all are justified God’s grace as a gift. And in Romans 11 Scripture clarifies what is meant by grace by saying, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (vs. 6) Grace excludes works. If you are saved by grace then you are not saved by your works, otherwise grace would stop being grace. Grace is a gift from God. Grace is God’s undeserved love for you. Once what you deserve enters the equation, grace ceases to be grace. The workers received their denarius independent of how much they worked. They received by grace. And so too do we receive by grace alone.  
If we receive salvation by grace, then we must receive salvation through faith. Scripture again says, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace...” (Romans 4:16)  This is because faith is not your work. Faith is a gift from God, as Ephesians 2 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (vss. 8-9)  
Faith is given to you by God by the power of the Holy Spirit, who works through the Gospel. Many people think that faith is some work that you do that makes you a better person, but that is not the case. Faith is simply believing and trusting in the promise of God to forgive your sins for Christ’s sake. Faith is not your work. Holy Scripture consistently opposes faith and works. Romans 4 states, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” And again, Romans chapter 3 says, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” And yet again in Galatians 2, “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”  
To be saved by grace means to be saved apart from your works. This means to be saved by grace, you need to be saved through faith. If you are saved through faith, you are not saved by your works. Grace and faith are inextricably joined, just as salvation by grace through faith is necessarily separated from your works. Yet, there is another detail that must be included otherwise both grace and faith fall apart. That detail is Jesus Christ. Faith in yourself does not save you. Faith in the American dream does not save you. Faith in faith does not save you. Rather, only faith in Jesus Christ saves. This is because only Jesus has won for you eternal life.  
Only Jesus is God, who became man by being conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Only Jesus fulfilled the whole Law and withstood every temptation of Satan. Only Jesus went to the cross laden with the sins of the whole world and died for all sins. Only Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and later ascended to the right hand of God the Father Almighty from thence he will come to judge the living and the dead. Only Jesus has done this for us. Only Jesus has the gift of eternal life. So, there is no grace apart from Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. And faith in anyone else is a false faith.  
And because Jesus has done all things necessary to save us, we can only be saved by grace. Grace excludes our works. Jesus has done all the work for us. And because Jesus has made our works unnecessary by himself completing the work of salvation for us, all that is left is for us to believe on him, as Jesus himself says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-16)  
And this is why everyone in the kingdom of heaven gets paid the same. Grace makes everyone equal. Grace gives everyone the same faith. True faith centers on the same person and work: Jesus Christ. The Jesus you trust in is not greater or worse than the Jesus I trust in, because he is the same Jesus. Your Baptism is not greater than the Baptism of the person sitting next to you, because there is only one Baptism. It doesn’t matter how long you have been a member of the Church, how much you have labored; we all receive by grace. We all receive Jesus through faith.  
And just as in Jesus’ parable, people grumble against this. You can understand why someone would get upset if he worked twelve hours, laboring in the sweltering heat, forming callouses on his fingers and cuts on his hands and feet and those who worked only one hour got paid the same. A similar envy developed among the Jewish Christians in the early Christian Church. They had to be circumcised on the eighth day. They needed to offer sacrifices over and over and over again, traveling to Jerusalem year after year. They observed the Law: don’t eat this, don’t touch that. And then these Greeks and Romans were welcomed into the Church and given the inheritance of Abraham their father without circumcision or refraining from any foods or even attending a Passover. The Apostles struggled with the task of showing the Jewish Christians that they should rejoice that God welcomes the Gentiles into his heavenly kingdom.  
And such struggles happen today; resentment among Christians. Pride. Christians thinking they are better than other Christians, because they have been Christian longer, because they’re more faithful, work harder, volunteer more, have greater knowledge. Yet, what does Jesus teach us about our labor in the Church? What should we say when we have finished our work? Jesus says, “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (Luke 17:10) 
There is indeed a great danger in focusing on your own works and accomplishments and comparing others with yourself. There is a danger in desiring to be rewarded for your own works. There is no greater reward that you can receive than that which you receive by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the one who gives you eternal life in the kingdom of God as a free gift. Yet, if you, like those grumblers in the parable, would rather be paid according to your works, what reward can you expect?  
Scripture warns, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” (Galatians 3:10). If you seek to be saved by your own works instead of by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, you will fail. Again, Scripture clearly says, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20) Yes, indeed, the law shows us our sin. When we seek a better reward based on our works, we do not get a better reward, but rather, we get our just reward, which is punishment. We’re sinners. Scripture says, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:23)  
So, let Jesus’ parable be a warning to you not to try to get a better reward by your own works. You can only receive heaven by grace, as a gift of God through faith in Jesus. We’re all sinners. We deserve hell. And you’re not better than the sinners you despise. You need God’s grace as much as they do. So, do not despise those whom you think are less worthy of God’s grace than you. Rather, rejoice that God is so gracious to forgive even our worst sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.  
The vineyard is the Church of God. Those who spend their lives in the vineyard should not begrudge those who come late. It’s not like those who were outside the vineyard, standing idle in the market place, enjoyed their life any more than those who labored in the vineyard. Those who labored in the vineyard had the promise from the master that they would get paid a generous wage. Those who stood aimlessly in the market place feared that their family would go hungry. Those outside the Christian Church do not have it better than those inside the Church. Those outside the Church are in a very precarious situation. They have no certainty of eternal life. It is much better to labor in the vineyard, to do the work of a Christian with the certain knowledge of your heavenly inheritance. And the work we do as Christians is not difficult. We do not labor in order to earn salvation. We labor as those who already know our salvation is secure. Our labor is a labor of love. God so loved us, so we love one another. So, let us labor cheerfully. And let us thank God for every soul our Master brings in, who will receive the same reward of everlasting life as we will. Amen.  
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Listen to Jesus

2/3/2020

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Picture
Titian, Transfiguration, 1560, Public Domain. commons.wikimedia.org
Transfiguration 2020 
Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36 
 
“28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,[b] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One;[c] listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.” Luke 9:28-36 
 
“Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” They went up on the mountain to pray. What does it mean to pray? To pray is simply to speak to God in faith. You can speak to God anywhere and at any time. Going up on a mountain to pray can certainly be a good idea, because it gets you away from the hubbub and distractions of a busy life. Jesus often went to a desolate place to pray to his heavenly Father in peace and quiet.  
And mountains have a particular significance in Scripture when it comes to talking with God, because God often met his people up on mountains. In fact, the two men Jesus spoke with on this mountain, Moses and Elijah, are well known to have met God on a mountain. Moses spoke to God for forty days on Mount Sinai. And when he returned to speak the words of the LORD to the people of Israel, his face shone with the brightness of God’s glory. Elijah met the great power of God on Mount Carmel, when the prophets of Baal prayed all day for their false god to send fire from heaven to burn their sacrifice and when the true LORD God sent fire down to lap up the water and devour Elijah's sacrifice. Elijah also met the LORD up on a mountain when he was hiding from Queen Jezebel. The LORD came to him in a low whisper, and Elijah wrapped his face in his cloak to go talk with God.  
And now these two men talk to Jesus on a mountain and it becomes clear that Jesus is not just a man, who has come to talk to God, but Jesus is God himself. Moses shone with a reflective glory, which he hid behind a veil. Elijah in fear and trembling covered his face to shield himself from God’s glare. Yet, Jesus himself shines as the source of divine light. And the testimony of God the Father a second time confirms this with the words, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” These two men, who had already ascended to heaven have descended down to an earthly mountain to speak with their God, who has become man.  
Moses and Elijah stand with Jesus as witnesses that Jesus is the true God and Messiah. Moses is the author of the Law, the first five books of the Bible. Elijah represents the prophets. Moses and the Prophets make up the Old Testament. These two prophets stand with Jesus as a testimony that all Scripture points to Jesus. It was Moses who declared that the LORD God would raise up a Prophet like him from the people of Israel, to whom God would give his words, to whom the people of Israel were to listen. (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). That Prophet is Jesus, who was born of the Jews while being the Son of God himself.  
And what did these two prophets speak to Jesus about? Did Moses talk about how God used him to divide the Red Sea in two so that the people of Israel could walk across on dry ground? Did Elijah talk about how he called fire down from heaven? No. They spoke of Jesus’ departure, literally, his Exodus. They spoke of how Jesus would be betrayed, crucify, and die for the sins of the world and on the third day rise. This is the central teaching of the Old Testament. This is what Moses taught when he lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, so that all who looked at that snake on a pole would not die from the deadly snake bites. This pointed to Jesus, who became a curse for us on the cross. When Elijah preached that the people should turn back to the Lord God and sacrifice only to him, he was teaching that only the LORD God would provide a Savior, who would sacrifice himself for the sins of the world. Moses and all the prophets speak of Jesus’ departure in the Old Testament.  
Yet, when Peter joins the conversation, he doesn’t contribute very well. He is stunned by the divine glory shining forth from Jesus. He’s shocked to see these two great prophets visit them from heaven. He wants to capture the moment. So, he proposes to build three booths for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. But this is a mistake. So, God the Father interrupts Peter. He says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” 
You see, Peter wasn’t listening. He wasn’t paying attention to what Jesus was saying with Moses and Elijah. He was too quick to speak himself. And in his speaking, he proposed ignoring what Moses, Elijah, and Jesus were talking about: Christ’s crucifixion for the sins of the world. Peter was ignoring this most important work of Jesus! And in ignoring the cross of Christ, he tries to prevent it! He tries to prevent Jesus’ suffering and death by keeping Jesus’ glory with them on that mountain.  
This isn’t the first or the last time Peter tries to prevent Jesus’ passion for our sins. The first time was in Caesarea shortly after Peter confesses Jesus to be the Christ. Jesus tells his disciples that he must suffer and die and on the third day rise from the dead. But Peter rebukes Jesus and tells him this will never happen to him. Jesus then rebukes Peter, calls him Satan, and says that he is not setting his mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. (Matthew 16:21-23) The second time Peter tried to prevent Jesus’ crucifixion was here on this mountain of transfiguration, where he tries to keep Jesus’ glory without the cross. And finally, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter cuts off the ear of the High Priest’s servant Malchus, trying to prevent Jesus from being arrested. All three times, Peter is rebuked by God. All three times, Peter was setting his mind on the things of man and ignoring God’s word.  
I don’t tell you this so that you look down on St. Peter or try to make him look like a fool. Rather, I tell you this to teach you how to pray. We’re all Peter. Peter kept setting his mind on the things of men, even while he was talking to God. God taught Peter and us, that if we’re going to talk to God, we need to listen to God.  
When we treat prayer as simply an opportunity to talk to God without listening to what he tells us in his word, we end up acting like Peter and telling God what he should do. Our human way of thinking always ignores the cross of Jesus and tries to take away the cross that Christians must bear. 
Yet, when we listen to Jesus’ words before, during, and after we pray, we learn how and for what to ask. We learn that our greatest need is the forgiveness of sins, which Christ purchased for us with his dear blood on the cross. We learn that his crucifixion is the greatest work God has ever done for us. We learn that through Jesus’ cross God gives us all that we need, including eternal salvation.  
Jesus told Peter that he was setting his mind on the things of man. That is what we all by nature do. That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. We are by nature born of flesh. We don’t think the way God thinks, unless we are born of the Spirit. This means we try to prevent the good that God does in order to do it our own way. We don’t want to hear that our sins need to be atoned for by the blood of Jesus. We don’t want to hear that we need to be saved from our sins. We want to tell God what we need. And we want to make God dwell with us on our terms.  
This is what Peter did when he tried to get Jesus in all his divine glory to dwell with him in a tent on the mountain. Yet, Scripture says that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith when God grants his Holy Spirit to strengthen our inner being (Ephesians 3:16-17). And the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts through the words of Christ (Romans 10:17). In order to have Christ dwell with us now and forever, we need to listen to Jesus’ words. And most especially, we need to focus on his passion for our sins, how he died and rose in order to save us.  
Before Jesus took his disciples up on the mountain to pray, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26) It is important also for us to hear these words of Jesus when we pray. We often pray that the crosses we bear in this life would go away. Yet, sometimes God wills for us to keep these crosses here on earth for the sake of our eternal salvation. When we pray to God, we must understand that his goal is for us to inherit eternal life, even if it means that we lose our life here on earth. When we listen to God’s word and recognize what his goal for us is, then we are strengthened to bear our crosses in this life, knowing that we do not bear them alone and that we will obtain a prize in heaven by the merits of Christ.  
Many were shocked last Sunday at the death of Kobe Bryant, one of the most famous athletes in all of sports, along with eight other individuals including his 13-year-old daughter in helicopter crash. It is a solemn reminder that death comes to us all, both young and old, rich and poor; no one knows when his soul will be demanded of him. And as tragic this event is for so many people affected, I read one report that gave me some hope. At 7:00 AM last Sunday morning, just a couple hours before they died, Bryant and his daughter attended church and received Communion. They were Catholics. So, there is hope for them, that they were prepared for death having just heard the words of Christ and having prayed to him just hours earlier. And there is a reminder for us. We do not know when we will die. But we do know how to be prepared: by listening to the words of our Lord Jesus, by receiving his body and blood for our forgiveness, by clinging to Christ and his crucifixion in faith.  
Jesus’ transfiguration ended. But Peter and all the disciples did see Jesus in his divine glory again. After his resurrection. Yet, that time there was something different. Jesus still bore the marks of the nails in his hands and feet and of the spear in his side. These marks remained to teach us how we can see and share in Jesus’ glory forever; through Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, which took away all our sins and made us right with God. When we pray, we pray in faith for the sake of Jesus’ suffering and death which we hear, and our faith tells us we too will see this Jesus, who was crucified for us. Amen.  
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    Rev. James Preus

    Rev. Preus is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. These are audio and text of the sermons he preaches at Trinity according to the Historical Lectionary. 

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