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Trust in the Lord

8/24/2020

The Pharisee and the Publican, James Tissot, 1886-94, brooklynmuseum.org, No Known Copy Right Restriction

Trinity 11
Luke 18:9-14
August 23, 2020

When Jesus saw that some were confident in themselves that they were righteous and held others in contempt, he taught a parable to show who really is righteous before God and who is not. And to the surprise of his listeners, it was not the Pharisee, but the tax collector who went down to his house justified, that is, declared righteous by God! It was a surprise that the Pharisee did not go down to his house justified, because Pharisees were known to be good outstanding citizens. We heard it from the Pharisee himself. He didn’t cheat, steal, or commit adultery. He gave a tenth of all that he received to the LORD. He was a good pious man. Yet, God did not find him righteous.
And it is common to relate this story to our time and place to find out who is the Pharisee among us. In Martin Luther’s day it was the pope, the priests, and the monks, whom everyone thought were the most righteous men on earth and closest to God. Families would actually send one of their sons to the monastery to become a monk, so that his extra good works could be counted in their favor, so confident were people in the righteousness of these monks.
Who would be the Pharisees in our day? Perhaps the leaders of the church, the preachers and teachers, who seem good on the outside, but probably have some hidden sin? Maybe those Christians who are always at church helping out, making others look bad? Of course, there are a lot of self-righteous celebrities, who lecture people on how they can live a better life. Yet, the reason Jesus chose the Pharisee as the one who was not righteous was because he was the last person they would expect to be unrighteous. So, who is the last person you would expect to be unrighteous?
Is it you? Do you, like the Pharisee, justify yourself, so that you never admit you’ve done wrong? Do you hold others in contempt for not being as righteous as you think you are or because you perceive them to be self-righteous? You see, the point of Jesus’ parable is not for you to determine whether other people are hypocritical, self-righteous Pharisees, but rather whether you are righteous before God or not. To be declared righteous by God is a very personal thing. It doesn’t regard others. It’s between you and God. You can’t prove yourself righteous before God by tearing others down. When you hear Jesus speak of the self-righteous Pharisee, you should ask yourself whether you are the Pharisee.
The Pharisee was not righteous, because he trusted in his own righteousness instead of the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ. He did not humble himself before God. He did not repent of any sin. He thought God should accept him because of how good he was. He was self-righteous. And you don’t need to be a religious big shot to be self-righteous. To be self-righteous means that you think you are righteous before God and you do not need to repent of any wrong doing. Have you refused to admit doing wrong? Have you brushed it off when a fellow Christian has confronted you with your own sin? Do you make excuses for everything, so that the blame falls on anyone else but you? That is what the Pharisee did. You must not be like the Pharisee, or you will never be righteous before God. You must be like the tax-collector.
The tax-collector was an unlikely character to be found righteous before God. Tax collectors were known to be cheats, who enriched themselves by collecting more money than was required of them. Jesus couldn’t have picked a more unlikeable character than a tax collector. Yet, again, the point of Jesus’ parable is not for you to look at how bad the tax collector is as if he’s worse than you. The point of Jesus’ parable is for you to identify yourself with the tax collector. Do you think you are more worthy than the tax collector to stand before God and look up to heaven? No, we must do as the tax collector did. Do not focus an anyone else’s sins. Rather, confess to God that you are the sinner. And pray for mercy.
It’s hard to imagine a greater contrast than the prayer of the tax collector and that of the Pharisee. The Pharisee used many words glorifying himself. The tax collector simply called himself a sinner. Yet, the most important distinction between the Pharisee and the tax collector is that the tax collector had faith and the Pharisee did not.
We know that the tax collector had faith, not only because he admitted that he was a sinner and showed himself to be sorry, but because he trusted in God to show him mercy. And the tax collector did not simply ask for mercy. The word he used means, “Be propitiated.” He prayed that God would be propitiated to him. To be propitiated means that God’s wrath is taken away. It means to be appeased, to be satisfied. God no longer demands anything from you. It is sacrificial language. God is propitiated by sacrifice. The men are in the temple where lambs and other beasts are sacrificed and their blood is poured on the altar. The tax collector knows that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Yet, he also knows that the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin. The sacrifices in the temple point to the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. That sacrifice is the basis by which the tax collector asks God to be propitiated to him.
St. Paul writes in Romans chapter 3, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” It is through faith in the blood of Jesus, which propitiates, that is reconciles God to us that makes us righteous in God’s sight. The Pharisee did not trust in the blood of Christ. The tax collector did. That is the great difference.
In our Old Testament lesson, we heard how Cain and Abel both offered sacrifices to the Lord, but God did not accept Cain’s offering of fruit from the ground, but God did accept Abel’s offering of the firstborn of his flock and its fat portions. Now, this is often understood that Cain didn’t offer the best crops he had and that is why God did not accept his offering. But that is not what the text says. And it would hardly make sense for Cain to be upset at God for not accepting his offering of rotten vegetables and bruised fruits. Much more likely is that Cain offered the best he had, yet God did not accept it. That’s what made Cain so mad that murder arose in his heart!
So, why didn’t God accept Cain’s offering, if Cain offered his best? Because Cain had no faith. He offered his best to God just like the Pharisee, thinking God should accept his offering, because of how good it was. Yet, St. Paul teaches us to consider all we have as rubbish, so that we can be found not having a righteousness of our own, but one that comes through faith in Christ. Abel had faith. He offered the first fruit of his flock and its fat portions, because he believed that God would send his Firstborn to shed his blood for his sins, as God promised his parents in the Garden after they sinned. This is why Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.”
God was propitiated to Abel through the blood of Christ, which makes propitiation for all sins. This is the only way to be found righteous by God. St. John writes, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” To be justified by God means to be forgiven. Only by being forgiven of your sins can you be found righteous before God. And only Jesus by his suffering and death can forgive you.
You might have noticed that the Scripture says that Jesus is the propitiation not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. Indeed, Jesus died for all people and for all sins. This is why the tax collector could be so bold as to pray that God would be propitiated to him. He knew the promise. There is no one whose sin is so great that Jesus’ blood does not wash it all away.
This also shows the great tragedy for the Pharisee. Jesus shed his blood for the Pharisee too. Jesus made atonement for his sins. God is propitiated to the Pharisee by the blood of Christ! God loves the Pharisee! Yet, the Pharisee will not receive this forgiveness. He doesn’t want God’s righteousness as a gift. He traded in God's righteousness through faith for his own righteousness, which was rubbish. This is the danger of unbelief. It throws away a gift that God has won for all people.
The Pharisee’s righteousness fell short. And it showed. He held others in contempt. This is the fruit of self-righteousness: hatred. If you trust in yourself to be righteous, your righteousness will lead to hating others. You will try to make others seem worse than you in your own mind. You will despise those whom you think are worse than you and you will malign those, whom you fear are better than you. But the fruit of the righteousness through faith in Jesus is love. Because Jesus’ righteousness is given to those who in humility repent of their sins and consider others more significant than themselves. Faith in Christ means that you recognize that all people like you are in need of Jesus’ righteousness and that Jesus indeed died to save all people. And the righteousness that you receive through faith in Christ is real righteousness. Through faith, Jesus dwells in you. God now works in you to do works of love. This is why Jesus says, “They will know that you are my disciples, by how you love one another.”
This parable might look like it is about the Pharisee and the tax collector, those who are self-righteous and those who in faith repent of their sins and ask for forgiveness. But this parable is primarily about God and his great mercy for us in Christ Jesus. God is more willing to hear than we are to pray. He is more willing to forgive than we are to ask for mercy. God’s desire is for you to be righteous in his sight through faith in his Son. God is ready to exalt those who humble themselves, even as he is ready to humble those who exalt themselves. Jesus sacrificial death, which propitiates God to us gives us the courage to ask God for the greatest things imaginable, even eternal peace with him, no matter how terribly we’ve sinned against him. May we learn from the tax collector to be confident in our God’s mercy. Do not be afraid to confess your sins and humble yourself before God. By the merits of Christ, God will raise you up. For Christ’s sake you are righteous in God’s sight. Do not trust in yourself that you are righteous. Trust in God that you are righteous for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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God Dwells with His Church

8/17/2020

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Jesus casting out the money changers at the temple, Carl Bloch, 19c. Public Domain

Trinity 10
Luke 19:41-48
August 16, 2020

Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the temple was one of his most controversial prophesies. It filled his disciples with wonder and his enemies with ire. The idea that the temple would be destroyed was offensive to the religious elites, because the temple was what set apart the Jewish people from all other nations. God dwelt in the temple. To say that the temple would be destroyed was tantamount to claiming that God would abandon Israel. Jerusalem was God’s holy city! And the temple was God’s chosen dwelling place, above the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies.
Yet, Jesus prophesied that the city of Jerusalem along with the temple would be destroyed. How can this be? Did not God command that the temple be built? And did he not meticulously instruct the priests on how to perform sacrifices and services to him in the temple? Did he not promise the people of Israel that he would be their God and dwell with them in the temple and accept sacrifices from them?
Yes, indeed God did all these things. Yet, his dwelling in the temple was not the end. Rather, God’s dwelling in the temple and the sacrifices that took place in the temple were shadows of what was to come. Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophesy. In him dwells the full Godhead bodily. Jesus Christ, true God in human flesh is the fulfillment of the temple. And Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross was the fulfillment of all the sacrifices performed in the temple. When Jesus fulfilled the prophesy, there was no longer any need for the shadow. The substance had arrived.
Also, God’s presence was not restricted to the temple against his will, as if God had been caged in a building of stone built by men. Rather, God blessed the people of Israel with his presence through the Gospel, which can only be received through faith. The sacrifices in the temple were meant to be a proclamation of the Gospel, which can only benefit those who believe. Performing rituals is not enough. Without faith, God will not abide. This is what the Prophet Isaiah wrote,
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:1-2) God makes clear that a temple will not benefit the people if they do not repent of their sins and listen to his word with proper fear. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10) God dwells with those who fear his name.
Isaiah goes on,
“He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations; I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.’” (Isaiah 66:3-4)
These are remarkable words from the Prophet Isaiah. He basically runs through the book of Leviticus and condemns those who perform the ceremonies commanded by God through Moses! How can this be? How can God be displeased with sacrifices, which he himself commanded? Because they did them as their soul delighted in abominations. They had no faith in the God of Israel. They thought God would be pleased simply by outward acts. Meanwhile, they went and worshipped other gods, committed adultery, slander, and theft. They followed their own hearts and did not fear the LORD. So, God did not accept their offerings. He regarded them as he did Cain’s. It is exactly as King David said in Psalm 51, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
And these words from the prophets and our Lord should teach us Christians today how we should regard our church buildings and outward religious actions. It is really easy to become infatuated with a church building. Because Christians desire to present their best to the Lord, many church buildings are beautiful and show magnificent architectural skill. And when you add on the emotional pull, when you are married in a church building, when your children are baptized in it, when your parents were married there and your children, and so forth, the building becomes more special. Church-goers are known to worship the building instead of the God to whom the building is dedicated. If God warned through his prophets to not worship the temple or trust in it, which was a much more magnificent building than any church you’ve ever seen, then we too should take heed not to worship this or any other church building.
Likewise, we should pay attention to our worship. Simply showing up to church and carrying out the motions is not what makes one a Christian. It is faith in Christ. God saw the priests and the people come to the temple and perform the ceremonies he commanded. Yet, he saw in their hearts that they were far from him. They did not listen to his word or trust in him. When we come to church to worship, we should keep in mind that we come to worship Christ, to receive forgiveness and salvation from him, and to learn from him.
Jesus said, “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.” Obviously, we can see the connection between those who sell in the temple and robbers. These sellers were cheats. They took advantage of pilgrims traveling to perform their vows to the Lord. They overpriced their goods. Besides, the temple was no place to carry out such business, let alone a place to cheat and steal! Yet, the greatest robbery was not the unfair prices of doves and sheep or dishonest exchange rates for currency. The greatest robbery was performed by the priests and Pharisees, who taught lies to the people and left them ignorant of the Gospel.
Jesus quoted Jeremiah chapter 7, where God warned against the deceptive words of the priests who promised that God was pleased with the people, saying, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD” even as they made offerings to Baal, stole, murdered, and slandered. God said they spoke, “deceptive words” and then accused them of turning his house into a den of robbers. That is the robbery that God is most concerned with. The robbery of God’s word from the ears and hearts of the people. And this is demonstrated by Jesus, who cleansed the temple not simply by turning over a few tables, but by daily teaching the people in the temple.
Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2: 19) The temple made of stones was destroyed in 70 AD and has not been rebuilt. But Jesus did not mean the temple made by human hands. He meant his own body, which was torn down and buried in a tomb. After three days Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus did not abandon his human flesh, but forever the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ Jesus our brother and our Savior. How can we doubt God’s love for us when he forever shares our flesh and blood having redeemed us with his own blood!
Yet, we cannot ascend to heaven to see Jesus. He must descend to us. And he does so through his word. God now dwells in the hearts of believers, who hang on Jesus’ words, just as they did when Jesus taught in the temple. That is what Jesus taught us by teaching in the temple. The building of the temple is gone, but Jesus’ words are still spoken. So, where Jesus’ Christians gather to hear his word, there God makes his dwelling place.
St. Paul teaches us in Ephesians chapter 3 that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. In fact, he teaches us that through the knowledge of the love of God in Christ Jesus, the whole fulness of God fills us. We are the very temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6). The dwelling place of God on earth is in the hearts of believers, who fear his name, hear his Word, and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. This body of Christ is called the Holy Christian Church. It is invisible, because only God can see the faith in the heart of a believer. And an unbeliever is not going to believe that God dwells in a Christian. His eyes cannot see it. This is why it depends on faith. This is why we confess it in the Creed, “I believe in one, holy, Christian, and apostolic Church.” We confess our faith in the one Church of Christ just as we confess that Christ himself sits at the right hand of God the Father, although we cannot see it.
The Church is invisible, but that does not mean that you cannot find it. Many Christians have been fooled into believing that you do not need to go to church to be a Christian, because after all, God does not dwell in buildings made by human hands and the church is invisible. Jesus dwells within my heart. Yet, Jesus does not dwell in your heart apart from hearing the Gospel of Jesus. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.” And “If you abide in my words, you are my disciples indeed. And you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” The church was gathered in the temple where Jesus was teaching his people. And the Church always gathers where Christ’s words are spoken.
So, although we rightly say that the Church is invisible and that God dwells invisibly in the hearts of believers, we also rightly say that the Church is where the word of God is taught in its truth and purity and where the Sacraments are rightly administered. Where Jesus is proclaimed as crucified for the sins of all people and raised for the justification of all; where people are baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in order to be reborn as a child of God; where Christ’s body and blood are fed to his Christians in the Sacrament of the Altar; that is where Christ’s Church is. Because that is where Jesus promises to be even until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).
So, the message of Jesus today is not that we should not go to church buildings to worship, but rather that we should worship God instead of the buildings. And church buildings used for the gathering of Christ’s church should be frequently cleansed. All idolatry and worldly lust should be swept out of them, and the pure Gospel of Christ Jesus should be taught, so that God may dwell in the hearts of his people through faith. The purpose of churches is not to give practical advice on how to live a moral or successful life in this world. No, the purpose of churches is for Christ Jesus to be proclaimed as crucified, so that sinners may know that they have a gracious God, who forgives them. Churches exist so that Christians may depart with Christ dwelling in their hearts through faith; so that Christ Jesus may live in them and through them as they pour out the love of God to their family and neighbors. Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah, who said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” This prophecy is fulfilled by the preaching of the Gospel, which has spread to all nations, so that wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, people lift up acceptable prayers to God. May God dwell in all your hearts through faith in the Gospel, so that this house may always be a house of prayer. And may its walls crumble and fall before the Gospel ceases to be preached in it. Amen.

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God Is Faithful

8/11/2020

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Esteban March - The Golden Calf, between 1610 and 1668, Public Domain

Trinity 9
1 Corinthians 10: (1-5) 6-13
August 9, 2020

10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

God is the same forever. He does not change. And although people do change, we all remain members of the same human race. And we share a common condition. We are sinners, who have fallen short of the glory of God. St. Paul says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” So, although each of us suffers from our own particular temptations and sins, nothing that afflicts us is unique. Nothing’s new under the sun. What tempts us; the sins into which we fall; they’ve tempted and caused to fall Christians before us.
And this is why it is so important to read and become familiar with the Holy Scriptures. Last week I urged you all to learn your Small Catechism. Luther’s Small Catechism teaches the basics of the Bible by simply explaining the Ten Commandments, the Apostles Creed, the Lord’s Prayers, as well as the biblical doctrine on Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Sacrament of the Altar. These six chief parts summarize everything you need to know to be a Christian. Yet, that does not mean that you don’t need to read your Bible. The Bible describes how our God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever deals with his people, who are very much in the same spiritual situation as we are now. St. Paul says these things were written for our instruction or admonition. So, it behooves us to read what was written and learn about ourselves.
St. Paul reminds us that our fathers in the faith, the people of Israel, were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, that they all ate the same spiritual meat and drank the same spiritual drink, that they drank from the spiritual rock, which followed them, which was the same Christ we worship today! They worshipped the same God. They followed the same Christ. Notice even the similarity to the Sacraments we have today. They were baptized into the cloud, which was the very presence of God and into the sea, just as we are baptized not only into water, but in the name of God. They ate and drank spiritual meat and drink from Christ, just as we eat and drink the body and blood of the same Christ for spiritual sustenance. Yet, what does St. Paul say? “Nevertheless, with most of them God was displeased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”
What does this teach us? It teaches us that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper do not save us if we do not have faith! They were all baptized! Yet, they were not all saved! But doesn’t baptism save? Indeed, it does! But only through faith. If you reject Christ, Baptism is of no benefit to you. Doesn’t the Lord’s Supper work forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation? Indeed, it does! Yet, only those who believe the promise of Christ eat and drink worthily!
St. Paul used the example of the children of Israel in the wilderness to warn the Christians in Corinth not to despise their Baptism and not to abuse the Lord’s Supper. And from what we can read from 1 Corinthians, this is exactly what the Christians in Corinth were doing; living as if their bodies were not the temple of the Holy Spirit, who began his dwelling in them at their Baptism, and treating the Lord’s Supper like a common dinner party, even participating in pagan sacrifices in direct contradiction to the Communion into which they participated in the Sacrament.
And this lesson is as important for us to learn today as it was for the Christians in Corinth. Are we not prone to treat Baptism like a superstitious magic spell, which imparts salvation even if we don’t continue in the faith? “Get the child done.” is actually uttered by Christians in reference to bringing a child to the saving waters of Baptism! Yet, Baptism is not a once and done event. Baptism is placing a new-born Christian in to the safety of the Christain Church to be nurtured and to grow in faith. And the Lord’s Supper is God’s food for the faithful, not for those who continue in sin without repentance, or for those who do not believe in Christ.
We must not be idolaters as some of them were. Here St. Paul references Exodus chapter 32, where the children of Israel, impatient with Moses’ delay on top of Mount Sinai, worshipped a golden calf, crediting it for their deliverance from Egypt! God punished them for their idol worship. The Corinthians likewise were tempted with idolatry. They lived in a culture that worshipped many false gods and Christians would often be pressured by social norms to participate in sacrifices to idols. And this lesson is relevant to us today. It may be uncommon to be invited to eat meat sacrificed to idols, but idolatry is to fear, love or trust in anything above God. And that is a temptation that persists among us today. We trust in money more than God. We love our pleasures, more than God. We fear rejection from our family and friends more than rejection from God. Take heed of this idolatry. Your fathers were baptized into Moses and idolatry destroyed them. Do not let your idolatry throw away your Baptism.
We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. Here St. Paul references the episode at the Baal of Peor as recorded in Numbers 25. The unfaithful prophet Baalam enticed the Israelites to embrace cult prostitutes from Moab. In his anger God killed thousands of them in a single day, until pious Phinehas in his zeal killed the most brazen offender and put an end to the plague. The Corinthian Christians needed to be reminded of God’s wrath against sexual immorality. They had been rescued from the perversions of the pagan Greeks when they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit in Baptism (1 Corinthians 6:11). Yet, the Satanic world in which they lived continued to pull these infant Christians to tolerate the worst forms of fornication.
And we currently live in a culture that likely surpasses the ancient Greeks in perversity. And we’d be naïve to believe that the church is passing through unscathed. Are your views on marriage formed by how the world behaves or by how God teaches us in his word? Do you promote with your words and actions fornication and adultery? See God’s wrath against this sin. Those who participated in the same Christ fell away because of fornication.
Some of Israel tested Christ and grumbled against God, and God destroyed them with snakes and with the angel of death. This is the sin of covetousness: not being content with what God has given you and desiring what he has not given you. Covetousness is rooted in unbelief, because when you covet you are not trusting in God’s promise to provide for you. Israel tested Christ in this way. We too are guilty of this testing of God, grumbling and complaining for what we don’t have. Our generation has it easier than any other generation in the history of the world. We have more food than we should eat. We have more stuff than we need. Yet, we still grumble.
Christians often think that keeping the faith is simply holding on to the basic doctrine of the Christian faith, and as long as you believe that there is one God and that Jesus died on the cross, then you won’t lose your faith. But Satan often doesn’t attack the chief doctrine of our faith head on. Rather, he tempts us into other sins. If he constantly attacked our faith in one God and in Jesus as our Savior, we would put up guards against him. Rather, Satan attacks from the side. He entices us away from the faith by first drawing us into other sins. He won’t tell you to deny God upfront, but rather to also love other gods like money and power and worldly acceptance. He won’t deny that Jesus is Lord, but he’ll still entice you into sexual immorality or simply to think that it really isn’t a big deal. Christians can be guilty of being the worst complainers and malcontents imaginable. They think they honor God, while not realizing that their complaints and grumbling about money, against their neighbor, against their boss, and so forth are really complaints against God, who provides for them and bids them to love their neighbor.
This is why St. Paul warns, “Anyone who thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall.” Don’t take for granted your faith in Christ, but rather beware of temptations that destroy faith. Too often Christians think that they can remain Christians by their own strength, merit, and works. They become proud that they will always be Christians no matter what. But as Scripture shows us and as our own experience tells us, Christians can fall away.
But how can you prevent yourself from falling? Who has the strength to resist temptation? And can anyone have certainty of salvation? To answer this, you must look away from yourself and to Christ Jesus. He is the way of escape from temptation. And he is your refuge when your own sins assail you. The reason so many of Israel fell in the wilderness is because they forgot Christ. Their Baptism into the sea and their eating of spiritual food did them no good, because they did not look to Christ their Savior, their God.
Can you have certainty of salvation? Yes, indeed! In Christ alone! Only in Christ Jesus do you find certainty of your salvation. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and follow me. I give them eternal life and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” This is a sure promise. Does Jesus lie? Certainly not! If you think you stand, take heed that you stand on Christ Jesus, or you will certainly fall! It is Jesus, his forgiveness and salvation, which will strengthen you in temptation’s hour. And it is Jesus who will restore you again when you come to him with a penitent heart.
God does not change. He always remains the same. And his promise of salvation in Christ cannot be voided or altered. The mercy he has shown to the saints in the Bible instructs us of this great truth. God forgave David, who committed adultery and murder. He forgave Peter, who denied Christ three times. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even the worst sinners. We are cut out of the same cloth as all sinners. And we are saved by the same Jesus.
When we look at Scripture, we see how God punishes those who reject Christ by falling away into sin. Yet, also throughout Scripture we see a God who does not deal with us according to our sins, but according to his own mercy (Psalm 103:10). St. Paul writes to the Romans, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4) The goal of the entire Scriptures, even when it shows the wrath of God, is to draw us toward the one who is our hope.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
No merit of mine own I claim,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the Solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand. Amen.

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Beware of False Prophets

8/4/2020

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"Beware of False Prophets," Gerung or Gerou, Matthias (c.1500-68/70), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria, Public Domain

Trinity 8
Matthew 7:15-23
August 2, 2020

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.”

A few weeks ago, we learned from Jesus that we should not judge. Obviously, Jesus did not mean that absolutely, but rather that we should not judge where God does not give us the right to judge. We should assume the best of others instead of rushing to rash judgments. And we should be quick to forgive those who sin against us, as our heavenly Father forgives us. That is what Jesus means when he says, “Judge not.” By following this teaching, we follow our Shepherd Jesus, who removes God’s judgment and condemnation from us.
Yet, today Jesus teaches us to judge. To beware of false prophets requires judgment. You must judge whether the one who claims to teach you God’s word is a true teacher from God, or a false teacher. This is not in any way a contradiction to what Jesus previously taught. Both these lessons, not to judge and to beware of false prophets come from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which teaches us to follow Jesus alone as our true teacher.
Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets. A prophet is someone who speaks God’s Word. A false prophet is someone who claims to speak God’s Word, but actually lies. Jeremiah records God’s displeasure at the false prophets who prophesy lies in his name saying, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” (Jeremiah 23:16-17) Likewise, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount teaches us to beware of teachers, who claim to speak for God, but really speak lies.
Jesus tells us that false prophets will come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. This means that the false teachers, who will speak lies to us will not look like false teachers from the outside. They will look like good guys. They’ll look like your pastor. You can’t just assume that because it says Christian on the church sign that you can trust what the preacher says. Rather, Jesus says, “You will know them by their fruits.” You must listen to what the preacher teaches in order to tell whether it is from God or not. If what he teaches is contrary to God’s word, you must mark and avoid that preacher, no matter how good he otherwise seems to be.
One struggle our church body has is that people assume that all Lutheran churches are the same. If it says Lutheran on the church sign, then it must be a good place to go to church. But Satan is much too clever to let that pass. Much heartbreak has been caused by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Many Lutherans in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) have family and friends who attend churches in the ELCA. That makes sense. We are different branches from the same historical church-family tree. We’re cousins, if you will. And it causes much heartbreak when family members cannot commune when they visit each other, when they both identify as Lutheran.
Likewise, when young people from LCMS congregations grow up, they find it tempting to go to an ELCA congregation when they move away, because after all, it is Lutheran. But you must be careful. While the ELCA has Lutheran in its name, it does not follow the teachings of the Lutheran Church, but rather teachings contrary to Christ Jesus. The ELCA teaches that the Bible contains errors and that not everything in the Bible is true. This is why they have women pastors even though the Bible clearly teaches that only men can be pastors in 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 among other places. When they read, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man,” or “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches.” they take these words as St. Paul’s alone and not as God’s. But it is important to remember that although the Bible was written by men and I will often say in my sermons, “St. Paul says this or the Prophet Jeremiah says that,” the words these men write are not their own, but God’s. For Scripture also says, “No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21) and “All Scripture is God-breathed.” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Yet, people will defend this error and say it is only a small one, as if ignoring what God says is ever a small matter. But this is not how God’s Word works. God spoke through Jeremiah, “Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” Fire is used to purify silver and gold by separating the precious metal from the dross. Likewise, a hammer separates valuable ore from worthless rocks. God does not teach error, but rather exposes it.
So, as you would expect, a church body that says that the Bible contains errors will find more and more at fault with God’s written word. In 2009 the ELCA approved the ordination of openly practicing homosexuals. So, a sin, which Scripture calls an abomination and threatens that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Leviticus 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10), the ELCA permits to be practiced openly by their pastors, whom Scripture says must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife (1 Timothy 3:2). And last year, their convention passed a statement, which stated that we cannot know God’s judgment concerning another religion, when Jesus clearly says in Scripture that he is the way, the truth, and the life; No one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). And the ELCA is not alone. Many other mainline “Christian” Churches accept doctrines and practices that are clearly against the Bible, telling sinners that they do not need to repent of their sins, denying the Biblical distinction between men and women, and claiming that people can be saved without believing in Jesus. This is exactly what Scripture warns against when it says, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
Of course, I’m well aware that many of you have friends and relatives in the ELCA and I am not saying that they are not Christians. What I am saying is that they should be aware of the false teaching within their church body and should look for a church that preaches the true word of God.
Now more than ever, you must be careful which church you attend and which pastor you listen to. And your caution should not just be focused outside of our church body, as if you’re safe as long as you go to an LCMS congregation. No, you should judge every LCMS preacher you hear. You should judge me and what I preach to you.
Yet, how are you to rightly judge what I or any other preacher preaches to you? Well, you need to know the truth. But how can you know the truth, if you do not pay attention to God’s Word? Getting people to judge sermons is not a difficult thing to do. Most hearers already judge sermons. They determine whether they like them or not; whether they believe them or not. But based on what standard? If you do not learn the Holy Scriptures, then you will judge based on your own feelings and wisdom or based on the messages you get out in the world. How much TV do you watch? How many movies? How much time do you spend on the internet? All these media influence what you think and believe. But do you have devotions every day? Do you read a little bit of Scripture and say prayers with your family? Can you still recite your Catechism from memory? Do you know the Ten Commandments? Can you recite the Apostles’ Creed? Do you remember what the Bible teaches about Baptism, Confession, and the Lord’s Supper?
To be able to judge what your pastor preaches seems like a daunting task. Who is qualified to do it? This is why it is important to learn your Small Catechism. It teaches the basics of the Christian faith from the Bible: The Ten Commandments, the Apostles Creed, The Lord’s Prayer, what the Bible says about Baptism, the Office of the Keys, and the Lord’s Supper. Use your Small Catechism as a devotional book. If you are familiar with what it teaches, you will be able to recognize whether your pastor is preaching the truth or not.
You do not need to know every false teaching to recognize it as a false teaching. You need to recognize the one true teaching. When I pick weeds in my garden, I don’t try to identify what type of weed it is. I simply pull it out if it isn’t the plant I planted. Likewise, if you recognize the true teaching, as you have been taught in your Catechism, you will recognize when something is off.
Jesus says, “Neither be called instructor, for you have one instructor, the Christ.” Jesus is your only true teacher. Every pastor you have in life has the job to teach only what Jesus teaches. And Jesus is the best teacher. He teaches us the way to the Father is through faith in him. He teaches us that he died to take away our sins and that he lives to defend us from all evil. He teaches us that God the Father loves us and that he who sent his own Son to die for us will certainly give us every good thing. Jesus teaches us that in Baptism our sins are washed away and that we receive a new birth by the Holy Spirit. He teaches us that when the pastor forgives our sins in his stead, he himself is forgiving us in heaven before God the Father and all his angels. Jesus teaches us that the bread and wine he feeds us is his very own body and blood, which he sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus teaches us that whoever believes in him will live forever.
Jesus is the best teacher, because his teaching is true and because only his teaching gives eternal life. For this reason, we should not take it as a burden to learn our Catechism and to read a little bit of Scripture each day. Rather, we should fervently desire to learn from our teacher at every opportunity. Don’t just go to church every once in a while. Go to church every Sunday. Listen to the Scripture lessons. Hear how the Sermon applies God’s word to you. Go to Bible study; listen, ask questions, grow in your faith. You cannot beware of false teachers if you do not follow the one true teacher. And when you have a church and a pastor that is faithful to Christ our true teacher, thank the Lord and take every opportunity to learn from Jesus.
Jesus tells us that false prophets are inwardly ravenous wolves. This is because behind every false teacher is Satan. He hates you and the truth. He wants to take you away from Jesus forever. But Jesus is our true Shepherd. We know his voice and follow him alone. And he gives us eternal life. Amen.

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

Trust in the Lord

God Dwells with His Church

God Is Faithful

Beware of False Prophets

Rev. James Preus

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