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

The Triune God created man in His image and He restores man in His image.

10/25/2021

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Picture
The Creation of Adam, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, c. 1642, Italian. Public Domain
Trinity 21 
Genesis 1:1-2:3 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
October 24, 2021 
 
 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Which God? The Triune God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is only one God. Deuteronomy 6:4 states, “Hear, O Israel. The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” There is no oneness like the oneness of God. He is perfect in his unity. And yet, there are three distinct persons in the Godhead. This is impossible for our minds to comprehend, yet Holy Scripture teaches it from the very beginning. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Yet, in the original Hebrew it states Elohim, “Gods” created the heavens and the earth. Yet, it uses a singular verb for this plural noun. And this is how Scripture speaks of God throughout the Old Testament. Where you read “God” it usually reads “Gods” in the original Hebrew. Yet, it was always understood that God is one, even though the plural form of the noun is used.  
God is one, yet the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters when God said, “Let there be light. And so, there is one God, yet we have multiple persons: the Father, whom Moses calls God, the Holy Spirit, whom he calls the Spirit of God, and the Son, who is called the Word of God. This is what St. John teaches us in the first chapter of his Gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” So, when Moses wrote, “God said”, he is teaching that God the Father created through his Son, the eternal Word.  
In the Apostles’ Creed we confess that God the Father Almighty is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Yet, he does not create apart from the Son and the Holy Spirit. St. Paul writes of Christ, the eternal Son of God, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) 
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are three distinct persons, yet, one God, sharing in the one divine essence, created the heavens and the earth. God did this in six days, as Scripture repeatedly declares. Some assert that this is only a myth, intended to be taken allegorically. But that is not true. Moses clearly intends us to understand this as history. And Jesus himself calls this history, along with all of Scripture. Our all-powerful and all-knowing God created the world in six regular days and rested on the seventh. And he caused his prophet Moses to write accurately the account of how he did it.  
Scripture makes clear that the Triune God created man as well. God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Us? Our? Who are these? Again, this speaks of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who alone creates. These three are one, as the next verse makes clear, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We are a special creation of the Holy Trinity, the one and only God.  
Yet, God creates us differently than he did the light, the sky and seas, trees, fish, birds, and animals. God has saved the creation of man for the end. And he takes special care in how he creates this crown of his creation. He says, “Let us make man in our own image.” So, God makes man in his own image; male and female he creates them in his image. This means that man and woman shared in God’s image. This is why St. Peter tells husbands that their wives are “joint heirs of the grace of life.” (1 Peter 3:7) 
Yet, what does it mean to be created in God’s image? Many have discussed this question at great length. Theologians and philosophers have speculated that it includes incredible intelligence, power over the creation, a healthy mind, immortality. And to be sure, Adam and Eve did have all these things from the time of their creation. And what else they enjoyed in that pre-fall world, we can only imagine, because we live in the fallen world and God’s image we have lost. But to speak narrowly, the image of God is original righteousness. Adam and Eve were created righteous. This means they were in a perfect relationship with God, who is righteous. They desired what God desired. They delighted in what God delighted. They perfectly feared, loved, and trusted in God with all their heart, soul, and mind. This is why in the Garden, they were naked, yet unashamed. They had no shame. They were without sin.  
And every other blessing flowed from this righteousness. They were immortal as was the whole creation. They had dominion over every living creature, not with spears and clubs, but by the command of God they exercised dominion by sheer will. They were intelligent, strong in body and mind, and many more things we simply do not know, because we have lost this righteousness.  
When Adam sinned, having failed in his duty as husband by permitting his wife to be tempted by the serpent and having eaten of the forbidden fruit his wife gave him, he lost the image of God. Adam became a transgressor, and so we all became transgressors. While Adam and Eve were created righteous, all their children were born unrighteous, because of their fall. So, while Adam and Eve were created to be the Lord’s delight, his favorite and best creation, we are born children of wrath, dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2).  
This is why we do not love God as we ought. This is why our sinful desires often get the better of us and we can’t control our own actions. This is why we along with all mankind must be governed by laws and rules, keeping us in check lest we break out with our own selfish aims. We have lost the image of God. We have lost original righteousness. And in its place is original sin, that is, the sinful condition we have inherited from Adam. This is why our will lashes out against God’s will instead of living in perfect conformity with it. We are inclined to sin as a hornet is inclined to sting. And this unrighteousness is why we are frail and weak in other ways. We are forgetful and slow to learn. Our eyes grow dim and our ears dull. Although, we still exercise dominion over the creation, we do this only with powerful tools and at the cost of many casualties. Left naked as Adam and Eve were, we are the weakest of all God’s creatures. We get sick. We die. Even if we were placed in Eden, it would be no paradise. We’d turn it into a hell. This is a direct result of our sin. This all proves that we have lost the image of God.  
We cannot regain the image of God by our own will or strength. Only God can restore his image in us. As God the Father created man in his image through His Son and the Holy Spirit, so does he restore that image in us. God the Father sent his own Son to be born of the Virgin Mary. God the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and formed in her womb Christ Jesus. Christ, who is the eternal Son of God took on human flesh, the same human flesh once formed out of the ground. And in the incarnation of God, the image of God was rejoined to the human race. Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God in human flesh (Colossians 1:15). Christ was conceived and born without original sin; having been conceived by Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, he did not inherit Adam’s unrighteousness. So, Christ was and is perfectly righteous. His will conforms to God’s will; he delights in what God delights. In fact, Christ is true God as he remains truly human, so that it is impossible for his will to act contrary to God’s will.  
And the will of God was that Christ should die for our transgressions. By Adam’s disobedience, we were made sinners. By Christ’s obedience are made righteous.  (Romans 5) This righteousness has been won for us by Christ, but we must receive it. And the Holy Trinity does this for us as well.  
Out of water, the Triune God formed the earth. And with water and dust he formed the first man. So, through water and the Spirit God grants you a new creation. He says, “Let us restore man in our own image.” And by passing you through water and placing his name on you, he washes you clean of all your sin, and breathes into you the Spirit of Life. Through Baptism you are regenerated after the image of Christ, the image of God. In Baptism, you are made righteous by virtue of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross for your sins.  
This righteousness and image of God is certainly given in Baptism. And it is received through faith alone. And so long as your faith holds fast to the promise of the free forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake, you clothe yourself in Christ’s righteousness.  
We retain the image of God through faith alone. Yet, as long as we live in this life, we carry around the burden of original sin. Our old Adam still clings to us. And we still sin. So, it is important to know that our righteousness does not depend on our works. Our righteousness depends on Christ Jesus. When God looks at you through your faith in Christ, he sees an even more splendid reflection of his image than he did when he looked upon Adam when he first created him. Yet, sin does not lie harmless. The sinful flesh constantly rebels against God and his will. Unbelief gives birth to sin, and sin gives birth to unbelief. This is why we must repent of our sins each and every day. We must put off the old self with its practices and desires, and put on the new self after the image of Christ. We do this by turning from our sin, asking God for forgiveness for Christ’s sake, and believing in that forgiveness.  
Only by believing and trusting in the forgiveness and righteousness Christ gives you, can you retain the image of God. But you cannot believe and trust in God by your own strength. Rather God continues to create and strengthen faith in you through the Gospel. It is by the means of Grace: the Absolution, the Sacrament, and the proclamation of the Gospel, that God continues to give you Christ’s righteousness and strengthen your faith, so that you are renewed after God’s image.  
In this life we see only little of the fruit of being restored after the image of God. Our love indeed is kindled, but still in great weakness. We still struggle with sin. We’re still frail. We still die. But through faith we look to that day when we will finally shed this old Adam with its original sin and rebellious nature. And we will finally see ourselves like God (1 John 3:2), after his likeness. Our trust in God will be perfect. Our love for him will not fail. And our bodies will be transformed to the splendor of his glorious resurrected body. And we will never lose the image of God again. Amen.  
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My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts

10/19/2021

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Picture
commons.wikimedia.org, Copyleft
 Trinity 20 
Matthew 22:1-14 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
October 17, 2021 
 
Why do so many people not go to church? For the same reason why they should go to church. The LORD God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) People don’t go to church, because they think they don’t need it. They think differently than God thinks. People should go to church, because they should forsake their own thoughts and listen to God’s thoughts, which are higher and better than theirs.  


Parents don’t want their children to hang around kids who are trouble makers, because they might have a bad influence on their children. If their kids spend time with kids who cuss, talk back to their parents, steal, and commit other crimes, then they fear that their kids might do these same things. Husbands don’t want their wives hanging out with women who badmouth their husbands, because they fear their wives might learn to badmouth them. Wives don’t want their husbands to hang out with guys who get drunk and chase after women for the same reason. Yet, everyone seems quite comfortable with their own thoughts. They’re thoughts are safe. They won’t lead them astray. Others’ thoughts and opinions may be bad, but everyone thinks that his own thoughts are right.  


But what does Scripture say? God says through Isaiah that the unrighteous should forsake his thoughts (Isaiah 55:7). Who are the unrighteous? Scripture says that we are all unrighteous! (Romans 3:10-23) And Jesus says that out of your heart come evil thoughts (Matthew 15:19). So, if you are unrighteous, then your thoughts are unrighteous. And if your thoughts are unrighteous, then you aren’t going to make yourself righteous by means of your own thoughts! You must forsake your thoughts and listen to and believe God’s thoughts. That’s why everyone should come to church. The Proverb says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” (18:1) Spending your time with your own thoughts is spending time with your most foolish advisor.  We must forsake our own thoughts, and run to God for his.  


Some of what God teaches, you can figure out on your own. Even unbelievers agree that you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31). Although, it is certainly advantageous to have Christian rulers, even non-Christian governments pass laws against theft, murder, and slander. Yet, you cannot figure out the Gospel on your own. It would have never entered your thoughts that the eternal Son of God would become a man, born of woman, born under the law for your sake, unless God had revealed it to you through his word (Galatians 4:4-5). The thought would have never crossed your mind that Christ Jesus, God’s own Son, after having fulfilled the Law in your place, who had no sin of his own, would take all your sin and die for it on the cross, unless God had told you (2 Cor. 5:21). Not in a million years of pondering and meditating could your thoughts have revealed to you that God desires to save you by grace as a gift apart from your own works, and that your eternal life has been bought and paid for, unless God spoke by his holy prophets and apostles (Romans 3:23-30; Ephesians 3:8-9). As St. Paul declares, “How can they believe in him whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10). Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. Only God’s thoughts reveal the saving faith.  


When Jesus first told this parable, it would have been understood that he was preaching against Israel. For hundreds of years, God had sent his prophets to Israel, to invite them to be his people that he might be their God. But they ignored him. They went off to their own business, worrying about earthly things. What’s more, they persecuted and killed God’s prophets, from Zechariah to John the Baptist. And yet, God would not let this rejection leave his banquet empty. He sent his Apostles to all nations to baptize and proclaim the Gospel, so that his wedding hall might be filled (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 18:6).  


Yet, the message of this parable endures even to our day. God continues to invite people to his banquet, and people continue to reject his invitation. Although God offers the most priceless meal, a delicacy the earth cannot produce: free pardon of all sins, eternal life and friendship with God; and although he charges nothing for this precious gift, but gives it away for free to be received by faith, people continue to refuse his offer. They seek rather the transient things of this life. While others grow hostile, persecute and utter all kinds of evil against those who proclaim the Gospel, even kill the messengers who bring good news. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are our ways his ways.  


Yet, this reveals to us God’s thoughts. God desires to save all people. He offers salvation to those who reject it. He sends his prophets, apostles, and pastors to those who will malign and harm them for offering the words of eternal life. But this parable makes clear, no one goes to hell because God refuses to invite them. They go to hell, because they reject God’s earnest call.  

We learn from Jesus’ parable that the banquet is filled with both bad and good. This shows that within the Christian Church on earth, there will be a mix of faithful Christians and hypocrites. People will always find false motives to openly join the church, while secretly trusting in themselves and rejecting Christ’s word in their hearts. Yet, God can see even the secret heart. The Church on earth is not charged to read peoples’ hearts but take their outward words and actions at face value. Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. God will judge on the Last Day. In the meantime, we are to invite everyone to the banquet, to invite all people to repent of their sins and believe in the Gospel. Everyone, men, women, rich, poor, elderly and newborns, the disasters and the well-put-togethers are called to come to church and be members of it.  


If you want to be saved, it is of the utmost importance that you go to church to hear the Gospel of Christ, yet it must be said that not all who go to church will be saved. We see this in Jesus’ parable when the man in the wedding hall is thrown out for not wearing the wedding garment. No, we don’t throw people out of church if they don’t wear the proper uniform. Rather, this teaches how Christ will judge the secret hearts on the Last Day. There will be those who outwardly belonged to the Christian Church on earth, but who didn’t really belong, because they had no faith.  


The wedding garment this man failed to wear is the garment of salvation, which Christ gives to every believer. The Prophet Isaiah declares in chapter 61, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” This robe of righteousness is won for the Christian by nothing less than Jesus’ blood. The elder declares to the Apostle John when he sees the heavenly vision in Revelation chapter 7, “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” 


The man cast out of the wedding hall into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, was a false Christian. He claimed to be a child of the light, but he clung to his own righteousness instead of Christ’s. His thoughts were not God’s thoughts. But when you stand before the judgment throne, you cannot bring any of your own works as a token to enter. You may not be clothed with your own righteousness. Your own righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). You must take them all off and put on Christ. You must repent of your whole self, your wisdom, your good deeds, your good thoughts, and be clothed in Christ’s wisdom, deeds, and thoughts. You’re not going to get into heaven because you’re a good co-worker, a good mom or dad, or because you put lots of money in the offering plate, but only through the merits of Christ alone (Philippians 3:7-9).  


And this should comfort you. Because this means that nothing you have done in your life can bar you from the heavenly banquet. As you must renounce your own righteous works to get into heaven, so must you renounce your sins. Repent of all of them. Place them all on Jesus. He will cloth you head to foot, so that you can enter his hall and remain his guest forever.  


“Many are called, but few are chosen.” This declaration of Jesus goes against the thoughts of men so much, that most will deny it. They’ll either deny that the many are truly called, or they will deny that the few are truly chosen. We have already learned irrefutably that God desires all people to be saved. He invites everyone to his banquet. Yet here Jesus says that those who are ultimately saved are chosen, that is, they are elected before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God chose us. We did not choose him (John 15:16). Only those who are elected by God are saved. So, people protest: “Then he must not have desired all people to be saved, otherwise he would have elected them too.” But, no; Scripture makes clear that God desires all people to be saved. That is why he calls them so urgently. Then, people protest: “Then he must not have chosen the saved by grace, but rather chose those who chose him.” But no, Scripture makes clear that God chose us by grace apart from our works (Romans 11:5-6).  


How then can we explain this? How can God desire all to be saved, yet not all be saved? And how can he choose a few of whom he’s called without it being based on their works? God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways his ways. Some of God’s thoughts he reveals to us, and we must believe them. Other thoughts of God he keeps hidden, and we cannot reject what he has revealed in order to explain what he has not revealed.  


Election is Gospel. If God did not choose you, then you would reject him. Most reject Christ, because they have their own thoughts. Election should not make you doubt your salvation, but rather give you confidence. Your salvation is God’s work, not yours. How do you know you are elect? Because Jesus died for you and God has revealed to you that he forgives all your sins for Christ’s sake. The many who are not chosen do not believe this. All the elect believe this. Do you believe in Christ? Take comfort that God has chosen you before the foundation of the world. And seek to make your election sure by pursuing the thoughts of God revealed in his word and practicing them (2 Peter 1:10).  God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, but God has revealed his thoughts to you; thoughts of mercy, love, and salvation to all who believe. Amen. 
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Only God Can Forgive Sins

10/11/2021

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Picture
"The Palsied Man Let down through the Roof," James Tissot, 1886-94. Public Domain
Trinity 19 
Matthew 9:1-8 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
October 10, 2021 
 
“This man is blaspheming,” thought the scribes to themselves. Why do they accuse Jesus of blaspheming in their hearts? Because only God can forgive sins. Jesus has just told a paralytic that his sins are forgiven. Jesus, they thought, clearly was not God. So, this must be blasphemy.  


The scribes were right about one thing. Only God can forgive sins. This is why it is so ludicrous for a man to claim the authority to forgive. Imagine you are up to your eyeballs in debt, credit card, student loan, automobile loan debt, mortgage. Your friends may comfort you with kind words. Perhaps they can even share in your misery if they too are in debt. But unless they can give you the money to pay your debt so the debt-collectors stop calling and the bank doesn’t foreclose on your house, your debt will remain. Only a letter from the bank telling you your debt is paid will take away your anxiety.  


But sin is not like money, where if you work hard and long enough and limit your spending, you can eventually pay off your debt. You can’t pay back your sin. Even if you were able to stop sinning today, and live the rest of your life as a perfect saint, the sin of your past would still remain. There is no amount of money you can pay, or amount of time you can work, or valuable asset you can sell that will erase your debt of sin. Only God, the final judge, who will weigh the balances on the Last Day has the authority to forgive sin.  


Sin is your greatest problem. Sin is the source of all your sorrow. All sickness and pain, all conflicts and enmity, yes death and hell are the result of sin. Sin comes in two forms. First, is original sin, which is the sin that you inherited from your first father Adam. This original sin is the corruption of your human nature. It is what makes you a sinner. It is why your very heart desires to do what is wrong. The second form of sin is the actual sin you commit from day to day; when you fail to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; when you misuse his name and fail to call upon him in prayer; when you ignore his preaching and word and refuse to hear and learn it; when you fail to love your neighbor as yourself; when you hate and envy; when you lust and covet; when you speak ill against your neighbor. These sins can be committed in word and deed, but especially in the heart. And all sin, both the sins you commit, and original sin, which is the root of all sins you commit, are offenses against God. And unless God cancels the debt, you will be sentenced to hell forever.  


So, it is clear that none of us has a greater problem than our sin. The things that trouble us, our sickness and pain, our broken relationships, and poverty and want: these are all just symptoms of our sinful condition. The greater issue is what we cannot see. Our debt before our Father in heaven. No mere man can forgive this debt. Only God himself.  


For this reason, the forgiveness of sins is the greatest treasure you can possibly have! As sin is the source of all your sorrow and trouble, so the forgiveness of sins is the source of all joy and blessedness. The Psalmist declares, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity.” (Psalm 32) If you have forgiveness of sins, you have peace with God (Romans 5:1). More than that, if your sins are forgiven, you are God’s friend (John 15:15). The wages of sins is death, but the forgiveness of sins gives eternal life (Romans 6:23). If you have the forgiveness of sins, then you can be joyful even in sorrow. You have all that you need forever. This is why Jesus tells the young man to take heart, even as he lies in bed as a paralytic. Take heart! That is, be of good cheer! Why? Your sins are forgiven. Yours is the kingdom of heaven. Yours is friendship with God. Yours is eternal life and blessedness. What are a few more years or even decades of pain and sorrow, when you have waiting for you the bounties of the kingdom of God? Even if the man remained a paralytic the rest of his life, he still had reason to be exceedingly glad, because his sins were forgiven! 


And this brings us to why the scribes were wrong. Jesus had every right to forgive this man’s sins, because Jesus is God in the flesh. It is he against whom the debt of all sin stands. He alone has the right to forgive it.  


The scribes denied Jesus’ authority to forgive sins. They did not believe that he was God or that he had come from God. So, Jesus says to them, “What is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” before he commanded the man to pick up his bed and go home. When the paralyzed man became unparalyzed and walked home healthy as a horse, Jesus proved that he had the authority he claimed. God alone is the creator of all things. He created the cosmos with his word. And so, God alone can restore his broken creation with his word alone. In Jesus’ word alone is the power to forgive sins.  


There is a big difference between forgiving sins and denying that sin is a sin or that sin is a big deal. Often, to avoid the uncomfortable feeling that accompanies repenting of your own wrong doing, people will try comforting themselves with sayings like, “Everyone is a sinner.”, as if being in the company of sinners is any comfort (Psalm 1). Even more brazen, people seek comfort in denying that sin is sin. It is now tabu to claim that homosexuality is a sin. But does denying what God says do any good to those plagued with the temptation of same-sex attraction? Certainly not! Likewise, it is common to deny that fornication is a sin or at least that it is a big enough deal to mention. People justify divorce, gossip, slander, coveting, hatred, gambling, skipping church, laziness, and many other sins by simply denying that they are sins or finding some explanation for why their actions are not sins. But does this do you any good? If a well-meaning friend tells you that you are not in debt, will that keep the bank from foreclosing on your house?  


You know, there have been a number of people who have claimed that they did not have to pay taxes. They claimed that the federal government had no authority to tax income, saying it was unconstitutional or immoral. So, they refused to pay their income tax. And you know what, I think they were sincere! I think they actually convinced themselves of their arguments that they were not obligated to pay their taxes. But do you know what happened to them? They went to prison for not paying their taxes! Convincing someone that his sin is not actually a sin does not do him any good any more than convincing someone he doesn’t have to pay his bills does any good. Sin is what God calls sin, not what we decide is a sin or not. And unless those sins are forgiven, the debt will be required of us.  


But Jesus’ word is different from the empty words of those who deny the danger of sin. Jesus backs up his word with authority and action. Jesus said, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”, he said to the paralytic, “Rise, take up your bed and go home.” Well, what has Jesus done to show that he has the authority to forgive your sins? He has done much more than tell a paralyzed man to rise and take up his bed and go home. Jesus, who is God in the flesh, perfectly obeyed God’s Law so that he had no sin of his own, yet he took all your sin and the sin of the whole world upon himself and went to the cross. He suffered not only the physical pain of being scourged, beaten, nailed, and strangled on the cross. He suffered the anguish of God’s wrath against sin, which caused him to sweat blood even in the garden before a hand was laid upon him. Jesus endured the hell our sins have earned for us! And Jesus died. He was not just paralyzed. He didn’t have a spinal injury or palsy. He died. His blood coagulated in his veins. They laid him dead upon a slab of stone, and his body temperature became as cool as that stone.  


Yet, to show that he had the authority on earth to forgive your sins and the sins of the whole world, Jesus rose. He was seen alive by Mary and the disciples and by over five-hundred witnesses at one time. And he went home to his Father, sitting at his right hand of power with all things under his feet. Jesus defeated death, proving that he had once and for all washed your sins away in his blood. This means that Jesus’ word of forgiveness is a word you can trust. It means he has authority over your sins, over your death, and over hell itself.  


And because Jesus is God, he has the power to wash away as many sins as you have; your original sin and all the sins you have committed from the time of your youth until your old age. And he has the power to forgive your greatest sin. Scripture says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18)  


And Jesus has given the authority to forgive sins to his church, so that this forgiveness may remain on earth where sinners need it. Jesus said to his disciples, “Whosever sins you forgive, they are forgiven.” This means that your pastor has the authority to forgive your sins by the power of Jesus’ word and with the guarantee of Jesus’ death and resurrection for your sins.  


Forgiveness is given through God’s word. This means it can only be received through faith. Faith is the open hand that receives the gift. Faith is believing and trusting in the promise of forgiveness. Believe the word and you have the forgiveness.  


Faith is an act of the heart. Jesus, who is God can see our heart. That is why Jesus knew the evil in the scribes’ hearts, even though they kept their thoughts to themselves. You cannot hide your unbelief from Christ. Yet, faith does not only reveal itself to God in the secret heart, but to everyone, as Jesus says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Jesus saw the faith in the heart of the paralytic and his friends who carried him. Yet, even the scribes saw their faith. Saints Mark and Luke tell us they made a hole in the ceiling to lower the man down to Jesus to be healed. This is what faith does. Faith causes parents to carry their babies to Jesus to be baptized and Christians to come and hear God’s word even when life is busy. Faith causes us to love our neighbor and be patient, helpful, and forgiving. We are saved through faith alone, because only faith can receive the forgiveness of sins. Yet, faith is never alone, because faith holds onto the forgiveness Christ won for you. This forgiveness not only gives you assurance of your heavenly home. This forgiveness changes you as a person here on this earth. Take heart, sons and daughters of the Lord, your sins are forgiven. May we live as forgiven children and love God and one another. Amen.  
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The Divine Teaching

10/3/2021

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Picture
James Tissot, "Pharisees Question Jesus," 1886-94. No Known Copyright Restrictions.
 Trinity 18 
Matthew 22:34-46 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 

 

  The lawyer insincerely called Jesus, “teacher.” He had no intention of being taught by Jesus, but to catch him in a trap. But make no mistake about it. Jesus is a teacher. In fact, he is the Teacher everyone must be taught by. If you are to obtain eternal life, Jesus must be your teacher. Some people don’t like school. That’s fine. I have known very intelligent, hardworking, and successful people, who have not pursued advanced formal education. Students should work as hard as they can while they are in school, but it is not a sin to pursue other goals besides academic success. Yet, it is a sin to refuse to learn. That is laziness. A Christian cannot just decide that he doesn’t need to learn from Jesus, that he already knows enough. No, as long as you live, you are called to continue learning. And as long as you are a Christian, you are called to continue learning from Jesus.  


While the saving Gospel can be known and believed even by a little child, that does not mean that we should be content with the ignorance of a child. If you love Jesus, you want to learn from him. And it is impossible to be done learning from Jesus. Many wise men, have spent a lifetime studying the Scriptures, and yet remained mere pupils at the feet of Jesus. Yet, that is exactly what we should desire to be: Jesus’ students, eating up every word that comes from his mouth.   


It is also important for us to continue learning from Jesus, because as we grow our old sinful Adam grows stronger and more skilled, the world constantly entices and lures us away from Christ, and the devil grows bolder and more cunning. To combat our own sin and unbelief, we can do nothing else than learn from Jesus. To be a Christian means to be Jesus’ student.  


And how do we learn from Jesus? All of Jesus’ teaching comes from the Bible. You’ll notice when the lawyer tests him, Jesus answers the question by quoting the Bible. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, where it says we should love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And he quotes Leviticus 19:18, which says we should love our neighbor as ourselves. Then he quotes Psalm 110, where David calls the Christ his Lord. Furthermore, Jesus says of Psalm 110 that David spoke “in the Spirit,” that is, by means of the Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches us that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, meaning it is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). So, if you want to learn from Jesus, you need to learn from the Bible, which is God’s Word. And your pastor needs to preach to you from the Bible and not stray from it.  


There are two main teachings in the Bible: The Law and the Gospel. Both the Law and the Gospel are God’s teaching, yet they have very different results. The Law is what God commands of us, summarized in the Ten Commandments. The Law tells us what is good, but it does not give us the ability to do the good. So, the result of the Law is that we are exposed as sinners. The Gospel does not command anything of us, but rather promises forgiveness and eternal life for Christ’s sake. The Gospel is received through faith alone apart from works. If the Gospel is not preached, a person cannot be saved, because saving faith comes through Jesus’ word. If the Law is not preached, the Gospel will be rejected, because the Gospel is only for sinners.  


The lawyer, not interested in the Gospel, asks Jesus what is the greatest commandment in the Law. This is a trick. The Pharisees recognized 613 commandments in the Torah. And of course, for each of these commandments, there was someone who thought that it was the greatest. If Jesus chose one of these 613 commandments as the greatest, he would become embroiled in an unwinnable debate with enemies on every side. But Jesus does not fall for the trick. He uses Holy Scripture to teach the truth of God’s whole Law. All the commandments can be summed up into two: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. Here Jesus teaches the heart of every commandment.  


When people argue over what is the greatest commandment, they always try to argue that the commandments they break are not great, but the commandments that others break are the greatest. This is not just true of Pharisees two thousand years ago, but of Christians today. Christians who go to church every Sunday think that the Third Commandment is the greatest commandment, while the commandments they break are minor. While those who skip church freely think that despising God’s preaching and word is just a minor offense, and point out hypocrisy, gossip, envy, and judging as worse sins. The more popular a sin becomes, the less serious of a sin people find it to be. Yet, it is not up to you to choose which commandment is insignificant and which one is important. And the purpose of the Law is not for you to point out other people’s sins, but for you to become aware of your own (Romans 3:20)!  


But Jesus doesn’t spare anyone in the preaching of the Law, but condemns all sin as failing to love God and the neighbor. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Why? Because you should love God with your whole heart. Out of the mouth the heart speaks. Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy, meaning, do not despise preaching and his word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Why? Because you should love God with all your mind and gladly hear and learn his word. You shall not murder, because you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You shall not commit adultery, because you wouldn’t want your spouse to cheat on you. You shall not steal, because you would not want someone to take your stuff away. You shall not bear false witness, because you don’t want people slandering you. All the commandments teach you to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself. So, whichever commandment you have failed to keep, you have broken the greatest commandment in the Law.  


Having silenced the Pharisees by pinning them under the Law, Jesus asks a question about the Gospel. “What do you think about the Christ?”, Jesus asks, “Whose son is he?” The Pharisees answer, David’s. Every Jew knows that the Christ is David’s son. But he isn’t just David’s son. “Why then did David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’?” David said that the Lord spoke to his Lord. How can David have a lord? He is king of Israel. David is speaking of God, the Son. With these words, David teaches the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and of the divinity of Christ. There is only one God. Yet, the LORD spoke to the Lord and said, “sit at my right hand.” This shows that although there is only one God, there are multiple persons, namely, three: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This also shows that the Christ is God. The Christ, whom the Pharisees rightly say is David’s son, is also David’s Lord, David’s God. Christ Jesus is both God and man.  


The Pharisees were struck dumb by this teaching of Jesus. Yet, they have not remained silent. Rabbis today have a way of explaining this away and so deny that the Christ is divine and that Jesus is the Christ. The point out that there are two words for Lord used in Psalm 110. The first is the peculiar name for God, YHWH, which emphasizes God’s eternal being. The second is the word Adonai, which means Lord and certainly can be used as a title for God, but it can also be used to address a human being, like a king or earthly master. So, the Rabbis today teach that David wrote Psalm 110, not to be read from his perspective, but to be sung by the Levites in the temple about David. So, it is simply the temple singers singing, “The LORD (YHWH) said to my lord (David), sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” So, Psalm 110 is not calling the Christ, God. Psalm 110 isn’t even talking about the Christ!  


Yet, if this were true, then Psalm 110 would be a very disappointing and in fact false prophesy. Where is David now? He’s dead and has been for nearly three thousand years. Where is his kingdom? There is no kingdom of Israel, nor is there a man sitting on David’s throne in Jerusalem. And even when David died, he had to command his son Solomon to kill some of his enemies, whom he did not have the opportunity to vanquish. If Psalm 110 is only about a king of a minor middle eastern nation three thousand years ago, then it is of no value to us today at all, whether we are Jews or Gentiles.  


Furthermore, to sit at God’s right hand is to sit on God’s throne, to be made equal to God, as St. Paul says, “Therefore he has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, ever knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth.” (Philippians 2:9-10) The LORD (YHWH) said to David’s Lord, who is the Christ, his son and his God, sit at my right hand. Jesus’ teaching remains true today, despite the grasping at straws of those who deny him.  


And what does it mean that Jesus Christ is both David’s son and David’s Lord? It means that Jesus our Redeemer is our God. This means that our salvation is sure! What did Jesus do to save you? He died on the cross. Well, how do you know that that’s enough? Because Jesus is not just David’s son, but David’s Lord. Jesus is at all times fully human and fully God. Whatever he does he does as both God and man. This means that when Jesus died on the cross for your sins, God died for you! But God cannot die! True. But Jesus, David’s son can. And Jesus is God. Therefore, St. Paul, when he took leave of the pastors of Ephesus, instructed them, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” With whose blood? With God’s own blood. That Christ is David’s son and David’s Lord means that your sins have been washed away in God’s blood. Christ has redeemed you with an insurmountable sum. Can your sins be greater than God? Is that not blasphemy to suggest? Then your sins are washed away in Jesus’ blood. Then death and Satan and hell, all David’s enemies and your enemies have been placed under Jesus’ feet, as surely as he is risen from the dead and risen to the Father’s right hand! 


Jesus does not demand that we understand how this can be. He is able to do far more than we can either ask or think. Jesus demands that you believe this. Those who reject Jesus’ teaching, because they do not understand it, inevitably rob themselves of comfort. When people try to explain their own teaching of Christ instead of believing the clear words of Scripture, they are left with someone who cannot conquer their sins or give them eternal life. But with Christ, we have victory over our enemies. We trust in him who has fulfilled the greatest command of the Law for us. Jesus, David’s son, is our God and Savior. 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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