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

Last Sunday of the Church Year: Have Oil in Your Lamps

11/26/2018

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Matthew 25:1-13 
November 25, 2018 
 
The wise brought oil. The foolish did not bring oil. That makes sense. It is foolish to bring an oil lamp without oil and smart to bring oil. Yet, this is from God’s perspective, not man’s. The wise virgins Jesus speaks about here are not the wise of the world, but those thought to be foolish and naïve by men. And the oil they bring in their lamps is not the eloquent wisdom of philosophers and academics, but the foolishness of Christ’s cross. As St. Paul says, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-19) 
So, the wise at the end of the age, who will enter into the wedding hall, are not those considered wise in this world, but those found foolish by this world. An oil lamb needs oil to give light. The flame fed by the oil is saving faith, which gives you the right to enter into heaven. The oil, for which faith is entirely dependent, is the wisdom of God given by the Holy Spirit. This wisdom, which shames the wise in this age, is the preaching of Christ Jesus, who was crucified for sinners, as St. Paul again writes, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:21-25) 
But why do the wise find the cross of Christ so foolish? For many reasons. People cannot understand how God could credit the sins of the whole world onto an innocent Jesus or how his punishment on the cross could make atonement for all sins. Others question the justice of God, claiming that it would be wrong for God to demand such punishment from his only Son. To many, the vicarious atonement of Christ is barbaric and unacceptable. Some have even coined it “divine child abuse.” Many more find a problem with Christ’s resurrection from the dead, claiming it to be impossible.  
While many find the idea of a suffering Lord unacceptable, many more find the idea of a suffering Christian equally intolerable. That God’s power is made perfect in our weakness makes no sense in a world of survival of the fittest. “Suffering is bad. Meekness is a losing strategy. Sorrow over sin is dwelling on the past and being self-defeatist. You must strive to overcome your troubles by becoming stronger and better.”  
The greatest offense Christ’s cross commits against the wisdom of mankind is its assault on the human pride. To say that, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” is offensive, because strength must be found within. If I do my very best, God will accept me! This is the creed of the world. To cherish the cross of Christ, you must crucify your own human wisdom and pride, acknowledge the seriousness of your own sins and look to God for free salvation. That is, you must have true, godly wisdom.  
But this cannot come from your own reason or intellect. Such wisdom, such oil for your lamp is only given by the Holy Spirit. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) This means that in order to have the wisdom of God, you must be taught by God. Proverbs 2:6 states, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” This means that godly wisdom comes from the word of God.  
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” This statement is repeated several times in Scripture. It teaches us how we should approach Scripture. Yet, over the past few centuries a method of looking at Scripture, known as higher criticism, has become the dominant method in studying the Bible. Higher criticism aims to treat the Bible as “any other book” and in so doing, it questions the accuracy of what is written. Those, who reject higher criticism are called fools and are not taken seriously by the academic world. So, many, who don’t want to look like fools, try to have it both ways: treat the Bible like any other book and reject what seems too far-fetched to human reason, while still maintaining the Gospel. But we are not called to pick and choose what we want to believe from Scripture. Rather, in fear of the Lord we are called to hear the Word of God and keep it. This is how the Gospel is preserved among us. The holy Scriptures provide true wisdom that the world cannot give.  
An oil lamp without oil is about as good as a flashlight without batteries. Yet, unless you tried to light the lamp, you might not know that the lamp has no oil. A lamp without oil may be useless, but it may also be very pretty, with fancy carvings and paintings on it. And that is how it is within the Christian Church on earth. The ten virgins all have lamps. You can’t tell who has oil, until the lamps are lit. So, Jesus teaches us that within the Christian Church on earth, there will be false Christians. They worship like Christians, they go to church, put money in the offering, and do good works. On the outside, they look like Christians. Yet, you don’t go to heaven for looking like a Christian. You go to heaven if you trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, that is, if you have oil for your lamp.  
Jesus says at the close of his Sermon on the Mount, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. … And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” (Matthew 7:24, 26) Notice, how both the wise man and the foolish man heard the words of Jesus. Not everyone, who hears the words of Jesus will be saved, but those who put their trust in Christ. God judges the inner heart. You can’t pretend to him. Having oil, which keeps your lamp burning, is trusting in the foolishness of Christ’s cross for your salvation.  
This is why it is so important not only to be baptized and go through the motions of being a Christian, getting confirmed, showing up for services, etc. Being a true Christian and having wisdom from God is trusting in Christ. And this of course will cause you to come to church and hear God’s word and take it to heart.  
Oil runs out and lamps grow cold. That’s just a matter of fact. And, so can your heart grow cold if it does not get replenished with the wisdom of God. This means that you must continue to hear the word of God. Of course, for those who trust in the Lord, this is not a burden. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!” says the Psalmist.  
While hearing the word of God throughout your life, it is important that you hear not only the Gospel, which declares that your sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, but that you also hear the Law. The Law is often despised, because it shows us our sins. Fornicators don’t want to hear that their fornicating is a sin. People with hot tempers don’t want to hear that their anger is a sin. Disobedient children don’t want to hear that their disobedience is a sin. And it goes on and on like this. Yet, it is important to hear the law for a couple of big reasons. First, your sins must be exposed to your conscience. When the law is preached to its fullest and you have nowhere to go, but to acknowledge that you are a sinner, then you are truly prepared to hear the Gospel. The Gospel is for sinners, for those who can claim no righteousness of their own, but must cling to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. And Jesus forgives all sins.  
Secondly, you should hear the law, because the law is good. It tells you how to love God and your neighbor. And as a Christian, who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, your desire it to do the will of God. And the will of God is revealed in the Law, which directs you to love as God has loved. So, it is important to listen to and learn the law of God, even when it points out your sin, as the Proverb says, “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wiseman, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” (Proverbs 9:8-9) 
Yet, however important it is to hear the law, the Gospel must predominate. Because, it is not by following the law that you will be saved, but through believing the Gospel. The Gospel is the oil, which keeps your saving flame alive. Jesus warns that you know not the day or the hour when Christ will return and St. Paul says that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. Yet, you will not be caught off guard when you have faith in the salvation Christ has won for you. St. Paul tells us to prepare ourselves by putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. “for God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” You can only have such certainty that God has destined you for salvation if you hold fast to the foolishness of the cross, which is the true oil for your lamp. Christ has secured your salvation through his death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. With such faith, you will not be put to shame. With such faith, you are prepared whenever that Day will come. Amen. 
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Second to Last Sunday: Saved to Love

11/26/2018

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Matthew 25:31-46 
November 18, 2018 
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All three of our Bible lessons today make it clear that there will be a final judgment when, as we confess regularly in the creed, Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. This will be a terrible moment for those, who will be condemned to eternal punishment. Yet, it will be a wonderful day for those, who will inherit the kingdom. And so, it is of the utmost importance that we know how we will enter into eternal life.  
We, of course, know that sinners are justified by faith apart from works of the law. That means that God finds you innocent of all sins when you have faith in Jesus Christ, who paid your debt of sin on the cross. You will not be found righteous before God by your own works but only through faith in Jesus Christ.  
To what end though? Yes, Christ Jesus has freed us from eternal punishment. That’s certainly a relief. We can look forward to enjoying eternal life in God’s kingdom. But for what? What has God saved us to do? Now that we are saved, then what? Many tragically believe that since we are saved apart from our works, we are free to sin as much as we want. St. Paul laments that people accuse him of teaching that we should do evil that good may come. (Rom. 3:8) This is an evil teaching. God did not rescue us from sin and death, so that we could indulge in the same sinful behavior for which we were condemned. What a strange and cruel god that would be, who rescues some from hell, so that they can enjoy eternally the sins for which others will be punished eternally! No, Jesus died on the cross not only to rescue you from the results of your sin: death and condemnation, but from your sin itself. So, to what end did God rescue you from hell? Our Lord’s lesson on the final judgment today answers this question.  
In our Gospel lesson, where Christ will separate the sheep from the goats and pass judgment on them, he doesn’t make any mention of faith. Nor does he speak about what his blood has done to wash away their sins. In fact, he doesn’t even speak of forgiveness. Rather, he says to those, who are to enter eternal life, “I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and in prison and you visited me.” And he rebukes the condemned for doing none of these deeds. The Gospel lesson is so void of the discussion of faith that many say that it teaches that we are saved by our works. Some even have a theory that while some are saved by faith in Jesus, others, who do not believe in Jesus can still be saved if they do good works of mercy.  
Yet, this again is false. There is only one way to heaven and that is through faith in Jesus Christ, as our Lord himself says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) And Jesus does not teach a different way of salvation in our Gospel lesson today. While he commends the righteous for good works, he tells them to inherit a kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. You don’t work for an inheritance. And if the kingdom was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, then it certainly wasn’t prepared on account of their good works. Jesus teaches here salvation by grace alone. But this isn’t the main focus of this Gospel lesson. Rather, the main focus is the answer to our question. To what end does God save by grace? The answer: so that we might love now and forever.  
Jesus commends the righteous for their acts of mercy toward him; providing food, water, clothing, shelter, and friendship in need. When asked when they did these works (for the righteous had no recollection of doing any of these things for Jesus), Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” And who are the least of these Jesus’ brothers? They are your fellow Christians. Jesus says, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” This is why you were saved, so that having been freed from the clutches of sin, you would love and do good to everyone, especially those of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10) 
Scripture states, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:13-14) Christ did not set you free so that you could become a slave to sin. Christ set you free, so that you would love your neighbor even as Christ loves you. This is why after receiving Christ’s true body and blood in the Sacrament, we pray that by it, God would strengthen our faith toward him and fervent love toward one another.  
Christ identifies himself with his Christians. When you do an act of mercy to a fellow Christian, you are showing love to Christ, personally. This is how closely Christ has united himself to us. That is also why when Saul, whom we know better as St. Paul, was busy persecuting the Christians of the early Church, Jesus said to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me.” When you show hatred toward a fellow Christian, you show hatred toward Christ himself. Yet, when you show love and compassion toward a fellow Christian, you show love to Jesus personally.  
This lesson does not mention faith explicitly, but it certainly implies faith. Who are those, who show such mercy to Christians, but fellow Christians? Jesus says in Matthew 10:42, “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Christians show love to other Christians, because they love them. They recognize Christ in their fellow Christian. Who are they, who support the preaching of the word with their tithes and offerings, support Lutheran Schools and missionaries around the world; who sacrifice their time for the sake of the Church of Christ? It is those, who believe the Gospel. Jesus does not mention faith explicitly, but he does explicitly mention the most obvious fruit of the Christian faith: love toward Christians.  
A bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree bears good fruit. You must make a tree good before it can bear good fruit. Christ makes you good by washing away your sins in his blood. You receive this forgiveness of sins through faith and so through faith you become a good tree. The fruit produced by a good tree, that is through an heir of the kingdom, is love. Love is the fulfillment of the law. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law both by loving God perfectly with his whole heart, soul, and mind, and loving his neighbor as himself. And he fulfilled the justice demanded by the law by being punished in our place. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. And now, through faith in him+, the law is fulfilled in us. St. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” To be saved by faith means to be saved apart from your works, by grace. Yet, faith in Jesus Christ does not leave you the same person. Faith changes you. Faith makes you a good tree that bears abundant fruit.  
Yes, we know that we still sin. We don’t perfectly love as we ought. Although, God has changed us to be good trees, the old bad tree still produces rotten fruit. This is a struggle of which St. Paul writes again in Galatians 5, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”  
It is your faith in Jesus which drives you to fight against your sinful desires. It is faith that causes you to love. And while you will not love perfectly in this life, you don’t despair on account of that. Your sins are forgiven. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Don’t look at your works to see whether are good enough to get to heaven. Rather, trust in Jesus alone. Notice how the righteous weren’t even aware of the acts of kindness Jesus attributed to them. But God was aware. These works were despised by the world, but sanctified by the Holy Spirit. And done by his good trees, these works are precious in the sight of God.  
Although we won’t ever reach perfection in this life, we strive to love now, because that is what God has called us to do for eternity. By doing acts of mercy you behave like a little christ. Christ Jesus saw us sick and in prison, and he not only visited us, but he put on our prison clothes and was punished in our stead. He clothes us with his own righteousness as he baptizes us in his name, giving us his own name. He feeds us with heavenly food and even gives us his own blood to drink, satisfying our thirsty souls.  This not only opens the kingdom of heaven to us, this makes us true citizens of that kingdom, in fact children of the heavenly Father. This work of Christ is what produces these works in us. And these are only a foreshadow of the works of love that we will do for one another and for our God and Savior Jesus in eternity. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us love one another now and be confident that we will love one another in eternity. Amen.  ​
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Third to Last Sunday in Church Year: The Lord Preserves his Church to the End

11/12/2018

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Matthew 24:15-28 
November 11, 2018 
 
What is the Abomination of Desolation? An abomination is a disgusting and hated thing. There is nothing found more disgusting and hated by God than idolatry, that is, the worship of false gods. Desolation is the act of desolating; to lay bare and make uninhabited. In our Gospel lesson Jesus meshes his warning of two different events: the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the end of the world. Both of these events coincide with the abomination of desolation.  
In 70 AD the Jewish temple in Jerusalem was burned down and destroyed along with the city of Jerusalem by Roman forces. Jesus predicted this would happen. There were signs leading up to this event. In 40 AD the emperor, Caligula attempted to set up a golden statue in the temple for people to worship. Jesus told the Jews that when they saw these signs to flee. The destruction of the temple, which put an end to Jewish sacrifices to this day, and the destruction of Jerusalem were the Abomination of Desolation.   
The destruction of the temple in 70 AD was the final of many assaults on Jewish worship. Throughout the Old Testament bad kings set up idols in the temple. In 167 BC the king of Syria sacrificed pigs in the temple. These abominations had the goal of destroying the religion of the Jews by desecrating their place of sacrifice. It was through sacrifices that God communicated to his people that he accepted them. If the place of sacrifice is destroyed, then so is the religion of the Jews.  
Every sacrifice of the Old Testament pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. When the faithful Jews of the Old Testament looked to the sacrifices in the temple, they remembered God’s promise to send a Savior to redeem them from their sins. So, the attacks on the temple, the place of sacrifice, was an attempt by the devil to remove Christ from God’s people. 
Yet, there is another abomination, which makes for desolation that we must contend with in these last days. This abomination does not deal with a temple made with hands. Rather it is an attack on a spiritual temple. The abomination of desolation, which we must contend with today, is the removal of Christ Jesus from his Church. Jesus warns, “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible even the elect.” This warning from Jesus is for us. And just as many believers heeded Jesus’ warning concerning the first Abomination of Desolation and fled before Jerusalem was laid bare, so we too should heed Jesus’ warning.  
The abomination of desolation today is not Barrack Obama or Donald Trump or any other political leader. It is not the rulers of the nations Jesus warns us about, but those who infiltrate Christ’s church on earth. Scripture says that the man of lawlessness “takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thess. 2:4) Further, it says, “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders.” (2 Thess. 2:9) Satan isn’t really concerned with destroying the United States of America. America will fall just as every other nation will fall. Satan wants to lay the very Church of Christ desolate. He does this by raising false christs and false prophets within the very visible church of God on earth! 
Jesus warns, “if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. … “If they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” Yet, many popes and bishops dressed in religious vestments have sent Christians out into the wilderness on pilgrimages or into monasteries and convents seeking Jesus through a life of good works, while ignoring the salvation Christ earned for them through his blood. Many preachers, with their own churches, radio and television shows or internet podcasts tell millions of people where to find Christ. They lead people astray with great wonders and signs. Some seem to perform miracles by healing the crippled and sick or speaking in tongues or prophesying. Jesus said they would do these things. They lead people astray with impressive performances and clever arguments. They’re successful and attractive. And they call themselves Christians. Yet, all these false christs and false prophets have something in common: they distract from Christ’s suffering and death on the cross for the forgiveness and salvation of his people.  
Satan attacks Christ’s Church from the inside. The abomination of desolation standing in the holy place is false faith standing in the place of Jesus’ blood and righteousness. The temple is no longer needed, because Jesus has fulfilled all sacrifices. Now you are the holy place where God dwells. Through faith in Jesus’ blood shed for you, God dwells in your heart. This is how he is with his people. Satan wants to replace Jesus’ blood and righteousness from your faith with a false faith. He doesn’t do this with threats of physical force. He does this by impersonating Christ and his church. This is why it is so important for you never to take your eyes off of Jesus and what he has done for you on the cross.   
How do you identify the true Christ from an imposter? How do you know that you are in the true Church or a bad counterfeit? Like many young children, when I was a small child I once wrapped my arms around the legs of a lady at church, because I thought she was my mom. They were wearing similar skirts. And likewise, Christians get deceived. They identify the church by looking at things that remind them of church. But not all building with steeples, crosses, and pulpits actually have Christ inside! Just as not all women, who wear skirts are my mom.  
You identify the true Church by listening for the true teaching of Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose for your justification. If you believe that God forgives you for Christ’s sake, you truly are forgiven and will be saved. Yet, even if a church has all the other familiar markings of a church, an altar and pews, a pastor and people, candles and hymn books, this does not mean that it is the true church; if Christ is not preached. If you do not hear that the blood shed on the altar of the cross washes away your sins, then that is not the church of Christ.  
The abomination of desolation stands in the holy place not only when false teachers remove Christ’s work of salvation from the preaching of the church, but when Christ, his blood and righteousness are removed from your heart. You can belong to an orthodox Lutheran church, yet if you do not believe in the forgiveness of sins from Christ then an abomination dwells in your heart instead of Christ Jesus.  
“Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” Christians gather around the cross of Christ. While Satan calls us to go out and see more glorious christs, who offer you success, who don’t tell you to repent of your sins, who are rich and successful, Christians gather around a broken and despised Christ, who died upon the cross. While Satan calls you to go to a vibrant, growing church that is adored by the world, the elect are scorned for going to Jesus, where he can be found, even when the numbers dwindle.  
The true church is despised in this world because Christ is despised. To trust in his sacrifice for sins is offensive, because it means that we must acknowledge that we are sinners, who need to repent. God’s wrath against Jesus on the cross is hated, because it reveals God’s wrath against our own personal sins. To believe that God can punish Jesus for sins that we’ve committed is scoffed at even by so-called Lutheran theologians and deemed ridiculous. Yet, we fools trust in this foolishness. We cherish the cross of Christ, his blood poured, and his broken body laid in a tomb.  
We gather to eat the true body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins; the same body nailed to the cross and blood which dripped from the nails and spear. The world finds this grotesque. Even many Christians don’t understand this. Yet, Jesus himself bids us to eat and drink. His flesh is true food and his blood is true drink. We do not devour Christ like vultures around a corpse as the mocking world imagines, rather, we partake of the risen body of Christ. We eat and drink and receive Christ’s living body and blood in a way that we do not understand, yet we believe that just as Christ is risen from the dead, so will we, who have been joined to him through this meal.  
The tribulation in these latter days will be greater than the world has ever seen. The number of false christs and false prophets will only increase and attack Christ’s church from the inside out. Satan is dead set on laying the Church of Christ desolate. Yet, God will preserve his Church. Built on the rock the Church shall stand, even when steeples are falling. Church buildings may be burnt to the ground. Churches and synods might go belly up or reject the Gospel, even the Missouri Synod might fall away. But Christ’s Church will never fall away. The elect of Christ will remain gathered around the preaching of Christ crucified, wherever that might be. No one will be able to remove Christ from his proper place in their hearts. Nations and empires have risen and fallen, and yet many still will fall. Yet, the Church, that despised flock, who trusts in a foolish Gospel, she will remain forever. Amen. 
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All Saints Day (Observed): Out of the Great Tribulation

11/5/2018

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Revelation 7:9-17 
November 4, 2018 
 
“Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” The elder answers his own question to John. “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.” What tribulation is he talking about? He must be talking about one of the great persecutions of the Christian Church, which you might read in history books. Yet, when we look at the description of this multitude, we can’t limit them to a few persecuted groups. St. John says this was a great multitude that no one can count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language.  
Rather, St. John describes the entire Christian Church. Everyone, who has washed his robe in the blood of the Lamb is present in this vision. John is having a vision of the future when Christ will gather his entire Church to himself. This means that you too are in this vision, clothed in Christ’s righteousness and standing before your Savior Jesus singing praises to him.  
Yet, it might seem strange that the elder says that we will come out the great tribulation. Christians aren’t persecuted in America, are they? That either happened long ago or far way. But tribulation certainly doesn’t describe our situation, does it? Well, if we are to believe Scripture, we would have to believe it does. St. Paul writes, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12) This means that everyone, who washes his robe in the blood of the Lamb will go through tribulation. 
Many of you probably don’t know the persecution Lutherans have faced. After Lutherans were able to establish their own territories and protect themselves from the oppression of the Roman Catholic Church, they soon had to contend with persecutions by Reformed princes and kings. Lutheran pastors, who refused to deny the real presence of Jesus’ body and blood in the Sacrament were forced out of their parishes by soldiers and their parishioners were forced to attend Reformed services. This is what brought many Lutherans to America, searching freedom to practice their faith.  
Today we don’t fear soldiers entering our sanctuary to stop us from practicing an outlawed liturgy, but that does not mean that we do not go through tribulation. Scripture says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Yes, the tribulation Christians must go through certainly can and have included physical assaults and death. Yet, the powers of darkness don’t need to use physical force to fight against God’s elect.  
In nearly every case of physical persecution against Christians in history, Christians could have avoided it if they compromised Christ’s teaching. Emperor Diacletian forbid Christians from assembling to worship and demanded them to destroy their holy books and offer a sacrifice to false gods. If Christians simply gave in on what they believed to be true, then they wouldn’t be persecuted. And many escaped persecution by simply denying Christ and his teachings. It worked the same way under the persecution from Muslims or Communists, deny Christ and you escape persecution.  
The Lutherans of previous centuries might not have been pressured to deny Christ outright, but they were pressured to deny certain teachings of Christ. For the purpose of forming a united protestant front in America our Lutheran forefathers were pushed to deny that Christ’s body and blood were present in the Lord’s Supper and that Baptism really washes away sins and regenerates a sinner and that pastors have authority to forgive sins. These teachings were considered embarrassing and too Catholic. So, Lutherans were spurned for holding to them.  
Christians go through tribulation when they are taught or pressured to believe false doctrine. The pressure might not threaten violence, but nevertheless, it takes great strength to resist and stand on the truth. Today Christians are pressured to believe many false teachings. Evolution, which says that we are animals, who evolved through mutations over millions of years, is pushed on our children from a very young age. They are told that they are stupid if they question this teaching, which denies that God created the world perfectly through his word. Sure, no one is holding a sword to anyone’s throat, yet it still takes great courage to stand up against such false teaching.  
Christians are pressured to believe that you don’t need to repent of your sins. Preaching the law is offensive. People are offended when they hear that their sins offend God or harm their neighbor. They would rather walk away than repent and receive the forgiveness of their sins from a loving God. And Christians, who hold to the teaching of God’s law are maligned, called closed minded or bigoted.  Yet, we should remember that St. John the Baptist himself was imprisoned and beheaded for preaching against adultery. And he too died for Christ.  
Enduring false teaching is the worst form of tribulation. If persecutors cut off your head, God will give you a new head. But false teaching attacks your very soul, tries to get you to doubt God’s grace, to sin against your Lord, or reject the forgiveness of sins so bitterly won for you on the cross. This is why we are taught to pray in our Small Catechism, “But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!” 
Yet, false teaching is not the only form of tribulation. Sin of all kinds brings tribulation to the Christian, because the Christian has a heightened awareness of sin. The sins of others harm us, not only the mean words people say against us or other loveless actions. Because we are united to God by the Holy Spirit, sins that offend our Father in heaven offend us. St. Peter writes that Lot was “tormenting his righteous soul over the lawless deeds that he saw and heard” as he lived in Sodom and Gomorrah. How much more should our righteous souls be burning within us as we live in a country which has accepted every abominable act, the chief of which is the murder of unborn children. We with better knowledge should be rightly horrified as we see the contents of that which God knit together in the womb torn asunder and counted piece by piece. And this happens thousands of times in America every day. Our righteous souls, washed clean by him who himself spent 9 months in the womb of the Virgin Mary, should be tormented. We cannot be in heaven yet when such things are done in our midst.  
Of course, the sins of others don’t torment our souls nearly as much as our own sins. “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. … For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:15, 18-19) This is the cry of the Christian going through the great tribulation. We have been washed in the blood of Christ. We are forgiven. The Holy Spirit dwells in us through faith, and yet we keep on sinning against our God. It makes us want to escape our own bodies, so that we can escape our own sin.  
And we go through the great tribulation as we see our loved ones die. And as we too march toward death. We believe that Christ has conquered death. We believe that we too will join him in the resurrection. But as yet, we only see the wages of our own sins.  
So yes, each and every one of us is currently going through the great tribulation as we battle false teaching and sin, and bear the burden of living in mortal bodies. We believe that we are forgiven. We believe that we are children of God now. Yet, we don’t see it. And the more we learn about Christ, the more it becomes apparent that we are not in heaven yet.  
This is why St. John’s vision in Revelation 7 is so wonderful. He sees a great multitude that no one can number from every tribe, nation, people, and language shining in spotless robes. This is the fulfillment of what God said to Abraham, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. So shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:5) They have come out of the great tribulation. They no longer suffer from attacks against their faith. They don’t sin anymore and no one sins against them. They are enjoying the resurrection of their perfect bodies. They hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, neither does the sun strike them. God has wiped away every tear from their eye.  
And best of all, they are in the presence of God. God is with them, sheltering them and guiding them. This is not a complete vision. We still have many questions about what it will be like. But what is important is covered. We will be out of this great tribulation. We will escape all suffering, sin, and sadness. And we must believe that our loved ones who trusted in Christ and have died before us will be there too. And we will be together with God our Savior.  
That which causes us to go through the great tribulation also causes us to come out of the great tribulation. We suffer, because we are Christians. To wash your robe and make it white in the blood of the Lamb means that you receive the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ Jesus. It means that you are baptized into Christ. All those, who are God’s children now will suffer. Yet, all God’s children who suffer will be glorified, as Scripture says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children then heirs—heirs with God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17) 
Suffering is a scary thing, but the Apostle continues, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18) Many of you have seen your loved ones suffer much before death finally took them. You can be comforted with these words. Their pain has not only ended, but they are now enjoying the glory of God, which we can’t even imagine. It is as the hymn says, “Oh, how blest are they whose toils are ended, who through death have unto God ascended! They have arisen From the cares that keep us still in prison.”  
We can’t see this vision of heaven, which John writes about. We can only read what he wrote. But we have faith that this truly is what awaits us. We have certainty that we will join this great host arrayed in white, because we too have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us from all unrighteousness. Our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake.  
Although the Elder says that they have washed their robes and made them white, we should not interpret this to mean that our salvation depends on our own works. It is the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, which washes away our sins. Christ Jesus has cleansed us, his Church, by the washing of water and the word and has presented us to himself in spender, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that we might be holy and without blemish. It is Christ who died for us. He forgives us. He baptized us and washed us. He continues to feed us today. We will enjoy this future vision of heaven by the merits of Christ alone.  
Every single person in that mighty throng of saints is there because of what Jesus Christ has done. This brings great comfort to us, who are burdened by sins. This means that no matter how great our sins might be, Christ has washed them away in his blood. Even those great abominations of which I spoke before that occur in our nation, they too are forgiven by Jesus’ blood. There is no sin for which our Lord did not die and no sin that can withstand his cleansing blood.  
We remember our loved ones in heaven on All Saints Day and we thank God that their suffering is over. Yet, we celebrate All Saints Day for us too, who are currently in this tribulation. We know what our end is. We can escape this present tribulation at any moment if we were to deny Christ. And we could enjoy the glories of this earth. Yet, then we would give up the glories of heaven. So, to give us strength to pass through this tribulation and come out into the glories of Christ, we continue to wash our robes in the blood of Christ, confessing our sins and hearing his holy word. We are God’s children now. All though we don’t see him, we are in God’s presence now. And he alone will guide us out of the great tribulation into eternal glory. 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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