Feb 20, 2011 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
EPIPHANY 8
February 27/28
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Isaiah 49:13-18
“GOD GIVES US SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT!”
1. His Compassion.
2. His faithfulness.
Isaiah 49:13-18 (NIV) “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. 14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. 17 Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you. 18 Lift up your eyes and look around; all your sons gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.”
People need something to cheer about. A Super Bowl victory. An upset in the NCAA tournament, as long as it’s not against your team. Baby’s first steps or first words. A free throw that is made. When your country wins a war. All these things and many more cause people to cheer and that’s good! It’s good to have something to cheer about.
In the word of God before us today God gives us something to cheer about, but it’s different than other things. It’s not the defeat of an enemy and it’s not something that is one and done. It’s the characteristics of our God, His compassion and faithfulness. A little look at the context of God’s declaration through Isaiah will help us to apply God’s Word to us today.
You know the history of the Old Testament people of Israel. You know how God always took care of them. You know how quick they were to forget what God had done for them in the past. You know how easily they adopted the sexual sinning of the people around them. You know how easy it was for them to have other gods and how easy it was for their worship to become a going through the motions. You know too that while all the people of Israel were not truly believers in the Savior God, God always preserved a remnant of believers in that nation. Often they found themselves caught up in the sins of their nation and shamefully repented. Sometimes they found themselves caught up in consequences for the whole nation for sins they were not themselves guilty of.
Here was one of those cases. God has Isaiah address believers who would be in exile in Babylon, the consequence for Israel’s idolatry. Imagine how those believers felt. They would have to struggle with feelings of unfairness when they got caught up in the consequences of others’ sins. They would have to work through realizing that they weren’t sinless people either. That any punishment they got was deserved. Sorrow. Self loathing. Despair. Hurt. Hopelessness. They needed something to cheer about.
God gave it to them. “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.” Here was something to cheer about. The Lord comforts His people. He has compassion on them. God know what His people were going through. He did not rejoice in their hurt and their heartache. He saw their affliction and would come to their aid.
This is His promise for you too. It’s something for you to cheer about. It’s not always easy living in a world ruined by sin. There are those things we have to deal with simply because the world is messed up. Loved ones get sick. Cancer is no respecter of persons afflicting old and young, believer and unbeliever. People we love die. We miss them. That hurts. Other people sin against us and that hurts. Reputations get ruined. Feelings get hurt. Rifts form in families, friendships, churches. Then too we have to admit that whatever hurt we get, whatever bad things happens, in reality we deserve far worse for we too sin against our God and any earthly affliction we have dealt with is far better than the eternity of Hell we deserve. But God gives you something to cheer about. Shout for joy, He says. Rejoice! He says. God has compassion on you. Whatever hardship, hurt or affliction you are going through, God knows and God cares. At just the right time He will come and relieve you.
When? That’s always the question with people who by nature have a problem with patience! When. Old Testament Israel felt that way too. “But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” When God’s people were off in Babylon they would feel like God had forgotten them. This was not true. God gave them something to cheer about. His faithfulness.
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” Two pictures God uses to help His people understand the depth of His faithfulness. The first one is mother love. The love that mothers have for their children. Of all the types of love that we can see on earth that is probably the tightest. Mothers are wired to be committed to their children. That’s where the Mama Bear picture comes in. It’s a natural instinct to protect their children from everything. So God uses that faithful love to proclaim His. He asks, “ Can a mother forget her child and have no compassion?” The answer is rarely. Every once in a while we will hear of the baby left in the toilet or the garbage. That is so horrifying to us to hear. God acknowledges that the best of human love and faithfulness is flawed, but not His. “Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Another picture. We are always on His mind. “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” In some cultures a way to honor a person or their memory is by tattooing their name on a person’s body. In those cultures it proclaims, “I will never forget you.” God uses that similar picture. I can’t forget my people. You are in the palm of my hand. He sees the city personified and its walls are always before Him.
The result is something to cheer about. God’s faithfulness meant that the exiles in Babylon could count on rescue at the right time. They would be brought back to their own country at the right time. They would have something to cheer about. “Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you. 18 Lift up your eyes and look around; all your sons gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.” Enemies would be gone. Their loved ones restored.
God’s faithfulness is also something for us to cheer about. While the immediate fulfillment meant that Israel would be brought back to their Promised Land, the prophetic fulfillment went further. God’s faithfulness meant that God would keep His promise to send a Savior no matter what. And He did. Jesus came. He lived. He died. He rose. For me. For you. So God’s faithfulness means that we will be rescued and taken to the Promised Land too. For some of us that happens when the Lord comes at the day of our death which we should probably better call the first day of our new life that is real life. For others that may be when Jesus returns at the end of the world. Those things will happen. God is faithful.
He’s also faithful with our earthly problems and afflictions. Whatever you are going through God has not forgotten you. He can’t. He has not forsaken you. He won’t. He is simply waiting for the time to be right and you need to understand that God only allows in His wisdom what He could easily prevent with His power. There is a purpose and a good reason whether you see it or not. That’s something to cheer about.
And keep cheering about every day. It was very interesting to me to see how quickly the cheering for the Packer’s Super Bowl victory died down. For many people it is so far in the rearview mirror but really it was only 3 weeks ago. Two weeks after that victory the Super Bowl shirts were already being sold at 75% off! That’s something to cheer about. Let’s not do that with God’s compassion and faithfulness. Let’s keep it right before us as we are always before Him so every day we wake up it’s with a smile on our face for we have something to cheer about.
February 27/28
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Isaiah 49:13-18
“GOD GIVES US SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT!”
1. His Compassion.
2. His faithfulness.
Isaiah 49:13-18 (NIV) “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. 14 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. 17 Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you. 18 Lift up your eyes and look around; all your sons gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.”
People need something to cheer about. A Super Bowl victory. An upset in the NCAA tournament, as long as it’s not against your team. Baby’s first steps or first words. A free throw that is made. When your country wins a war. All these things and many more cause people to cheer and that’s good! It’s good to have something to cheer about.
In the word of God before us today God gives us something to cheer about, but it’s different than other things. It’s not the defeat of an enemy and it’s not something that is one and done. It’s the characteristics of our God, His compassion and faithfulness. A little look at the context of God’s declaration through Isaiah will help us to apply God’s Word to us today.
You know the history of the Old Testament people of Israel. You know how God always took care of them. You know how quick they were to forget what God had done for them in the past. You know how easily they adopted the sexual sinning of the people around them. You know how easy it was for them to have other gods and how easy it was for their worship to become a going through the motions. You know too that while all the people of Israel were not truly believers in the Savior God, God always preserved a remnant of believers in that nation. Often they found themselves caught up in the sins of their nation and shamefully repented. Sometimes they found themselves caught up in consequences for the whole nation for sins they were not themselves guilty of.
Here was one of those cases. God has Isaiah address believers who would be in exile in Babylon, the consequence for Israel’s idolatry. Imagine how those believers felt. They would have to struggle with feelings of unfairness when they got caught up in the consequences of others’ sins. They would have to work through realizing that they weren’t sinless people either. That any punishment they got was deserved. Sorrow. Self loathing. Despair. Hurt. Hopelessness. They needed something to cheer about.
God gave it to them. “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.” Here was something to cheer about. The Lord comforts His people. He has compassion on them. God know what His people were going through. He did not rejoice in their hurt and their heartache. He saw their affliction and would come to their aid.
This is His promise for you too. It’s something for you to cheer about. It’s not always easy living in a world ruined by sin. There are those things we have to deal with simply because the world is messed up. Loved ones get sick. Cancer is no respecter of persons afflicting old and young, believer and unbeliever. People we love die. We miss them. That hurts. Other people sin against us and that hurts. Reputations get ruined. Feelings get hurt. Rifts form in families, friendships, churches. Then too we have to admit that whatever hurt we get, whatever bad things happens, in reality we deserve far worse for we too sin against our God and any earthly affliction we have dealt with is far better than the eternity of Hell we deserve. But God gives you something to cheer about. Shout for joy, He says. Rejoice! He says. God has compassion on you. Whatever hardship, hurt or affliction you are going through, God knows and God cares. At just the right time He will come and relieve you.
When? That’s always the question with people who by nature have a problem with patience! When. Old Testament Israel felt that way too. “But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” When God’s people were off in Babylon they would feel like God had forgotten them. This was not true. God gave them something to cheer about. His faithfulness.
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! 16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” Two pictures God uses to help His people understand the depth of His faithfulness. The first one is mother love. The love that mothers have for their children. Of all the types of love that we can see on earth that is probably the tightest. Mothers are wired to be committed to their children. That’s where the Mama Bear picture comes in. It’s a natural instinct to protect their children from everything. So God uses that faithful love to proclaim His. He asks, “ Can a mother forget her child and have no compassion?” The answer is rarely. Every once in a while we will hear of the baby left in the toilet or the garbage. That is so horrifying to us to hear. God acknowledges that the best of human love and faithfulness is flawed, but not His. “Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Another picture. We are always on His mind. “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” In some cultures a way to honor a person or their memory is by tattooing their name on a person’s body. In those cultures it proclaims, “I will never forget you.” God uses that similar picture. I can’t forget my people. You are in the palm of my hand. He sees the city personified and its walls are always before Him.
The result is something to cheer about. God’s faithfulness meant that the exiles in Babylon could count on rescue at the right time. They would be brought back to their own country at the right time. They would have something to cheer about. “Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you. 18 Lift up your eyes and look around; all your sons gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride.” Enemies would be gone. Their loved ones restored.
God’s faithfulness is also something for us to cheer about. While the immediate fulfillment meant that Israel would be brought back to their Promised Land, the prophetic fulfillment went further. God’s faithfulness meant that God would keep His promise to send a Savior no matter what. And He did. Jesus came. He lived. He died. He rose. For me. For you. So God’s faithfulness means that we will be rescued and taken to the Promised Land too. For some of us that happens when the Lord comes at the day of our death which we should probably better call the first day of our new life that is real life. For others that may be when Jesus returns at the end of the world. Those things will happen. God is faithful.
He’s also faithful with our earthly problems and afflictions. Whatever you are going through God has not forgotten you. He can’t. He has not forsaken you. He won’t. He is simply waiting for the time to be right and you need to understand that God only allows in His wisdom what He could easily prevent with His power. There is a purpose and a good reason whether you see it or not. That’s something to cheer about.
And keep cheering about every day. It was very interesting to me to see how quickly the cheering for the Packer’s Super Bowl victory died down. For many people it is so far in the rearview mirror but really it was only 3 weeks ago. Two weeks after that victory the Super Bowl shirts were already being sold at 75% off! That’s something to cheer about. Let’s not do that with God’s compassion and faithfulness. Let’s keep it right before us as we are always before Him so every day we wake up it’s with a smile on our face for we have something to cheer about.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
EPIPHANY 7
February 20/21, 2011
Seminarian Mark Reichert
Text: Romans 12:9-21
“I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” “In view of God’s mercy” – that’s called Gospel motivation. Paul’s been building up to this point for eleven chapters, and we might summarize what he has been saying like this: Every one of us is a sinner who deserves death and hell, and nothing we do could ever be good enough to change that. But by God’s grace alone our sins have been forgiven and we are saved for heaven because Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross in our place. Through faith in Jesus as our Savior, we live a new spiritual life. Before we were enemies of God; now we are children of God who strive to serve him because of what he has done for us. Paul is telling us in this passage that our whole lives are an act of worship to God because what God really cares about from us now is our faith being exercised in love. In our text for today, we are told what sorts of things we can do to worship God with our lives. We find that from God’s mercy follows sincere love toward fellow Christians, and not just toward them, but also toward unbelievers and even toward those that hate us.
Now that might seem very out of the ordinary because it is so contrary to the way the world usually works. And yet verse 9 tells us, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” The reason it is so counter-intuitive is that by nature we are loveless toward anyone but ourselves, and more often we love what is evil and hate what is good and godly. We can’t carry out any of Paul’s directives here until our hearts are transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That Gospel not only changes our hearts but then also changes our lives. Now through faith in Jesus as our Savior, we live a new life patterned after him who perfectly hated what is evil – that is, except us - and clung to what is good and right. Though we were once hostile to God, now by faith we can do what pleases God.
And it all starts with our love mirroring his. God is love, and that same genuine love that he showed to us is what we are to show to our neighbors. We find the definition for that love that hates what is evil and clings to what is good in God’s Word. Sincere love is that which is motivated by appreciation for what God has done for us and shows itself in love returned to God and reflected to our neighbors. For us, love is obeying God’s commands, that’s what Jesus says; all the commandments that God gives in Scripture are really just guidance for how we can show sincere love to God and our neighbors, and Paul’s specific focus here is that that the highest, greatest love is selfless love that seeks the benefit of others.
The first encouragements Paul has for how to put selfless love into action are “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Just as in all of these cases, Jesus set the standard for us to follow. Who honored others above himself more than Jesus? Paul says in Philippians 2: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Jesus’ life and teaching turns this world’s normal mode of operation on its head. Normally when people get a taste of power or authority, they only want more. That’s their sinful nature caring only about its own welfare at the expense of others. But Jesus, true God and king over the universe, uses his power to serve, and he wants the same from us. Jesus won salvation for us and our inheritance in heaven is secure, so we have nothing to fight about. Instead of serving ourselves, then, we live to build up those around us and seek their honor rather than our own, since that’s what Jesus did.
That takes some pretty sincere love, and that’s just what Paul is talking about when he tells us to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” In those days the greatest love was generally shown among family members, so when Paul said that, he was essentially telling them that their love toward their fellow believers was to be every bit as deep and genuine as any love shown anywhere. Christians are not called brothers and sisters for nothing – their relationship is that close and their love is that sincere. It is not a self-seeking love; we love as Christ loves us – selflessly, without any thought of return.
Yet we still lack much in matching Christ’s love. It is a constant battle for us who are sinful to always love people when often people are so hard to love. That’s why Paul adds the next phrase: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Just as you need to keep filling up a car with gas to keep it running, so also Christians need a continual connection to God’s Word and sacraments, otherwise our spiritual zeal for serving the Lord is going to run out. The source of our motivation to serve the Lord is the Gospel, and we need a consistent supply of it to keep us working to love our neighbors as God desires.
Continuing with the car comparison, we need not only fuel for the journey but also to keep our eyes on the destination. Thus Paul’s encouragement to be joyful in hope. We rejoice at the assurance that heaven is ours through faith in Jesus, and no one can take that joy from us; because of it we have the strength to persevere and patiently endure even through any afflictions that this world might throw at us. And while we wait for our hope to be realized and we still have to deal with this world’s afflictions, Paul reminds us also to always be faithful in prayer about both spiritual and earthly things. Any of your cares, from the biggest to the least, either for yourself or for someone else, God wants to hear about them and answer them for our good. But then do your part, too – “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Often God answers prayer and cares for us through other people. For whatever reason someone might be in need, do everything you can to help with whatever resources you can offer, be it money or goods or even things that don’t cost a cent, like lending a hand or an ear or a word of encouragement or advice. Such is the great love that Christians should show to one another, that they are glad to go even to great lengths for the spiritual and temporal good of their fellow believers.
Recall now what Jesus said in our Gospel lesson, though. Even unbelievers show love to those who love them. What sets us apart from everyone else? Paul tells us in Galatians 6(:10): “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” To believers certainly, but not just to believers. We are to show love even to those that hate us, and as we will see, that is for a definite purpose.
A key phrase as we move on is in verse 17: “Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.” As Christians we need to be very sensitive about how we live our lives publicly, because we don’t want to do anything to hinder the Gospel or dishonor our God. Everything we do here on earth, as long as we are known by the name “Christian,” reflects on our Savior, and our conduct needs to show people that there is something special about us, because there is. Doing what is right in the eyes of everybody testifies to them that your Christian faith is about love for God and love for people because of God’s great love for us. Without words, you will be teaching people about God by the love you show and giving them a glimpse into the love of God that they too could share through faith in Jesus.
And if everything we do in this life is to reflect favorably on our Savior, we can understand why Paul tells us to “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Again, Jesus is our standard. Remember what he said as he was being nailed to the cross? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). The truth is that even those people that were crucifying him were no worse than you or me or anyone else before God, and yet Jesus still loved them so much that he willingly suffered on that cross to take away their sins. Jesus blessed his persecutors just as we should bless ours because ultimately we want them to recognize their sin and come to repentance and faith. We live a life worthy of the Gospel of our Savior Jesus by reflecting even to those that hate us the sincere love that above all wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Then Paul says that another way to demonstrate your sincere love and care for people is to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. But this isn’t as easy as it seems. It might seem natural, but when something good happens to someone else, are you more often genuinely happy for them, or envious that it didn’t happen to you instead? Or when something bad happens, have you ever found yourself rejoicing that they finally got what was coming to them? Such is the way of this world, but not for Christians. We have what is most important, what the world cannot offer – salvation from Jesus – and everything else is secondary. We can sincerely rejoice with those who are richly blessed by God, and mourn with those whose time in this world of sin is especially taxing. Only through the Gospel can we realize the truth that shared joy is doubled and shared sorrow is halved. Ultimately we can rejoice in hope and take comfort that heaven is coming, when our joys will be complete and God will wipe every tear from our eyes.
And so that your attitude will match your actions, Paul adds “Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” In God’s eyes there is no difference between people because all alike are filthy sinners and yet are saved by his grace alone. That’s real, sincere love. So if there is no difference between people in God’s eyes, there better not be in ours either. Remember that our Lord and God Jesus did not consider himself too dignified to wash his disciples’ feet, something only the lowliest of servants would ever be made to do. Nor did he consider himself too exalted to take on our humble human flesh and die to take away our sins. Jesus loved people that much, and we, as his representatives, should as well.
Paul then sets the foundation for his final appeal by encouraging them to “live in harmony with one another,” and just shortly afterwards he adds again: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” If it is up to you, you need to maintain peace, because as Jesus himself said, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). But Paul is conceding that it may not always be possible to do so. The Christian will never be the one to start a fight, but where we are forced to defend our God or our neighbor against abuse, the Christian needs to stand up for what is right for the sake of faithfulness to God’s commands. But again, what Paul is primarily warning against here is casting the God we represent and serve in a negative light. We dishonor God when we engage in unnecessary quarrels and thereby misrepresent him as the God of peace. In maintaining peace whenever possible, though, we are rightly serving our God and reflecting the spiritual peace we have through faith in Jesus.
Now Paul finally gets to his most striking point: “don’t repay anyone evil for evil.” In a sinful world it is inevitable that bad things will happen between people and that Satan will use those things as temptations to sin. Though to our shame many times those temptations work, Paul says that peace-loving Christians should take the high road. Justice will come to those who deserve it; it just won’t come from you. Whether through the government that God has established to keep law and order or through natural means or only when that person dies and stands before God’s judgment seat, they will get what’s coming to them. But as for you, God through the power of his Gospel turns the tables and uses situations like these for good. You are to bless those who persecute you, remember? Even the person who is persecuting you is a precious soul for whom Christ died. God can use such trials in your life not only for your own good, to strengthen your faith and bring you closer to him, but also for the good of that other person. If you, rather than gloating over your enemy’s misfortunes, instead show your faith in love toward that person, what a profound effect that could have! By giving love rather than taking revenge (as they probably expect), ideally you will be piling the burning coals of shame on that person’s head for what they did and hopefully leading them to repentance and faith. After all, the best way to get rid of an enemy is to turn him into a friend, right? And even better than a friend – a fellow believer. That’s overcoming evil with good.
There is an important phrase from church history that says “Let the salvation of the people be the supreme law.” The point is that everything we do should have the intent of glorifying God and serving our neighbor so as to either strengthen their faith or open a door to create faith. Our text for today has the same emphasis. Our conduct is a key part of this equation, ideally giving us an opportunity for what Peter teaches: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (I Peter 3:15-16). That our Lord Jesus gives us this opportunity to represent his Gospel message with not only our words but also our actions is both a task to be taken seriously and a great privilege to carry out. And we can do so faithfully, by God’s grace that has transformed our hearts, by showing the sincere love that follows from the mercy God has shown to us. Amen.
February 20/21, 2011
Seminarian Mark Reichert
Text: Romans 12:9-21
“I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” “In view of God’s mercy” – that’s called Gospel motivation. Paul’s been building up to this point for eleven chapters, and we might summarize what he has been saying like this: Every one of us is a sinner who deserves death and hell, and nothing we do could ever be good enough to change that. But by God’s grace alone our sins have been forgiven and we are saved for heaven because Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross in our place. Through faith in Jesus as our Savior, we live a new spiritual life. Before we were enemies of God; now we are children of God who strive to serve him because of what he has done for us. Paul is telling us in this passage that our whole lives are an act of worship to God because what God really cares about from us now is our faith being exercised in love. In our text for today, we are told what sorts of things we can do to worship God with our lives. We find that from God’s mercy follows sincere love toward fellow Christians, and not just toward them, but also toward unbelievers and even toward those that hate us.
Now that might seem very out of the ordinary because it is so contrary to the way the world usually works. And yet verse 9 tells us, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” The reason it is so counter-intuitive is that by nature we are loveless toward anyone but ourselves, and more often we love what is evil and hate what is good and godly. We can’t carry out any of Paul’s directives here until our hearts are transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That Gospel not only changes our hearts but then also changes our lives. Now through faith in Jesus as our Savior, we live a new life patterned after him who perfectly hated what is evil – that is, except us - and clung to what is good and right. Though we were once hostile to God, now by faith we can do what pleases God.
And it all starts with our love mirroring his. God is love, and that same genuine love that he showed to us is what we are to show to our neighbors. We find the definition for that love that hates what is evil and clings to what is good in God’s Word. Sincere love is that which is motivated by appreciation for what God has done for us and shows itself in love returned to God and reflected to our neighbors. For us, love is obeying God’s commands, that’s what Jesus says; all the commandments that God gives in Scripture are really just guidance for how we can show sincere love to God and our neighbors, and Paul’s specific focus here is that that the highest, greatest love is selfless love that seeks the benefit of others.
The first encouragements Paul has for how to put selfless love into action are “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Just as in all of these cases, Jesus set the standard for us to follow. Who honored others above himself more than Jesus? Paul says in Philippians 2: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Jesus’ life and teaching turns this world’s normal mode of operation on its head. Normally when people get a taste of power or authority, they only want more. That’s their sinful nature caring only about its own welfare at the expense of others. But Jesus, true God and king over the universe, uses his power to serve, and he wants the same from us. Jesus won salvation for us and our inheritance in heaven is secure, so we have nothing to fight about. Instead of serving ourselves, then, we live to build up those around us and seek their honor rather than our own, since that’s what Jesus did.
That takes some pretty sincere love, and that’s just what Paul is talking about when he tells us to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” In those days the greatest love was generally shown among family members, so when Paul said that, he was essentially telling them that their love toward their fellow believers was to be every bit as deep and genuine as any love shown anywhere. Christians are not called brothers and sisters for nothing – their relationship is that close and their love is that sincere. It is not a self-seeking love; we love as Christ loves us – selflessly, without any thought of return.
Yet we still lack much in matching Christ’s love. It is a constant battle for us who are sinful to always love people when often people are so hard to love. That’s why Paul adds the next phrase: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Just as you need to keep filling up a car with gas to keep it running, so also Christians need a continual connection to God’s Word and sacraments, otherwise our spiritual zeal for serving the Lord is going to run out. The source of our motivation to serve the Lord is the Gospel, and we need a consistent supply of it to keep us working to love our neighbors as God desires.
Continuing with the car comparison, we need not only fuel for the journey but also to keep our eyes on the destination. Thus Paul’s encouragement to be joyful in hope. We rejoice at the assurance that heaven is ours through faith in Jesus, and no one can take that joy from us; because of it we have the strength to persevere and patiently endure even through any afflictions that this world might throw at us. And while we wait for our hope to be realized and we still have to deal with this world’s afflictions, Paul reminds us also to always be faithful in prayer about both spiritual and earthly things. Any of your cares, from the biggest to the least, either for yourself or for someone else, God wants to hear about them and answer them for our good. But then do your part, too – “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Often God answers prayer and cares for us through other people. For whatever reason someone might be in need, do everything you can to help with whatever resources you can offer, be it money or goods or even things that don’t cost a cent, like lending a hand or an ear or a word of encouragement or advice. Such is the great love that Christians should show to one another, that they are glad to go even to great lengths for the spiritual and temporal good of their fellow believers.
Recall now what Jesus said in our Gospel lesson, though. Even unbelievers show love to those who love them. What sets us apart from everyone else? Paul tells us in Galatians 6(:10): “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” To believers certainly, but not just to believers. We are to show love even to those that hate us, and as we will see, that is for a definite purpose.
A key phrase as we move on is in verse 17: “Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.” As Christians we need to be very sensitive about how we live our lives publicly, because we don’t want to do anything to hinder the Gospel or dishonor our God. Everything we do here on earth, as long as we are known by the name “Christian,” reflects on our Savior, and our conduct needs to show people that there is something special about us, because there is. Doing what is right in the eyes of everybody testifies to them that your Christian faith is about love for God and love for people because of God’s great love for us. Without words, you will be teaching people about God by the love you show and giving them a glimpse into the love of God that they too could share through faith in Jesus.
And if everything we do in this life is to reflect favorably on our Savior, we can understand why Paul tells us to “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Again, Jesus is our standard. Remember what he said as he was being nailed to the cross? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). The truth is that even those people that were crucifying him were no worse than you or me or anyone else before God, and yet Jesus still loved them so much that he willingly suffered on that cross to take away their sins. Jesus blessed his persecutors just as we should bless ours because ultimately we want them to recognize their sin and come to repentance and faith. We live a life worthy of the Gospel of our Savior Jesus by reflecting even to those that hate us the sincere love that above all wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Then Paul says that another way to demonstrate your sincere love and care for people is to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. But this isn’t as easy as it seems. It might seem natural, but when something good happens to someone else, are you more often genuinely happy for them, or envious that it didn’t happen to you instead? Or when something bad happens, have you ever found yourself rejoicing that they finally got what was coming to them? Such is the way of this world, but not for Christians. We have what is most important, what the world cannot offer – salvation from Jesus – and everything else is secondary. We can sincerely rejoice with those who are richly blessed by God, and mourn with those whose time in this world of sin is especially taxing. Only through the Gospel can we realize the truth that shared joy is doubled and shared sorrow is halved. Ultimately we can rejoice in hope and take comfort that heaven is coming, when our joys will be complete and God will wipe every tear from our eyes.
And so that your attitude will match your actions, Paul adds “Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” In God’s eyes there is no difference between people because all alike are filthy sinners and yet are saved by his grace alone. That’s real, sincere love. So if there is no difference between people in God’s eyes, there better not be in ours either. Remember that our Lord and God Jesus did not consider himself too dignified to wash his disciples’ feet, something only the lowliest of servants would ever be made to do. Nor did he consider himself too exalted to take on our humble human flesh and die to take away our sins. Jesus loved people that much, and we, as his representatives, should as well.
Paul then sets the foundation for his final appeal by encouraging them to “live in harmony with one another,” and just shortly afterwards he adds again: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” If it is up to you, you need to maintain peace, because as Jesus himself said, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). But Paul is conceding that it may not always be possible to do so. The Christian will never be the one to start a fight, but where we are forced to defend our God or our neighbor against abuse, the Christian needs to stand up for what is right for the sake of faithfulness to God’s commands. But again, what Paul is primarily warning against here is casting the God we represent and serve in a negative light. We dishonor God when we engage in unnecessary quarrels and thereby misrepresent him as the God of peace. In maintaining peace whenever possible, though, we are rightly serving our God and reflecting the spiritual peace we have through faith in Jesus.
Now Paul finally gets to his most striking point: “don’t repay anyone evil for evil.” In a sinful world it is inevitable that bad things will happen between people and that Satan will use those things as temptations to sin. Though to our shame many times those temptations work, Paul says that peace-loving Christians should take the high road. Justice will come to those who deserve it; it just won’t come from you. Whether through the government that God has established to keep law and order or through natural means or only when that person dies and stands before God’s judgment seat, they will get what’s coming to them. But as for you, God through the power of his Gospel turns the tables and uses situations like these for good. You are to bless those who persecute you, remember? Even the person who is persecuting you is a precious soul for whom Christ died. God can use such trials in your life not only for your own good, to strengthen your faith and bring you closer to him, but also for the good of that other person. If you, rather than gloating over your enemy’s misfortunes, instead show your faith in love toward that person, what a profound effect that could have! By giving love rather than taking revenge (as they probably expect), ideally you will be piling the burning coals of shame on that person’s head for what they did and hopefully leading them to repentance and faith. After all, the best way to get rid of an enemy is to turn him into a friend, right? And even better than a friend – a fellow believer. That’s overcoming evil with good.
There is an important phrase from church history that says “Let the salvation of the people be the supreme law.” The point is that everything we do should have the intent of glorifying God and serving our neighbor so as to either strengthen their faith or open a door to create faith. Our text for today has the same emphasis. Our conduct is a key part of this equation, ideally giving us an opportunity for what Peter teaches: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (I Peter 3:15-16). That our Lord Jesus gives us this opportunity to represent his Gospel message with not only our words but also our actions is both a task to be taken seriously and a great privilege to carry out. And we can do so faithfully, by God’s grace that has transformed our hearts, by showing the sincere love that follows from the mercy God has shown to us. Amen.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
EPIPHANY 6
February 13/14, 2011
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Matthew 5:20-37
“WHEN IT COMES TO GOD’S COMMANDS…”
1. Jesus sets the record straight.
2. Jesus sets our record straight.
Matthew 5:20-37 (NIV) “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. 21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. 31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
“He was such a good man.” I’m sure you have heard it. Maybe you even said it. Probably at a funeral. Someone has died and they say, “He was such a good man, father, husband, friend.” In a certain sense this is what you want to hear about you and say about other believers. I would hope that any unbeliever who looks at me or you would say that. If we are living our lives as lights shining for Jesus, being the salt of the earth, then we will be good neighbors who help and are kind and take care of our own and our neighbors’ property. We will be obedient and respectful children who have manners. We will have clean mouths and be loving to our family members and friends. So anyone looking at us should be able to say from their earthly outward morality based viewpoint, “He was such a good man.”
Is that what you say when you look at yourself? Now how you answer that question is going to reveal how well you understand God’s commands and what you think of Jesus. Let me explain. Rather let Jesus explain. He’s preaching His famous Sermon on the Mount. You are there with your family. You have grown up being taught the 10 Commandments. That you must keep them to enter heaven. But Jesus says,” For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is odd! We thought the Pharisees and teachers of the law had it right. We don’t see them committing murder or adultery! How can this be?
Jesus sets the record straight. Four times Jesus says a version of “You have heard it said.” He’s pointing out the way the people have been taught. Four times Jesus goes on to say, “But I tell you.” The Son of God is speaking. People need to listen. We need to listen as Jesus sets the record straight when it comes to God’s commands.
He starts with murder. “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Jesus sets the record straight. God’s command to not murder includes thoughts like sinful anger and hatred, words said in disdain and mockery. It includes selfishly expecting forgiveness and welcome from God when refusing to settle matters with people, blowing off their concerns. All of these sins bring God’s judgment of guilty of murder.
Next Jesus goes to adultery. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Jesus sets the record straight with adultery. Lust. Looking. These sins offend God and make us worthy of hell. Sexting. Pornography. How would Jesus say it today? If your computer or your cell phone, your TV or your movie pass are causing you to sin throw them away. Parents, do you regularly check the pictures and videos on your children’s cell phones? Do you audit their text messages? You need to. The evil one is at work among us. I’d do that as soon as you get in the car if I were you. No chance for erasing. Then set the record straight on God’s true commands as Jesus did.
Teach it in your marriage. “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” Even back then they had no fault divorce. But you can’t have a no fault divorce. There is only sin caused divorce. God’s will is for husband and wife to love each other for life. When husbands are not cherishing their wives and wives are not respecting their husbands? Is marriage being honored by all or made a sham? Jesus sets the record straight. He sums up all marriage breaking and harming by calling it adultery.
He sets the record straight on lying. “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Apparently the Pharisees and teachers of the law gave themselves wiggle room. It was the Old Testament equivalent of crossing your fingers. If you swore by the Lord you had to keep it. Anything else not so much. Jesus sets the record straight. God expects people to be truth tellers always. Oaths only happen when they are required, not to cover for the fact that we can’t be trustworthy. And remember not lying, is not the same as telling the truth as God expects. Jesus sets the record straight.
So what must we conclude? I am not a good person. Neither are you. You are murderers, adulterers and liars. So am I. Remember how Jesus started this? “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Our righteousness does not surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. We can’t enter heaven.
Except Jesus set our record straight. That’s why He came. Remember last week in the Gospel reading where Jesus said, “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come to fulfill them.” He came to fulfill them for us. Jesus never hated or murdered his classmates with unkind words and cruel teasing. He never harbored ill feelings about his fellow congregation members or spoke mockingly or disdainfully about them. He never lusted or lied. He always put God first, used God’s name rightly. He always worshipped in spirit and in truth and loved to hear and learn God’s Word. He respected and obeyed every authority over Him even when they were in the wrong. Think of that kids! Jesus’ righteousness does surpass that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He is perfect. And you know what? He gives that perfection to you and to me through faith. And all that murder and adultery and lying we’ve done? That He takes away. Praise be to Jesus. We’re going to a lot better place than Disneyland. We’re going to heaven.
When I look at myself honestly I am not a good person. Neither are you. But Jesus is. He has set the record straight on what God’s commands really are. He has set our records straight in not keeping them. Now what do we do? Let’s strive to keep the true meaning of God’s commands in every area. Not just outwardly but in our hearts too. Not to get to heaven but to thank Jesus for giving us heaven. Then when we are letting our lights shine and people we know look at us and say, “He’s such a good man. She’s such a good woman.” We can hear that gladly and give all the glory to where it belongs. To Jesus. Amen.
February 13/14, 2011
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Matthew 5:20-37
“WHEN IT COMES TO GOD’S COMMANDS…”
1. Jesus sets the record straight.
2. Jesus sets our record straight.
Matthew 5:20-37 (NIV) “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. 21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. 31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
“He was such a good man.” I’m sure you have heard it. Maybe you even said it. Probably at a funeral. Someone has died and they say, “He was such a good man, father, husband, friend.” In a certain sense this is what you want to hear about you and say about other believers. I would hope that any unbeliever who looks at me or you would say that. If we are living our lives as lights shining for Jesus, being the salt of the earth, then we will be good neighbors who help and are kind and take care of our own and our neighbors’ property. We will be obedient and respectful children who have manners. We will have clean mouths and be loving to our family members and friends. So anyone looking at us should be able to say from their earthly outward morality based viewpoint, “He was such a good man.”
Is that what you say when you look at yourself? Now how you answer that question is going to reveal how well you understand God’s commands and what you think of Jesus. Let me explain. Rather let Jesus explain. He’s preaching His famous Sermon on the Mount. You are there with your family. You have grown up being taught the 10 Commandments. That you must keep them to enter heaven. But Jesus says,” For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is odd! We thought the Pharisees and teachers of the law had it right. We don’t see them committing murder or adultery! How can this be?
Jesus sets the record straight. Four times Jesus says a version of “You have heard it said.” He’s pointing out the way the people have been taught. Four times Jesus goes on to say, “But I tell you.” The Son of God is speaking. People need to listen. We need to listen as Jesus sets the record straight when it comes to God’s commands.
He starts with murder. “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Jesus sets the record straight. God’s command to not murder includes thoughts like sinful anger and hatred, words said in disdain and mockery. It includes selfishly expecting forgiveness and welcome from God when refusing to settle matters with people, blowing off their concerns. All of these sins bring God’s judgment of guilty of murder.
Next Jesus goes to adultery. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Jesus sets the record straight with adultery. Lust. Looking. These sins offend God and make us worthy of hell. Sexting. Pornography. How would Jesus say it today? If your computer or your cell phone, your TV or your movie pass are causing you to sin throw them away. Parents, do you regularly check the pictures and videos on your children’s cell phones? Do you audit their text messages? You need to. The evil one is at work among us. I’d do that as soon as you get in the car if I were you. No chance for erasing. Then set the record straight on God’s true commands as Jesus did.
Teach it in your marriage. “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” Even back then they had no fault divorce. But you can’t have a no fault divorce. There is only sin caused divorce. God’s will is for husband and wife to love each other for life. When husbands are not cherishing their wives and wives are not respecting their husbands? Is marriage being honored by all or made a sham? Jesus sets the record straight. He sums up all marriage breaking and harming by calling it adultery.
He sets the record straight on lying. “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Apparently the Pharisees and teachers of the law gave themselves wiggle room. It was the Old Testament equivalent of crossing your fingers. If you swore by the Lord you had to keep it. Anything else not so much. Jesus sets the record straight. God expects people to be truth tellers always. Oaths only happen when they are required, not to cover for the fact that we can’t be trustworthy. And remember not lying, is not the same as telling the truth as God expects. Jesus sets the record straight.
So what must we conclude? I am not a good person. Neither are you. You are murderers, adulterers and liars. So am I. Remember how Jesus started this? “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Our righteousness does not surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. We can’t enter heaven.
Except Jesus set our record straight. That’s why He came. Remember last week in the Gospel reading where Jesus said, “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come to fulfill them.” He came to fulfill them for us. Jesus never hated or murdered his classmates with unkind words and cruel teasing. He never harbored ill feelings about his fellow congregation members or spoke mockingly or disdainfully about them. He never lusted or lied. He always put God first, used God’s name rightly. He always worshipped in spirit and in truth and loved to hear and learn God’s Word. He respected and obeyed every authority over Him even when they were in the wrong. Think of that kids! Jesus’ righteousness does surpass that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He is perfect. And you know what? He gives that perfection to you and to me through faith. And all that murder and adultery and lying we’ve done? That He takes away. Praise be to Jesus. We’re going to a lot better place than Disneyland. We’re going to heaven.
When I look at myself honestly I am not a good person. Neither are you. But Jesus is. He has set the record straight on what God’s commands really are. He has set our records straight in not keeping them. Now what do we do? Let’s strive to keep the true meaning of God’s commands in every area. Not just outwardly but in our hearts too. Not to get to heaven but to thank Jesus for giving us heaven. Then when we are letting our lights shine and people we know look at us and say, “He’s such a good man. She’s such a good woman.” We can hear that gladly and give all the glory to where it belongs. To Jesus. Amen.
Friday, February 11, 2011
February 6th, 2011 Worship Service
Feb 6, 2011 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.
Isaiah 58:5-9 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
The Lord Has Your Back
I. So You Can Stop Just Going Through The Motions.
II. So You Can Reflect The Light God Has Given To You.
In the name of Jesus, our Light, dear fellow redeemed children of God,
About two years ago, a popular movie came out called “The Blind Side.” It told the story of Michael Oher, a professional football player who was taken in by a family who opened their home and hearts to him. Michael plays left tackle. Football fans know how important that left tackle is to the quarterback. The left tackle’s job is to protect a right handed quarterback when he is setting up to throw the ball down field. Because the quarterback doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head, he can’t see the 300 lb.+ defensive linemen baring down on him. The left tackle is supposed to protect the quarterback’s back. On this football weekend here in America, not all the fans may know about where the left tackle plays or what he does, but the Lord assures us in His Word of something even more important. The Lord assures us that he has our blind side. The Lord has your back. I. So We Can Stop Just Going Through The Motions. II. So We Can Reflect The Light God Has Given To Us.
Ever known anyone who just couldn’t see their own fault? They couldn’t see that it was their words that had wounded hearts. They could not see that they had taken advantage of another person. They couldn’t see that they their actions were selfish and wrong. As God’s Word begins today, the Lord is addressing people who were blind to their own fault. The people of Israel thought there was nothing wrong with their worship. They thought that they brought their sacrifices on time. They worshipped when they were supposed to. They fasted when they were supposed to. Yet God’s prophet, Isaiah was talking about judgment and how their “voices would whisper from the dust” as their enemies destroyed their country. They asked God “what’s the deal?” They thought that they had kept their end of the bargain and they were wondering why God wasn’t keeping His. God gives us a look into their thoughts as He says, “For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?” Yes, they fasted but we can see from what God says that they were just going through the motions. Apparently they were connecting their fasting with profit-their own profit.
God now helps them to see what they could not see in themselves. “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?” The people thought that they had been bowing down to God as low as a row of reeds and cat tails in the marshes along the Jordan River go low to the ground when the wind blows hard. They didn’t realize that God was not looking for a head bowed low. He was looking for a heart bowed low. He wasn’t looking for someone lying on scratchy sackcloth and with ashes on his hands and face so that everyone could see. God was looking for a heart that felt the scratchy uncomfortable feeling of a relationship with God wrecked by sin.
The people did not understand that fasting didn’t earn them God’s favor. It merely got their hearts ready to think about their relationship with God. Nothing we do earns us any favor from God. Jesus made that clear in His Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel Lesson today. Yes we are salt and light in the world. But no one should get to thinking that they can earn God’s favor. Remember Jesus pointed to the Pharisees who were great at fasting and looked right at home in sackcloth and ashes and said, “Unless you scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus made it clear that he had not come to do away with the law but to fulfill it- to fulfill it for you and me. He never just went through the motions. He did that because we needed a Savior.
Now I don’t do a lot of fasting and the closest I ‘ve come to sack cloth is a gunny sack at a fourth of July picnic. But I’m pretty good at going through the motions. So are you. Has this ever happened at your house? While you were eating suddenly someone says, “We forgot to pray!” Then the debate starts. “No we prayed, I think.” “We’ll let’s do it again just to be sure.” Just think about that for a moment. First we go through the motions in the prayer and then when we realize that the first thing that goes through our mind is going through the motions again to make things right. We need a Savior.
We have a Savior who has our back. He let His back be laid open by the scourge. He laid his back on a cross. He put himself in between God’s anger and us. He took the blows of God’s punishment so that we never would have to feel God’s anger.
Athletes are looking for muscle memory so that muscle perform tasks without thinking. But spiritual muscle memory- going through the motions without thinking is not a good thing. The God who has your back is looking for a changed heart. That heart shows itself in thankful words and deeds.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” We might holler an objection, Lord if I do those things I might get taken advantage of. The Lord has your back! He’s watching your blind side so that you can reflect the light He has given to you.
“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” Jesus gives us the honor of being little reflectors of his love and light. You can let the light of Jesus shine in your life. You can help those who need help. You can pick up those who have fallen down. You can help those who can’t help themselves. You don’t have to worry about being taken advantage of. The Lord has your back.
We don’t have to search all over the world to find someone who we can help. Aren’t there people in all of our families who are carrying heavy loads on their hearts? The Lord brings people into our lives for us to help and show our thankfulness. Remember the Bible reminds us to show kindness to strangers and adds that some have entertained angels unawares.
The importance of that left tackle was shown millions of people watching Monday Night Football years ago when a quarterback named Joe Theisman was hit from the blind side and his leg was badly broken. Since then coaches have drafted players who are big and strong and fast to play in that position. As you move through this wicked world reflecting the love of Jesus, you might look a defenseless lamb to all of the wolves out there. But someone big and strong is watching your blind side. Yes the Lord has your back. Amen
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
January 30/31, 2011 sermon on Micah 6:1-8 by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
January 30/31, 2011 - Epiphany 4
Sermon on Micah 6:1-8 by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
1 Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.
3 "My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.
5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD."
6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
THE LORD PRESENTS HIS CASE
I THE CHARGES AGAINST US STAND (1-5)
II THE SOLUTION IS NOT FROM US (6-7)
III OUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE EVIDENT (8)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our text is from the 6th chapter of the book by the prophet Micah. A verse in the 5th chapter is very familiar to us. It is the prophecy that the promised Savior would be born in Bethlehem in Judea.
Micah was a contemporary of another prophet, Isaiah. At Christmas time we heard also his prophecy that the promised Savior would come by the miracle of a virgin birth. I can just try to picture Micah and Isaiah sitting down together in Jerusalem and talking about this tremendous event that was going to take place. Maybe they even wondered if it would happen in their life time. All they knew for sure was what the Holy Spirit had inspired them to write: the virgin birth of Immanuel would be in a place called Bethlehem. And that happened, exactly as foretold, about 700 years later.
But now let’s get back to the time of Micah and our text, and not to a prophecy but to the picture of a court trial. Here I would like to ask for a show of hands. How many of us here have served on a jury - would you please raise your hands? If you are among those who have served, you can probably relate quite easily to the subject of our text where the jurors are not people but the mountains and the hills and the foundations of the earth. What decision will this jury bring in? Will it be "Not guilty" of the accusations brought, or "Guilty as charged"? Let us now be like jurors who listen carefully as in our sermon text
THE LORD PRESENTS HIS CASE
I THE CHARGES AGAINST US STAND (1-5)
1. Charges against Jesus could not stand
a) prophecies spoken by Isaiah and Micah about Jesus’ birth all
were proved to be valid: they were fulfilled, they stood
b) but think of what was spoken that led to Jesus’ death: false
charges by the church leaders about who He was, and about
Him destroying the temple building; the false charge before
Pontius Pilate that Jesus was going against the Roman
government - these charges were false, could not stand
2. But charges against Israel were valid (1-5)
Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel. My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the
LORD."
a) God had been good to Israel: He had delivered them from
Egypt, led them through the wilderness, thwarted the efforts of
a king and a false prophet to defeat them, took them from the
east side of the Jordan, across the river, and gave them there
the land He had promised them
b) in the face of all of God’s goodness, let the jury of mountains
and hills and foundations of the earth recognize that the nation
of Israel had rebelled against God again and again and again
3. What charges could be brought against us? (3)
"My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me."
a) what has our God done to us? - He has given His Son for us
so that in Him we have forgiveness of sins and the comfort of
His presence in the difficulties of this life; He has given us many
physical blessings in this life and the promise of everlasting life
in heaven where there will be perfect joy and no difficulties
b) and what is our reaction? - is it often rebellion like that of
Israel? - is it letting the world’s ideas of right and wrong guide
us instead of hearing God’s holy will? - is it husbands and
wives not striving to love each other as they should? - is it
children disrespecting teachers and disobeying parents? - is it
people young and older going along with sexual immorality and
gutter language? - is it outwardly respectable people thinking
that worshiping God and hearing His Word are optional, and
that bringing offerings to serve Him can be replaced by using
God’s blessings to us to serve not Him but only self instead?
4. There is no question that charges against us stand (1-2)
Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his
people; he is lodging a charge against Israel."
a) add to that: not only against Israel, but also against us today
b) and if you feel that you did not fit some of the categories of sin
that I mentioned, then remember that only one of any other
type of sin is also enough to convict us before a holy God
c) jurors, what say you? - looking at ourselves we have to come
back with the verdict that the charges stand; we are guilty
II THE SOLUTION IS NOT FROM US (6-7)
1. We need to come before the Lord (6)
With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
a) what is the solution to our guilt? what do we have to do?
b) what about bringing our offerings? in OT times did animal
offerings do it? today do our church envelope offerings take
care of paying for our sins and satisfying God?
2. Israel here did not show correct understanding (6b-7a)
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
a) during the OT, animal sacrifices were required; their purpose
was to point ahead to the spotless Lamb of God who would be
sacrificed on the cross as the Innocent One so that God could
accept that substitute sacrifice and forgive the sins of the guilty
b) but here they thought their doing, their bringing of sacrifices,
their outward worship, might be the solution to their guilt
3. They showed that also with another offering (7b)
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
a) if Israel did what the heathen people around them did, offering
even their children, would that take care of their guilt?
b) how foolish! sinful people bringing sinful sacrifices could pay
for no sin; all that did was to add the sin of thinking something
they did, their outward worship, could take care of their guilt,
whereas God’s plan was to offer His sinless Son as a substitute
4. Don’t look to yourself to remove the charges (6a)
With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?
a) yes, come to church and worship, bring your prayers, offer
your services, bring money offerings as God has blessed us
b) but not a bit of that can take care of earning the forgiveness of
even one sin
c) that only God could and did take care of with the death on the
cross to which OT sacrifices pointed, the death of Jesus that
paid the wages of our sin, forgives us, and presents us as not
guilty, not by what we do but by what Jesus did in our place, as
Micah refers to that at the end of his prophetic book: "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." - Surely this leads us to our next point
III OUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE EVIDENT (8)
1. God tells us what a good response is (8)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
a) this is not to atone for our sin; Jesus did that for us
b) but it is the response that should flow from a believer’s heart
of thankfulness for what God has done
2. To act justly we need to know God’s justice (8)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly ---.
a) to be just in forgiving us, God was just in convicting His own
Son because He was loaded down with the sins of the world
b) knowing that God was and is just, let our response also be to
act justly, to know God’s just will, His commandments which
tell us to love not sin but to love God and our neighbor
3. To love mercy we need to know God’s mercy (8)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy ---.
a) yes, we love the mercy God has shown us in forgiving us
b) to that mercy let our response be to show mercy, to reflect to
others how God has dealt with us, as we pray in the Lord’s
Prayer about forgiving others as God has forgiven us our sins
4. Let our faith’s response be to walk humbly with God (8)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the
LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
a) such faith penitently recognizes God’s case against us is valid
b) in humility it rejoices in the justice and mercy of God which
tell us, as recorded in Romans 8:33-34: "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
c) in grateful response to this, then, God’s people will want to
walk humbly before God and will want to act justly and to
love mercy, will want to worship sincerely and not just
outwardly attend church services, will want to not neglect but
bring offerings sincerely to serve God; >>> in other words,
God’s people will want it to be evident that they are what God
has made them to be: His forgiven people, His people who
won’t hear from the jury, "Guilty as charged and as deserved,"
but instead will hear, "Not guilty!"
"Not guilty!" That is what our God says to us. Rejoice in God’s verdict that tells us, "Case settled!" "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
Sermon on Micah 6:1-8 by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
1 Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.
3 "My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.
5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD."
6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
THE LORD PRESENTS HIS CASE
I THE CHARGES AGAINST US STAND (1-5)
II THE SOLUTION IS NOT FROM US (6-7)
III OUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE EVIDENT (8)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our text is from the 6th chapter of the book by the prophet Micah. A verse in the 5th chapter is very familiar to us. It is the prophecy that the promised Savior would be born in Bethlehem in Judea.
Micah was a contemporary of another prophet, Isaiah. At Christmas time we heard also his prophecy that the promised Savior would come by the miracle of a virgin birth. I can just try to picture Micah and Isaiah sitting down together in Jerusalem and talking about this tremendous event that was going to take place. Maybe they even wondered if it would happen in their life time. All they knew for sure was what the Holy Spirit had inspired them to write: the virgin birth of Immanuel would be in a place called Bethlehem. And that happened, exactly as foretold, about 700 years later.
But now let’s get back to the time of Micah and our text, and not to a prophecy but to the picture of a court trial. Here I would like to ask for a show of hands. How many of us here have served on a jury - would you please raise your hands? If you are among those who have served, you can probably relate quite easily to the subject of our text where the jurors are not people but the mountains and the hills and the foundations of the earth. What decision will this jury bring in? Will it be "Not guilty" of the accusations brought, or "Guilty as charged"? Let us now be like jurors who listen carefully as in our sermon text
THE LORD PRESENTS HIS CASE
I THE CHARGES AGAINST US STAND (1-5)
1. Charges against Jesus could not stand
a) prophecies spoken by Isaiah and Micah about Jesus’ birth all
were proved to be valid: they were fulfilled, they stood
b) but think of what was spoken that led to Jesus’ death: false
charges by the church leaders about who He was, and about
Him destroying the temple building; the false charge before
Pontius Pilate that Jesus was going against the Roman
government - these charges were false, could not stand
2. But charges against Israel were valid (1-5)
Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel. My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the
LORD."
a) God had been good to Israel: He had delivered them from
Egypt, led them through the wilderness, thwarted the efforts of
a king and a false prophet to defeat them, took them from the
east side of the Jordan, across the river, and gave them there
the land He had promised them
b) in the face of all of God’s goodness, let the jury of mountains
and hills and foundations of the earth recognize that the nation
of Israel had rebelled against God again and again and again
3. What charges could be brought against us? (3)
"My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me."
a) what has our God done to us? - He has given His Son for us
so that in Him we have forgiveness of sins and the comfort of
His presence in the difficulties of this life; He has given us many
physical blessings in this life and the promise of everlasting life
in heaven where there will be perfect joy and no difficulties
b) and what is our reaction? - is it often rebellion like that of
Israel? - is it letting the world’s ideas of right and wrong guide
us instead of hearing God’s holy will? - is it husbands and
wives not striving to love each other as they should? - is it
children disrespecting teachers and disobeying parents? - is it
people young and older going along with sexual immorality and
gutter language? - is it outwardly respectable people thinking
that worshiping God and hearing His Word are optional, and
that bringing offerings to serve Him can be replaced by using
God’s blessings to us to serve not Him but only self instead?
4. There is no question that charges against us stand (1-2)
Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his
people; he is lodging a charge against Israel."
a) add to that: not only against Israel, but also against us today
b) and if you feel that you did not fit some of the categories of sin
that I mentioned, then remember that only one of any other
type of sin is also enough to convict us before a holy God
c) jurors, what say you? - looking at ourselves we have to come
back with the verdict that the charges stand; we are guilty
II THE SOLUTION IS NOT FROM US (6-7)
1. We need to come before the Lord (6)
With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
a) what is the solution to our guilt? what do we have to do?
b) what about bringing our offerings? in OT times did animal
offerings do it? today do our church envelope offerings take
care of paying for our sins and satisfying God?
2. Israel here did not show correct understanding (6b-7a)
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
a) during the OT, animal sacrifices were required; their purpose
was to point ahead to the spotless Lamb of God who would be
sacrificed on the cross as the Innocent One so that God could
accept that substitute sacrifice and forgive the sins of the guilty
b) but here they thought their doing, their bringing of sacrifices,
their outward worship, might be the solution to their guilt
3. They showed that also with another offering (7b)
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
a) if Israel did what the heathen people around them did, offering
even their children, would that take care of their guilt?
b) how foolish! sinful people bringing sinful sacrifices could pay
for no sin; all that did was to add the sin of thinking something
they did, their outward worship, could take care of their guilt,
whereas God’s plan was to offer His sinless Son as a substitute
4. Don’t look to yourself to remove the charges (6a)
With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?
a) yes, come to church and worship, bring your prayers, offer
your services, bring money offerings as God has blessed us
b) but not a bit of that can take care of earning the forgiveness of
even one sin
c) that only God could and did take care of with the death on the
cross to which OT sacrifices pointed, the death of Jesus that
paid the wages of our sin, forgives us, and presents us as not
guilty, not by what we do but by what Jesus did in our place, as
Micah refers to that at the end of his prophetic book: "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." - Surely this leads us to our next point
III OUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE EVIDENT (8)
1. God tells us what a good response is (8)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
a) this is not to atone for our sin; Jesus did that for us
b) but it is the response that should flow from a believer’s heart
of thankfulness for what God has done
2. To act justly we need to know God’s justice (8)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly ---.
a) to be just in forgiving us, God was just in convicting His own
Son because He was loaded down with the sins of the world
b) knowing that God was and is just, let our response also be to
act justly, to know God’s just will, His commandments which
tell us to love not sin but to love God and our neighbor
3. To love mercy we need to know God’s mercy (8)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy ---.
a) yes, we love the mercy God has shown us in forgiving us
b) to that mercy let our response be to show mercy, to reflect to
others how God has dealt with us, as we pray in the Lord’s
Prayer about forgiving others as God has forgiven us our sins
4. Let our faith’s response be to walk humbly with God (8)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the
LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
a) such faith penitently recognizes God’s case against us is valid
b) in humility it rejoices in the justice and mercy of God which
tell us, as recorded in Romans 8:33-34: "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."
c) in grateful response to this, then, God’s people will want to
walk humbly before God and will want to act justly and to
love mercy, will want to worship sincerely and not just
outwardly attend church services, will want to not neglect but
bring offerings sincerely to serve God; >>> in other words,
God’s people will want it to be evident that they are what God
has made them to be: His forgiven people, His people who
won’t hear from the jury, "Guilty as charged and as deserved,"
but instead will hear, "Not guilty!"
"Not guilty!" That is what our God says to us. Rejoice in God’s verdict that tells us, "Case settled!" "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
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