Matthew | Confident.Faith: Recent Episodes
Confident.Faith
Readings Jeremiah 15:10–21 * Psalm 25 (MT 26) * Romans 12:9–21 * Matthew 16:21–28 Homily TranscriptΚαιρὸς τοῦ φιλῆσαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ μισῆσαι· καιρὸς πολέμου καὶ καιρὸς εἰρήνης.*
You will usually see this rendered into English as ‘There is a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace.’, which is not inaccurate, but it is misleading for the reader who does not know the difference between English “time” and Greek “καιρός” (a term we have actually just imported directly into English). Greek certainly has a word that is truly the equivalent of our time, but it is not καιρός; it is χρόνος, from which we get such words as chronological and chronometer. Καιρός is something more than mere time. And so, permit me to provide a better English translation: ‘There exists a due season for (or to) love and a due season for (or to) hate; a due season for war and a due season for peace.’ I trust we are all familiar enough with English to recognize that “due season” is a set term that may mean anything from a moment up to an era, or even eternity; “due season” is simply our notion of καιρός, and it is, in fact, used to translate καιρός in some translations of Scripture:
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
— Galatians 6:9
(that is, indeed, καιρός there rendered “due season”).
Love and hatred are centrally important concepts in Scripture, and few things are more abused by modern pastors and ‘exegetes’. In the false conception of Christianity that so many advance or defend these days, we have no enemies and we are to love everyone and hate no one. What would these moderns say to Jesus Who called Peter “Satan” in today’s Gospel reading, or to Paul who instructs us in today’s Epistle reading to “abhor what is evil”? You cannot have love without hate (at least not in this world). If you do not hate that which threatens that which and those whom you love, then you do not truly love. The Lord God hates the devil, sin, and sinners. Would these ‘moderns’ accuse God Himself of error? And it is abject nonsense to contend that something that is sin when men do it is not sin simply because God is doing it instead; moral relativism corrupts the soul and the mind.
The truth is far different from what these men would like to get you to believe. In truth, you do have enemies and you are commanded to hate. One of the tricks employed most frequently by the enemy is conflation. If his minions can convince you that two unlike or distinct things are identical or that a term with multiple senses is univocal, then he wins a great victory without having to alter a single letter of the text; equivocation and eisegesis are powerful weapons indeed. Conflation is exactly what we have here with “enemy”. English, for better or worse, does not distinguish (at least not by using a different word) between different kinds of enemies. Latin has inimicus and hostis: I am to forgive inimici mei — my personal enemies. Greek has ἐχθρός and πολέμιος: I am to forgive ἐχθροί μου — my personal enemies. I cannot forgive the hostis, the πολέμιος — the public enemy —, for he is not my enemy in the personal sense. We are commanded to forgive our personal enemies, not public enemies. It takes only one example to both make this obvious and destroy all opposition to such clear truth: ‘Have you forgiven Satan?’ If the opponent says no, then he has agreed that some enemies must not be forgiven (and thereby cedes the entire argument); if your opponent says yes, then you ask him if he believes himself more merciful and loving than God (Who has most certainly not forgiven Satan). Our enemies’ positions are so very easily defeated, and yet many fall for their lies and their tricks.
Ultimately, these enemies are antinomians or even nomoclasts — haters, despisers, and destroyers of God’s perfect Law. If God commands you to hate, then who are you to tell Him that He is wrong? Do you know better than God? Are you more just than He? You may gain the approval of the world if you deny that Christians must hate, but perhaps our Gospel reading has something to say about the man who gains the world by compromising the things of God and a related thing about what that will surely cost him. When the Christ returns in His glory with the angels He will recompense all for their deeds in this life. What do you suppose He will do to those who lied about His Nature and attempted to lead His sheep astray? There exists an outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Our Epistle reading for today could not be more clear about this matter:
Let love be genuine: Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
— Romans 12:9
The Greek, of course, has no punctuation, but, in English, there should surely be a colon after the command “Let love be genuine”, for the balance of the verse is how we are to do this: We must not only “hold fast to what is good”, but we must also “abhor what is evil”. The Greek word there that is translated “abhor” does, much the same as the English, mean hate. This verse does not merely command you to hate; it also tells you that you cannot love if you do not hate. Our English translations rightly employ a semicolon here: These are two parts of, or even two ways to express, the same thought. I personally find it extremely unlikely that Paul was not thinking of Ecclesiastes when he wrote this part of his letter. Our ESV editors added a number of footnotes:
Seek out what is fine and honorable, and not what is base, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God who rules all, shall be with you, even in the manner you yourselves have declared: “We have hated the base things and loved the good.” Restore judgment in the gates, that the Lord, the God who rules all, may show pity to those who remain of Joseph.
— Amos 5:15–16
I did not set before my eyes a thing beside the law;
those who do transgressions I hated.
A crooked heart did not cling to me;
as the evil one was turning aside from me, I did not know him.
— Psalm 100:3 [LXX]
You who love the Lord, hate evil.
The Lord guards the souls of His pious ones;
He will draw them out from the hand of sinners.
— Psalm 96:10 [LXX]
and these are good, but they should have also included Ecclesiastes 3:8:
There is a due season to love and a due season to hate;
there is a due season for war and a due season for peace.
If the Ecclesiast can say, in the Spirit, that there is a time for war and hatred, then Christians surely cannot assert in good conscience that we are to love, forgive, and be at peace with all men. What does Paul say in our Epistle reading?
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
— Romans 12:18
If we were intended to live at peace with all men, then Paul would not have included a caveat; if it is necessary to include “if possible”, then there exists at least the possibility that it will prove impossible to live at peace with some men.
Tell me: Has it proven possible to live at peace with all men? Was peace possible with the Jews that persecuted the Early Church? Was peace possible with Sodom and Gomorrah? Was peace possible with the Mohammedans that invaded Europe and plagued the Medieval Church? Was peace possible for Abraham when barbarians kidnapped Lot? Is peace possible today with the wicked Jews, Muslims, and Hindus? God commanded His people to exterminate His enemies in Canaan. They failed and ceased to be His people. God does not change. Incidentally, when the Ancient Israelites failed to obey God and destroy the peoples He commanded them to destroy, He let their lands be overrun by foreigners, including those they had failed to destroy. Again: God does not change.
And so let us return to Ecclesiastes: There is a time for love and peace, and there is a time for hatred and war. You must ask yourself if you believe you are in the former or in the latter. When you look around, does it seem like we are in a time of love, unity, and peace or does it seem like we are in a time of hate, division, and war? Do you think that if we were to throw down our weapons, our enemies would choose to live with us in peace? Where peace is not possible, you must prepare for war.
To the Greek reader, καιρός did not simply mean ‘a good time’ to do something; rather, it implied something much greater: A kairotic moment was not merely the right time to act; it was a moment that demanded action, and to fail to act was seen as foolish, disastrous, or even wicked. A wise man is one who understands the times, one who neither forces an action out of season nor fails to seize the kairotic moment when it arrives. Speeches, campaigns, battles, and much else are governed by kairotic moments that are seized or missed. In the words of the Psalmist:
Every pious man will offer prayer to You [for this] in a season that is fitting; / yet in a flood of many waters they will not come near him.
— Psalm 32:6
The prayers of the pious man shield him from disaster. In the words of Paul (and Isaiah):
“In a kairotic moment, I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, today is the kairotic moment;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
— Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2
God offers to men the free gift of salvation — behold, the kairotic moment! — and He does so according to His good time and plan — behold, the day of salvation! —, and some men seize this lifeline and are drawn into the Ark that is the Church and some men reject Christ’s outstretched hand and are swept away by the floodwaters. Death waits for no man, and men who ‘plan’ to confess on their deathbeds often find God has scheduled their departure earlier than they expected:
Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
— Luke 12:20
The Lord God is patient, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, but opportunities for mortals to repent are not infinite. Tempt not the Lord; miss not καιρός.
Christianity is a religion of peace: By, through, and for the sake of Christ, we have peace with God and adoption as sons; via the certainty of our Election, confirmed and sealed in the waters of Baptism, we are at peace with our own mortality and the inevitability of death; due to the promises of God, we are at peace in this life, even when matters seem bleak or hopeless. Christianity is a religion of war: From the Garden onward, God and His camp have been at war with Satan and his; every single day, every single Christian wages a personal war against the temptations of the flesh, the world, and the devil; and the children of God here in time, the Church Militant, wage war against the enemies of God. Our forefathers in the faith understood their duties to God and man when they drove the Saracen hordes from Europe and pursued the vile heathens back to their lands across the sea — lands that were once, and will be again, Christian; we find ourselves today in a worse position than they — these are not times for peace. Jehu understood his duties to God and man when he looked upon the wicked practices of Ahab and set about to purge the worship of Baal, Asherah, and other demons from his lands; we find ourselves in a worse position than he, for abortion surely outranks child sacrifice and fornication and pornography surely outrank temple prostitution — it is not a time for peace. Our ancestors from the Roman Empire onward, were surely acting in accord with their duties to both God and man when they suppressed, oppressed, persecuted, expelled, and certainly did not tolerate the wicked Jews; we find ourselves in a worse position today, for, while the Jews continue their wicked opposition to the Christ and their genocidal campaign against all mankind, our institutions (to include our government) are even more thoroughly captured and more deeply corrupt than those of nearly any past era — it is not a time for peace. If the words of the Lord God in Ecclesiastes are true, then there exists a time for hatred and war; if the words of the Lord God spoken by Paul in today’s Epistle reading are true, then we are commanded to hate that which is evil. It is my contention and my firm belief that it requires only the most minimal — even remedial — sort of spiritual discernment, or even merely natural human wisdom according to reason, to recognize that we now live in a time of war.
To live in a time of war and call it a time of peace is to betray both God and man, to participate in the wicked shout of ‘peace, peace’ where there is no peace. To find yourself in a kairotic moment that demands war and to not only fail to seize upon and pursue it but to go so far as to run in the opposite direction and seek after an impossible peace is to commit a sin worse than Jonah’s, to be a fool, a coward, and a traitor.
I want to make absolutely certain that I have been completely clear about the necessary exegesis of the passage from Ecclesiastes: God does not say there ‘may’ be a time for hatred and war; He says in no uncertain terms that there will be times for hatred and war; in fact, this is so certain that He employs the simple present to state it as bare fact: There is a time for hatred and there is a time for war. And of our passage from Romans: You cannot have a genuine love without both holding fast to what is good and hating what is evil. If the Christian life is one that involves love (and it most certainly is), then so, too, must it necessarily involve hatred.
It may help you, in dealing with these matters, to think of yourself as a soldier in God’s army, and so you are, for you are a member of the Church Militant; as a soldier, you are not at liberty to throw down your weapons and declare the enemy forgiven — it is not your place to do so. Your rightful Lord and Commander gets to declare who is a friend and who is a foe. Your duty is to follow orders and hold the line. Whatever calls you have been given and whatever tasks have been set before you, it is your duty to love your own as dearly as God loves us, to forgive your personal enemies because God has forgiven us, to oppose the enemies of God and His children with all you can muster, and to remain loyal with all that you are.
Amen.
Readings* Isaiah 56:1, 6–8 * Psalm 67 * Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32 * Matthew 15:21–28 Homily TranscriptI suppose it is about time we deal with Romans 11 — not in the sort of fragmentary way of today’s reading, but in its totality. In fact, as none of you is watching or listening to this live, I highly recommend you pause here and go read Romans 11, or even Romans 9 through 11. I will leave a pause here to make that easier.
…
Now that you have read part of Romans, we will turn to Galatians. Galatians 4, starting with verse 21:
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.«
Why do we need Galatians to read Romans? In truth, we do not, for Romans is clear on its own to the Christian reader, but this passage from Galatians certainly makes some of the explanation of Romans easier. Also, lest we forget our maxims: Scriptura Scripturam interpretatur — Scripture interprets Scripture. Now, back to Romans.
We will, today, we treating three key verses and three key concepts or terms. The verses are Romans 9:6, 11:20, and 11:26. The concepts are ‘Israel’, ‘nation’, and Election (with, perhaps, a little digression into jealously). We will take these in turn.
PassagesRomans 9:6Really, Romans 9:6b. Frequently, false interpretations, false doctrines, even entire false theologies are built upon pulling individual verses out of their context and then contorting them to fit some preconceived idea. Among the Judaizers, this often happens with this verse:
For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel.
They try to contort this verse to fit into their schema in which all ‘Jews’ are saved, despite the extremely clear Scriptural evidence to the contrary. Worse, the very next verses give the necessary interpretive context:
… and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
Romans 9:6b is not even a complete thought from Paul, because the thought runs through the end of verse 8, and even the sentence itself (once punctuation is added) runs through the end of verse 7. There are two Israels in our verse, and verse 8 explicitly gives us the two categories Paul had in mind when he dictated verse 6: “children of the flesh” and “children of God”. Before we go deeper into this, let us abstract the logic of the verse:
$\neg \forall x, (I_1(x) \to I_2(x))$
‘Not all individuals ($x$) who are part of Israel 1 ($I_1$) are necessarily part of Israel 2 ($I_2$).’
or
$\exists x, (I_1(x) \land \neg I_2(x))$
‘There exists (at least in theory) an individual ($x$) who is not part of both Israel 1 ($I_1$) and Israel 2 ($I_2$).’
This is the actual logic of what Paul is saying. A simple application of the law of noncontradiction tells us that an individual cannot both be a thing and not be the same thing simultaneously, so we cannot have an Israelite who does not belong to Israel if being an Israelite is defined as belonging to Israel, for that would be to declare that our individual ($x$) is both $I$ and $¬I$ simultaneously. (We could arrive at the same conclusion using the law of the excluded middle, of course.) That being said, the two Israels are ethnic Israel (“all who are descended from Israel [i.e., Jacob]”) and true Israel (i.e., the Church, the Elect). There are (or at least there were) some ethnic Israelites who were also elect, but not all of them are elect. The passage is actually quite easily understood when read in context. Incidentally, Paul’s words apply to every race, not just to the Israelites: There exists a Germany, comprised of those descended from Ashkenaz, and some portion of that Germany is Israel (i.e, Elect members of Christ’s Church).
Romans 11:20Really, Romans 11:20b. This verse is the key to the whole of Romans:
They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith.
Set aside, for the moment, all the figures of speech — the allegory, the simile, the metaphor — what does Paul actually say here? Faith is what matters. Faith is what distinguishes the elect members of every nation from the unbelieving members; faith is what makes one a part of the only Israel that matters: the Israel of God, the Church. Did physical descent from Abraham or Jacob save the Israelites? No. And neither will descent from Japheth or Ashkenaz save you. To be a member of the true Israel, you must have faith, for it is faith alone that saves you, declares you righteous for the sake of Christ, and will preserve you from the fiery end of this Creation. If you understand this one verse, you will understand the Book of Romans, a great many passages in the Old Testament, and many core doctrines of the faith — more, you will be preserved from many errors, but we will get to Election soon. You stand in the faith, as did our righteous ancestors, or you depart from the faith and fall, as did the wicked Jews. It is that simple.
Romans 11:26Really, Romans 11:26a. The Dispensationalists and other Judaizers love this verse. Well, they think they do. If they could read or if they had the Holy Spirit, then they might reconsider. At any rate, what does our verse actually say?
And in this way all Israel will be saved.
Does this mean, as the heretics claim, that all ‘Jews’ will be saved? Well, it certainly cannot mean so in the sense of all Israelites; read the Old Testament: Most of them were damned. What of all of them going forward in time? Certainly not. Look at Paul’s anguish in the introductory verses of this very chapter:
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
Paul knows full well that most of his brothers were damned. And look at their state today: They still reject the Christ and they are still damned. What then does it mean that “all Israel will be saved”? Well, which Israel is in view here? You all know the answer without my saying it. The only Israel comprised exclusively of the saved (i.e., the Elect) is the Israel of God — the Church. And the immediately prior verse confirms this:
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the nations has come in.
There are Elect from every tribe and nation and language, as Revelation clearly teaches. God has used the stubbornness of the Jews to ensure the Gospel spreads to all nations and He inflamed the jealousy and the envy of the Jews to ensure that they were not all damned. He has ensured that all of His Elect will be brought to saving faith by the means (and Means) that He knew would be effective. With Paul, we should most certainly exclaim:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
Terms/ConceptsIsraelNow, our three terms or concepts. First, Israel. We have already covered much of this one, and so we can be relatively brief here. There are four ‘Israels’ in Scripture:
- the man (Jacob renamed)
- the Old Testament nation descended from the man
- the elect subset of those descended from the man
- the Church (i.e, all the Elect).
(There is also a fifth sense in that the Christ Himself is the true — or even truest — Israel, but we will leave that for another time). The third category can generally be ignored, but the other three must be carefully distinguished. Thankfully, they are easily distinguished. For the first category, seldom will it be difficult to distinguish an individual man from a nation or a conceptual grouping. The second and fourth categories are where problems typically arise, and yet Scripture provides us an easy answer: As already examined, it is faith that defines the Israel of God, the true Israel, so those without faith cannot be found in the fourth category; more, we know that all the promises of God are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Christ. Well, who are those who are in Christ? Only those in the fourth category, so the promises of God pertain only to the Elect.
NationSecond, nation. More accurately, εθνος, for we are dealing with Greek when we are dealing with Scripture. The Greek does not map perfectly onto English nation or race, but that is so only in one specific way (that is relevant for us here): The Koine Greek speaker or reader could use εθνος of bees or similar (as Homer did in Classical Greek in the Iliad); we would not, in English, employ such a phrase as “a nation of bees”, except, perhaps, in some very niche circumstances, and even then more as poetry than as prose. In all other cases, the Greek εθνος and the English nation or race essentially agree (n.b., the modern tendency in sloppy use of the English language to conflate nation and country is incorrect, misleading, and worthy of condemnation). The word ‘εθνος’ appears nearly a thousand times in Scripture; it is not a minor or an unimportant concept. Paul employs the word twenty-nine times in Romans alone. If you are using a Bible that employs the abominable word “Gentiles”, you need to know the actual word there is εθνος, which should generally be translated into English as nation or race.
So, Paul actually speaks of himself as being the Apostle to the nations and of the fullness of the nations being brought in. Some of you are undoubtedly thinking of 1 Peter 2:9:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Indeed, Israel (the true one) is an εθνος in the sense previously discussed (with the bees), but this is more commonly portrayed as οχλος — a multitude — or even a συμμιγης οχλος — a mixed multitude. Think of the mixed multitude that went up with Israel in the Exodus and the mixed multitude that is Israel in Revelation. The Israel of God is, indeed, an εθνος and also a συμμιγης οχλος — both a figurative holy nation and a literal mixed multitude.
And yet we must not ignore the core sense of εθνος: To the Koine Greek speaker, εθνος meant nation and race. When Paul spoke to the Galatians, he used εθνος ten times, and they heard and understood nation and race; they knew that they were of the Celtic Galatian εθνος. The Romans knew they were of the Roman εθνος (Koine Greek being the common language of the empire). The Hebrews knew that they were of the Hebrew εθνος. The men to whom Paul wrote would not have been confused by the terms he employed; he used their language (and one of his) because so God ordained and thus they could understand. The educated among Paul’s audience would have been familiar with works such as those of Herodotus in which εθνος is defined as a matter of common blood, common language, common sanctuaries and sacrifices, and similar customs. Paul himself reinforces this understanding in many places in his letters, not least of all the much abused Galatians 3:28:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
If there is neither Jew nor Greek in Christ, then both Jew and Greek must be real categories, or else the verse would be gibberish. Salvation is neither bounded nor scoped (although it is certainly modulated) by race: The free gift of salvation is open to all men and God desires that none should perish. Even the Canaanite woman is praised for her faith.
Soteriology does not destroy ontology. You are who and what God made you. I was raised Christian and so I cannot employ myself as an example here, but if you were converted as an adult, you did not cease to be what you were before you were converted. If you were male and French before you were converted, then you are still male and French, you are simply also Christian now. You did not cease to be anything you were and are essentially. I am male and I am American (of German and Scottish descent) — I will remain those things my entire life and for all eternity, because I am those things essentially. The Church neither ‘overrides’ nor destroys essential realities like biological sex and race; you are saved regardless of such things, but you will remain them forever. To deny the reality of such essentials is to deny the Creator Who made them. You are not a genderless, sexless, raceless amorphous blob; you are either male or female, you are a specific racial composition, and so you will and must remain. Those who think they know better than God and would deny such truths would do well to read Revelation 7:9 a few dozen times:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
ElectionThird, Election. Many have gone off the rails when it comes to Election. This is not cause for avoiding the doctrine, for it appears frequently in Scripture and is a key part of God’s plan of salvation; rather, it is warrant for deliberate and careful teaching in this area. Election is addressed in an article of the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord; if you are a teacher, to include fathers, then you should read and understand that article. But before you do so, read and re-read God’s short teaching on the matter contained in Romans 8:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Election is not Law. I will say that again: Election is not Law. If you read or conceive of Election as cause for worry or despair then you have read it wrongly or understood it incorrectly. Election is Gospel. Again, I will repeat myself: Election is Gospel. Election is not God’s foreknowledge, for His foreknowledge covers all things — good and bad — and all men — believers and unbelievers. Election applies only to believers and pertains to how God has both ordered and ensured our salvation. You are not elect because of your merit; you are not elect because of your good works; you are not elect because of your righteousness. Your election depend entirely and solely upon the merit of Christ and the gracious will of the Father. This is Gospel precisely because it does not rely upon you. As Luther put it:
I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.
ConclusionWhat is the purpose of Scripture? It seems like such a simple question, and yet far too many far too often lose sight of the truth of 2 Timothy 3:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
And, again, this time from Romans 15:
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Scripture, correctly read, is never irrelevant; Scripture, correctly understood, will never cause despair. Scripture is God’s revelation — explicit revelation — of Himself and His plans to and for His Elect. God is our loving Father, and His promises pertain to us, to His beloved children. Never let anyone convince you that Scripture belongs to anyone other than the Church (i.e., the sheep who hear the Master’s voice). Never let anyone convince you that the promises of God belong to anyone other than His children (i.e., those who are in Christ). Never let anyone convince you that there is any way to the Father except the Son. The Book of Romans was written for us, just like all Scripture.
The world is full of false teachers who would steal everything from you if only you would let them. They would steal from you your identity by convincing you that gender, sex, race, and other such things are not real. They would steal from you your patrimony by convincing you that borders are not real and your neighbor is every man on Earth. They would steal from you the Word and promises of God by convincing you that they were meant for other men. But false shepherds have no power over the true sheep who hear and heed only the Master’s voice. Wicked TV programming can be turned off; wicked books can be put down (or burned); and false shepherds can be simply ignored. Pray that God will give us faithful magistrates to punish such wicked men, but, personally and for your part, simply do not listen to them.
There is only one Israel that matters, and that is the true Israel, the Israel of God, the Church, and she is comprised of believers from every language, tribe, and nation, which is to say race, and she is not bounded by time, for Adam belongs to her the same as you and I, and she is not bounded by corporate form or human governance, for there is but one Good Shepherd and the sheep are those who heed His voice, and she is both Militant, comprised of us who struggle here in time, and Triumphant, comprised of those who brightly shine in eternity. The men who would advance or advocate for any other ‘Israel’ most certainly have another god, and we would do well to rebuke and shun them, at least until God gives us faithful leaders to make such men a foot or so shorter. May the Lord God arise and scatter His enemies and may those who trouble His sheep flee from before Him.
Amen.
Readings* Isaiah 56:1, 6–8 * Psalm 67 * Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32 * Matthew 15:21–28
Readings Job 38:4–18 * Psalm 18:1–16 * Romans 10:5–17 * Matthew 14:22–33 Homily TranscriptWhat sort of a God do you have? In one sense, the question can have only one answer, for the Lord God is and remains your God, whether you reject Him or not. The Ancient Israelites rejected God time and time again, and yet He remains on His throne. In another sense, the question is, perhaps, more interesting. What is your conception* of the God you claim to worship? If your god would not flood the world and destroy nearly all life, then you surely have another god, not the Lord God. If your god would not command the genocide of a wicked race — to include the women and the children — then you have another god, not the Lord God. If your god will not bring this Creation to an end in flames and then consign His enemies to the same for eternity, then you have another god, not the Lord God.
The Reformed go too far in emphasizing God’s sovereignty and glory, for they do so to the extreme of effectively denying His mercy and His love — they fall off the right side of the horse. In a very real sense, Lutheranism has simply been the ship — the Ark, if you will — that has successfully navigated between Scylla and Charybdis, fallen off neither the right nor the left side of the horse, and we must be careful to do the same here: We must not so emphasize our Father’s other attributes that we — actually or effectively — deny His sovereignty or His glory. The Lord God is Master and Creator of all things. He is the Absolute Infinite, and all else is as nothing before Him. He made and named every star and He formed you in your mother’s womb and He knew your name in eternity past before your grandparents had even met. There is nothing that can contain God, for He contains all things. We could never fully describe God, for He describes all things. He is infinitely above and beyond us, and yet He also knows each and every one of us better than we shall ever know ourselves. We cannot, in absolute terms, overstate the magnificence, the awesomeness, or the glory of God.
The point of the Book of Job is the absolute transcendence, knowledge, power, and control of God over all things. At no point did anything happen to Job — and at no point has anything happened or will anything happen to you — that was not entirely within God’s control. Now, God did not personally inflict any evil on Job, but the devil is God’s devil and he has never ‘slipped his leash’. Whatever the devil did, God permitted; whatever the devil wanted to do, but did not, God prevented. The God Who set the boundaries of the sea, telling her ‘this far and no further’, also set the boundaries the demons cannot transgress. You will never suffer temptations or trials beyond what you can, by the grace and power of God, endure; even Job, the great patron saint of those who suffer for the sake of righteousness, was not tempted or afflicted beyond what God knew he could and would bear. Satan himself could not break righteous Job; whatever lesser tempter has been assigned to you will surely have even less success. This is not to minimize or downplay the suffering and trials of the average Christian; rather, it should be taken as a source of strength: God did not permit the archfiend who led angels astray and ushered sin into the world to break righteous and elect Job. The Good Shepherd will lose not one of His sheep to the wolves. But let us return to today’s text.
When God speaks to Job, does He justify Himself? Does He explain Himself? No. The first reply of God to Job is actually two verses before our reading:
“Who is this who darkens counsel / by words without knowledge?”
God’s first words to Job are a condemnation of Job’s complaint and lament, and they set the stage for the rest of God’s speech:
“Where were you when I was laying the earth’s foundation?
Now tell me, if you are endowed with understanding.
Who determined its measures, if you know?
Or who was it that stretched a line upon it?
On what have its rings been fastened?
And who is he that cast a cornerstone upon it?
When the stars were born,
all my angels praised me with a loud voice.
“Again, I shut up the sea with gates,
when it quivered with eagerness, as it issued from its mother’s womb,
and I made the cloud its clothing,
and with mist I swaddled it;
yes, I prescribed bounds for it,
setting bars and gates around it.
And I said to it, ‘Thus far you shall come,
and you shall not go beyond;
rather, your waves shall be broken up within you!’“Indeed, was it in your time that I instructed the morning light
and that the morning star saw its post,
to take hold of earth’s wings,
to shake the impious off it?
Indeed, was it you that took clay soil and formed a living creature,
and, able to talk, set him on earth?
Again, did you remove the light from the impious
and crush the arm of the proud?
“And did you go to the source of the sea
and walk in the tracks of the deep?
Again, do the gates of death open to you out of fear,
and did the porters of Hades cower when they saw you?
Again, have you been advised of the breadth of what is under heaven?
Do tell me how much it is.
“As well, in what kind of land does the light dwell,
and of what kind is the place of darkness?
Might you perhaps lead me to their borders?
And perhaps too you know their paths?
Thereby I know that you were born then,
and the number of your years is great!
“And have you gone to the storehouses of the snow,
and have you seen the storehouses of the hail?
But it is at your disposal for a time of enemies,
for a day of war and battle.
And from where does the hoarfrost come,
or from where is the south wind dispersed to what is under heaven?
“And who prepared a course for the driving rain
and a way for the tumults,
to bring rain on land, where there is no man,
wilderness, where there is no human in it,
to feed the untrodden and uninhabited
and to cause it to grow an effusion of greenery?
“Who is the rain’s father?
And who is it that has given birth to the dew’s nuggets?
And from whose womb does the ice come forth?
And who has given birth to freezing rain in the sky
that descends like flowing water?
And who froze the face of the deep?
“And did you understand the bond of Pleiades,
and did you open the barrier of Orion?
truly, will you open Mazouroth in its season,
and the Evening Star with its luminous tail—will you lead them
And do you know heaven’s changes
or the corresponding events under heaven?
“And will you summon a cloud by voice,
and will it obey you with a violent burst of water?
And will you send out thunderbolts—and will they go?
And will they say to you, ‘What is it?’
And who gave to women skill in weaving
or knowledge of embroidery?
And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom
and inclined the sky to the earth?
And dust has been poured out like soil,
but I have cemented it, like a block to a stone.
“And will you hunt prey for the lions
and satisfy the appetite of dragons?
For they are in a state of fear in their lairs,
and they crouch in the woods, lying in wait.
And who prepared food for the raven?
For its young have cried to the Lord as they wander about, searching for food.
Job responds correctly:
Why do I yet contend—being rebuked even while confuting the Lord,
hearing such things—when I am nothing?
And I, what answer shall I give to these things?
I will lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, but I will not add to a second time.
But the Lord continues His speech:
No, but gird up your loins like a man, and I will question you, but as for you, just answer me!
Do not shrug off my judgment.
And do you think I have dealt with you in any other way
than that you might appear to be right?Do you have an arm like the Lord,
or do you thunder with a voice like his?
“Go ahead take on loftiness and power,
and put on glory and honor.
And send forth messengers in wrath
and every insolent person humble.
Yes, extinguish the proud,
and at once make putrid the impious.
And hide them outside together in the earth,
and fill their faces with dishonor;
then I will acknowledge that your right hand can save.
“But look now, you are familiar with ‘monsters’;
they eat grass like cows.
Look now, its strength is in its loins,
and its power in its belly’s navel.
It stood up its tail like a cypress,
and its sinews have been interwoven.
Its flanks are flanks of copper,
and its spine is cast iron.
“This is the chief of what the Lord created,
made to be mocked at by his angels.
But when it went up on a steep mountain,
it brought gladness to the quadrupeds in Tartarus.
Under trees of every kind it lies down,
by the papyrus and reed and sedge.
And tall trees find themselves in its shade,
with limbs, as do the chaste-tree’s branches.
If there is a flood, it will never notice.
it trusts that the Jordan will tumble into its mouth.
Will he catch it in his eye;
while bent back, will he pierce its nose?
“And will you catch a dragon with a fish hook
and put a halter around its nose?
if you will fasten a ring in its nostril]
And will you pierce its lip with a ring?
And will it address you with a petition,
with a supplication, softly?
And will it make a covenant with you,
and will you take it as your perpetual slave?
And will you play with it as with a bird,
or tie it up like a sparrow for a child?
And do nations feed on it,
and do the Phoenician races divvy it up?
And a whole fleet, gathered, cannot carry the mere skin of its tail.
and its head in fishermen’s boats.
But you will lay a hand on it,
though you remember the battle that is waging in its body,
and let it happen no more!
Job finally replies:
“I know that you can do anything,
and nothing is impossible for you.
For who is it that hides counsel from you,
and being sparing with words thinks to hide them from you as well?
But who will tell me what I did not know,
great and marvelous things that I did not understand?
Now hear me, Lord, that I too may speak;
then I will question you, and you, teach me!
Whereas before I would hear an aural report of you,
now, however, my eye has seen you;
therefore I disparaged myself and wasted away,
and I regard myself as dust and ashes.”«
And yet what does God ultimately say of the words of righteous Job? ‘He has spoken of Me what is right.’ What are we to make of all this?
Perhaps my earlier diction was (perhaps intentionally) too strong: Does God actually condemn what Job said in his lament? Certainly, He says that Job has ‘darkened counsel by words without knowledge’, but He finally assesses Job as having spoken what is right about God. In truth, God more or less ignores what all of the men have spoken and, instead, appeals to His glory as demonstrated in Creation. God does not reply to the words of Job; neither does He respond to the arguments, accusations, et cetera, of Job’s friends; instead, God simply speaks words of truth about Himself and about His Creation. Jesus sometimes does much the same in the pages of the New Testament: teaching instead of answering the question asked. And God is, indeed, teaching here, for those with ears to heard:
“Who is this who darkens counsel / by words without knowledge?”
This implies a number of things, two chief among them:
- It is possible to speak wisely, with knowledge, about these matters.
- Everything God does, He does with perfect knowledge, and everything that happens, happens within the bounds of God’s perfect knowledge (and control).
Again, all that happened to Job was known to God before it happened and was permitted by God according to His perfect knowledge, justice, and mercy. Nothing has ever happened without God’s permission; nothing ever will happen without God’s permission. And there is nothing hidden from His sight.
There are two ways God reveals knowledge about Himself: explicitly and implicitly. The former we all know and understand well (it is Scripture); the latter is that to which God appeals when speaking to Job, and it is also, in many ways, the greater revelation. But the implicit revelation requires greater effort from and makes greater demands upon the man who would obtain access to it. Scripture, of course, demands a lifetime (more than a lifetime, really) of study to truly understand all that it teaches about God and His Creation. This is not to say that some matters are not simple: The Gospel can be explain in ninety seconds. And yet there is an immense difference between the explicit and the implicit, but there are also immense rewards for those who invest time and effort into the implicit revelation. Some few things are known only from Scripture (e.g., the Gospel), but all else is known more fully (or even only) from Creation.
The more you study a masterpiece — whether a painting, a poem, a novel, a sculpture, or something else — the more you will discover; both about the piece and about the master who made it; the same is true of Creation: Everywhere you dig, you will find God, and the deeper you dig the more deeply you will encounter and understand God. You will find the Lord God in the ordering of the Solar System and the movement of the stars, and you will find Him in the rebirth of spring and every cell division. You will find Him in the pages of history and, when you arrive in the future, you will find Him already there waiting for you. With our modern technology, we can count our respiration rate, our heartbeat, and dozens of other such metrics, but the Lord God knew how many breaths you would take and how many times your heart would beat before you were even born. I have lived in some of the largest Western cities and camped in some of the most remote parts of this country; God was no further away in either location. There exists nowhere you could ‘escape’ from God. In the words of the Psalm:
Where should I go from your spirit?
And from your face where should I flee?
If I ascend to the sky, you are there;
if I descend to Hades, you are present.
If I were to take my wings at dawn
and make my covert at the farthest limits of the sea,
indeed, there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
And I said, “So then, darkness shall trample me,
and night be illumination in my delight,”
because darkness will not be made dark due to you,
and night will be illumined as day;
as its darkness, so also its light.
The Book of Job is a book for Christians. Yes, certainly, I mean so in the sense that all Scripture is written for our instruction and our comfort, but I just as certainly mean so in the sense that one cannot read and understand Job and not become a Christian. Now, we could draw out the whole of Christian doctrine from Job, but that will have to wait for another day. Instead, let us focus on the core truths that are taught in Job: Although we are beset by troubles in this life (in the words of the hymn: ‘We walk in danger all the way.’) and although we will surely be tempted and tried by fire, we can yet remain confident that we have a Father above Who knows us, and orders all things; we will be neither tempted nor tried beyond what we can bear, and every trial and all suffering will be turned by God for our good. We rely neither upon our own strength, which would surely be insufficient for the task, nor upon our own wisdom, which would surely darken counsel; rather, we rely completely and totally upon our God and Father, for He knows all things and He has never failed, nor will He ever fail.
As the righteous Son of God suffered in our place, so the righteous son of Esau suffered for our benefit, that we might look to his example and take comfort in times of trial and affliction. It is unlikely that God will permit Satan himself to afflict and tempt you, and yet even should that worst of possibilities occur, we know that God will see us successfully through the storm, and will even reach out to rescue us, as He did with Peter. We rely not on our own strength, just as we rely not on our own works. Although we exist in time and must endure all things as they come, each in its own season, God is not bound by time; God saw Job vindicated and triumphant long before Satan had even requested to afflict him. When God looks at you, He certainly sees and understands your present trials, but He also sees your eternity; He knows that your name is inscribed in the Book of Life, and He knows precisely how He will turn your every temptation and trial and all your affliction and your suffering for your eternal good. He is your loving Father Who disciplines you for your good, and His Son is the Good Shepherd, Who never loses or abandons His sheep.
Life is short; eternity is long. We know ourselves and each other here in time only as we presently are — fallen, imperfect, afflicted; God knows us as we will be in eternity, as He always intended us to be — sinless, perfect, and content. We are, in this life, simultaneously saints and sinners — simul justus et peccator —, but the God Who perfectly knows every second of our lives — both here in time and there in eternity — knows that peccator will fall away and only justus will remain. When He looks at you, the Father sees the perfect righteousness of Christ which was made yours in the waters of Baptism. Although we have only a foretaste of that righteousness in this life, and the process of sanctification is never completed in this fallen world, we believe, teach, and confess that we will be fully and finally sanctified in the Resurrection of the Just. And a mystery still more glorious: God will not merely overlook or ignore our past sins in eternity; rather, He has promised that He will forget them. How God can forget, we do not (and likely cannot) know, but we do know what God has promised and that God never lies. I want you to think about that promise for a bit: God will remember your sins no more — He will forget them. All that exists exists by the power, knowledge, and wisdom of God, and the perfection of every instance (to include you and me) exists necessarily in the mind of God. To say that God does not know something is to say that it does not exist — more, that it never existed at all.
Your sins are not merely washed away in eternity; as a true son or daughter of the Father, you will be restored to the righteousness God always intended for you, and your sins will cease to exist. Here we would do best just to stop and marvel, to affirm what God has promised, and to exclaim with Paul:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
Our Father’s gifts are always greater, deeper, more expansive, and more perfect that we can even imagine. We pray “Thy will be done.” not only because it is the correct orientation of creature toward Creator, but also because He surely intends for us things both greater and more perfect than anything we could specifically formulate ourselves.
In Peter, we see that God will reach out to save us from drowning and, in Job, we see that God will not permit temptation, trial, affliction, or suffering to break us, no matter how bad or even bleak things may seem here in time. This life is certainly one of trials and tribulations — and anyone promising you anything else is selling something other than Christianity —, but we Christians have the security of knowing that God is for us and the great privilege of doing His work. More Christians have been called and commanded to live for the truth than have been called and commanded to die for it, but both have happened and both remain distinct possibilities. Whether you are called to lose and to endure everything for the faith or to live quietly and peacefully in good works, it is all for the glory of God and for your good.
Do good, live well, die well.
Amen.
Readings* Deuteronomy 7:6–9 * Psalm 125 * Romans 8:28–39 * Matthew 13:44–52 Homily TranscriptScripture is full of metaphor, analogy, symbolism, and dozens of other such rhetorical devices and figures of speech. This is, of course, not to say that there are not parts of Scripture that are simply literal — we do not want to wander off into the desert with those who try to torture everything into symbolism — or allegory. And yet we must recognize symbolism when and where God has employed it and then endeavor correctly to exegete and understand it. And so we must discuss ‘Jerusalem’.
First, there is not one Jerusalem — there are two:
Galatians 4:21–31 (ESV):
»21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.«
Second, the Jews are children of the slave woman, of the earthly Jerusalem, and we, the Elect, are children of the free woman, of the heavenly Jerusalem. Third, the heavenly Jerusalem is the eternal city, the city spoken of in Revelation; ultimately and truly, the heavenly Jerusalem is Paradise itself, for that is the eternal home of the Elect. We should expand these a bit.
I want you to look at Psalm 125 in your Bibles. Unless you have acquired and are using a Septuagint (which you should do), then the second clause speaks of Mount Zion as being immovable, but that is not what God actually said, for the true referent, as we see in the Greek, is the same as that of the first clause: He who ‘inhabits Jerusalem’ is he who trusts in the Lord, is he who will never be shaken. This verse is comfort for the Elect; it has nothing to do with the earthly Jerusalem. In their great wickedness, the Jews altered this verse in their so-called ‘Masoretic Text’ and attempted to transfer a promise from the Elect to themselves. They truly are, as Christ called them, children of their father below, who is a murderer, a liar, and a thief. The earthly Jerusalem is just a city, like any other earthly city, and the earthly Mount Zion is like any other earthly mountain (really more a hill in this case) and both will pass away along with the rest of this Creation — they have no relevance to future prophecy or anything of that sort except for their use as symbols. All forms of Millenarianism are heresy.
The issue of the Jews is certainly a tired one, but a patient with cancer cannot reasonably expect to stop hearing about that disease just because he is tired of it, and so we must discuss wickedness and heresy. It was the Jews that led the so-called ‘civil rights movement’ that tore our country apart and destroyed our national fabric. It was the Jews that spied for the Communists (and gave them nuclear weapons) and led the Communist groups in the US. It was the Jews that overturned our blasphemy, anti-sodomy, and obscenity laws. It was the Jews that pushed to legalize abortion, and they are vastly overrepresented as ‘doctors’ in that field. It was the Jews that pushed for the legalization of all manner of drugs. It is the Jews that own and promote the pornography ‘industry’. Hear the Word of the Lord:
The Jews killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and they have persecuted His disciples; the Jews please not God, and are contrary to all men.
And yet there are many who claim the name of Christ and rabidly support the Christ-killing Jews. And if you recoil in the slightest from calling the Jews Christ-killers, then I encourage you to examine yourself to know the state of your heart; hear the Word of the Lord:
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, Whom you (Jews) killed by hanging Him on a tree.
Was Peter speaking to the ‘Jewish leaders’ as modern eisegetes would tell you? No, he was speaking to a crowd of ordinary Jews. The Jews are Christ-killers and this enormous sin, this incomprehensible wickedness will follow their race unto eternity. We leave the eternal disposition of those who dedicate themselves to the Jews to the perfect justice of God, but we also surely know that He will not commend as faithful servant those who serve the very men who murdered Him. For our part, we might call that ‘aiding and abetting’.
At least in some ways worse are those who rabidly — and heretically — insist that the Jews are ‘chosen’. Well, we should examine that term: What does it mean to be chosen? There are two senses; we will categorize them with two Greek verbs: προαιρεω and καλεω. The first verb appears in our first reading as ‘chosen’ and the second (in adjectival form) appears in our Epistle reading as ‘called’. Pharaoh was chosen, or, in the words of Romans 9:17:
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
in the waters of Holy Baptism, you were called — more, you were called by name, for the Good Shepherd Who numbered and named all the stars in the sky knows also all His sheep by their names (and so καλεω truly means). Would you rather be προαιρεω pharaoh or a καλεοω child of God (please forgive me the bad grammar for the sake of the point)? Perhaps I am somewhat partial because Romans 8:28 is my Confirmation verse, but I would strongly prefer, if asked to choose, to be chosen in the sense of καλεω (called) instead of merely chosen in the sense of προαιρεω (‘chosen’ for a specific purpose). This is, of course, not to even imply that these categories are mutually exclusive; pharaoh was chosen, but not called, but, to pick just a few, Moses, David, and Mary were all both chosen and called. The error that we must avoid here is the conflation of the Zionist and the heresy of the Dispensationalist: The Jews are not, by virtue of their descent from Abraham, chosen in the sense of called:
For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
If anything, the unbelieving Jews are all the more damned for rejecting the Scriptures that God entrusted to them and the Christ Who came from their line; it is far worse to know God and explicitly reject Him than simply to be an ignorant heathen. The nation of Ancient Israel was chosen for the specific purpose of being the line from which the Christ would descend, but this affords them no advantage before God’s tribunal. We are bound to ask how any Christian would miss the clear heresy of any system that would even hint at another path to the Father. ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ The Jews do not have some ‘second way’. Adam was the first Christian, and he entered Paradise long before Moses, to whom God entrusted the Law to be protected and spread by Ancient Israel, was even born. It has only ever been by faith in the Christ that one may be called. May the Lord God erase both Zionism and Dispensationalism from the Earth and thereby defend His great Name. Amen.
We do not look forward to the earthly restoration of any particular nation to any particular chunk of territory. We do not pin our hope on an earthly mountain, city, or hill. The only hill to which we (symbolically) assign any abiding hope is Golgotha, but our hope in Christ crucified exists because we believe in Christ raised. The existence of modern ‘Israel’ is a matter of geopolitics and corruption, not a matter of prophecy, for we know that it is only the Israel of God (i.e., the Church) and the heavenly Jerusalem (i.e., Paradise) that have any promises or ultimate meaning. The earthly Jerusalem will pass away in fire; the heavenly Jerusalem will endure for eternity with her lord and Savior as a light to all the Elect from every nation and language.
None of this should be taken to diminish or demean and certainly not to denigrate the importance of the here and now. What you do in this life not only echoes in eternity, but decides your eternity. Certainly, we are saved — alone — by the free gift of faith in the forgiveness of sins won for us by the perfect work of the Christ Who lived and died for us, fulfilling the righteous demands of the Law that we could never fulfill, but there are two judgements: There is the Judgement, which asks if you are or are not in Christ, and there is the judgement of works.
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
— Matthew 16:27
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For God will bring every work in judgment, in everything overlooked, whether good or evil.
— Ecclesiastes 12:14
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He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
— Romans 2:6–8
Your works cannot save you (and for that we cannot thank God enough), but just as certainly God will judge every deed you did or failed to do and every word you spoke or failed to speak. Anyone who think this life does not matter because the ultimate battle is already won would do well to examine himself and take heed lest he fall; God will not be mocked, and He sees, hears, and knows all. Again, you must not — and should not — fear for your eternity, for that was already won for you, your name inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and your status as a child of the Father signed and sealed in the waters of Holy Baptism; in fact, you were foreknown by God in eternity past before ever there was an Earth or a Jerusalem or a Golgotha, and your name was written in the Book of Life before your parents named you, before Adam named the animals, before God made and named the stars. You were called by the very name God inscribed in His Book of Life before time itself had even begun to run. You were called — καλεω — in eternity past when God foreknew you and here in time when you were pulled from the waters of Baptism as a child or an adult or sprinkled with the water of Baptism as an infant. And the infant truly is the better picture, for he can neither ‘consent’ (for whatever that means) nor truly object (save, perhaps, some crying if the water is cold); the infant must rely — entirely — on those around him and receives Baptism, and the forgiveness of sins and the salvation therein offered, as we are all commanded to receive the Kingdom of God: as little children, free from guile, objection, squabbling, or doubt. If you were an adult when you were baptized, then you still added nothing to the process, for the Sacrament relies upon God and not upon you. Truly blessed are those who receive so great a gift from God in the most worthy manner fallen man may muster: that of the trusting infant.
As Christians, as called sons and daughters of God, we must not look upon this life as misery or suffering or any such thing (although it certainly will contain those in this fallen world), and we must certainly not look upon this life as meaningless or irrelevant: Our heavenly Father has prepared beforehand good works that we should walk in them. The Cross conquered sin, death, and the devil, but there is much work left to be done here in time. We have duties to family, to nation, which is to say to race, and to neighbor. This world is perishing, and so are all who do not know the Lord. Noah was saved from a drowning world, and instructed not to draw any more into the Ark; we have a better promise than he, for we are instructed to bring as many into the new and better Ark — the Church — as possible; in the words of the parable:
And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
We must fill our Father’s House, the Jerusalem above, Paradise.
But this is not done simply by sharing, spreading, or teaching or preaching the Gospel. The Christian life is much more than the Proclamation. The Christian life is a life of deeds and not mere words; it is lived out both in accordance with God’s law and in service to neighbor. In fact, you cannot serve God directly — He needs nothing from you or from anyone else; your neighbor, however, needs food, clothing, shelter, and all manner of such things; you serve God by serving your neighbor — those are the very good works that God prepared beforehand that you should walk in them. And your neighbor is not some abstraction, and nor does he represent every man on Earth. Your neighbor is a concrete; he is flesh and blood; in fact, he is your flesh and blood, for you owe your loyalty, your duty, and your time, resources, and efforts first and foremost and even to the exclusion of all others to those God has placed closest to you. Family, tribe, race, and nation are not incidental, accidental, or human constructs or fictions. You are who and what you are by essence, and God created that essence. Your people need you; you serve God by serving your people of whom God has made you part; you serve Satan by denying your own people, of whom God has made you part, to preference the alien, whom God has not made part of your people. Or do you believe God was wrong to include the Table of Nations and the genealogies in Scripture and to create man as a social animal enmeshed in concentric circles of relatedness and duty? Or do you believe the Marxists — almost exclusively Christ-denying and Christ-murdering Jews — knew better than God? For they are the very men (to abuse the term via over-inclusion) you are following when you deny the reality of sex, of race, of nation, of family. And make no mistake: To deny the reality of race is actually more evil, more wicked than to deny the reality of biological sex. Satan knows full well that all of these things are real and are good creations of God — that is why he wants you to deny them. The ‘Christian’ who claims Christ and yet denies Him in his acts is an unprofitable servant who may one day — in the not-too-distant future — find himself calling “Lord, Lord…”. Do not be an unprofitable servant. We live in a dying world among the dying, and yet live in it we must. Do your duty as a Christian man or woman. Serve your family; serve your tribe; serve your neighbor; serve your race. These are the realities by which God has created you and in which He has enmeshed you. Do not risk denying the Creator by denying His Creation.
As a called, elected, sealed, and confirmed son or daughter of the Father, you have absolute certainty of your eternity, for you are in Christ and He will lose none from His hands. So comport yourself with the behavior befitting a son or a daughter of the King. He has given you work to do; do not rest on Christ’s laurels. Your people are perishing, pull them into the Greater Ark before they slip beneath the waves and are forever out of reach.
Amen.
Readings* Jeremiah 20:7–13 * Psalm 91 * Romans 6:12–23 * Matthew 10:5a, 21–33 Homily TranscriptPersecution has not been the universal experience of all Christians at all times in all places; there have been periods of peace, prosperity, and tranquility. (That these have virtually always been under the aegis of a Christian State with an established Church should not go without mention, but it will have to be a passing one today.) And yet, persecution has often been the fate of Christians down through the centuries (or even ages, if we want to include such men as Abel and Noah). And the existence of a supposedly Christian State is no perfect guarantee against persecution — Luther was persecuted by an Emperor and a pope, both of whom claimed to be Christian. Today, our government would not be called Christian by any but the most delusional of men, but Satan is never content; having virtually complete his conquest of the various Western governments and their attached or aligned institutions, he turned his attention to the churches decades ago (centuries ago, in some obvious cases). This should surprise no one; hear the words of our Lord from today’s Gospel reading:
»Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.«
— Matthew 10:21–22 (ESV)
Does our Lord speak of persecution by the State or some other such authority? No, not even (exclusively, anyway) in the portion of this passage immediately before today’s reading, where He speaks of being “dragged before governors and kings”. He speaks, instead, of a more personal sort of betrayal. Our Lord was certainly persecuted and murdered by the Jewish authorities (and the Jewish people generally), but He was also betrayed by Judas, His former friend; it is that sort of personal betrayal of which Jesus speaks in this passage. Despite the parallelism, we should not limit our understanding of what Jesus means when He says ‘brother’ (or ‘child’ and ‘parent’, for that matter) to the familial; what is in view here is every sort of intimate or personal betrayal, and that certainly includes all those who are brothers by ways other than blood — close friends, brothers-in-law, brothers-in-arms, brothers-in-Christ. And that last category is certainly Satans’s focus today.
Mercifully, most of you are not in a position to hear many, and certainly not most, of the stories of all the ways our churches are betraying so very many men today (and it is mostly [relatively] young men who are being betrayed), but I am in a position to hear them. And I do not think for a second that the faithless men pushing for expulsion, excommunication, and blacklisting (among many other forms of persecution) would hesitate to use the State to literally execute (which is to say murder) the men they are persecuting, if they thought the State would cooperate. In fact, such persecutors and slanderers and blasphemers have engaged in attempted murder: doxxing and false reports to law enforcement. If such ‘men’ were not so cowardly (itself a grievous sin), then they would certainly have taken up arms themselves and murdered the men they have persecuted; and they would have firmly believed that they were rendering service to God in doing so. Of course, their assessment would have been half true: They would, indeed, have been rendering service to their god, who is most certainly not the Lord God.
The very persecution of which Jesus warns in this passage is rampant in the churches. In fact, things are so bad these days that it would be accurate to say that we are in a period of widespread persecution, and — more importantly — we can ‘use’ that persecution as an indication of who is faithful and who is faithless: In times of faithlessness and persecution, those who are not persecuted are not faithful. If you have never suffered for the faith, then I encourage you to examine yourself — and particularly you men, for cowardice, which is to say a lack of courage or manliness, is damnable sin. For most, such suffering need not be the sort of ‘grand’ or high-profile persecution that has been inflicted on some of us; for many, suffering for the faith will take a more ‘mundane’ form: lost friends, estranged family, perhaps some other social or economic consequences. The point is that Satan, for the moment, controls the board, and a faith that he ignores is a faith that is in some way lacking. We do not live in a time of a Christian ruler and a faithful established Church under him; rather, we live in a time of a wicked government, a pervasively evil bureaucracy that invades almost every facet of our lives, and a nearly universal apostasy among the so-called churches; under such circumstances, the Christian should not — and the Christian will not — expect to escape persecution. You will suffer for the faith. You may not be martyred — even Luther died of old age, but both the Emperor and the pope sought his head for many years, and we, unlike Luther, do not have faithful German princes to hide, provide for, and protect us. We can certainly rely upon God, but not all saints escaped the lions. If you must go the lions, then to the lions you must go.
The Christian proclamation is one of eternal comfort, not one of temporal comfort. Temporal peace relies upon having a righteous, competent, and powerful State; that is a valid and important consideration for Christian men, but it is not the core concern of the Christian faith. Whether the king is righteous or wicked, whether the culture is Christian or not, whether it will cost you nothing or everything, you must confess Christ and Him crucified in both your words and your deeds. A faith that produces no good works is a dead faith, and it is only a living faith that saves. Or do you think that the Christ so often employed plant metaphors idly? As any gardener (or keeper of houseplants, at least) will tell you: Living plants always grow, and healthy fruit tree always bear fruit.
Learn the lesson of the fig tree: It was not the season for figs, which certainly ‘excuses’ the fig tree, but the Christ did not curse the tree as punishment of the tree, but as a lesson for you: There are no ‘seasons’ for the Christian faith; you must produce fruit in season and out. There will be no excuse or defense on Judgement Day that you lived under a wicked State or in a wicked culture or that you ‘had to’ do this or that. The Christians of the Early Church went to the lions rather than deny the Real Presence. That is the minimum to remain faithful. ‘But it was not the season for figs.’ ‘Depart from Me, for I never knew you.’
We can ask the Lord why us and why now — certainly righteous Job did so —, but after we pray or lament, we stand up and carry on. Here, perhaps, we should thank the Lord God that we are sons and daughters of Japheth, for it has always been in the nature of our race to rise from the ashes, to endure, to carry on, to rebuild. Our people have endured great hardships and suffered great calamities in centuries past, but we have, by the grace of God, always risen to the challenge and the occasion; we are here today because our ancestors did not fail and, one day, our far-distant sons and daughters will say the same of us. It is a tragedy and a crime that our forefathers in the preceding handful of generations squandered, failed to maintain, and destroyed so much that was entrusted to their care, but we cannot change the past — only the future is mutable. We must do what they failed to do; we must be like the tiny handful of faithful kings who ruled Old Testament Israel — we must repent in sackcloth and ashes. And yet repentance alone is not enough, for talk is cheap; yes, God demands our repentance, including of the sins of our fathers — ‘both we and our fathers have sinned’ —, but true repentance is not just words but also actions. We must not only denounce and turn from the evils both of the past and of our present, but we must also seek to destroy them. What does it even mean to renounce the worship of Baal if his high places and his priests remain? What does it mean to renounce the worship of Astarte if her perversions (such as prostitution and pornography) and her shrines (such as strip clubs) remain? What does it mean to renounce the worship of Moloch if abortion ‘clinics’ remain and abortionists go unpunished? What does it mean to denounce the worship of Saturn (Satan) if his synagogues, his mosques, and his false priests remain? “Who is with the Lord? Let him come to me!”
We must put to death the weak and decadent and easy faith that has masqueraded as ‘Christianity’ for the better part of a century. The Christian religion is not weak; the Christian religion is not easy; the Christian religion is not passive or pacifist, cowardly or craven, supine or submissive, inactive or indolent or inconsequential; the Christian religion is not ‘tolerant’. Do you think God will praise you for your ‘tolerance’ or reward you for your ‘restraint’ if you restrain your hand from opposing His enemies or tolerate those who blaspheme His Name?
»Maledictus qui facit opus Domini fraudulenter et maledictus qui prohibet gladium suum a sanguine.«
— Jeremiah 48:10 (VUL)»Accursed is the one who does the work of the Lord carelessly, keeping back his dagger from bloodshed.«
Jeremiah 31:10
In the waters of Holy Baptism you died to sin, death, and the devil, and you were raised to new life in Jesus Christ to fight sin, death, and the devil. You are part of the Church Triumphant with regard to eternity, coram Deo (with respect to God), and every time you participate in the Divine Service, but you are also part of the Church Militant with regard to the temporal, coram mundo (with respect to the world), and every single day you yet draw breath on this Earth in this Creation. You are a soldier in a war that has been raging since the Garden, and will continue raging until the Christ returns to claim every crown of every earthly kingdom and cast each and every one of His enemies into eternal conscious torment. Does that sound like a weak or a passive or an effeminate religion to you? The ‘Christianity’ of the world and of too many churches is a damnable and damning counterfeit. After centuries of learning from his mistakes and his defeats, Satan realized that it is far, far better to subvert the churches than to try to sell a competing religion; certainly, he still does both, but the latter pays greater dividends and he enjoys it far more. To keep the goats wandering aimlessly is one thing, but to lead the sheep astray is quite another. I do not envy the false pastors, teachers, and leaders their appointment in God’s tribunal on Judgement Day. It will mean nothing for them to plead Christ when they never knew Him and He never knew them. “Depart from Me.” is the last thing they will hear, and it will echo for eternity. Do not pity them — it is not our place to pity the enemies of God, but only to affirm that His judgements are righteous and just.
That which comforts is Gospel and that which accuses and condemns is Law: For the impenitent and the unbelieving goats, there is only Law; for the penitent and believing sheep, there is only Gospel. For the unbelieving and false ‘Christian’, eternity is a monstrous threat and a terrible promise; for the true Christian, eternity is our greatest hope and God’s promise secured and sealed to us in our Baptism and confirmed each and every time we partake of the Christ’s body and blood in His Supper. To the beloved son or daughter, every word from our Father is reassurance, comfort, and love, for even though He disciplines those whom He loves, we know that everything He does is for our good; to the damned, every word from God is a fearful promise of unending wrath, for nothing good awaits the impenitent.
In this life, you will have — you must have, under present circumstances — persecution and suffering, for those are marks of the true Christian the same as good works, but such things are nothing compared to the infinite good that God has prepared for us. And yet we must not permit eternity to become an excuse for inaction or indifference — both marks of a false ‘Christian’ with a dead faith; rather, we must meet the challenges of each day, firmly relying on God and faithfully pursuing our vocation and executing our duties. It matters not if you are a king, a prince, a shoemaker, a magistrate, a homemaker, or any of a thousand other things God has ordained for man to do under the Sun. You are to do your duty diligently and faithfully, never forgetting that your good works for family, neighbor, and nation are how you serve God — they are the very good works that God prepared beforehand that you should walk in them. Do not be the slothful servant who hides his talent in the ground or the faithless soldier who keeps back his sword from blood.
The world wants you to be a weak, worthless, unprofitable ‘Christian’; what God demands is something far different. So you must rise to the occasion, the same as our ancestors have always done. Whatever persecution may come, we will, by the grace of God, endure and overcome it. And when we have overcome the persecution, we will, again by the grace of God, turn and destroy it, so that future generations may know the peace and tranquility that did not fall to us. This we owe to God and this we will do for our sons and our sons’ sons.
God with us.
Amen.
Readings* Acts 10:34–43 * Jeremiah 31:1–6 * Psalm 16 * Colossians 3:1–4 * Matthew 28:1–10
Readings* Isaiah 50:4–9a * Psalm 118:19–29 * Psalm 31:9–16 * Philippians 2:5–11 * John 12:12–43 * Matthew 26:1—27:66
Readings* Joel 2:12–19 * Psalm 51:1–19 * 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10 * Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21
Readings* Psalm 9 * Psalm 31 * Isaiah 52:13—54:10 * Matthew 2:13–23 * Large Catechism I:254–262 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of The Holy Innocents, Martyrs. Threatened by the prophecies concerning a “King of the Jews”, King Herod plotted to find and kill Jesus using the Wise Men, but was thwarted in that plan when the Wise Men went back to their lands by another route. Angered and still plotting to thwart the prophecy, Herod had all male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger murdered. We commemorate these innocents as a reminder of the depravity, brutality, and evil that can take residence in the human heart and of the persecution Jesus suffered even before His earthly ministry had begun. By the hand of God, Jesus was spared from being numbered amongst the slain, for His path led to a different death — on a cross at Golgotha, to pay the price for our sins.
Readings* Psalm 72 * Psalm 92 * Isaiah 51:17—52:12 * Matthew 2:1–12 * Large Catechism I:245–253 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. St. John, son of Zebedee and brother of James the Elder, was among the first disciples to be called by Jesus, and became known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. During Christ’s ministry, John witnessed many of Christ’s miracles, was present for the Transfiguration, went with Peter to reserve the upper room for the Last Supper, and, alone among the Disciples, did not forsake Christ during His Passion, remaining near Christ through the crucifixion. From the cross, Jesus made John guardian of Mary, His mother. John would go on to be a founding father of the Early Church. From John, we have the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation, which was revealed to him while he was banished to Patmos by Emperor Domitian. John outlived all of the other Apostles, dying in Ephesus at around age one hundred.
Readings* Psalm 34 * Psalm 60 * Isaiah 49:22—51:16 * Matthew 1:18–25 * Large Catechism I:234–244 CommemorationToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Stephen, Martyr. St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons of the Church, appointed to distribute food and other necessities to the poor of the growing Christian community. In addition to such duties, the deacons also taught and preached. When some of his colleagues became jealous, they brought him before the Sanhedrin on false charges of blasphemy. Before the Sanhedrin, Stephen confessed his faith in Christ and rebuked members of the Sanhedrin for rejecting the Christ. Infuriated, the Sanhedrin had Stephen dragged outside the city and stoned. Honored as the first martyr of the New Testament Church, Stephen is remembered for his dying words: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Readings* Psalm 96 * Psalm 150 * Isaiah 49:1–18 * Matthew 1:1–17 * Large Catechism I:222–233
Readings* Isaiah 2:1–5 * Psalm 122 * Romans 13:8–14 * Matthew 21:1–11 * Matthew 24:36–44
Readings* Psalm 118 * Daniel 1:1–21 * Matthew 28:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:57–63
Readings* Psalm 20 * Psalm 18 * Jeremiah 38:1–28 * Matthew 27:57–66 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:47–56
Readings* Psalm 22 * Jeremiah 37:1–21 * Matthew 27:33–56 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:40–46
Readings* Psalm 148 * Jeremiah 33:1–22 * Matthew 27:11–32 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:34–39
Readings* Psalm 54 * Psalm 139 * Jeremiah 31:1–34 * Matthew 27:1–10 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:28–33
Readings* Psalm 51 * Jeremiah 30:1–24 * Matthew 26:57–75 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:24–27
Readings Psalm 53 * Psalm 55 * Jeremiah 29:1–19 * Matthew 26:36–56 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:18–23 CommemorationToday we commemorate Emperor Justinian, Christian Ruler and Confessor of Christ*. Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from AD 527 to AD 565, Justinian oversaw a renaissance during which an empire long in decline briefly resurged. Under his leadership, the Roman Empire retook North Africa, Italy, and Spain. However, Justinian is primarily remembered for his codification of Roman law (a basis of many systems to this day) and his staunch defense of and support for the Christian faith.
Readings* Psalm 116 * Psalm 50 * Jeremiah 26:1–19 * Matthew 26:20–35 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:11–17
Readings* Psalm 137 * Psalm 130 * Jeremiah 25:1–18 * Matthew 26:1–19 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:9–10
Readings Psalm 143 * Psalm 105 * Jeremiah 23:21–40 * Matthew 25:31–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:1–8 CommemorationToday we commemorate Martin of Tours, Pastor*. Born into a pagan family in what is today Hungary, Martin grew up in Lombardy, Italy. Converting to Christianity in his youth, Martin initially served in the Roman military, but later left the military to become a monk — referring to himself as “Christ’s soldier”. Martin went on to become Bishop of Tours in Gaul (modern France), and is remembered for his simple lifestyle and his dedication to spreading the Gospel throughout rural Gaul.
Readings* Psalm 24 * Psalm 25 * Jeremiah 23:1–20 * Matthew 25:14–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:96–99
Readings Psalm 147 * Jeremiah 22:1–23 * Matthew 25:1–13 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:89–95 CommemorationToday we commemorate the birth of Martin Chemnitz, Pastor and Confessor. Known as “the other Martin”, Martin Chemnitz stands as, aside from Martin Luther, the most important theologian in the history of the Lutheran Church. When disagreements arose in the wake of Luther’s death, it was Chemnitz who became the driving force behind the Formula of Concord, which restored unity. Among his many works, the four-volume Examination of the Council of Trent stands as one of Chemnitz’s greatest works; in the Examen*, Chemnitz subjected the teachings of the Roman church to Scripture and to the Church Fathers — Rome has never responded.
Readings Psalm 143 * Psalm 144 * Jeremiah 20:1–18 * Matthew 24:29–51 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:78–88 CommemorationToday we commemorate Johannes von Staupitz, Luther’s Father Confessor*. Vicar-General of the Augustinian order in Germany, Johannes von Staupitz was born in Saxony. Called in 1503, by Frederick the Wise, to serve as dean of the theological faculty at the newly established University of Wittenberg, von Staupitz would go on to encourage Luther to obtain his doctorate in theology and to appoint Luther to be his successor as professor of Bible at Wittenberg. It was von Staupitz who counseled Luther early on in Luther’s life, when Luther was an Augustinian monk struggling with the idea of God’s grace, to focus not upon himself but upon Christ.
Readings* Psalm 121 * Psalm 135 * Jeremiah 11:1–23 * Matthew 24:1–28 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:68–77
Readings* Psalm 118 * Jeremiah 8:18—9:12 * Matthew 23:13–39 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:60–67
Readings* Psalm 38 * Jeremiah 7:1–29 * Matthew 23:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:52–59
Readings* Psalm 110 * Psalm 108 * Jeremiah 5:1–19 * Matthew 22:23–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:41–51
Readings* Psalm 15 * Psalm 26 * Jeremiah 3:6—4:2 * Matthew 22:1–22 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:35–40
Readings* Psalm 118 * Jeremiah 1:1–19 * Matthew 21:23–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:30–34 FeastToday we celebrate the Feast of All Saints’ Day. As Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, so All Saints’ Day celebrates the resurrection of all those who believe in Him. On this day, we contemplate the scope and scale of Christ’s work — winning for His Kingdom men, women, and children from every tribe and nation. We are, indeed, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. It is such resurrection that allows us to confess that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed”. Today we celebrate with the entire Church catholic the coming eternal Kingdom and the consummation of all things.
Readings Revelation 7:2–17 * Psalm 149 * 1 John 3:1–3 * Matthew 5:1–12 Homily TranscriptWe do not commonly use seals these days (at least outside the legal profession and certain hobbies, and, even then, they are still rare), and so it is worth mentioning what a seal actually is. The word used here in the Greek is σφραγις — a combination of sounds that is not particularly pleasing to the English ear, but the Greeks are another people, and other peoples are, indeed, other*, and have different sensibilities. At any rate, a σφραγις (I will go back to calling it a seal) has two core meanings: first, the instrument (often a ring) used to make a seal and, second, the seal itself. Figuratively, then, it may be anything that confirms or authenticates. When a man seals something, he is affirming that the contents are as he intends or he is asserting ownership. Such seals are still used by some of us who write physical letters.
Now, some may immediately think of the opening of Romans (among other parts of Scripture): Παυλος δουλος Χριστου Ιησου — Paul, a servant (or slave) of Christ Jesus. This is a good instinct, but there is a nuance here that must be highlighted: Letters, for examples, are sealed — σφραγιζω, σφραγις; slaves, for example, are branded — στιγματιζω, στιγμα. Yes, Galatians 6:17: εγο γαρ τα στιγματατου Ιησου — ”From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.“ —, but that is a topic of another time. The two — the seal and the brand — are related. We are, of course, slaves of God, for that is one of the senses of δουλος, but we are certainly more than that, for we are called sons (and daughters) of God, and so Revelation speaks of the mark on the forehead (a place where one might brand, for example, a runaway slave — a fugitivus [from which we get “fugitive”]) not as brand, but as seal. But what is this seal?
We know that a seal is a mark of ownership (this is obvious enough from the passage even without knowing anything of etymology, et cetera), and so the question is: When does God mark us as one claimed by Him in Christ? Again, the passage itself gives us (most of) the answer: “I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.“ There is only one ceremonial washing in which all Christians participate: Holy Baptism. Those who deny that Baptism is a Sacrament will simply prove incapable of exegeting this passage. The seal is placed by God, not by men. Now, some will try to contend that faith itself is the seal, but faith is the thing sealed, not the seal, for it is faith that distinguishes you as one claimed by Christ, and Baptism is the seal of that faith. It is in the waters of Baptism that you are washed in the blood of the Lamb and your dirty, sin-stained rags are transformed into white robes. Never let anyone — be it by foolishness or by malice — rob you of the truth of what Baptism is and what Baptism does: In your Baptism, God reached down from Heaven and sealed you as His child, redeemed and washed clean. There are those who will grasp at the fact that a minister did the actual sprinkling, pouring, immersing, or submersing, and say that that man baptized you and not God. Granted, the hands of a man poured the water over you or immersed you into the water. What of it? Who seals the saints in our passage from Revelation? Angels, acting on behalf and at the command of God. Would anyone deny that these saints are sealed by God Himself? Certainly no Christian would deny it. The same for Holy Baptism. What the hands of the agent do at the command of the principal is done by the hands of the principal himself. Your pastor or your father did not baptize you — God did. The same as I can say: Your sins are forgiven. In fact, I can — and certainly would — go beyond this privately. In private, I can very well say: Ego te absolvo. — I absolve you, I forgive your sins. To be absolutely clear: I am not doing so here and I will never do so publicly, for I hold to Article XIV: Niemand in der Kirche öffentlich lehren oder predigen oder Sakramente reichen soll ohne ordentlichen Beruf. — No one should publicly in the Church teach or preach or administer the Sacraments without a rightly ordered call. I am not a pastor, and, absent a rather large fish (or whatever the Appalachian equivalent is — I assume Bigfoot), I never will be one. It is your pastor’s duty to absolve you in the gathered congregation, and when he does so he speaks with the voice of God. Similarly, the man who baptized you did so with and as God’s hands.
What then of those who are never baptized? First, I must address the spirit that all too often underlies such questions. When God gives a command, it is a sinful impulse to look for exceptions. God commands us to baptize all nations (yes, including the infants — hence all), and He commands you to be baptized. Second, I will address the actual question: Is Baptism absolutely necessary to or for salvation? I am tempted to give the default attorney response: “It depends.”, but I find this one better and more accurate: “Yes, but no, but yes.” I will explain.
Yes, it is necessary to be baptized to be saved: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” (Mark 16:16). No, it is not absolutely necessary to be baptized to be saved — Baptism is one Means of Grace and edge cases do exist (I will not insult your intelligence by commenting on the thief on the cross). Yes, you must not denigrate the Sacrament of Baptism or refuse to be baptized to be saved — denigration and rejection of Baptism are both signs of apostasy and apostasy damns. So, yes, Baptism is a necessary part of the Christian life, but it is not absolutely necessary to be baptized to be saved, but only in the sense that there exist edge-case exceptions. Perhaps similarly, there are cases in which a poison may be prescribed as part of a specific medical treatment, but that fact does not mean you should consider the poison generally good.
We can hardly think too much of Baptism, nor can we praise it too highly. Fools are they who would take the work of God and transform it into the work of men (as if such a thing could even be done). By what work of men could we ever be kept safe from the Day of Judgement, from the day of darkness and not light, from the day of gloom and not brightness? Surely the works of man cannot save: ‘We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, because by works of the Law no one will be justified.’; we are indeed saved by works — those of Christ. And yet there are those who will cry: ‘What of Sola Fide — by faith alone!?” To them we reply: Yes, certainly, we are saved by faith alone, but how does God bestow this faith that saves? We know the answer to this question, no matter how much other Christians may (to their great detriment and shame) hate the answer: the Means of Grace. Yes, of course, God the Holy Ghost kindles faith via the Word read or heard, but so, too, does He use Holy Baptism. And we must never forget what a Sacrament actually is: a physical sign plus the Word. Even in the Sacrament of Baptism, the Word is not absent, for water alone saves no one. Was Noah saved by the Flood? No. Was he saved by the Ark? No. He was saved by his faith in God. Do you believe Noah owned the only boat in the antediluvian world? And yet he alone was saved, because he believed God’s word. Similarly, it is not the water alone that saves us, for mere water only makes us wet (and, perhaps, cleans the body); no, it is the Sacrament of Holy Baptism — water and Word — that saves us by bestowing the free gift of faith. To those who would deny this truth, we can repurpose Luther’s comment on the Real Presence: “If a hundred thousand devils, together with all fanatics, should rush forward, crying, How can bread and wine be the body and blood of Christ? I know that all spirits and scholars together are not as wise as is the Divine Majesty in His little finger.” I do not care what the world says about Baptism, for I know what God says about Baptism.
And yet I would be remiss if I did not comment on ‘infant Baptism’. And so let me begin by saying there is no such thing. Is there such a thing as ‘man’s Baptism’ or ‘woman’s Baptism’ or ‘German Baptism’ or ‘French Baptism’ or ‘American Baptism’? No. And so, also, there is no such thing as infant Baptism, for the Baptism of an infant is simply a Baptism. There is a great irony inherent in the arguments of those who deny Baptism to young children — perhaps they should read what Christ said about preventing little children from coming to Him; those who argue (to be unduly charitable) against baptizing young children would take Baptism and make it the work of human hands, which is to say that they inevitably believe they they did something when they were baptized. One would think that the passive verb would tell them something. But let us, here, recall what Christ says of those who have not been converted: He says that they are dead in their sins and trespasses. In my experience, corpses do not act. In fact, infants, have an advantage, as their wicked wills do not yet resist the Spirit so actively nor so vigorously as those of adult sinners. In Baptism, the Spirit finds the infant no so much more cooperative as less uncooperative than the adult. But what of the adult convert who comes to the font having already been converted by the Word? Such a man was surely dead in his sins and trespasses prior to his conversion, but he comes to his Baptism already believing the promises of God. Does such a man do anything in his Baptism? The answer, of course, is that he does precisely as much as he did in his conversion: nothing. Now, certainly, he walks to the font and professes his faith before the congregation, but in Baptism itself he does nothing, for it is God Who meets Him in the water and marks him as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. Just as such a man undoubtedly walked (or, more likely, drove) to church to hear the Word or read it by himself, but still did nothing in the matter of his own conversion, for it was God Who met him in the Word and bestowed upon him the free gift of faith. That our hypothetical man drove himself to church or purchased (and actually read) a Bible means something — just as the good works of unbelievers are still good within a certain frame —, but nothing he did or could do justifies him, gives him the free gift of faith: God alone can and does bestow belief.
Some argue against this on grounds that more or less boil down to an objection based on a lack of ‘consent’. I would have to ask such a man if he would object to the man who uses the defibrillator to restore his cardiac rhythm or the man who performs CPR to save him from brain damage or death or the man who saves him from overdose with naloxone. You cannot save yourself from temporal death in any of these situations; you cannot save yourself from eternal death in any situation by any means — only God can save you from eternal death and He has ordained two Means by which He will do so. You did not ‘consent’ to your creation; you did not ‘consent’ to your birth; you did not ‘consent’ to your death, and nor will you; and you cannot ‘consent’ to your rebirth in the waters of Holy Baptism or your resurrection on the Last Day. Consent surely has a proper place and time and purpose, but it has nothing to do with your salvation — except in the negative, for you can certainly object, and you can certainly reject God’s free gift. So do not reject your Baptism, do not take off the white robes you were given, lest you hear the words of the Master from Matthew 22: “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?”
Man is not spirit alone (and interactions with the spirit of a man are typically mediated by the flesh — by the senses — anyway), and so God has not left us with no way for the flesh, for the body, to interact with His good promises. God has graciously provided us with the Sacraments — Holy Baptism, in which we are sealed in Christ, and the Lord’s Supper, in which the faith given to us in the waters of Baptism is strengthened — and we should esteem and cherish these gifts, for they are, respectively, our seal and confirmation that we are, indeed, invited wedding guests who belong at the glorious feast at the consummation of all things.
Amen.
Readings* Psalm 150 * Psalm 147 * Deuteronomy 34:1–12 * Matthew 21:1–22 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:27–29 FeastToday we celebrate the Feast of All Souls’ Day. All Souls’ Day is the first of two days in the season of Allhallowtide (which began yesterday on Halloween). Where All Saints’ Day is a joyous celebration of the resurrection of all who believe in Christ, All Souls’ Day is a somber contemplation of sin and mortality. The Festival of All Souls’ Day is rightly observed with fasting and prayer, both as individual Christians and as Christian nations.
Readings* Psalm 46 * Psalm 115 * Deuteronomy 32:28–52 * Matthew 20:17–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:22–26 FestivalToday we celebrate the festival of Reformation Day and the beginning of the three-day season of Allhallowtide (also known as Halloween). On 31 October 1517, an Augustinian monk nailed ninety-five theses, points for discussion, to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. Dr. Martin Luther did not, at the time, intend a break with the Roman church; rather, he sought only to address a number of pressing matters, among them indulgences. Rome, however, wanted nothing of Luther’s suggested discussion, and would eventually excommunicate him, declare him a heretic, and seek his death. Refusing to compromise on the rediscovered Gospel, Luther would go on to translate the New Testament, publish numerous works, and, above all, spark a Reformation that would see the restoration of Christ’s Church, over and against the heresies of Rome. We celebrate Reformation Day in remembrance of God’s great mercy and His steadfast love, of His work through Martin Luther that rescued the Gospel, enabling us to stand and, with Luther, declare of the Truth:
“Hier stehe ich — ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen.”
Or, in English:
“Here I stand — I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”
Readings* Psalm 90 * Deuteronomy 31:30—32:27 * Matthew 20:1–16 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:16–21
Readings* Psalm 56 * Psalm 58 * Deuteronomy 31:1–29 * Matthew 19:16–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:9–15
Readings* Psalm 127 * Psalm 132 * Deuteronomy 30:1–20 * Matthew 19:1–15 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:1–8
Readings* Psalm 20 * Psalm 25 * Deuteronomy 29:1–29 * Matthew 18:21–35 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:60–71
Readings Psalm 12 * Psalm 9 * Deuteronomy 28:1–68 * Matthew 18:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:50–59 CommemorationToday we commemorate Philipp Nicolai, Johann Heermann, and Paul Gerhardt, Hymnwriters*. Philipp Nicolai was a German pastor who lived through the Great Plague, which took the lives of thirteen hundred members of his parish. Despite hardships, he contributed hymns which the Church uses to this day — among them, “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying” and “O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright”. Johann Heermann was a German pastor who lived through the Thirty Years’ War, and contributed a number of hymns to the corpus. Paul Gerhardt was a German pastor who also lived through the Thirty Years’ War, lost his pastoral position for refusing to compromise his beliefs, and wrote over one hundred hymns; he is regarded as one of Lutheranism’s finest hymnwriters.
Readings* Psalm 93 * Psalm 87 * Deuteronomy 27:1–26 * Matthew 17:14–27 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:40–49
Readings* Psalm 99 * Psalm 97 * Deuteronomy 25:17—26:19 * Matthew 17:1–13 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:28–39
Readings* Revelation 14:6–7 * Psalm 46 * Romans 3:19–28 * Matthew 11:12–19 * John 8:31–36
Readings* Psalm 107 * Deuteronomy 24:10—25:10 * Matthew 16:13–28 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:18–27
Readings* Psalm 62 * Psalm 119:137–144 * Deuteronomy 21:1–23 * Matthew 16:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:7–17
Readings* Psalm 142 * Psalm 91 * Deuteronomy 20:1–20 * Matthew 15:21–39 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:1–6
Readings* Psalm 138 * Psalm 140 * Deuteronomy 19:1–21 * Matthew 15:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXII:9–17
Readings* Psalm 80 * Deuteronomy 18:1–22 * Matthew 14:22–36 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXII:1–8
Readings* Psalm 75 * Psalm 77 * Deuteronomy 17:1–20 * Matthew 14:1–21 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:38–44 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Luke, Evangelist. A traveling companion of St. Paul, St. Luke was a Greek physician, who would author one of the four Gospels and the Book of Acts. It is Luke who gives us details of Christ’s birth and many other events. Taken together, The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts comprise over a third of the New Testament.
Readings Psalm 39 * Psalm 38 * Deuteronomy 15:19—16:22 * Matthew 13:44–58 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:31–37 CommemorationToday we commemorate Ignatius of Antioch, Pastor and Martyr. Serving as bishop of Antioch in the beginning of the second century AD, Ignatius was a proponent of orthodox Christian doctrine. Arrested under Emperor Trajan, Ignatius, like Paul, was taken in chains to Rome, where he was executed by being thrown to wild beasts in the arena. In his letters, written on the way to Rome, Ignatius warned against false teachings, encouraged his fellow pastors, emphasized Christ’s full humanity and* full deity, defended the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, and stressed the unity of the Church (being the first to use the term “catholic” in describing her). Ignatius left behind a lasting legacy for the Church.
Readings* Psalm 37 * Deuteronomy 14:1—15:15 * Matthew 13:24–43 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:21–30
Readings* Psalm 119:33–40 * Psalm 34 * Deuteronomy 13:1–18 * Matthew 13:1–23 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:14–20
Readings* Psalm 114 * Psalm 124 * Deuteronomy 12:13–32 * Matthew 12:38–50 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:1–13
Readings* Psalm 111 * Psalm 115 * Deuteronomy 11:26—12:12 * Matthew 12:22–37 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XX:86–92
Readings* Psalm 119:97–104 * Psalm 146 * Deuteronomy 11:1–25 * Matthew 12:1–21 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XX:78–85
Readings* Psalm 23 * Psalm 114 * Deuteronomy 9:23—10:22 * Matthew 11:20–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XVIII:67–76, XIX:77 CommemorationToday we commemorate Philip the Deacon. One of the seven men appointed to help the Apostles handle the work of the rapidly expanding Early Church by overseeing the distribution of food to the poor, Philip would go on to work as an evangelist in Samaria. Pursuant to the word of God brought to him by an angel, Philip encountered an Ethiopian eunuch, an official in the court of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, on the road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza. In preaching the Good News to this man (and baptizing him), Philip became indirectly responsible for transmitting the Gospel to the continent of Africa.
Readings* Psalm 106 * Deuteronomy 9:1–22 * Matthew 11:1–19 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XVI:61–65, XVII:66
Readings* Psalm 103 * Deuteronomy 8:1–20 * Matthew 10:24–42 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XVI:53–60 CommemorationToday we commemorate Abraham. Selected from among the nations and called by God to become the father of a great nation, Abraham left his home and all that he had ever known, at the age of seventy-five, and moved to the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and to his descendants (a promise fulfilled under the reign of Israel’s monarchs). At the age of one hundred, Abraham had Isaac with his wife Sarah — a miraculous birth according to the promise from God. Demonstrating his obedience to and trust in God in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac (a sacrifice God stopped by speaking from Heaven and providing a ram), Abraham is commended for his trusting faith in God and His promises. Through the Seed of Abraham, that is Jesus Christ, all nations have been blessed.
Readings* Psalm 126 * Psalm 141 * Deuteronomy 7:1–19 * Matthew 10:1–23 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XV:45–52
Readings Psalm 121 * Psalm 131 * Deuteronomy 6:10–25 * Matthew 9:18–38 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XV:31–44 CommemorationToday we commemorate Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg, Pastor*. Born in Einbeck, Germany, in 1711, Mühlenberg moved to the American colonies in 1742. Helping to found many Lutheran congregations through tireless travel, Mühlenberg would become the guiding force behind the formation of the first Lutheran Synod in North America — the Ministerium of Pennsylvania. Remembered as a church leader, liturgist, and pastor, when Mühlenberg died in 1787, he left behind not only a large extended family, but also a lasting heritage: American Lutheranism.
Readings* Psalm 91 * Psalm 97 * Deuteronomy 5:22—6:9 * Matthew 9:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XV:22–30
Readings* Psalm 86 * Deuteronomy 5:1–21 * Matthew 8:18–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XV:13–21
Readings* Psalm 80 * Deuteronomy 4:21–40 * Matthew 8:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XV:1–12
Readings* Psalm 119:9–16 * Psalm 125 * Deuteronomy 4:1–20 * Matthew 7:13–29 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIV:24–28
Readings* Psalm 3 * Psalm 2 * Deuteronomy 3:1–29 * Matthew 7:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIII:14–23
Readings* Psalm 130 * Psalm 51 * Deuteronomy 2:16–37 * Matthew 6:16–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIII:1–13
Readings* Psalm 119:161–168 * Psalm 63 * Deuteronomy 1:37—2:15 * Matthew 6:1–15 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIB:77–81
Readings Psalm 19 * Psalm 34 * Deuteronomy 1:19–36 * Matthew 5:21–48 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIIB:67–76 FeastToday we celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels*. One of the archangels, tradition names Michael as patron and protector of the Church and of Christians. Mentioned in the Biblical books of Daniel, Jude, and Revelation, Michael leads the hosts of Heaven into battle against Satan and his demons — a victory assured by the blood of Christ, and announced in Revelation 12:10 by a voice from Heaven:
“Now the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down[.]”
Readings* Psalm 145 * Deuteronomy 1:1–18 * Matthew 5:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIIB:58–66
Readings* Psalm 91 * Malachi 3:6—4:6 * Matthew 4:12–25 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIIB:51–57
Readings* Psalm 16 * Psalm 32 * Malachi 2:1—3:5 * Matthew 4:1–11 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIIB:43–50
Readings* Psalm 51 * Psalm 12 * Malachi 1:1–14 * Matthew 3:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIIB:34–42
Readings* Joel ch 2, vv 12–19 * Psalm 51, vv 1–19 * 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10 * Matthew 6:1–21
Readings* Psalm 9 * Psalm 31 * Isaiah 52:13—54:10 * Matthew 2:13–23 * Large Catechism I:254–262 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of The Holy Innocents, Martyrs. Threatened by the prophecies concerning a “King of the Jews”, King Herod plotted to find and kill Jesus using the Wise Men, but was thwarted in that plan when the Wise Men went back to their lands by another route. Angered and still plotting to thwart the prophecy, Herod had all male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger murdered. We commemorate these innocents as a reminder of the depravity, brutality, and evil that can take residence in the human heart and of the persecution Jesus suffered even before His earthly ministry had begun. By the hand of God, Jesus was spared from being numbered amongst the slain, for His path led to a different death — on a cross at Golgotha, to pay the price for our sins.
Readings* Psalm 72 * Psalm 92 * Isaiah 51:17—52:12 * Matthew 2:1–12 * Large Catechism I:245–253 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. St. John, son of Zebedee and brother of James the Elder, was among the first disciples to be called by Jesus, and became known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. During Christ’s ministry, John witnessed many of Christ’s miracles, was present for the Transfiguration, went with Peter to reserve the upper room for the Last Supper, and, alone among the Disciples, did not forsake Christ during His Passion, remaining near Christ through the crucifixion. From the cross, Jesus made John guardian of Mary, His mother. John would go on to be a founding father of the Early Church. From John, we have the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation, which was revealed to him while he was banished to Patmos by Emperor Domitian. John outlived all of the other Apostles, dying in Ephesus at around age one hundred.
Readings* Psalm 34 * Psalm 60 * Isaiah 49:22—51:16 * Matthew 1:18–25 * Large Catechism I:234–244 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Stephen, Martyr. St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons of the Church, appointed to distribute food and other necessities to the poor of the growing Christian community. In addition to such duties, the deacons also taught and preached. When some of his colleagues became jealous, they brought him before the Sanhedrin on false charges of blasphemy. Before the Sanhedrin, Stephen confessed his faith in Christ and rebuked members of the Sanhedrin for rejecting the Messiah. Infuriated, the Sanhedrin had Stephen dragged outside the city and stoned. Honored as the first martyr of the Church, Stephen is remembered for his dying words: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Readings* Psalm 96 * Psalm 150 * Isaiah 49:1–18 * Matthew 1:1–17 * Large Catechism I:222–233 FeastToday we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord. During the Season of Advent, we prepared for the coming of Christ, and, now, on the 25th of December, Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of our Lord, God, Savior, and King. Christ’s birth was the fulfillment of part of the prophecy back in Genesis 3:15, and the promise would be completely fulfilled in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. In His birth, Christ humbled Himself and took on human flesh — true God became true Man. In order to save you from your sins, God did not send a mere prophet; rather, He sent His only begotten Son to take your place on the cross and die for your sins. His death is our life — what Luther called a ‘wonderful exchange’.
Readings* Psalm 118 * Daniel 1:1–21 * Matthew 28:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:57–63
Readings* Psalm 20 * Psalm 18 * Jeremiah 38:1–28 * Matthew 27:57–66 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:47–56
Readings* Psalm 22 * Jeremiah 37:1–21 * Matthew 27:33–56 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:40–46
Readings* Psalm 148 * Jeremiah 33:1–22 * Matthew 27:11–32 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:34–39
Readings* Psalm 54 * Psalm 139 * Jeremiah 31:1–34 * Matthew 27:1–10 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:28–33
Readings* Psalm 51 * Jeremiah 30:1–24 * Matthew 26:57–75 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:24–27
Readings Psalm 53 * Psalm 55 * Jeremiah 29:1–19 * Matthew 26:36–56 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:18–23 CommemorationToday we commemorate Emperor Justinian, Christian Ruler and Confessor of Christ*. Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from AD 527 to AD 565, Justinian oversaw a renaissance during which an empire long in decline briefly resurged. Under his leadership, the Roman Empire retook North Africa, Italy, and Spain. However, Justinian is primarily remembered for his codification of Roman law (a basis of many systems to this day) and his staunch defense of and support for the Christian faith.
Readings* Psalm 116 * Psalm 50 * Jeremiah 26:1–19 * Matthew 26:20–35 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:11–17
Readings* Psalm 137 * Psalm 130 * Jeremiah 25:1–18 * Matthew 26:1–19 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:9–10
Readings Psalm 143 * Psalm 105 * Jeremiah 23:21–40 * Matthew 25:31–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXVII:1–8 CommemorationToday we commemorate Martin of Tours, Pastor*. Born into a pagan family in what is today Hungary, Martin grew up in Lombardy, Italy. Converting to Christianity in his youth, Martin initially served in the Roman military, but later left the military to become a monk — referring to himself as “Christ’s soldier”. Martin went on to become Bishop of Tours in Gaul (modern France), and is remembered for his simple lifestyle and his dedication to spreading the Gospel throughout rural Gaul.
Readings* Psalm 24 * Psalm 25 * Jeremiah 23:1–20 * Matthew 25:14–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:96–99
Readings Psalm 147 * Jeremiah 22:1–23 * Matthew 25:1–13 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:89–95 CommemorationToday we commemorate the birth of Martin Chemnitz, Pastor and Confessor. Known as “the other Martin”, Martin Chemnitz stands as, aside from Martin Luther, the most important theologian in the history of the Lutheran Church. When disagreements arose in the wake of Luther’s death, it was Chemnitz who became the driving force behind the Formula of Concord, which restored unity. Among his many works, the four-volume Examination of the Council of Trent stands as one of Chemnitz’s greatest works; in the Examen*, Chemnitz subjected the teachings of the Roman church to Scripture and to the Church Fathers — Rome has never responded.
Readings Psalm 143 * Psalm 144 * Jeremiah 20:1–18 * Matthew 24:29–51 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:78–88 CommemorationToday we commemorate Johannes von Staupitz, Luther’s Father Confessor*. Vicar-General of the Augustinian order in Germany, Johannes von Staupitz was born in Saxony. Called in 1503, by Frederick the Wise, to serve as dean of the theological faculty at the newly established University of Wittenberg, von Staupitz would go on to encourage Luther to obtain his doctorate in theology and to appoint Luther to be his successor as professor of Bible at Wittenberg. It was von Staupitz who counseled Luther early on in Luther’s life, when Luther was an Augustinian monk struggling with the idea of God’s grace, to focus not upon himself but upon Christ.
Readings* Psalm 121 * Psalm 135 * Jeremiah 11:1–23 * Matthew 24:1–28 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:68–77
Readings* Psalm 118 * Jeremiah 8:18—9:12 * Matthew 23:13–39 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:60–67
Readings* Psalm 38 * Jeremiah 7:1–29 * Matthew 23:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:52–59
Readings* Psalm 110 * Psalm 108 * Jeremiah 5:1–19 * Matthew 22:23–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:41-51
Readings* Psalm 15 * Psalm 26 * Jeremiah 3:6—4:2 * Matthew 22:1–22 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:35–40
Readings* Psalm 118 * Jeremiah 1:1–19 * Matthew 21:23–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:30–34 FestivalToday we celebrate the Feast of All Saints’ Day. As Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, so All Saints’ Day celebrates the resurrection of all those who believe in Him. On this day, we contemplate the scope and scale of Christ’s work — winning for His Kingdom men, women, and children from every tribe and nation. We are, indeed, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. It is such resurrection that allows us to confess that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed”. Today we celebrate with the entire Church catholic the coming eternal Kingdom and the consummation of all things.
Readings* Psalm 150 * Psalm 147 * Deuteronomy 34:1–12 * Matthew 21:1–22 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIV:27–29 FeastToday we celebrate the Feast of All Souls’ Day. All Souls’ Day is the first of two days in the season of Allhallowtide (which began yesterday on Halloween). Where All Saints’ Day is a joyous celebration of the resurrection of all who believe in Christ, All Souls’ Day is a somber contemplation of sin and mortality. The Festival of All Souls’ Day is rightly observed with fasting and prayer, both as individual Christians and as Christian nations.
Readings* Psalm 46 * Psalm 115 * Deuteronomy 32:28–52 * Matthew 20:17–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:22–26 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of Reformation Day and the beginning of the three-day season of Allhallowtide (also known as Halloween). On 31 October 1517, an Augustinian monk nailed ninety-five theses, points for discussion, to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. Dr. Martin Luther did not, at the time, intend a break with the Roman church; rather, he sought only to address a number of pressing matters, among them indulgences. Rome, however, wanted nothing of Luther’s suggested discussion, and would eventually excommunicate him, declare him a heretic, and seek his death. Refusing to compromise on the rediscovered Gospel, Luther would go on to translate the New Testament, publish numerous works, and, above all, spark a Reformation that would see the restoration of Christ’s Church, over and against the heresies of Rome. We celebrate Reformation Day in remembrance of God’s great mercy and His steadfast love, of His work through Martin Luther that rescued the Gospel, enabling us to stand and, with Luther, declare of the Truth:
“Hier stehe ich — ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen.”
Or, in English:
“Here I stand — I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”
Readings* Psalm 90 * Deuteronomy 31:30—32:27 * Matthew 20:1–16 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:16–21
Readings* Psalm 56 * Psalm 58 * Deuteronomy 31:1–29 * Matthew 19:16–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:9–15
Readings* Psalm 127 * Psalm 132 * Deuteronomy 30:1–20 * Matthew 19:1–15 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV:1–8 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles. Simon and Jude are typically listed tenth and eleventh when the Apostles are named; Simon is called “the Zealot” and Jude is also known as Judas (not Iscariot) or Thaddeus. According to tradition Simon and Jude, together, spread the Gospel to Persia, where they were martyred, hence we commemorate them on the same day.
Readings* Psalm 20 * Psalm 25 * Deuteronomy 29:1–29 * Matthew 18:21–35 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:60–71
Readings* Psalm 12 * Psalm 9 * Deuteronomy 28:1–68 * Matthew 18:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:50–59
Readings Psalm 93 * Psalm 87 * Deuteronomy 27:1–26 * Matthew 17:14–27 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XIII:40–49 CommemorationToday we commemorate Dorcas (also known as Tabitha), Lydia, and Phoebe, Faithful Women*. These three faithful women exemplified what it means to live a Christian life. Tabitha is remembered for her charitable acts in Joppa, particularly for making clothing for the poor. When Tabitha died suddenly, Peter came from nearby Lydda and raised her from the dead. Lydia was a dealer in purple dye, an expensive and in-demand product in the ancient world; converted to Christianity by Paul’s preaching, Lydia became a patron of the church in Philippi. Phoebe was a servant of the church in Cenchreae who delivered Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, in which Paul praises her support of the Church.
Readings* Revelation 14:6–7 * Psalm 46 * Romans 3:19–28 * John 8:31–36 * Matthew 11:12–19
Readings* Psalm 99 * Psalm 97 * Deuteronomy 25:17—26:19 * Matthew 17:1–13 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:28–39
Readings* Psalm 107 * Deuteronomy 24:10—25:10 * Matthew 16:13–28 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:18–27 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr. Also known as “James the Just”, St. James of Jerusalem did not believe in the divinity of Christ until after the Resurrection. After converting, James became a leader in the early Christian community, and, after Peter’s departure from that city, James became bishop of the Church in Jerusalem. According to Josephus, James was stoned to death by the Sadducees in AD 62. James authored the Epistle that bears his name and exhorts Christians to remain in and live out the one true Faith.
Readings* Psalm 62 * Psalm 119:137–144 * Deuteronomy 21:1–23 * Matthew 16:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:7–17
Readings* Psalm 142 * Psalm 91 * Deuteronomy 20:1–20 * Matthew 15:21–39 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIII:1–6
Readings* Psalm 138 * Psalm 140 * Deuteronomy 19:1–20 * Matthew 15:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXII:9–17
Readings* Psalm 80 * Deuteronomy 18:1–22 * Matthew 14:22–36 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXII:1–8
Readings* Psalm 75 * Psalm 77 * Deuteronomy 17:1–20 * Matthew 14:1–21 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:38–44 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Luke, Evangelist. A traveling companion of St. Paul, St. Luke was a Greek physician, who would author one of the four Gospels and the Book of Acts. It is Luke who gives us details of Christ’s birth and many other events. Taken together, The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts comprise over a third of the New Testament.
Readings Psalm 39 * Psalm 38 * Deuteronomy 15:19—16:22 * Matthew 13:44–58 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:31–37 CommemorationToday we commemorate Ignatius of Antioch, Pastor and Martyr. Serving as bishop of Antioch in the beginning of the second century AD, Ignatius was a proponent of orthodox Christian doctrine. Arrested under Emperor Trajan, Ignatius, like Paul, was taken in chains to Rome, where he was executed by being thrown to wild beasts in the arena. In his letters, written on the way to Rome, Ignatius warned against false teachings, encouraged his fellow pastors, emphasized Christ’s full humanity and* full deity, defended the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, and stressed the unity of the Church (being the first to use the term “catholic” in describing her). Ignatius left behind a lasting legacy for the Church.
Readings* Psalm 37 * Deuteronomy 14:1—15:15 * Matthew 13:24–43 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:21–30
Readings* Psalm 119:33–40 * Psalm 34 * Deuteronomy 13:1–18 * Matthew 13:1–23 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXI:14–20
Readings* Psalm 114 * Psalm 124 * Deuteronomy 12:13–32 * Matthew 12:38–50 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 1–13a
Readings* Psalm 111 * Psalm 115 * Deuteronomy 11:26—12:12 * Matthew 12:22–37 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XX, 86–92
Readings* Psalm 119:97–104 * Psalm 146 * Deuteronomy 11:1–25 * Matthew 12:1–21 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XX, 78–85
Readings* Psalm 23 * Psalm 114 * Deuteronomy 9:23—10:22 * Matthew 11:20–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVIII, 67–76; XIX, 77 CommemorationToday we commemorate Philip the Deacon. One of the seven men appointed to help the Apostles handle the work of the rapidly expanding Early Church by overseeing the distribution of food to the poor, Philip would go on to work as an evangelist in Samaria. Pursuant to the word of God brought to him by an angel, Philip encountered an Ethiopian eunuch, an official in the court of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, on the road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza. In preaching the Good News to this man (and baptizing him), Philip became indirectly responsible for transmitting the Gospel to the continent of Africa.
Readings* Psalm 106 * Deuteronomy 9:1–22 * Matthew 11:1–19 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVI, 61–65; XVII, 66
Readings* Psalm 103 * Deuteronomy 8:1–20 * Matthew 10:24–42 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVI, 53–60 CommemorationToday we commemorate Abraham. Selected from among the nations and called by God to become the father of a great nation, Abraham left his home and all that he had ever known, at the age of seventy-five, and moved to the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and to his descendants (a promise fulfilled under the reign of Israel’s monarchs). At the age of one hundred, Abraham had Isaac with his wife Sarah — a miraculous birth according to the promise from God. Demonstrating his obedience to and trust in God in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac (a sacrifice God stopped by speaking from Heaven and providing a ram), Abraham is commended for his trusting faith in God and His promises. Through the Seed of Abraham, that is Jesus Christ, all nations have been blessed.
Readings* Psalm 126 * Psalm 141 * Deuteronomy 7:1–19 * Matthew 10:1–23 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 45–52
Readings* Psalm 121 * Psalm 131 * Deuteronomy 6:10–25 * Matthew 9:18–38 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 31-44
Readings* Psalm 91 * Psalm 97 * Deuteronomy 5:22—6:9 * Matthew 9:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 22–30
Readings* Psalm 86 * Deuteronomy 5:1–21 * Matthew 8:18–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 13–21
Readings* Psalm 80 * Deuteronomy 4:21–40 * Matthew 8:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 1–12
Readings* Psalm 119:9–16 * Psalm 125 * Deuteronomy 4:1–20 * Matthew 7:13–29 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIV, 24–28
Readings* Psalm 3 * Psalm 2 * Deuteronomy 3:1–29 * Matthew 7:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIII, 14–23
Readings* Psalm 130 * Psalm 51 * Deuteronomy 2:16–37 * Matthew 6:16–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIII, 1–13
Readings* Psalm 119:161–168 * Psalm 63 * Deuteronomy 1:37—2:15 * Matthew 6:1–15 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIb, 77–81
Readings Psalm 19 * Psalm 34 * Deuteronomy 1:19–36 * Matthew 5:21–48 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIb, 67–76 FeastToday we celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels*. One of the archangels, tradition names Michael as patron and protector of the Church and of Christians. Mentioned in the Biblical books of Daniel, Jude, and Revelation, Michael leads the hosts of Heaven into battle against Satan and his demons — a victory assured by the blood of Christ, and announced in Revelation 12:10 by a voice from Heaven:
“Now the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down[.]”
Readings* Psalm 145 * Deuteronomy 1:1–18 * Matthew 5:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIb, 58–66
Readings* Psalm 91 * Malachi 3:6—4:6 * Matthew 4:12–25 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIb, 51–57
Readings* Psalm 16 * Psalm 32 * Malachi 2:1—3:5 * Matthew 4:1–11 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIb, 43–50
Readings* Psalm 51 * Psalm 12 * Malachi 1:1–14 * Matthew 3:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIb, 34–42
Readings* Psalm 9 * Psalm 31 * Isaiah 52:13—54:10 * Matthew 2:13–23 * Large Catechism, I, 254–262 CommemorationToday we celebrate the Festival of The Holy Innocents, Martyrs. Threatened by the prophecies concerning a “King of the Jews”, King Herod plotted to find and kill Jesus using the Wise Men, but was thwarted in that plan when the Wise Men went back to their lands by another route. Angered and still plotting to thwart the prophecy, Herod had all male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger murdered. We commemorate these innocents as a reminder of the depravity, brutality, and evil that can take residence in the human heart and of the persecution Jesus suffered even before His earthly ministry had begun. By the hand of God, Jesus was spared from being numbered amongst the slain, for His path led to a different death — on a cross at Golgotha, to pay the price for our sins.
Readings* Psalm 72 * Psalm 92 * Isaiah 51:17—52:12 * Matthew 2:1–12 * Large Catechism, I, 245–253 CommemorationToday we celebrate the Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. St. John, son of Zebedee and brother of James the Elder, was among the first disciples to be called by Jesus, and became known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. During Christ’s ministry, John witnessed many of Christ’s miracles, was present for the Transfiguration, went with Peter to reserve the upper room for the Last Supper, and, alone among the Disciples, did not forsake Christ during His Passion, remaining near Christ through the crucifixion. From the cross, Jesus made John guardian of Mary, His mother. John would go on to be a founding father of the Early Church. From John, we have the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation, which was revealed to him while he was banished to Patmos by Emperor Domitian. John outlived all of the other Apostles, dying in Ephesus at around age one hundred.
Readings* Psalm 34 * Psalm 60 * Isaiah 49:22—51:16 * Matthew 1:18–25 * Large Catechism, I, 234–244 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. Stephen, Martyr. St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons of the Church, appointed to distribute food and other necessities to the poor of the growing Christian community. In addition to such duties, the deacons also taught and preached. When some of his colleagues became jealous, they brought him before the Sanhedrin on false charges of blasphemy. Before the Sanhedrin, Stephen confessed his faith in Christ and rebuked members of the Sanhedrin for rejecting the Messiah. Infuriated, the Sanhedrin had Stephen dragged outside the city and stoned. Honored as the first martyr of the Church, Stephen is remembered for his dying words: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
Readings* Psalm 96 * Psalm 150 * Isaiah 49:1–18 * Matthew 1:1–17 * Large Catechism, I, 222–233 CommemorationToday we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord. During the Season of Advent, we prepared for the coming of Christ, and, now, on the 25th of December, Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of our Lord, God, Savior, and King. Christ’s birth was the fulfillment of part of the prophecy back in Genesis 3:15, and the promise would be completely fulfilled in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. In His birth, Christ humbled Himself and took on human flesh — true God became true Man. In order to save you from your sins, God did not send a mere prophet; rather, He sent His only begotten Son to take your place on the cross and die for your sins. His death is our life — what Luther called a ‘wonderful exchange’.
Readings* Ezekiel 34:11–16, 20–24 * Psalm 95:1–7a * 1 Corinthians 15:20–28 * Matthew 25:31–46
Readings* Psalm 118 * Daniel 1:1–21 * Matthew 28:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 57–63
Readings* Psalm 20 * Psalm 18 * Jeremiah 38:1–28 * Matthew 27:57–66 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 47–56
Readings* Psalm 22 * Jeremiah 37:1–21 * Matthew 27:33–56 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 40–46
Readings* Psalm 148 * Jeremiah 33:1–22 * Matthew 27:11–32 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 34–39
Readings* Psalm 54 * Psalm 139 * Jeremiah 31:1–34 * Matthew 27:1–10 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 28–33
Readings* Psalm 51 * Jeremiah 30:1–24 * Matthew 26:57–75 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 24–27
Readings* Psalm 53 * Psalm 55 * Jeremiah 29:1–19 * Matthew 26:36–56 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 18–23
Readings* Psalm 116 * Psalm 50 * Jeremiah 26:1–19 * Matthew 26:20–35 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 11–17
- Amos 5:18–24
- Psalm 70
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
- Matthew 25:1–13 I assure you, the balance of the homily will be in English, but:
Mit ihrem heil’gen Wetterschlage,
Mit Unerbittlichkeit vollbringt
Die Noth an Einem großen Tage,
Was kaum Jahrhunderten gelingt;
Und wenn in ihren Ungewittern
Selbst ein Elysium vergeht,
Und Welten ihrem Donner zittern —
Was groß und göttlich ist, besteht. —
If you will permit me, an English approximation, also in rhyme:
Necessity, with bolt and thunder,
inescapably she weaves,
what scarcely centuries may ponder,
one great day she achieves.
And when she with tempest razes,
e’en an Elysium secure,
And with her storms worlds unsettles,
— the great and godly does endure.
Surely the day of the Lord swiftly approaches, and, just as surely will all flesh stand before the Lord and give account. As the plans of princes perish with them, so all the plans — whether they be the construction of a utopia or the construction of a new hell — of all mankind pass away with the passing of this creation on that ultimate Day of the Lord. And yet there is not one day of the Lord. Yes, if we capitalize “Day” or emphasize the definite article, then, certainly there is but one Day of the Lord, for that is the Last Day (of this creation) — the great and terrible Day of Lord, the Last Judgement —, but there are many (lowercase, indefinite) days of the Lord, for every day in which the Lord visits judgement upon a man, a family, a tribe, a nation, a race, is, indeed, a day of the Lord.
I may not live to see the Day of the Lord; you may not live to see the Day of the Lord; no man knows the day or the hour, and, personally, I refuse to speculate on such things (and I suggest you also refrain from such speculation). It hardly matters anyway — whether we are raised from the dust or merely changed on that day, we will certainly stand before the Judge and Lord of all things, and we are all always only a moment away from that day. I could drop dead here and now (although, as I am writing and recording this homily, and not delivering it live, it would be fairly unlikely you would read or hear any of this if I should die before I finish writing, recording, et cetera). You are neither more nor less mortal than I. We are all but a moment — but a heartbeat — away from the great and awesome Day of the Lord. But we are also some unknown period of time away from any number of other days of the Lord. How long will God ‘tolerate’ our worship of Moloch — abortion and hormonal ‘birth control’ — before He destroys us as He did the Canaanites and the Carthaginians? How long will He ‘tolerate’ our not mere acceptance but promotion of sodomy and all manner of sexual perversion before He wipes us away like Sodom and Gomorrah? How long will He ‘tolerate’ our worship of Mammon before He destroys us with a foreign foe as He did the Northern Kingdom with the Assyrians or at least takes us into captivity as He did the Southern Kingdom with the Babylonians? How long will He ‘tolerate’ our obstinacy before He sends upon us plague and desolation as He did with the Egyptians? How long will He ‘tolerate’ our impenitent, high-handed wickedness before He gives us up to our sins as Romans 1 warns? There have been many days of the Lord and there will undoubtedly be more before the end finally comes. Or are we such fools that we hold to some sort of theological version of the secular foolishness that is the ‘end of history’? ‘Oh,’ the fool says, ‘God may have judged and intervened in ages past, but surely now, in these modern days, He no longer does so.’ Do you not know that God kills each man who dies? And I do mean ‘man’ in the general sense, for He surely kills every woman and child as well. Were you operating under the delusional belief that death is a part of nature? Hear the Word of the Lord:
»Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned[.]«
— Romans 5:12 (ESV)
Death was not part of God’s good plan, part of His good ordering of Creation; rather, death entered the world only through and as a consequence of sin. God hates sin and God hates sinners. Without sinners, there would be no sin, and you are not a sinner because you sin, but, rather, you sin because you are a sinner — it is an inborn and inescapable (in this life) corruption of your nature. You are inwardly tempted by your fallen and corrupt nature — this we term concupiscence; even when you do not actively sin, you still desire to sin, and that desire is itself sin. The Gospel is good news precisely because we cannot avoid sin in this life. We are born under an irremovable death sentence, and God will carry out His perfect justice just as surely as He has, does, and will uphold each and every one of His promises. In Adam, as the federal head of all mankind, we all fell, and so our status, from birth until death, is sinner, and God will kill every sinner, for God will see all sin destroyed. For those of us who are being prepared for everlasting glory, this means that, having already passed from death to life in the waters of Holy Baptism, we will never taste the second death, which is the eternal and inescapable fires of Hell. The perfect justice of God requires atonement for sin. Christ’s work on the cross (and during His perfect earthly life) atoned for all sin — not just the sin of the Elect, not even just the sin of men. Why, then, are not all men saved? Because it is possible to reject this free gift. If I were to ship you a nice bottle of wine, you could refuse shipment, and you would, therefore, not be able to enjoy said wine; this would not in any way change that I had paid for the wine. Similarly, the refusal of any man to believe is not in any way relevant to the fact that Christ redeemed all things in and by His work.
And let us take heed lest we fall: Those who believe may fall away. Look to the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Did the five foolish virgins have fake fire? Certainly not. They had true fire — saving faith — and they allowed it to die. ‘If you were of your father Abraham, then you would do his works.’ ‘Faith without works is dead.’ ‘Show me faith without works and I will show you my faith by my works.’
Are you saved by works? Yes. You are saved — as are all who are numbered among the Elect — by the works of one Man, Christ. Your own works surely cannot save you — cannot contribute anything to your justification —, and yet sanctification is synergistic — in sanctification, we coöperate with the Spirit. Or we do not coöperate and we permit our faith to die. All ten of the virgins were given faith (the fire) and yet only five of them kept that fire alive (i.e., produced works — the oil). A living faith will necessarily produce good works. A bit of grammar and philosophy: It matters where we place the modifier and what the modifier is. If someone says that ‘works are necessary for salvation’, then he is a heretic; if someone says that ‘works are necessary to salvation’, then he is being dangerously vague, and should be corrected; if someone says that ‘works will necessarily flow from saving faith’, then he is speaking the truth, for he is just echoing Scripture — a living faith will produce works. To be abundantly clear: Your works will not save you, but, if you have been given the gift of faith and it is a living faith, then it will necessarily produce good works. The good news is that your good works will not save you (in isolation, this certainly sounds like bad news), but Christ’s good works will save you — through faith. You are accounted righteous via the attribution to you of the alien righteousness of Christ; His righteousness is not yours by nature or by right, but by the grace of God, Who applied this righteousness to you when He claimed you as His own in the waters of Holy Baptism. Baptizatus sum ergo salvatus sum — I am baptized, therefore I am saved. If just those two works — Baptizatus Sum — were on my headstone, they would surely be sufficient. Now, Baptism does not destroy or change our nature — I am still male, German, and pertinacious — my Baptism changed none of these things, for they are my nature, and God made my nature, just as surely as He made me —, but Baptism is, in this life, your most important attribute, for it is Baptism that marks you as a child of God. As a great Christian king once said:
I think more of the chapel where I was baptized than of the cathedral where I was crowned king. So the dignity of a child of God which was bestowed on me at Baptism is greater than that of the ruler of this kingdom. The latter I will lose at death, the other will be my passport to everlasting glory.
The great and the small alike take nothing with them when they leave this world, but your Baptism is your ticket to everlasting life. Your works may demonstrate that your faith is living — and God will reward you for them —, but you cannot plead them at the Judgement. Like your wealth or your intelligence, your works contribute nothing to your justification, which will be the matter at issue when you stand before the Judgement Seat; it is only Christ’s blood that you may plead, and you were washed in His blood in Holy Baptism. Your pastor did not baptize you — God did, using your pastor’s hands.
Thus, on the ultimate Day of the Lord, we must all plead sola gratia sola fide solo Christo — by grace alone through faith alone for the sake of Christ alone. With empty hands, but white robes, we will plead only the blood of the Lamb, slain before the foundation of the world: ‘I know that there is nothing good in me, that is in my fallen flesh, but I know beyond all doubt that He Who dwells in me is my righteousness, my justification, my salvation — and He has promised to confess me before the Father as I have, in faith, confessed Him before men. I plead Christ and Christ alone.’ This is the Gospel. Or, in the words of Christ from the cross: “It is finished.”
And yet we must return to those other days of the Lord. What are we to do about those? Here we return to sanctification and works. God was pleased with Abraham because he had a living faith from which good works flowed; on the other hand, God was (and is) angry with the Jews because they did not have a living faith and thus did not do the works of Abraham. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament; the God of the New Testament is the God of the Old Testament; the God Who walked in the Garden is the God Who hung on the tree is the God Who will judge both the living and the dead. If you have ever said ‘that was the Old Testament’, then you had best be certain that it was in reference to the ceremonial law, the civil law, or some basic fact, and not in regard to the Moral Law, for the Moral Law flows from the nature of God and is, therefore, unchanging, and to deny the Moral Law is to deny God. The God Who cast Adam and Eve from the Garden is the God Who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and to Abraham at the oak of Mamre; the God who burned Sodom and Gomorrah to ash — so thoroughly that the location can still be identified today — is the God Who walked with fishermen and tax collectors along the Sea of Galilee; and the God Who guided Old Testament Israel through the desert is the God Who will judge you from His holy throne. He is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. If your god does not slaughter the wicked, open the earth to swallow the apostate, close the heavens to starve the impenitent, send plagues to punish sinners, and actively hate evil, then he is not the Lord God and you are no Christian. God is as active today as He has ever been or will ever be, for God does not change. The faithless and the wicked are still punished; the faithful and the righteous are still rewarded. Children and rain alike are still gifts from God. Plants still do not grow without His good pleasure. He is the God Who raises up and no one breaks down, Who tears down and no one rebuilds, Who sets the boundaries of the nations, Who brings nations into being and destroys nations for faithlessness, and Who holds all things in the palm of His hand and together by His power. Your next breath is contingent on His good pleasure and your every cell division relies upon His guidance. If your god is any smaller than this, then I do not know who he is, but he is not the Lord God. If you do not hold that He blesses the faithful and punishes the wicked, then you accuse Him of hypocrisy and mendacity. Yes, the wicked may flourish for a season, and, in the words of the Psalmist, it may seem a wearisome task to understand this, but we can be absolutely certain that not only does God always settle accounts, but He does so perfectly and at the perfect time. For God, kairos is simply the perpetual and eternal state of things. He sets the wicked in slippery places that their fall may be the more poignant and the more damning — that it may serve as warning and blessing to the faithful. During the (brief) period of Old Testament Israel’s faithfulness, God blessed them both spiritually and materially — and the same holds true for us today. Both we and our fathers have sinned, and so we find ourselves persecuted and in the most desperate of straits in these evil days, but God promises that He will avenge Himself on those Who persecute and harm His sheep. How, then, do we benefit from such promises? By being His sheep — by obedience.
It is overlooked by many — perhaps most — these days, but many of God’s blessings are phrased conditionally — ‘If you will obey my voice, then I will…’ The Jews believed that they would be blessed without faith and without the works of Abraham; God disabused them of this with exile, subjugation by the Romans, destruction of the Temple, expulsion from the land, and many other such signs. Are we truly such fools that we believe we will be blessed if we are faithless? Look at the state of our nation, our country, our civilization, and tell me that we are not cursed, but blessed. Surely God must be close to removing our lampstand entirely, for we are a wicked and faithless generation, an apostate people, a rebellious nation.
And so our task is twofold: We must implore God not to sweep away the righteous (i.e., the faithful) with the wicked and we must endeavor to return our nation to God. The Christian faith is not a matter of quiescence or pacifism — both of which are sin; rather, the Christian faith is an active faith, seeking the conversion of all nations to Christ. The Lord is a Man of war, and we, His servants, must do His work while it is yet day. Christianity is neither a death cult nor a faith that calls upon us to abandon or to accept this wicked world. We are sheep with regard to the Shepherd, but we are soldiers with regard to this, His war. The powers and principalities are most certainly defeated, but we must announce this victory, this good news, this Gospel, first to our brothers according to the flesh and then to the whole world. All of His enemies will be crushed under His feet as He has already crushed the serpent, and it is, in the words of the Psalmist, ‘the glory of His chosen ones’ — of us, the Elect — ‘to strike our feet in the spilt blood of His enemies’. If you do not have one, sell your cloak and buy a sword.
Some will tell you that Christians are called to be ‘meek’, but they will never tell you what meekness actually is. To be meek is to exercise control over one’s strength. Christ is meek; the weak cannot be meek, for they have no strength to control. To be meek is to know when to restrain and when to employ one’s strength; so, yes, let us be meek in the proper sense of the term: Kind and caring toward the sheep, but ruthless to the wolves. Let us, again in the words of the Psalmist, see that ‘our dogs have their portion from the foes’, portions won by our ‘two-edged swords’. Just as we are not to tolerate false doctrine or false teachers in the Church — the Kingdom of the right hand of Christ —, so we are not to tolerate the wicked in the State — the kingdom of the left hand of Christ. As Christ owns both His hands, so He owns both kingdoms, and we, His servants, serve Him best by rendering unto Him what is His. But surely this raises the question: What is God’s? The answer is simple: To the Creator of all things belong all things. Everything is God’s. Thus let us render unto God what is God’s: Heaven and Earth and all that is therein contained.
Amen.
Readings* Psalm 137 * Psalm 130 * Jeremiah 25:1–18 * Matthew 26:1–19 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 9–10
Readings* Psalm 143 * Psalm 105 * Jeremiah 23:21–40 * Matthew 25:31–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 1–8
Readings* Psalm 24 * Psalm 25 * Jeremiah 23:1–20 * Matthew 25:14–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 96–99
Readings Psalm 147 * Jeremiah 22:1–23 * Matthew 25:1–13 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 89–95 CommemorationToday we commemorate the birth of Martin Chemnitz, Pastor and Confessor. Known as “the other Martin”, Martin Chemnitz stands as, aside from Martin Luther, the most important theologian in the history of the Lutheran Church. When disagreements arose in the wake of Luther’s death, it was Chemnitz who became the driving force behind the Formula of Concord, which restored unity. Among his many works, the four-volume Examination of the Council of Trent stands as one of Chemnitz’s greatest works; in the Examen*, Chemnitz subjected the teachings of the Roman church to Scripture and to the Church Fathers — Rome has never responded.
Readings Psalm 143 * Psalm 144 * Jeremiah 20:1–18 * Matthew 24:29–51 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 78–88 CommemorationToday we commemorate Johannes von Staupitz, Luther’s Father Confessor*. Vicar-General of the Augustinian order in Germany, Johannes von Staupitz was born in Saxony. Called in 1503, by Frederick the Wise, to serve as dean of the theological faculty at the newly established University of Wittenberg, Staupitz would go on to encourage Luther to obtain his doctorate in theology and to appoint Luther to be his successor as professor of Bible at Wittenberg. It was Staupitz who counseled Luther early on in Luther’s life, when Luther was an Augustinian monk struggling with the idea of God’s grace, to focus not upon himself but upon Christ.
Readings* Psalm 121 * Psalm 135 * Jeremiah 11:1–23 * Matthew 24:1–28 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 68–77
Readings* Psalm 118 * Jeremiah 8:18—9:12 * Matthew 23:13–39 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 60–67
Readings* Psalm 38 * Jeremiah 7:1–29 * Matthew 23:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 52–59
Readings* Psalm 110 * Psalm 108 * Jeremiah 5:1–19 * Matthew 22:23–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 41–51
Readings* Psalm 15 * Psalm 26 * Jeremiah 3:6—4:2 * Matthew 22:1–22 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 35–40
Readings* Psalm 118 * Jeremiah 1:1–19 * Matthew 21:23–46 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 30–34
Readings* Psalm 150 * Psalm 147 * Deuteronomy 34:1–12 * Matthew 21:1–22 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 27–29 FestivalToday we celebrate the feast of All Saints’ Day. As Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, so All Saints’ Day celebrates the resurrection of all those who believe in Him. On this day, we contemplate the scope and scale of Christ’s work — winning for His Kingdom men, women, and children from every tribe and nation. We are, indeed, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. It is such resurrection that allows us to confess that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed”. Today we celebrate with the entire Church catholic the coming eternal Kingdom and the consummation of all things.
Readings* Psalm 46 * Psalm 115 * Deuteronomy 32:28–52 * Matthew 20:17–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 22–26 FestivalToday we celebrate the festival of Reformation Day. On 31 October 1517, an Augustinian monk nailed ninety-five theses, points for discussion, to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. Dr. Martin Luther did not, at the time, intend a break with the Roman church; rather, he sought only to address a number of pressing matters, among them indulgences. Rome, however, wanted nothing of Luther’s suggested discussion, and would eventually excommunicate him, declare him a heretic, and seek his death. Refusing to compromise on the rediscovered Gospel, Luther would go on to translate the New Testament, publish numerous works, and, above all, spark a Reformation that would see the restoration of Christ’s Church, over and against the heresies of Rome. We celebrate Reformation Day in remembrance of God’s great mercy and His steadfast love, of His work through Martin Luther that rescued the Gospel, enabling us to stand and, with Luther, declare of the Truth:
“Hier stehe ich — ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen.”
Or, in English:
“Here I stand — I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”
Readings* Psalm 90 * Deuteronomy 31:30—32:27 * Matthew 20:1–16 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 16–21
Readings* Psalm 56 * Psalm 58 * Deuteronomy 31:1–29 * Matthew 19:16–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 9–15
Readings* Psalm 127 * Psalm 132 * Deuteronomy 30:1–20 * Matthew 19:1–15 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 1–8 FestivalToday we celebrate the festival of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles. Simon and Jude are typically listed tenth and eleventh when the Apostles are named; Simon is called “the Zealot” and Jude is also known as Judas (not Iscariot) or Thaddeus. According to tradition Simon and Jude, together, spread the Gospel to Persia, where they were martyred, hence we commemorate them on the same day.
Readings* Psalm 20 * Psalm 25 * Deuteronomy 29:1–29 * Matthew 18:21–35 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 60–71
Readings* Revelation 14:6–7 * Psalm 46 * Romans 3:19–28 * John 8:31–36 * Matthew 11:12–19
Readings Psalm 12 * Psalm 9 * Deuteronomy 28:1–22 * Matthew 18:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 50–59 CommemorationToday we commemorate Philipp Nicolai, Johann Heermann, and Paul Gerhardt, Hymnwriters*. Philipp Nicolai was a German pastor who lived through the Great Plague, which took the lives of thirteen hundred members of his parish. Despite hardships, he contributed hymns which the Church uses to this day — among them, “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying” and “O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright”. Johann Heermann was a German pastor who lived through the Thirty Years’ War, and contributed a number of hymns to the corpus. Paul Gerhardt was a German pastor who also lived through the Thirty Years’ War, lost his pastoral position for refusing to compromise his beliefs, and wrote over one hundred hymns; he is regarded as one of Lutheranism’s finest hymnwriters.
Readings Psalm 93 * Psalm 87 * Deuteronomy 27:1–26 * Matthew 17:14–27 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 40–49 CommemorationToday we commemorate Dorcas (also known as Tabitha), Lydia, and Phoebe, Faithful Women*. These three faithful women exemplified what it means to live a Christian life. Tabitha is remembered for her charitable acts in Joppa, particularly for making clothing for the poor. When Tabitha died suddenly, Peter came from nearby Lydda and raised her from the dead. Lydia was a dealer in purple dye, an expensive and in-demand product in the ancient world; converted to Christianity by Paul’s preaching, Lydia became a patron of the church in Philippi. Phoebe was a deaconess in Cenchreae who delivered Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, in which Paul praises her support of the Church.
Readings* Psalm 99 * Psalm 97 * Deuteronomy 25:17—26:19 * Matthew 17:1–13 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 28–39
Readings* Psalm 107 * Deuteronomy 24:10—25:10 * Matthew 16:13–28 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 18–27 FestivalToday we celebrate the Festival of St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr. Also known as “James the Just”, St. James of Jerusalem did not believe in the divinity of Christ until after the Resurrection. After converting, James became a leader in the early Christian community, and, after Peter’s departure from that city, James became bishop of the Church in Jerusalem. According to Josephus, James was stoned to death by the Sadducees in AD 62. James authored the Epistle that bears his name and exhorts Christians to remain in and live out the one true Faith.
Readings* Psalm 62 * Psalm 119:137–144 * Deuteronomy 21:1–23 * Matthew 16:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 7–17
Readings* Psalm 142 * Psalm 91 * Deuteronomy 20:1–20 * Matthew 15:21–39 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 1–6
Readings* Psalm 138 * Psalm 140 * Deuteronomy 19:1–20 * Matthew 15:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXII, 9–17
Readings* Psalm 80 * Deuteronomy 18:1–22 * Matthew 14:22–36 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXII, 1–8
Readings* Psalm 75 * Psalm 77 * Deuteronomy 17:1–20 * Matthew 14:1–21 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 38–44 FestivalToday we celebrate the festival of St. Luke, Evangelist. A traveling companion of St. Paul, St. Luke was a Greek physician, who would author one of the four Gospels and the Book of Acts. It is Luke who gives us details of Christ’s birth and many other events. Taken together, The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts comprise over a third of the New Testament.
Readings Psalm 39 * Psalm 38 * Deuteronomy 15:19—16:22 * Matthew 13:44–58 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 31–37 CommemorationToday we commemorate Ignatius of Antioch, Pastor and Martyr. Serving as bishop of Antioch in the beginning of the second century AD, Ignatius was a proponent of orthodox Christian doctrine. Arrested under Emperor Trajan, Ignatius, like Paul, was taken in chains to Rome, where he was executed by being thrown to wild beasts in the arena. In his letters, written on the way to Rome, Ignatius warned against false teachings, encouraged his fellow pastors, emphasized Christ’s full humanity and* full deity, defended the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, and stressed the unity of the Church (being the first to use the term “catholic” in describing her). Ignatius left behind a lasting legacy for the Church.
Readings* Psalm 37 * Deuteronomy 14:1—15:15 * Matthew 13:24–43 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 21–30
Readings* Psalm 119:33–40 * Psalm 34 * Deuteronomy 13:1–18 * Matthew 13:1–23 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 14–20
Readings* Psalm 114 * Psalm 124 * Deuteronomy 12:13–32 * Matthew 12:38–50 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 1–13
Readings* Psalm 111 * Psalm 115 * Deuteronomy 11:26—12:12 * Matthew 12:22–37 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XX, 86–92
Readings* Psalm 119:97–104 * Psalm 146 * Deuteronomy 11:1–25 * Matthew 12:1–21 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XX, 78–85
Readings* Psalm 23 * Psalm 114 * Deuteronomy 9:23—10:22 * Matthew 11:20–30 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVIII–XIX CommemorationToday we commemorate Philip the Deacon. One of the seven men appointed to help the Apostles handle the work of the rapidly expanding Early Church by overseeing the distribution of food to the poor, Philip would go on to work as an evangelist in Samaria. Pursuant to the word of God brought to him by an angel, Philip encountered an Ethiopian eunuch, an official in the court of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, on the road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza. In preaching the Good News to this man (and baptizing him), Philip became indirectly responsible for transmitting the Gospel to the continent of Africa.
Readings* Psalm 106 * Deuteronomy 9:1–22 * Matthew 11:1–19 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVI, 61–65, & XVII
Readings* Psalm 103 * Deuteronomy 8:1–20 * Matthew 10:24–42 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVI, 53–60 CommemorationToday we commemorate Abraham. Selected from among the nations and called by God to become the father of a great nation, Abraham left his home and all that he had ever known, at the age of seventy-five, and moved to the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and to his descendants (a promise fulfilled under the reign of Israel’s monarchs). At the age of one hundred, Abraham had Isaac with his wife Sarah — a miraculous birth according to the promise from God. Demonstrating his obedience to and trust in God in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac (a sacrifice God stopped by speaking from Heaven and providing a ram), Abraham is commended for his trusting faith in God and His promises. Through the Seed of Abraham, that is Christ Jesus, all nations have been blessed.
Readings* Psalm 126 * Psalm 141 * Deuteronomy 7:1–19 * Matthew 10:1–23 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 45–52
Readings* Psalm 121 * Psalm 131 * Deuteronomy 6:10–25 * Matthew 9:18–38 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 31–44
Readings* Psalm 91 * Psalm 97 * Deuteronomy 5:22—6:9 * Matthew 9:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 22–30
Readings* Psalm 86 * Deuteronomy 5:1–21 * Matthew 8:18–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 13–21
Readings* Psalm 80 * Deuteronomy 4:21–40 * Matthew 8:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 1–12
Readings* Psalm 119:9–16 * Psalm 125 * Deuteronomy 4:1–20 * Matthew 7:13–29 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIV, 24–28
Readings* Psalm 3 * Psalm 2 * Deuteronomy 3:1–29 * Matthew 7:1–12 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIII, 14–23
Readings* Psalm 130 * Psalm 51 * Deuteronomy 2:16–37 * Matthew 6:16–34 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIII, 1–13
Readings Psalm 119:161–168 * Psalm 63 * Deuteronomy 1:37—2:15 * Matthew 6:1–15 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIB, 77–81 CommemorationToday we commemorate Jerome, Translator of Holy Scripture*. Beginning his studies in Rome, Jerome would choose a monastic life and spend five years in the Syrian desert, there learning Hebrew. After settling in Bethlehem, Jerome set about translating Scripture into Latin, a task that would produce the Vulgate — the authoritative translation used by the Western Church for over a thousand years. Originally buried in Bethlehem, Jerome’s remains were moved and now reside in Rome.
Readings Psalm 19 * Psalm 34 * Deuteronomy 1:19–36 * Matthew 5:21–48 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIB, 67–76 Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels*. One of the archangels, tradition names Michael as patron and protector of the Church and of Christians. Mentioned in the Biblical books of Daniel, Jude, and Revelation, Michael leads the hosts of Heaven into battle against Satan and his demons — a victory assured by the blood of Christ, and announced in Revelation 12:10 by a voice from Heaven:
“Now the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down[.]”
Readings* Ezekiel 18:1–4, 25–32 * Psalm 25:1–10 * Philippians 2:1–18 * Matthew 21:23–32
Readings* Psalm 145 * Deuteronomy 1:1–18 * Matthew 5:1–20 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIB, 58–66
Readings* Psalm 91 * Malachi 3:6—4:6 * Matthew 4:12–25 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIB, 51–57
Readings* Psalm 16 * Psalm 32 * Malachi 2:1—3:5 * Matthew 4:1–11 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIB, 43–50
Readings* Psalm 51 * Psalm 12 * Malachi 1:1–14 * Matthew 3:1–17 * Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIIB, 34–42
Readings* Genesis 1:1—2:4a * Psalm 8 * Acts 2:14a, 22–36 * Matthew 28:16–20 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Acts 10:34–43 * Jeremiah 31:1–6 * Psalm 16 * Colossians 3:1–4 * Matthew 28:1–10 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Exodus 12:1–14 * Exodus 24:3–11 * Psalm 116:12–19 * Hebrews 9:11–22 * 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 * John 13:1–17, 31b–35 * Matthew 26:17–30 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 50:4–9a * Psalm 118:19–29 * Psalm 31:9–16 * Philippians 2:5–11 * John 12:12–19 * Matthew 26:1—27:66 * John 12:20–43 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Genesis 3:1–21 * Psalm 32:1–7 * Romans 5:12–19 * Matthew 4:1–11 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Joel 2:12–19 * Psalm 51 * 2 Corinthians 5:20—6:10 * Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Exodus 24:8–18 * Psalm 2:6–12 * 2 Peter 1:16–21 * Matthew 17:1–9 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Deuteronomy 30:15–20 * Psalm 119:1–8 * 1 Corinthians 3:1–9 * Matthew 5:21–37 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 58:3–9a * Psalm 112:1–9 * 1 Corinthians 2:1–16 * Matthew 5:13–20 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Micah 6:1–8 * Psalm 15 * 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 * Matthew 5:1–12 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 9:1–4 * Psalm 27:1–14 * 1 Corinthians 1:10–18 * Matthew 4:12–25 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 9:1–4 * Psalm 27 * 1 Corinthians 1:10–18 * Matthew 4:12–25 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 42:1–9 * Psalm 29 * Romans 6:1–11 * Matthew 3:13–17 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 60:1-6 * Psalm 72:1–15 * Ephesians 3:1-12 * Matthew 2:1–12 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Psalm 9 * Psalm 31 * Isaiah 52:13—54:10 * Matthew 2:13–23 * Large Catechism. I, 254–262 CommemorationToday we celebrate the festival of The Holy Innocents, Martyrs. Threatened by the prophecies concerning a “King of the Jews”, King Herod plotted to find and kill Jesus using the Wise Men, but was thwarted in that plan when the Wise Men went back to their lands by another route. Angered and still plotting to thwart the prophecy, Herod had all male children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger murdered. We commemorate these innocents as a reminder of the depravity, brutality, and evil that can take residence in the human heart and of the persecution Jesus suffered even before His earthly ministry had begun. By the hand of God, Jesus was spared from being numbered amongst the slain, for His path led to a different death — on a cross at Golgotha, to pay the price for our sins.
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Readings* Psalm 72 * Psalm 92 * Isaiah 51:17—52:12 * Matthew 2:1–12 * Large Catechism, I, 245–253 FestivalToday we celebrate the festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. St. John, son of Zebedee and brother of James the Elder, was among the first disciples to be called by Jesus, and became known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. During Christ’s ministry, John witnessed many of Christ’s miracles, was present for the Transfiguration, went with Peter to reserve the upper room for the Last Supper, and, alone among the Disciples, did not forsake Christ during His Passion, remaining near Christ through the crucifixion. From the cross, Jesus made John guardian of Mary, His mother. John would go on to be a founding father of the Early Church. From John, we have the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation, which was revealed to him while he was banished to Patmos by Emperor Domitian. John outlived all of the other Apostles, dying in Ephesus at around age one hundred.
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Readings* Psalm 34 * Psalm 60 * Isaiah 49:22—51:16 * Matthew 1:18–25 * Large Catechism, I, 234–244 CommemorationToday we celebrate the festival of St. Stephen, Martyr. St. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons of the Church, appointed to distribute food and other necessities to the poor of the growing Christian community. In addition to such duties, the deacons also taught and preached. When some of his colleagues became jealous, they brought him before the Sanhedrin on false charges of blasphemy. Before the Sanhedrin, Stephen confessed his faith in Christ and rebuked members of the Sanhedrin for rejecting the Messiah. Infuriated, the Sanhedrin had Stephen dragged outside the city and stoned. Honored as the first martyr of the Church, Stephen is remembered for his dying words: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
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Readings* Psalm 96 * Psalm 150 * Isaiah 49:1–18 * Matthew 1:1–17 * Large Catechism, I, 222–233 FeastToday we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord. During the Season of Advent, we prepared for the coming of Christ, and, now, on the 25th of December, Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of our Lord, God, Savior, and King. Christ’s birth was the fulfillment of part of the prophecy back in Genesis 3:15, and the promise would be completely fulfilled in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. In His birth, Christ humbled Himself and took on human flesh — true God became true Man. In order to save you from your sins, God did not send a mere prophet; rather, He sent His only begotten Son to take your place on the cross and die for your sins. His death is our life — what Luther called a ‘wonderful exchange’.
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Readings* Isaiah 7:10–14 * Psalm 110:1–4 * 1 John 4:7–16 * Matthew 1:18–25 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 7:10–17 * Psalm 24 * Romans 1:1–7 * Matthew 1:18–25 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 35:1–10 * Psalm 146 * James 5:7–11 * Matthew 11:2–15 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
Readings* Isaiah 11:1–10 * Psalm 72:1–7 * Romans 15:4–13 * Matthew 3:1–12 PodcastOvercastApple PodcastsSpotify
- Psalm 118
- Daniel 1:1–21
- Matthew 28:1–20
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 57–63
- Psalm 20
- Psalm 18
- Jeremiah 38:1–28
- Matthew 27:57–66
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 47–56
- Psalm 22
- Jeremiah 37:1–21
- Matthew 27:33–56
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 40–46
- Psalm 148
- Jeremiah 33:1–22
- Matthew 27:11–32
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 34–39
- Psalm 54
- Psalm 139
- Jeremiah 31:1–34
- Matthew 27:1–10
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 28–33
- Psalm 51
- Jeremiah 30:1–24
- Matthew 26:57–75
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 24–27
- Psalm 53
- Psalm 55
- Jeremiah 29:1–19
- Matthew 26:36–56
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 18–23
- Psalm 116
- Psalm 50
- Jeremiah 26:1–19
- Matthew 26:20–35
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 11–17
- Psalm 137
- Psalm 130
- Jeremiah 25:1–18
- Matthew 26:1–19
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 9–10
- Psalm 143
- Psalm 105
- Jeremiah 23:21–40
- Matthew 25:31–46
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII, 1–8
- Psalm 24
- Psalm 25
- Jeremiah 23:1–20
- Matthew 25:14–30
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 96–99
- Psalm 147
- Jeremiah 22:1–23
- Matthew 25:1–13
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 89–95
- Psalm 143
- Psalm 144
- Jeremiah 20:1–18
- Matthew 24:29–51
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 78–88
- Psalm 121
- Psalm 135
- Jeremiah 11:1–23
- Matthew 24:1–28
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 68–77
- Psalm 118
- Jeremiah 8:18—9:12
- Matthew 23:13–39
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 60–67
- Psalm 38
- Jeremiah 7:1–29
- Matthew 23:1–12
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 52–59
- Psalm 110
- Psalm 108
- Jeremiah 5:1–19
- Matthew 22:23–46
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 41–51
- Psalm 15
- Psalm 26
- Jeremiah 3:6—4:2
- Matthew 22:1–22
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 35–40
- Psalm 118
- Jeremiah 1:1–19
- Matthew 21:23–46
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 30–34
- Psalm 150
- Psalm 147
- Deuteronomy 34:1–12
- Matthew 21:1–22
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 27–29
- Psalm 46
- Psalm 115
- Deuteronomy 32:28–52
- Matthew 20:17–34
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 22–26
- Psalm 90
- Deuteronomy 31:30—32:27
- Matthew 20:1–16
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 16–21
- Psalm 56
- Psalm 58
- Deuteronomy 31:1–29
- Matthew 19:16–30
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 9–15
- Psalm 127
- Psalm 132
- Deuteronomy 30:1–20
- Matthew 19:1–15
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIV, 1–8
- Psalm 20
- Psalm 25
- Deuteronomy 29:1–29
- Matthew 18:21–35
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 60–71
- Psalm 12
- Psalm 9
- Deuteronomy 28:1–22
- Matthew 18:1–20
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 50–59
- Psalm 93
- Psalm 87
- Deuteronomy 27:1–26
- Matthew 17:14–27
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 40–49
- Psalm 99
- Psalm 97
- Deuteronomy 25:17—26:19
- Matthew 17:1–13
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 28–39
- Psalm 107
- Deuteronomy 24:10—25:10
- Matthew 16:13–28
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 18–27
- Psalm 62
- Psalm 119:137–144
- Deuteronomy 21:1–23
- Matthew 16:1–12
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 7–17
- Psalm 142
- Psalm 91
- Deuteronomy 20:1–20
- Matthew 15:21–39
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXIII, 1–6
- Psalm 138
- Psalm 140
- Deuteronomy 19:1–20
- Matthew 15:1–20
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXII, 9–17
- Psalm 80
- Deuteronomy 18:1–22
- Matthew 14:22–36
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXII, 1–8
- Psalm 75
- Psalm 77
- Deuteronomy 17:1–20
- Matthew 14:1–21
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 38–44
- Psalm 39
- Psalm 38
- Deuteronomy 15:19—16:22
- Matthew 13:44–58
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 31–37
- Psalm 37
- Deuteronomy 14:1—15:15
- Matthew 13:24–43
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 21–30
- Psalm 119:33–40
- Psalm 34
- Deuteronomy 13:1–18
- Matthew 13:1–23
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 14–20
- Psalm 114
- Psalm 124
- Deuteronomy 12:13–32
- Matthew 12:38–50
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXI, 1–13
- Psalm 111
- Psalm 115
- Deuteronomy 11:26—12:12
- Matthew 12:22–37
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XX, 86–92
- Psalm 119:97–104
- Psalm 146
- Deuteronomy 11:1–25
- Matthew 12:1–21
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XX, 78–85
- Psalm 23
- Psalm 114
- Deuteronomy 9:23—10:22
- Matthew 11:20–30
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVIII, 67–76, & XIX, 77
- Psalm 106
- Deuteronomy 9:1–22
- Matthew 11:1–19
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVI, 61–65, & XVII, 66
- Psalm 103
- Deuteronomy 8:1–20
- Matthew 10:24–42
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XVI, 53–60
- Psalm 126
- Psalm 141
- Deuteronomy 7:1–19
- Matthew 10:1–23
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 45–52
- Psalm 121
- Psalm 131
- Deuteronomy 6:10–25
- Matthew 9:18–38
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 31–44
- Psalm 91
- Psalm 97
- Deuteronomy 5:22—6:9
- Matthew 9:1–17
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 22–30
- Psalm 86
- Deuteronomy 5:1–21
- Matthew 8:18–34
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XV, 13–21
- Psalm 80
- Deuteronomy 4:21–40
- Matthew 8:1–17
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XI, 1–12
- Psalm 119:9–16
- Psalm 125
- Deuteronomy 4:1–20
- Matthew 7:13–29
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIV, 24–28
- Psalm 3
- Psalm 2
- Deuteronomy 3:1–29
- Matthew 7:1–12
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XIII, 14-23
Genesis 3:1–21 Psalm 32:1–7 Romans 5:12–19 Matthew 4:1–11
Why do we baptize infants? We could say that it is the historical practice of the Church, that only a tiny — if vocal — minority oppose infant Baptism, and that Scripture commands it — 'Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.' — and commends it — 'Baptism … now saves you.’ — but let us go deeper and further back. Let us go back to a Garden, somewhere in the Near East, and a Tree with fruit and a snake. In Adam all men sinned, and do not fall prey to the temptation to minimize this — original sin is not merely a predisposition or the inherited consequences of our forebears' sin. Original sin is actual sin and it dooms as surely as murder, adultery, and theft. We all die — 'For thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou return.' — because the wages of sin is death, and we are all sinners.
I will not belabor the point, but suffice to say that we all know that children often act — let's say — less than angelic. As the psalmist cries out: 'I was born in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.' 'For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.' In that one trespass in the Garden, all stand judged and condemned, for all stand in Adam. He is the federal head of our race, and we are his fallen and sinful children. But it is not only that one trespass, for we stand doubly condemned — under original, inherited sin and under our own actual sins. Every day, we choose idols instead of God. We are fearful and anxious because we do not truly believe God's promises — our faith is smaller even than a mustard seed. In envy, we stand condemned of theft; in lust, we stand condemned of adultery; and, in anger, we stand condemned of murder. We sin in what we do and in what we fail to do; we sin with our hands, with our tongues, and with our minds. It matters not if we start at the beginning — we do not love God as we ought — or at the end — we are covetous to our core — or select at random — we do not honor our fathers and our mothers and obey proper authority; we break every single one of the Commandments. So, why do we baptize infants? Because they are in the same sinking ship in which we find ourselves. Conceived in sin and born in iniquity, they are just as spiritually dead in sin and trespass as once we were. In the waters of Baptism, we drown the old Adam and bring forth the new man in Christ. Though the water is, by itself, mere water and the pastor a fellow sinner, the Word makes the water a Sacrament and the hands of the pastor are the very hands of God Himself. None of us was baptized by a mere man, for Baptism is not a work of man — it is a work of God that offers regeneration, forgiveness of sins, and salvation. We baptize infants because we believe the words of Scripture that tell us the promise is for us and for our children. Through the waters of Baptism we pass from the kingdom of sin, death, and the devil to the Kingdom of the risen Lord. In the Garden, Satan distorted God's command: 'Did He say you could not eat from any tree?', and Eve was deceived and Adam ate. Many years later, but perhaps not so many miles from that tree in the Garden, Satan tempted a Man in the desert. He (Satan) used the Word of God, distorting it to fit his purposes, to attempt to push the Son of God from the path that would lead to Calvary. Whatever form the temptations took — fleshly pleasures and demands (the food), spiritual conceit (tempting God), or temporal power (the kingdoms) — Christ resisted them all. Finally, He did what our parents did not — He shouted: "Be gone, Satan!" In the trespass in the Garden, many were made sinners, but Christ's work is greater than Adam's, greater than the Fall. Despite many trespasses, all were justified by Christ's atoning sacrifice. It is that free gift following many trespasses that comes to us in Word and Sacrament. Though your sins are as scarlet,
Exodus 24:8–18 Psalm 2:6–12 2 Peter 1:16–21 Matthew 17:1–9
Joel 2:12–19 Psalm 51:1–19 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10 Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21
Yesterday, with ashes imposed upon your foreheads, many of you were forced to confront your fallen, sinful state and the mortality that flows from the same: 'For thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou return.'
Death is the end of all flesh, the end of the whole of this creation that has been subjected to futility. In Adam, all men sinned. Original sin is "that horrible, dreadful hereditary sickness by which the entire human nature is corrupted." Original sin is not your nature — for your nature was created by God and is "very good"; rather, original sin is a disease that clings to your nature — it is a disease that is always fatal. You will die from original — and your own actual — sin. This is the end of all flesh. When God descended in His glory as a devouring fire at Mount Sinai, He delivered unto Moses and the Old Testament Israelites the Law, and the Law proved to be death. Adam and Eve failed — they ate of the fruit; Old Testament Israel failed — they rebelled and whored after other gods; and you and I fail — we sin daily, constantly, unceasingly. Does your mind wander when you read or hear the Word of God? Do you trust — absolutely and without any doubt — in every promise of God? You have failed to keep the First Commandment. You worry because you do not trust God; you grasp because you do not believe His promises; you do not tithe and give of your blessings because you do not trust His Word. He tells you to turn and be healed, but you continue in your stubbornness and your rebellion. Adam and Eve chose death in the Garden; Old Testament Israel chose death in the desert and in the Promised Land; and you and I choose death every day. If we were to rely upon ourselves and our own efforts, then there would be absolutely no hope. We cannot fear, love, and trust God as we ought and our hearts are forever seeking idols before which we can prostrate ourselves. Those ashes on your forehead were not a mere reminder — they are a promise: for the wages of sin is death. "Yet even now." Yet even now, turn and He will heal you. Rend your hearts and not your garments, for the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. And yet you could not have turned from your evil ways. In sin and trespass, you were dead, and the dead do not turn. And yet God is generous and merciful beyond measure and abounding in steadfast love. The Church Year is divided into three parts: the Time of Christmas, the Time of Easter, and the Time of the Church. Ash Wednesday marks the end of the Time of Christmas and the beginning of the Time of Easter. In under six weeks, we will be celebrating the Resurrection on Easter Sunday, but let us return, for a moment, to the just-concluded Time of Christmas and then refocus on Lent, because there is no Easter without Christmas and there is no life without His death. In His steadfast love, God sent Christ to the little town of Bethlehem, to a humble birth in a manger to a virgin betrothed to a poor carpenter. The eternal Word, Who was with and Who is God, became flesh. That same child just a few decades later would be nailed to a cross for your sins. Christmas leads to Easter, but only through Lent, just as death leads to resurrection, but only through the Cross. 'Yet even now, turn.' God knew that you could never turn on your own — the dead do not act — but death cannot stop Christ. "For our sake, He made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." Although those ashes on your forehead were meant to remind you of sin and death, you must also remember that your sins were nailed to a cross in Jerusalem — just outside the city — nearly two thousand years ago. The Son of God and Son of Man — true God and true Man — died so that you might live. The ashes remind us of the price paid — the blood that ha...
Deuteronomy 30:15–20 Psalm 119:1–8 1 Corinthians 3:1–9 Matthew 5:21–37
The great ‘promise’ of the Law is ‘if…, then…’. “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, / who walk in the Law of the Lord!” “Blessed are those” who are “blameless”, “who keep His testimonies”, “who seek Him with their whole heart”, “who … do no wrong”, and who “walk in His ways”. But what are His testimonies? The Jews contend that there are six hundred and thirteen mitzvot — commandments — in the Torah, but let us not concern ourselves with such enumerations, for God Himself provides us a full statement of His Law in the Ten Commandments.
Thou shalt have no other gods. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord, thy God, in vain. Thou shalt sanctify the hold day. Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house. Thou shalt not cover thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his.
You may be thinking ‘So far, so good. I have neither murdered, committed adultery, nor borne false witness against my neighbor.’ Surely blessing and abundance will be ours for our great obedience! But wait. Does not Christ speak of these commandments?
Matthew 5:21–22 (ESV): ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
How fares your obedience to the Fifth Commandment?
Matthew 5:27–28 (ESV): “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
How fares your obedience to the Sixth Commandment? Have you divorced or married a spouse who was divorced?
Matthew 5:31–32 (ESV): “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
How fares your obedience to the Sixth Commandment?
Matthew 5:33–37 (ESV): “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
Have you ever failed to keep your promises? Have you ‘merely’ failed to do what you said you would do? perhaps even failed to do what you told God you would do? How fares your obedience to the Eighth Commandment? Perhaps you yet believe that you have kept one of the other commandments. But what does Christ command? ‘Be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.’ The law demands perfect obedience. The ‘promise’ of ‘if…, then…’ is no promise at all, for the “if” is “if you are perfect”, but ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ and ‘none is righteous, no not one’. Therefore, the cry of the psalmist is practically a lament, a cry for mercy:
Psalm 119:8 (ESV): I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!
The Law always kills. You will find neither peace in nor comfort under the Law.
Romans 2:12 (ESV): For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.
Romans 3:20 (ESV):
Isaiah 58:3–9a Psalm 112:1–9 1 Corinthians 2:1–16 Matthew 5:13–20
Some contend that it is possible to be 'good without God'. We may find this appealing. Surely if we loose the bonds of oppression, feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked — if we fill full the mouth of famine and bid the sickness cease — then God will notice our goodness and be pleased with us, no? No. We are told in Scripture that our good deeds — our good works — are as "polluted garment[s]" (ESV) or "filthy rags" (KJV), and, yet, neither of these translations is sufficient.
What is a filthy rag or a polluted garment? If you have done any work on an automobile, you may think of the combination of oil and dirt that pollutes everything it touches. Those who have raised children may think of rags used to clean up messes. (If you are thinking of dirty diapers, you have come closer.) If you are thinking of a kitchen towel, you are likely a bit off the mark. Some commentators have argued that what is in view here are the 'garments' — the strips of cloth — used to wrap the wounds of lepers, but the better interpretation is menstrual rags. Now, we all have the same mental image. Our good works are — our best is — as dirty, blood-soaked menstrual rags before God. Are you still feeling that maybe you want to come before God with your works in hand? So, let us dispense with the nonsense that you can be 'good without God'. The best person ever to live (other than Christ, of course) was a sinner through and through, and all his works were nothing. If you were to feed every hungry mouth, shelter every one of the over half a million homeless in the US, and preach the Gospel to millions, you would still appear before God in soiled, filthy rags. The original sin that has diseased our nature has wrought infinite separation between man and God; [i]t damns and brings eternal death". You cannot fear, love, and trust God as you should. Everything done without faith is sin, and the wages of sin is death. But we know that that is not the whole story. Adam sinned and in Adam all men stand condemned, but that is contrary to God's plan and will. You are not meant to sit in dirty rags, in the fear and hopelessness brought by a guilty conscience. You were — and are — meant to be a son or a daughter of the Kingdom, an adopted son of the Kingdom and an heir in Christ. And that is the crux of it. Nothing you could do or could have done would bridge the divide between you and your Creator. The good news is that there is nothing you need to do. ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο Θεος τον κοσμον — for God so loved the world. Christ has done the work you could not do; He has perfectly fulfilled the Law. The wages of sin is death, but death could not hold Him for He had no sin; death has no claim to Him and now death has no claim to you. Washed in the blood of the Lamb — washed with water and the Word — you no longer wear dirty, blood-stained rags; rather, you now stand before the Father cloaked in a robe of purest white and declared righteous by grace through faith for the sake of Christ crucified. ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο Θεος τον κοσμον. What did God love? τον κοσμον — the world. And what did He do? "He gave His only-begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Christ came to die for you, for your parents, for your siblings, for your children, for your friends, for me, but, more than that: τον κοσμον — He came to die for all. Christ's Atonement was necessary and sufficient — all sufficient. Justification is universal, for Christ's work was once for all. You are justified by grace through faith — made a true child of God and heir in the cleansing waters of Baptism. "Child of God, I gladly say it: I am baptized into Christ. He, because I could not pay it, gave my full redemption price." No longer do we live in fear and uncertainty, for He has promised that He will lose none from His hand.