Sunday, March 17, 2024

240317 Sermon on greatness in the Kingdom of God (Lent 5) March 17, 2024

 Audio recording

Sermon manuscript:

People want to be the greatest because being the greatest is a lot of fun. It is fun to be the best at a sport. It is fun to be the best at an activity. Jesus’s disciples, James and John, wanted to be the greatest. That is what they are driving at when they say to Jesus: “Let us sit in your glory. One of us can be on your left and the other can be on your right.” Jesus did not rebuke them. He gently says, “You do not know what you are asking.”

James and John didn’t know what they were asking because glory in God’s kingdom is strange. It doesn’t operate by the same rules that make for greatness in this earthly life. The rules for greatness in this life are well known: Work hard, practice, prepare, set goals, and so on. If you follow these rules, and if you have been given the prerequisite genetics and talents, then you too might achieve greatness.

Greatness in God’s kingdom operates by the rules that are seen especially in Jesus. Jesus asked James and John: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” The cup that Jesus speaks about is the cup of suffering. On the night when Jesus was betrayed he prayed to his Father three times that he be spared the cup of suffering that was coming upon him. The baptism with which Jesus was about to be baptized was the baptism of blood on the cross. Jesus would be smeared with it, dying like a criminal in disgrace. Greatness in God’s kingdom involves suffering and being regarded as the least.

Why are suffering and being regarded as the least the rules, so to speak, for greatness in God’s Kingdom? Here, again, we must think about Jesus. Why did he suffer? Why was he regarded as the least?

There are perhaps several reasons for that. I would like to offer three. The first reason why Jesus suffered was because of evil-doers who wanted to continue with their evil-doing. Jesus annoyed them because he would speak against them. They wanted everyone to think that they were fine, upstanding people. Jesus, however, knew the truth and spoke the truth. They weren’t fine upstanding people. They were liars, hypocrites, hungry for power, honors, and money. Like whitewashed tombs, they kept themselves looking respectable on the outside but inside they were full of death and uncleanness.

Jesus could have kept his mouth shut. If he would have left them in peace, they would have left him in peace. In fact, things would have gone much differently for Jesus. They would have given him promotions and honors. They would have hailed him as a great preacher with a pastoral heart. But then Jesus would have become a snake just like them. He would no longer be a reliable guide, teaching people how they may attain eternal life.

Which brings us to the second reason why it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and be regarded as the least: He believed. He believed in the power of the Word of God to change people’s hearts. He wasn’t a cynic. He didn’t assume that things are how they are and have to remain the same. If it was impossible for sinners to repent—to change their ways, to turn from evil to righteousness—then there certainly would be no point in the Son of God suffering and dying. If it were impossible for people to change, then people should be left to follow whichever course suits their fancy. The Word of God should die out, and perhaps be replaced by more modern methods of education and inspiration that help people achieve their earthly goals. But Jesus continued to believe that the Word of God would do what God wanted to achieve when he causes it to be spoken.

The third and final reason I’d like to offer for why Jesus suffered is love. Jesus loves us. He’s a lover who goes after his beloved. Jesus pursues us. He says, “Don’t stay off on your own, doing your own thing. Be with me. I want to be with you, and I want you to be with me.” And the amazing thing, of course, is that we are evil-doers, and yet Jesus wants to be with us. Jesus isn’t disgusted by all our disgustingness. He truly loves us, and wants us to be together with him and with God eternally.

This is where Jesus’s cross especially comes in. The cross is how we were redeemed and separated from our sin. The cross is how we have died with Christ to sin. Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” The cross makes what should be impossible to be possible. It should be impossible for evildoers to live happily with the holy God. However, we have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. If we have died and it is Christ who lives in us, then it is no longer merely possible to live with God, it’s the way it should be! We belong together.

These reasons show how Jesus’s suffering and cross are awesome. To be sure, it is a hidden awesomeness. When Jesus drinks the cup and is baptized with blood he looks terrible. He looks poor, weak, and utterly defeated. What is really going on, however, is that he is rewriting the rules.

Among the rules that are rewritten are the rules for greatness. Greatness is otherwise achieved by killing, crushing, lying, stealing, and, in general, using every resource—including human resources—to their fullest. Chew everyone up until you’re done with them. Then spit them out and move on to the next one. There is no other way for anyone to accumulate the powers that the greatest of this world have amassed for themselves. They achieve what they achieve by taking advantage of others, and making sure that they are never taken advantage of.

They believe that they are great because everyone tells them they are great. They believe they will always be remembered because they’ve been in the news. However, how small their victories really are! How fleeting their memories! They achieve nothing that lasts.

Contrast them with what you and I have been given. You and I have the Gospel, the good news that Jesus is king. The Gospel connects sad and helpless sinners to almighty God, making them righteous by the forgiveness of sins. You have been given this Gospel. In that way you are no different than the apostles James and John. James and John believed the good news. You believe the good news too. Because James and John believed the good news, they spoke it to others. You should do that too if you believe it. You don’t have to be an apostle or a pastor or a professional church worker to do that. The Gospel is no less effective coming from you than it is coming from me. The Gospel does what it says.

This is an encouragement to evangelize. You’ve probably heard about evangelism many times over the years. What you don’t hear as often is how you are called to suffer and to be regarded as the least while you are doing your evangelism. Here, again, you are like James and John. You have the very same Gospel as they. You have the very same cross. Jesus first asked them if they were able, then he flat out told them: “You will drink the cup that I drink. You will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.” Those words apply to all true preaching of the Gospel. The cross is our banner. It is our battle standard. It is how we can recognize true preaching from false preaching. If we preach what is true, then we will suffer and be regarded as the least just as it was with Jesus, James, and John.

The reasons why we will suffer and be regarded as the least are the same reasons Jesus suffered and was regarded as the least. We have evil-doers today who want to go on doing evil, and they don’t want anyone to say anything about it. They don’t want to be disturbed. God’s Law, which we are to speak just as forcefully as Jesus ever spoke it, disturbs them.

We will suffer and be regarded as the least because we have faith in the working of God’s Word. We won’t give up speaking God’s Word even if the whole world should declare that it is no longer relevant, helpful, or powerful. God’s Word converted us, and so we will speak it.

Finally we will suffer and be regarded as the least because of love. We will pursue our fellow sinner whom we love, even if it makes us look like a fool. We will talk to them even when we don’t know what to say. We’ll get turned down, which hurts. We’ll be regarded as the least—like that poor, ugly, awkward guy whom the girls laugh at.

If our mission and James and John’s mission involves such suffering and humiliation, then why should we ever do it? The answer is glory. We should say, along with James and John: “Jesus, let us be seated with you in your glory.” Jesus’s glory is that good! That’s why James and John wanted it. That’s why we should want it too.

The writer to the Hebrews agrees. He says: “Look to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and now he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Don’t be afraid of suffering or humiliation. These powers can look so daunting and intimidating. Jesus is victorious over all things. Whatever suffering or setbacks or hardships we experience are so very temporary. Jesus is forever.


Wednesday, March 13, 2024

240310 Sermon on believing in Jesus (Lent 4) March 10, 2024

 Audio recording

Sermon manuscript:

Our Gospel reading proclaims well-known and well-loved promises: Whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life. John 3:16 is perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”These promises are nice. I’m not aware of anybody who gets upset at such promises. A person might think the promises are untrue, but nobody thinks that Jesus is being rude.

The mood shifts, however, with what Jesus says next. He says, “Whoever believes in the Son of the God is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” The mood shifts because faith in Jesus can no longer be understood as being optional or inconsequential: If you believe in Jesus, then you are not condemned. If you do not believe in Jesus, you are condemned already. You can’t leave Jesus to the side. Either you are with him or you are condemned by God himself. Whereas John 3:16 is nice and wouldn’t upset anyone, John 3:18 makes people uncomfortable.

I think the reason why this makes people uncomfortable is because this is not the way we do business, and business transactions are the main way that we understand how things get promoted. The salesman sells; he doesn’t threaten. We are used to being enticed and allured. Salesmen who condemned their customers probably wouldn’t be in business very long.

Religion is often—or probably mainly—seen along these lines. There are lots of religions, denominations, and places of worship. They all promote their own versions. It is reasonable, then, to imagine that you should make your choice in the same way you make so many other choices. Take the religion for a test-drive, so to speak. How do you like it? Do you like what it says? With our Gospel reading this morning, for example, you might like what he says at 3:16, but 3:18? Not so much.

And if Jesus fails to seal the deal, whose fault is that? Here, too, our way of doing business affects how we think. The customer is always right. So when it comes to what God is promoting, if a person is not convinced, then it is God’s fault, or maybe the preacher’s fault.

Jesus, however, is not a salesman. He doesn’t share the salesman’s goal of maximizing sales, perhaps by hook or by crook. If you have any familiarity with the Bible whatsoever, then you know that Jesus does not flatter or seek to please his “potential customers.”  Jesus doesn’t try to please anyone except his Father.

The good news about Jesus wanting to please his Father is that it is the Father’s will to save sinners by lifting up his Son on the cross. You heard that at the first part of the reading. But this is not some sales pitch. Either you are in the right, and, in fact, that rightness will save you, or you are in the wrong. That is what it means to be condemned. Being condemned is being on the wrong side.

So we are not dealing with a sales situation here. A more analogous situation would be like you being stuck in a burning building. The situation is bad because you aren’t able to get out on your own. But, thank God, a rescuer shows up. Believe in that rescuer and you will be rescued. That is to say, let the rescuer do what the rescuer does, and you will be saved.

But let’s say you’re a very silly person. Instead of being thankful that a rescuer has showed up, you immediately start judging the rescuer. His uniform isn’t ironed and he’s got bad breath. Or maybe this would be more to the point: The fireman speaks bluntly: “You can’t keep doing what you’re doing. If you stay in this burning building you’re wrong. You’re going to die!” What the rescuer says is just the truth, but you, being a silly person, would say, “I don’t like how you’re talking to me! I want to make up my own mind, and I don’t appreciate you telling me that I’m wrong!”

So also, when Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in me is condemned already,” he is simply speaking the truth. He is the rescuer who has come to rescue us from our sin, God’s condemnation, the misery of hell, and so on. In fact, there is no other way to be rescued. You can’t rescue yourself. Only God can forgive your sins or make you righteous. So when Jesus says that whoever does not believe in him is condemned already, he isn’t trying to manipulate or coerce anybody. Think again of that fireman. Is he manipulating the trapped victim when he tells the person that he will die if he isn’t rescued? That is a statement of truth, not just an opinion or one option among many.

But there’s another thing we should consider, because there are a lot of people who believe it to be the case. A lot of people believe that there is no hell, there is no judgement, there is no sin. Being condemned by God is an old-fashioned idea that most people do not believe in anymore.

So, to use the analogy I’ve been working with, this would be like a person who cannot see the smoke or the flames of the fire. If you put yourselves in their shoes, you can perhaps see how strange Jesus’s promises would be to them.

It would be like you going home today, sitting in your Lazyboy, everything’s fine. All of a sudden a fireman breaks down the door and announces, “I’m here to rescue you!” In this situation somebody has to be crazy. Which one is it? Are you crazy or is the rescuer crazy? Is there a fire or is there not a fire? Are there such things as sin, condemnation, hell, and so on, or are these things imaginary so that you have no need to be rescued?

To try to answer whether sin, condemnation, and hell exist, many things could be said. All that I’d like to try to do is point out the smoke and the fire that can go unnoticed so easily. Consider what happens in homes. Look at how husbands harm their wives, and wives harm their husbands. Look at how parents harm their children, and how children harm one another. Children, often deemed to be somewhat innocent, can be terrible to their fellows—a veritable law of the jungle.

Consider the workplace. Employers mistreat their employees. They try to squeeze as much as they can from them while paying them as little as they can get away with. Employees mistreat their employers. They don’t work as hard as they can. They don’t respect their bosses. The workplace can be miserable with all the backbiting and complaining.

These are our homes and our workplaces—the places we spend the most time in. The one with whom we spend the most time with is ourselves. So many of us are being burned with self-loathing and self-hatred.

All of these signs point to the conclusion that sin is real. Hell is real. The pain is real. These injuries, sicknesses, and crippling effects are not the way that things should be. We were meant to be loving creatures instead of destructive creatures.

What God’s enemies would like to convince you of is that there is no alternative. Homes have to be traumatic. Workplaces have to be contentious. Self-loathing is inescapable. It is as though we have to accept this darkness, because lovelessness and misery are unbreakable laws of our existence.

To believe in Jesus means that you vehemently disagree. We don’t have to accept evil as impossible to overcome. Evil is destructive of life and happiness. Jesus says that he will give “eternal life.” In fact, he has said that he has come so that we may have life, and have it in abundance.

There are two sides that a person can be on. Either a person can be on the side of light, or a person can be on the side of darkness. Either Jesus is supreme or the darkness is supreme. Jesus Christ is the light of the world; the light no darkness can overcome. In Jesus you are saying, “No, the darkness is not supreme. Jesus is the rescuer who saves us from sin, condemnation, and hell.”

 


Sunday, March 3, 2024

240303 Sermon on why Jesus was upset (Lent 3) March 3, 2024

 Audio recording

Sermon manuscript:

Picture in your mind’s eye the scene described in our Gospel reading. It’s Passover. Many people, like Jesus and his disciples, have come to Jerusalem. It’s a busy place. The temple area has many tables and booths set up. Some were exchanging foreign money for the money that was accepted at the temple. Others were selling animals needed for sacrifices. The oxen and the sheep would have been tied up. The pigeons would have been in cages. Jews from far and wide were milling about, perhaps dickering for better rates and prices. This was a normal day, full of busyness. Those familiar with how things were done wouldn’t think anything of it.

As you heard, Jesus thought differently. He made a whip from cords and went on a rampage. I don’t know what else to call it. He had to have been very forceful to make these merchants leave their stalls with all their money, but he did. He drove them all out of the temple. The sheep and the oxen where unleashed so that they were running about in the midst of the people. Jesus took the tills of money and dumped them on the ground so that coins were splashed everywhere. He kicked over tables and pulled over booths.

That’s quite a scene! Does the thought enter your mind: “Was Jesus in the right here?” It sounds like disorderly conduct. However important that question might be, I’d like to set that question aside. I think there is a better, more interesting question: What must the fire have been like that was burning in Jesus? What spurred him on to do what he did? That took courage. That took energy. Jesus cared. It was as the psalm says: “Zeal for your house has eaten me up!”

So what has gotten Jesus so upset? The answer to that question is so foreign that it is almost incomprehensible to us. The reason why Jesus is so upset is because he cares about people praying. He wants people to pray to his Father. The temple was to be a house of prayer for all nations. That purpose was being thwarted by what these merchants were doing. He says in our reading, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house into a house of trade.” The temple was the dwelling place of God’s Name. People could call upon God’s Name in that place.

I must say, and to our shame, we have nothing of the fire that burned in Jesus. When was the last time that you were upset—really upset? Did it have anything to do with prayer? Did it have anything to do with conscience, which is closely related? Having a good conscience towards God is indispensable for praying with confidence. Were you upset because these things were being hampered for you or for others? Probably not.

The last time you were really upset was probably because something bad happened to you. Somebody made a mistake and it created an inconvenience. Somebody hurt you. Somebody said something bad about you. Your quality of life was hampered, and maybe you went on a rampage about that. But prayer? Conscience? These are thought to be back-burner concerns. This is why Jesus is so incomprehensible to us. “Zeal for God’s house had eaten him up.” When have you had zeal for being in God’s house, for praying? Maybe never!

But maybe you haven’t known any better. That wouldn’t be surprising. What most people believe is really important is their quality of life. The stuff they get really upset about is how things are going for them in this life. If any thought is given to God it is usually fleeting and feeble. It’s usually not much more than, “Yes, God exists. I try my best, so I should be fine. That’s enough of that! Let’s get back to the business of living life to its fullest!”

The same thing is usually true with those who deny God’s existence. They usually don’t put a lot of thought into it. They maybe heard of some stuff from the Bible that they thought was impossible or ridiculous. That settles it for them. They say something different from you. They say, “God doesn’t exist,” but then what? The refrain is the same: “Let’s get back to the business of living life to its fullest!” This life looms the largest for people.

This carries over into people’s thoughts about heaven too. Most people think that heaven will just be a continuation of this life, but without annoyances. People will spend their time in heaven doing those things that they liked best. The happy farmer on earth will farm in heaven, but maybe without any weeds. The person who loves riding horses is going to ride horses eternally.

Although these kinds of thoughts about heaven are extremely common, they are not thought about very deeply. People simply fail to notice, for example, that with this conception of heaven people continue to ignore God in heaven just like they ignored God in this life. Or, again, people will be seeking their own advantage in this supposed heaven, just as they sought their own advantage in this life.

 But ignoring God and seeking one’s own advantage is probably a more accurate description of hell than it is of heaven. God will not be ignored in heaven, nor will any of those in heaven want to ignore him. Nobody will be seeking their own advantage in heaven—just the opposite in fact. The opposite of seeking your own advantage is love. Heaven is the place where love is. God is there, and, as the Scriptures say, “God is love.”

In fact, a great transformation must take place in us for us to be happy in this place. We must be made holy. Sin must be purged from us. We must be filled with love from the top of our heads to the soles of our feet. For the first time since we were born we will know what pure love is. For the first time we will be capable of loving with our whole heart. We will receive love from God and from all his creatures and we will love right back. Is there anything better than being loved and loving in return?

So how can we go on the way we have been? How can we not care about our relationship with God? How can we not care about other people’s relationship with God?

Maybe an illustration would help get across what I’m trying to say. I’m sure you’ve noticed how toddlers like to play with blocks. They like to build them up into a tower and knock them down. They do it over and over again. They are happy to spend their time that way. Maybe, to them, there’s no better way to spend one’s time. We, who are grown, however, know that’s not true. I’m assuming that none of you built towers today so that you could knock them down again. You occupy yourself with higher things that more fully engage your abilities.

When Jesus drove the people out of the temple because they were merely engaging in trade while being totally mindless towards God, it was as though Jesus were telling them to quit playing with blocks. You’re too old for that. There is something higher, better, and more important. Prayer, conscience, knowing God—this is what we were made for. We weren’t made to play with blocks our whole lives.

But people can be pretty serious about their blocks. CEOs, presidents, those who are wise according to worldly standards, those who are strong, those who are of noble birth—they easily believe that their affairs are a cut above everyone else’s. Their blocks are really important. But even if a person were the CEO of the biggest company, even if a person were the president of the whole world—something that doesn’t even exist—that would still be like playing with blocks. Knowing God through knowing Christ is the way that we become the creatures that we are meant to be.

In our Gospel reading Jesus is angry and upset because people are being turned aside from what is truly good for stuff that is worthless and passing away. Jesus says in another place: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but to lose his soul? What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” How many jet skis does it take? How many vacations will produce a sufficient quality of life? These are building blocks that give but a little thrill.

We would do well to catch a little of the fire that was in Jesus. We would do well to be zealous for the same things Jesus was zealous about, because he wanted what was good and valuable for people. Our hearts and our neighbors’ hearts easily and naturally get captured by all kinds of things so that we think nothing of God, or almost nothing of God. This and that capture our love and devotion instead. Well, this and that are lame.

God is good. He is life-giving. Missing out on him is more than enough to make a person upset. 

Sunday, February 25, 2024

240225 Sermon on confessing Jesus as the Christ (Lent 2) February 25, 2024

 Audio recording

Sermon manuscript:

In our Gospel reading Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ. This is important and life changing because it is by our confession of Jesus as the Christ that we are saved. However, as we also heard, Peter ran into some difficulty when Jesus spoke about the cross. Today we will talk about what happened with Peter and how this also applies to us as Jesus’s followers today.

We’ll begin with the story. Jesus was going to the villages of Caesaria Philippi with his disciples. Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples told Jesus what they had heard. Some people said that he was John the Baptist; others, Elijah; others, one of the prophets. Jesus then asked them, “What about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter responded for all of them and said, “You are the Christ.

This is a very special answer. The word, “Christ,” means “anointed one.” The way that people were made into kings in the Old Testament was by being anointed with oil. Peter is saying that Jesus is king—but not just any king. God made promises in the Old Testament about a great king who would arise. He would be a descendant of Abraham and of David. He would put an end to injustice and wickedness. He would bring about righteousness and peace.

Peter’s answer, therefore, “You are the Christ,” is of enormous significance. He is saying that Jesus is this great king. Peter does well with his confession of who Jesus is.

What happens next, though, throws a wrench into Peter’s thoughts about Jesus being the Christ. Jesus began to tell them what was going to happen to him. He was going to suffer many things. He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the Law. He would be killed. After three days he would rise again.

This was not what Peter had in mind for his beloved king. Stuff like that didn’t happen to kings. What good could this suffering and dying possibly serve? Peter rebuked Jesus. Jesus rebuked Peter right back. He used very harsh language. He said, “Get behind me Satan!” I’m not aware of Jesus ever calling anyone else that terrible name. He explained why he called him that: “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

These words are key. They identify a great divide. A person can set his or her mind on the things of God or on the things of man. What does it mean to set your mind on the things of God or the things of man? Let’s begin with the things of God.

The things of God are bound up in Jesus the Christ. He is loved by God the Father. What does this king do? You already heard very important things this king did. He suffered many things, was mistreated, killed, and rose again.

You are aware of the goodness that the king accomplished by doing that because we talk about that a lot. Jesus’s suffering, death, and resurrection brought about the verdict of forgiveness for sinners. Sinners, who otherwise should die and go to hell for their sins, instead are received as beloved children of God for Jesus’s sake.

Jesus’s work as king, however, did not end with his death and resurrection. Forty days after he rose from the dead he ascended to the right hand of God the Father. That is where he reigns and rules as king now. The way that he reigns and rules his spiritual kingdom is through the testimony of God’s Word by Christians like you and me. These Christians are scattered far and wide all over the earth. These Christians have been given the Holy Spirit. They believe the Gospel. They urge others to believe in the good news of this king and to follow him. When the last person whom God has chosen is brought to faith, then Jesus will come again.

When Jesus comes again he will judge so that goodness and evil will be identified and separated. Evil will be confined in hell. Those who believed in Jesus will receive their inheritance as co-heirs with Christ. All things will be placed under Jesus’s feet. Then Jesus will hand over the kingdom to God the Father so that God will be all in all. These are the main points of the things of God, upon which we should set our minds.

What are the things of man? What Jesus means by the “things of man” is the way that man operates after the fall into sin. Already in Genesis you can see the things of man by the way that Adam and Eve lived after they disobeyed God. I don’t think they were exactly happy, but they tried to make the best of the situation. They solved problems. They were ashamed of their nakedness, so they sewed together some fig leaves. Life went on.

So it was also for Cain, their son, and his descendants after they were rejected by God. They tried to make the best of things. They discovered new things. They made instruments to improve their quality of life.

Peter, when he was setting his mind on the things of man, perhaps thought that Jesus as an earthly king would be good for life in this world. Instead of him suffering and dying—seemingly accomplishing nothing—he should get busy. He could raise an army, create a following, and if luck was on their side they might manage to bring Israel back to its former glory.

So it is also today. We try to make the best of things. We’ve discovered lots of useful things. Like the men before us we try to push the ball forward. We try to make progress.

Jesus rebuked Peter by saying that he was setting his mind on the things of man instead of the things of God. Perhaps when Jesus told his disciples that he was going to suffer and be killed and rise again, it sounded to Peter as though Jesus was going backwards. That’s how suffering generally sounds to us. We try to get rid of suffering. We try to fix problems. It sounded wrong that suffering should remain—especially under the rule of this very special, long-promised king!

Jesus, however, knew things that we don’t know. He knew that our fundamental problems could not be fixed by any amount of reforms or the wisest of leaders. Our problems are too deep for that. We needed to be redeemed. That was why Jesus suffered, died, and rose again. This was good, not bad!  It was how sinners were set free.

But Jesus’s teaching on the cross was not just for him. He goes on to teach the disciples about the life that they were to live. Suffering would remain for them too. He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

We can understand these words according to what Jesus told Peter. We are to set our minds on the things of God instead of on the things of man. To set our minds on the things of God is to recognize that he is king—he is in control, not us. God’s understanding of goodness is better than our understanding of goodness. We might identify something as good that is not good, and, vice versa, we might identify something as being evil which is in fact very good.

Take, for example, the problem of being a disciple of Jesus. Being a disciple of Jesus is a problem, because that means we won’t always fit in. Jesus didn’t always fit in and look what they did to him. Jesus’s apostles didn’t always fit in. They were severely mistreated. Disciples of Jesus will never fit in because we believe in and testify to the Gospel. We believe that Jesus is the king who will set all things right.

The reason why this means we will never fit in is because we will always be seen are raining on the parade of earthly dreams. Man always dreams of making a paradise on this earth. By testifying that Jesus is the Christ we are also saying that all other reforms are at best half-measures, and can never really succeed. The Gospel is always an indictment against setting your mind on the things of man.

Although Jesus’s message was not always welcome to everyone, Jesus did not change it. People went away from him. People got angry at him. He’s going to remain the king that he is.

Jesus is open about the suffering that we will undergo as Christians. Suffering will remain. And if you won’t deny yourself, if you won’t take up your cross and follow him, then you won’t be his disciple. It’s as simple as that. When the prospect of suffering rears its ugly head, you will betray him to save your own skin.

Be prepared, therefore. Jesus says several times, “Be sober and watchful.” That means, “Be sensible. Have unrealistic expectations. Don’t be surprised when suffering comes upon you.” You might be tempted to think that there is some way that you could “fix” Christianity so that you don’t have to suffer. Maybe you can make it so that it never offends anyone, so that nobody ever feels bad from anything you might say. A lot of Christians set this as a high priority for their life of faith.

I submit to you that they are probably doing something similar to what Peter was thinking of doing in our reading today. Peter was trying to fit Jesus into a mold of his own making. This king would then work well for him, solve his problems, and go a long way in creating a paradise on this earth. So also today Christianity can be edited so as to curry favor with a certain segment of the population, or to avoid persecution from another segment of the population. This song and dance, however, is a far cry from the bold and simple confession of Peter: “You are the Christ.”

We do not need to play tricks with what we say. We do not need to figure out how to be clever like we so often do with our worldly pursuits. We need the truth. The plainer and simpler the truth, the better. Then let the Holy Spirit go to work.

And if it should so happen that we then receive a cross, so be it. God will work good through that cross, even if we don’t see it. God willing, and by God’s grace, we’ll keep on believing in the king, despite the cross. We’ll keep confessing that Jesus is the Christ. By that confession we will be saved.


Sunday, February 18, 2024

240218 Sermon on fighting temptation (Lent 1) February 18, 2024

 Audio recording

Sermon manuscript:

Today I’d like to address something that all people must face: Temptation. Temptation is when we are lured and enticed to do something that is wrong. Where does temptation come from? It doesn’t come from God. James says in our reading, “God tempts no one.” Instead, as he says, temptation is when “each person is lured and enticed by his own desires.”

This makes sense. If you don’t have a desire for something, how can you really be tempted? For example, some people don’t like sweet things. Forgoing dessert is not difficult. They have no strong desire for it. Likewise, with more serious matters: Some have an intense desire for money. Others less so. Some have an intense desire to get their own way. Others are more agreeable. What tempts us is closely linked to our desires.

The Bible teaches what is to be done when our desires drag us into temptation. This is seen already with Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s sons. Cain was stirred up with a powerful desire to kill his brother Abel. Cain is told, “Sin is crouching at the door… You must rule over it.” The picture here is that either desires rule over us, or we rule over the desires. Either we are slaves to our desires—forced to obey what our desires command, or we are free. If we are free, then we aren’t forced to obey whatever our desires tell us. We can tell them we are not going to obey them.

There are a couple of passages that speak like this. Paul says in Galatians chapter 5: “For freedom Christ has set you free.” The goal of Jesus’s work as the Christ is to set us free. Jesus speaks this way in John chapter 8. He says, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Jesus reveals something very important about our slavery or freedom with regard to our desires. The only way that we can be set free is by the Son of God setting us free. We cannot free ourselves. The chains are too strong. If we imagine that we have freed ourselves, we are deceiving ourselves. Only the Son sets you free, but, as Jesus says, “If the Son sets you free then you are free indeed.”

That’s good news! The word “Gospel” means “good news.” Slaves who have been kicked around by their masters are happy to hear that they are free. They no longer have to listen to those old masters. What’s more is that we are not just set free now to go about our business, having to make our own way. We have been made into sons in the only Son of God. We belong to the house of God, which we may live in forever. We are baptized into Jesus. We have become one with him. Jesus, as you know, is Lord over everything. He sits at the right hand of God the Father. He is above every power, authority, desire and demand. He is free. He is Lord. And so are we when we believe in him.

This is the Gospel that all of us Christians have been given. It says something new about us. “For freedom Christ has set you free.” You are free from amazing things! You are free from death. You are free from hell. You are free from the Law, because Christ fulfilled the Law for you. You are free from the demands of your desires. By the Holy Spirit who is within you you can say “No.” “I’m not going to obey you as though you were my master and I were your slave.”

Faith in this Gospel is truly wonder-working. It goes way beyond moving mountains. Moving mountains is nothing compared to the lordship that is ours through faith in Christ. We, together with Jesus, triumph over all evil. We triumph because Jesus is king and God. He’s on your side, and, through faith in him, you’re on his side. Everything has to turn out well, even if you first must pass through fire or the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus is just that great of a king. Your faith in him is powerful, because he is powerful.

But although faith is so powerful, it is, at the same time, easily damaged and lost. This is always how God’s enemies attack. They attack our faith with deception and lies. God’s enemies cannot attack Christ directly. They could never overcome him. So the only power that God’s enemies have is to deceive and tell lies in the hopes that we will give up on the truth and believe the lies instead. This is how our faith is easily damaged and lost. We believe the lies instead of believing the truth.

I’ll give you a very straightforward example that I’m sure you’ve all experienced. Let’s say a desire comes along and says, “Do this!” Hopefully you know and you remember from the Gospel that you are not a slave. You are free. You can say to that desire, “No, I won’t obey you.” But let’s say your desire puts up a fight and says, “I’m stronger than you.”

You’ve probably heard the saying, “A good lie always contains a bit of truth.” Goliath was stronger than David. So it may be here too. Your desires may very well be stronger than you! They aren’t stronger than Jesus! They aren’t stronger than the Holy Spirit. The deception here is that you are too weak for the temptation—just look at you—so you might as well give in.

I’ve been fooled by this simple tactic. There are countless more. They can be extremely subtle and convincing. The apostle Paul himself admits to being deceived repeatedly in Romans chapter 7 as he fought against temptation. There seems to be no end to God’s enemies’ lying, and, unfortunately, our flesh likes to be deceived. Being deceived is the way that our faith is so easily damaged and lost. We put back on the chains of slavery from which Christ has freed us.

What should we do if we find ourselves in this sad but very common situation? The most important thing is that you don’t go on believing in lies. Saying you should not go on believing lies is a lot easier than actually doing it, however, because continuing on in lies is the very thing that God’s enemies want you to do. Lies can look much more attractive than the truth. Remember Adam and Eve. Hiding in the bushes seemed much safer and wiser than exposing themselves with the truth.

The good thing about the truth, though, is that the truth is also good news. If the truth were that God hates you because you’ve blown it—I’d want to hide from that too! But that’s not the truth. The truth is the good news that Jesus is the Savior of sinners. The good work that Jesus has done as king isyou’re your salvation. His work does not need your cooperation and involvement. Jesus’s work is complete and perfect. He gives it to you as a gift. He gives it to you by having it spoken to you so that you can believe it. Believe this good news and it’s yours!

And then don’t forget what we’ve talked about already today. What we’ve talked about is so easy to lose sight of in the midst of temptation. You are not a slave. You have been purchased and redeemed. You have the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to obey your desires’ demands as though you were their slave. You are free. “For freedom Christ has set you free.” In Christ you are lords over all evil powers. They cannot do what they want to do to you.

Accordingly, and this is important too, we can have an assertive posture towards desires and temptations instead of having a posture of weak resignation. I know well—again, by personal experience—the whimpering prayer, “I wish these desires would go away from me. I wish they’d leave me alone.” Behind that whimper is the fear that my desires are too strong for me. There’s despair behind that whimper. Despair is the opposite of faith. Of course you are too weak to conquer all your desires, but that is not what we as Christians believe in. We do not believe that we are all alone and that it is all up to us. You aren’t alone. Jesus is with you. You are weak, but he is strong.

Therefore, you can be assertive. You can see this assertive posture towards temptation in our epistle reading from James. He says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation.” He doesn’t say “Cursed is the man who has been tempted.” He says, “Blessed is that man.”

A few verses earlier he speaks even more clearly about this assertive, confident posture. He says, “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when temptations of various kinds fall all around you.” Consider it all joy? Why? James answers: “The testing of your faith produces endurance.” The testing of that faith you have in Jesus as the king produces endurance. Having been set free, we can try it out.

Refusing to do evil is the smashing of evil. It is wonderful and glorious. We can learn by experience that we can endure temptation. We don’t always only have to sin. We don’t have to obey. That is when we are beginning to entering into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. That is when we are embracing the implanted word that makes us a kind of first-fruits of God’s creatures. It is better to smash evil than to cower in fear against it as though it were invincible—as though it were more powerful than Jesus. It’s not!

Now, in our fight against desires and temptations might we get bloody noses, stumble, and even fall? Perhaps. What of it? In that case we return to the Gospel. We return to the all-conquering truth that Jesus is king and lord over all.

Jesus is on the march. Whatever is evil is doomed. As light scatters the darkness, so the light of Christ obliterates the shadow of evil wherever it might be. You are on the winning side. This is good news.


Sunday, February 4, 2024

Sermon on same-sex attraction and gender confusion (special sermon series) February 4, 2024

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Sermon manuscript:

When Pastor Bertram and I were discussing what we might like to accomplish with this series on marriage, sexuality, and so on, we both thought that it would be good to address what is known as LGBTQ concerns. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning or queer. Advocacy for LGBTQ rights has entered the mainstream. Our laws concerning marriage have changed. Workplaces are implementing DEI, which stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. No one can afford to ignore what is going on because the stakes can be quite high.

These issues have become politicized and are being implemented by force. There are some countries, such as Canada or some European countries, where certain ways of speaking about these issues have been criminalized. Criticism of LGBTQ lifestyles will likely be labeled as “hate speech.” So it is also with workplaces. Say the wrong thing, and you might be fired. So it is also with our families. Say the wrong thing, and you might not be invited to family functions.

These issues have become so fraught with drastic consequences. Therefore, we might think that we are already addressing what is most important when we deal with laws, policy, and so forth. Although being imprisoned, or losing your job, or being shunned are very important things, they are not the most important thing.

The most important thing was what Jesus said in our Gospel reading. He said, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus is so clear. God is not scanning the earth, looking for whom he might condemn. He wants everyone to be saved.

This is similar to another of Jesus’s statements. In John chapter 10 he says, “I came that people may have life, and have it more abundantly.” We might put that into simpler, more everyday language by saying, “Jesus wants everyone to be happy.” Jesus’s giving of happiness is what is more important than the temporary, earthly troubles we might experience. The salvation of just one soul is infinitely precious.

So although there is much that we could talk about with this topic, I’d like to focus on what is most important. Namely, how can those who experience same-sex attraction or gender confusion receive Jesus’s promises of salvation and abundant life? The answer is simple: “Repent and believe the Gospel.” That’s what Jesus always preached. Repentance for our sin and faith in Jesus the Savior is the only way to eternal life.

Let’s begin with the first part of Jesus’s statement, which is, “Repent.” To know that same-sex attraction and gender confusion is sinful is not difficult. Many people who experience these desires already know in their own hearts that it is not good. They don’t even need the Scriptures to tell them so. However, the Scriptures are very clear about these things. You heard that in our first two readings.

In our reading from Leviticus it says that a man should not lie with another man as though that other man were a woman. That is an abomination. Men and women should not lie with animals. That is perversion. God threatens to punish those who do these things. He threatens to punish all who live in the land where these things are practiced. God is very clear that this behavior is unacceptable.

In our second reading, from Romans chapter 1, Paul identifies same sex attraction as a symptom of a decaying society where the people are alienating themselves from God. Our alienation from God, our worshipping of created things instead of the Creator, is the root cause. Improper desires are but a symptom of the underlying condition.

Note how Paul doesn’t just speak about improper same-sex relationships. He describes many other symptoms of this societal decay. The things he mentions are so common that we might not even notice them as being sins. He speaks against coveting, being mean, being proud, being disobedient to parents, gossiping—these sins are just as much an indication of our alienation from God as same-sex attraction or gender confusion.

To all of this God says, “Repent!” The word, “repent,” is often taken to be a harsh, hate-filled word. It may be harsh, but it isn’t hate-filled. Repent means, “Change your ways! You’re going the wrong way!” Going the wrong way isn’t good for us! Lying, being mean, burning with covetousness, indulging whatever emotion or desire that comes over us—none of these things are good for us. They don’t promote life; they hamper life. God would have you turn away from these things, be forgiven in Jesus, be given abundant life.

A common problem, however—not just among those who experience same-sex attraction or gender confusion, but among all sinners—is that a person doesn’t want to repent. They don’t want to change their ways. They’ve enjoyed the sins they have been committing. They don’t want anyone to tell them to live otherwise.

This is something that is eternally decisive for each one of us. Jesus speaks to this also in our Gospel reading. He says: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.”

What is eternally decisive for each of us is the question of what you are going to do when the light comes? The light of God shows us what’s right and wrong. It gives us a knowledge of our sin. What are we going to do about that? One option is to ignore the light. Another option is to fight against the light as being truthful. You can reject what is said about right and wrong. This can be done with same-sex attraction, with divorce, with living together without being married. It can be done with other sins too. The angry person might want to continue to be angry. The gossiper might want to continue to gossip.

Whenever we do this, however, we are making a decision. That decision might get to be so automatic for us that it is no longer even a conscious decision, but it is a decision nevertheless. We are stating our preference. We prefer the darkness in which we can continue to live as we see fit instead of embracing the light—the righteousness and healing that Jesus the Christ is bringing into this world.

God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” The light certainly teaches us what’s right and wrong, but that is not the only thing that Jesus does. The Son of God lays down his life for sinners. He suffers and dies. He is punished with the punishment we deserve. In him and in his sacrifice is the only way for all the wrongs that we commit to be made right.

Many of you have long heard this Gospel preaching, and are well aware of it. I would like to emphasize how this is true for all people and for all kinds of sin. The good news of salvation in Jesus is for those who experience same-sex attraction or gender confusion. The good news of salvation is also for those who have acted on their desires. Jesus died to pay for the sins of those who have lived as homosexual couples, those who have lain with animals, those who have fully transitioned.

The word that Jesus has for them is the same word that he has for everyone: “Repent, and believe the Good News of salvation.” Jesus’s salvation is stronger than anyone’s sins. The grace of God is so powerful and abundant that all the world’s sin, taken altogether, is like a spark that falls into an ocean. That ocean has more than enough to extinguish that little spark and more. Jesus forgives those who repent of their sinful desires, including same-sex attraction or gender confusion. He forgives them lavishly and completely.

Forgiveness and salvation are in Jesus. This is the main thing. It is only natural, however, to wonder about what life is like after hearing the word of forgiveness as we live in this world. We know that God will bring about the final healing at our death and resurrection. That is when God will finish his work of making us holy. In the meantime what should those who suffer from unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion do?

The answer here is, again, not very original. It’s the same as we’ve been saying all along. Those who experience same-sex attraction or gender confusion must fight against their sinful desires just as all Christians must fight against their sinful desires. All Christians have unwanted desires. Some are proud, some are greedy, some are unruly. Unwanted desires cannot hurt us Christians so long as we do not give ourselves over to them. Day in and day out, week in and week out, we confess our sins and receive absolution. That’s the life of the baptized.

Would it be easier if all our unwanted desires were taken away from us? Seemingly so. But God very often allows these desires to remain. They keep us humble. They keep us from relying upon ourselves and our own righteousness. They force us to live only by faith in Jesus, who is the only Savior. So our unwanted desires might not be taken away from us in this life. That’s alright. We will one day experience the truthfulness of Jesus’s promise about life, abundant life.

However, God might remove unwanted desires too. We should not make hard and fast rules about these things. Don’t demand of God signs and wonders. That’s on the on hand. On the other, don’t reject his healing if he should give it either. It might be that God makes it so that a person who at one time was afflicted by these desires can marry and have a family of his or her own. If that happens, thank God! But even with this happy outcome, it is still not the main thing. The main thing is continuing to believe in the Son of God.

In summary and in conclusion, Christians who experience same-sex attraction or gender confusion are not different from their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The way to live as Christians is the same for one and for all. We all must continually repent and believe in Jesus. The way that unwanted, sinful desires are handled isn’t different either. May God have mercy and take these sinful desires away from all of us in this life! But God very likely will allow many of them to remain. As Paul says, “It is only through many troubles that we may enter into the kingdom of God.” They keep us humble. They keep us hungry for the new heavens and the new earth when our abundant life will begin in earnest.

The politicization that has occurred regarding LGBTQ rights is unlikely to go away. However difficult or frightening various changes might be, they remain earthly and temporary. We have something much greater—the good news of Jesus’s light and life. The Son of God came, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Jesus came so that we may have life, and have it more abundantly. Hope in him!


Sunday, January 21, 2024

240121 Sermon on what marriage is (Special Sermon Series) January 21, 2024

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Today we have begun a three week series on marriage, sexuality, and various issues that go along with these things. To do a series like this is a little unusual for us. We tend to follow the lectionary. The lectionary is a list of readings from the Bible that have been assigned for each Sunday in the Church Calendar. Pastor Bertram and I are happy to follow the lectionary. The assigned readings make sure that we hear the whole counsel of God’s Word instead of only focusing on certain favorite topics. Nevertheless, we have decided to set aside the normal readings for these three weeks so that we could focus on the topics of marriage, sexuality, etc.

To begin our look at this area of life it is good to begin with how God has created us. God made Adam and Eve in a very special way as we read about in Genesis. The way that he made Adam was by taking council within himself, deliberating within himself, gathering some earth, breathing the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils. Eve’s creation was also very special. She was not made from earth. A portion of flesh was taken from Adam. God made that rib into the woman.

None of the other creatures are described as having been created in such a way. Man and woman were created with a strong connection to God. He made them in his own image. There is also a strong connection between man and woman since the woman was taken from man. She was not created as an independent being.

When God finished making Eve, he presented her to Adam. Adam was delighted. He broke out into poetry and song, as young men are sometimes known to do. He said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” The woman is like him, and yet not like him. The similarities and differences between him and her bring about wonder and admiration.

Here we see another important thing about how God created us. We were created to have an attraction—the male for the female, and the female for the male. God creates us with attractions and appetites. We have appetites for food and drink, for example, that are satisfied with eating and drinking. So also, a man is meant to be satisfied by being with a woman; a woman is meant to be satisfied by being with a man.

It is difficult, and a little uncomfortable, to speak about this attraction and appetite. None of us are ashamed to talk about hunger and thirst. It isn’t as easy to speak about the desire we feel for another person. This isn’t necessarily bad either. Unlike eating and drinking, what a man and woman do with each other is private. It’s supposed to be private. However, we shouldn’t be so afraid to talk about these appetites that they become taboos. We should help, especially, our children. Children eventually grow into adults. This desire awakens within them. They should not be shamed for having that God-given appetite. They need help to know that their desire can be directed in such a way that they can keep their honor.

Where their desire should be directed is toward their spouse or their future spouse. Our reading from Genesis speaks to this also. It says: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” A man is to leave his father and mother when he is ready to take a wife. The reason why he leaves his father and mother is because he is going to create a new family together with his wife. The man clings to his wife instead of clinging to his old family. The man and his wife become one flesh—they are joined together. From this one-flesh union children are created. Thus you see how God makes a new family. Husband and wife become father and mother. The new family begins with the marriage.

You see here in Genesis how God has made us—male and female he created us. He made us so that we have a desire for one another. He created marriage as the first and highest of all institutions. Family and society flow from it. Marriage is an arrangement that remains on this earth, and it will continue to remain until Christ comes. Then, as Christ teaches, the situation will be different. In the life to come we will not be married or given in marriage. We will be like the angels, Jesus says.

But our focus today is on this life. So, very practically speaking, how should a boy or a girl look at this area of their lives, and how should they look towards the future?

First of all, every boy should thank God for making him a boy, and every girl should thank God for making her a girl. The way that God has made us is wonderful, and God deserves to be praised. Praising God for making you the boy that you are or the girl that you are is important work for you to do as God’s creatures.

Later on, when boys grow into men and girls grow into women, they should be on the lookout for that person to whom they might be joined together as one flesh in holy matrimony. My advice for boys and girls is that they are never too young to pray to God for a good wife or a good husband. You parents and grandparents—you who love your children and grandchildren—should pray for good, godly spouses for them if you want what is good for them.

During the teenage and young adult years it is important to guard your body, soul, and mind from the powerful temptations to take what God has not yet given to you. If you have not yet been joined through marriage to someone, you should not pretend that you have been. Wait until God joins you together with that person.

A profound promise is asked of those being joined together. You might be familiar with this marriage vow: “I take you to be my wedded husband or wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy will; and I pledge to you my faithfulness.”

What this promise means is that you are going to forsake all others and stick with this person no matter what. That’s love! Love is not just looking out for yourself. Love is being there for the other even when it is unpleasant, painful, and no longer to your own advantage.

By having made those promises, by having been joined together, a new family is made. Within that family there is to be love, honor, service, and sacrifice. God highly approves of all of this. God loves it when a man loves his woman, and a woman loves her man. God loves it when parents love their children, and children honor their father and mother. A very good and rich life is given within this marriage and family.

Finally, we should talk about the end of the marriage. A marriage ends when death parts husband and wife. God is the one who determines the end of the marriage, just as God is supposed to be the one who determines the end of anybody’s life. If we take our own life into our own hands and end it, or if we take somebody else’s life into our own hands and end it, that’s rightly called “murder.” God doesn’t want us to do that. So also God brings about the end of a marriage by bringing about the death of one or the other spouse. This is what it means when the marriage vow says “till death us do part.” When God determines the time, he ends the marriage by bringing about the death of the husband or the wife.

Now, having described how things should go in this area of life, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were lots of questions. Some of those questions might be addressed during the next two weeks. There is not enough time for me to say much more than I already have. So I’d like to conclude with a word to those who recognize that this area of their life has not been what it should be. You haven’t done as you were supposed to do.

Remember that Jesus came to save sinners. Jesus died to set things right that have gone wrong. The work that Jesus does as Savior is not different in this area of life from the other work that we hear of him doing. Jesus went around giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, mobility to the lame. Your affliction might be with your sexuality, or the sexual sins that you’ve committed, or perhaps the sins that have been committed against you.

Jesus does not wish for you to be left alone in your sadness, disappointment, or regret. Like the blind man, who could not make himself see, or the lame man who could not make himself walk, you also cannot fix yourself. You might not be able to fix yourself for the future. You certainly can’t go back and undo what has been done. You can’t make right what has gone wrong. But Jesus can. He’s the only one who can. This is the miracle of God’s blood and God’s death. That sacrifice cleanses and atones. Fully aware of your sins, therefore, Jesus says he forgives you. He teaches you. He brings light, truth and healing in this present life. He will bring perfect healing in the life to come.

Understand, therefore, that your real enemy is not Jesus, nor is it God, with his Law. You might be tempted to believe that God with his Law is your enemy, because you haven’t kept it. But your real enemy is the devil. He is a liar. He says you don’t need those outdated, prudish laws. Live however you want! Lust after whomever you want! Be the lord of your own happiness!

That’s the enemy’s message. It sounds good. There’s a reason why so many follow his advice! It sounds like it will be just what you want. But those who follow this liar’s advice soon find out that on the other side of the supposed freedom and thrills misery awaits. You can’t fight against the way God has created us to be and expect to have no consequences.

God’s message, admittedly, is very different from the liar’s message. God doesn’t say that you should do whatever would make you happy. He requires some high and difficult things. He says we need to love. He says self-control is good. Being sexually pure and decent is good. Showing honor and respect to your wife or your husband is good. Being faithful unto death is good.

These things are good whether you have actually done these things or not. Who of us is without sin in this area of life? Nevertheless, what God requires is good. I think you know that. If only we would be the way that God would have us to be in this area of life, things would be good. It’s because we haven’t been obedient that we have the troubles that we do.  

So we’ve messed up. Jesus is the Savior of people who need help. Jesus is the Savior of sinners. Repent, believe in him, and be saved!