“The Law Is Good,” Ex. 20.1-17, Christian Ed Sunday, Sept. ‘20

 

1.                Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Amen. The message from God’s Word today is taken from Exodus 20:1-17 and is entitled, “The Law is Good,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                On this Christian Education Sunday, we learn that God desires to be your teacher and your children’s teacher.  God desires to teach us, “The Law is good; but since the fall Its holiness condemns us all; It dooms us for our sin to die And has no pow’r to justify. To Jesus we for refuge flee, Who from the curse has set us free, And humbly worship at His throne, Saved by His grace through faith alone.” (LSB 579:5–6)

3.                W. C. Fields, a famous old-time comedian, was coming to the final illness of his life. He was in the hospital and neither he, his friends, or doctors gave him much hope. One of his friends, who had known him for many years and had seen his disdain for religion and everything godly and moral, walked into the hospital room. He stopped as if he had run into a pane of glass, because there before his eyes was W. C. Fields in his hospital bed reading the Bible. His friend said in utter amazement, “W. C., what in the world are you doing?” And he replied, “I’m looking for a loopholes.” It seems that there are lots of people who are looking for loopholes to God’s 10 Commandments—who are trying to find some way to escape the just consequences of their sins. There is no way around God’s judgment, but there is one, Jesus our Savior, who went under it and has promised a way of escape.

4.                Today’s lesson from Exodus 20 begins with the children of Israel gathered around Mount Sinai. God had descended upon the mountain in fire. The mountain trembled and God called Moses to come and meet with him. God gave him words that we heard in today’s lesson: “And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me’” (vv 1–3).

5.                So, on this Christian Education Sunday I have a pop quiz for all of you.  True or False: God wouldn’t have given us the Ten Commandments if we could not keep them. How you answer this question shows whether you believe in a religion of obedience that will be rewarded or a faith that clings to grace that’s given to the undeserving. If we could keep the commandments, if it were possible to obey the Law and to love God and our neighbor on our own strength, then we wouldn’t need Jesus. It's as simple as that. So, if we can't keep the Law, why did God give it? Why does He tell us to love Him and others if we can't even do it? St. Paul tells us: What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. (Galatians 3:19) God gives us those commandments to show us that we can't fulfill them, and that if we can't, we're doomed unless God saves us. So, the Law was given to increase our trespasses. It was given to show us that we’re sinners who need a Savior.

6.                There’s a promise in the Law: Do this and you will live. But that promise is made to the Seed of Abraham, Jesus. He keeps the Law and lives. He carries our not doing the Law and dies. He lives because His blood has washed away our sins and because He has kept the Law perfectly.

7.                Here in Exodus 20 we see that God cared for his people. He had a deep desire to protect them from things hurtful to soul and body. So, God gave the Ten Commandments to his people to guide them in their relationship as His people within this covenant. They would live as his people, and he would bless them. In each of the first three commandments, he spoke of the people’s relationship with God. Commandments 4–10 would govern their relationship with their fellow man. The Commandments were summarized later by Moses, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut 6:5). This moral Law and the ceremonial law would guide them as they entered the new land that God was giving them. Certainly, God Gave the Law for the Good of His People.

1.                In his mercy, God had brought his chosen people out of many years of their slavery and was bringing them to a good land where they could live and prosper as his own. As they traveled, God established a new relationship with them. The people were gathered at Sinai in his mercy, and he came to them and said in Exodus 19, “‘ “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.’ So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do.’ And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord” (Ex 19:4–8).

2.                The Law had a role in their lives. God wanted them to turn away from things that were worshiped by other people they would encounter in their communities. As he gave the Law, God declared that he was a “jealous God.” That may sound strange to you, but it meant he wanted his people solely for himself. Like a husband wants the relationship with his wife to be only with him as his spouse. When you are married you protect that intimate relationship.  God feels that same way about you, the Church, His bride. There are no other true gods. Anything else was an invention by man guided by Satan. The triune God is the sole being who could rescue them from sin; so he urges them in Ex. 20: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (vv 4–6). Worshiping other created beings and images would sever the relationship that God had established and would cause their loss.

3.                God aimed to shield his children from this sinful environment. He established the moral law for a curb—a restraint to hold back the influence of the Devil and the world so that outward discipline might be maintained against wild, disobedient people. God didn’t just give this Law to Israel. At the mountain, they had formally received it from the mouth and hand of God. But this Law had been received previously as it was written on their hearts, we call that our conscience. At creation, they and the Gentiles had this Law given them, the same Law to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

4.                Like the children of Israel, we know it’s wrong to hurt or harm our neighbor in his body. We know we should befriend those in need. We know we should respect our parents, elders, and those placed over us as authorities. We know we ought not take our neighbor’s property; rather we ought to help him improve and protect his property.

5.                This knowledge of the Law didn’t prevent the Israelites from sinning against God. Soon after they received the Law from God, they fell again into sin. They disobeyed his will for them. His Law condemned them! They were in the same condition as the rest of the world: sinful from the time of conception.

6.                What does the Word of God’s Law say to you? The Law accuses! It condemns. We’ve broken all the Commandments repeatedly! The Law serves as a mirror to show us what we look like! It isn’t pretty, is it! Try as hard as we might, we can’t fulfill the Law’s righteous demands. We can’t satisfy it; we can’t make payment for our sins. Only God can make it right, as we confess, “In this life we cannot satisfy the Law, because the sinful nature doesn’t stop bringing forth ‹evil inclination and desire›, even though the Spirit in us resists them” (Ap V 25).

7.                St. Paul writes: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Rom 7:18–20). There’s no doubt about it; we’re sinful. The Law of God tells us what we should do, how we can please God and care for our fellow man, but the sin in us rises up and sin does the evil! What a mess we’re in! The Law declares us sinners, sinners who are powerless to save ourselves from the just penalty of the Law. Or, as Jesus said, “There is only one who is good” (Mt 19:17).

8.                Without Christ, there is no hope! We are powerless to do what’s right. Instead, we follow Satan’s temptation and fall again into sin. But this need not be, for Jesus, God’s one and only Son, came and took our place. He obeyed the Law for us and took its punishment. St. Paul clearly declares this: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:1–4). By the gift of faith (from the Holy Spirit, Eph 2:4–8) we believe in Christ and receive his gifts. In Christ, we are able to obey the Law . . . and we should.

9.                The Law isn’t abolished by Christ. The Law has an ongoing relevance in the world. Jesus said, “until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt 5:18). The Law still applies; the Law still has power to curb our desire to sin. It still has power to accuse our guilty consciences; “if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin” (Rom 7:7).

10.             The Law also has the power to teach the new self, born of water and the Spirit, the new self that desires to follow the Lord’s precepts; it has the power to teach the new self—godliness. The Law provides a “training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16) in the kinds of works that are called good. For us Christians, the Law no longer condemns, for Christ came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He has fulfilled all righteousness for us and taken our punishment. Now, by his sacrifice and by the power of the Holy Spirit establishing faith in us, we can by faith live as God’s servants. No better guide for living has been given than the Ten Commandments, which God gave for the edifying of his people. In Christ and by the Spirit, we want to live God-pleasing lives, as Paul writes: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10).

11.             Do you keep the Law? According to your sinful flesh and your sinful actions, no way. According to your Baptism, Absolution, and the Body and Blood of Jesus, you absolutely do, because Jesus did for you! In other words, whatever the Law condemns in you, it condemns in Jesus on Good Friday. Whatever the Law promises, it promises to you through Jesus so that His obedience and perfection count for you.

12.             Whenever we take hold of the Law apart from Jesus, we'll wreck things. We'll either despair because we can't do it, or we'll try to justify ourselves. But in Jesus, the Law is handled and does what it’s given to do. It gives its curse and promise to Jesus who keeps the curse for Himself and shares its promise with you. Our works cannot salvation gain; They merit only endless pain. Forgive us, Lord! To Christ we flee, Who pleads for us endlessly. Have mercy, Lord! ("These Are the Holy Ten Commands" LSB 581, st. 12) Because of Christ, we walk in God’s commands, and he rejoices over us. Amen. The peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.

 

“Transformed for Service” Rom. 11.33-12.8 Pentecost 12A, Aug. ’20, Farewell Sermon for Christ Lutheran & Calvary

 

1.                Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer.  Amen.  What do you preach as a pastor in your last sermon to the congregation you have served the last 6 years?  I thought about that this past week and my conclusion was this… to preach once again Christ & Him crucified for the forgiveness of your sins.  For that is the ONLY message that saves us and gives us eternal life!!!  The message from God’s Word on this 12^th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from Romans 11.33-12:8, and is entitled, “Transformed for Service,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.                The poet, Elizabeth Barret Browning, once wrote: “Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God but only he who sees takes off his shoes.” Our readings this morning invite us to be among those who see. They invite us to see the earth crammed with heaven, to see how God in Christ has come down from heaven and touched the earth to fill it with his glory.

3.                Consider the Old Testament reading. Here, the Prophet Isaiah writes to a future people, suffering in exile away from Jerusalem, and he reveals for them a world crammed full of heaven. “Look,” he cries. And there, he reveals the wonder of God. One family, Abraham and Sarah, touched by God’s grace and the source of God’s blessing for all nations of the world. One sees the glory spread as God multiplies descendants for Abraham, extending his blessing from one family to all nations. Isaiah promises that Jerusalem, the city that is devastated, will experience rebirth. Songs of sorrow will become shouts of joy. God’s salvation will go forth and, though heaven and earth pass away, God’s righteousness will remain. His salvation will endure forever.

4.                In the Holy Gospel, we find Caesarea Philippi crammed full of heaven. Jesus has drawn his disciples north, above the Sea of Galilee, where the land breaks forth into hills and waterfalls. The place was ancient. It had been a site for worshipping Baal among the Canaanites, and then Pan among the Greeks, and then Caesar among the Romans. As cultures changed, so did the worship. Yet, here, Peter confesses heaven touching earth in the unchanging work of God, now seen in Jesus. This isn’t an ancient pagan religion. Peter doesn’t worship a fertility god like Baal or a god of nature like Pan or a god of the political state like Caesar. No, Peter worships God, the creator of all things, who promised to bring salvation to the ends of the earth, and has now come to live and walk among his people. Peter confesses Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God. What Isaiah prophesies in the Old Testament reading, what Peter confesses in the Gospel is what the apostle Paul celebrates as he writes to the Christians in Rome. Paul has seen earth crammed with heaven and in these few verses he shares with us a life transforming a vision.

5.                You know how sometimes when you look at the sun and then look away, your vision is touched by an afterimage of the light? You see the people around you, but they look different. They are bathed in the glow of the light. This is what happens to the apostle Paul in our text. He’s seen a brilliant vision. The work of God, extending to all nations. And then, when Paul turns and looks at the people of Rome, he sees them in a different way.

6.                Listen to the wonder of Paul at the beginning of our text. He writes, “O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and inscrutable his ways!” (11:33). Paul has seen a vision of the end of the story. The restoration of all peoples in the church. The New Israel of God. That vision is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy from our Old Testament reading this morning.

7.                Isaiah prophesied of a time of “joy and gladness” of “thanksgiving and song.” Isaiah promises that when “the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion . . . everlasting joy shall be upon their heads” and “sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (51:11). This is what happens for the apostle Paul. Paul sees the day of restoration, when God brings about a gathering of all nations, Jew and Gentile, into the church, and Paul’s sorrow turns into singing, his sighing into praise. It’s as if Paul has seen the light of a beautiful sunset, a glorious ending to a long and difficult day, and his song changes from sorrow to joy, from sighing to gladness. He offers praise and thanksgiving and glory to God.

8.                Then Paul turns his eyes to the church in Rome. Now, the Roman Christians wouldn’t have been glorious to the world around them. Not many of them were rich or powerful. They gathered together in small house churches, their lives a far cry from the glories of Rome much less the glories of heaven. And yet, as Paul looks at these people, he sees earth crammed with heaven and he writes so that they join him in celebrating the wonder of God. Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (12:1). Notice how Paul uses the language of sacrifice. The sacrificial worship of God’s people from the temple in Jerusalem, is transformed. God’s people become sacrifices, outside the temple in Jerusalem, hidden inside the small house churches gathering in the heart of the empire of Rome. These people are God’s people, transformed into sacrifices, living, holy, acceptable to God. Paul knew that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ put an end to temple sacrifices. His death was the perfect sacrifice. He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. By his sacrifice, God’s people were freed from offering sacrifices for sins. By his sacrifice, they were freed to become sacrifices. Living sacrifices of praise. As they poured out their lives in service in the world.

9.                As Paul looks at the people in Rome, he sees an afterimage of God’s glory. They are the body of Christ, at work in the world. Paul begins to see gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out upon the people – prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership, and mercy. Not only does God freely forgive all sins but he also freely bestows all gifts, so that people have a purpose and a place in God’s greater story. God has a greater plan for each person in his story of salvation. This is the vision Paul sees. It stirs his heart with wonder. It opens his mouth with praise. Earth is crammed with heaven as God gathers his people and transforms them for spiritual service in the world.

10.             “Earth’s crammed with heaven,” Elizabeth Barret Browning once said. “But only he who sees takes off his shoes.” And that’s the trouble with God’s people. We often don’t see this vision of God at work in our lives in the world. For the apostle Paul, there was some concern that the Roman Christians would take pride in their status and gifts for service. Paul warns them, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone not to think of himself more highly than he ought” (12:3). But, God’s people, today often have the opposite problem. Ask a fellow Christian how God works among his people, and see what they say. Often we will point to the service of others rather than confess God’s work through our lives. We will point to moments set apart for worship, rather than confess God’s work in daily life. For example, some will point to the Pastor of the congregation. He’s God’s servant, the one the Holy Spirit has called through God’s people to serve in their midst. They’re right. But, God’s work isn’t limited to the Pastor. Give it some thought and you may name a few other members. Old members. Faithful members.

11.             Those who have gone before us. And soon our mind drifts from the present to the past and then we begin to speak of how God worked among his people. Great figures of the faith come to mind. We talk about what God did through his servant Martin Luther. The rich music of Bach. The inspiring hymnody of Paul Gerhardt. We see and celebrate God’s gifts to the church, how God calls, gathers, enlightens, and equips members for service in a particular time and place. But turn from the past to the present, and the vision changes. The glory fades until we only see a small group of a few people that we speak of as serving God. Our vision is nowhere near the inclusive celebration of Paul.

12.             Listen, today, to the apostle Paul. He invites you . . . today . . . to trust in God’s promises and experience his greater plan for you. God has brought about your salvation in Jesus Christ. He has offered the perfect sacrifice that takes away your sin, that forgives your blindness and opens your eyes to see and your lives to celebrate the working of God. God does more than work in the lives of others. He works in your life . . . for others . . . in this world. This is why Paul starts to name gifts –such as teaching, service, leadership, mercy. His list isn’t complete. But Paul names these things so that you can see how God is at work in your life. Paul invites you today to be transformed by the renewal of your mind. He encourages you to discern God’s good and gracious will in your life.

13.             You may devote your life to caring for cattle or tending the earth that it brings forth food for the table. This stewardship of creation is a gift from God. Not all people are called to such service but God in Christ has called you and equipped you for this work. You may teach the faith to your children. Not in formal classes with desks, lectures, and quizzes but, in the car as you drive your son to soccer practice and talk about challenges to his faith, or at the nursing home, as your children visit their grandfather and you offer to pray. Parenting is a gift from God. Not all people are called to such service but God, in Christ, has called you for this work.

14.             Martin Luther taught us to see the mercies of God, working through us in our vocations. To live in God’s mercy is to enter the world and discover God at work in our humble lives. He transforms us for service. There’s a monument east of London at Three Mills Green. It pictures two hands, joined together, in self-sacrificial service. Over 100 years ago, Thomas Pickett was working in a well. He was overcome by the carbonic acid (the “foul air”) that gathered in the well. Godfrey Nicholson responded. He went and reached out his hand to help. He was followed by Frederick Eliot and then Robert Underhill. Each worker offering a saving hand in rescue. Each dying in the end. To remember these men and their sacrificial service, a workers’ memorial was built. Two hands, joined together, in self-sacrificial service.

15.             If you were to go to London, it would be easy to miss this monument. After all, London is filled with so many glorious things to see. The crown jewels. Big Ben. Buckingham Palace. The changing of the guard. But there, in east London, at Three Mills Green, stands a much more humble sight. A memory of ordinary people, who offered their lives in acts of sacrificial love. Their daily vocation became a place for service to others and to God. This place doesn’t gather many crowds and it doesn’t inspire tours but it does recall the way God works in the world. Through the lives of his people in their daily vocations. This is how God’s hand reaches into our world. He touches his people through His Word and Sacraments, transforming them for service, so that they offer their gifts as a sacrifice of praise.

16.             And, this is why Sunday after Sunday, for 6 years now, there has really only been one topic preached from this pulpit. Though there have been many themes and many texts. Though some sermons have lacked the energy and freshness of others. Though some have been downright boring and much too long.  Through it all, there’s really been only one thing the Lord has given me to preach here.  One person, one favorite topic, Sunday after Sunday, and that’s Jesus Christ, crucified & risen for you.  

17.             What this monument does in East London, Paul does with his words in this letter. He calls us to see the glory of God, hidden in the lives of his people, in sacrificial service on earth. Our world would have us conform to its ways. Seek glory and power by gaining things for ourselves. In the ways of our world, religion can become one more tool we use to make ourselves better. Claiming the power of God to gain glory on earth. But, God’s ways are different. Humble. Hidden. Sacrificial. Selfless. In a world attracted to glory, the apostle Paul asks you to see God’s greater plan for you. You have been joined to the body of Christ. Made part of his people by the forgiveness of your sins. And Paul now invites you to no longer be conformed to this world but to be transformed for service. To live by giving rather than gaining. By service rather than selfishness. In this way, the church is the afterimage of the glory of Christ. It reveals the ways of God in the world. We are the body of Christ, drawn into his public ministry. Our lives are monuments of his sacrificial love. Each life touched by the hand of God. Your life joined to the ministry of Christ. “A living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God.” Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting.  Amen.