Word for Christian Living - September 29, 2024 - Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 21) - Text: James 5:(1-12)13-20

In our text for this morning, as we reach the end of our walk through his epistle, James makes three related points as he comes to the end of his letter. James encourages us to focus our life, not on the things of this world, but on the world to come, that is eternal life in heaven. James encourages us to be patient in times of suffering and he points to the example of Job and his suffering as well as the Lord’s reward, if you will, to Job after all was said and done. James writes to encourage us to encourage and build each other up as brothers and sisters in Christ. And we must remind ourselves as we begin looking here at the end of James letter, that James begins with Jesus. James encourages and exhorts us as a response of faith, not for works righteousness.
 

Getting to James’ first point, he encourages us in our life’s focus. We begin at verse one, “1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you” (v. 1-6).
 

James warns us that our earthly treasures will rot. He warns us to not get mixed up in attempting simply to gain treasures for this world, especially to the neglect of the world to come. Perhaps we would do well to constantly remind ourselves that what we are born with and what we take with us when we die is what is truly ours anyway. Which is another way of saying that nothing really is ours. What we have while we live on this earth belongs to our Lord and we are to be good stewards, caretakers in our usage of all that is His while we are on this earth. After we pass away, what we have amassed will be passed on to the next generation and as the preacher of Ecclesiastes suggests, it will be passed on to those who have not earned it to waste it in any way they wish. Thus, we are encouraged to be good stewards of what our Lord first gives to us and we are encouraged to spend our time, not amassing treasures of this world, but treasure for heaven.
 

James also warns that dishonest gain is a sin and so he encourages us to work at an honest job and not steal in any way. The example he uses is that of his ancestors who kept back wages from the workers. For us today, James simply encourages us to be honest in our labors.
 

These words from James encourage us to focus our attention and our life, not so much on this world and amassing what will be passed on to the next generation and have no affect on our lives in the world to come, and instead we are to focus our attention on the world to come. We are to focus our attention on our faith in Jesus who has secured our lot in heaven. Again, we are reminded that James’ words of encouragement are words of a response of faith.
 

Moving on to the second point that James makes this morning. He encourages us in our suffering, especially that we are to be patient. We pick up at verse seven, “7Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 12But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.)” (v. 7-12)
 

James encourages us to be patient and to look forward, in faith, to the day the Lord will return. Unfortunately, too many people, even too many Christians do not believe the Lord will return during their own life time. Yet, He could come any day and any time. And, the fact of the matter is that none of us knows when we will die, so we all need to be ready to meet the Lord each and every day. James reminds us that this world is truly fast and fleeting. Our time in this world is but a breath, even a moment compared to our life in heaven which is for eternity, so we would do well not to dwell so much on the sufferings of this present world, instead, we would do well to focus our attention on heaven. James encourages us not to grumble against each other, instead we are to be patient with each other. And, notice that James says nothing about striving for success in this world, instead he encourages us to remain steadfast, that is to be faithful. James gives us the example of Job who lost everything and yet in the end because of his faithfulness the Lord blessed him with double. Here again, the encouragement to focus our attention on heaven and being faithful.
 

And James gives a bit of a warning about honesty. He says to let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no”. In our world today, as truth has, at least for some, become relative, there is a tendency to want to make sure people believe what we say and the way many do this is by adding something to their word. As children we add, “cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye,” and so forth. As adults we might add, “I swear to God,” or “to be honest with you,” or any other statement to emphasize we are saying what is true. James urges us simply to let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no” and to let our honesty attest to our word. And again, we would remind ourselves that James continues to speak in the context of a response of faith.
 

In the last point of our text, James encourages us to encourage each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. We pick up at verse thirteen, “13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 19My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (v. 13-20).
 

James encourages us in our prayer life. We certainly understand that our prayer is our part in our conversation with God. He speaks to us through His Word and we speak to Him in prayer. As part of our conversation with God, as part of our prayers, James encourages us to pray for ourselves. We are to pray prayers of thanks as well as petitions for healing and the like. Also we are encouraged to pray for others, especially those who are ill. And we are encouraged to be persistent and patient in our prayers. James gives us the example of Elijah who prayed for three and a half years that it would not rain and then he prayed that it would rain and it did.
 

Not only are we to pray, we are also exhorted to confess our sins so we might be given forgiveness. Every Sunday morning we confess our sins and we hear our Lord’s most beautiful words of forgiveness. Forgiveness is so important. We might remember that very often the first thing Jesus did when He met someone or healed someone was to forgive them their sins. Forgiveness is our most basic need and with forgiveness we know that we also have life and salvation.
 

Finally, we are to encourage each other, and especially, in love, share the truth with others, rebuking and admonishing where necessary. We are to encourage our brothers and sisters who stray from the faith. We are to share our faith with others so they too might have a part in God’s kingdom. What wonderful words of encouragement we are given by James this morning. And once more, these words of James are words of encouragement in our response of faith, faith given by God.
 

So we ask, “What Does This Mean?” In the Old Testament lesson for this morning we see the discontent of the Children of Israel. They grumbled and complained. They exaggerated what they believed to be their condition in Egypt, “they ate fish that cost nothing? They ate cucumbers, melons, leek, onions and garlic that cost nothing?” How quickly they forgot their cry to be delivered from slavery. Yet, their discontent is very much like our discontent. How often we forget what our Lord has done, does and continues to do for us as we continue to ask for more? Yes, even our Old Testament lesson reminds us of our need to keep our focus heavenward. Notice how the discontent of the Israelites is contrasted with Moses’ contentment even that everyone would be full of the Spirit. Quite a lesson to us in our contentment and rejoicing in others and how the Lord blesses them.
 

In the Gospel reading Jesus warns against sin, even little sins. He also warns that those who are not against Him are for Him, in other words, although we may have doctrinal disagreements with other denominations which keep us from fellowship, unless they are blatantly teaching and believing false doctrine, we would do well to not condemn them. At the same time, this does not negate the fact that we will want to encourage them to get their doctrine right.
 

Finally, James ties these words together in the last words of his epistle in which he encourages Christians to be content in all things, remembering that this world is fast and fleeting, that we are to be patient in suffering which, as Paul tells us, ultimately produces hope and certainty of heaven, and that we are to build up and encourage each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. And we do this with the Lord’s help, alone and only as a response of faith already given.
 

Of course, the last question we might ask this morning is, “Where is Jesus?” And we have to answer that He is there as the Author and Perfecter of our faith. As we read through James we must continue to remind ourselves that James begins with Jesus. James brings words of encouragement that are not apart from Jesus and faith in Jesus. We cannot do any of what James encourages and exhorts us to do. We cannot do the good works of faith, which flow from faith, except that we have faith. Again, James begins with Jesus. Jesus has already done all that James here encourages us to do. Jesus is God in flesh. Jesus is perfect and holy. Jesus never sinned. Jesus suffered all the temptations we will ever face and more and never sinned. And in His great love for us, Jesus took our sin and paid the price for our sin. The depth of the Gospel is that Jesus lived for us and Jesus gave His life for ours. Now Jesus sends the Holy Spirit who works in and through us to be the people he would have us to be, to be the people James encourages us to be. Where is Jesus? He is the beginning, the middle and the end. And we say, thanks be to God and to Him be the glory. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

September 2024 Newsletter

September 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I believe most people understand what is a rhetorical question. It is a question that really does not ask for nor need an answer. Here in Texas we may joke that a Texan answers a question with a question (a rhetorical question) such as, “Is the sky blue?” Answer, “Is the pope Catholic?” or “Does a wild bear live in the woods?” Such is the way with rhetoric and rhetorical questions.
 

But what about rhetoric or rhetorical questions in other areas of life and even Lutheranism? As we understand that our doctrine (what we believe, teach and confess) should determine and be seen in our practice (how and what we do) then I believe that there are truly Lutheran ways to practice Lutheranism. When we think of preaching, teaching, evangelism, Divine Service and even our church building I believe there are Lutheran ways these are to be accomplished, that is our doctrine should inform and instruct and be seen in each of these areas.
    Lutheran doctrine is seen in Lutheran preaching with a proper distinction between Law and Gospel and an emphasis on the Gospel. Lutheran Education and teaching is seen in Christ and the Bible as the foundation. Lutheran Evangelism is seen in always being ready to give an answer for the hope we have.
 

Lutheran Divine Service is seen in that we do not come to worship because the very definition of worship is that God is the audience and we are the actors and we are coming to do something for God, as if God needs anything from us. Rather Lutheran Divine Service is just that, a Divine, Godly Service. It is first and foremost God coming to us to give us the gifts He has to give and to give them through His means of grace which permeate the Divine Service.
 

So, what makes a church building a Lutheran Church building? If you were blindfolded and led into a Walmart, Target, HEB, Kroger, etc., you would more than likely immediately know which store you were in. If you were blindfolded and led into a baseball field, a football field, a movie theater, a convention center, etc., you would more than likely immediately know where you were. But what about walking into a church building? Would you know if it were a church building or even which denomination you might be in? If you walked in and did not see a cross or a pulpit or Baptismal font, if you saw an enclosed drum set, musical instruments on a stage, if you saw screens on the wall, would you recognize the building as a church building or a place to be entertained, like an arena or music hall?
 

The point is, what does the rhetoric of the building say about what is going on in the building? As you walk into St. Matthew Lutheran Church of Westfield, there should be no mistake that you have entered a building in which the Divine Service points you to Jesus. The cross is prominent. The Baptismal font is to the left, the altar in the center, and the pulpit to the right. The communion rail separates the sanctuary (the nave) from the chancel area. There are no musical instruments in the chancel and there are no screens on the wall to make you think you are being entertained or to draw your attention away from the focal point of the cross of Christ and the means of grace.

God’s richest blessings.
In His Service,

Pastor Bogs
1 Cor. 15:3-5

July 2024 Newsletter

July 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On July 4 our country will celebrate the 248th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence beginning a long history of government as a Republic (we are not a true Democracy). The framers of our constitution speak boldly of our equality, liberty and our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have free speech, freedom of religion (meaning we can actually share our faith with others), the right to bear arms, to a speedy trial, and on and on oes the list of our rights and freedoms. We have been taught that God has given us these unalienable rights, not our government. As a matter of fact, the more laws that are made the more we actually give up our rights to the government.

With all the rights and freedoms we have, we have become a country that seems to be moving further and further from what our forefathers imagined. As we consider that the average expectancy of a democracy is around 200 years, we may wonder how much longer we will be able to sustain the Republic in which we live. Much like the Children of Israel constantly rebelled against God who chose them, delivered them, gave them a land and from whom He gave the world a Savior (Messiah, Christ), the same is happening in our country, except that no Messiah is given through our country. Although our country may have had very religious and even Christian moorings, over the past many years we have seen our society give in to the sinful nature of the world so that unfortunately even many of what were Christian churches no longer look like Christian churches but look like and espouse the sinful nature of the world.

As we celebrate our 248th Anniversary and while we continue to enjoy the freedoms we have, especially the freedom and right to attend Divine Service, perhaps we would do well to give thanks to the Lord that we continue to have such an opportunity and at the same time pray for forgiveness for our failings in the fight against the temptations of the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh which seeks to go the way of our sinful world and keeps us away from where God gives His gifts of Word and Sacrament.

I believe the comment that is often made, “Two things we do not talk about, religion and politics,” has been given to us by the devil because he does not want us to speak about two of the most important aspects of our lives. Indeed, how can we share our faith without speaking about “religion,” and how can we not continue to maintain our rights and freedoms without speaking about “politics.”

With all that said, we continue to remind ourselves that our Lord does rule over us through government, that all governments are from God (good or evil) for the purpose of keeping order, so that we might be reminded to pray for our leaders and that we might be good Christian citizens living our lives as priests in the priesthood of all believers always ready to give an answer for the hope that we have.

God’s richest blessings.
In His Service,


Pastor Bogs
1 Cor. 15:3-5

Making Friends with Whom? - September 22, 2024 - Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20) - Text: James 3:13-4:10

Now I know I have told this story before and some of you have heard it, but I am going to tell it again, and not just because it is funny, but because, unfortunately,  it is funny because it is true. There is the story of the new church which was meeting in a bar. The bar was not open on Sunday mornings so the church rented out the space for their morning service. At this bar there was a parrot. One morning while the church service was going on the parrot woke up. He looked up and saw the pastor preaching and said, “Hum, new bartender.” He looked over at the choir and said, “Hum, new floor show.” And finally, he looked out at the group of people at the service and said, “Same old crowd.” That story helps us to understand what is happening in many of our churches today as we become people not only in the world, but also of the world. James encourages us this morning to be zealous in being people of the Word and people in the Word, not people of the world.
 

James begins by defining wisdom, beginning at verse thirteen of chapter three he writes, “3:13Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (3:13-18). James differentiates between what is viewed as the wisdom of this world and what is true, Godly wisdom. True Godly wisdom shows itself in understanding and meekness. True Godly wisdom is a gift from God. We might be reminded that when God asked King Solomon to ask for any thing he desired as the new king, he asked for discernment, which is the wisdom to properly use understanding, in other words, he asked to be able to rule rightly. True Godly wisdom for us today is to live rightly, discerning the difference between living in the world and being of the world.
 

On the other hand, James tells us that bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are not wisdom. The way of the world is that this is a “dog eat dog” world and the way to get ahead in this world is through selfish ambition and stepping on others to get what you want, and what you think you deserve. Certainly through His own life, Jesus shows us that this thinking is not Godly wisdom, but is sinful human nature wisdom.
 

Wisdom from above, that is true Godly wisdom is that wisdom that comes from a heart of faith. As the Holy Spirit gives, even strengthens and keeps us in faith, as a gift, given through the means of grace, so He guides us in all true wisdom, moving us to seek to be godly people, encouraging and building each other up as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.
 

As Jesus has His way with us, through the means of grace, a fruit of the Spirit is this peace which is sown from wisdom. Going back to King Solomon, in his writings in the Proverbs, he reminds us of this fact that wisdom sows peace, as he tells us that a gentle answer turns away wrath. When we are provoked by someone, how well we know that an angry response escalates the battle, but a gentle response brings peace. Here again, we see the difference between the Christian who lives in the world but is not of the world and the way the person of the world lives.
 

As we have talked about with James, he insists that faith without works is dead, that is that our faith is shown through our actions, thus James asks, what does your life say? We pick up at verse one of chapter four, “4:1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (4:1-10).
 

James begins by reminding us that quarrels and fights do not come from faith. Quarrels and fights are not the way of Jesus, but the way of the world, the way of power and might, or in the church perceived power and might. We are adapting to the ways of the world when our desire is, well, when our desire is a natural desire. And lest we think we might be exempt from such desire, our Gospel lesson for this morning reminded us that we are really no different from Jesus’ own disciples who desired to be first in the kingdom of God.
 

James wants us to know that we can either be friends of the world or friends of the Lord. We cannot be both. Are we friends with the world or with the Lord? We are friends with the world when we invest our lives in this world, that is when we invest our time, talents, and treasure in this world. When we spend more time with our own pet projects, interests and hobbies, when we use our talents more for advancing our own lives and careers, when we spend our treasures investing in the things of this world, then we are friends with this world.
 

On the other hand, are we friends with the Lord? We are friends of the Lord when we invest our lives in the world to come and we invest our lives in the world to come by investing our time, talents and treasure in the world to come. We invest in the world to come by spending time with the Lord, by reading our Bibles, everyday, by having personal and family devotions, by being in Divine Service and Bible class whenever they are offered. We invest in the world to come by using our talents in service to the Lord and for extending His kingdom and certainly by investing our treasure, that is by giving our first fruits and tithes to our Lord who has given everything to us first, namely our time, our talents and our treasures.
 

Notice the imperatives James uses in our text, submit, resist, and draw near . . . (v. 7, 8). Certainly we understand that these are law words and in and of ourselves we cannot live according to what James here asks. So, maybe we need to go back and remind ourselves that James complements Paul. James and Paul both begin and end with Christ. Thus, these imperatives that James strings along for us are best understood as a response of faith and as being worked in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit, otherwise, we would certainly be left with no hope.
 

Finally, James exhorts us to humble ourselves before the Lord and He will exalt us. Here again we begin and end with Jesus. We humble ourselves before the Lord as Jesus has His way with us and He has His way with us through the means of grace. By faith in Jesus, given through the means of grace, we have forgiveness, life and salvation and indeed we are exalted by God the Father.
 

What does this mean? Last week James reminded us that the power of the tongue reveals what is in one’s heart. This week James reminds us that we are in the world, yet we are not to be of the world. We are of the world when we imitate the world, when the priorities of the world become our priorities and when we fail to focus our attention and our lives on our eternal well-being understanding that our lives in this world are but a breath, but a moment compared to our lives in eternity, which is forever.
 

James gives us examples of how we know we are either of the world or not of the world. We know we are of the world when we claim to be Christians yet we imitate the world, and as James points out specifically when we quarrel with one another, seeking our own power and position in the world, rather than seeking to serve God and others. James tells us that the heart of such quarreling is the fact that we have our attention focused on this world instead of on the world to come.
 

Further, James reminds us that we are either friends of the world or friends of God. And yes, even for us Christians this is a tough choice. Daily we are faced with such tough choices and daily we know we fail and sin. Daily we fail to be friends with God. Daily we choose to be friends with the world. Daily we succumb to the temptations of the world and we act like the world and we look like the world.
 

James reminds us that we do fail. Thanks be to God that just as Paul begins and ends with Jesus, so James begins and ends with Jesus. We fail, but God succeeds. We cannot resist the temptations of the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh, but God has. In Christ God has become flesh. Christ has faced every temptation we will face and more. Jesus never sinned. Jesus took our sins upon Himself and paid the price for our sins.
 

Thus, James further exhorts us to, and we would certainly understand that this is only with the help and by the power of the Holy Spirit, submit ourselves to God. And the Holy Spirit stirs in us to do what He would have us to do.
 

As always we are reminded that we get it right when we get our focus right. We get it right when we begin and end with Jesus. God gives and we are given to. We fail and yet God does not give up on us. He is always there to give us even more, faith, forgiveness and life.
 

James brings us tough words for today. Very often we tend to be of the world. We tend to be like the disciples in our Gospel lesson. Remember the disciples, discussing who was the greatest? They were living in the world and they were being of the world. Living in the world makes it quite difficult to resist the temptation to be of the world. Daily we are tempted and lured to be of the world and daily we fail. Thanks be to God that our salvation does not depend on us. Thanks be to God that when we mess up God is there to clean up. Thanks be to God that Jesus took care of our sins and continues to take care of us. By faith in Jesus, faith given to us by the Holy Spirit, through the means of grace, faith strengthen by the Holy Spirit, by faith in Jesus we have forgiveness, life and salvation. By faith in Jesus, when God looks at us He sees Christ, He sees us as living in the world but not being of the world. By faith in Jesus our Lord looks at us and He exalts us. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Faith and Works - September 8, 2024 - Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18) - Text: James 2:1-10, 14-18

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). In our text for today, James writes, “14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14). The question always arises, does Paul contradict James, or does James contradict Paul? The answer is neither, rather they compliment each other. We see this as we read on in verse ten of Ephesians chapter two which reads, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). God did not create us to be or do nothing in His world, rather He created us to do the good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do, good works which are a response of faith, which flow out of faith given by God and worked in and through us by God. Paul stresses salvation by grace through faith and James stresses that good works naturally flow from such faith, they compliment each other.
 

We begin at verse one of our text, “1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?” (v. 1-7). James begins by telling us not to show favoritism. So we might ask, how is favoritism seen? James gives us the example of distinguishing between a rich person and a poor person. We see favoritism even more so in our world today when it comes to people of different ethnicities or cultures, colors, languages and the like. Unfortunately, as sinful human beings we cannot help but be prejudice and show favoritism, because to show favoritism is simply our nature.
 

James reminds us that God does not show favoritism.  Rich and poor are alike in God’s eyes. James’ words remind us that Jesus shed His blood for everyone, for all people, regardless of ethnicity or culture, language, or skin color. How great it would be if we could see other people with the eyes of Jesus. How great it would be if when we look at another person that we could say, Jesus loved that person so much that He shed His holy, precious blood for that person, who are we to love them any less? Now that type of action is not showing favoritism.
 

Continuing on with our text we pick up at verse eight, “8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (v. 8-10). James reminds us of the royal law found in Scripture, which is the summary of the second table of the commandments dealing with our relationships with each other, that is that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we could love our neighbor as ourselves we would not break any of these commandments; we would not despise those in authority over us; we would not lust after another person; we would not kill, hate, hurt, or name call; we would not steal, gossip, nor covet anything that is our neighbors. To sum it up, if we could love our neighbor as ourselves we would almost be perfect.
 

To keep us from thinking we can be perfect or that we can work our way into heaven, James reminds us that if we keep the whole law, if we can obey every commandment perfectly, if we could keep all of the law, except at one point, then we are guilty of breaking it all. The best example I can give is to think about an electric wire. An electric wire carries electricity. Yet, if you were to touch the wire at only one spot, you would still be subject to the entire amount of electricity in the whole wire. Likewise, if we try to get to heaven by demonstrating how good we are, how obedient we can be, yet we fail in one little point, it is that little point which drains all our good works and we become guilty of all.
 

Moving on to verse fourteen we read, “14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (v. 14-18). James gives a practical example of what he means. We all have many opportunities in a day when we have the opportunity to show our faith through the way we live, that is as we live as priests in our vocations. When everyone at work is bad mouthing the boss around the coffee pot, we can say something nice in his defense. When a collection of can goods is being collected for those who have nothing to eat, we can be the first in line to give, and not just give those old cans of food we have not eaten, but new cans of something we might like and think others might like as well. When no one else will befriend the stranger, hopefully the guest, but at least the visitor, in church, we can be there to hold out our hand and say, “welcome”. There are many ways we can demonstrate the faith that we have in our daily living.
 

When it comes to faith showing itself in action, it is almost like we do not have a choice because we cannot help ourselves, we must demonstrate our faith through our actions. When we go to church and wear the name Christians, we are saying that we are examples of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How we live then is a loud and clear example of what we believe about Jesus. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, what are my actions saying about my Savior and my faith in Jesus?
 

Indeed, just as faith shows itself in actions and so the opposite is just as true, a lack of faith shows itself in a lack of actions. As you have heard me say before, faith’s desire is to be where the gifts of God are being given out. When we have little or no desire to be in Divine Service and Bible class, when we have no desire to read and study God’s Word, when we have no desire to participate in the fellowship of the Christian church that is a sign of a lack of faith. That is why we are to encourage each other in the body of Christ, lest our brother or sister so continue to refuse and reject the gifts of God until their faith has dried up to nothing.
 

James tells us that faith without works is dead? The best example I can give you is this: if I told you I owned one of the most expensive cars on the market and that I kept it in my garage (supposing I could get it into my garage) would you believe me? As your pastor you might believe me, unless you think about how much I get paid. As I remind you to be as the Bereans, then you probably would not believe me, at least not unless you saw it. Likewise, if I go around telling people that I am a Christian, and tell them what a Christian should be and do, and yet do not act accordingly, then they will not believe that I am a Christian.
 

The way James puts it, it is almost an automatic thing; faith must show itself by good works. This is especially where Paul and James are so complimentary. Paul reminds us that we are sinful human beings. He reminds us that in the midst of our being sinners and enemies of God, that during our being sinners and enemies of God that is when God sent Jesus to take all our sins upon Himself, to suffer the eternal consequences for our sinning. Because of God’s great love for us, through faith in Jesus, we have forgiveness, life and salvation. So, because of all that God has done for us, how can we do anything else, but respond, with the help of the Holy Spirit, by living our lives according to His good and gracious will.
 

So we have almost already answered the “what does this mean?” question this morning. To put it back into the language of the text this means that we will want to ask ourselves, “How often do we betray our unbelief by showing favoritism?” “How often do we show our unbelief by sinning against the ten commandments?” How often do we betray our lack of faith by putting something before God and worshiping Him, refusing and rejecting His gifts by not being in divine worship, by not reading His Word, by not having private and family devotions and the like? Unfortunately, the answer is more often than we think, or would like to admit.
 

Thanks be to God that He does not show favoritism. Or maybe we should say thanks be to God that Jesus showed His favoritism for us in that while we were in the midst of sinning He died for us. Thanks be to God that no matter how sinful we are and can be, our sins have already been forgiven. Every morning we wake up knowing that we have been given today as a gift from God and each day is an opportunity to live it to His glory. And even if we mess today up, He has already forgiven us.
 

Thanks be to God that with the help of the Holy Spirit we can show our faith in our actions. When we think and believe we can be the people God would have us to be, that is when we try to do good things on our own, in a futile attempt to earn heaven, just a little, we need to remember that electric wire which we touch at only one point. By ourselves, because of our sinful nature, we can do no good thing, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can and do great things.
 

Do you remember the Song, This Little Gospel Light of Mine? One of the verses expresses the very thing we have been saying. It is the verse that goes, “This little gospel light of mine I’m gonna let it shine, hide it under a bushel, no! I’m gonna let it shine.” When we think about all the good gifts and blessing our Lord has given to us, and all that He has in store for us, how can we hide all that?  How can we do anything except give Him thanks and praise and live our lives to His glory.
 

Both Paul and James help us to keep our focus right. They both begin and end with Jesus. As we have been reminded before, God created us for a purpose. The first and foremost reason God created us was in order to love us. As we have heard here many times, even before God began creating the world, He knew how it would turn out. Even before He began creating the world, He knew what Adam and Eve would do. Even before creating the world, God knew us. He knew you and He knew me. He knew us by name. And yet, God still created the world. He created the world to love the world, and specifically to love us. This is how we know we worship the one true God, because our God needs nothing from us, but gives everything to us, that is why He created us. The second part of Paul’s message and James’ message is that God also redeemed us for a purpose. Jesus lived, suffered, died and rose for a reason. He lived, suffered, died and rose so that we might have forgiveness, life and salvation. And, finally, as a response of faith, as Paul and James tell us, our response of faith is this, as the Holy Spirit gives, strengthens and keeps us in faith, as the Holy Spirit works in and through us, through the means of grace, so with His help and by His power we do the good works which He has prepared in advance for us to do and they are good works because He motivates us to do them, He works them in and through us, and they are done to His glory.
 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:8-10). With the help of the Holy Spirit, we leave here today, giving glory to God through our very lives. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Strong in the Lord - September 1, 2024 - Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17) - Text: Ephesians 6:10-20

Paul set out in his letter to the Ephesians to give the Ephesians and us, that is to give us Christians, a better understanding of God’s eternal grace and purpose in our lives and in His Church. Two weeks ago we were exhorted, by Paul, to be imitators of Christ through the Holy Spirit working in and through us. Last week we were instructed in the good order God gives, flowing out of the order of creation, to put Christ and others first in our lives. This week Paul instructs us in fighting the good fight. As Christians living in this sin filled and sin corrupted world, we are constantly doing battle. We battle with the devil, the world and even our own sinful nature. Paul begins instructing us with and giving us encouragement to be strong, as he says, “10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (v. 10)
 

Paul instructs us by defining our battle and our enemy. He says, “11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (v. 11-12). Paul encourages us to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. The devil has been scheming since his own creation and rebellion against God and being cast out of heaven. The devil has been scheming since the Garden of Eden where he enticed Adam and Eve to question God and His Word, to disobey God and to bring sin and death into this world. And the devil continues with his schemes yet today. We see the devil constantly scheming in our world today as God and His Word are questioned day in and day out. We see the devil continue scheming with the temptation that we can be like God, even being our own gods and goddesses in living our lives our own way without any regard to our Lord and His will for us.
 

Paul further defines our battle as being not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers. As Christians, our battle is not so much a physical battle, although that might be the case from time to time, but our battle is more often than not a battle against the devil and his evil angels. Our battle is against the evil, atheistic, unbelieving leaders of the world, the false teachers and those who teach falsely concerning our Lord and His Word, including false religions, cults and sects.
 

Yes, our battle is against spiritual forces in heavenly places. Our greatest battle is a spiritual battle. As the world looks to and embraces other gods, which really are nothing, so it continues to work to undermined and destroy the Christian Church. And this is a great battle indeed.
 

How do we fight this battle? We fight this battle by being armed for the battle. Paul tells us about the armor with which our Lord arms us. Paul says, “13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (v. 13-17).
 

The first line of defense in our armor is the belt of truth. A belt is that thing that wraps around our body, usually around our waist and holds up other parts of what we are wearing, in particular, our pants. Mainly, though, the belt surrounds us. Paul speaks of this as being the belt of truth. One of the first things that is attacked in the Christian faith is truth. Truth is questioned. God’s Word, as truth, is questioned. As the serpent asked Eve, so the devil continually questions today, “Did God really say?” “Did God really mean?” We live in a world where, for too many, truth is relative. What is true for you may not be true for me and what is true for me may not be what is true for you. When we fasten the belt of truth around us, we are surrounding ourselves with truth, with Jesus who alone is truth. Apart from Jesus, there is and can be no truth. Jesus is the truth, as He is the way and the life. Thus, we begin by surrounding ourselves with Jesus and we do this by surrounding ourselves, immersing ourselves in His Word. To put this into practical terms, I always ask, “Are human beings, even smart human beings, ever wrong?” And the answer is of course, “Yes.” Is God ever wrong? And the answer is of course, “No.” So when there is a difference between what fallible humans say and what God says, I am going to believe God all the time and figure that humans have gotten it wrong and need to go back and rethink it.
 

Next, the breastplate of righteousness is put on us. We are clothed with righteousness, that is we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness and this is done through the waters of Holy Baptism. At our baptism our Lord puts His name on us, He puts faith in our hearts, He writes our names in the book of life, He clothes us with His robes of righteousness. As we remember that we get it right when we point to Jesus, then we also understand that we get Holy Baptism correct when we point to Jesus. Holy Baptism is not something we do. Indeed, we cannot baptize ourselves. Just as a drowning person cannot save himself, or he would not be drowning, so we cannot save ourselves or we would not need saving. Holy Baptism is what God does and according to His Word, what God does in Holy Baptism is that He uses the simple ordinary earthly means of water connected with His Word to give us the gifts He has to give, faith, forgiveness and life, as He reminds us in first Peter, “Baptism now saves you (1 Pet. 3:21).”
 

Being surrounded with the belt of truth, immersed in the Word of God, being clothed in Christ’s robes of righteousness through the waters of Holy Baptism, we then have put on us the shoes which make us ready to share the gospel of peace. Here we are reminded that true peace is that peace which comes only from forgiveness of sins, for without forgiveness there is no true peace. And we are also reminded that this is indeed how our Lord works with us, namely through means. As we are immersed in the Word, as we are washed and robed through Holy Baptism, we understand that through these means our Lord has His way with us. And here, even through confession and absolution we are given forgiveness and peace.
 

Having our bodies covered, we move to gain protection through the use of the shield of faith. Here we understand that faith is an instrument and faith is a gift, given through means, the Word and the Sacraments and yet, faith in and of itself does nothing, again, it is an instrument. In order for faith to be saving faith it must have an object and the object, the only object of saving faith is Jesus Christ. Thus, as a shield absorbs the impact and pain the enemy attempts to inflict, so Jesus has taken care of the pain, the price, the suffering, even the eternal death of hell which our sins cost us.
 

The last defensive piece of armor that is put on us is the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects our head as the breastplate protects our heart. The head and the heart are two important and vital organs. With the heart we believe and with the head we know. Both knowing and believing are important for us as Christians. And so, the helmet, along with the rest of the armor work to protect us from losing faith in Jesus.
 

Finally, Paul tells us that we are allowed one offensive weapon. The only offensive weapon he allows is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And what a weapon the Word of God is. If only Adam and Eve had used it in the Garden. We see how it is used and how effective it is as when Jesus was tempted by Satan. He wielded the sword of the Word of God and Satan had to leave, for a more opportune time. When temptations arise, we too, are to wield the sword of the Word of God.
 

Paul has warned us of the battle. He has equipped us with armor and now he gives us our supply line in the battle. We pick up at verse eighteen, “18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (v. 18-20). In a battle, if the army runs outs of ammunition or equipment or even food too quickly, the battle could easily turn to the favor of the enemy. Thus, a supply of reinforcements, a supply of ammunition and equipment continues to be necessary. Our Lord supplies us for battle through the means of grace, His Word, Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution and His Holy Supper. It is as I continually tell you, as we make regular and diligent use of the means of grace that our Lord has His way with us, supplying us with all that we need and even more than we need in order to be ready and to fight and win against the enemy, the devil, the world and our own sinful nature.
 

Our Lord constantly supplies us with aid through His means of grace. We also receive help from others in particular through prayer and through the Holy Spirit answering our prayer. What a powerful tool we have in prayer. Our Lord promises to hear and answer our prayer and certainly He does, thus we see the need to constantly be in prayer as well.
 

Our Lord speaks to us through His Word and in our prayers we are speaking with our Lord.. Thus, we are in conversation with our Lord. And the great thing about our prayers is that they can be prayed anytime, anywhere, for perseverance and for boldness. We are to pray for ourselves and others and we are to know that others are praying for us. And God answers our prayers and their prayers.
 

What Does this Mean? God never promised that life in this world would be easy. And, actually, after God created the world and put Adam and Eve in the Garden He had created for them, He gave them work to do. Work is not a result of the fall into sin. The result of the fall into sin is that now we are constantly at battle in this world. We are in a war. We are constantly doing battle against the unholy three of the devil, the world, and our own sinful nature.
 

Even though we continue to be at war and continue to be doing battle, the fact of the matter is that Jesus has already won the victory. Satan has been defeated and he knows he has been defeated, yet he constantly works in our world to undermine our Lord and His authority. The devil is fighting for us, not because he loves us and desires that we should be on his side, but because he hates us and he hates anything that is from God or of God. But again, Christ has won. Through His life, the cross and death, Jesus defeated sin, death and the power of the devil. The victory is His.
 

And yet, while we remain in this world we will continue to fight the good fight. We will fight against temptation and sin. We will fight against the temptations of the devil, the world and our own sinful flesh. Yet, we will not fight alone. We will fight with Christ Jesus on our side. And as Paul tells us this morning, we will fight as we are armed with the means of grace.
 

And so, this morning, we have Paul’s instruction to us in fighting the good fight. We do live in a sin filled and sin corrupted world. Thus, we must constantly do battle. We battle against the devil, the world and even our own sinful nature. Paul instructs us and encourages us to be strong because we are well armed and well equipped through our faith, faith given, and strengthened by the Holy Spirit through the means of grace. We have the whole armor of God. We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. And we have this confidence, that the battle has been won and by God’s pure grace, through His gift of faith, we have eternal life. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.