Our Adoption - July 26, 2026 - Eighth Sunday after Trinity - Text: Romans 8:12-17

The Apostle John tells us, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is” 1 John 3:2 (ESV). In other words, John tells us the same thing Paul has been telling us. Paul is constantly telling us the importance of hearing the Law and the Gospel, the importance of properly distinguishing between the Law and the Gospel, and the importance of realizing our own state of being, that is that we are at the same time both sinner and saint. John simply expresses this fact as telling us that we are now, at this time, not what we were before, and what we were before was complete lost and condemned sinners, and yet we are not what we will be in heaven, that is in heaven we will be complete saints, but instead we are on this road of life as sinner/saints. This morning Paul out lines for us what we were like before being saved, as he says, before being adopted, and what we are like after our adoption.
 

Remembering David’s words, ‘we are conceived and born in sin,’ Paul tells us, beginning at verse twelve, “12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (12-13). Immediately after birth and truly from the moment of conception before we were baptized, before we were given faith, we were lost and condemned creatures. There is no way around this unhappy scenario. Before our Lord gave us faith our spiritual status was that we were lost. But as I say that, let me assure you especially if you have lost a child as a stillborn, that God can and does also work through the means of His Word, so as a young pregnant mother attends divine service, indeed God can and does work through the Word as that child in the womb hears to give faith as well. My point is that we are conceived and born in sin, it is in our DNA, and as I have said before, we are accountable for that sin born in us otherwise we would not die until we reach a certain age. Thus we see the need for the washing waters of Holy Baptism as soon as after physical birth as possible.
 

Perhaps we were not given faith until we grew older or perhaps we rejected the faith given to us at an early age. And yes, even at this time in our own lives, even after being given faith there are times that we try to live according to the law. We try to live as if there is something we can do to earn, at least some bit of our own salvation. Kind of like our friends might express, we try to be obedient enough for Jesus. Of course, the law always fails us because the law only accuses us.
 

And then something wonderful happened. Paul tells us about our adoption in verse fourteen, “14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (v. 14). We are adopted as children of God. How are we adopted? We are adopted as the Holy Spirit gives us faith through the means of grace. We are adopted at Holy Baptism. When we are brought to the waters of Holy Baptism and water and God’s name are put on us we are saved. As we hear Peter say in his epistle and as we hear him say every time we have a Baptism, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). Yes, Baptism saves us. Baptism is not something we do, but is what God is doing and what God is doing is that He is saving us, giving us faith, forgiveness, life and salvation.
 

Yet, not simply through Baptism are we saved. If we are not saved through the waters of Holy Baptism, then we may be saved by the very Word of God. The Bible is also a means through which our Lord adopts us as His children. Remember the Bible is the Word of God and it does what it says. So, as we read or hear His Holy Word, the Holy Spirit works through that Word to give faith, to strengthen and to keep us in faith. Of course here we understand that if and when we are given faith though the Word of God our natural desire will be to want to be baptized, not to show God anything, but as a natural response of faith. These are two of the means our Lord has of giving us His good gifts and blessings.
 

But there is more. Not only does our Lord adopt us through His means of grace, He continues to be with us to strengthen and keep us in faith. The Holy Spirit strengthens faith through means as well. We pick up with Paul’s words in verse fifteen, “15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (v. 15). We are a church that believes as our Lord so teaches in His Word that our Lord comes to us through means, namely the means of grace. That is why we worship the way we worship, that is liturgically. Because we believe that Holy Baptism is important we begin each service with an invocation, an inviting of the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reminding us of our Baptism. Because we believe the Lord comes to us through the Word of God our service is permeated with the Word of God, even our saying back to God the very Words He has given us to say. This worship is not simply a way to flatter the Lord, but because our words are inadequate and because His Word is His Word, there is no better way to worship than to say back to Him the very Words He has given us to say. Because we believe we are sinners and are in constant need of forgiveness, in almost every worship service, in one way or another we have a time of public confession and absolution. We believe that through the very Words of God, spoken through the pastor that we have what God gives, namely, forgiveness of sins.
 

We hear the very Word of our Lord read to us straight from Holy Scripture and as it is proclaimed through the preaching of the Law and the Gospel. And we also hear the Word through our liturgy and the hymns we sing.
 

And finally, because we believe our Lord has also given us His Holy Supper as a means through which He also gives His good gifts and blessings, we come to His Supper wherein we are given to eat His body and drink His blood until He comes again and through this sacred means we participate in His life, suffering, death and resurrection and so we are given forgiveness of sins and strengthened in faith. Yes, these things, these means of grace are the ways in which our Lord comes to us to give us His good gifts and blessings and that is why we worship the way we worship. If we believed something else, then certainly we would worship in a different way, and as we see others worshiping in different ways, then we can see it is because they do have different beliefs.
 

To sum it up, our Lord adopts us as His children and He does this adoption through His means of grace, the Bible, Holy Baptism, Confession and Absolution and the Lord’s Supper.
 

Now that we have been adopted into His family what is life like now, after adoption. We pick up with Paul’s words at verse sixteen, “16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (v. 16-17). Now, since we have been adopted as children of God, now we live life as children of God, that is we live life as brothers and sisters of Christ. With God’s help, and even though we know we will make mistakes and we will backslide, yet with God’s help we strive to do the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do. We strive to build each other up as brothers and sisters in Christ. We look out for one another. We realize that caring for one another is not simply the elder’s and the pastor’s job, but is a joy we all share. We realize that being a member of this congregation and of the family of God means giving of ourselves, our time, talents and treasure, for the purpose of building the Kingdom of God. We have a whole new attitude about our life.
 

And we live life looking forward to eternal life, our eternal inheritance. We no longer spend all our time with our eyes focused on this world and the temporariness of this world. Instead we spend our time on getting ourselves ready and keeping ourselves ready for our Lord’s return or for our passing and going to Him. We spend our time making regular and diligent use of the means of grace because we know through this means is how He comes to us. We have a desire, a yearning to worship as often as worship is offered. We read the Word every day. We remember our Baptism, every day. We confess our sins every day and every Sunday we publicly confess and hear those most beautiful words of forgiveness. We partake of the Lord’s body and blood and as often as we do this we participate in His death and resurrection.
 

So, what does this mean? As usual, and as we need to hear every week, Paul reminds us that we were conceived and born in sin. Not only that, but we daily add to our sinfulness. We cannot help ourselves. We are conceived and born in sin so sinning comes natural to us. And so we know that daily we need forgiveness.
 

We are reminded and each week we need to be reminded that we were given faith. Faith is not something we got ourselves, it is not something we did, but it is a gift given through means, namely through the means of Holy Baptism and through the means of His Holy Word. And since these are the means through which we have been given faith, then we realize our need to make diligent and regular use of these means so that we might be strengthened and kept in this faith.
 

Being given faith, forgiveness, life and salvation we are reminded that now we live lives of faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit is alive and well and continually working through the means of grace to give us the strength and courage to live lives of faith. So, what is there to fear in this world? What is the worst thing that can happen in this world? Most people will say that dying is the worst thing that could happen. Well, when you die, by faith in Jesus you go to heaven, and that is a great thing, so then back to the question of what is there to be afraid of? Nothing. And the Holy Spirit works in us to give us the courage we need to live lives of faith in this world
 

And finally, we look forward to eternal life, not in fear, but in anticipation. We know that heaven is a wonderful place filled with God’s glory and grace. We know that we have the certainty of eternal life in heaven, it is ours now. Certainly we will not move in until we pass on from this world, but heaven is ours and so we may rejoice and even anticipate our final move into our heavenly home.
 

Paul’s words this morning are nothing new. He knows about our adoption as children of God and he knows about the importance of the means of grace. Perhaps the words of Isaiah were on Paul’s mind when he penned these words to the Romans. “10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,  11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). Yes, God’s Word does what it says. Throughout the Gospel Jesus related the importance of the Word of God and its power to give faith, meaning to bring us into adoption as His children.
 

Finally, we are again reminded that it is all God’s doing, all God’s giving and all our being given to. It is God who runs the verbs and so we know we get it right. And so we rejoice and say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Weeding the Garden - July 19, 2026 - Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11) - Text: Matthew 13:24-30 (36-43)

Last week we heard Jesus tell the parable of the Farmer who sowed his seed on the path, on the rocks, among the thorns and weeds and on good soil. We were also told by Jesus that the meaning of that parable was that He was the one who sows the seed and He still sows the seed today through the proclamation of His Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the means of Grace. Those people who reject the Word of God, either outright or because of the cares and concerns of this world, those people who reject the message of salvation, that Jesus alone is the way to be saved are like the seed sown on the path, on the rocks and among the weeds and thorns. Those people who hear the Word of God, those people who hear the message and are given faith in Jesus alone for salvation are those seeds sown on good soil that produces a crop, a hundred, sixty and thirty times what is sown. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This week we continue listening to the parables of Jesus as He continues to use the imagery of the sowing of seeds.
 

Our text begins with Jesus telling the parable, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn’” (Matt. 13:24-30).
 

Our Lectionary System for this morning then takes the liberty to skip past the parable of the mustard seed  in which Jesus reminds us that, although the mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, the plant that grows from it is so big that the birds of the air can build a nest in it, reminding us that although our faith may begin small, it can grow as we grow and mature in our faith. Also, the parable of the leaven is skipped. This parable reminds us that a little leaven leavens the whole loaf, that is that a little sin causes a great amount of trouble and a little forgiveness also goes a long way. Finally, what our text skips is the fact that Jesus spoke in parables for a purpose, in order that the message of salvation is not wasted on those who refuse and reject it.
 

Finally, after we have skipped these parts, Jesus tells the meaning of the parable. We pick up at verse thirty-six: “Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” (36-43).
 

So, just like the parable from last week, Jesus is the one who sows the good seed. Jesus is not the author of evil, nor does He condone it. Jesus gives good gifts and blessings. Jesus comes to give faith, forgiveness, life and salvation. Jesus came to save us through the giving of His life for ours. He sows the seeds of His Word and as we were reminded in the Old Testament lesson from last week, that Word which He sows is a Word with power. His Word is a Word which does what it says. As His Word is sown, it will not return void or empty, because it is His Word.
 

On the other hand, the one who sows bad seed is the devil. This one is the one who often times takes his own words and twists them to make them sound like God’s Word, but instead they are words of deception and lies, coming from the devil, the father of lies. The devil would have us believe that there are many ways to the same eternal enlightenment, that is that all religions are valid. The word of the devil is a word with power as well, not the power to save, but the power to condemn.
 

The end result is that on judgement day the fruit of the good seed will be separated from the fruit of the bad seed. The fruit of the good seed will gain eternal life in heaven. The fruit of the bad seed will reap destruction, eternal death in hell with weeping and gnashing of teeth.
 

The people to whom Jesus spoke this parable understood what Jesus was saying. And yet, this parable was not spoken only to the people of His day, Jesus speaks this parable to us today. Today God continues to sow good seed through the means of Grace. This parable reminds us of the importance of making regular and diligent use of the means of grace. This parable reminds us of the importance of coming to divine service and Bible class. This parable reminds us of the importance of reading God’s Word on our own and having personal and family devotions. This parable reminds us of the importance of remembering our Baptism, the importance of confessing our sins and hearing those most beautiful words we can ever hear, the words of absolution, that our sins are forgiven, and it reminds us of the importance of coming to the Lord’s Supper to be given His body and blood and the good gifts and blessings He has to give to us.
 

Today we live in a pluralistic society. We live in what is called a tolerant society, even though we know it is intolerant of Christians. We live in a world where there are many religions, cults and sects, where there are many weeds. There are many religions, cults and sects vying for our time and attention. There are many “opportunities” for doing many things, many things except doing the one thing needful as Jesus so pointed to busy Martha. There are many weeds in our world which try to choke our faith in Jesus alone.
 

And, as Jesus told His disciples, so He reminds us, we will live this way until the end. Life will not get any easier. As a matter of fact, if you have been watching the way things have been going in our world, you may have noticed that it is getting harder and harder to be a Christian. It is getting harder because a Christian is one who believes what Jesus says in His Word and that is, that there is no other name, given among men, whereby we must be saved, in other words, there is only one way to eternal life and that is by God’s Grace, through faith in Jesus’ work on the cross alone. Yes, we Christians are intolerant. Think about it like this, if there were any other way to eternal life, why in the world would Jesus go through the pain of suffering and dying for our sins? As I say many times, all the religions of the world, all the cults and sects, can be divided into two categories, those who believe in self for salvation, that is, those who believe that one must do something, that we must be obedient, that we must live a certain way, that their character is what saves them and we, those who believe that we are saved by God’s Grace alone because of something outside of us, namely, because of Jesus’ life, suffering and death for our sins.
 

Thus, we realize that our work until the end of the world is to share the good news of Jesus with others. No this is not explicitly stated in our text, but it is there nonetheless. It is only at the end, it is only at Judgement day that we will see the results of faith and unbelief. And rest assured, we will see the results.
 

So, what? Jesus says, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Yes, there were those in Jesus’ day and there are still those in our world today who hear the Word of God and yet refuse and reject His good gifts and blessings. There are many in our world today who would just as soon go along with the philosophies and ideologies of this world, there are those who would just as soon go along with the ideas of cultural tolerance and pluralism rather than make waves, rather than stand up for what Jesus says, because it is a lot easier. It is very difficult and it is getting even harder for us in our world today to take a stand and to proclaim the difficult truth of what Jesus tells us in His Word, that is that there is only one way and that way is only through faith in Him. And yet, that is what we are to do.
 

So, we are continually reminded of our need to hear the Word of God. We are continually reminded of our need to make regular and diligent use of the means of grace, to read our Bible everyday, to daily remember our Baptism, to come to divine service every Sunday, as well as to come to Bible class and to come to the Lord’s Supper as often as we can so that we might be strengthened in our faith so that we might be able to face the struggles and accusations of this world.
 

“He who has ears, let him hear.” “We hear,” when the Word of God is proclaimed in its truth and purity and when we believe that Word of God. But faith is not simply something in our mind, it is what we do. We hear when we act, that is when we live lives of faith. We hear when we believe and trust in Jesus alone for our forgiveness and our salvation and when we live our lives in such a way that we are not apathetic, but are boldly proclaiming our faith in Jesus alone, no matter what the cost, because we imply cannot help but do so.
 

You know, it is fascinating that even though we are hearing Jesus’ Words some 2000 years after He first spoke them, the world has not changed very much. Jesus’ Word is still being sown as the Word of God, it is rightly proclaimed and taught in its truth and purity and the devil, the enemy is still sowing weeds as the Word of God is mis-proclaimed, twisted and outright thrown out, and as other weeds of other religions, cults and sects are sown. And we will go on living this way until the end, until the day of Judgement, when God will sort out the wheat from the chaff, when the chaff, when those who believe in something or someone other than Jesus alone for salvation will be cast into the fires of eternal death and that will happen.
 

For us, Christians, the good news, the greatest news is that when we, those of us who believe in Jesus alone are gathered before the Lord’s throne, we will be robed with Jesus’ robes of righteousness. It all begins and ends with Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the one who created us to love us. Jesus is the one who loved us so much that He gave up the glory of heaven in order to take on flesh and blood. Jesus is the one who lived for us, perfectly. Jesus is the one who fulfilled all the law and prophecies of the Old Testament, for us. Jesus is the one who paid the price for our sins, suffering eternal death and hell on the cross for us. Jesus died for us. Jesus rose for us. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to give us faith. At our Baptism Jesus gives us faith. Through our hearing God’s Word, through our confession and absolution, through our participation in the Lord’s Supper we are given faith, strengthening of faith, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Jesus works in us to do the good works He has for us to do. Jesus does it all and in the end, He will gather us with all the saints and we will give praise and glory to Jesus alone. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ - July 12, 2026 - Sixth Sunday after Trinity - Text: Romans 6:1-11

Interestingly enough, this text from Romans is the Epistle reading for the Baptism of our Lord in the three year lectionary series. And this morning we find this text sandwiched between the Old Testament text of the Ten Commandments, God giving Moses the Moral Law, and the Gospel reading of Jesus telling us that He came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill the Law, whatever that means.
 

To set the stage for our text for this morning, we want to make note that Paul’s words in our text come after his explanation of justification, that is that we do not justify ourselves, we do not  make ourselves right before God, especially by anything we should think we do, but we are made right before God by grace, through faith. Again, we are made right, we are passively made right, even apart from anything we do. Now we move to our text.
 

Paul’s question is, “Does Grace give license to sin?” We begin at verse one, “1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (v. 1-4). Our human thinking and logic is that more sin means more forgiveness means more grace, so in order to help grace abound we should sin more. And I guess, according our human, tainted by sin logic, that would be the logical conclusion. And we might add that this is the way of the law and of law thinking, which, again, is the way we, as sinful human beings, tend to think.
 

The fallacy of our law logic is that we have forgotten the gospel. We have forgotten that faith means one does not want to sin. Perhaps we have forgotten that when we live according to the law the temptation to sin is even greater. We all know how it is, when we are told not to do something the temptation to sin is greatest. “Don’t eat the cookies you will spoil your dinner.” “Oh, I have got to have one of those cookies.” However, to live according to the Gospel frees us from temptation. The Gospel reminds us that we are already forgiven. We are forgiven because Jesus paid the price for our sins, He died for our sins. Because we are forgiven, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will want to not sin.
 

As Paul puts it, death causes one to no longer be susceptible to temptation, in other words, being tied to Jesus’ death means one is no longer susceptible to the stimuli of temptation. Certainly temptations will continue to come, but being reminded that our sin caused Jesus to die, the Holy Spirit stirs in us to resist temptation and sin.
 

But Paul is not finished, he continues, “5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin” (v. 5-7). Paul reminds us of the importance of Holy Baptism. Holy Baptism is not simply a ritual. It is not an act of obedience, that would be pointing to us as if it were something we are doing. Holy Baptism is a sacrament, a sacred act, instituted by God and connected with His Word which ties us with Jesus. Paul says we have been united with Jesus. The word united literally means we have been planted with Jesus. When a seed is planted in the ground it dies and then comes to life. Likewise, through Holy Baptism, our old nature is drowned, is killed and we arise as new creatures.
 

In this uniting with Christ, His life is our life. Here we are reminded that this understanding is the fullness of the Gospel, not simply that Jesus died for us, but that He lived for us. God’s demand is that we are perfect and we fail at being perfect. We fail miserably at being perfect, and it is getting worse. You know, I believe one of Satan’s greatest victories today is that our churches are beginning to look like the rest of the world. Instead of the Christian community shaping our society, too often our society is shaping our Christian community. Have you noticed that what was taboo and illegal in our society a few years ago is now legal and even encouraged. The same can be said for what was taboo and prohibited in our churches. Things that would not be thought of years ago as being allowed in church are now hailed as meet, right and salutary, and anyone who opposes such is called intolerant, a bigot and mean spirited. You may recall that this hatred is indeed what happened to Jesus during His earthly life as He called all people to repent. The fact that Jesus’ life becomes our life through our being united with Him in Holy Baptism first and foremost gives us confidence in our forgiveness and salvation and it also gives us courage to stand up and, at least according to our society, be intolerant, bigoted and mean spirited.
 

Not only has Jesus’ life become our life, by faith in Him His death is our death. Remembering the fact that if we are born once (physical birth only) we die twice (physical death and eternal death), but if we are born twice (one’s physical birth and Holy Baptism) we only die once (physical death), we rejoice that Jesus has suffered eternal death and hell for us in our place so that we will only suffer physical death, we will only fall asleep in the Lord. By His death Jesus has paid the price for our sins.
 

And finally, Jesus’ resurrection is our resurrection. Because Jesus rose again we know that death and the grave have no power over us, we know that we too will rise again. Thus, the fulness of the Gospel is that Jesus has taken care of everything for us in His life, death and resurrection and He offers everything free to us.
 

But Paul is still not done. He goes us to remind us that we need not fear. “8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (v. 8-11). At Christmas we celebrate Jesus birth. Then we move ahead and we celebrate His baptism and the beginning of His earthly ministry. Then we enter the season of Lent which begins our trek to the cross on Good Friday. On the cross Jesus defeated death. Not only did He defeat death, but He rose from the dead.
 

The reason Jesus was born was to give His life as a ransom for all. As our substitute, His death was once and for all, in other words, it never needs repeating. So, because He died, because we are united with Him in His death, we no longer need to fear death. For us, the only death we may face is a falling asleep in faith, a passing on from this world into heaven.
 

Again, Jesus’ defeat of death and our connection to Him means we never need to fear death. By faith in Jesus we are not subject to the second death, eternal death and hell, because that is the death He faced and defeated for us.
 

What does this mean? Paul’s words remind us that Jesus took care of our sin. That Jesus took care of our sin does not give us a license to sin. That Jesus took care of our sin does not gives us a license to emulate the world. Yes, there are a lot of things that are legal in our country today, things that were not legal years ago, and for good reason. Just because something is legal does not mean it is good or not sin. And just because we know we are forgiven does not give us encouragement to go out and sin either. As a matter of fact, the fact that we are forgiven is what gives us the encouragement to not sin.
 

Temptations do abound in our world today. In times of temptation we fall back on our faith in Jesus who helps us especially during times of temptation. As we are reminded of Jesus’ baptism we might also be reminded that right after His baptism He was lead into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days and yet during those forty days He never sinned. And as He has suffered all the temptations we might suffer and even greater temptations, and never sinned, so we know that He is with us to help us to fight against temptation and sin as well.
 

But getting back to Jesus’ words in the Gospel, that He came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. What does He mean? As Lutheran Christians we believe the authority and power of the external Word of God, the external Word of God which does what it says and gives the gifts it says it gives. We believe God’s Word and the Word of Jesus who completely fulfilled all the Words, Laws, demands, and promises of God and who gives that fulfillment to us so that the Law is no longer demanding. Rather, our desire as children of God is to strive, with only the help and by the power of the Holy Spirit working lives of faith in and through us. We desire to live as priests in the priesthood of all believers, being living sacrifices in our vocations, and serving God by serving others. We are no longer under the Law, but we willingly obey the Law as a response of faith as God works good works in and through us. Again, we always get it right when we point to Jesus.
 

Thus, it is most certainly true that Christ has fulfilled the Law and not abolished it. He has completely and utterly fulfilled all the demands of the Law, and He freely gives us His fulfilled life so that we are no longer under the demands of the Law. He has not abolished the Law because the Law continues to serve the purpose of pointing out sin so that the Gospel of sins forgiven might move all to repent and be given forgiveness.
 

This morning then, we are reminded that Jesus gives gifts. Jesus gives faith and forgiveness. Jesus gives these gifts through means, namely through the means of grace. He gives faith through His Word, the Bible as well as through Holy Baptism. He gives forgiveness through these means as well and through Holy Absolution and through His Holy Supper.
 

And Jesus gives life and salvation, again, through His means of grace. What a great God we have. What a loving God we have. What a gift giving God we have.
 

Unfortunately the fact remains that we do continue to sin, that is our nature. We sin and then we come up with excuses, or exceptions as to why our sin is valid. Paul’s words to us this morning remind us of the good news, the Gospel, that through our baptism, through faith given to us, we are united with Jesus so that our sins have been taken care of, so that we do not need to be afraid of the consequences of our sins, eternal death and hell, but instead we may be confident that we are forgiven and that we have life, even eternal life. It is this good news, this Gospel that encourages us to live God pleasing lives. And even when we fail, which we do daily, even when we backslide, which we do weekly, there is still forgiveness. As always then, we are pointed to Jesus who does all and gives all. To Him be all the glory. For His names sake. Amen.

Rest for the Weary - July 5, 2026 - Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 09) - Text: Matthew 11:25-30

Rest, that thing we all desire, yet that thing that seems to allude us the most. As children we do not want to take a nap, as adults we wish we could take a nap. You know how it is, we work all week and we look forward to the weekend when we can sleep in. For too many people it seems that all there is to this world is “working for the weekend.” And then, on the weekend we do not rest (voice inflection). No, we play hard, we garden hard, we do everything except rest and we are glad to get back to work on Monday so we can rest. And then we look forward to the next weekend when we can get some rest, or so we say.
 

One of the difficult issues Jesus faced while on this earth, and still today, was and is His identity crisis. Who is this Jesus? In His day, and still today, suggestions as to His identity range from His being a good man, a good person, a good teacher, a good prophet, and the like to Peter’s confession and our confession, that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Savior of the world. Jesus is true God and true man, that is one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human, not fifty-fifty. He is the Messiah, the Christ, the One promised in Genesis three. Still today there are those who would deny Jesus identity, usually because it is not logical or reasonable. I would suggest and I like the fact that God is beyond my comprehension. Think about it this way, how puny God would be if He were so small and so simple and so logical that I, with my little brain, of which scientists tell us that we only use about 10% of anyway, how puny He would be if I could completely understand Him. Thanks be to God that we worship a God who is so much bigger than we are and a God who is beyond our own comprehension. However, we also worship a God who has revealed to us everything we need to know for our salvation. We worship a God who has done everything for us and given everything to us. We worship a God who is so much greater and beyond us, but who has made Himself very personal to us. But let us get to our text.
 

Earlier Jesus had sent His disciples out in order to get some “on the job training.” He “gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Now, they had returned and Jesus turns to His Father in prayer for their experiences. Jesus praises the Father for concealing hidden things from the wise and the learned, that is, the self wise and the self learned. Jesus’ prayer speaks through the ages as we see the same self wise and self learned today who think they are so much bigger and smarter than God and announce certain things, certain characteristics about God, such as His inability to do miracles, to be in more than one place at a time, to work through simple earthly things like water, bread and wine, and the like. The god about which they speak is a god of their own creation, in other words, an idol. That is why they do not know Jesus, the one true God and that is why He is hidden from them. Of course, we know that, in our text, Jesus is referring to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, and they know it too. In His prayer we come to understand even more about Jesus, our Savior.
 

In His prayer, and in many other places in Scripture, Jesus establishes Himself as God. He is not explicit in His words and in His prayer and that may be why so many miss it, why it is hidden. Jesus’ prayer reminds us that He is God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In other places in Scripture He is more explicit reminding us that He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, God who died and was raised to life.
 

Very often, in the Gospels, we hear Jesus speak the “I Am” words, that is, Jesus says, “I am . . ., “I am the way, the truth and the life.” These words go all the way back to the Old Testament and the call of Moses in the wilderness. When God called Moses from the burning bush to bring the children of Israel out of bondage of slavery in Egypt Moses asked, “who shall I say sent me?” and God said, “tell them ‘I Am’ has sent you.” “I Am,” that is God’s name, Yahweh. When Jesus says, “I Am” He is claiming to be Yahweh, God, and that really grates on the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.
 

In our text, in His prayer Jesus says, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Jesus, the Son, and the Father are known by each other and through each other because they are one. Here again, we see Jesus establishing Himself as God, with the Father.
 

Jesus, true God, comes to bring rest, true rest. Here, again, Jesus is aiming His words at the Pharisees and teachers of the Law and at the Pharisees and teachers of the Law in our world today. These Pharisees and teachers of the Law were bringing a burden, a yoke on the children of Israel. And for those of you who do not know what a yoke is, a yoke is that thing which goes around the neck of an ox or a mule or a horse in order to attach a plow or trailer or other object and the reins to drive the animal. The yoke with which the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were burdening the people was the yoke of ceremonial laws. Today it is the yoke of obedience. So many laws they put on the people, in order to keep the ten commandments, it was unbearable, it was unrealistic for the people to be able to carry such a load.
 

The third commandments says the we are to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Simply stated, in good Lutheran terms we ask, “What does this mean?” and answer, “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” Simple enough we might suggest. This commandment reminds us of the importance of not despising the Word of God and the preaching of such Word, because of our love for God and it reminds us of the importance of gladly reading our Bibles, having family and personal devotion, and attending Divine Service and Bible class, again, because of God’s love for us and because of our love for God. The Pharisees and teachers of the Law, however, made up many tedious rules and regulations in order to “help” the children of Israel to keep this commandment. Rules such as, a person can walk only so many feet on the Sabbath day. A person could lift only so much weight on the Sabbath day, a person was not able to cook a meal on the Sabbath day and so on. It was these rules, to which Jesus was referring, which were a yoke and a burden to the children of Israel.
 

Instead of giving the people a difficult yoke to bear, Jesus simply gives gifts. He tells us that His yoke is a yoke of peace and rest. And when I say peace and rest, I am not speaking about the type of peace and rest we think of in our world today, an hour or so, maybe a day of peace and calm. No, His is true peace, a peace which surpasses all understanding. His yoke brings true rest, not just a nap or a time to sleep in, His is a true rest, a rest of mind and spirit, a rest of forgiveness of sins which brings a rest of body.
 

And even more than just giving us an easy yoke, Jesus takes our yoke, our burden of sin and guilt. He who was without sin became sin for us. Our Old Testament lesson for this morning is the promise of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem where He came to give His life on the cross for us, in our place. Paul reminds us in our epistle lesson, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Christ comes to rescue us. He comes to take our heavy yoke of sin and to give us His easy yoke of forgiveness.
 

The trials and tribulations of this world are indeed heavy. The struggles of this world weigh heavy on us. Day in and day out we struggle against sin and temptation and we lose. Our fight is not against powers and principalities but is against the spiritual forces which fight against us. Every day there is the temptation to sin, not against just one of the commandments, but against all of the commandments. And have you ever noticed, when we do sin against one of the commandments, we have probably sinned against two or three others as well. I would suggest that our temptation and sin today is not that we have so many rules and regulations to help us to keep the Ten Commandments, but that we have so much freedom to not keep the commandments. The question is not how much we should not do in order to keep the Sabbath day, but the fact that we have the freedom to do whatever we want, even, not the freedom of religion, but the freedom from religion.
 

Thanks be to God that He is a God who gives and we are His people to whom He gives. He has given us Jesus who is God. Jesus is God who comes with power, might and authority. And if we question if Jesus is God all we need to do is to go to His Word and in His Word Jesus shows Himself to be God. He shows Himself to be God through His signs, wonders and miracles which He performed while on this earth.
 

It is important that Jesus is both God and man. It is important that Jesus was a man that He is truly human, so that He might be our substitute, that is so that He might give His life for ours. It is important that Jesus is God so that He might be holy, and so that He might be able to live for us, the perfect life demanded of us, for us, in our place. So that He might take our sins, all of our sins, our sins of commission, those sins we actually commit and our sins of omission, those sins of failing to be the people God would have us to be, helping and serving our neighbor. He took all our sins and suffered the eternal penalty of eternal death in hell for us, in our place. And He died. Yes, our God, in Jesus died, but He did not stay dead, but on the third day He rose from the dead. Indeed, He lived, suffered, died and rose for us, in our place. Thus, the ultimate showing of Jesus to be our God and Savior is the fact that He gives His life for ours on the cross. He takes our burdens, He took our yoke, He took our sins  upon Himself. He suffered and died the eternal death penalty for us in our place.
 

Jesus gives all things, faith, forgiveness and life and we are given to. He takes our yoke and gives us His which is a light yoke, a light burden. And what is more, He also gives to us so that we respond according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
 

Yes, a nap would be a good thing. Physical rest is important. Unfortunately, the reason many people are unable to get enough physical rest is because they are needing spiritual and emotional rest. Sin, temptation and guilt are overpowering. The world imposes a heavy burden, very much like the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. Jesus comes to take that burden and to give us His yoke, a yoke of forgiveness, a yoke of love, a yoke of gifts, a yoke of eternal life. And with His yoke comes rest, a rest the world cannot give, a rest of spirit and soul. Yes, Jesus prayer is for us, for you and for me, His offer is to us, to you and to me, “come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Thanks be to God for His gifts of forgiveness and rest and to Him be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

We Confess Because of Our Value - Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 07)/Father’s Day - Text: Matthew 10:5a, 21-33

Today we again celebrate a social holiday, that of Father’s Day. Indeed, it is well that we celebrate Father’s Day as we celebrated Mother’s Day because it is specifically through the vocation and gift of fatherhood and motherhood that God gives us the core of our families and as He instructs parents to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So, we welcome especially our Father’s and wish you a blessed and happy Father’s Day. Now, let us get to our text.
 

There once was a young man, college age, who decided to take a summer job as a lumber jack in order to earn some money for the next school year. While visiting his home congregation, before heading up to the camp, he was approached by several of the members and ask how he thought he would fare at this camp. He was reminded by some that this was a very rough and rugged lumber camp that was known for its lack of Christians. He was also told stories of how years ago a man went there proclaiming to be a Christian and how he was mistreated and abused. The young man, self confident in his faith, answered that he thought he would be alright. After the summer months were over the young man returned to his home congregation before returning to college. When asked how he had fared at the lumber camp and if he was mistreated or abused for being a Christian he answered that he had no trouble, as he said, “no one found out that I was a Christian.” I do not know if this is a true story or not, but it does serve to some degree to illustrate our text for this morning. The theme of our text might be stated as, “confession is good for the soul,” whereas this story illustrates Jesus warning in the text that we be not afraid of men lest we fail to confess faith in Him, which would be devastating for the soul.
 

Our text is a part of Jesus commissioning His disciples before He sent them out to bear witness to Himself. By this time the disciples have seen Jesus perform miracles. They have listened to Him as He has told them a lot about Himself. And yet they do not know everything about Him. He has even asked them to keep some of the things He has told them secret, at least until they fully understood what He told them, and as was the case many times, until the time for Jesus arrest and crucifixion was near. Something similar is true for us today. Jesus has told us a lot about Himself. We read about His life, the signs, wonders and miracles He performed, and the parables He spoke in His Word, the Bible. We are the students with His disciples that He is referring to in verse twenty-four of our text. There are some things in the Bible which we may not fully understand, but as we grow in our faith we will understand more fully, and then can even more fully and confidently bear witness of our faith in and relationship to Christ.
 

Jesus goes on to tell His disciple and us that we should not expect to be treated any better than He was treated while we are here on earth. We remember how He was beaten, mocked, and spat upon. He was even called Beelzebub, which is another name for Satan. As His students, His followers we can expect no better treatment. Of course, we can be and we must admit that we are often like the young man in our story who went to the lumber camp. How often do we find ourselves hiding the fact that we are a Christian so that others will not make fun of us? How often do we find ourselves sounding and acting like those around us so that we “fit in?” How often do we find ourselves keeping our mouths closed and not letting anyone know we are Christians? But that is not what our Lord wants from us? Perhaps you have heard the saying, “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” When it comes to professing and confessing our faith, too often we do not do a good job, instead we fail miserably.
 

However, Jesus goes on to tell us that this cannot be so, because we are Christians, we cannot hide that fact. All those things He told His disciples to keep secret, when they finally understood what it all meant, they could not keep it to themselves, but proclaimed it to the ends of the world. The same is true for us. Have you ever seen a new Christian? How bubbly they are. They want to tell everyone about their new found faith. We remember at Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when the Pharisees told Jesus to ask His disciples to be quiet, Jesus said that even if they were quiet the stones would sing praises. We are so excited about the good news of Jesus and eternal life that we can not keep quiet, but sing and shout His praise.
 

Now here at verse twenty-eight the stage is set. We have been given God’s Word, the Bible. We have been told how we can expect to be treated, and we have been told how we will not be able to keep quiet about our faith. Now Jesus puts our call to bear witness into perspective. Verse twenty-eight reads, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” He is not necessarily asking us to be martyrs, at least not for martyrdoms sake. As another saying goes, “Martyrdom is the gift you can only give once.” If it is possible to retreat from a situation without denying the truth of the Gospel, then it is better to leave and begin anew elsewhere than to be martyred. God is only calling us to not fear humans in our witnessing.
 

I agree with the commentator (Dr. Lenski) who put it this way, “What Jesus says is this: ‘If the disciple is going to yield to the low motive of fear, then let him be scared, not of the minor danger, but of the supreme danger.’” If we are going to be afraid of someone, it should be God who can do much more damage than any human being. The main point is that we should act with boldness. Why should we not be afraid? The reason is that Jesus will be there to protect us. He is the one who has given us life. Each one of us is a precious person to Him. He planned for our conception, birth, and life. He brought us to faith, some of us through Holy Baptism as we were brought in by our parents, some through His Word, either way, it is He who brought us to faith and He keeps us in that faith.
 

He has blessed us abundantly. My favorite example to show how much He has blessed us is this thought: Think about what we had when we came into this world. I will give you a hint, nothing. Now think about what we will take with us when we die. I will give you another hint, nothing. Now put these two together and you will have the answer to what is actually ours. Your last hint is nothing. Everything we have is God’s, He has created everything we have to use while we are here on His earth, and He would have us use it to His glory. Obviously, if He has given us all that we need we must be of some value to Him. In our text He says that we are worth more than many sparrows. There are other Bible passages which say the same thing, as in Matt. 6:26 when He says that the birds neither sow nor reap yet He takes care of them. We are of so much value to Him that He even knows how many hairs, or lack of hairs, we have on our head. With all this in mind it should be easy for us to not fear him who only can destroy the body. However, our young man in the lumber jack story is a good example of how easy it is for us to deny our faith in Jesus.
 

The ultimate value Jesus has given us is shown by the fact that He gave His life for us. Paul says that for a “very good reason” one person might die for another good person, but Jesus loved us so much and valued us so much that while we were His enemies, that is, while we were actively fighting against Him, which is our nature, He died for us. He lived the perfect life for us, in our place. He suffered the pangs of hell for all of our sins for your sins and for my sins, in our place. He rose on the third day declaring victory over sin, Satan, and death. He did all of this because of His great love for us, for you and for me, love which shows we are of such value to Him.
 

Our text ends with Jesus’ promise that if we will confess Him before men, He will confess us before His Father in heaven. As another commentator (Dr. Kretzmann) expressed it, “A confession of Christ in word and deed, an open proclamation of the truth and a steadfast defense of the truth, is demanded for every follower of Christ.” “There is no neutral ground: for every one the choice is only between confession and denial.” How do we confess Jesus? We confess our faith in Him by our deeds, what we do. We are all witnesses of Him. When it is known that we are Christians, others will look at us and judge what a Christian is by how we act. So, we definitely confess our faith in Jesus by our actions. If you are like me, however, sometimes we do not make a good or positive confession. Sometimes we make a rather bad or negative confession. And for these Jesus also offers us His forgiveness.
 

We also confess Him by our words. I have found it interesting or should I say thrilling that no matter how confusing our verbal confession, and our confession by action, of Him might be, Jesus uses it in great ways. Confessing our faith in Jesus does not mean giving an hour lecture or a testimonial of our faith. Confession of faith in Jesus may be as simple as being there for someone in their time of need. It may be as simple as a few words of comfort or encouragement. It may be answering a question a friend has about our church or our faith. We confess our faith in Jesus in many ways. Almost  every Sunday morning we confess our faith through either the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed which are both confessions of our faith. It does not matter how we confess our faith, but rather that we do confess, because Jesus last words in our text are that if we deny Him, so He will deny us. He makes no bones about it. That means eternal death!
 

I believe that the young man in our story did confess his faith. He confessed that he had no faith, at least no faith in Jesus. Today we might say he simply “identified” as a Christian. You see, there is a distinct difference between identifying and confessing. Too many people attempt to identify as something they are not. As Christians we confess because God gives us that confession. Remember Peter? When Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was, they offered Moses, or Elijah and Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Remember Jesus’ words to Peter? This confession was not from flesh and blood but from my Father in heaven. Indeed, our confession of faith is never ours alone, but is always a confession given to us by the Holy Spirit through His Word. And that confession is not simply a verbal confession, but wells up in us as a living confession
 

Our whole text for this morning is a section of great encouragement. Jesus is speaking to us as He speaks to His disciples. He has come, and continues to come to us in His Word, bringing us to faith, strengthening us in faith and keeping us in faith in Him, and forgiving us when we fail. He reminds us that we should expect to be treated as He was, that we will not be able to keep our faith to ourselves, that we are to not be afraid of how we may be treated as others can harm us only in our body. He goes on to encourage us by telling us how valuable we are to Him and He ends by promising that when we do confess our faith in Him He also will confess knowing us to His Father in heaven, which means eternal life. This morning it is especially great to see our father’s confess their faith and bring their families to Divine Service. Finally, I pray that you will go boldly out into the world, into your various vocations and confess your faith by word and deed. And ultimately your confession will be a confession that rejoices and says, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Go with Authority - the Kingdom Is near - Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 06) - Text: Matthew 9:35-10:8 (9-20)

You may have noticed or maybe not, last week our liturgical color has changed to green the color of growth. We are now in the Pentecost season and the non-festival portion of our church year calendar. We began our current church year back in December of last year and we moved to series A of our Lectionary or our Bible reading series. Let me remind you that in series A of our Bible readings we are for the most part hearing Gospel readings from the Gospel of Matthew meaning that we will be growing in our Christian faith and life through the writings of the Gospel writer Matthew, as he was inspired to write by God Himself. This Matthew is the one who was a tax collector called by Jesus. He is Jewish and he is writing in particular to a Jewish audience. And with his accounting background you may notice his writing often include numeric references. So, let us get to today’s text.
 

The idolatry of our society has reached epoch proportions. That sounds like it would make a great newspaper headline, but what in the world do I mean? We are now, and have been, living in what sociologist call a pluralistic society. The ideologies, the philosophies, the theologies, the ideas and concepts of our world suggest that “broad is the way to heaven,” that there are many ways to the same god and the same heaven. How narrow minded are we Christians who believe, what the Bible says, that there is one and only one way to heaven and that way is through faith in Jesus and in Jesus alone. And unfortunately, many, too many, people, even some, which is too many, Christians, and I would suggest that even some among us here in this congregation who have bought into this idolatry. This idolatry makes it easy for us to sit on our grace and do nothing, because if everyone is saved, why bother confronting others and showing them they are doomed. This morning I want to tell you some history. I want to tell you His story, that is, Jesus history.
 

Jesus is unlike anyone else who ever was or will be. Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that He is truly God. He was born of a woman, Mary, so that He is truly human. Throughout His time on this earth, Jesus showed Himself time and time again to be God. The gospel writer John talks a lot about Jesus performing signs, wonders and miracles and that it is through these signs, wonders and miracles that Jesus shows Himself to be who He says He is, God in flesh, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. This fact, that Jesus is God in flesh, flies right in the face of many religious groups, non-Christian cults and sects today, especially those such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, the Muslims, and many others. And yet time and again, historical account after historical account shows Jesus demonstrating His divinity. Only God can walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead, multiply food to feed thousands, change water into wine and so forth, miracles Jesus, as true God did.
 

As true God, Jesus was able to see the real need of humanity. I say the real need because today we hear a lot of talk about meeting what are called the “felt” needs of people. You know how it is, a child comes and asks for candy because he is hungry. His “felt” need is candy. His real need is not candy, but real food to fill his hunger. Likewise, we often think we know what we need, after all, we can “feel” what we need, but that may not always be what we really need. Thanks be to God that Jesus can see into our hearts and lives and He knows what we really need.
 

We have a felt need. We are sinful human beings. We are born with a void. We are born in sin and we are in need. On our own we could and would search to have that need filled, but our filling that need would be to fill it with any of the philosophies or false theologies of the world. Again, we would fill the void in our lives with something comparable to a child who is hungry filling themselves with candy that is the type of “religion” we would find to fill the void of our lives. Jesus gives what we really need. He gives us His law which shows us our sins. One quick trip through the Ten Commandments reminds us of just how sinful we really are. But Jesus does not stop there, He also gives us His Gospel which tells us of our forgiveness. Jesus gives Himself. He has given His life for ours. He suffered the eternal death penalty for us in our place. He gives us forgiveness of sins and with forgiveness He gives eternal life. He also gives authority as we heard in the Gospel last week and as we hear again this week. He does not give authority for lording it over others. He does not give authority for being bossy. He gives authority for sharing the good news of salvation with others. He gives authority for doing good, being kind, loving others and the like.
 

What is more, Jesus also gives special instructions. He gives instructions to His disciples and to us. We are not to stay safely in our homes, but we are to venture out into the hard, cold, cruel world and share our faith with others. And we do not do that alone, because we have His authority and His added promise that He will be with us always, even to the end of the world.
 

And Jesus gives us the message which we are to share. The message is that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. In Jesus’ day the Kingdom of heaven was right there, it was Jesus Himself. In our day, the Kingdom of Heaven is here, Jesus is with us and, at the same time He is seated at the right hand of the Father where He is watching over us, ruling over us, and interceding for us. This is Jesus’ history.
 

There is another history which goes along with this history and that is our history. Our history is that, although we are born in sin and daily sin much, adding to our sinfulness, yet, at our Baptism Jesus makes us a part of His Kingdom. He gives us faith, forgiveness, life and salvation. Today He continually gives us His means of grace, confession and absolution, His Holy Word and the Sacraments, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. He gives us these means through which He comes to give us all His good gifts and blessings.
 

It is His Word which shows us that Jesus is who He says He is, that is that He is Yahweh, God. It is His Word which tells us what we are to do and not to do, what is sin and what is not sin. It is His Word which tells us what He has done for us. How He entered this world in order to live for us, that is to live the perfect life demanded of us, for us, in our place because we cannot. How He has taken our sins, all our sins and the sins of all people, of all places, of all times on Himself. How He has suffered, died, and given His life for ours. How He has created all things and still takes care of them. How He has purchased and won us, not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. How He sends His Holy Spirit to bring us to faith, strengthen us in faith and keep us in faith until He comes again to take us to be with Himself in heaven.
 

Jesus sees the real need of humanity today and our real need is the forgiveness of sins. We confess that we are by nature, that is we are born, sinful and unclean. We confess that we have sinned against God by thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, what we call our sins of commission and by what we have left undone, what we call our sins of omission. Again, one quick trip through the Ten Commandments would be enough to shame us into knowing how sinful we really are. Without Jesus there is no forgiveness. With no forgiveness there is no hope. No hope for the world to come and, really, no hope for this world. Jesus meets our real need. He has given His life for us. He lived, suffered, died, rose for us, for you and for me. Jesus gives us forgiveness of sins and with forgiveness we have life, life in this world and life in the world to come, even eternal life in heaven.
 

And now Jesus gives us authority and a mission. The authority He gives is His authority. The authority He gives is to forgive sins and to proclaim the gospel. The mission He gives is to be loved by Him so that we can live our lives to His glory. And even more, Jesus gives us gifts, talents and abilities to carry out the mission He gives us. And He promises that He will be with us every step of the way, even to the ends of the earth.
 

The message He gives us to proclaim is the same message He gave His disciples to proclaim, that the Kingdom of Heaven is near, that Christ will come again, sooner than we know, sooner than we expect. He may wait another two thousand years. He may come next year. He may come next month. He may come tomorrow. We do not know when He will come, we simply know that we need to be ready. And understand this, we will see Him, either when He comes, or when we die, which also may come at any time. Again, the key is this, we need to be ready at all times to meet our Lord. Perhaps each morning as we get up we might look in the mirror and ask ourselves, are we ready if we are to meet Jesus today?
 

Jesus’ history and our history, are really only one history, at least for us Christians. Today we continue to celebrate Pentecost and God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. We celebrate that the Holy Spirit gives us faith, strengthens our faith, and keeps us in faith until Christ comes again.
 

We continue to make regular and diligent use of the Means of Grace, confession and absolution, the Word and the Sacraments, remembering that it is through these means that the Holy Spirit works in and through us. We also remember that, even though the Lord works through these means that does not mean that He is bound by these means, because He can and sometimes does work directly with us and through various other means when and where He chooses.
 

God gives and with His help, we respond to His glory. And our response is Gospel, because without His help we would not be able to respond. God gives. He gives life at conception, new life at Holy Baptism, faith, forgiveness of sins, life in this world, eternal life in heaven, gifts of talents and abilities, physical, social, emotional and spiritual blessings even beyond our counting, the sun and the rain, the moon and the stars, the seasons for planting and sowing, indeed, God gives us all things. Our only action, the only thing we do is respond and the only way we respond is through His giving us to respond. What a great God we do have.
 

Again, our liturgical color will remain green. Green is the color of growth. The idea is that during these Sundays we are to grow in our Christian faith and life. We do that through regular, diligent, daily reading of God’s Word. We do that through reading and rereading Jesus’ history. We do that through joining and combining His history with our history so that we have one history. My prayer for each one of you is that you will continue to make use of the means that God has given and that He will continue to work through those means in order to shape and mold you; in order to give you and strengthen you; in order that you might “freely give,” as you have freely been given to. To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Thoughts on a Lutheran Identity Vs. A Lutheran Confession

Unfortunately the overuse of the word “identity” has almost emptied it of its meaning. With that said, there is a distinct and great difference between one’s “identity” and one’s “confession.” Today anyone may identify as just about anything. A woman may identify as a man (however that does not change her XX chromosome to XY), and a man may identify as a woman (again that does not change his XY chromosome to XX), and yet neither identity is true or real.

An online definition of “identity” states: “In psychology, the term ‘identity’ is most commonly used to describe personal identity, or the distinctive qualities or traits that make an individual unique. Identities are strongly associated with self-concept, self-image (one’s mental model of oneself), self-esteem, and individuality” (emphasis added). Notice the continual use of the word “self.” One might surmise that “identity” comes from within. Of course, Jesus reminds us, “From within, out of the heart of man come evil thought . . . ” (Mark 7:21).

To speak of a Lutheran, Biblical definition of “confessional” means to say the same thing, but not simply to say the same thing, but to live and act the same. One’s confession of faith, one’s beliefs, doctrine, is lived out and seen in one’s life and worship (Divine Service). Doctrine, faith, belief, confession, cannot be separated from one’s practice, life, or actions. As we will see reading through the Bible, one’s confession does not come from within, but comes from outside, through the Holy Spirit working through the Means of Grace.

In the Lutheran Church and in our Confessions we do not use the term “identity,” but we use the word “confession” because to have a confession means so much more than simply to have an identity. To have a confession means that one not only confesses with their lips but believes in their heart, and that belief is then acted out and seen in their life. Thus, a true confession is a combination of faith and life or better said, doctrine and practice. For one to practice something different than their doctrine or to simply say they identify as something means that they are truly not confessing. As Mama always said, “Practice what you preach.” Or as we hear today, “If you’re gonna talk the talk, then you better walk the walk.”

So, what does the Bible say? The Bible speaks of a person making an acknowledgment or confession of faith in Jesus as we read in Matthew’s Gospel, “32So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:31–33). Notice that the word translated as “acknowledge” is the same word that is translated as “confess.”

The Bible speaks of making a confession of faith. Take for example Peter’s confession: “16Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:16–17). Notice that Jesus tells Peter that this confession is not his but is God the Father’s. Notice, it was not Peter but God through Peter giving the confession. The same is true for us today. When we confess faith in Christ, it is not our confession, but it is the Holy Spirit speaking our confession through our mouths. The Holy Spirit puts faith in our hearts (through the Means of Grace) and stirs in us to speak that confession with our lips and finally brings that confession to fulfillment through our lives, that is, we live our confession.

In Romans Paul tells us, “9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” Rom. 10:9-10). The word for confess is ὁμολογήσῃ, homolegeo, confess. In verse nine the word is an active word, to speak the same, to agree. In verse ten the word is passive meaning that it is something that is given to speak, as in the Holy Spirit giving us the word to speak. Thus, we see that we confess or acknowledge. We do not simply identify.

Even John tells us, ”Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).

So, what does the Bible say about identifying as something. Fortunately or unfortunately there are no Scripture passages that speak of one’s identity, none, zilch, nada. Also, the Book of Concord, while it speaks of our confession of faith never speaks of our identity.

Unfortunately, this denominational identity seems to be as divisive as identity politics. Also, as memory serves, it was during the Seminary Walkout that the one group wanted to have a Lutheran “identity” very much like we heard in recent times from Concordia University Texas. Yet, simply to have a Lutheran “identity” does not mean one is a confessional Lutheran. One example of how this is happening and is so divisive in our synod today is what happens on Sunday mornings. Back in the early 1980s this Texas District was involved in the Chuck and Win Arn Church Growth movement. That movement defined what was done on Sunday morning as worship (noun) and suggested that in worship God was the audience, the congregation were the actors, and the pastor and choir were the prompters. Thus, it was implied if not outright stating, that people were to attend worship in order to do something for God and therefore needed to have a part in the worship service, such as reading the lessons, be in the praise band or the drama team, etc. As confessional Lutherans we understand that what we do on Sunday morning is Divine Service wherein God is the actor and the congregation are the ones being acted on and given to, such that the called and ordained pastor is the one through which God works to deliver the gifts He has to give and the laity are there to be given to. The response (worship as a verb) of the laity is simply to offer hymns (good sound theological hymns), offer prayers, and offer their firstfruits and tithes (which are hopefully the same). So, we see in this example the difference between an identity and a true confession which is acted out.

“The Lutheran Church is not defined by cultural or national identity but by its confession of Christ and the pure teaching of His Gospel. To be Lutheran is to confess what the Scriptures teach and what the Church has always believed” (Herman Sasse, Here We Stand: Nature and Character of the Lutheran Faith). Notice the difference in the words, identity and confession. So, to simply identify as a Lutheran does not make one a Lutheran. Only to confess with the lips and live that confession makes one a true Lutheran.

God’s Understanding is Unsearchable - April 26, 2026 - Fourth Sunday of Easter - One Year Series - Text: Isaiah 40:25-31

Some of you may have heard the saying, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” I remember the first time I heard it and I thought, that saying has a flaw, namely that it does not matter what I believe or do not believe, rather if God said it, then that settles it. That saying also reminds me of how often I have expressed the understanding that if the word of man differs from the Word of God, I will believe God’s Word over the word of humans, who are fallible, anytime. Ever since creation humans have attempted to put themselves in positions of knowledge and power above God, even to the point of attempting to exclude God. Well, think about it, if there is no God then there are no absolutes, no absolute authority and so we are accountable to no one. That thinking is what is behind the teachings of Charles Darwin and is hailed by many Darwinist, Evolutionists, and Atheists as truth and wisdom. Great amounts of time, money and effort have gone into the indoctrination of the religion of Darwinism, Evolution and Atheism, so much so that too many in our world today actually believe Satan’s lies which have come through these means over against God and His infallible Word. For too many years Christians have sat on the sidelines watching as the world, through our public education system and unfortunately at times through our private education systems as well as through, even so called Christian colleges and universities, have been taught that there is no god, that there is no ultimate authority, that we are products of endless mutations and accidents, that there is no point to this world, and that we are responsible to no one. And all this in the name of “science.” I believe Christians have been silent for so long because we have not taken the time to get educated in how to give an answer for the hope that we have. Fortunately we live in a day and age where good factual information is readily available and where we can get answers and prepare ourselves to give an answer for the hope we have. Of course, the first place we go is to God and His Word.
 

Before we get to our text, let us take a moment to look at our other lessons. The epistle lesson for this morning reminds us that as Christians we are merely sojourners and pilgrims in this world. And while we sojourn in this world we will be constantly bombarded with temptations from the devil, the world and our own sinful nature, or as Peter calls it our “fleshly lusts.” Peter encourages us to submit to our government, at least and unless the government demands something against God’s Word. Peter’s words encourage us as Christians, who because we espouse the exclusive claim of God’s Word that is that there is one and only one way to eternal salvation, that as we suffer for our faith, we are to be encouraged to suffer patiently and give glory to God.
 

In the Gospel lesson for this morning we are reminded how Jesus spoke openly to His disciples about what was going to happen to Him, that is He spoke about His coming suffering, death, and resurrection, which we just celebrated and what we celebrate every Sunday. And yet, until He died and rose His disciples did not understand as many in our world continue to not understand.
 

Moving on to our text, the Old Testament reading, and I want to start at verse twenty one, the question is often asked, “How did the world come into being?” Our text begins at verse twenty-one, “21Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?” (v. 21). When Job confronted God with all his questions God asked Job the question we need to ask those who propose a different history than God Himself gives us in His Word. We may simply ask, “Where you there?” “Then how do you know?” Remember, Darwinism, Evolution, Atheism, all these propose that there is no God and that all things simply appeared out of nothing. Interestingly enough no one has ever observed the spontaneous appearance of something from nothing, which is a foundation of so called science. Anyway, these proposals all spring from the minds of sinful, fallible human beings. When you are being told something other than what God tells us, simply ask, “Where you there?” And when the response is, “Neither were you.” You might simply answer, “Yes, but I know someone who was there and I know what He tells me.”
 

And yet, we know that God is not a God who simply created all things and then left this world to run on its own. Not only did God create, but He also sustains. We pick up at verse twenty-two, “22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble” (v. 22-24). God is a Creator God and He is also a Sustaining God. He continues to rule over and guard His creation. He continues to take care of His creation.
 

What a great and loving God we have. There is no one like God, not even any idols. We pick up at verse twenty-five, “25To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing” (v. 25-26). When we take the time to compare our God to all the other gods and idols in the world we know that there really is no comparison. All the religions of the world can be put into one of two categories. The one category is for all gods and idols and that category may be summarized by the belief that a person must save himself or herself, that a person is saved by how good he or she is, how good is their character. The other category is what we as Christians believe, that is that we are lost and condemned persons, that we have no hope and cannot save ourselves, so we rest our faith on the grace and mercy of our great and loving God who calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We are saved because of what God has done, does and will do for us. We are saved because our God saved us. Yes, indeed, there is no God like Him.
 

And what a great God we have. God is omniscient, He knows all; nothing is hidden from Him. We pick up at verse twenty-seven, “27Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable” (v. 27-28). These words should bring fear and comfort. These words bring fear for the simple fact that we are conceived and born in sin, because every inclination of our heart is evil all the time, because we constantly sin against our God in thought, word and deed and because we sin sins of commission and omission. God knows all our faults and sins. And yet, these words, that God knows all and that nothing is hidden from Him also bring comfort. For who is like God and how great, loving and merciful He truly is. He is a God who not only gave His life for ours, but continually watches over us, protecting and forgiving us.
 

And finally, Isaiah reminds us that God also renews and refreshes us. We pick up at verse twenty-nine, “29He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;  31but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (v. 29-31). Yes, we are imperfect, fallible human beings. We do daily sin much and are in need of forgiveness, but our hope is in our great God who picks us up, who gives us strength, who guides, guards and keeps us always in His care and protection.
 

What does this mean? This morning we are reminded once again that we can believe and trust in our God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and who created all things out of nothing. When we look at the facts of this world, and especially when we look at them and understand them through God’s Word, we can know and believe that God’s Word speaks truth. And actually, God’s Word explains the facts of this world better and more logically than the fictitious explanations of fallible, sinful human beings, not that we believe God’s Word for this reason, but we believe because God tells us so and because His Word has to power to give us such faith. The point is, we can be confident that God’s Word is true even in the face of the allegations that are being proposed in our world today. We can stand firm, as Peter encourages us.
 

Not only did God create all things out of nothing, we can be sure that He still sustains and preserves the world. And we can actually see His all preserving hand as we watch the seasons come and go. As we watch the earth heal and mend itself after what we call natural disasters and even man-made disasters. We see God’s all preserving and sustaining hand when each morning we rise to meet a new day.
 

And it is God who gives, strengthens and keeps us in faith. This is not something we do for ourselves, that would put us in the category of having to save ourselves. Remember, all things flow from God to us. He is the one who gives us faith. He is the one who lived for us, living perfectly because we cannot live perfectly. He is the one who fulfilled all His laws and commands perfectly. He is the one who took our sins upon Himself. He is the one who died for us, taking our place. He is the one who shed His blood, giving His life, dying to pay the price, the cost for our sins. He is the one who rose victorious over sin, death and the devil. He is the one who gives us the forgiveness Jesus paid for on the cross. He is the one who gives us faith, who strengthens us and keep us in faith. He is the one who will come again to judge the living and the dead. Notice the focus, on Him and Him alone.
 

Today we rejoice because He renews us. He lifts us up each day. He gives us the strength to face the challenges and temptations, whatever suffering we may face, each new day. He lifts us up with wings like eagles so that we may live lives as His priests, living lives as sacrifices to Him.
 

Finally, we are reminded as always that He does His work though means, namely through the means of grace. Thus we are reminded of the importance and the necessity of making regular and diligent use  of the means of grace, remembering our baptism, confessing our sins and hearing His words of absolution, hearing God’s Word, which means having personal and family devotions, attending divine service and Bible class, and the importance of coming to the Lord’s table to eat His body and drink His blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
 

May God’s Word encourage you in your faith life. God never promised that life would be easy. He never promised that we would not face trials and tribulations. He never said we would never be tempted and as a matter of fact as Christians, we probably face more trials and tribulations and more temptations than those the devil already has. Yet, God has promised that He is with us, that He forgives us, that He will protect and defend us, that He is with us always and that He will be with us to help us to give us the words to speak to give an answer for the hope that we have in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What a great God we have, a God who does all and gives all and we rejoice that we are done to and given to. To Him be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Law Fulfilled, Not Abolished

    What does it mean that Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17)? What does that mean concerning the moral law, the ceremonial law, and the civil law? To say Jesus fulfilled the Law, does this mean Jesus fulfilled the moral, ceremonial, and civil law? If we say Jesus fulfilled the Law, then what does it mean that He did not abolish the Law? Are we still under the Law: moral, ceremonial and civil? So if the Law has not been abolished but fulfilled, what does that mean concerning the three uses of the Law: as a curb, a mirror and especially as a rule or guide?
    First, let us define the terms moral, ceremonial and civil law. Simply stated, the civil law is “the body of law dealing with the rights of private citizens in a particular state or nation, as distinguished from criminal law, military law, or international law.”1 In other words, civil law is the law of the state.2 Here I believe we can settle the matter that Jesus fulfilled, that is He perfectly obeyed all the civil law (Thus, as citizens of the left-hand kingdom, the kingdom of this world, we are still under and must obey all civil laws, at least to the point where they may infringe on the right-hand kingdom and would otherwise cause us to disobey God’s Law.) When man’s law infringes on God’s Law, then most certainly we are to obey God’s Law rather than man’s law as the disciples so well noted: “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men’” (Acts 5:29).
          As for the moral and ceremonial law, they may be defined as,

2. Moral Law and ceremonial laws. The ceremonial laws of the OT have been abolished (Cl 2:16-17), but the Moral Law (see Decalog) is in force to the end of time (Mt 5:18). The Moral Law, however, determined by the law of love (Mt 22:35-40), must not simply be identified with the Decalog as given in the OT (Ex 20; Dt 5), since that contains ceremonial elements, meant only for the Jews (e.g., Dt 5:15). The “Ten Commandments” (Ex 34:28; Dt 4:13; 10:4) must direct our conduct inasmuch as they serve the principle of love (Ro 13:8) and are restated in the NT (Mt 19:18-19; Ro 13:19). The 3d Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” is omitted in the NT; this shows that emphasis no longer rests on the day, but on the sanctifying through the Word (LC I 78-102).3

Simply stated, the Moral Law is the Ten Commandments. The ceremonial laws are the laws regarding the sacrificial system of the Old Testament pointing to the fulfillment of the promise in the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
    Again, what does this mean that Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill the Law? What do we hear from Jesus Himself? 17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20). Jesus said He did not come to abolish (καταλύω) or invalidate the Law. Instead, Jesus came to fulfill (πληρόω) the Law, that is to continue to provide that real answer to the Law. He goes on to say whoever relaxes (λύω), that is fails to conform to the “one of the least of these commandments,” “will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.” Indeed, it is the Gospel that furnishes and presents humanity with the fulfillment the Law demands. The Gospel tells us Jesus lived as True Israel, in our place. He fulfilled God’s demand of perfection for us since we fall short of it. As Lutherans, we understand Scripture is rightly divided into Law and Gospel. The Law shows our sins. It tells us what we are and are not to do. The Law condemns. The Gospel shows our Savior. The Gospel moves us to repentance and faith.
    Again, Jesus says, 16“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. 17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void” (Luke 16:16-17). Here Jesus says the Law will not become void (πίπτω), that is it will not cease nor come to an end.
    So, what does it mean that Jesus did not come to abolish but to fulfill the Law? What does it mean that the Law is not to be relaxed and that it will not cease? Is Jesus speaking about the civil law or the Moral Law or the ceremonial law or all the Law? And what does it mean that a law is fulfilled and yet not abolished? Perhaps this last question is most important because, when we get to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain in Matthew 5, we hear Him as He reiterates the Moral Law of the Old Testament, yet in a new way as a fulfillment of the Law of Love. As you read through Jesus’ sermon, He touches on all the commandments of the Moral Law of the Decalogue, except the Third Commandment (Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy). Jesus covers the fulfillment of the Third Commandment at other times especially at times when He is challenged for healing on the Sabbath. He often explained in response to any activity on the Sabbath that the Sabbath was made for man not, man for the Sabbath. Thus, we may rightly understand His desire is that we observe a day of rest especially a day of rest wherein we are spiritually renewed through making use of His Word and Sacraments in the Divine Service.
           But there is more about the Law. Paul writing to the Romans says:

27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law (Romans 3:27-31).

Further Paul adds, “4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). And he writes, “8Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).
          To the Galatians Paul writes:

15We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose (Galatians 2:15-21).

    So, how do we understand Paul’s usage of the word “law”? Kittle explains Paul’s usage as such: 

Paul starts with the traditional sense whereby the law is the OT law, though his usage is not uniform. The Decalogue is the gist of the law (Rom. 13:8ff.), but nómos comprises other laws and it may be used for a single law (Rom. 7:2). The law demands action; one does it (Rom. 2:25). It represents God’s living will. Even those who do not know the law, but do it, are “the” law to themselves (not a law of their own choosing) (Rom. 2:12ff.). The law is the one revealed will of the one God. It can thus be personified (Rom. 3:19; 7:1). On occasion the nómos may be the Pentateuch (cf. Rom. 3:21; Gal. 4:21). A figurative use may also be seen, as when Paul refers to the law of faith (Rom. 3:27).4

It seems as though Paul does not make any distinction between moral, civil, or ceremonial law; however, I do not believe that to be the case.
    When we get to Hebrews, we will see there is a distinction between the moral, civil and ceremonial law. In Hebrews we read:

 1For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7Then I said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.”’ 8When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), 9then he added, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:1-10).

Here in Hebrews we have a marked distinction between the ceremonial, civil, and moral law. The ceremonial law pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus fulfilled it completely. Jesus was born perfect. He fulfilled God’s demand of perfection (Matthew 5:48).
    Jesus lived in perfection, never sinning even once. Jesus identifies as us through the waters of Holy Baptism. Jesus took our sins and paid the price for our sins by suffering eternal death, hell, for us. Jesus died and defeated death by His resurrection. Thus, all the ceremonial laws reminding the sinner that the price for sin is death, that blood had to be shed, were completely fulfilled in Jesus. Indeed, although the animal sacrifices were a reminder that the price for sin is the shedding of blood and death and for forgiveness they were not a human sacrifice. The price for sin is the death of the sinner. The animal sacrifices were a reminder (Hebrews 10:4) and pointed to the one ultimate sacrifice of Christ, true man, once for all.
    Moses writes as God commanded him, “4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). In Matthew, Mark, and Luke we hear Jesus echoing these words in response to the question of what is the greatest commandment? “37And [Jesus] said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 22:37-40). “29Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” 31The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:29-31). “26[Jesus] said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ 27And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:26-27).
    In Confirmation we are taught that the summary of the commandments is love, namely the Greek understanding of agape love, that is a selfless concern for another person. Love is the fulfillment of the Law because Jesus is Love and Jesus fulfilled the Law completely. Indeed, as we understand, if we could love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and mind, we would be able to keep all the Law. If a person could love his neighbor as himself, he would not sin against his neighbor. Our problem is that we are conceived and born in sin (Psalm 51:5). Every inclination of our hearts is evil all the time (Genesis 6:5, 8:21). No one does good, no not one (Romans 3, 10, 12). Our will has been tainted by sin, so we are unable to love as God would have us to love.
    In his writings on the Sermon on the Mount, Luther makes the following assessment:

        He is not denying that they are God’s people and that they have the Law, the fathers, and the prophets. Nor are we condemning or denying that under the pope there were Christians or Baptism or the Gospel, but we are saying: “What we have is the right Baptism and Gospel.” We protest against having to accept and approve the way they smear it all up, the way they interpret and distort it by defiling the pure doctrine with the foul and wormy, yes, the demonic addition of their cowls, tonsures, indulgences, purgatory, and sacrificial masses. This is where we set to work with our salting, to get rid of this stench and to fumigate it. So it is clear that the very dissolvers and destroyers of Law and Scripture decorate themselves with lovely titles like “Scripture” or “Gospel” or “Christian Church” and that under this pretext they have imported their maggots and corrupted everything and made it useless. And then they yell at us for attacking the Christian Church, the holy fathers, and good works!

        Now He says: “I have come not to destroy the Law but to fulfill it.” That is: “I do not intend to bring another law or a new law, but to take the very Scriptures which you have and to emphasize them, dealing with them in such a way as to teach you how to behave.” What the Gospel or the preaching of Christ brings is not a new doctrine to undo or change the Law, but, as St. Paul says (Rom. 1:2), the very same thing that was “promised beforehand through the prophets in the Scripture.” From our opponents, therefore, we accept the very same Scriptures, Baptism, and Sacrament that they have; and we do not intend to propose something new or better. All we are doing is insisting upon their proper preaching and administration and upon the elimination of anything that does not harmonize with them.

        St. Augustine interprets the word “fulfill” in a twofold manner. According to him, “fulfilling the Law” means, first, “supplementing its deficiencies” and, second, “carrying out its content in works and in life.” But the first interpretation is mistaken. All by itself, the Law is so rich and perfect that no one need to add anything to it; for the apostles themselves had to prove the Gospel and the proclamation about Christ on the basis of the Old Testament. Therefore no one, not even Christ Himself, can improve upon the Law. What can you make up or teach that is higher than what the First Commandment teaches (Deut. 6:5): “You shall love God with all your heart”? He does indeed go beyond Law and doctrine when He gives His grace and Spirit to enable us to do and keep the Law’s demands, but that is not “supplementing” the Law. And so He is not talking about that here, but about that fulfilling which takes place through teaching; similarly, by “abolishing” He does not mean acting contrary to the Law, but teaching in such a way as to subtract from it.5

    All this does not mean we can do away with the Law. We are not antinomian to say the least. We retain the Law as a reminder because if we did not have the Law, we would not know we would be sinners. If we did not know of our sin, we would not know of our need to repent, and if we did not repent, we would remain in our sin and be eternally condemned (Romans 7:7). At the same time, we know the Law does not move one to repentance. The Law by itself will lead one either to despair, believing there is no forgiveness and no salvation, or to works righteousness, believing one may in fact be able to do what the Law demands. The purpose of the Law is to show our sin. It is the work of the Gospel to lead one to repentance. It is the fact my sins have already been forgiven which moves me to confess those sins so that I might be given that forgiveness which has already been won for me on the cross by Christ. Thus, both Law and Gospel are necessary and must be preached, the Law in all its sternness and the Gospel in all its sweetness.
    What does this mean? Certainly we understand we are all subject to the civil law, the law of the land, the law that keeps peace. We are to abide by those laws which govern our daily travels including speed limits and stop signs. Not to obey such laws would lead to accidents, fines, and imprisonment. We are to abide by those laws which govern our lives in relationship with others including those what are rooted in the Ten Commandments, such as not stealing from our neighbor, not murdering, hurting nor harming our neighbor. To break such laws also leads to fines, prison and even the death penalty.
    But what about the Moral Law, the Ten Commandments? Are we still under the Ten Commandments? Jesus fulfilled the Moral Law. He kept the Ten Commandments perfectly for us in our place because we cannot. Does that mean we are no longer bound to abide by the Ten Commandments? Perhaps the answer to that question might best be “Yes” and “No.” As we know, as we stated, much of our civil law has its foundation in the Ten Commandments, such as not stealing or killing. We are under obligation to obey those commands. Yet, even if we should surmise that because Jesus fulfilled the Ten Commandments for us in our place, we still have to contend with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (or Hill) from Matthew 5 in which He proclaims to us the Ten Commandments in, shall we say, a new, fuller and loving way. Jesus speaks of our righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees warning us not only to not murder but also to not be angry with our brother (Matthew 5:21-22). He warns us that we commit adultery not simply by an act but also by looking lustfully (the eye causing one to sin) (Matthew 5:27-29). He warns against swearing false oaths (Matthew 5:33-36) and against revenge (Matthew 5:38-42). He speaks of loving our neighbor and our enemy (Matthew 5:43-47) and ultimately of being perfect which we know is completely beyond our capability. What Jesus gives us in His sermon is the Moral Law, but not as the Ten Commandments.
    Again, what does this mean? Jesus fulfilling the Law and not abolishing the Law means we are no longer under the curse of the Law. We are not expected to fulfill what Jesus has already fulfilled. Although God’s demand continues to be perfection, Jesus was perfect for us in our place. Just because the Law has been fulfilled and perfectly kept by Jesus does not abolish the Law because there are those who are outside the faith who continue to be under the Law and will be under the Law until such time that the Holy Spirit works faith in their heart so they know they cannot be saved by their obedience to the Law.
    As Christians, because the Lord loves us, because Jesus lived for us, took our sins, suffered, died, and rose for us, gives us faith, forgiveness and life, our desire as a response of faith is to live lives of obedience. Our desire is to live lives as priests in the priesthood of all believers. Our desire is to serve God by serving others. Our desire is to be living sacrifices for the Lord, imperfectly as we may. This active obedience is what we call the third use of the Law. It is a rule or guide for our lives. The Law is for our Sanctification, and this Sanctification is a result of our Justification.
    Certainly, as Lutherans who believe we are justified by God’s grace through faith apart from works of the Law, we understand we are made just and right in God’s eyes by God Himself. This justification is an accomplished act done for us and coming to us from outside of us. It is God who justifies. As was stated earlier, our nature is that we are conceived and born in sin (Psalm 51:5). Every inclination of our hearts is evil all the time (Genesis 6:5; 7:21). No one does good, no not one (Romans 3:10,12). Our will has been tainted by sin, so we are unable to be the people God would have us to be. Our nature is that, in and of ourselves, we cannot accept Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:13). We can only reject Him (Romans 7:16-20). Because we are conceived and born in sin, we are spiritually blind, spiritually dead, and enemies of God. Just as a person cannot choose to be born so, we cannot choose to be born again. Just as a drowning person or a dead person cannot save himself or herself, so we cannot save ourselves. Any salvation must come from outside of us. It must come from someone who is sinless and alive.
    Jesus is God in flesh, truly human, truly Divine. Jesus had to be God in order to be born in perfection. He had to be human in order to be our substitute. As God, although He was born in perfection, He set aside full use of His divine attributes. He lived a perfect life. He obeyed all of God’s laws perfectly never disobeying even one. He fulfilled God’s demand of perfection. Yet, in fulfilling God’s demand of perfection, He did not abolish God’s demand. Indeed, God’s demand continues to be that we are perfect. By faith in Jesus which comes from outside of us, given to us by Him through His Word, which does and gives what it says, or through the water and His Name in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, His life becomes our life as He substitutes Himself for us giving us His righteousness and taking our sin. Thus, when we stand before God, He no longer sees us as sinners but as His righteous children. Therefore, through the justifying work of Jesus living perfectly for us in our place and paying the price for our sins, we stand before God in perfection fulfilling His demand. This justification, this fulfillment is an accomplished fact. It is done for us and given to us from outside of us and declared to us by the authority of the Word of God.
    Now that we have been justified before God, we strive to live lives of faith, lives worthy, if you will, of the gifts God has given, and this living of life is what we call sanctification. When it comes to our sanctification, we also understand we get it right when we point to the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who works the good works God has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10) in and through us which is our life of obedience, third use of the Law talk. It is also this obedience talk which has us cautious because we never want to give the impression that our obedience comes from us nor is accounted as anything for our justification.
    Jesus has fulfilled the Law completely for us in our place, but He has not abolished the Law. While it is most apparent that the Law remains because there are those who remain outside the faith, the Law is necessary for Christians as well. The purpose of the Law is to show our sins. As Christians this side of heaven we continue to be sinner/saints; thus, we need the Law not only as a guide (third use of the Law) but also as a curb and a mirror. For if we did not know we are sinners, we would not know to repent. If we did not repent, our sin would remain on us (1 John 1:8,9) and we would be eternally condemned. If we as Christians still need the Law, then we might rightly surmise the Law is especially needed for those outside the faith. For those outside of the faith the Law is especially needed because apart from Jesus they remain eternally lost. Those outside the faith have no understanding of sin, repentance and forgiveness. Those outside the faith have no part in Jesus, in His life, nor in His perfection; thus, they stand before God in their sin which is condemnation; thus, they need to hear the Law so they can know what is sin. They also then need to hear the Gospel which is what motivates repentance and forgiveness. To hear the Law without the Gospel may lead either to despair, thinking there is no use or salvation, or to works righteousness, thinking one might actually be able to keep the Law and thus justify themselves.
    Again, the Law must continue to be preached to Christians lest we fall into believing we are no longer sinners and no longer sin. Indeed, the life of the sinner is a life of repentance and forgiveness. The Law continually points us to our sin and our need to repent so that we are forgiven, and with forgiveness is life and salvation. Therefore, Christians who continue in their faith life stand before God clothed in Jesus’ robes of righteousness, perfect and holy being seen by God as having fulfilled the Law; thus, no longer being under the Law.
    Unfortunately, the way this pans out in our modern American society and faith life is similar to what Luther was speaking about to Rome in his day. There are those of American Evangelicalism, as it may be called, who believe the Gospel which they define simply as the death and resurrection of Jesus. They believe this Gospel is what is to be proclaimed to unbelievers calling them to repent and make a decision for Jesus. After one makes a decision for Jesus, then they are to live a life of obedience, of servitude to the Law of God. This understanding is a confusion of Law and Gospel, of Justification and Sanctification, and neuters the very Word of God which comes from outside a person affecting faith, forgiveness and life. Thus, the American Evangelical will believe his or her faith is something which must come from inside themselves either through some emotional feeling or sense of God speaking to them. Then he or she is to act on that sensation and be obedient to God, thus, fulfilling the Law. Notice how it is backwards. He or she is saved by his or her own action, and then he or she must do something in order to have assurance of his or her own salvation. In essence what is believed is that one must fulfill the law of God in order to be saved. And the Word of God then is simply a guide to help one fulfill the Law, nothing more, nothing less.
    As Lutheran Christians we believe the authority and power of the external Word of God, the external Word of God which does what it says and gives the gifts it says it gives. We believe God’s Word and the Word of Jesus Who completely fulfilled all the Words, Laws, demands, and promises of God and Who gives that fulfillment to us so that the Law is no longer demanding. Rather, our desire as children of God is to strive, with only the help and by the power of the Holy Spirit working lives of faith in and through us. We desire to live as priests in the priesthood of all believers, being living sacrifices in our vocations, and serving God by serving others. We are no longer under the Law. but we willingly obey the Law as a response of faith as God works good works in and through us. Again, we always get it right when we point to Jesus.
    Thus, it is most certainly true that Christ has fulfilled the Law and not abolished it. He has completely and utterly fulfilled all the demands of the Law, and He freely gives us His fulfilled life so that we are no longer under the demands of the Law. He has not abolished the Law because the Law continues to serve the purpose of pointing out sin so that the Gospel of sins forgiven might move all to repent and be given forgiveness. Thanks be to God and to Him be the glory.

1 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, ©1969, p. 246. 

2 For our purposes we are not making any distinction between civil law as in the law between citizens and criminal law as in the law between citizens and the state.

3 Lutheran Cyclopedia, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO, ©1954, p. 344

4 Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 652). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans. 

5  Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 21: The Sermon on the Mount and the Magnificat. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 21, pp. 68–69). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.