Explaining the End Times (Eschatology)

First things first, as always, when it comes to understanding the Bible we know we get it right when we are pointing to Jesus and Jesus alone. Indeed, all of Holy Scripture, even all of time (B.C. and A.D.) point to Jesus. Thus, when we have varying understandings (misinterpretations) of Scripture, we look to see if the understanding (explanation) points us to Jesus or not, which would usually mean it points to self. This explanation is another way of saying, does one explanation of Scripture speak of the fact that we are made just and right in God’s eyes by Jesus, or by some activity on our part?
 

The whole idea of dispensational theology (that the Bible is divided into different periods in which God offers salvation to mankind differently during each period), as it is called, is a rather new idea just over a hundred years old dating to the printing of the Darby and Scofield translations of the Bible. Prior to this publication and new teaching, the Christian Church has always believed that Christ’s return would be with trumpets and all would be judged, and that would be the end. There was no belief in any pre- or post-tribulation “secret” rapture, no time of tribulation, no two-stages of Christ’s coming, and quite frankly, there is no Biblical evidence of such occurrences.
 

Simple logic and following the words of Scripture taking them as God’s Word and letting God speak for Himself, we begin “in the beginning.” In Genesis we have the historic account of the creation of the world and the first humans, Adam and Eve. In chapter three we have the account of the fall into sin, the curse and God’s first promise to send a Savior. You may have noticed that God’s promise to send a Savior was made to Adam and Eve which means the promise of a Savior was made to all nations because in their DNA laid the genetic foundation of all nations. God’s promise, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
 

Moving on in Genesis we get to God’s call and promise to Abraham, “1Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). Notice that God’s covenant with Abraham was not a covenant that excluded anyone, rather He stated that “all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
 

Interestingly enough as one reads and rereads the covenant made with Abraham and his sons and their sons and on down the line, the covenant was a two part covenant. One part of the covenant was for earthly blessings and these blessings were usually conditional, that is if the people continued to follow God’s laws, then His promises would ensue. The second part was the main part and was a covenant of salvation of an eternal kingdom in heaven with Him. This second part was conditioned on Jesus’ life, suffering, death and resurrection and faith in Jesus given by God.
 

As the history of Israel well demonstrates, Israel constantly disobeyed God, left the faith, were chastened by God, forgiven and then disobeyed again. Those who ultimately rejected Jesus rejected the covenant and forfeited the earthly promises, and yet by God’s grace there continues to be the possibility of their being given faith and being included in God’s eternal kingdom.
 

Even the prophet Isaiah continually made note of the fact that God’s promise of an eternal kingdom was not a promise or covenant of DNA, not a promise made to only a select group of people (Israel) but a covenant and promise of faith. By the time we get to Jesus we have Him explaining to the Pharisees that God can raise children of Abraham from stones. In other words, just because they were of the genetic line of Abraham did not mean they were saved, just as those not from the genetic line of Abraham (stones) would not be saved.
 

As for the false hope in some type of rapture with the idea that one is taken from earth in order to not suffer years of tribulation, we respond that first there is no rapture mentioned in the Bible. There is a reference to one being taken and one remaining, but the reference in context is that the one taken was not taken to heaven, see Noah and the flood. The quote is often: “36But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left” (Matthew 24:36-41). Again, notice the one left was saved in the Ark while the one taken drowned in the flood.
 

Also note commenting on 2 Thessalonians4:17, the Lutheran Study Bible says: “Cf 2Th 1:5–10. who are left. Believers who remain alive on the earth. caught up together with them. Greek harpazo carries with it the sense of a sudden and violent action. The point is that we will be gathered together at the resurrection, the dead as well as the living, when Christ returns. (The Vulgate used the term raptus, from which the modern false doctrine of a “rapture” gets its name. Paul’s teaching is about the resurrection and not a secret return of Christ.) Chrys: “When they see the earth agitated, the dust mingling, the bodies rising perchance on every side, no one [causing] this, but the ‘shout’ being sufficient … when they see so great a tumult upon the earth,—then they shall know.… What fear will possess those that remain upon the earth” (NPNF 1 13:356). meet the Lord in the air. In the ancient world, dignitaries were welcomed officially by people who escorted them. The focus is the coming together of the Lord and His people. The air is considered to be the abode of evil spirits (Eph 2:2), who will yield the place to Him who has all authority in the heavens and on earth. always be with the Lord. In heaven after the resurrection” (The Lutheran Study Bible).
 

Concerning the misunderstanding of the time of tribulation, in his revelation, John is questioned by one of the elders. The elder asks, “These in the white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” ( Rev. 7:12-17) John rightly answers, “Sir, you know.” John does not know and so he turns the question back to the man who asked so that he might get an answer. The answer is that they are those who have suffered for their faith. The word that is used for tribulation is the same word that Jesus used when He said that we would have trouble in this world, but we are to take heart, because He has overcome the world. This trouble, this tribulation that we suffer is not some new thousand year reign of trouble as some would suppose. No, this tribulation is what we have suffered since the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden. To be a Christian means that you inevitably suffer trials and tribulations.
 

When it comes to discussing these end times issues with those who have a misunderstanding, it might be helpful to remind them that God’s plan and promise from even before He began creation was the salvation of all people. Also, God has never promised anyone more than one chance for salvation which in essence is what is promised to those who are “left behind,” a false hope in a second chance. The Christian Church since the time of Christ has always believed in one final day of judgement preceded by a great trumpet sound, the dead being raised, the ascension of all to be judged, then the eternity of heaven or hell.

Resources:
    A Lutheran Response to the Left Behind Series, A Report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, April 2004.
    REVELATION The Distant Triumph Song, Siegbert W. Becker, Northwestern Publishing House, ©1985.
    The End Times A Study on Eschatology and Millennialism, A Report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, September 1989.

Your Righteousness Will Go Before You - February 5, 2017 - Fifth Sunday after Epiphany - Text: Isaiah 58:3-9a

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” (Psalms 122:1). You have no doubt heard these words before. These words declare our excitement and our joy at the prospect of being able to come into the house of the Lord to worship Him and to give Him praise. This morning, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will discuss our “gladness” at the prospect of worshiping in the house of the Lord. More specifically we will discuss our worship, especially as we consider our worship compared to that worship described in our Old Testament lesson.
 

Our text actually begins with a bit of a misunderstanding of worship, that is that worship is some outward show. I would suggest this misunderstanding has some cultural ties that is thinking that worship is something we are doing for God, a show of our sincerity or obedience or whatever, as if God needs something from us. Isaiah begins, “3‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. 4Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high” (v. 3-4). God through Isaiah reminds the children of Israel and us that our pious activity, fasting and the like, is not something we are to use as a great show, especially as a show to others of how religious we are. That type of outward show leads to all kinds of one-upmanship, quarreling and fighting. An outward pious show truly is not something that is pleasing to God.
 

We continue with verse five, “5Is such the fast that I choose,  a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?” (v. 5)  The kind of worship Isaiah is describing is one that has a great outward appearance of true worship. Our first reaction to this verse might be to compare the children of Israel to the Pharisees of Jesus’ day and even to some people in our world today. The attitude behind their worship was one of, “look at me, see what good works I do.” Rather than worship being a time to hear God’s Word and even to praise the Lord it had become a time to show off the good things one has done, to show how pious one is and to receive the praise of people for being such a good worshiper.
 

Continuing along these same lines verse six talks about the “bonds of wickedness” and the “straps of the yoke.” These terms bring with it the idea of the person who wants to be praised for their so called “persecution for the Lord,” persecution which is more often than not, persecution which they have brought on themselves in order to say, “look at me, see how I am persecuted.” In other words, a person acts in such a way that brings ridicule by others so they might think and declare they are being persecuted for their outward show. Again, the heart of the matter is not one of praise to the Lord, but is one of look at me, praise me for being such a good Christian.
 

We may remember from catechism class that “fasting and bodily preparation are indeed fine outward training,” but these are not the heart of worship. The heart of true worship is worship that is motivated by our faith. The Lord’s desire is that we worship with a sincere heart. And while true worship is to worship with a sincere heart, we need to remember that it is not sincerity which motivates God to accept our worship, rather He is motivated by His love for us, in Jesus Christ. In other words, because He first loved us, we are motivated to respond to that love and to worship Him as a response to His love.
 

In verses six and seven Isaiah gives us a hint of what the Lord considers as sincere worship, or better stated, how we live our lives as sincere worship to the Lord.  He says, “6Is not this the fast that I choose:  to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him,  and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (v. 6, 7). These things are outward evidences of the genuine faith that is in a person. Yes, fasting is one outward sign of repentance, but showing mercy toward others is more of a sign of true repentance. In other words, all outward evidences of repentance and sorrowing and mourning in repentance, mean nothing if the heart and mind are not affected by this repentance.
 

When our true repentance, when our faith shows forth by our actions, then our light will break forth. In simple terms, people can see through one’s facade of being a Christian or simply acting as a Christian. Isaiah describes these events in verse eight and the first part of verse nine, “8Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” (v. 8,9a).
 

As sinful human beings we are often described as the people who walk in darkness. In contrast to our darkness shall a “light break forth like the dawn.” The light is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is that light that will break forth like dawn, the light like the Sun that rises in the morning to bring light to the world after the night is gone. Jesus is the light who will bring healing. Jesus is the light that will bring forgiveness and restoration to His people.
 

Jesus, the light of the world, is also our righteousness who will go before us. Satan is alive and well. He is there to tempt us, daily. The good news is that the Light of the world, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ has already gone before us. He has already suffered the temptations of Satan, and has overcome his temptations. Jesus has gone before us and has shown us that with His help we can resist the temptations of the devil.
 

Jesus, the light of the world will bring the glory of the Lord to be your guard. More than likely, Isaiah is here referring to the pillar of cloud and fire in the desert which lead the children of Israel by day and night out of Egypt. In the same way that the Lord was with and was the guardian of the Israelites, He is also with us and is our guardian through life.
 

“9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’” (v. 9a).  Isaiah tells us, “then.” When is this then? This then is when we respond to the working of faith in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This then is when Jesus work of salvation becomes our work of salvation. This then is when we worship the Lord in sincerity, truth, and purity.
 

And so we worship. Our desire is to be in worship. As I have said before the desire of one having faith is to be in worship where one might be strengthened and kept in faith. And so we come and we worship. We worship the Lord in sincerity, truth, and purity, not just in church on Sunday morning but everyday. We worship the Lord in sincerity, truth and purity when we live our lives, at work and at home, as a worship to the Lord. We worship the Lord when His love for us produces in us a response to love Him in return. We worship the Lord when His love moves us to live our lives according to His good and gracious will.
 

We worship the Lord when we join others in cooperate worship, which again, is our desire as faithful Christians. Cooperate worship is the gathering of believers to sing praises to God, to hear His Word, and to be strengthening in our faith through the sacraments. Cooperate worship is the gathering of believers to passively be given the good gifts and blessing our Lord has to give to us. Cooperate worship is God doing the acting and believers being given the benefits of those actions.
 

The word “worship” has come to mean many different things in our world and society today and that is so unfortunate. Perhaps as you have been listening this morning you may have had different images come to mind when you heard the word “worship.” Hopefully over the past number of years you have heard from me a more distinct and Biblical understanding of what is true worship.
 

What we believe, teach and confess is that true worship is God work. Our Lutheran Service Book, takes us back to Dr. Luther’s day and reminds us what true worship is by not calling it the “Order of Morning Service, with or without Communion,” but by calling the worship service orders, “Divine Service.” This is translated from the German “Gottesdienft” meaning “God service,” and reminds us that worship is not our service, but is first and foremost God’s work. Worship is God’s work of giving us forgiveness through confession and absolution and His work of strengthening us in our faith through the means of grace, through the Word and the sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Thus, we worship best when we say back to God what He has given us to say and as you look at our liturgy what you see is that it is permeated with the Word of God that we say back to Him. Just as a side note, I have done some reading on the history of Christian liturgy and the liturgies we use in Divine Service can be traced back to many parts of the world since the first century. Also, as I read through the book of Leviticus and the giving of the ceremonial laws, by God, what I have read seems to indicate that the liturgies we use today have their roots in these ceremonial laws, except that today we have them in their fulfilled form. All this study makes me wonder why people think we have the right to change what has been handed down to us, a divine service that transcends time, language, and culture.
 

Paul gives us a good example of what is worship in our epistle lesson when he explains that he came, not in eloquence or superior wisdom, but when he came proclaiming the testimony of God. True worship lies below the outward trappings, the vestments, the liturgy, the formality. True worship is knowing only Christ. True worship is hearing God’s Word. It is the reading of the lessons, the receiving of the sacraments, and as far as the Word is properly proclaimed, the preaching of the sermon.
 

In our Gospel lesson we have another example of worship, this time from Matthew. True worship is more than merely hearing the Word. True worship is living our lives as a worship to the Lord. Indeed, true worship is living our lives, in our vocations, letting our light shine so that all who see might know that we are Christians because God has made us so, not that we do so only in a showy manner, but in humbleness and always ready to give an answer for the hope that we have in Christ.
 

Thus, we worship our Lord privately and publicly, and so I would encourage you to do the same, to worship the Lord both privately and publicly. I would encourage you in your own private worship to daily remember your baptism, to daily read the Word, to daily have private and family devotions, and to daily go to the Lord in prayer. Pray for yourself as well as for the needs of our church, community and nation.
 

I would encourage you in your public or corporate worship as well and perhaps even more so. I would encourage you to continue in your faithful every Sunday attendance as well as in your attendance of the Lord’s Supper. Your faithful every Sunday attendance speaks loudly to others of the faith that is in you. Most especially, most especially, I would encourage you, reminding you that with the Lord’s help, when you call, the Lord will answer and He will say, “Here am I.” “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD (Psalms 122:1).” Praise the name of the Lord and to Him be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

The Lord’s Indictment - January 29, 2017 - Fourth Sunday after Epiphany - Text: Micah 6:1-8

Today is the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, the appearing of the Wisemen before the baby Jesus. Today marks the half-way point of the Epiphany season as we have three more Sundays of Epiphany, then Transfiguration Sunday and the beginning of our Lenten Season. Over the past couple Sundays the prophet Isaiah has continued to point out the sin of Israel which very much reflects our same sins in our world today. He also continued to point to the answer that is he continued to point Israel and us to the Savior, to Jesus, and as we always say, we get it right when we point to Jesus. This morning we move to hear words from the prophet Micah as he also points us to Jesus.
 

God, through the prophet Micah brings accusations against the Children of Israel and challenges them to give an answer for their sinfulness. He begins by reminding the people of the witnesses of their life, their words and actions, verse one: “1Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel” (v. 1-2). The witnesses God brings forward are the mountains and hills. The mountains and the hills have been around since creation. The mountains and the hills, although not animate things, are able to bear witness as they hold the remains of what has been left behind by the people who have been there and can therefore give a definitive sound judgement.
 

Also, the Lord calls to bear witness the foundations of the earth which are sure and solid. Here again, just as archeologist dig up the remains of past civilizations and uncover clues to their life and activity, so the Lord calls the mountains, hills and foundations to bear witness of the life and activities of the children of Israel. Indeed, He might do the same for us today.
 

The Lord calls for accusations against Him. The questions the Lord asks are, verse three: “3O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!” (v. 3). As the children of Israel constantly and continually forgot the Lord; as they continually and constantly rebelled against Him and went following other gods and doing the things they were not supposed do, God finally has His fill and so He calls them to account. His question is rather simple, “has He harmed Israel in any way?” Perhaps the Israelites might be able to give some excuse or reason for their disobedience and straying.
 

He also asks, if His demands are too hard? In other words, are the words of instruction, the laws; ceremonial, civil and moral; laws meant for their good and to protect them, are these demands too hard? The Lord’s desire is to discern the reason for the continual rebellion of His people.
 

In response to the questions He asks, the Lord moves ahead and reminds the children of Israel of the things that He has already done for them, verse four, “4For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord” (v. 4-5). How easily we forget, especially how easily we forget the good things our Lord has done and continually does for us. Here God lays out a reminder of some of the good things He has done for His people. Certainly they remember that He delivered them from their bondage of slavery in Egypt. Certainly they remember the passing over of the angel of death because they celebrate the Passover every year. Certainly they remember God’s hand of deliverance.
 

Certainly they remember His delivering Israel from Balaam. As you might recall, Balaam was hired to curse Israel and yet at every turn all he could do was to bless Israel. And yet, Balaam’s words of instruction to Balak were more condemning for Israel than any curse he might have given, that was to lead Israel astray through idolatry. God’s accusations and witness are well founded. He has done everything for Israel and His demands are not burdensome, but are for the good of the people and yet they are guilty in their constant rebellion.
 

Although Micah knows the simplicity of God’s desire, to His accusations the prophet makes a suggestion, verse six, “6With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (v. 6-8). The prophet, Micah is asking, “How can we make this right?” What do we need to do? Notice the prophet focuses his attention on the people as if there is something they can actually do to appease God.
 

So he suggests, “How about a sacrifice of a calf a year old?” The ceremonial laws continually required sacrifices for sins committed, perhaps a sacrifice of a calf a year old might appease God.  Or better yet, how about sacrificing a thousand rams and with a thousand rams ten thousand rivers of oil. If one calf is not enough, maybe more sacrifices will appease the Lord. And to top off this wonderful offer of appeasement, how about the sacrifice of the firstborn, a human sacrifice?
 

God’s response is that His desire is to do justice and love kindness. To do justice is to do what is right and good, to be fair and honest. To do justice is to live as God has called you to live. To love kindness is to love as we have been loved, to love as we have first been loved, which is simply a reflection of love. To love kindness is to love others more than oneself, it is to be loyal and steadfast. And more, God’s desire is to walk humbly with God. God’s desire is that we are imitators of Him. God’s desire is that we are modest and reverent, that we are always conscience of our dependency on Him and Him alone.
 

What does this mean? What does this mean for us today? As in the days of the children of Israel so it continues even today, the mountains, hills and foundations of the earth continue to bear witness and even more so they continue to bear witness against us and our sins and sinful living even today.
 

We live in a world, in a culture and society that continually rebels against and rejects the good and gracious gifts our God has to give for us. We live in a world which continually desires to walk in ways that are contrary to God and His will and Word. God’s Word is seen by many as being restrictive, being judgmental and taking away one’s freedom. Perhaps we should ask again, “Has God harmed us or are His demands on us to hard?” I would suppose that many in our world would answer, “yes.”
 

So we too need the constant reminder of all that God has done for us. All the good gifts and blessings He has delivered to us. Indeed, He has given us life at conception and new life and faith at baptism. At our conception God gave each one of us life. At our conception we had all the genetic coding we needed to be born as the person we are, the only thing that was needed from the moment of conception was nutrition so that we might grow in the womb, be born into the world and grow to be children, teens and adults. God has given us new life through the waters of Holy Baptism. For most of us this was before we even knew it, for others it may have been later in life. If He did not give us faith through the waters of Baptism it was through His Holy Word that He worked such faith in us. Yes, we point to Jesus as being the One who has given us life, physical life and life, eternal life through the faith He has given us in our hearts.
 

God has given His Son and His life for ours. As we are reminded that God’s demand is that we are perfect, that is that we live a life of perfection, obeying all of His laws and demands perfectly, so too are we reminded that this is not a life we are able to live. Because we are conceived and born in sin we begin life in the negative, we begin life owing, owing a debt we cannot pay. Jesus was born in perfection, true God, conceived and born of a true woman, being truly man. Jesus was born to live for us, to live perfectly for us in our place because we cannot. Jesus was perfect. He obeyed all God’s laws and commands perfectly. He also fulfilled all God’s prophecies perfectly. He did all that we cannot do for us in our place because we cannot. And even more, He took our sins, all our sins, our sins of thought, word and deed, our sins of omission and commission. He took our sins and suffered and paid the price for our sins on the cross so that we might have forgiveness of sins and be seen in God’s eyes as being perfect as He demands.
 

And so, what do we suggest? What do we offer to God? More often than not we suggest that we really are not that bad of persons. Or we suggest we will try to do better. In other words, we too act like Israel, we point to ourselves. We think we are not so bad and that we can do better. We continually lower the bar of our expectations on ourselves thinking that if we can be so good then Jesus will only have to suffer and die a little for us. What we continually fail to understand is that he who has been forgiven little loves little. It is only as we come to understand, admit and confess just how sinful we truly are that we can begin to fathom how great God’s love truly is.
 

So, as Micah reminds us, so I remind you, God created us to love us and He does. God’s love is seen first and foremost in the knowledge and in God’s foreknowledge, that although He knew what was going to happen, that man would sin, that Jesus would have to suffer and die, yet He created this world anyway. God’s love is seen in that although we continually and daily sin much, He continually and daily forgives us. God’s love is seen most especially in His Word and Sacraments, in Confession and Absolution and in His Son, Jesus.
 

We do need the constant reminder that God has done everything that He demands of us for us in Jesus. All history, all of Holy Scripture points to Jesus. We need to be constantly pointed to Jesus. Do not look inside yourself, but look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. And most certainly the desire of one having faith is seen in one’s desire to be given even more of God’s good gifts and blessings, that is in one seen doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God, not because we do this in and of ourselves, but because God is working this in and through us.
 

So I remind you again, God gives and we are given to. God gives and we mess up what He gives. And so God gives and gives and gives even more. God gives forgiveness and then He gives even more forgiveness. God loves you so much and He has so much He desires to give to you. And indeed, the desire of those who have faith is to be given even more of the gifts and blessings of God, as He gives His gifts. I encourage and exhort you, be given the gifts of God so that we might all together stand before the Lord, with all the saints who have gone on before us, and say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

A Great Light - January 22, 2017 - Third Sunday after Epiphany - Text: Isaiah 9:1-4

Have you come to a place in your spiritual life that you know for certain that if you were to die tonight that you would go to heaven? Suppose you were to die tonight and you were to stand before God and He would say to you, ‘why should I let you into my heaven?,’ what would you say? Using these two questions as tools, many people learned the art of Evangelism Explosion or the “Lutheran” version of Dialogue Evangelism. In an attempt to make the questions less threatening and easier to ask, Dialogue Evangelism II changed the questions. I would ask that you think about these new questions as I ask them. First question, do you consider yourself to be a Christian? Second question, how does a person become a Christian? I pray that each of you can answer those questions.  In the next few minutes we will work to answer those questions in the context of our text for today.
 

Isaiah tells us in verse one, “there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the later time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations” (Isaiah 9:1). This is a verse of great joy, especially to us Christians. Isaiah is here alluding to the grace of God which comes through Jesus Christ. It is by God’s grace that there will be no more gloom. It is by God’s grace that we are given forgiveness and with that forgiveness, the gift and promise of eternal life in heaven.
 

It is by God’s grace that each of us has a part in the promise of eternal life. It has nothing to do with how good we have been or how good we think we have been. We could never be good enough or do enough good to earn or to deserve any of God’s good gifts. That is why it is by His grace that we are given His good gifts. It is too bad that we have really confused grace and gift giving so much so that many people in our world today do not know what grace and gift giving really means. And we have talked about this before, at Christmas time we talk about gift giving, but the understanding is usually one of an exchanging of presents, that is, I give you a present and I expect you to give me a present, thus not truly a gift giving time, but a present exchanging time. Even when going to a birthday party, we bring a gift, but more often than not our expectation is to receive something in return, either a treat, a party favor, or something in return. None of this is grace or gift giving. The exciting thing is that God has not misunderstood grace and gift giving. He gives His good gifts knowing that there is no way we could ever repay, or exchange anything with Him. This is grace and true gift giving.
 

In verse two Isaiah tells us, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isaiah 9:2). Darkness is the image of sin. We are the people who are walking in darkness. We are the people who are walking in sin. We are sinners. David said it best when he said, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalms 51:5). In other words, we are each conceived and born in sin and our natural inclination is to sin.
 

Because we are born in sin, there is no way we are able to save ourselves. There is no amount of good works we can do to undo the sin we have done. In order to illustrate how much of a sinner we are I use this math equation, and many of you have heard me us this before; if we only sin three times a day, times 365 days in a year, that is over 1000 sins in a year. Multiply 1000 times how old we are and we get an idea of how much a sinner we are. Of course, I might rather suggest that the real number of our sins is more like ten times that, in other words, if we only sin 30 times a day, times 365 which is over 10,000 sins a year, times how old we are, and we get the message. We are sinners.
 

We compound that guilt when we realize that our God is a just God, that is He is a God who is faithful to His Word. He says He must punish sin, and He must. If we found an unjust judge in our court system, a judge who was letting offenders go because they simply promised not to do it again, in the same way that we would not trust that judge, so we would not trust an unjust God. Our God is a just God.  He demands that we live perfect lives according to His laws and commandments. And He will not hold anyone guiltless who disobeys His commandments.
 

The good news is that while our God is a just God, He is also a gracious God. Our God is so gracious a God that we cannot comprehend all of His grace. If He were to show us all His grace at one time, if He were to pour out all His grace on us at once, it would overwhelm us, it would literally kill us. That is why He shows us His grace only a little at a time, only as much as we can handle at a time. Our God is a gracious God whose will it is that all people are saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. And so we have a just God and a gracious God. He has promised to punish sin, but He is also gracious to us.
 

Our God is gracious to us because of the great light which has dawned. The great light is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity. Jesus Christ was with the Father and the Holy Spirit at creation. He humbled Himself, St. Paul tells us, and took the form of a servant. He gave up the glory that was due Him as God and became a human being.
 

Thus Jesus Christ is true God and He is true man, born of the virgin Mary. As a man He lived under the law. He obeyed all God’s laws and commandments perfectly. He took all our sins upon Himself and suffered and died for our sins. Three days later He rose victorious over sin, death, and the devil.
 

His life, suffering, death and resurrection delivered us from the yoke that burdens, that is, sin, death, and the power of the devil. Isaiah describes these events in the last part of verse four, “For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian” (Isaiah 9:4). We are indeed burdened by sin and its guilt. Jesus’ work on the cross, His suffering and dying, brought us forgiveness of sins and with forgiveness comes deliverance from death. With deliverance from sin and death we need no longer have any fear of the devil, because he has already been defeated.
 

These gracious blessings become ours simply by faith, but let us not misunderstand faith. Faith is the instrument which takes hold of these blessings of God. True saving faith is not merely a head knowledge about God. In other words, saving faith is not merely knowing there is a God. Even James tells us, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder” (James 2:19). The devil knows that there is a God, but it does him no good. Just knowing there is a God is not saving faith.
 

Nor is saying that you know there is a God saving faith. I call this lip knowledge. Sometimes this is referred to as “paying lip service.” In his Gospel Matthew tells us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Saving faith is more than simply having your name on the books at a church. True saving faith is more than knowing there is a God, and more than just saying there is a God.
 

True saving faith is what I call heart knowledge. True saving faith is putting complete trust in Jesus work for salvation alone. It is taking what is in your head and being said with your lips, and confessing it and believing it with your heart. True saving faith is knowing and believing that there is nothing I can do to save myself and is complete dependence on Jesus for my salvation. True saving faith can be seen in one’s utter dependance on God so much so that nothing will stand in the way of one thinking, speaking and living as a Christian. And although, at times, we may fail to think, speak and live as a Christian, this means we will repent and struggle again.
 

Well, that is all fine and good, but the next question we ask is, what does this mean to me? What can I do? I consider myself to be a Christian. I am sure that if I died tonight I would go to heaven. I have this assurance because of my faith in Jesus Christ, faith which the Holy Spirit worked in me at my baptism. Faith which He renews daily through remembering my baptism and reading His Word. Faith which He strengthens through my reception of His body and blood at Holy Communion.
 

What can you do? We all can do is to pray. We can pray for the unchurched, the unchurched of the world and of the nation, but most specifically we can pray for the unchurched of Westfield, Spring and our surrounding area. We can pray that the Lord would work through us and through others in order that the unchurched may have the opportunity to hear His Word. Pray that upon hearing the Word that Word might take root in the heart of the unchurched, spring up and bear abundant fruit.
 

If you would like to do more than pray you can invite people to come to divine service. I believe that God’s Word, especially the book of Acts, gives us the best examples of how people are reached with the good news of the Gospel. It is as people were living their lives as Christians, living in their various vocations, as they were coming into contact with the rest of the world that they had opportunity to give an answer, to give a defense of the hope and faith they had. As they had opportunity, they shared with others and invited them to “come and see,” that is to come and hear the Word of God through which the Holy Spirit worked to give faith. The question we might ask ourselves is this, “What do others see and hear from us concerning our faith and our church?” If you were to invite a co-worker or friend to church would they decline because of our witness, or would they be excited and want to come and see because of our witness?
 

I believe the example of the Bible is the best example in how we are to reach others with the good news of the Gospel. First and foremost is the fact that we need to be filled with the message of salvation. If we are not filled, then we will never speak of what we do not have, thus, as I continually encourage, regular and diligent use of the means of grace is priority number one. Second, we will want to pray for those who do not yet have faith in Jesus. Pray that the Holy Spirit would move them through our witness to “come and see,” to come to divine service to hear the good news and be given faith. And of course, we will seek as many opportunities as possible to invite our unchurched family and friends to church and to church activities.
 

Most importantly we need to realize that we are all personal witnesses of our Lord and Savior. As personal witnesses it is our privilege to invite our friends, especially our unchurched friends and neighbors, family and co-workers to church. It is through our personal invitations that people come to hear the Word and to know Jesus Christ. People respond more to the loving concern and care of another person more than anything else because it is this loving concern and care that truly reflect what is in one’s heart. The Lord has done great things for us. With His help He can do great things through us.
 

It is really frustrating to me to try to motivate you without using a law motivation, without trying to motivate you by making you feel guilty. Sharing your faith is not something to feel guilty about, nor is being afraid to share your faith, nor is thinking that you are not sharing your faith. As we are reminded of God’s great love for us, that Jesus lived for us, that He died for our sins, that He rose so that we know that we might also rise, that we have forgiveness of sins and eternal life, how can we keep that great good news to ourselves. Indeed, we cannot help but share that great good news with others so they too might share heaven with us. So, let me encourage you and assure you, just by your being a Christian, just by your attending divine service and Bible class on Sunday, just by your being a part of St. Matthew Lutheran Church, you are already sharing your faith. You are already bearing witness of the faith that is in you. The exciting thing is that the Lord can and does continue to work through that simple witness to plant His seed, to water and nourish that seed and to bring forth abundant fruit, to His glory, when and where He pleases. We may never know whose life we might touch, but praise the Lord because He can and He does work His good and gracious will in and through us, to the praise and glory of His holy Name. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.