Firmly Standing in His Promises

<)) Listen to the sermon here and here.

[2 Thessalonians 2:1-17] … “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

                     Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Firmly Standing (and Walking) in His Promises

I.

Different and contradictory teachings coming from those who seem to be leaders in the faith, and the existence of various factions and denominations among God’s people, is nothing new.

In the days of Christ’s earthly ministry, among God’s people of Judah and Israel, there were several such groups. The biggest group with the most influence on the common people was the Pharisees.

The Pharisees counted all the books of what we call the Old Testament to be inspired Scripture. They believed in miracles, spirits, an afterlife, and the resurrection of the body. They were strict observers and teachers of the Law of Moses, and of their traditions which were extra man-made rules meant to buffer and protect what the Law commanded.

The Pharisees believed that strict observance of their tradition was needed for Israel to once again live under God’s favor in their own land like in the glory days of King David. Their man-made traditions took a place equal to, and really superseding, God’s Word.   

There were other, smaller but more extreme and stricter groups as well, such as the Essenes, the Qumran community, and the Zealots. There were also much looser living Jews, the Hellenists, who adopted much of Greek culture, custom, and language, starting from the days of Alexander the Great’s conquest of Israel.

And there was the crowd of religious elites – the powerful religious leaders who ruled the Temple and who rubbed shoulders with the Roman civil rulers. The Sadducees. The Sadducees accepted only the first five books of the Bible. They did not believe in spirits and angels, and they did not believe in the resurrection of the body.

Yet they were religious leaders in their day. There name, “Sadducees”, may have come from the Hebrew word “Righteous”, yet they, like the Pharisees, were instrumental in rejecting the Lord of Righteousness.

There were many groups speaking in God’s name. Yet they either detracted from God’s Word by not accepting it all, or they added to God’s Word by adding their man-made tradition as authoritative and necessary.

And most of their followers, and certainly most of their teachers who taught in God’s name, when they finally met God face-to-face, when they met Jesus, crucified Him. They rejected the very God they claimed to be serving.

II.

We encounter the Sadducees in this morning’s Gospel, Luke 20:27-40. Based on their human reason, they find the resurrection of the body to be impossible. Simply put, they argue, if a woman had multiple husbands in this lifetime, whose wife would she be in the resurrection?

In Matthew’s Gospel, we hear Jesus respond, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” [Matthew 22:29]. And in both Matthew and Luke, Jesus says that in the resurrection you neither marry nor are given in marriage. You now live forever and are no longer having children.

Your love doesn’t go away. You love each other more because sin is gone. But the marriage in heaven that we all have, in the resurrection, is the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom – the risen Christ and His risen Bride, the Church. You are finally fully united there with Christ.

And Jesus points these Sadducees back to the Scriptures, back to the words God spoke to Moses from the burning bush in today’s Old Testament reading, Exodus 3:1-15, when God calls Himself “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” — “Now He is not God of the dead, but of the living,” Jesus says, “for all live to him.” [Luke 20:38]

There were many groups and teachers, not outside God’s people (outwardly speaking) but among God’s people, teaching many false things. And the situation did not get better in the New Testament times of the Church.

In today’s Epistle reading [2 Thessalonians 2:1-17] we now are after the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, in the time of the Church. And in the church in Thessalonica, there are teachers teaching falsely about… the resurrection of the body.

They were, in some way – maybe they were spiritualizing the resurrection in some way, making it not really about the body; I don’t think we know for sure – but there were teachers in their church in some way claiming that the resurrection was something that had already happened. Therefore, the resurrection of the body was not the hope they looked forward to. The people were being stripped of that true and comforting belief.

In Thessalonica, the resurrection of the body was being called into doubt. In Galatia and elsewhere, salvation by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ without your works was being called into doubt. In other places, the incarnation of Jesus – that the Son of God truly became flesh-and-blood man – was being called into doubt.

In every place, it seemed, teachers in the church, claiming to speak in the name of Christianity, in the name of Christ – some further off track than others – were calling into doubt, and teaching contrary to, the core beliefs of who Jesus is, what He expects of us, and, most importantly, what He has done for us for our salvation. Including, the resurrection of the body. His and ours.

III.

Their life in the Church in those days was a lot like ours in our day. There were a lot of preachers on the radio, sometimes saying good things, and other times saying things that didn’t sound quite right. There were lots of denominations and friends going to other churches. Much was the same, but the differences really mattered.

Whether or not Jesus was raised from the dead mattered. Whether or not your body would be raised mattered. And whether or not you are saved completely by the work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection – completely by His atoning, sin-forgiving sacrifice – and not by your work or contribution, that mattered.

These differences mattered, and the differences today matter. We are dealing with the most important topics in the world: Our relationship with God and our eternal life.

So what’s going? In Christ’s day, in the days of the Apostles and the early church, and in our day, what’s going on? What’s going on is what Scripture said would go on and will go on until the last day, the return of Christ. The exact thing mentioned in today’s Epistle.

All of this mentioned is what today’s Epistle lesson refers to as, “the son of destruction”, the “man of lawlessness” – which elsewhere in Scripture is called the “antichrist”, the “spirit of antichrist”, “many antichrists” which “have come into the world” [1 John 2:18; 4:3; 2 John 1:7]; the “beast” of Revelation [Rev. 13:4-5,11] —  

— the one who “takes his seat in the temple of God”, which means “in the Church”, this “building of living stones” [1 Peter 2:5] – every man and spirit and way-of-thinking which seeks to usurp Christ’s place as Truth and Head, thereby, “proclaiming himself (or itself) to be God.” [2 Thessalonians 2:3-4]

The early Christians believed that this “man of lawlessness”, this antichrist figure, would be a successor to the Roman emperors. In the Middle Ages, some Franciscan monks – and a little later, the Protestant and Lutheran Reformers – began to believe this figure might be the pope, who is put at the head and proclaims His own teachings as laws. 

Today we might also recognize “antichrist” and “lawlessness” in church leaders, pastors, and Bible scholars who deny miracles, deny the virgin birth, deny the resurrection, and deny basic truths of who we are as God’s creation —  

— denying the real existence of male and female, denying the one-flesh unity of husband and wife – calling good bad and bad good – leaving hurting people confused about who and what they are – leaving kids in instability – and leaving their hearers in their sins by failing to call it sin and therefore failing to offer Christ’s forgiveness and true healing.

The marks of “antichrist” and “son of destruction” activity are that it’s in, or at the head of, the church; gives a counterfeit replacement for parts of the truth of God’s Word; and seeks to replace, in part or in full, Christ’s role as our only Savior, Shepherd, Teacher, Priest, and King. It’s the devil’s age-old desire to replace God with himself.

The Apostle Calls this “the mystery of lawlessness” which was “already at work” in his day, but which is also being “restrained” and will, without a doubt, be defeated by the visible return of Christ, by “the breath of His mouth” and “by the appearance of His coming.” [2 Thessalonians 2:5-8]

IV.

Sometimes, outright falsehood is easiest to detect and reject. But mild confusion, that’s harder to sort out. And being surrounded by too much of it and make us feel like we are on shaky ground, shifting sand. What do we do?

Remain grounded in those things which are of first importance: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” [1 Corinthians 15:3-4]

Be grounded in the Holy Scriptures: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand” [John 10:27-28]. Sheep who are hearing their Shepherd’s voice, God’s Word, Scripture, will not get lost and perish. His Word will have the victory in you.

Let the foundation, walls, and roof of your life be salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone – by Christ’s work alone – without your works or merit. He will bring you to the day of the resurrection of the body because He really has forgiven your sins.

Antichrist won’t win. Christ wins. Falsehood won’t win. Confusion will not win. Christ and His truth have won for you. He knows how to uphold His truth. His truth will win in you, even if sometimes you suffer confusion. His truth wins.

And, no matter what the Sadducees of His day or ours say, the resurrection of the body is true. Christ is risen! And you will rise! No longer sick. No longer a sinner. Perfect in His glory. No more falsehood. Only His truth will remain in that day. You stand firm and walk with Him because you know His victory and your future. Amen.

All Saints Sunday

<)) Listen to the sermon here and here.

[Revelation 7:2-17] And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel… After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”…

Israel of Heaven

I.

It’s good to know your roots, where you come from. But who are these 144,000 people “sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel”? Is this the current nation of Israel today? Is this the number of ethnic Israelites who make it to heaven, exactly 144,000?

Considering that the population of Israel just in the days of the Exodus was around 2,000,000 people, that interpretation seems unlikely. What is that number, 144,000? And, more interestingly, what is the even bigger number that comes right after it?

Did you notice the bigger number? Bigger than anyone could count. Look again. John, the Apostle, looks at this vision of heaven. There are 12,000 from this tribe, 12,000 from that tribe, 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel – that’s 144,000 – and then John turns and sees the rest:

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…”

144,000 was a lot, and there was a lot more than that. Not just from the twelve tribes, but from every tribe and people, from every nation and language. Who is this enormous crowd in heaven? It is the Israel of heaven. The true Israel from all the nations.

That number – 144,000 – is a number of bigness and completion. It’s like when we say, “I’ve told you a thousand times!” Or, “There were a bazillion people there!” Twelve is a number of completion. Twelve-thousand is abundantly whole and complete. Twelve times twelve thousand is superabundant.

The first Christians were all Jewish Christians – Jews who believe in the Messiah of Israel, Jesus who saved them. But John sees in heaven how much more complete Jesus’ work of salvation is. “See that ‘144,000 of Israel’, and then turn around, John, and see the whole, whole Israel – the whole Israel of heaven beyond numbering, from all the nations. From the gentiles.” 

II.

Earthly Israel, as in the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is significant. It’s no small thing that God fulfilled His promises to them by sending Jesus to be their Messiah and Savior. What is even greater is that Jesus is the Savior for the whole world.

Now when Scripture uses terms like “Israel” and “Zion” and even “Jerusalem” and its Temple, God’s Word is telling you about your heavenly nation which He has redeemed out of all the nations. This is His true Israel. Not born of the flesh – not from any ethnicity or earthly nation – but born of faith. Faith in Christ.

Let’s hear from Scripture what God’s true Israel is: “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring… it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God – it’s not about birth-roots – but the children of the promise are counted as offspring – it’s about faith in the promise – faith in the promised Savior, Jesus.” [Romans 9:6-8]

“Know then that it is those of faith – faith in the coming of Christ – who are the sons of Abraham” – “just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’” [Galatians 3:6-7]

Both that whole, complete “144,000” and that great multitude from every nation that no one could number are the Israel of God. The Israel of heaven. Mount Zion. “Jerusalem, My Happy Home.” “The Jerusalem above.” [Galatians 4:26]

For “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” – “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” – “And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” [Galatians 3:27-29]

All baptized believers in Jesus Christ are heaven’s Israel. All baptized believers in Jesus Christ are All-the-Saints, in heaven and on earth – all those whose robes have been washed white in the blood of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world [Revelation 7:14; John 1:29].

You, brothers and sisters, are citizens of the Israel of heaven. You are “All Saints”. Not by your works or worthiness, but by the blood of Jesus which has won for you “redemption, the forgiveness of your sins” [Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 1:7]. Those are your roots. That tells you where you come from, where you stand, and where you’re going.

III.

The Whole Israel, “All Saints”, is in heaven and on earth. On earth, the saints are hidden under sin, death, and the cross: You are still racked with sin, but are struggling to do better by His power. You suffer from death like everyone else, but with sure hope in Jesus who conquered death.

And the saints on earth suffer under the cross: Sometimes persecuted. Sometimes mocked or made fun of – for believing the Bible, for the hope we have, for our do’s and don’ts as people looking to live a God-pleasing life.

The saints on earth – Heaven’s Israel on earth – are redeemed sinners. Bought back from this fallen world for God. But still struggling in this fallen world and with this sin-fallen flesh. You live by faith.

You are justified – counted right with God – by faith alone. And you keep your head up, day by day, by faith – believing with sure confidence that you will one day be the Israelite of heaven, the true saint, that Christ has redeemed you to become. We strive for that day.

The saints in heaven are the saints at rest. They are freed from the flesh and their souls are freed from sin. Though they have died, yet do they live [John 11:25-26]. They rest from their struggling, enjoying His blessedness and righteousness which their souls have received. They wait and look forward, with us, to the resurrection when also our raised bodies will enjoy those same blessings.

IV.

Heaven’s Israel. All the Saints. All baptized believers in Christ. In heaven and on earth. Your robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb which covers all your sin. Counted holy to God, and becoming holy.           

Remember, that though you still live on earth in sin-fallen flesh, your roots are in heaven. That saint in heaven is who you most truly are, though you don’t yet look the part [1 John 3:1-3]. Heaven is your roots. Therefore, day by day, strive to live your heavenly roots as a birth-right citizen of the Israel of heaven.

What do those heavenly roots look like when lived out on earth today? “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” They mourn in faith. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” [Matthew 5:3-9]

What does a citizen of heaven endure today? “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven…” [Matthew 5:10-12]

And, finally, what rest will you soon enjoy: “He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” [Revelation 7:15-17]

You were born in sin-fallen flesh. You are born-again as saints of heaven’s Israel. Again, remember your roots in heaven, which show you not just where you come from but where you are going and who you are becoming. Amen.

Reformation Sunday

<)) Listen to the sermon here and here.

Your Sure Foundation – Romans 3:19-28

A man might boast about a building he built, but time will tell. Will it lean? Will it totter? Will its walls get all out of joint? Will it fall down? For a building to stand and not fall down, it must be built on the right foundation. The same is true of a person and of our faith. Built on the right foundation. Not self-built or self-chosen, but on the foundation from God our builder.

I.

Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century monk, priest, and theology professor, grew up in a world that was surrounded by the walls of Christianity, but which had lost the foundation of Christianity.

Baptized the evening he was born, raised in a faithfully church going family, taking their faith seriously. But what was that faith? Where did young Martin learn to put his trust? What was the foundation of his standing with God?

Ultimately, he was pointed to the things he must do. But young Martin could only stand on his own works and obedience for so long. The assurances the Church of his day offered ran thinner and more hollow the more he pursued them.

Confession was followed by penance to work off the punishment he owed. Sins were to be enumerated in full. God kept a record. [yet see Psalm 130:3-4]. Sin unconfessed or not worked off meant the punishments of fire in purgatory. If it was mortal sin, that meant eternal hell.

Young Martin Luther’s conscience saw clearly enough for him to know, and to live with the constant knowledge, that he was not righteous – that his penance was never enough – that the necessary conditions were never truly met —  

— that his heart remained attached to sin – that inward evils were also sin and punished by God – that “doing what was in him”, doing his best, was never really done and did not meet the measure that God’s law clearly required.

What Martin Luther had been given as his foundation for his standing with God was work that he must do – measurements for him to meet – measurements he knew he didn’t meet – work he knew was never done. But it was the only way he knew.

The life built on this foundation of his own works and obedience could not stand, and would not stand in eternity. No matter how much of God’s assistance was promised, because a man’s works were still part of the equation, the fallen sinner – me, myself – was still always there as the weak link by which the bond would break.

And such a foundation for our standing with God is not God’s will. It isn’t true. Instead, trusting in our own works and worthiness as part of the equation for our good standing with God is the path to hell, not to heaven. “I must do good enough” is the voice of our sin-fallen nature, which only knows the Law of God. It’s not the voice of faith, which knows also the Gospel of God.

II.

It was the Word of God in the book of Romans, in the New Testament, that first brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the troubled heart of Martin Luther. As he studied the book of Romans, finally seeing it bare, in the original Greek – looking at those words just as God gave them – he found the foundation. The true and only foundation for his good standing with God. Justification by faith in Jesus, without works, for all who believe.

This is the way of speaking in the Bible, including in Romans. To be “justified” means to be regarded righteous, counted righteous, deemed righteous – “reckoned” righteous.

And these verses in Romans and Galatians and elsewhere shouted so clearly that you are counted righteous, reckoned righteous to God, not by your works you have done but through faith in what Jesus, His Son, has done for your salvation.

Martin Luther was reckoned righteous to God, not on account of his works or worthiness, but by faith in Jesus Christ who had, Himself, given an account for Martin’s sins by His own death and punishment suffered on the cross in Martin’s place. This is what Martin found.

And you can replace Martin’s name with yours. You are righteous to God, not by the measurement you meet, but because Jesus has met the measurement and paid the price for you. He died for sinners to save them, and He did.

Jesus has reckoned you righteous to God by His sin-atoning sacrifice on the cross. What Jesus did worked. You the sinner, because the Son of God atoned for your sin with His blood, are now holy to God by His sacrifice. You can’t grab onto to this invisible reality with your hand, but faith – belief – is the hand that receives it as a gift. This truth of God’s Word [John 8:32] set Martin free, and it sets you free. And once it’s found, we see it everywhere in God’s Word:

III.

[Romans 3:19-28] Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God – so, this isn’t just about the Jewish ceremonial laws, but about the moral law, the Ten Commandments, which holds the whole world accountable. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin – God’s moral law does not save us but shows us our sins.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets – the Bible, the Scriptures – bear witness to it — the righteousness of God – His righteousness, counted as yours – through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified – reckoned righteous – by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation – an act or an offering that fulfills the requirements to put away God’s just wrath – by His blood, to be received by faith.

               This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance – His patience – He had passed over former sins – but He had to deal with them to be just. It was to show His righteousness at the present time so that He might be just – He dealt with sin in the cross of Jesus – and the justifier of – the “One who counts righteous” – the one who has faith in Jesus.

               Then what becomes of our boasting? – We didn’t build the building – It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith – the way of faith, not the way of works – For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

[Romans 4:2-3] “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’” [Ephesians 2:8-9] “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” [See also, Galatians 2:16; John 3:16; Romans 5:1,6-8; and more] 

Being reckoned righteous through faith in Christ, through His atoning sacrifice, is your sure foundation because it brings you back to God your Creator. Sin is forgiven; the gap is closed. There’s nothing in the way between you and God’s good hand anymore.

Now your Creator becomes your re-Creator. He makes you again. He is the Craftsman, you are His project. By His power through which He raised Jesus from the dead, He is raising you anew. The walls and roof of your life are being rebuilt as His work.

He builds His good works in you; a new, growing life according to His commandments, not our human thoughts or choosing. Not our work to boast about. Not our attempts at saving ourselves. But His commandments now alive, as a gift, in a life that was once dead.

[Ephesians 2:10] “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” A gift, not the cause of our salvation, but caused by our salvation.

IV.

Martin Luther’s life was a lot like another man’s life who was also set free by the Gospel. But in this man’s case, he was not set free from the torment of a troubled conscience but from the self-righteousness of a self-secure conscience which believed it was keeping God’s Law very well.

The Apostle Paul, formerly the Pharisee Saul, was at first so angered by the Gospel of faith alone in Jesus that he persecuted it. But then he preached it. Not by coming to a conclusion by his human reason, but by Jesus Christ who opened His eyes and set him free.

Set free from a troubled conscience – or set free from a self-righteous heart – “If the Son sets you free – by the truth of His Word – you will be free indeed.” [John 8:31-36]   

            You might not live in a world that points you to a lot of religious works, or to God’s Law, to save yourself. But you do live in a world that points you to yourself for your worth and worthiness.

And you live in the reality of there being a God, a heaven, and a hell, and you being a sinner. The foundation, walls, and roof of your good standing with God for eternity – and for withstanding the waves and winds of this life – is faith in Jesus Christ alone and all He has done for you. On this you stand. And on this God builds [Ephesians 2:10]. Amen.