- Aug 17, 2025
- 6 min read
[Hebrews 11:17 – 12:3] “…Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God…”
So Great a Cloud of Witnesses
I.
To sell a product successfully, you need to offer a product people like at a low enough price. In the days of Jeremiah the prophet, many other prophets were selling a message – a message people liked to hear and which came at little cost to them.
“They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” [Jeremiah 23:17]
These prophets did not stand in the council of the Lord. They did not hear or pay attention to God’s Word. They preached the message of their day. They were well received in the world, and their preaching was in step with the prevailing thinkers of their day and with the prevailing leaders.
As these prophets preached, they felt good about it – they felt a little elevated, up among the more enlightened thinkers of their day. Respected. And a respected message. It told the leading minds, the leaders, and the people, “You are right. Keep on course. ‘It shall be well with you.’ ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
In our day, the leading minds and the leaders might not always be the same crowd. But each crowd has their own preachers preaching them a message pleasing for them to hear and easy for them to buy – one which affirms for them what they want to hear.
But God’s preachers, including Jeremiah and all His prophets – and including that long list of people in our reading from Hebrews chapter eleven – they lived as “strangers and exiles on earth” [Hebrews 11:13] and believed and confessed the truth of God’s Word at great cost —
— “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release” – which they could’ve had by compromising the truth of God’s Word – “Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated” – men and women “of whom the world was not worthy” [Hebrews 11:35-38].
These remained true to God by faith, willing to suffer loss in this world because they believed His promise that they would “rise again to a better life” [Hebrews 11:35]. These are the “great cloud of witnesses” [Hebrews 12:1]. Their example is meant to strengthen us – because you and I are not immune to that desire to hear what we already want to believe or to be in step with this or that crowd in the world.
II.
The prophet Jeremiah, in chapter twenty-three, was living and preaching at the time when Judah – the southern kingdom of a divided Israel – was soon to be destroyed and taken captive by the new world power on the map, the growing Babylonian empire.
Jeremiah’s message was one of Law and Gospel. It was God’s Word. Jeremiah did stand in God’s council and “spoke from God” as he was “carried along by the Holy Spirit” [2 Peter 1:21].
Jeremiah proclaimed God’s warning to His people that this destruction and captivity would indeed fall upon them because they did not repent. The Judahites put their fear, love, and trust in the false idol Baal – in whom their leaders trusted – and lived in the immorality, lusts, and covetousness that such a faith permitted and celebrated.
(They were happy to know that those despised, northern kingdom Israelites from Samaria were destroyed and taken captive a century and a half prior for their own versions of the same sins – but they did not believe such punishment would fall upon them.)
Jeremiah preached the warning of God’s Law, that those who continued in their sins would not escape punishment — and also the promise of God’s Gospel, that the day would come when God would send a Savior who would bring the forgiveness of their sins and the renewal of their hearts to be an obedient people.
The message did not sell. The people bought the lie instead. And we are warned not to buy the easy lies of this world but to accept the greater truth of God’s Word – which corrects our wrongs and gives the forgiveness of our sins, from which we are called to repent.
That great cloud of witnesses – all of whom were also sinners, who struggled with their flesh in every way you do – and who also were tempted to seek acceptance in this world – that cloud of witnesses died in faith, choosing the truth of God’s Law and Gospel over this world’s favor —
— they believed that Savior would come who would forgive their wrongs and make them new people, even if it wouldn’t be until the resurrection of the body. They did not trade such a great promise for anything. They sought, in faith, to walk in the newness of life for which they waited.
III.
What that cloud of witnesses waited for the apostles and disciples of the New Testament saw – and we believe it by faith, not as something unknown, but as something which has happened – the death and resurrection of Jesus, our Savior.
The One for whom that great cloud of witnesses waited – at great cost, and only knowing Him from afar, never seeing Him – has come to you. With Him has come both Salvation and division:
“For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” [Luke 12:52-53] —
— not divided over the usual family disagreements but divided over faith in Jesus Christ and the truth of His Word, both His Law and His Gospel.
What you might suffer in your day is the same as what that cloud of witnesses suffered in theirs. But you have this great advantage – that the fullness of that promised salvation has already come into the world and has come into your life, in fact, in a greater and fuller way than in theirs.
“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised (in their own day), since God had provided something better for us” — What they were waiting for you have more fully now because Jesus has come.
Jesus has now already given His life to atone for the sins of the world. He has now already come to His cross and endured. He has now already accomplished your redemption, the forgiveness of sins. His resurrection has now already happened. He has already poured out His Spirit on Pentecost.
And, Scripture says, you have already been buried into His death in your Baptism and are already being raised by His resurrection in your Baptism [Romans 6:3-5]. What your Savior has come and done is already yours and in you. You live in a greater time and have His greater work in you.
IV.
Because of this, let’s not sell what we’ve been given for some cheaper message, preached falsely in His name, for the sake of being in step with – or receiving the respect of – this world. Not for the lead thinkers nor for the leaders, whoever they ever are.
And lets never lose Jesus on account of those much more difficult divisions of family, if those we love are, for now, rejecting the name or truth of Jesus and God’s Word. It will not help them, nor you, if you give up on Christ and the Word. He remains the only hope for you and them.
If they will never believe, it still doesn’t help them for you to go their way. It only hurts you. And, in truth, “Lord” and, especially, “Savior” are greater to you than “Father and mother”, “son or daughter”, “wife or husband”. He is our Lord, Savior, and Creator.
And let no sin or temptation become of greater value to you than your Savior from sin and temptation. There is nothing He’s not able to forgive. And there is nothing He won’t deliver you from. Even if some deliverance must wait until the resurrection, you are still now fully justified by faith in Him.
Finally, let’s always look to Jesus as our example and, especially, for our strength, since He Himself was rejected, suffered all our temptations, endured all our injuries, and overcame these all in our place and for our sake.
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter – the finisher – of our faith” [Hebrews 12:1-2]. Amen.
- Aug 10, 2025
- 5 min read
[Read Genesis 15:1-6; Luke 12:22-34]
Justified and Walking by Faith
Both abundance and need have their temptations.
On our own, facing need – having less today than what I will need tomorrow – makes us anxious and fearful. This fear sometimes leads to rash or shortsighted decisions, not thinking things through calmly or clearly. We fear the worst scenarios our imagination can dream up.
On the other hand, when we have plenty, we may forget we need God at all. Yet our earthly goods never satisfy; we still feel that more will be needed – “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income.” [Ecclesiastes 5:10]
Both need and abundance leave us in a similar place: Anxious about the future. I won’t have what is needed for tomorrow. I might lose what I’ve already gained. And it won’t be enough.
Ultimately, the secret to calm and contentment is knowing our standing with God. God is almighty; “the earth is His and everything in it” [Psalm 24:1]; He gives, and He takes away [Job 1:21].
Will God be to me tomorrow a Judge who gives what my deeds, which have fallen short, deserve [Romans 3:23]? Or will He be to me a Father who has compassion on His children when they fall short [Psalm 103:13]?
The Apostle Paul was able to say about himself, “I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” [Philippians 4:11-12].
The Apostle Paul could be content in every circumstance – and face abundance and need – because he knew that he was justified by faith in Christ alone, not by his own works or deeds [Titus 3:5]. He neither feared what he lacked nor trusted in what he gained. His confidence was in God’s steadfast love which He had in Christ.
Justified by faith. That’s your standing with God. Biblically speaking, to be “justified” is “to be counted righteous to God.” We might say, “to be made right with God.” How am I right with God? How is a sinner counted righteous in God’s eyes?
As we saw in our Old Testament reading [Genesis 15:1-6], the man Abraham was justified by faith. God made a promise to Abraham: A son through his old, barren wife, Sarah – both she and Abraham were as good as dead, according to their age.
Yet God promised Abraham a son through her – and many descendants through that son – as many as the stars in the sky, if you could count them.
Most importantly, God promised one specific Offspring through those descends [Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16]. The Christ, the Messiah. The Savior of the world, who would be called “Jesus” [Matthew 1:21].
Abraham believed God’s promise about the coming Christ who would be his offspring. Regarding Abraham’s faith in that promise, our reading says “Abraham believed the Lord, and the Lord counted it to him as righteousness” [Genesis 15:6]. Abraham was justified by faith.
The Apostle Paul quotes this verse from Genesis twice in the New Testament where we are taught all the more clearly that we are justified by faith in Christ alone:
“Does He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith — just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” [Galatians 3:5-7]
“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.’” To the one who does not rely on his good works “but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” [Romans 4:2-5]
This is our Lutheran teaching – “Furthermore, it is taught that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God through our merit, work, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sins and become righteous before God out of grace for Christ’s sake through faith when we believe that Christ has suffered for us and that for His sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us. For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness in His sight.” [Augsburg Confession, Article IV]
What’s the point? The point is this: You do not need to doubt that God will fulfill the promises He has made. You can be certain His good promises are for you – because you have been counted righteous to Him through faith.
“He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” [Romans 8:32]. And, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” [Romans 5:8].
If God has been so good to you in the biggest things – eternal life and your standing with Him – how would He not also be good to you in earthly things? And because you are deemed righteous in Christ, nothing stands in the way.
So, when you pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” you can be certain God intends to give you your daily bread – and when you pray, “Thy will be done,” you can be certain that His will for you is His good will – when you pray, “Thy kingdom come,” you can pray it knowing that it is His good pleasure to bring you His kingdom —
— not based on whether you deserve it — but because you are counted righteous to God through faith in what Jesus has done for you on the cross.
When Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on” – that you are worth more than the birds of the air and grass of the field, for which He cares – and that “Your Father knows” all that you need – you can be certain these words are for you. [Luke 12:22-30]
Because you are justified by faith, you can now walk in faith. In prosperity, you can keep His commandment to give – “…give to the needy” – seek treasure “in the heavens that does not fail…” – trusting that God’s command is good for you.
In times of need – any need, of body or soul – you can be certain you have God as Father who has compassion and provides for you, His child. Though you are still a sinner, you are forgiven in Jesus.
In every circumstance, you can follow Jesus without fear and prioritize His kingdom without anxiety. “Seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” Having been justified by faith, with confidence let us walk in faith. Let us be generous in our prosperity. Let us call upon Him in every time of need. Amen.
- Aug 6, 2025
- 6 min read
[Luke 12:13-21] Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
In a well-crafted story, what the writer puts at the beginning will often show up again at the end. The conclusion comes around full circle. If the story began with a flashback to an event on grandpa’s farm in rural Kansas, then the end of the story will probably relate back to that event.
I.
God’s Ten Commandments are well-crafted. What God commands at the end – “You shall not covet – is related to what God commanded at the beginning – “You shall have no other gods” [Exodus 20:1-17]. The commandments come around full circle.
First, you are not to make or worship any false gods or idols. A man crafts a piece of wood or stone or gold into a statue with his own hands – paints a picture with his own brush – and then prays to it and trusts in it. You shall not do this. You shall worship only the God who really is God, who made heaven and earth.
Lastly, you, His people, are to be on guard. Be careful that you don’t let the goods, the people, the social status, or the money which your neighbor has become the thing which your heart desires. “You shall not covet.”
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife (nor your neighbor’s husband) – nor their household – nor their money – nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” [Colossians 3:5].
Coveting breaks the first commandment – because to covet something is to set your hopes for happiness on it or your trust for security – and then this coveting leads to breaking the other commandments as your flesh seeks to get what your heart has put its trust in.
Anything – and especially money – can become a god, as it captures the fear, love, or trust of your heart, which God alone should have.
II.
In our Gospel today, our Lord Jesus Christ encounters a man who has made the family inheritance from his parents the god of his heart. “Lord, tell my brother to split the inheritance with me.”
Jesus responds, “Man, who made Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” – “Man’s concern for his fair share is not what I came for – but instead”, “Be on your guard against all covetousness (which is idolatry), for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Our Lord then tells a parable about a rich man whose land produced abundantly, so much so that his barns could not hold it all. When the man thought to himself about it, he said, “What shall I do? I’ll do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’”
But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” “So is the one”, Jesus says, “who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
The man in the parable – called the Rich Fool – put his hope and trust in the abundance of his goods – the grain he stored and the money it would supply were the god of his heart. With much stored up, he could relax. Be at peace. So he thought.
But, that very night, the man died. The God who is God called him to account for what he did in life with all that God had entrusted to him. “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” [Hebrews 9:27].
The rich fool had done what you would perhaps be praised for by others – stored up much relaxation and abundance for himself – but which is not pleasing to God. He was not rich toward God and his neighbor. When the man thought, “What shall I do?”, he did not think of God’s house or his neighbor’s needs.
Jesus said, “Whatever you do for the least of these my brothers, you do to Me” – “And whatever you do not do for them, you have not done for Me” [Matthew 25:31-46]. To be rich toward our neighbor’s need is to be rich toward the Lord. And, “Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required.” [Luke 12:48; 2 Corinthians 8:14].
III.
“A person’s life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions.” It is neither right nor wrong to be rich or poor. God did give the man in the parable an abundance. What matters is what you do with what you have.
When my heart is wrong and money and possessions become my god, I handle my money and possessions as an owner. I own them, and I decide how to make myself most happy with them. Maybe I spend. Maybe I keep. Maybe I give. But it’s for me.
When my heart is right and God is my God, I do not count myself as the owner of what I have but as the manager. God is the owner, and He has entrusted to me a certain amount. I’m to manage what I’m entrusted with according to the Owner’s will and goals. What is pleasing to Him.
What is pleasing to Him is that I do focus on my family – and also that I seek to help my neighbor in his or her needs. What I have more of in life is for my neighbor who is in need. God is the owner of it all. This is how He desires to distribute His goods.
What your neighbor needs most is the Word of the Gospel and the love of Christ. Supporting your church with your earthly treasure, big or little – both now and in whatever inheritance you might pass on – supplies for your neighbor the preaching of the Gospel which gives the Father’s grace, the thing most needed.
And participating in the ministry of your church, in some way, giving the treasure of your abilities, talents, and time that God has given you – this also, or even more so, is rich toward God and toward your neighbor and brings the Word of the Gospel to others.
IV.
Most importantly, be confident of this: That you have been made rich with the true riches, “the things that are above” [Colossians 3:1] – and have received redemption, the forgiveness of your sins [Colossians 1:14] – including those sins of coveting and idolatry – because Jesus, who became perfect Man, has been rich toward God and His neighbor for your salvation.
Jesus, the true Rich Man of heaven, the Son of God, was made poor for your sake – “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” [2 Corinthians 8:9].
Jesus paid it all on the cross. He gave His life, shed His blood, and suffered God’s wrath for your sins, for your sake. Jesus paid all you owed for your wrongs by His innocent suffering and death. He gave His all to do all that was needed for your salvation and forgiveness. And He succeeded. By His poverty, He has given you the riches of heaven.
Let us have no other God. Since Jesus is our God and Lord, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and has given His all on the cross for us, let’s put our hope and trust in Him alone and not covet the temporary riches of this world. Have only as your god the true God who is your Savior. Amen.
