Text: Luke 11:14-28
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
There
is no neutrality, no middle ground, and no third party ticket in regard to our
eternal destiny. A person may choose the
middle road of being an Independent, rather than a Democrat or Republican; a person
may choose to drive a Toyota pickup, rather than a Ford or a Chevy; and a person
may choose Minot State University, rather than NDSU or UND; however, in regard
to eternity and the spiritual realm, there are only two options – God’s kingdom
or the Devil’s kingdom. Otherwise
stated, there is no third alternative, no middle ground, and no third kingdom –
it does not work this way in regard to our spiritual identity. Just two kingdoms: the kingdom of Light and
the kingdom of evil.
Now,
“each of these kingdoms has their distinctive mark and power. Each makes an appeal, each claims its
followers.”[1]
On
the one hand, the kingdom of evil goes the way of self-independence, where a
person: rejects God’s will and grace, exalts their own desires, winks at filth,
embraces material things over people, and boasts of their own freewill to
choose whatever makes themselves happy. That is right, the kingdom of evil teaches
mankind to depend on their own abilities to obtain whatever religious endeavor
they so choose. Furthermore, those in
the kingdom of evil hate the Lord and they despise His Word as well. They call anarchy freedom, murdering of
babies in the womb is apparently compassion, sexuality immortality is love, and
the Biblical labels of man and woman are apparently oppressive. Also, according to the kingdom of evil: being
discerning is categorized as bigotry, speaking the truth in love is called hate
speech, integrity is called intolerance, and the wisdom of the cross is
considered foolishness. For the kingdom
of evil, 2 plus 3 is 4 and sometimes 6, depending on the circumstances and
depending on whose feelings might be hurt.
The kingdom of evil is for the strong and for those who are
self-sufficient and for those who can pull themselves up by their own
bootstraps. It is for those who do not
need a Savior, but are a savior unto themselves.
On
the other hand, the kingdom of Light – the kingdom of God – goes the way of
beggarly-dependence, where dependent like children: need God’s will and grace,
confess their sins, acknowledge virtue and goodness, receive material things as
gifts, and exalt the Lord who frees bound sinners such as themselves. At its center, the kingdom of God teaches its
members to depend upon the Lord’s Word and Sacraments for forgiveness, life,
and salvation. It teaches its members to speak the truth in love, even when it
hurts. It teaches that the Word of God
is the standard and source of ethics, faith, rule, and reality, even when it
contradicts culture. For the kingdom of
God: thoughts, actions, and desires are captive to the Word of God and not the
aspirations of mankind. The kingdom of
God is for losers and sinners and the sick and the beggarly and children and
the weak and those who can’t pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. It is for those who are in need of a Savior,
who are spiritually bankrupt.
As
you have just heard, these two kingdoms are rather different, are they not? Indeed, they are not the same and there
really is no compromise between them. What
this means for you and for me and for our neighbor is that there is no middle
kingdom and it is impossible to be in both kingdoms at the same time. Otherwise stated, you cannot straddle both
kingdoms, for the divide between them is just too wide and too deep and too
contradictory. Frankly stated, you, I,
and your neighbor are completely in one kingdom or in the other kingdom. Whether
a person is male or female, young or old, a parent or a child, white collar or
blue color, an employee or a boss, there are only two realms that they can be
placed in – the kingdom of God or the kingdom of the Satan. No one can serve two masters, for either he
will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other.[2]
Tragically,
many people in the kingdom of evil wish to be called Christians. Blindly they wish to be neutral. They do not want to make a complete break
with the kingdom of evil. “They want to
be considered a Christian brother, but when they see that Christians are busy
on behalf of God’s kingdom and against Satan’s in a completely different way
than they are, they say that that is uncalled for.”[3] As a result, they will slander and accuse Christians
calling them fanatics or calling them as too strict or too intolerant. They may even say that these Christians
should give in a little bit or simply learn to accommodate for the changing
times. Whether these accusers know this
or not, they are attempting to have an alliance with the kingdom of evil, while
thinking they are in the kingdom of God.
They are attempting to use Satan’s ways in a good way for the
advancement of the kingdom of God.
Dear
friends, we may not use Satan’s weapons in the cause of God. As we learned in our Gospel lesson, Satan
will not have a divided kingdom; therefore, how can a divided Christianity be
for Christ? Christ is not divided. Furthermore, Christ does not war against the
kingdom of evil using the armies of the Devil.
Therefore, what gives us the right or the audacity to think that we can
make an alliance with the kingdom of evil?
This is the thinking of a fool, for our Lord explicitly states that if
His church allies herself with anything that is evil, she goes the way of
separating herself from Christ.
Now,
there are those who will hear that there is no middle kingdom, no middle
ground. These individuals may conclude
that it is best to drop the ball and simply go home – to not play a part in
either kingdom. They will confess,
“I am neither for nor
against the kingdom of evil or the kingdom of Light. I simply choose not to play this game! I want no part of it. I do not want to play spiritual
politics. I want to be known for what I
am for, not what I am against. Count me
out of all of this!”
Again,
there is no such thing as neutrality.
There is no such thing as an alliance.
You, I, and your neighbor are either with Jesus, or against Him. That means that even if a person could take
the middle ground, they would still be against the kingdom of God.
So,
my dear friends, I ask you this morning, which kingdom are you a part of? Have you tried to straddle the fence? Have you tried to compromise? Have you attempted to make an alliance? Which kingdom do you belong to?
If
you have gone the way of trying to make a middle ground or have tried to make
an alliance with evil, repent. I say
this with love for you and for me, repent!
Why should you and I repent? You
and I need repentance, for that is not who we presently ‘are’ or who we ‘belong’
to. Yes, you and I do not belong to the
kingdom of evil, we are not of darkness, and Satan is not our master. Sure, we sin daily and we are sinners by
nature, like all people; however, you ‘were’ dead in the trespasses and sins in
which you once walked. You ‘followed’
the course of this world. You ‘were’
ruled by the prince of the power of the age.
You ‘were’ children of wrath.[4] But all of this changed. The strong man Jesus Christ came for you and made
you His own – nothing will ever be the same.
You,
who have ears, hear!
God
in mercy looked upon our predicament and had pity. “He promised one who would overthrow the
kingdom of Satan. He promised He would
restore the rule of God’s love in the hearts of people, that is establish the
kingdom of God.”[5] And He has.
You do not belong to evil! You do
not belong to the kingdom of darkness. You
do not belong to Satan’s kingdom. Satan
has no authority, no voice, no power, and no say over you. This means that we shall not straddle the
kingdoms. We shall not make
allegiances. Satan has no part of us and
we have no part of his evil lies and kingdom.
While
it is true that when you were conceived and born into this world that you were
conceived and born under the power of the Devil and the condemnation of sin, it
is not true that you are now. You are
not ruled by Satan and you are not under sin’s condemnation. Why is this
so? At your baptisms the Strong Man,
Jesus Christ, came to you. He crossed
the great divide between the kingdom of evil and the kingdom of Light, in order
to rescue you in the mighty waters of baptism.
As the stronger man, Jesus declared that the powers of the Devil must be
cast aside – away from you – so that room could be made for the Holy Spirit.[6] At your baptisms there was a hostile takeover
as Christ, the stronger man, came and rescued you from the dominion of
darkness, placing you in the kingdom of Light by mighty water-words upon your
head and heart.
Now,
as children of God’s kingdom, “at every turn we may see the efforts of Satan to
dethrone Christ from our hearts. [In
fact,] the more earnestly we mean to have the rule of Christ’s love in our
lives, the more we shall feel of the devil’s efforts. . . . The devil doesn’t
much bother with the godless for the time being. They are safe in his bag, so he bends his
special attacks on the children of God.”[7] The more we cling to Christ, the more the Devil
will attack. The more we are shaped and
formed by Lord’s Word and Sacraments, the louder Satan will yell and
scream. The more that we remain
steadfast in God’s Word, speaking the truth in love, the more the world will
scorn and slander us.
But
do not be discouraged. Satan’s kingdom
will come to an end, while the kingdom of God remains forever. Furthermore, the decisive battle between the
two kingdoms of evil and Light has already been won by Christ on the
cross. Therefore, when the Devil
attacks, when temptations arise, and when the world scorns us, we shall fear not. But rather, we will confess,
“Satan, I am not yours. Christ has died for me, I am baptized, I have
been bought back, and I am forgiven.
You, sly Serpent, have been blinded and are muted; shut your face evil
one; be gone. I belong to the stronger
man, Christ crucified and resurrected.”
From
faith we will also laugh in the face of the Devil. We make the sign of the cross, confess our
sins unto the Lord, receive forgiveness, and tell Satan to depart from us, for
it is Jesus Christ who sits on the throne of our hearts, minds, and lives –
now, tomorrow, and into eternity.
Jesus
is the stronger man; you commune with the Lord; you are of the kingdom of God.
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
[1] Fred H.
Lindemann, The Sermon and The Propers:
Volume II (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1958), 70.
[2] Paraphrase
of Matthew 6:24.
[3] C.F.W.
Walther, Gospel Sermons: Volume 1 (St.
Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2013), 180.
[4] Paraphrase
of Ephesians 2:1-3.
[5] Norman
Nagel, Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel:
From Valparaiso to St. Louis, (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House,
2004), 94-95.
[6] Paraphrase
of Martin Luther’s Baptism Rite.
[7]Norman
Nagel, Selected Sermons, 96.
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