Why Good Friday Makes Us Feel Uncomfortable

Text: John 19:1-42

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Good Friday has a way of making us uncomfortable.  The darkness of Good Friday, along with the bloody cross makes us squirm. 

If we were, to be honest, the cross of Jesus is painful to contemplate.  Even individuals who have been desensitized to violence through violent movies and video games, struggle with looking at the cross of Jesus.  And there are whole church denominations that are very adamant that crosses in churches should not have the figure of Jesus on them.  These churches are opposed to crucifixes.  In technical terms they say that crosses should be bare and not have a corpus – that is a body.  They argue, “Jesus is off the cross and risen from the dead; we should not use crucifixes.”  While this rationale makes sense to a point, I am still convinced that a huge reason for wanting an empty cross versus a crucifix is that empty crosses are tamer.  Empty crosses are a little more sanitized.  Empty crosses are a little easier to look at, whereas a cross with a bloody Messiah makes our heads turn to the side and our faces cringe. 

But why is there such difficulty with a dark Good Friday and the bleeding Savior upon the cross?  Why does this Good Friday service grab our hearts in such a profound way?  Dear friends, the answer is that the death of Jesus is no ordinary death.  The darkness of Good Friday is no ordinary darkness.  It would be ordinary if Jesus were dying on the cross for a wrong that He had committed.  That is to say; if Jesus was on the cross for something that He had done wrong, we could shrug our shoulders and say, “Well, that is too bad, but I guess he got what was coming,” and then we could go on our way.  But this is not the case. 

Dear friends, the death of Christ is no ordinary death, and it is no ordinary darkness and here is why.  Look and realize that the wounded, bloodied, and crucified Christ did not suffer on the cross for a single wrong that He had done. But rather, that bloody cross and that darkness were because of you and me.  Yes, He was on the cross because of us.  That is why it is no ordinary death and no ordinary darkness. 

You see, on that cross, the totality of human sin – from the first sin of Adam and Eve to the last sin of the last human being alive – all of it was gathered up, pressed together, and then loaded on Jesus while He hung on the cross in darkness.  Jesus bore the whole weight of it and owned it as His own.  And so, Jesus experienced both temporal and eternal death because of you and because of me.

This is why it is tough to look at a crucifix because it is hard to accept the truth of our sins.  The wounds, the nails affixed to His hands and feet, the blood running down His face from the thorns, are because of us – our sin.  His mutilated back rubbing against the tree as He is forced to push upward to breathe is because of us – our sin. 

Jesus’ whole life was only love. He was the only human being who completely loved the Father with His all and His neighbor as Himself; however, this perfect life ended at a cross because of us. 

And so, tonight we find ourselves lowering our heads.  Our eyes drop to the side.  Shame sets in, and we shake our heads because we know that Jesus suffered and died on that cross because of us. 

Dear Baptized Saints, while it is hard to look through the darkness to the bleeding Savior on the cross, tonight I must tell you that it is good and right to do so.  Hard to look at the cross, yes.  Good to look at the cross, yes, as well.  In fact, this night we must lift our heads, open our eyes, and gaze through the darkness upon the suffering servant on the cross.  We must fall on our knees before this image of Jesus bleeding.  We must ponder this picture of the suffering and crucified Savior. 

But why should we look at something that is hard to look at, such as Christ-crucified?

Baptized Saints, we must gaze upon the crucified Christ because it is a picture of the Lord’s love for you!  Because Jesus is love, this loving Savior will not leave sinners in sin.  And so, the bloody cross with a bloody Savior is the most dramatic display God’s love for you.  Yes, Jesus – who is perfect love – takes sin upon Himself.  Jesus – who is perfect love – is wounded to grant us healing.  The dark and bloody cross is love towards you.

And so, tonight we beg the Lord to imprint this image of Christ-crucified on our hearts and minds so that we might carry this image with us wherever we go.  We pray that the Lord would engrave this picture of Christ-crucified upon us so that it can be before our eyes at the moment of our death.

You see, when the moment of your death comes to you, the devil will press you.  At that moment of death, the devil will seek his last chance to snatch you away from God forever, and he has a powerful weapon to use.

During your everyday lives, the cunning serpent minimizes sin and tries to lure you into sin with temptations.  However, at death, the opposite happens.  At the end of your life, the devil then maximizes your sins in your memory to bring you to despair.  Yes, when death is coming for you, the devil will happily set up the projector in your mind and replay for you the many sins you have forgotten.

The devil will taunt you, that you are not a Christian.  He will declare you unfit for the kingdom of God.  He will tell you that you are his and that by your sin that you have committed yourself to the kingdom of darkness.

All those sins will be playing over and over and over in your mind as you are struggling in death.  And that is why it is vital that we gaze upon Christ-crucified.  This is why it is so important that we lift up our chins and look through the darkness to Jesus hanging on the cross.  This is why it is so essential in life to look upon Christ-crucified.  This is why it is so important to behold our Savior’s wounds and to hold them close to our hearts, counting them as our most precious treasure.  This is why the image of Christ-crucified needs to be imprinted on our minds and hearts. 

So, in the hour of your death, Christ-crucified will be your only weapon against the despair of the enemy.  You will be able to look at all of your sins as the accuser brings them before your eyes, and you will be able to acknowledge that they are indeed awful and wrong.  However, against the devil’s accusations, you have something far greater – you have Christ-crucified. Yes, we can admit before the devil that Jesus is on the cross because of us; however, we can also confess boldly that Jesus is on the cross because of us.  He is there because He loves you and me.  He is there because there must be an end to sin, death, and the devil.  He is there because He cannot tolerate sin and chose to do something about it for you and me.

Baptized Saints, the dying Savior shatters the devil’s accusations for all the accusations, and all of your sins were atoned for at the cross.  The blood of Jesus blotted out every single sin that you have ever committed or ever well.  And so, the devil cannot contend with Christ’s blood. 

Awful as your sins are, each one has been paid for, covered by innocent blood, the blood of your Savior, Jesus.

So, tonight we lift up our heads.  We look into the darkness without fear.  We look upon the crucified one with confidence.  And as we consider our Crucified Savior, we ask the Lord to imprint this image on our minds and hearts, so that we might have the sure confidence that Jesus Christ – God in the flesh – has proved Himself as our dearest friend by dying for all of our sins, making you and me, His forever.   

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Note: this sermon is borrowed in parts from William Weedon’s Good Friday Sermon on Isaiah 53.

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What Are We Eating And Drinking At The Lord's Supper?

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

What are we eating and drinking at the Lord’s Supper?

Or, maybe a better question is this, what is the Lord’s Supper – this supper that Jesus instituted some two-thousand years ago, before He was crucified on the cross. 

Do the bread and wine turn into the body and blood of Jesus or do the bread and wine merely represent the body and blood of Jesus?

Indeed, what are we eating and drinking; what is the Lord’s Supper?

To answer these questions, let us go to a most peculiar story in the Old Testament. Yes, let us hear Exodus chapter 3. In Exodus chapter 3, we read:

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Now, as we just heard, this is the story of Moses encountering the Lord in the burning bush. But what does this have to do with the Lord’s Supper?

Bear with me for a moment and let us ask the following questions, as we reflect upon this story’s connection to the Lord’s Supper.

In the story of the burning bush, was the Lord a bush? Once again, was the Lord a bush? The obvious answer is, no, the Lord was not a bush.

Next question. 

In the story of the burning bush, did the bush represent the Lord? Once again, did the bush represent the Lord? The obvious answer is, no again, the bush does not symbolize the Lord.

Next question.

In the story of the burning bush, did the bush turn into the Lord? Once again, did the bush turn into the Lord? The obvious answer is, no, the bush did not transform into the Lord.

So, how would we explain what happened in Exodus chapter 3? We would say that in a profound way that the Lord was ‘in, with, and under’ the bush. That is to say; the Lord was not a bush. And the bush did not transform into the Lord. And the bush did not symbolize the Lord. No, none of these are correct, but instead, the bush was fully present, "burning, yet not consumed."[1] And the Lord was also fully present, "the Lord appeared to [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush."[2]  The bush and the Lord were both present together, before Moses. 

Now, the point being made is this, the story of the burning bush and the Lord, is no different than what is happening in the Lord’s Supper. You see, in the Lord’s Supper there is natural bread and wine, and at the same exact time, there is Jesus’ true body and blood. That is to say; in the Lord’s Supper there is natural bread and the true body of Jesus, present together at the same time for you. In the cup, there is natural wine and the true blood of Jesus, present together at the same time for you.[3] Yes, the bread and wine with the body and blood are present – together at the same time.

To communicate this, the old Lutheran Reformers said that Jesus’ real body and His real blood are ‘in, with, and under’ the bread and wine. Now, they did not say this to play word games or to confuse the church. But rather, they said this to communicate that the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper do not turn into the body and blood, as is taught by the Catholics. Furthermore, they said this to communicate that the bread and wine do not merely symbolize Jesus’ body and blood, like many Baptists teach today. Dear friends, make no mistake, the Lord’s Supper is not merely symbolic, and the bread and wine do not go through a molecular transformation, but ‘in, with, and under’ the bread and wine you receive Jesus’ true body and blood.

Understanding the Lord’s Supper as bread and wine being fully present at the same time as the body and blood, is the most straightforward way that we can read Jesus’ words. Listen to what Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew,

Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.[4]

Take note that Jesus did not say,

Drink of it, all of you, for this represents my blood.

Nor did Jesus say,

Drink of it, all of you, for this transforms into my blood.

But rather, Jesus said,

         

Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood

Dear friends, just as the Lord was ‘in, with and under’ the bush, so it is with Jesus’ body and blood in the bread and wine. Truly and simply stated, the bread ‘is’ Jesus’ body and the wine ‘is’ Jesus’ blood. Jesus is really present in the Lord’s Supper for you and me.   

But does this all really matter? Yes, it does and here is why.

First, these are Jesus’ words, and we must take His words serious. He said them for a reason, and we dare not change His words.

Second, these words of Jesus were spoken on the eve of His death, and no one should change the words of a person’s last will and testament.

Third, we are given a warning in our Epistle reading from tonight that those who misuse the Lord’s Supper, sin. They sin not against bread and wine but sin against the body and blood of Christ. Being footloose with Jesus’ Words may result in a person eating and drinking judgment upon themselves, which is no laughing matter.  

And fourth, by understanding that Jesus’ real body and blood are present in the Lord’s Supper, we know that we are not receiving a meager morsel of bread and taking an insignificant sip of wine, but instead, we know that we are eating and drinking of a gracious feast.

Think about it for a moment; if the Lord’s Supper is only a symbolic and figurative meal, then it is nothing more than powerless scraps of bread and irrelevant sips of wine that do nothing – nothing to nourish and strengthen you and me. And if the Lord’s Supper is only a symbolic and figurative meal, then it is nothing more than an empty ceremony. And if it is an empty ceremony, it is just propped up by the spiritual zeal of the participants, which more often than not, these participants eventually fizzle out in the midst of trials and struggles of life.

Dear Baptized Saints, Jesus is really present in the Lord’s Supper for you. The Lord’s Supper is His meal for you. It is a meal where Jesus comes to you. It is a meal that is not founded upon human holiness but upon Jesus and His Word. Therefore, when you eat and drink in the Lord’s Supper with faith, you receive a great treasure. You receive Jesus. You receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of all of your sins. If the Lord’s Supper were a mere symbolic meal, you could not be nourished, strengthened, or forgiven. An empty ceremony cannot nourish, strengthen, or forgive you; however, Jesus can and He does in His Supper.

Baptized Saints, because Jesus is really present in the Supper, the Lord’s Supper is as daily food and nourishment to you, so that your faith may be refreshed and strengthened and that you may not give way to the struggles of the world, the devil, and the old sinful nature.[5]

What are we eating and drinking at the Lord’s Supper? We are eating and drinking: bread, body, wine, and blood.

What is the Lord’s Supper? It is Jesus being really present for you and me, to give us His own true body and blood for the forgiveness of all of our sins. It is about you and me having no doubt in our minds that the bread and wine are Jesus’ body and blood for our forgiveness because Jesus’ words do what they say. 

Baptized Saints, Jesus wants to be with you and in you.  In His holy Supper, He gives Himself to you and pledges never to leave you nor forsake you.[6]    

Take, eat; this is the true body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, given into death for your sins.

Take, drink; this is the true blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, shed for the forgiveness of your sins.

Amen.

---

[1] See Exodus 3:2.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, VII:37.

[4] See Matthew 26:28.

[5] Martin Luther, The Large Catechisms: The Sacrament of the Altar, 23-25.

[6] Luther’s Small Catechism: with Explanation (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2017), 323.

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He Grabbed Not For Power, But For Sinners

Text: Philippians 2:5-11

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Over the last 300 years, we have witnessed the tragedy of power – brute force imposed on people to secure power. 

In the eighteenth-century we saw how Europeans enslaved Africans, putting them into slavery by force.  In the nineteenth-century we witnessed the conflict with Native Americans, resulting in many Native Americans being uprooted by power.  And who can forget the twentieth-century?  In the twentieth-century, Nazis Germans declared the Jews as disloyal to the modern nation, superstitious, and irrational, leading to some 6 million Jews executed, while Hitler and his regime rose to power.  And there was Stalin and Mao, along with the millions of dead victims who stood in the path of their power.      

Now, this quest for power, dominance, and majesty was not just a phenomenon in the past centuries but continues even to this day.  For example, we see ISIS attacks, North Korean missile tests, international currency wars, and so forth.  All of this is the mad rush of mankind to be king of the hill, to have power, control, and majesty at all costs.    

There is no doubt about it; mankind has a large appetite for power and majesty.  Instead of fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things, a person will attempt to get everybody and everything to fear, love, and trust themselves.

And so, we humans grab for power.  We have an appetite for majesty.  We look out for ourselves – we are number 1, and everybody else is number 2.

But this is not how it is with Jesus, though. Praise be to God that Jesus is not like mankind.  You see, according to our Epistle lesson from Philippians, Jesus took the form of a servant by ceasing to use His powers as God. 

We must pause a moment and be careful to note that Jesus never ceased to be the Son of God, not even on the Cross.  But He did abstain from using His full powers as God, while He was on earth.  For example, sometimes, Jesus did not know certain facts, even though at any time He could have used His unlimited knowledge as God.  And sometimes, Jesus was tired or hungry or thirsty, even though God by nature is never tired or hungry or thirsty.  And get this, God does not bleed.  God does not suffer.  God does not die.  But Jesus, who is true God ‘and’ true Man, bled and died for you because He took the form of a servant.

You see, unlike humanity, Jesus does not have some unhealthy appetite for majesty.  While walking this earth, Jesus did not grab at power, for He already had power  Indeed, instead of grabbing for power, what Jesus did was to abstain from using His power, as He came in humility to serve mankind.  He acted as if He were not God by laying His majesty down so that He could carry the heavy burdens that belonged to us.  Specifically, those burdens of sin, death, and damnation.  That is to say; Jesus did not need to suffer. These burdens were not His to carry.  However, He chose to carry these burdens; He chose to suffer.  Christ Jesus, the only Man who could choose not to die, chose the worst death possible, to save you and me.

What a contrast from sinful mankind! Instead of stomping upon sinful mankind in a selfish pursuit of power, Jesus claimed sinful mankind, even though mankind would stomp on Him.   Yes, even though He was holy and sinless, Jesus still claimed us.  Jesus willingly made Himself one of us.  In other words, Jesus lived among us for about thirty years.  He was one of us, even though His divinity was incredibly far above us.  And on the Cross, Jesus embraced all of mankind, so that all of our sins and the weight of our guilt fell upon Him. 

But what does all of this mean though, concerning Palm Sunday? 

Today we heard in our Gospel reading that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  However, this was Jesus as a servant.  This was Jesus coming in humility, just like we heard in our Epistle lesson from Philippians.  Yes, when Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey, He was abstaining from His power and majesty, for He could have ridden upon the backs of mighty angels into Jerusalem. 

Furthermore, Jesus also rides into Jerusalem to present Himself to God the Father as the sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world.  He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  In other words, Jesus lowers Himself to the level of a dumb animal whose only purpose is to be slaughtered.  Jesus lowers Himself – humbles Himself to death – to be slaughtered for you and me.    

And there is more. At the same time that Jesus suffers at the hands of sinful men, Jesus is also preserving their lives and the lives of all living creatures. As the nails and thorns are driven into His holy flesh, the Son of God is keeping the universe from collapsing into chaos.

The lowly Son of Man who looks like nothing but a pathetic, dying carpenter's son, is the great God who protects and defends the world, even when that world turns upon Him and kills Him. 

Dear friends, Jesus did not grab for power because He was already all-powerful.  And yet, even though He was all-powerful and majestic, He laid it all down to serve you and me.  And because of this, God the Father exalted Jesus. 

Now resurrected from the dead, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father.  Yes, Jesus remains a Man, and also remains the Son of God.  That is how He will be forever. 

And so today, we hear about our humble servant coming into Jerusalem to accomplish our salvation, while at the same time knowing that Jesus is no longer in the form of a servant.  That is right; Jesus is now highly exalted. 

As highly exalted, the saints and angels in heaven bow before the glorious Him, as Jesus shines before them in the unveiled form of God.  And we too, here on earth do the same.  We come before the Lord in His sanctuary, confess our sins, bow our heads, sing praises to Him, and receive Jesus’ presence in the Holy Supper because He is out mighty, majestic, and powerful Lord.    

Dear Baptized Saints, Jesus could have remained as He was before the Creation of the world: the glorious Son of God who had no flesh and no sufferings.  Even when He became Man, Jesus did not have to suffer or diminish His glory in any way.  He could have remained in majesty and power.  But He chose the form of a servant.  He chose weakness, pain, and death.  He chose all of this for you and for me.  He grabbed not for power, but He grabbed sinners.  He grabbed sinners like me and you to redeem and give us His majesty – the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. 

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

This sermon has been borrowed in part from Rev. Andrew Eckerts sermon, titled, “The Form of a Servant.”

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The End Of The War: Death

An apology for the audio quality.  Due to technical difficulties, the audio from the Facebook Live-stream had to be used for this sermon podcast.  

Text: Philippians 1:19-26

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

At your baptisms, all of you entered a war. Yes, at your baptisms you were made children of God, given the Holy Spirit, and called into warfare against the sinful nature within you.

Now, some of you have been at war for a very, very, long time. And some of you are just beginning to get a taste of this war against your old Adam. Regardless of how long you have been at war with your sinful nature, though, one thing is for sure, and that is this, this war is a persistent fight. Yes, it is a persistent fight where you daily “beat back the forces of indwelling sin and win victories over the habits and practices of the old [Adam].”[1] It is a persistent fight that continues every single day of your life. It is a fight where you struggle to keep the faith and fight back the attacks of the world, the devil, and your sinful nature.

So, considering all of this, the obvious question is: When do we see the end of the war? When does this persistent battle stop? When will the white flag of surrender be waved? When will the attacks end? Dear friends, the answer is this, this war stops at death. Yes, the Christian’s war against the old Adam ends at death.

It is like this, death removes you and me “from the temptations, the troubles, turmoils, trials, and tribulations of this life. . . . death puts the believer in possession of his full inheritance of eternal life. . .”[2] This is why the Apostle Paul could say in our Epistle Reading, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” “Paul knows that he belongs to Christ. For him, to live means Christ, that is to constantly work with Christ, and to always be in his hand. Should he die then he still gets to be with Christ.”[3]

You see, being a Christian is having a life that is bound up with Jesus. Being a Christian, we are connected to Jesus by faith, and we live our lives being led by the Holy Spirit. And even though we have this persistent battle with the sinful old Adam, it cannot change the fact that we belong to Jesus. So this life that we live from the cradle to the grave is good because it is a life lived by faith in Jesus. This life that we live is good because we fight the old Adam and serve people around us by the Lord’s grace. However, when death comes upon us, something profound and amazing happens, the sinful nature no longer hinders us.[4] That is to say, when we are alive, we belong to Jesus and get to serve our neighbors in need (which is good); however, when we die, we will still belong to Jesus and are freed from the war within (which is good as well). Therefore, we technically cannot lose either way.

We must pause here a moment and back up, just to make sure that we are understanding this clearly.

When the shadow of death draws upon us, we acknowledge that it is not a good thing for the body and soul to be ripped apart. However, even though the body and soul are torn from each other in death, we know that our soul leaves this vale of tears and we enter into paradise with Jesus. And with Jesus we wait for the resurrection of our bodies. In other words, we are not left for dead, but the Lord takes us unto Himself, and the Lord promises us that we will be put back together again – we will someday have resurrected bodies, which is good.

And in this resurrection something even better happens, there will be no more death. Death will be gone for good – tears gone, crying gone, pain gone, fear gone, and sin… all gone. Yes, God will banish the pall of doom hanging over all people. He will banish death forever. Every sign of disgrace – gone.[5]

And so, in this earthly life, we live by faith in the Son of God, who loves us and has given Himself to us. This is so very good; to live is Christ. And yet, to die is gain. Yes, when we die in Christ, it is even better because we still get to be with Christ but without the old Adam. So whether we live or die, it is good because Christ is good.

Practically speaking, it looks like this: while we live this life, we have been given the gift of the Lord’s Prayer to pray against the devil, the world, and especially our old Adam, which is good. However, when you die, it is even better! After death, you will no longer pray the Lord’s Prayer ever again against the old Adam. The reason why? At death, the old Adam stops clinging to you.  

Here is another circumstance to consider: while we live this life, we have been given the gift Absolution (the forgiveness of sins), which is good. However, when you die, it is even better! After death, you will no longer need to hear the Absolution ever again. At death, you will be with Jesus, which means that you will no longer have to fight the good fight against sin to finish the course.[6] At death, you will be done with the course of your earthly life – you will be done with the fight against sin. You will not need forgiveness, for after death, the old Adam will be no more. There will be no sin to confess.

Dear friends, when we die, the war with our old Adam – the sinful flesh - is over. At death, the reign of sin, death, and the old Adam are terminated. Death serves this purpose of putting an end to this old Adam that we may rise absolutely new.[7]

Think of it this way. You are God’s creation. He has created your inmost being, knitting you together in your mother’s womb.[8] And at the cross Jesus redeemed you, purchasing and winning you from all sins and death. And at the Last Day, the Holy Spirit will raise you and give you eternal life.[9] But what will not happen and what cannot happen is this, the Lord will not redeem or raise your old Adam! The old Adam was not the Lord’s creation to begin with, so the Lord has no interest in bringing the old Adam back to life again. Why would the Lord bring the corruption of our sinful old Adam back to life, when the devil and we were responsible for it in the first place?[10]

Dear Baptized Saints, the old Adam – the sinful nature – is buried in the wounds of Jesus. It is left for dead at death but we are not. We are given the promise of the resurrection where the old Adam is utterly destroyed, while we are given new bodies and life everlasting.[11]

The war against our old Adam ends at death. And so, we will endure by walking by the Spirit, turning outward to Jesus in faith, and constantly receiving the Word and Sacraments. We will also fight the good fight, executing the deeds of the old Adam in repentance and faith. And finally, we will rest in our baptisms for we have been buried deeply in the wounds of Jesus and promised the great resurrection.

This is the Christian’s war – a war that lasts only a little while. A war that has an end. A war where the radiant dawn of Jesus will fully come over the darkness of sin. A war where there is hope in captivity, victory in Jesus, and a future in eternity... without the old Adam.

   

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Jonathan Grothe, The Justification of the Ungodly: An Interpretation of Romans (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada: 2012), 350.0

[2] Wendland, E. H., & Trapp, J. A. (1986). Sermon Studies on the Epistles (ILCW series A) (p. 322). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House.

[3] Bo Giertz, Unpublished Commentary on Philippians, tr. Bror Erickson.

[4] The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 2032.

[5] See Revelation 21:1-5 and Isaiah 25:8.

[6] See 2 Timothy 4:7.

[7] See the Apology of the Augsburg Confessions, VI:56.

[8] See Psalm 139:13.

[9] See the Small Catechism: The Apostles’ Creed.

[10] See the Epitome of the Formula of Concord, I:6.

[11] Ibid. 

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Enduring The War: Living By The Spirit

This is Part 4 of the Lent Series titled, 

"The Christian's War: The Life of the Christian as Saint and Sinner."

Text: Galatians 5:16-26

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

As Christians, we must keep in mind that we are not perfectly and wholly renewed.  Now, please do not misunderstand me, our sin is indeed covered by Jesus (we are forgiven of all our sins), but this sin still lingers on in us, making us weak.  You see, our sin is real.  Our sin is no different than the sin of unbelievers. And so, we are never in the place where we can go around thinking that we are Christian superheroes who keep God’s law perfectly and fulfill it completely.[1] 

      

Contrary to what those televangelists say, we are not independently powerful, we do not have greatness within, and we certainly are not strong – the old Adam still clings to us down to the grave.    

And so, we Christians live our lives in great weakness.  We live our lives knowing that we still have this sinful nature that actively resists the Word of God and fights against the will of God.[2]  We live our lives in great weakness because the old Adam is defiant and hostile towards God. Therefore, it is impossible to live this Christian life without some “hindrance of the [old Adam].  Your [old Adam] will be an obstacle, the sort of obstacle that will prevent you from doing what you would.”[3]

So, if we Christians have this great weakness, how are we to endure?  How are we to live and walk?  In other words, we know that the old Adam with its sins should daily drown and die in repentance, as it says in the Small Catechism; however, is there anything else for us as Christians?  Yes, there is.  You see, on the one hand, we need to see the old Adam drown and die, but on the other hand, we are called to walk by the Spirit.  And in walking by the Spirit, we are told by the Apostle Paul that we will not gratify the desires of the old Adam.

Let us pause here a moment to clarify, though. 

As Christians, we are to be led not by ‘our’ spirit, implying that we are to look within ourselves, but rather, we are to look outside of ourselves to be led by ‘the’ Holy Spirit. 

It is like this, walking by the Holy Spirit should be understood as nothing more than you and I clinging to Jesus by faith.  And in this clinging to Jesus, as weak people, we are led by the Holy Spirit.  And when we are led by the Holy Spirit, we are living under the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit who works through the Word and Sacraments.    

A perfect picture of being led by the Holy Spirit is when “a child puts her hand into the hand of a beloved and trusted father.”[4]  A little girl knows that she is weak and unable to do much of anything, so she looks away from herself and her weaknesses, and places her hand into her father’s strong hand.  And there, with her father, she is gently led and protected.  The same is true for us as Christians, the Holy Spirit by a gentle and loving grasp “leads the baptized into a [Godly] orientation, He does not drive Christians to conformity to rules. . . . The [Holy] Spirit does not [harshly] demand obedience but rather produces fruit”[5] – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Another picture and illustration would be that of a beggar.  Yes, a beggar. 

During the last hours of Martin Luther’s life, he wrote a short meditation on a sheet of paper.  His brief reflection ended with the words, “This is true, we are all beggars.”  You see, Luther understood that if we consult our conscience, what we inevitably find is a life in conflict.  A life where the old Adam is in tension with the Holy Spirit who is at work in us.  In other words, Luther knew that within every single Christian the sinful nature remained, even though it is forgiven in Jesus.  Luther knew that every single Christian had sin and was capable of committing sin. He knew that the Christian could not freely do what he wanted to do, even though he tried with sweat and strain.[6]  Therefore, Luther said that we are beggars. 

Dear friends, we are indeed beggars who depend upon the Lord’s forgiveness – clinging to the Lord and needing to be led by the Holy Spirit.  That is to say; we are not o.k. on our own.  We need something more.  We need help. Something that is a part of us keeps sabotaging our best intentions. We do not have what it takes.  We can will it, but we can’t do it.  We can decide to do good, but we really do not do it perfectly.  We set out not to do bad things, but we then end up doing it anyway. We know God’s Law and delight in it; however, we cannot keep it perfectly. Something is indeed wrong – the old Adam is what has gone wrong, deep within us.  The old Adam covertly rebels and always tries to take the upper hand.[7]

And so, left to ourselves, nothing helps.  And that is why we must turn away from ourselves. Like a helpless beggar, we must understand that our hope and solution does not lie within, but is outside of ourselves in Jesus. 

So, we look away from our poverty of sin.  We look away from our old Adam.  We chalk it up as dead.  We confess it all as sin. We beat our chest saying,

“I am a sinner, and I am aware of my sin; for I have not yet put off my flesh, to which sin will cling as long as it lives. But I will [follow] the [Holy] Spirit rather than the [old Adam]. That is, by faith and hope I will take hold of Christ.  I will [brace] myself with His Word, and . . . I will refuse to gratify the desire of the [pathetic old Adam].”[8] 

Yes, as beggars, with hands and ears wide open, we receive the proclaimed Word of God, knowing that the Holy Spirit is at work in the Word to strengthen our faith and lead us through this vale of tears, called life.

Baptized Saints, it must be stated that being led by the Holy Spirit as a beggar is contrary to the popular religious opinions of our day and age.  Our culture and many well-intentioned (but severely misinformed) pastors tell us to look within ourselves for some untapped spiritual potential within.  They encourage the laity to look within themselves for the so-called diamond in the rough.  And so, Christians turn inward and rummage through the layers upon layers of sin, looking for potential and talent hidden within.  And then without even knowing it, these poor Christians stumble upon the sinful old Adam dressed up in potential.  And then being deceived, these Christians begin to prop up the old Adam – sowing to the sinful flesh – while taking their eyes off of Jesus.    

Lord have mercy on them; Lord have mercy on us. 

Dear friends, our theology, which is the theology of the Bible, “snatches us away from ourselves and places us outside ourselves, so that we do not depend on our own strength, conscience, experience, . . . or works but depend on that which is outside ourselves, that is, on the promise and truth of God, which cannot deceive.”[9]

Indeed, our sin only yields more sin – sin upon sin.  But the one outside of us, Jesus Christ is the fountainhead of grace, life, and truth – grace upon grace for sinners like me and like you.  And all of this is constantly given to us by the Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments! 

Living by the guidance of the Holy Spirit is hard, yet at the same time easy.  “It is hard because we take such great pride in our own achievements and self-sufficiency. We do not like to ask God, or anyone, for anything.”[10]  Besides, the old Adam likes the attention. As sinners, we like to be in the driver’s seat.  “Yet it is also easy because our spirituality does not depend on our performance but on our receiving from God.”[11]

And so, dear Baptized Saints, we live by the Holy Spirit not to become increasingly self-sufficient, but we follow the Spirit as beggars before God the Father in Heaven.  Indeed, we are beggars because everything about us depends solely on Christ, not ourselves. We live by the Holy Spirit because where the Spirit is present, He renews, ignites faith, and gives God-pleasing virtues to us.[12]  We live by the Holy Spirit because this new man is nothing without the Holy Spirit.  We walk by the Holy Spirit for the Spirit has “called [us] by the Gospel, enlightened [us] with His gifts, sanctified and kept [us] in the true faith.”[13]   

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Formula of Concord, Epitome, II:5.

[2] Ibid, II:59.

[3] Martin Luther, Lectures on Galatians – 1535: Volume 2  (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1964), 72.

[4] The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 2011.

[5] Jonathan Grothe, The Justification of the Ungodly: An Interpretation of Romans: Second Edition (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada: 2012), 347.

[6] Martin Luther, Lectures on Galatians – 1535, 75.

[7] Paraphrase of Romans 7.

[8] Martin Luther, Lectures on Galatians – 1535 73.

[9] Martin Luther, Lectures on Galatians – 1535: Volume 1 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1963), 387.

[10] John W. Kleinig, Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2008), 29.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, II:71.

[13] Martin Luther, The Small Catechism: The Apostles’ Creed.  

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