Wolves Among Us

Text: Jude 1:20-25

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Be cautious of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are these false preachers are out to rip you off some way or other, or they will manipulate you for their own personal gain.

Be alert for fake pastors who seem to be followers of Jesus – who walk the walk and talk the talk – but underneath the white alb and collared black clergy shirt are perverters of grace and enemies of righteousness. 

Be watchful for false prophets, who come to you in shepherd’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Yes, be aware! 

Why should you and I be aware?  Because Jesus calls us to be aware!  He does this in the Gospel of Matthew.  Furthermore, we are also told to be aware from Jude, the one who wrote the epistle that we read this morning.  Sadly, by the time Jude wrote his letter to the church – the Epistle reading from today - Jesus’ sad prophecy from Matthew’s Gospel had come true.  Otherwise stated, Jude’s epistle was written to show that wolves, disguised as sheep and shepherds, had already infiltrated the church.  Jude, in his epistle, was attempting to show that certain crooked people had crept quietly into the church, undetected. 

These certain people came in with stealth; they came under the radar; they came in covertly; and with them they brought perversion.  Not sexual perversion, but the tactics of perversion; the ability to twist, slant, change, and manipulate the Lord’s Word and the Christian Faith. Because of this, Jude was distressed and outraged, and rightfully so!  Though Jude did not hunger for controversy, he was forced into it by his concern for the Christian Faith. 

It is beginning to make sense now why Jude wrote his Epistle, this letter.  He wrote it not to be an intolerant-unloving-hater, but he wrote it to warn his fellow Christians that there were wolves in sheep and shepherd’s clothing in their midst.  He wrote it to stir up the church to watchfulness!  He wrote it to expose and enact God’s judgment upon the false teachers and lying prophets.  Simply stated, he was calling the church to alertness and driving them to repentance, faith, prayer, and service in light of the fact that false prophets had infiltrated them. 

Let it be clear today, the problem that Jude was addressing was not outside the church in some distant land of violence and bloodshed, but the problem was within the walls of the church; it was most likely with some pious sounding people who were doing religious things in the name of goodness.  You see, “The church of all ages will be assaulted by Satan on two fronts.  One assault will come from outside, from unbelievers who will use physical means to hurt the church: ridicule, legal harassment, confiscation of property, persecution, imprisonment, torture, even death.  The second form of assault is [actually] worse, though: infiltration from within.  Satan gets his agents inside congregations, in positions of leadership if possible, who work gradually to replace God’s saving truth with lies from hell.”[1]

Today, things are no different.  We live in a similar time.  The evil one will attack from outside the walls, but as previously stated, the greater threat comes from within the walls of the church, it comes from wolves leading churches and standing in the churches’ pulpits.  Yes, wolves come into the church, but do so wearing shepherd’s clothing.   

These wolves in shepherd’s clothing have this fault of always teaching something different and new.  Their wicked spirit is not rooted in solid doctrine and causes them to look for something hip, relevant, and better.  They do this because their conscience is not captive to the Word of God, but based off their natural and physical instincts.  Their god is their belly which is guided by the spirit of the age – that is the blowing winds culture - and not the Word of God. 

American churches though have not had a good record of responding to and discerning false teachers and lying prophets over the years. That is to say, American churches are unfortunately not properly equipped and catechized to discern the wolves in the church.  As a result, churches in America will ask the wolf if he is a wolf and the wolf will howl 'no,' and churches will respond, ‘Good enough for me.’[2]  Then they will follow the wolf into his lair because they are sluggish and bored with solid doctrine. 

What makes this even more troublesome in our contemporary culture is that some parishioners, churches, synods, districts, and denominations have not only come to tolerate wolves in the pulpit and leadership, but actually promote and train wolves.  They will even teach them how to covertly dress like shepherds and act like shepherds, in order to deceive the sheep.  That is to say, they “promote pastors and professors who deny the historical truthfulness of the Bible, teach evolution, . . . [support same-sex marriage] and abortion, [diminish the severity of sin, elevate mankind’s ability,] deny the existence of hell and a last judgement, [make grace into a license to sin, pervert the Biblical definition of love,] and accept the legitimacy of all world religions as though equal to Christianity.  Jude calls these people scoffers, divisive, worldly, and without the Spirit of God.”[3]  They are most certainly not shepherds and not sheep, but are wolves clothed in a façade; clothed and disguised as servants of God, but in reality agents of evil.

Tragically, when considering the teachings from Jude’s epistle, it is rather obvious that wolves in shepherd’s clothing actually abound in our day and age.  We are not immune as the church in the twenty-first-century. 

Considering the blunt, direct, sobering, and truthful message that we’ve heard from the Epistle of Jude this morning and its application to our contemporary culture, we may find ourselves asking, ‘What is our plan of response?’ In other words, after being confronted with Jude’s jarring message, a message for the church to wake up, where should we go from here?  How shall we respond to Jude’s message?  What must we do?  How shall we endure in the weeks and months to come as we live in the midst of a culture that persecutes shepherds and exalts wolves?

Keep in mind that in the Epistle of Jude there is no complex strategy.  There is no line of attack.  There is no master-minded think tank plan. But rather, Jude calls out these wolves.  He rebukes and condemns them.  He reveals their evil work.  He drags them out of their covert tactics, he pulls them out from the shadows, and he pulls off their disguise in order to show the evil that they embrace and teach.  He does the same for us, as we consider his teaching in our current culture. 

And in case we are becoming a bit self-righteous at this point, the exposing of these wolves in shepherd’s clothing actually reveals sin with us here today as well.  You see, Jude demonstrates and shows us that we are easily led astray by false doctrine.  We really are.  We are prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love.  We are easily distracted by flashy and sexy doctrine, which is nothing more than a seductive lie.  In other words, you and I may not be a wolf in shepherd’s clothing, but boy, aren’t we easily led astray by the false ideology of wolves?    Furthermore, if we are not led astray by false wolves, Jude reveals something else to us as well.  He shows us that we tolerate wolves.  Yes, in order to keep peace and harmony, we actually tolerate wolves in shepherd’s clothing. To put this in another way, we can never compromise the Gospel, which is the foundation of our salvation, yet we do compromise it when we allow wolves and their false doctrines to remain covertly in shepherd’s clothing. 

Dear friends, we must repent.  Repent of believing the lies of the wolves in shepherd’s clothing, repent for tolerating wolves in shepherd’s clothing, repent for the apathy of not caring about the sound truth of the Gospel, and repent for turning a blind eye to false doctrine present within the walls of the church.  Yes, we must be repented, for we have sinned, sin that is like a stain that has smeared or oozed onto our robe of righteousness, which we have from Christ. 

. . .

You whose garment is stained by the bloody bites of the wolf, you whose garment is stained due to rolling around in the filth of false doctrine, you whose garment is stained due to the corruption and destruction of your own sinful heart, do not leave, but remain.  Stay in the church, hang your body and mind and soul upon the Word of God.  You must be captive to the Word of God.  There is no other way.

Yes, do not run, do not leave, do not fail to meet together often as some are in the habit of doing, and do not fall into deception, for you have full salvation in Christ already, salvation that has been delivered and will be continually delivered to you in the Word and Sacraments. 

Realize this today, the Lord has chosen to give you spiritual strength for spiritual warfare through the Word and Sacraments – today and tomorrow and for the weeks and months to come.  The Lord has snatched you out of the fire and keeps you in His love and mercy and truth today, so that you might be warned and kept from the deception of the evil one.  He is able to guard you despite the stealthy-pathetic-lies of the wolves, as you wait for Him to take you home. 

Do not fear for Christ’s blood has made you white again with His forgiveness.  Your sins are covered, by Christ so that the Father does not see the stain.  You are forgiven for Christ’s sake.

You, who have ears, hear this:  “United with Christ in your Baptism, you have already passed through judgment and are living an eternal life.”[4]  You belong to Jesus, who is truth, and not to the evil one of lies.

You, who have ears, hear this: Jesus’ Word is for you; receive it; it is yours!   The Word of God is the only source of your faith and practice.  “Satan’s lies and bribes will shrivel up under the bright light of the Bible’s truth.”[5]  Wolves in shepherd’s clothing are brought to nothing; they will not prevail, for the Word of God exposes them and shames them.  They will wither like the grass, but the Word of God remains forever. 

You, who have ears, hear: The Sacrament is for you as well. Take and eat; take and drink.  “Despair and fear fade away when you and your Savior are united through the blood of the covenant.”[6]

Indeed, the Lord keeps you in the faith when you are assaulted from outside and from within the church.  Because of Christ, your salvation is not based on your own reason or strength or might, but is wholly the Father’s work in Christ.  Therefore, when you are exhausted and struggle from the attacks outside and inside the church, you have an exalted, changeless, and majestic Lord who is for you. 

Do not fear, for you are kept in Christ’s grace and mercy until He comes to deliver you from all evil and bring you to everlasting life. He, who is faithful, will not forsake you in this life or the next.   

No power of hell and no scheme of man, can ever pluck you from His hand.

Till He returns or calls you home—

you will stand, for He is able to keep you from stumbling.

To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore.  Amen.

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[1] Mark A. Jeske, People’s Bible Commentary: General Epistles (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 324. 

[2] Paraphrase of a Twitter quote from Pr. Jordan Hall of First Baptist Church in Sidney, MT.

[3] Mark A. Jeske, People’s Bible Commentary: General Epistles, 339-340.

[4] The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 2189.

[5] Mark A. Jeske, People’s Bible Commentary: General Epistles, 341.

[6] Ibid. 

Follow The Trail Of Blood

Text:  Mark 13:1-13  

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

"As soon as My Word is proclaimed, men will divide into two camps: some will receive it with joy, others will be offended [and angered] by it and will begin to hate and persecute those who receive."[1]

These are the words from an old Lutheran theologian talking about the reality that the church cannot be built up in peace, for it is located within the domain of the devil, who is the prince of the world.  Even though the church is a safe ark of comfort in the raging winds and waves of this world, she is also at war. 

Make no mistake about it my friends, the church is at battle and it is not hard to track down the church, all you have to do is follow the trail of blood.[2]  Indeed, we hear it from Jesus when He says that the church, that is you and me and our brothers and sisters who confess Christ around the world, will experience suffering, persecution, and death.  From the church drips the blood of the martyrs. 

But what possible reason could there be for such bloodshed and suffering and pain, especially for the church?  To answer this we must consider that in this world the church never has had peace and never will—peace as the world understands it.  But rather, the church is marked by suffering from the world and the evil one; the church leaves a trail of blood wherever she goes.    

More specifically, this suffering from the world is due to the fact that when the Word of God is properly taught, proclaimed, and confessed, there will be tension.  Sure the Word of God will feed the hungry in spirit and it will comfort those who mourn over sin, that is to say, it will be graciously received by some; however, the Word of God will also cause the self-righteous and the proud to get angry.  And we know what angry people do; they lash out and inflict wounds; and from those wounds the church bleeds.

To witness the brutality of this anger, consider the Biblical story of Cain and Abel in the Old Testament.  There in Genesis chapter four we see Abel murdered and lying in his own blood.  He was murdered by his angry brother Cain, because Cain’s hatred for Abel was due to his hatred for God refusing to accept his works-righteousness.

Anger, hatred, and persecution towards the church were not only prevalent in the Bible, but they were also prevalent throughout the history of the church.  And yes, that same anger, hatred, and persecution are with us today in the here and now.  Indeed, the spirit of Cain lives on, as people rise up against the church, when the church proclaims the Law and Gospel.  The spirit of Cain has never liked Law and Gospel and never will, thus the reason for the attacks.  Because of the Law and Gospel, we as Christians will be handed over to councils, beaten, and will stand before governors and kings.  The Word of God has that invading quality that the world simply resists and fights against, which means that we as truth bearers will receive the brunt of the blowback. 

This persecution is not merely a coffee company not choosing to celebrate Christmas on its paper coffee cups, but rather, this persecution is being hauled before judges low or high; it is accusations, denunciation, arrest, lawsuits, fines, imprisonment, verdicts of guilty, and execution of these verdicts, resulting often times in death. 

In the midst of the persecution though, there will be a way out of the pain, suffering, and tension.  Yes, many will come in the name of Christ and will tell our itching ears what they crave to hear. The church will be told,

It doesn’t have to go on like this.  There can be peace.  No more blood needs to be shed.  Oh, things could be grand if only the church learned how to compromise.  If only the church could focus on what unites rather than what divides, things would be wonderful.  If you sweeten your speech, keep your opinions to yourself, and embrace tolerance and love there would be no conflict, division, or shed blood. 

“If these lies were true [and if the church followed these suggestions], then the world would smile and sheathe its sword, the demons would retract their claws, and the haunting crimson road would come to an end.  But then, so would the Church.”[3] 

Dear friends, if we wish to be a faithful church of Christ we cannot possibly become such without striving and fighting against the lies, deceit, and ideologies of the world - lies, deceit, and ideologies in the market place and in our very homes.  This means that faithfulness comes at a cost; it is impossible to escape affliction if we wish to be faithful servants of the Lord. 

Listen now, “it is always easier to rest inside the devil’s crumbling fortress than to trudge on alone in a dark and friendless world.  It is always easier to hold hands with unbelievers inside those walls than risk public defamation by declaring the Gospel from without.  It is always easier to file away the [Word of God] until a more politically [correct] time; to bite your tongue so long as no one else speaks up.”[4]  It is easier to simply get along and smile, than speak the truth in love.  It is easier; but it is not right. 

Furthermore, this is not who you are and it is not who we are as a church.  Zion Lutheran is not a church of ease, but a church that has Christ and His Word as our cornerstone.  Woe to anyone in this church –including your pastor - that would seek ease and comfort above faithfulness to the Lord’s Word.   

Practically stated, we do not seek out tension, nor do we manufacture conflicts and fights in the church and community, but rather we strive for peace, harmony, and unity, but hold to truth at all costs.  We rejoice when harmony, warmth and tranquility fill the church and overflow to our neighbors, but not at the expense of disregarding and eliminating Jesus and His Word.  For we know that apart from Jesus we do not have eternal peace.  

I do realize that this may sound ‘doom and gloom’ for you this morning.  It also may sound like Pastor is exaggerating things a bit; however, I must humbly assert that this is our present reality.  This is what life is like as a Christian, in a world that does not know the Word of God or a world that has the spirit of Cain and persecutes the church. 

That stated, motives for coming to church today may vary.  Many of you come to church to be encouraged, others come for the social aspect, others come to get some pointers for better living, and others come for the coffee and snacks.  While all these things are good, we must acknowledge that today’s Gospel reading is a healthy dose of reality for you and for me.  It is a reality not only on the East and West Coasts of America, but a present reality here in North Dakota. 

What this means is that as your pastor I cannot and will not give us some fluffy and un-true and compromising version of Christianity.  On the basis of today’s Gospel reading from Mark,”I cannot stand before you and tell you that life on earth will be easy and rewarding and a huge success if you just have ‘a little more faith.’  That is a lie.  That is not the truth spoken in love.”[5]  But rather, we as a church must believe, teach, and confess today that the church is to be found where there is the sound and faithful Word of God and where there will most likely be contempt, poverty, shame, and a trail of blood. 

This may insight fear in you and me.  We may attempt to mop up the trail of blood and cover its stain with potpourri.  However, do not be afraid.  Do not be afraid when you are handed over to the ideological lions of our day.  Do not be afraid when you are put into a position to confess the truth of God’s Word.  Do not be afraid when the labels of ‘bigot, intolerant, judgmental, yada, yada, yada,” are flung your way.  Do not be afraid of rolled eyes or sighs of discontentment.  Do not be afraid of bleeding.  Do not be afraid of a bleeding and suffering church.   The reason why?  Even though the faithful confessions of God’s people have brought about a trail of blood from the church in the past and present, we do not look at this trail of blood in fear, for there is another trail of blood that flows from Mount Calvary.  Yes, there is a trail of blood that flows from Mount Calvary, flowing from the death of the Son of God.  As we follow this trail of blood, we are led to Mount Calvary to behold the crucified Savior.  This trail of blood from Mount Calvary is blood that covers you.  You, who have ears, hear!  You are washed.  You are forgiven.  You are justified.  You are sanctified.  All of this by the one who bled for the lives of the world and the lives of the church – you!

O little flock, do not fear.  We do not travel alone in this life.  In the midst of the persecution, suffering, and death, the Lord has always been faithful. In the midst of wars, illness, sorrow, persecution, guilt, and shame, the Lord continues to come to you as He has promised.  The blood of Mount Calvary flows to you this morning in the cup of blessing from this Altar. 

Though weak and frail and frightened you may be, it matters not, for it is not you who fight but the Lord who fights for you.

“You are not alone.  You have your Lord.  He comes to speak words of warning and comfort to you.  He comes to feed your body and soul with His Body and Blood so that you will be strengthened for the times and trials to come; so that you will have joy and peace that surpasses all understanding while you wait and even while you suffer.  For He is not simply your Lord in the future, when all sorrows shall cease, but He is also your loving and gracious and almighty Lord right now, even in the midst of sorrow, [persecution, and strife].”[6]

Glory in fame, numbers, power, and reputation matter not.  What matters is the trail of blood from Mt. Calvary that holds us, the bleeding Church.  What matters is that Christ holds us now and to the end when He will someday say to us, “Well done!  You were faithful; you did not look for ease and comfort; you kept what was entrusted to you.” 

 

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] C.F.W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law And Gospel (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1928), 265-267.

[2] Chad L. Bird, Christ Alone: Meditations and Sermons (Copyright 2014 Chad Bird), 112.

[3] Ibid, 112.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Jason Zirbel, “Life in the Midst of Labor Pains,” LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=4357 (accessed November 11, 2015)

[6] Ibid.

Facing Death Fully

Text: 1 John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

This morning we name the names of our dead, those of our church family who have died in the past year.  We name Ashley, Jeff, and Lou before the altar and before the Lord.  We also remember all other loved ones who passed away this last year as well: brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, aunts, and so forth.

For some, you will hear the names of those who passed away, but will not know much about them.  For others, you will hear their names and know them intimately as their life was intertwined with your life. 

Furthermore, with the names of those who passed away, there may be happiness or pain or both.  Their name may bring forth a wonderful memory, a memory that you have not considered in a long time, whereas, that same name may bring forth the pain of grief and loss. 

Whether we experience pain or happiness or regret or anger, we must be honest before the Lord though.  Yes, we must have courage to be honest this morning in this church and on All Saint’s Day.  Nothing else will do before the Lord.  Otherwise stated, we need to be careful to avoid the clichés of death, those sayings that are nothing more than false façades that attempt to lessen the sting of death.  We need to avoid euphemisms, which are soft and tame words that are used in the place of strong and blunt words about death.  Clichés and euphemisms such as:

“We’re not having a funeral, we’re having a celebration; God needed another angel; God wants to make you stronger through this; God never gives you more than you can handle; everything happens for a reason; they didn’t die, but simply passed on; he was a really good man.”   

Yes, we must avoid these foolish clichés and euphemisms, for they do not change the facts about death, but often confuse things and make things worse.  Sure they might bring comfort to a person experiencing grief and they might help a person feel better about granting comfort to a mourning friend, but the fact of death remains a fact no matter how much we try and cover it up and lesson its bite.  Therefore, death needs to be recognized; we should not skirt around the issue of death.

In Noel Coward’s play This Happy Breed, a man’s son is killed in the war and his friends try to help him with pious sounding clichés and euphemisms for death.  Out of the emptiness of his heart, the grieving father finally cries out, “He didn’t pass on, pass out, or pass over; he just bloody well died.” This brutal honesty about death - calling death out for what it is – shows that there is finality to death, a finality that we so desperately try and avoid.  To shove all the clichés and euphemisms off to the side and admit that the nail is in the coffin and that death has had the last word, takes courage; it calls a spade a spade.    

You see, it is hard to strip away the clichés and it is hard to strip away the euphemisms, for death is dark and the grave is deep and cold.  We want the clichés and we want the pious sayings for they attempt to lessen the sting of death.  Bluntly stated, without the clichés, death has a way of stripping life of its meaning and purpose leaving us saying, “What is the point of going on living when the one most precious in all the world has died?”

Even though starring into the dark abyss of death is difficult and takes great courage, we need to.  Yes, it is healthy and important to face death head on, to come face to face with it and consider its claim of finality.

Once we look into the coffin, once we stare down the dark grave, and once we sign the death certificate, we can then say that we have faced death fully… or have we. 

Dear friends, you and I have not faced death fully unless we have faced the death on Mt. Calvary. 

At Mt. Calvary, Jesus Christ experienced ultimate death where He was forsaken by God the Father.  He died between two criminals.  He was not guilty of any sin, but cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” as He suffered condemnation, hell, and wrath for our sin that was laid upon Him.  This is the ultimate death, the forsakenness of God.  All death of God’s children leads to this ultimate death of the Son of God.  To look upon Mt. Calvary and the blood stained cross is to face death fully.    

As we consider this ultimate death on this All Saint’s Day, we mustn’t nearly stop with Jesus’ words of, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” but we must push through these words to hear different words.  These words come forth from the dying Savior as He cried out boldly, “It is finished!”  In other words, as we consider Christ-crucified we not only hear about Christ bearing our sin upon Himself as if it was His own, but we also hear that He is not the enemy of God, but doing the saving will of God.  And as we gaze upon this ultimate death of finality, we hear that Jesus goes through death and rises from the grave.  This once bloodied, tormented, slaughtered Lamb of God is now the risen one who sits on the “throne of God and of the Lamb.” 

It gets better.  The name of this crucified and resurrected Savior – the name of Christ - was placed upon you and upon the Saints of this church that died.  His name was put upon you with the water of Baptism.  Yes, the cross of the Lamb who was slain was marked upon your head and upon your heart: marking you as one of the redeemed.  This means that this Christ will not let go of you, me, and the departed Saints of this church.  He will not let you let go of God. 

This morning, we read the names of the departed, trusting in that forgiveness won on Mt. Calvary by the Lamb who was slain, Jesus Christ.  It is He who is our judge.  It is He who answered for our sins on the cross.  What Christ did is given to you as your own possession.  His death is for you, His life is for you, and so you are forgiven and righteous with His righteousness.  It is all yours from Jesus, the Lamb of God.    

Looking into the ultimate death of Jesus Christ and knowing that our earthly deaths are not the final say, also allows us to be free from the gripping fear of death.  Today, in this protective Ark – God’s holy church – you are free to mourn with a mourning that is free of clichés and euphemisms.  You can be truthful about death, you are free to weep the tears that Jesus shares with you as you hear His words, “Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.” 

Dear Baptized Saints and you who mourn the loss of dear loved ones, take comfort for Jesus does not just talk about comfort; He has accomplished comfort for you and me at Mt. Calvary.  In other words, as we mourn the loss of our loved ones today, we know that the hands that hold us are the hands that were pierced on Mt. Calvary.  Furthermore, these hands hold us in our mother’s womb, they hold us through life, they hold us on our death bed, and they hold us through the valley of the shadow of death into eternity. 

When grief and pain strip us of everything, when the loss of the loved one seems to pull us into a pit emptying our hands of everything, do not fear for the Lord places into our empty hands His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.  Blessed are you who are given to by God. 

Despite the pain, complexity, grief, and struggle of death and dying, you are never outside the Lord’s protective hands. Despite the lies, deceptions, and partial truths of the world, the Lord has never lied to you. And He has never failed to do what He has promised.  You can count on Him. 

Listen today: you currently possess eternal life, right now in time.  Although you cannot see glory now, you and I walk by faith knowing and confessing that when Jesus appears again that we shall be like Him: bodily resurrected ‘with’ the departed Saints of this church.  He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

Therefore, this All Saint’s Day, we not only mourn in freedom, but we rejoice and are glad in the midst of our loss, for through Christ the sting of death has been overcome by victory.  Through this victory we anticipate the bodily resurrection and the day when we all shall see the Lamb of God face to face, in all glory, majesty, and honor, without sin, without the devil, and without death.

Indeed, on “the Last Day, God will raise all the dead and transform the decaying dust of our flesh into a new, immortal body.  God will destroy this present, sinful earth and replace it with a new heaven and earth.  There, all who believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins will live with Him and enjoy His presence forever.”[1] 

This promise is for you, for me, and for our departed Saints. 

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Note: Large portions of this sermon are indebted to Norman Nagel’s ‘All Saint’s Day Sermon’ from Matthew 5:1-12 at Valparaiso University (November 1, 1981).

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[1] James Batchelor, “All Saint’s Day,” LCMS Sermons http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=4343 (Accessed October 31, 2015).

He Takes A Needle And A Camel; Watch What Happens Next

Text: Mark 10:23-31

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

I have a challenge for us today.  My challenge is for us to consider the task of putting a large camel through the eye of a needle.

Yes, let us imagine that we have a 2,200 lb. six foot camel in our midst, a large harry and spitting camel with two humps on its back.  Then imagine that we have been given a simple needle.  Not a large needle, but a simple crafting needle that is thin with a sharp point for sewing and a small open hole on the end.  Our mission – if we choose to accept it – is to get the camel to pass through the eye of a needle, the small hole where the thread goes. 

Now that we have accepted this task, one way for us to accomplish this challenge would be to thread a chin hair of the camel through the eye of the needle and then pull on that chin hair as hard as we can.  If we pull hard enough, we may just be able to get the rest of the camel to go through the eye of the needle as well.  He may just pop through.

If this does not work, there is always Plan B.  Plan B is a bit messier, for it involves greasing the camel down.  Maybe a little WD-40, Vaseline, and motor oil will do the trick.  After the camel is greased down, if we hold the needle steady while pushing the greasy camel, we might with enough force be able to push the camel through the eye of the needle. 

If Plan B does not work, we can then move on to Plan C.  We could shave the camel down and then pass each camel hair through the eye of the needle, one by one.  Then we would have to dismantle the camel piece by piece and force each piece through the eye of the needle.  The challenge though would be to put the camel back together on the other side.  We would have to put the hooves, legs, body, tail, neck, and head back together.  Then we would have to glue every hair back on the camel. 

All this said, I hope you are arriving at the same conclusion that I have arrived at, and that is, it would take a miracle to put a camel through the eye of a needle.  Even talking about strategies of getting the camel through the eye of a needle shows the foolishness of such a task.  Otherwise stated, it is impossible to put a camel through the eye of a needle and it is also impossible for you and me to pass into eternal life by the power of our own works and by the influence of our wealth.  In fact, it is easier to make a camel go through the eye of a needle than for you and me to make it to heaven on our own strength.

Dear friends, the Kingdom of God – Heaven - is not for sale.  It cannot be earned and it cannot be manipulated.  Just as we cannot force ourselves through the eye of a needle, we cannot force ourselves through the Kingdom’s door.  This is what Jesus is attempting to tell us in Mark’s Gospel reading from this morning. 

You see, during the first-century the people of Israel looked at wealthy people as honest hard working citizens.  Wealthy people were considered blessed by God and they were assumed to be honest and noble.  If anyone was fit for the Kingdom of God, it was those who had wealth.  They were the model citizens; they stood at the front of the line.  Thus, when Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven, the probability of entering the Kingdom of God went way down - down to 0%.  The disciples actually exclaimed, “Then who can be saved?”

We are also reminded of this same kind of talk from Jesus in Matthew’s gospel, the seventh chapter, where Jesus said the following,

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

Like the small and narrow eye of a needle, Jesus says that the way to eternal life is through the narrow gate, not the wide gate. 

With that stated, many Christians will unfortunately hear sermons on the wide versus narrow gate from their pastors, where the pastor will “define 'entering by the wide gate' as following the ways of the 'world' - that is, going to worldly movies, reading dirty magazines and frequenting bars. Conversely [the pastor will say that] 'entering by the narrow gate' means going to church, reading the Bible, memorizing Scripture, getting perfect Sunday school attendance pins, visiting people in nursing homes, and giving money. The narrow and wide gates are reduced to lists of things we are supposed to do or not do.”[1]  Bad things are the way of the wide gate and good things are the way of the straight and narrow. However, this is not what Jesus was getting at.  In other words, the wide gate is the gate of religious performance and self-effort that leads to toil and weariness and hell; whereas, the narrow gate is the gate for those who are tired, worn out, beggarly, and beating their breast saying, ‘God have mercy on me the sinner.’  The narrow gate is only fit for those who drop their works and religious performance baggage and come through empty handed depending upon the grace of God. On the other side of the narrow gate is heavenly rest. Indeed, if we try to go through the narrow gate with our perfect attendance pins, and Bible quiz trophies, or any of our own righteousness, we simply won't fit like we won’t fit through the eye of a needle. Jesus is the narrow gate. 

Dear friends, all of this said, it is not bad to be rich, it is not bad to possess material possessions, and it is not bad to use resources in your vocations to serve your neighbor.  But rather, the point of Jesus’ message with the illustrations of the narrow gate and the eye of the needle is that no one is able to enter the Kingdom of God with their own resources.  “When Jesus said that the most respected members of the culture could not earn their way into God’s Kingdom, He was saying that none of us rich or poor can earn a place in God’s Kingdom.  All of us are as likely to enter God’s Kingdom as a camel is likely to pass through the eye of a needle.”[2]

Then who can be saved, you might ask?  Who can obtain eternal life?  Who can merit the Kingdom of God?  No one!  Not you and not me.  Indeed, “it is impossible—for all people—no matter how old or young, wise or foolish, rich or poor, free or slave, law-abiding or illegal…it doesn’t matter.  For every child born of Adam it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of God if your merit and worthiness is to be factored into the decision.”[3] 

. . .

Oh, but here the good news of the Gospel!  “With God, your merciful and gracious heavenly Father, nothing is impossible.  No one is too far gone or beyond hope for the unconditional and unfailing grace, mercy, peace, and love of their heavenly Father.”[4]

Dear Baptized Saints, the Kingdom of God is not a private country club for the self-righteous or for those who possess super-Christian powers.  Your spiritual resume, your resources, your actions, your piety, and your works cannot put you through the eye of a needle into the Kingdom of Heaven.  These things do not put you through the narrow gate. 

But rather, the Kingdom of Heaven is for sinners only.  It is for blood-bought-baptized-sinners such as you and me.  It is for fisherman, tax collectors, and reprobates, such as the disciples. 

And yes, you and I as sinners are pulled through the eye of the needle into the Kingdom.  By Christ’s shed blood we are taken from the wide gate of destruction and placed through the narrow gate of life.  The impossible is possible with the Lord.

You see, through your baptisms you are undone.  Through your baptism you are joined to Jesus’ death and then joined to His resurrection.  Yes, you are taken from death through the eye of a needle to life by the Lord’s work to and for you.  You are taken from the wide gate that is a black hole of death, and joined to Christ who is the narrow gate of life.   It is the Lord that takes us from the kingdom of darkness and puts us into the Kingdom of Power and Glory.  God puts you and me to death in Christ as we are undone in our baptisms and brought back to life in Christ’s resurrection.

We cannot put a camel through the eye of a needle, but the Lord can surely forgive a sinner and usher a sinner like you and me into the Kingdom of God. 

He does all the work to and for you; rest and receive.  He made it possible for you to receive the Kingdom of God and for the Kingdom of God to receive you. 

Do not fear; the Kingdom belongs to you. 

Do not be distraught, you are in Christ. 

Do not be shocked, you are forgiven. 

Indeed, your salvation is a miracle; it is a gift; it is an inheritance.  All for you, nothing held back. 

Today in conclusion we have learned two things.  It is impossible to put a camel through the eye of a needle, but it is completely possible and an actual reality that you have been put into the Kingdom of God, for Christ died and was resurrected - for you.

 

In the name of Jesus,  Amen

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[1] David Johnson and Jeff Van Vonderen, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing & Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1991), page number unavailable.

[2] James T. Batchelor, “Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost,” LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=4328 (accessed October 16, 2015).

[3] Jason Zirbel, “Unquestionable Christian Richness,” LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=4327 (accessed October 16, 2015).

[4] Ibid.

What Must I Do To Be Saved?

Text:  Mark 10:17-22

In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

What must you do to inherit eternal life? 

This is a profound question to ponder.  It is a question that comes from the Gospel of Mark, where a rich young ruler wanted to acquire, win, and obtain life after death. 

So, what must one do to acquire, win, and obtain eternal life?  What must you do to acquire, win, and obtain eternal life?

When the average person on the street is asked this question, the top responses are that one obtains eternal life through being a good person, living a good life, and having upright morals.  Indeed, according to a large segment of Americans, if one lives by God’s rules, behaves like Jesus, treats others well, and esteems the golden rule, then eternal life is within one’s reach.[1]

Now, as we look back to our Gospel reading from this morning, it seems that Jesus agrees with a large segment of Americans as well.  He actually responds to the rich young ruler’s question by saying this,

“You know the commandments: you shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.” 

Indeed, it seems that Jesus is telling the rich young ruler to follow the straight and narrow path in order to get eternal life.  It sounds like Jesus is telling him to give it his all and to fulfill the Ten Commandments in order to acquire eternal life. 

Is Jesus actually telling this guy to ‘work’ his way to eternal life, to climb the ladder towards heaven, to exert moral actions?  Contrary to what you might think, Jesus actually is.    

You see, the rich young ruler did not ask Jesus ‘where’ eternal life was found and he did not ask Jesus ‘how’ eternal life is accomplished, but rather He asks the question, “What must ‘I do’ for eternal life.”  In other words, the rich young ruler wants to ‘do’ his own salvation.  He wants a check list.  He wants to flex his own spiritual muscles.  He wants to pull himself up by his bootstraps.  He wants to earn eternal life by doing.   Furthermore, it appears that the rich young ruler thinks he has dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s and just wants a bit of affirmation from Jesus, to make sure that he is doing it right and well enough.    

Keep in mind though, before we get too ahead of ourselves, in asking this question, the rich young ruler is guaranteeing to get himself into trouble.  Furthermore, when we ask this question, it also guarantees to make our lives miserable as well.  Yes, far too many Christians ask this question and far too many pastors teach Christians to ask the question, “What must ‘I do’ to obtain eternal life.’”  The reason why it is guaranteed to make your life miserable in one way or another is that you and I will either become self-deceived to the point that we convince ourselves that we are actually pulling it off, or you and I will become disheartened, overwhelmed, depressed, and fearful knowing that we cannot get the job done.  To put this another way, if we think that we are able to acquire eternal life by our own doings, we not only are deceiving ourselves, but we will also become boorish arrogant snotty pharisaical persons, who think that we are better than everyone else.  On the other hand, if we realize that we cannot accomplish eternal life by our own doings, we end up going down the path of spiritual suicide leading to secularism or atheism.    

This is the way that it was with the rich young ruler.  He asks Jesus what he must do and then Jesus lays a list of dos and don’t upon him.  The rich young man – convinced that he is an upright and morally good person – arrogantly and foolishly responds that he has been doing the Ten Commandments since his youth.  To this Jesus then piles more things to do upon him.  He looks into the rich young ruler’s heart and sees that what the man loves more than God is his possessions.  Therefore, he tells the man to go and sell all that he has and follow him.

Now, Jesus is not trying to show him that he needed to learn to love others and not wealth before he could finally please God for eternal life and He is not telling the man to go and sell everything to the poor so that the man might earn eternal life before God.  But rather, Jesus is laying His finger on the chief sin in the man’s heart, the love of earthly possession.  Jesus is exposing the man’s self-righteousness and his false religion of foolishly trying to obtain eternal life by his own doing – by his own works.

Dear friends, when you live by your own perceived abilities to please God and try to obtain eternal life through your keeping of the law, the demands of the law will never relinquish.  If you think you are doing a pretty good job, there is always more to do; the Law will always demand more from you.  That is the seduction that is so easy to get ensnared into. 

Indeed, asking the question, “What must I do to acquire eternal life,” and then attempting to actually do something to acquire eternal life, is actually seductive. “This is the seduction of all false religions.  False religions teach that good works will eventually lead a person to salvation.  They all try to answer the question, ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Many of these religious systems espouse lives of great moral behavior to answer this question, but they all fail to answer the next question.  ‘What should I do when I fail to lead a righteous life?’  What does a Jew do when he fails to keep the laws of Moses?  What does a Muslim do when he fails to observe the Five Pillars of Islam?  What does the member of the secret society do when he can't maintain that purity of life and conduct so essentially necessary for gaining admission into the celestial lodge above?  These religions that are so eager to give us control over our own destiny all fail to mention what happens when we fail to produce the good works of salvation.”[2]

And so, Jesus having compassion for this rich young ruler crushes and causes his false religious system to fall apart by saying,

“One thing you lack; go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven; then come, follow me.” 

With these words, Jesus reveals the rich young ruler’s heart; with these words Jesus shows that beneath the shiny reputation, underneath the clean demeanor, under the classy reputation, and in the smooth talk, is a poor miserable sinner clinging to his earthly possession.  He reveals the man’s false religious system.  He shows that the man’s god is money.  He strips away his self-righteousness.  He causes him to fall apart and to hit rock bottom. 

Jesus told this rich young man, not what he wanted to hear, but what he needed to hear.  Jesus broke this man down, humbled him, and made him disheartened. 

Believe it or not, the Lord loves you the same way that He loved this man.  This man needed to hear about his hopelessness; he needed to be brought to see his depraved and wicked heart.  The rich young ruler needed to understand that he was not self-sufficient, but needed a Savior.  The same is with you and me. 

Truly, “Jesus loves us the same way.  He sends the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin.  The Holy Spirit comes to us through the Word of God and shines the searing light of the law into our hearts.  He shows our true nature to us.  He takes us to the depths of pure terror as He shows us the future we have earned for ourselves.  He shows us the true hopelessness of our good works.”[3]

In other words, the Holy Spirit through the Word shows us that if we think that we are obtaining salvation by our own doing, we are not working towards heaven, but are digging ourselves to hell.  The reason being, good works are for our neighbor, not for us to use as a bargaining chip before God.  God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does.  We do not do and cannot do good works to be a Christian, but we do good works because we already are.  Furthermore, we must keep in mind that because of sin, salvation is unaccomplishable for sinners.  We cannot climb high enough, work hard enough, bleed long enough, surrender enough, and suffer adequately to achieve perfection or erase sins.  Because of this, eternal life is something that cannot be merited… but… it is something that is inherited. 

Dear friends, you cannot merit eternal life, but take comfort right now, eternal life is inherited.  With merit, you earn; with an inheritance you receive. 

Frankly put, the Lord is gracious to you and me when we are repented.  That is to say, when the Lord through the Law crushes us, He is actually stripping us of thinking that we can merit salvation, so that He can gift us salvation. 

Think about that!  When our hands are full of our own spiritual accomplishments and our own works, they cannot receive the gift that was accomplished at Mt. Calvary.  Thus, the Lord in His goodness, stripped the rich young ruler of his spiritual endeavors so that he might be giveable.  And He does the same to us. 

You and I cannot produce holiness and eternal life for ourselves; we must receive it entirely from God.  To self-fabricate holiness or to attempt to merit salvation is actually abhorrent to God.  But praise be to God that He kills us through the Law, that He levels us, that He gifts us repentance rendering us as sinners.  Furthermore, praise be to God that the Gospel is for sinners only!   Praise God that He does not keep this salvation - this gift of eternal life - to Himself.  Instead, He comes to us on our earthly journey so that He may gift us forgiveness, life, and salvation. 

What does this mean?  It means that your Christian faith does not depend on your performance or meriting, but upon receiving from the Lord.  And yes, the Lord gives Himself to you.  

As beggars you and I have access to the Father’s presence and His grace.  It is an inheritance that the Holy Spirit delivers to you from this altar, from your baptisms, and from the Holy Word.  As inheritors we do not ask, “What must I do,” but we confess, “Look at what I’ve been given; look at what Jesus did for me; while I was an enemy of God, Christ died for me; He claimed me!” 

Indeed, you have received, receive, and will receive grace upon grace—the Lord’s inheritance for you. 

Forgiveness, life, and salvation are yours.  Truly, they are yours right now.  The Lord hasn’t held back.  You, who have ears, hear this.  The Lord is for you.  His forgiveness, life, and salvation are for you.  It is yours.  It is all gift, an inheritance for you now and for eternity. 

 

In the name of Jesus,  Amen

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[1] Pew Research Center, “Many Americans Say Other Faiths Can Lead to Eternal Life,”  http://www.pewforum.org/2008/12/18/many-americans-say-other-faiths-can-lead-to-eternal-life/#2 (accessed October 10, 2015).

[2] James T. Batchelor, “Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost,” LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=1455 (Accessed October 10, 2015).

[3] Ibid.