Flee from idolatry in all its forms

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Third-to-last Sunday (Trinity 25)

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18  +  Matthew 24:15-28

Today the lectionary begins turning our thoughts to the end times, to the state of the world and of the Church leading up to Christ’s return. It isn’t a pretty picture. But there is hope in it! Not the hope of a better world here, but the promise of God’s protection and help as we live through the dark days of the great tribulation. Alongside that promise, though, comes a warning from the Lord Jesus, an urgent warning to flee from the idolatry that will afflict the Church as we wait for Him to return.

Jesus is talking with His disciples about the signs leading up to His coming at the Last Day. He foretells a horrible event from the beginning of the New Testament period—the destruction of Jerusalem in the first century. And He uses that same event as a metaphor for the last days.

Therefore, He says, when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. The Old Testament prophets often refer to idols as abominations, things that God truly hates. A desolation is something that lays waste to an area. Daniel, who lived about 600 years before Christ, prophesied that an idol would be set up in the holy place, in the innermost part of the temple in Jerusalem, right next to the place where God had promised to dwell. That prophecy was partially fulfilled some 400 years later when Antiochus Epiphanes, the commander of the Greek forces in Syria, would oppress the Jews over the course of about three years, banning their religion and literally setting up an idol in the temple. But Jesus applies Daniel’s prophecy to another event yet to come, to the idolatry of the Jews who would reject Him, who would still use the temple in Jerusalem to make sacrifices for sin, mocking the sacrifice of Christ that had already been made once for all on the cross. That idolatry was the reason why God allowed the Roman armies to come in in 70 AD to cause desolation, to besiege and finally destroy Jerusalem.

Just as Scripture often uses the literal kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament as a figure of the spiritual kingdom of Christ in the New Testament, so Jesus uses that literal idol in the literal holy place and the resulting desolation in the literal city of Jerusalem to represent a spiritual abomination, a spiritual idol (or idols) in the spiritual temple of God, which is the Holy Christian Church. As He says here when he refers to the “holy place,” let the reader understand. There’s something figurative in this saying that Jesus wants us to notice.

The idolatry that grew in the holy place of the Holy Christian Church over the centuries was the papistic idolatry, the idolatry of the Roman Church, as the hierarchy began to set the saints and their merits next to Christ in the holy place of the Church, setting the penances and satisfactions of the Christian next to the atonement made by Christ, setting the pope and the Church’s hierarchy next to Christ and actually above Christ because the pope’s teaching contradicted the word of Christ, and yet he was to be believed instead of Christ, which is why Lutherans refer to the papacy as the Antichrist, or at least as the ultimate Antichrist. Because not all the idols that have been set up in the Church can be traced directly to the papacy.

Or maybe they can, in a way, if “popery” is considered more generally. Every time a teaching is set up in the Church that contradicts the Word of Christ and is supposed to be believed instead of Christ, you have a little pope there, don’t you? Every time a man (a pastor or a priest or a minister) insists on being obeyed in the Church when he’s teaching something other than the word of Christ, you have a little pope there. Every time a synod or a church body or diocese demands your loyalty, regardless of the Word of Christ, or every time Christians give their loyalty to a synod or a church body or a minister, regardless of the Word of Christ, you have a little pope there, a little antichrist, an idol, an abomination that will cause desolation.

So, “Flee!” Jesus says. Fleeing ahead of the Roman armies was a physical fleeing, and all those who listened to Jesus’ warning were able to escape Jerusalem before the desolation came. Fleeing from all these other idols is a spiritual kind of fleeing, although there may be some physical fleeing involved, too. Run away from that church or that church body that has set up an idol where only Christ belongs. Get out of the assembly where idolatry, even secret idolatry, is being openly practiced. Run away in your heart from every idol that you might fear, love, or trust in more than God.

Flee! And do it without delay! That’s what Jesus’ instructions boil down to. Let the one who is on the housetop not come down to get anything out of his house. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to get his clothes. But woe to the women who are with child and who are nursing in those days! Pray that your flight is not in the winter or on the Sabbath! In other words, anything that hinders your flight from where idolatry has taken hold in the Church will harm you! Getting away from it is urgent, and all the more urgent as the Last Day approaches, when the tribulation will be at its greatest.

You see, fleeing from Rome and from all the idols that are set up within the visible Church is essential to avoid the desolation it will cause—the desolation of souls! But it doesn’t get you out of the great tribulation. Jesus says, For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened since the beginning of the world until now, nor will there ever be. Indeed, if those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. The Book of Revelation talks about the saints who were even then “coming out of the great tribulation.” So, in a sense, it’s been going on since the first century. But just as the first abomination of desolation was literal and the second is spiritual or figurative, so might the tribulation be. The great tribulation of the first century involved severe physical persecution and torture of the saints. The great tribulation near the end of the world may be much more of a spiritual tribulation, trouble and affliction of the spirit, the trouble of being surrounded and assaulted by false doctrine, the trouble of having a hundred different Christian church bodies, the trouble of a world that completely and thoroughly rejects God’s Word, natural law, and justice. The public schools of our country (and in most of the world) teach a sort of “gentle atheism.” They don’t come right out and say God doesn’t exist, or that all religion is evil. They just unteach everything the Bible teaches and replace it with a false history, false morality, false authority, and a false purpose for mankind. They train generations of citizens not to rely on God’s word, but on “science” and the ingenuity of the human race. Practically all the world powers deny Christ, if not by name, then by policy and by action. This is all part of the great tribulation, the work of the Antichrist, and it would be too much even for the elect to withstand, if God didn’t shorten the days for us. But Jesus promises here that those days will be shortened.

Now, sometimes He shortens the days by giving us a brief reprieve, a few moments of sanity and normalcy. But those reprieves are temporary. Sometimes He shortens the days by bringing believers out of this life, so that we finish our race in faith and win the battle by leaving the battle with our faith intact. But in the end, only the coming of Christ will truly shorten the days of the great tribulation.

Jesus has further warnings for those who live in the great tribulation: “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will perform great signs and wonders, so as to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. False prophets pointing to false christs. Isn’t that exactly what we see in the Church at large? False prophets pointing to evolutionary Jesus, who didn’t create the world in six days; pointing to LGBT Jesus, who didn’t create them male and female and institute marriage between a man and a woman; pointing to socialist Jesus who compels people to charity by force; pointing to tolerant Jesus who would never dare judge anyone for anything—except for intolerance.

That’s the false Jesus on the liberal side. But then there are plenty of false prophets on the more “conservative” side who point to American patriot Jesus; or to contemporary worship Jesus on the one hand or to strict traditionalist Jesus on the other; or to the Jesus who forbids the little children to come to Him through Holy Baptism; or to rapture Jesus who still supposedly calls on Christians to support the Israel that rejects Him as Lord. The list goes on.

Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the desert!’ do not go out; or, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes out of the east and is visible in the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. There is only one true Jesus Christ, who has ascended into heaven and will not return until the very Last Day of this world when every eye will see Him. Until then, He has left a sure and dependable witness of His teaching: His words faithfully recorded in Holy Scripture and faithfully confessed in the ancient creeds of the Church. And He has left a ministry of the Word that carries His blessing and His authority. If you go seeking Jesus apart from His Word and the ministry of it, you will only find a false christ.

Our Gospel concludes with that rather strange saying: For where the carcass lies, there the eagles will gather. It’s actually a paraphrase from the book of Job, where God is scolding Job for thinking himself wiser than God. And God has to remind him that God is the one who gave the eagle the nature and the ability to spy out the landscape from afar, to pinpoint where the dead body is, and to gather there. So it is with God’s children. We won’t miss Jesus at His coming. We won’t miss out on the eternal life He will bring. Instead, St. Paul describes the scene of the Last Day beautifully in today’s Epistle, when both those believers who have died and those believers who are still alive on that day will all be gathered around the Lord Jesus: For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

Such is the wisdom of God, to allow His visible Church to falter and to embrace the idol, and to allow His true believers, His invisible Church, to suffer much during this great tribulation. But rather than question God’s wisdom as Job did, let us embrace it and acknowledge that God knows far better than we do what is right and necessary for this world and for His beloved Church, including each one of His dear children. Trust in Him. Watch out for idols and flee from them, wherever they are set up. Seek Him in His word and the ministry of it during this great tribulation. And eagerly expect His coming! Amen.

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Something new is coming

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 22

Revelation 21:1-8

We’ve all had that special thing we really loved—a toy, a car, a tool, a piece of equipment, a piece of clothing—that eventually broke, or got torn, or damaged somehow. We may have tried to repair it or patch it, keep it running, keep using it for a while. But eventually we knew, it was just too broken, beyond repair. We had to get rid of it. We had to replace it with something new.

That’s God’s evaluation of this earth, of this universe. He created it good. But it broke very quickly, when man fell into sin. Since then, God has been sustaining it, holding it together, keeping it running, because He had a purpose and a use for it still—to prepare the world for the coming of His Son, to give His Son into death for our sins, to build a Church through the preaching of the Gospel. But soon that purpose will be completed. And then, God won’t try to repair the earth. It’s just too broken. Instead, He will replace it with something new. That’s what John sees in his vision in Revelation 21. Something new is coming.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. This verse, and really this whole section, mirrors the prophet Isaiah’s words in the last two chapters of his book. For example, Isaiah writes: For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. There’s no use trying to save this planet, or trying to populate a new one, like Mars, as some are obsessed with doing. It’s not possible. It’s not worth it. God is about to get rid of this broken world and this broken universe. And the new heaven and earth will be so much better, in every way, that no one will even miss what we had here. As Paul wrote to the Romans, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

John continues his description of the new heaven and earth: Also there was no more sea. The problem with the sea is that it’s uninhabitable by man. In fact, most of the earth is covered with sea, making most of the earth uninhabitable. But the new earth won’t have that problem. The whole earth will be designed for God’s people to live in it and to prosper in it.

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Jerusalem, in the Bible, is used in at least two different ways. It sometimes refers to the actual city that David conquered from the Jebusites and that became the capital city of Israel and the home of Solomon’s temple. It often refers to the visible Church of God, either before the coming of Christ, when the city of Jerusalem was still the literal capital of the Church, or after the coming of Christ, when the Church is no longer tied to any single geographical location but has spread throughout the whole world. But the visible Church has always been made up of both believers and hypocrites—people who are outwardly members of the Church but inwardly unbelieving and sometimes hostile toward the believing members.

But there’s a New Jerusalem coming, one that won’t be a mixture of believers and hypocrites, one in which only believers in the true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are found. It’s coming down out of heaven from God, or, as God says through Isaiah: For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people.

John writes, I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve until they sinned. Then He didn’t walk among men anymore in the same way. He had Moses build a portable tabernacle, and later a permanent temple, so that God could dwell with men on earth. But it was a limited dwelling, where men couldn’t see or interact with God. Then, for about 33 years, God tabernacled among men in the Person of His Son. John says in chapter 1 of His Gospel, The Word became flesh and dwelled or “tabernacled” among us.” But that was wasn’t meant to last forever, either, and the divinity of Christ was still veiled and hidden most of the time. Now we don’t see God. We aren’t able to ask Him questions and hear His answers. He interacts with us through the medium of His Word and Sacraments. But the time is coming when He will make His permanent, visible dwelling among His people. He won’t work in hidden, mysterious ways anymore. We won’t have to wonder what His plans are. And we won’t have to constantly be waiting for the next shoe to drop, for the next disaster to strike.

As John writes, And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

We heard very similar words in chapter 7 talking about the souls of those who are already in heaven. But here it’s applied to all God’s people in the new earth and the New Jerusalem. It’s hard for us even to imagine a world like this, a life like this, untainted by sorrow, pain, or loss, with no fear of what tragedy or bad news may be just around the corner. But God would have you try to imagine it, try to picture it, and definitely look forward to it and let it comfort you here, because the valley of the shadow of death is not the final destination of the Christian. It’s only a stop along the way to a better and permanent life.

And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

There, at the end of this world and at the beginning of the next, stands our God. He never changed. He never wavered. Everything around us will be new, but God will remain the same, the same, faithful Father who only kept this old world going long enough to bring salvation to all who would be saved; the same faithful Lord Jesus who was with God in the beginning, who became our Brother, and who will remain with us forever; the same faithful Holy Spirit who was the finger of God in creating this earth, who brought the water of life to us here in Word and Sacrament, and who will sustain us forever in the new heavens and earth.

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

This is the true promise of God to Abraham, that His Seed would inherit, not just a plot of land by the Mediterranean Sea, but would inherit the earth. That Seed is Christ, and all who are joined to Him by faith. We’ve been made sons of God here through Baptism and faith in Christ Jesus, and we’ll remain His sons forever and inherit all things together with Him, if we overcome.

And so, again, that’s the lesson for us here. Look forward to the new heavens and the new earth, to the end of pain and suffering, to everything being made new and fresh and permanently good. And, be diligent to overcome, with God’s help, all the obstacles the devil will put in your way until the day when God makes all things new, so that you don’t end up in the wrong group.

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

All those vices mentioned here are perfectly fitting for this old, broken world, and for the burning lake of fire, but not for the new habitation that God will create. If it’s the new home you have your heart set on, if it’s the New Jerusalem where you wish to live, then rehearse for life in that place, and turn away from all those things that characterize the broken sinfulness of this place. Set your heart on the new creation, and walk in the new life of the children of God until you get there. Amen.

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The pattern of forgiveness must not fail

Posted on November 5, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for Trinity 22

Philippians 1:3-11  +  Matthew 18:23-35

The forgiveness of sins is at the heart of the Christian Gospel. But many people, including many Christians, don’t pay attention to how God forgives sins. They think that God just forgives everyone, because He’s an old softy and wouldn’t think of withholding forgiveness. And, because they think that’s how it is with God, they think that’s how Christians should be, too. Christians are sometimes scolded by atheists, in fact, if they don’t just forgive everything to everyone all the time.

But that’s not how it works. That’s not the Scriptural pattern of forgiveness. We’ve talked about this for the last several weeks. God is merciful toward all men. He wants to forgive everyone. He wants to be reconciled with everyone. He gave His Son to die on a cross so that all might be forgiven. But forgiveness is not the first step for God. God rebukes sinners for their sins. He calls them to repentance. And then, to those who repent, He offers the free forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the cross. Those who believe in Christ are forgiven.

It’s a simple pattern. God rebukes sin. He calls sinners to repentance. And He forgives the sins of those who repent. That’s the pattern God dependably follows. And, as we learn in today’s Gospel, it’s the pattern He expects His forgiven children to follow with one another. As Jesus said in another place, If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Simple, right? If your brother sins against you, show him his fault. If he repents, forgive him. If he won’t repent, then keep trying to get him to repent by confronting him with one or two others. If he still won’t repent, keep trying to get him to repent by taking the matter to the Church. And if he won’t listen to the Church, then, as Jesus says earlier in Matthew 18, “let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

Fine. The pattern is set. But then, in the words right before our Gospel, Peter suggests that there may be a loophole in the pattern. Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? In other words, what if this whole pattern plays out seven times. Seven times my brother sins against me, hurts me, causes me pain. Seven times I confront my brother with his sin. Seven times he repents. Do I really have to forgive him the seventh time? Haven’t I done more than enough in forgiving him six times? After that, should I (may I please?) tell him he’s reached his quota of forgiveness and then be done with him?

Jesus’ answer? I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. In other words, you shall never refuse to forgive your brother—if he repents! Far be it from you to withhold forgiveness from the penitent! And then He tells the parable that drives this pattern home.

The king wants to settle accounts with his servants. He brings in the one who owes him 10,000 talents—an astronomical figure, let’s call it the equivalent of $150 million. The king demands payment, and severe punishment if payment can’t be made. That’s the Law, telling the sinner he has sinned against God and must suffer eternal death, because he can never repay his debt.

The servant begs for patience on the king’s part and promises to pay it all back. That’s repentance. The sinner acknowledges the enormous debt he owes. He knows he deserves to be thrown in prison forever, because he can’t pay his debt. So he throws himself at the mercy of the king. In the parable, the man doesn’t ask for forgiveness. He asks for mercy, for a postponement of the punishment, for time to repay. The point of this parable isn’t to explain how Jesus would actually be the one who would offer His righteousness and His own blood as the payment for our sins, how He now says to us, “Here, use this! Use this to settle accounts with My Father, the King! He will accept this payment, because it’s the reason why I was sent in the first place, to give My life as the payment for sins, so that all you debtors might have something to pay back your debts with. Not with your own money, not with your own works, but with My works and with My blood.” That’s how God actually forgives sins. But the point of this parable is to show those who have been forgiven by God how they are to do with their brothers and sisters as God has done with them. And He doesn’t expect you to give your son into death for the sins of others. He does expect you to forgive the penitent as He has done.

The King in the parable has compassion and forgives the entire, enormous debt of that servant. The sinner no longer has to suffer anything in punishment for his sins. The sinner no longer has to come up with his own atonement, because the Father accepts the atonement made by Christ and applies it to the believer’s account. You no longer owe anything. You’re free to go, free to live as children of God. There it is: the pattern of forgiveness.

But the pattern breaks down when the forgiven servant leaves the presence of the king. It starts out the same; the servant finds a fellow servant—his brother in Christ—who owes him a hundred denarii—let’s say $5,000, which is nothing compared to the $150 million that the first servant owed the king. But the forgiven servant doesn’t just demand repayment from his fellow servant. He seized him and began to choke him. Already you see a great difference between the behavior of this servant and the behavior of the king. The servant is angry. He’s enraged. He isn’t simply settling accounts. He certainly isn’t desiring the repentance of his fellow servant, but wants to see him burn.

Now, the fellow servant pleads for patience and time to repay, with the same exact words the first servant used to plead before the king. The man’s brother is sorry for having sinned against him. He admits his fault. He asks for a chance to make it up to him.

But the first servant refuses and throws his fellow servant in prison. No mercy. No compassion. No desire to forgive. And no forgiveness is given to the penitent. Understand what that means. Now the first servant, who was at one time penitent and believing, has fallen from grace, has returned to impenitence and unbelief.

What happens to that unmerciful, unforgiving servant? The king is informed of the servant’s behavior and is appalled by it. You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’ And his lord was angry and handed him over to the torturers, until he should pay everything he owed to his lord. “So also will my heavenly Father do to you, if you do not—each one of you, from the heart—forgive your brothers their trespasses.”

You can’t reject the pattern of forgiveness toward your fellow Christian and at the same time keep enjoying the pattern of forgiveness for yourself. If you refuse to forgive the penitent, then you have fallen from grace. You have become impenitent and unbelieving. Now, your brother’s sins against you may be serious. They may hurt. (Or in other cases, they may not be very serious at all and yet you’re still inclined to take offense and stay angry and to refuse forgiveness!) In any case, Jesus puts it in perspective for you. Your sins against God cannot be counted, cannot be measured. They are far more serious than anything any man could do to you. Take the most heinous crime a human being can commit against another human being, and then realize, your crimes, your trespasses against God, in His judgment, are many thousands of times worse than that, to use Jesus’ analogy. Your only hope of salvation is in the mercy of God and in the pattern of forgiveness He Himself has established and embraced.

That pattern never fails, because God never changes. It must not fail for you, either. That means that, if someone has sinned against you and he isn’t sorry for it, forgiveness is not the step required of you at that point, but a heart of mercy still is, the readiness to forgive if that person repents—that’s required of you. And if the person repents, then forgiveness, from the heart, is the step required of you. Now, that forgiveness, when it’s given, may not mean that everything goes back to exactly the way it was before; there are sometimes lingering consequences here on earth for certain sins. But forgiveness must be given, nonetheless, or else you’re, in effect, turning toward Jesus and saying, “You are not my Lord! You are not my Master! My brother’s offense against me is greater than Your forgiveness toward me and more important than Your command.”

No, if your brother has sinned against you and you realize that you have no desire for your brother to repent, no desire to forgive him for the wrong he’s done to you, if you realize that you have been withholding forgiveness from your brother who is penitent, then recognize your own impenitence, and turn from it. Turn from your hardness of heart, before it’s too late, and take refuge in the blood of Christ, which was shed just as must for your sins as for your brother’s sins. Take Jesus’ warning seriously. Take the pattern of forgiveness seriously. Because already in Holy Baptism your immeasurable debts to God were cleared. And here in the Gospel, here in the Sacrament, full and free forgiveness of all your debts is offered to you again today. Go forward with it in peace, and take care to put it into practice with one another. Amen.

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Blessed are the saints on earth and in heaven

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for All Saints’ Day

Revelation 7:2-17  +  Matthew 5:1-12

Today we remember all the saints: the apostles, prophets, and martyrs of the Church of Christ, together with all the faithful who have gone before us: Old Testament believers in the coming Christ, and New Testament believers who were washed in the Baptism of Christ and made holy by faith in His blood, who bore the cross with patience, who persevered in faith until the end and have now received the crown of life. They are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation and are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. As it says elsewhere in the book of Revelation, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, for they will rest from their labors, and their works follow them. The saints above are truly blessed.

But so are we. So are we, if we have the qualities that Jesus describes in the Beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, that is, simply the qualities of a true Christian. Those who do, Jesus calls “blessed.”

The word for “blessed” used here in the Beatitudes means “happy.” It doesn’t mean they always feel happy. It means they have good reason to be happy, either because of something they already have and enjoy, or because of something they will most surely have and enjoy in the future. So whether we’re talking about the saints above or the saints below, those who have the qualities Jesus describes here have good reason to be happy.

Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit. What kind of poor people is Jesus talking about here? The poor “in spirit.” They may be the richest people on earth, or the poorest people on earth financially. That doesn’t matter at all. Rich or poor by earthly standards, they have good reason to be happy if they’re poor in spirit, that is, if they humble themselves before God, if they view themselves as beggars before Him—beggars in need of God’s mercy and grace.

Why do they have good reason to be happy? For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. No matter how much or how little you possess on earth, it will sooner or later be destroyed. It won’t be yours forever. It won’t last. What will last forever is the kingdom of heaven, where Christ reigns as a good and just King over His subjects, where Christ provides free forgiveness of sins and every grace and blessing, where all the members of the kingdom are dearly loved children of God the Father. This kingdom belongs only to the poor in spirit, making them the richest people on earth. And, after this life, the souls of those who were poor in spirit here now live with Christ in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

Blessed are those who mourn. Now, there are two kinds of mourning. There’s a mourning over your sins, which we call contrition, grieving over the countless ways you’ve sinned against God. And there’s a mourning over the effects of sin in the world: pain and loss, suffering and death, other people’s hatred, or mistreatment, or injustice, to watch as wickedness prospers and as righteousness is defeated. True Christians mourn for all these reasons, because of their own sins and because of the tragic effects of sin in the world. They know better than to blame God for any of it. They blame themselves for their part in it, they blame sin, and they blame the devil who dragged our race into it. And they mourn over it.

Why do those who mourn have good reason to be happy? Because of Jesus’ promise, They will be comforted. Already here and now those who mourn over their sins are told the comforting truth: The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Already here and now, those mourners who confess their sins hear God’s own absolution spoken by the pastor: Your sins are forgiven you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Already here and now those who mourn over all the sad effects of sin in the world are comforted with the fact that Christ reigns at the right hand of God, and with the knowledge that God works all things together for good to those who love Him. Already here those who mourn the death of a fellow Christian are comforted with the sure promise of the resurrection and eternal life, and that’s good reason to be happy, even in the midst of mourning.

How much more are the saints above comforted! As John described them in his vision, They will no longer hunger and no longer thirst; neither the sun nor any heat will strike them; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living springs of water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Blessed are the meek. Also translated “gentle” or “lowly.” It’s that aspect of love that St. Paul described to the Corinthians, love that does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked. It’s the attitude of Jesus, who said, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle (meek) and humble of heart. To be meek doesn’t mean that you can never be forceful or never take a stand. It just you’re not overbearing and arrogant and self-seeking.

Why do the meek have good reason to be happy? After all, they are often the ones who finish last here on earth. Their happiness lies in Jesus’ promise. They will inherit the earth. They will “inherit” it because they have been given the right to become children of God through faith in Christ. And as all things belong to Christ, so all things belong to those who are in Christ. Now, neither the saints in heaven nor the saints on earth have received this inheritance yet, but it’s there, waiting. As Peter says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Just as there were two kinds of mourning, so there are also two kinds of righteousness for which people hunger. There is the righteousness before God, and there is righteousness or justice among men.

Why do those who hunger and thirst for righteousness have good reason to be happy? Because already here and now, those who believe in Christ and who have been baptized into Christ have His righteousness as a robe to wear at all times. That’s the righteousness that counts before God and that makes us righteous in his sight.

As for righteousness or justice among men, we won’t see much of that here in this life. On the contrary, we’ll continue to see injustice grow, and we’ll continue to struggle against our own unrighteous flesh. But according to God’s own promise, we will see perfect justice in the Day of Judgment, which is coming soon, and in the next life, where the saints above now see it. We’ll be rid of all sin forever, as the saints above are now rid of it.

Blessed are the merciful. Those who are truly merciful, who truly look on their fellow man with mercy and compassion and pity, are just imitating their Father in heaven, as Jesus told us to do, Be merciful just as your Father also is merciful. They’re merciful toward others because they already know God’s mercy toward them in giving His Son into death for those who were, at the time, His enemies. They’ve already received God’s mercy.

Why do those who show mercy have good reason to be happy? Because they will be shown mercy. Believers in Christ, who have received God’s mercy in the forgiveness of sins, will now show mercy toward others, and, God, in turn, will show them even more mercy, as He no longer judges our deeds according to the strictness of His Law, but instead looks mercifully at the works we do from faith in Christ, and accepts them, and even rewards them in His mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart. A pure heart is genuine, sincere, and honest with God and with men. It doesn’t pretend. It isn’t hypocritical. It doesn’t have false motives, but seeks God in genuine repentance and faith and shows genuine love to our neighbor. It’s the heart of the New Man that has been created in Christians, even as we still drag around with us the impure heart of the Old Man and struggle against it. But if we walk according to the Spirit, if the pure heart of the New Man dominates within us, then we are said to be pure in heart.

What’s their reason for happiness? They will see God. Not because they deserve to see Him, but because their hearts have been purified by faith. As John writes: Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Blessed are the peacemakers. The children of God seek to make peace—peace with God by speaking the Gospel of peace to their fellow man; and peace with men, by living at peace with all men, to the extent it depends on us. Sometimes war and fighting may be necessary, but the Christian’s goal is always peace.

The peacemakers have reason to be happy, because they will be called sons of God. Our God is a God of peace, not chaos, not disorder, not strife or contention. He is a God who yearns to be reconciled with sinners through Christ. So those who carry out the ministry of reconciliation, and the Christians who work to maintain peace in His Church are rightly called His sons.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. This one He repeats and elaborates on: Blessed are you, when for my sake they insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you.

That sounds horrible, to be treated that way by the world. It is horrible! It hurts! It’s painful! It’s unfair! It’s unjust! How can Jesus call us blessed when we are mistreated for the sake of His name? What reason could we possibly have to be happy about that? Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Because great is your reward in heaven. For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who came before you. More than that, in the same way they persecuted the Lord Jesus. A servant is not above his lord. He shouldn’t expect to be treated better than his master. But if we share in His sufferings here, then we will also share in His glory there, even as the saints above do already.

If all this is what we already have here or what have to look forward to above, then truly we are blessed, with more reasons than anyone else on earth to be happy, to be blessed, now and forever. Blessed are the saints in heaven! Their race is finished. Their victory is won. And blessed are the saints on earth, who are still running our race, for our victory is guaranteed. May we strive to finish our race in faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit, nurturing all the qualities mentioned by Jesus in today’s Gospel that make us truly blessed, with all the saints. Amen.

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Remain in the truth of grace, faith, and Scripture alone

Posted on October 29, 2023 by Rev. Paul Rydecki
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Sermon for the Festival of the Reformation

Galatians 2:16-21  +  John 8:31-36

Lutherans traditionally stick to the ancient lectionary of the Christian Church, going back over a thousand years for most Sundays of the Church Year. But for almost 500 years, Lutherans have taken one Sunday out of the Church Year to thank God for the Reformation of the Church that He graciously brought about in the 16th century. Yes, we thank God for the Reformation, although many people curse this event in history, out of ignorance, or out of spite. We should thank God for it, not because it made the Church on earth perfect. It certainly didn’t do that. No, the Lutheran Reformation of the Church was about nothing more and nothing less than telling the truth, the very truth that Jesus spoke about in our Gospel, the truth that sets men free. The Lutheran Reformation was about telling the truth boldly, telling the truth courageously, telling the truth steadfastly, no matter what the consequences might be, because the truth sets men free, while error, falsehood, is poison to the soul. The Reformation was about standing up to popes and rulers and church councils, and demonstrating that they had not been telling the truth, that they had introduced poisonous lies into the Church, lies that needed to be exposed and eradicated. It meant turmoil in the Church and turmoil in society. It meant men like Martin Luther risking their reputations, their livelihoods, and their lives. And it meant congregations all over Europe having to choose between the glory and the prestige and the cultural heritage of Roman Church, on the one hand, and the truth as taught by a humble German pastor, on the other. What could cause men to take such a stand? What could move congregations to follow them—to give up so much, to sacrifice so much, including earthly peace? Only the power of the Truth and the strength of Spirit-worked conviction.

The truth that was revealed by the Reformation has been neatly summarized in three simple phrases (which Luther didn’t actually use, by the way, but which certainly describe his teaching): By grace alone, by faith alone, by Scripture alone. That is the Truth in which we, the heirs of the Reformation, must remain.

We’ll begin with Scripture alone, the Word of God, because that’s where we learn about the grace of God toward the human race, and the faith by which sinners are justified before God.

Jesus spoke in the Gospel “to the Jews who had believed Him.” There were many who disbelieved Him, but these believed. How had they come to believe Him? It certainly wasn’t because the Church—religious leaders of the day—told them to! Quite the opposite! The Church told them that Jesus was a heretic who deserved to die. No, they believed by hearing the word of Jesus. They had heard from the Old Testament Word of God that the Messiah was coming to save them from their sins and to bring sinners into His eternal kingdom. They had heard Jesus’ word calling them to repentance and faith in Him, the promised Messiah—the Christ. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is always at work in the Word, they had believed Him.

Now Jesus says to them, “If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” What does it mean to remain in Jesus’ word? It means to go on hearing it and to go on believing in, depending on it, hanging onto it for dear life. It means to stick with what Jesus says, no matter what anyone else in the world might say. It means to stay firmly rooted and planted in Jesus’ word, not as a part of your life, but as the very source of your life, for now and for eternity. Those who remain in Jesus’ word are truly Jesus’ disciples. They are the ones who know the truth. They are the ones who are set free.

But you know how crafty the devil is. He is constantly casting the Scriptures into doubt, always sending people back to their own reason and strength, back to their own human philosophies and traditions, back to what fallible men have said, in order to obscure the pure light of the Holy Scriptures, to keep men captive in his kingdom of darkness, or to bring the children of the light back into his darkness.

But the Word of God will never be silenced. Heaven and earth will pass away, Jesus said, but My words will never pass away. The light of the Gospel will never go out. And for those few, for us few who believe God’s word and promise, the Gospel is still the power of God for salvation.

The Reformation principle that Luther helped to restore was “by Scripture alone.” Not “by Scripture and church tradition.” Also, not “by Scripture alone and we don’t care what the Church has ever taught before.” But by Scripture alone God has revealed Himself and His saving purpose and plan to mankind. By Scripture alone we learn to know God the Father, and Jesus Christ, whom He sent. By Scripture alone the Holy Spirit teaches us the truth and enlightens our hearts to believe in Jesus. From Scripture alone all doctrine is to be drawn. And by Scripture alone we judge all doctrines, to see which are from God and which are from men. Men can err. Popes can err. Councils and theologians and priests and pastors and seminaries and synods can and do err. But the Word of the Lord remains forever. And those who remain in it will know the truth, according to Jesus’ own promise.

That truth centers around God’s grace in Jesus Christ. By Grace Alone, another Reformation principle.

Grace is God’s free favor and love toward mankind. It’s God’s willingness and desire to be kind and good and merciful to those who do not deserve it. Grace, by definition, cannot be earned, cannot be purchased, cannot be bartered for. Grace is always a gift, intended for those who can’t earn it, which is why no one who tries to earn it will ever receive it.

That was the case with the unbelieving Jews in the Gospel. When Jesus promised that those who remain in His Word will know the truth and will be set free, they answered Him, “We are Abraham’s seed and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. Now, a slave does not remain in the house forever. But a son remains forever. Therefore, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. You see, Jesus was offering them a gift, the gift of Himself, the gift of His sacrifice as payment for their sins, the gift of His righteousness as the replacement for their unrighteousness, the gift of freedom from slavery to sin, death, and the devil. He was the Son of God, the Son in the house who has the authority to set the slaves free. He was offering it as grace to needy sinners, but the sinners who stood before Him didn’t view themselves as needy, didn’t view themselves as slaves who needed to be freed. And so they remained slaves.

That’s why the Apostle Paul spends about two whole chapters in the Epistle to the Romans demonstrating from God’s Law that all flesh, all people, Jews and Gentiles, are sinners, condemned by God’s Law to death and sentenced to suffer God’s righteous wrath for all eternity. The main purpose of the Law is that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Why, then, does God justify anyone, if no one deserves it? Why, then, did God send His Son to redeem the lost and condemned human race, to be the propitiation, the sacrifice whose blood paid for all sin and whose righteousness satisfied the righteous requirements of the Law for all sinners? The answer is grace, grace alone.

Luther fought the battle against the Roman papacy, defending “by grace alone,” because the papacy had turned grace into an infusion of power by which God makes them able to earn God’s forgiveness and to merit eternal life. People do the same thing today when they think they are somehow worthy to be God’s children, worthy to be in heaven, deserving of God’s love and favor. But we hold to the Reformation principle that all people are, by nature, damned sinners, not worthy of a single favor from God, much less the free favor of eternal salvation and blessedness won for us by Jesus Christ. Sinners are saved from damnation, are justified, are made heirs of eternal life by grace alone.

That’s the reason why God saves and justifies sinners. How, then, are sinful human beings saved? How does God apply grace to people and to whom is it applied? How are sinners justified—counted righteous by God? You know this Reformation principle very well: Sinners are justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ.

That’s what Jesus had been repeating over and over and over throughout the Gospel of John. You’re probably most familiar with what He says in John chapter 3: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

It’s what Paul says throughout Romans 3, 4 and 5. It’s what you heard in today’s Epistle from Galatians 2. The righteousness of God is not something we have to perform or a standard we have to live up to. It’s a promise that God makes, something He promises to give, something that faith alone receives.

And if God counts you righteous, what good thing can you possibly lack? If God counts you righteous, then what does it matter if the whole world thinks badly of you? If God counts you righteous, what does it matter if you are rich or poor or smart or simple or famous or a nobody, if you have lots of friends or not a friend in the world? You have Jesus, His blood, His righteousness, His place as the Son in God’s household, His love, His friendship, His power, His strength, and His promise to see you safely through this valley of the shadow of death into His eternal mansions. That’s what you have by faith, my friends. See what a precious gift faith is!

Faith was under attack at the time of the Reformation. Rome taught that sinners are justified by faith plus works, with the emphasis on works. No one could be sure if he had enough works, and so, no one could be sure he had any of those blessings that God promises. But Luther taught the simple truth of Scripture, that sinners are justified by faith alone in Jesus, apart from the deeds of the Law.

You know that this battle goes on still today, the battle to preserve this saving truth that faith is the how of justification, that sinners are justified by faith in Christ Jesus and in no other way, certainly not by works, and certainly not by the absence of faith.

Many Christians through the ages have shed their blood defending this simple truth. They’ve faced homelessness and imprisonment and the sword—in some cases, at the hand of the Roman Church itself—for taking a stand on the Reformation principles of grace alone, faith alone, and Scripture alone. Will we be less willing than they to take a stand? Will we be content to hide out and escape persecution and trial and hardship by keeping our mouths shut, by going along to get along? May it never be so! God has graciously preserved us in His truth and will preserve us still, if we remain in His word. Even that is something we can only do with the help of His mighty, Holy Spirit who will continue to strengthen us through Word and Sacrament, in every trial, in every hardship, in the face of every challenge. Let us remain in the truth, together with Luther, and with the apostles and prophets, and with all the saints in heaven and on earth. Let us remain in the truth of Jesus Christ, in the truth of the Reformation: by grace alone, by faith alone, by Scripture alone. Amen.

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