Sunday, September 1, 2013

Jesus Christ, the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever

Jesus Christ, the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever
Hebrews 14:8

     One of the things that I really do not like to hear is that you have to keep up with the times.  Maybe it’s a factor of my age.  That may be true because I think that in some ways I have given up trying to keep up with the times because some of the things that I see are often so disgusting.  There are some things that are certainly good about the times that we live in.  Technology has come so far.  I can remember typing out my first sermons over thirty years ago on a typewriter.  Some of you probably don’t even know what that it.  I like being able to use a computer so that I can fix my mistakes easily as I go along.  I also like having a smart phone that puts the world of information right in my hands.  A question comes up and I can look up the answer in seconds.  I have the Bible, the Lutheran Confessions and the latest sports scores on my phone.  Those are some of the good things that come from keeping up with the times.
     On the other hand there are a lot of other things that have changed over the years that are not so good.  Most of those things have to do with people’s ideas of what is right and what is wrong, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior.  Morality has become a matter of personal choice.  There is a lot of discussion and debate about how things got this way, but it finally comes down ignoring the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods.”  When you think that your own ideas carry more weight that God’s commands, you have made yourself your own god.  That would explain of lot of the modern thinking that comes to the conclusion that there are no absolute rules and that everything has to make sense to me, or at least has to have my own approval. 
     Apparently that kind of thinking is not that modern after all.  When you look at the Epistle lesson for today you will find a number of areas of life that the writer discusses.  They are just as relevant today as they were back then because they are dealing with human nature.  Each of the admonitions in this reading speak to an area of the Christian life that shows evidence of our faith and the response that believers can make that demonstrates the love of Jesus in their lives.  At the same time, you can see the importance of making each statement because the temptation is always there to follow your sinful, selfish nature and do what ever seems right at the moment.  Look down the list again.  “Let brotherly love continue.” If you don’t let brotherly love continue you will be living only for yourself. 
     “Show hospitality.”  The opposite again is just taking care of yourself.  “Remember those in prison.”  The easy thing to do is forget those in prison because after, they are just getting what they deserve.  How does that show Christ-like love?  “Let marriage be held in honor and marriage bed be undefiled.”  Is that what the world encourages you to do?  Hardly!  Godly attitudes toward marriage have been thrown out the window by many people because it can be complicated or too much work or whatever rationalizations the human mind can come up with.  “Keep you mind free from the love of money.  Be content with what you have.”  Once again the First Commandment is broken when your love and trust is in money and not God and His promises to provide all that you need.  “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” says the Lord.  “Do not be led away by strange and diverse teachings.”  Why would the writer say that if it weren’t for the fact that there were diverse and strange teachings attacking the faith of God’s people all the time?  In the midst of all of these admonitions, the writer reminds you that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
     The important point here is that sin is still sin.  It was sin when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai.  It was sin when Jesus reviewed the Commandments in the Sermon on the Mount.  It is still sin today and sin is still sin forever.  Jesus Christ and His teaching, which are the same as the teachings that God made clear through the prophets of old, do not change.  It is still sin as much as you try to deny it or give it new names, like weaknesses or bad habits.  It is still sin when it is contrary to God’s will as He has made it known to us in His Word. 
     If it is still sin, then you are still guilty even as you try and suppress your guilt.  Your human nature is skilled in trying to talk your way out of any kind of guilt.  Blaming others is one of the top strategies for suppressing guilt.  Claiming that you have to keep up with the times is another one of the guilt suppressors.  Everybody else is doing it is one of the first tricks that you try to use to lessen the guilt that you feel because of your sin.  
     With sin and guilt then also comes the need for forgiveness.  Because of your sin, you have fallen farther and farther away from God.  Left to your own wisdom and skill, you will do all you can to justify yourself before your peers, in your own mind and you will even have the mistaken idea that you can justify your actions and attitudes before God.  How foolish you become when you are trying to avoid the guilt of your sin!  Yet the reality is that the only way that you can hope to stand before God is by having your sins taken away. 
     That brings us back to the statement that was made before.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Not only does that remind you of the unchanging message of God’s Law, but it also reminds you the unchanging nature of God’s love.  The writer takes you to the foot of the cross, outside the city where Jesus suffered in order to sanctify the people through His own blood.  Do you realize the power in that statement?  Jesus suffered.  It was not an unfortunate accident that happened to a popular, yet radical teacher, as some have tried to say.  It was all part of God’s plan for your eternal salvation.  By God’s great love that was evident yesterday, today and forever, Jesus was sent down from heaven to become one of us.  He lived the perfect life that you could not live and then shed His blood as the sacrifice for your sins.  He called people to repentance so that they could see how they had offended God with their sin.  They could see the seriousness of their sin and look to God alone for the forgiveness that only He could give.
     The result is that you are sanctified by His blood.  You are made holy.  That’s what sanctified means.  You can’t make yourself holy.  God has done it for you by His decree.  He declares you not guilty because the blood of Jesus paid the price to set you free.  That was God’s plan from the beginning with Adam and Eve after they sinned.  It was His plan when He spoke through the prophets who warned the people about their sin and foretold the coming of the Messiah.  It was His plan when Jesus came into the world.  It is still His plan today that the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ be shared with all nations so that they too can receive the blessings of forgiveness, life and salvation.  That’s what it means to make disciples. 
     Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He has to be because the devil, the world and our sinful nature are the same yesterday, today and until the final victory has been won when Jesus comes again.  Then their influence over you will end.  Until that time, you will have to be alert to the temptations that will come your way.  You will need to be vigilant in your fight against the powers that try to tell you that you have to keep up with the times.  The fight will be difficult but you know that you do not struggle against the evil influence of this world alone.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Here we have a third level of understanding of this passage.  He will be there to send you the power of the Holy Spirit to help you be strong in your faith and unyielding in your fight against the spiritual darkness that surrounds you in this world.  Just as the prophets of old were strengthened for their struggles against evil in the world in ancient times, and just as the Apostles were strengthened by the gift of the Spirit on Pentecost, so also the Spirit strengthens you for your spiritual warfare through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments.  The blessings that Jesus Christ has given to you and to all believers are the same yesterday, today and forever.  May we never forget that until the time when we are called to stand in the presence of God and come to know the blessed reality of the “forever” part of God’s promises.    Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio
September 1, 2013 

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