The Eternal Gospel

The Eternal Gospel 

Revelation 14:6-7

     Our annual celebration of the Reformation is one of special times of the year for me.  I can remember those times when my family would go to a special service where we would get together for worship with many other Lutherans from around the area and recognize the work of Martin Luther.  It was a big deal for me, especially when I was old enough to sing in the combined choir that made a joyful sound like I had never heard before.  It was truly a celebration.  I can remember going to a theater in town and seeing the 1953 Martin Luther movie for the first time.  It made quite an impression on me.  Little did I know then how many times I would see that movie again later in my life as a teacher and pastor.  Each time I see it I am impressed again how the Lord blessed Martin Luther with wisdom and the courage to speak the truth and return the eternal Gospel to the church.  Reformation is not simply a time for us to have a pep rally to cheer on Team Lutheran.  It is a time for us to remember how important it is for us to remain committed to the eternal Gospel message as we wait for the time when Jesus comes again.

     In the passage from Revelation that serves as our first reading for today, we hear about an angel in John’s vision that flew overhead with an eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth.  Of course there is only one eternal Gospel that has been proclaimed since the beginning of time.  When God confronted Adam and Eve and the serpent after the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden, the Gospel message was proclaimed in the condemnation against the serpent.  In Genesis 3:15 we hear, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  That is the first Gospel promise in the Bible.  The seed of the woman would be the Christ.  The devil would bruise his heel, but the Christ would bruise or crush the devil’s head.  The message of Christ’s victory over the devil and the rescue of God’s people would continue to be proclaimed through the prophets of old.  The promises of salvation from the devil’s power and eternal punishment were fulfilled when Jesus came into the world and became our substitute under the Law and then took our place when He died on the cross and rose victorious from the grave.  That is the message that has been proclaimed by God’s messengers ever since and will be proclaimed until Jesus comes again. 

     The ultimate victory over sin, death and the devil has been won but until Jesus comes again, we still have to deal with our sinful human nature.  One of the results of that human nature is the inclination to try and take things under our own control and use them to our advantage as we see them.  Human nature is basically selfish and self-centered.  When you hear the Gospel message that you are declared righteous by God’s grace because of what Jesus has done for you and that the blessings of that salvation become yours by faith alone, the temptation is always there to nod your head and say, “Yes, but…”  There are all kinds of things that you can say to finish that sentence and down through the years there have been all kinds of endings that reflect the desires of human nature.  In doing that the eternal Gospel has been changed by human thinking and the result is that the Good News of salvation has been watered down, has had additional baggage added to it and the true joy of that eternal Gospel had been lost. 

     One of the early “Yes, but…” ideas was that I have to somehow cooperate with God in order for that salvation to be mine.  When that happens, the individual becomes responsible for their own salvation and that takes away from the truth of the Scripture that tells us that it is by God’s grace alone that we are saved.  It is not your own doing so that no one can boast.  Paul in our Epistle lesson calls it a gift.

     Down through the years, the church corrupted the eternal Gospel by adding requirements to that gift of God in order for the forgiveness that is freely given in Christ to be finally received.  It was another “Yes, but…”  The church taught that you have to earn the forgiveness that Christ won for you through your good works, that would be assigned to you when you confessed all your sins before the priest.  It was a clever way for the church to gain full control over the lives of the people.  In their human nature, their quest for power caused them to pervert the Gospel even if it meant contradicting the Scriptures. 

     Even yet today our human nature tempts us to say, “Yes, but…” In a time when people are more apt to question authority and are  encouraged to think for themselves, the eternal Gospel can become polluted by human thinking.  “Yes, I hear what you are saying, but it seems to me that....” and then your human mind, influenced by your sinful human nature, begins to question God, just like Eve did in the Garden.  Do you see how the devil continues to work today.  God’s truth is made clear to us in the Scripture but human nature is never satisfied until you can twist things around to suit your own thinking.    Modern philosophy that ignores the Bible has come up with all kinds of exceptions to the eternal Gospel.  Unfortunately much of that kind of thinking has made its way into the attitudes and beliefs of people of influence in our society and we all have been touched by it.  We see it on TV, in the movies, in music and books.  “Yes, but…” has touched every one of us. 

      While that is true for our time, it was also very evident at the time of Martin Luther in the 1500’s.  Through His study of the Scriptures, Luther was able to identify the ways in which the eternal Gospel had been perverted by a desire for power and greed in the church.  When he spoke out against some of the abuses that he saw in the church of his day, he was put on trial and declared an outlaw, which meant that anyone who found him could kill him with the blessing of the emperor.  Again, God’s hand was protecting Luther and he was able to continue his work of bringing the true church back to the message of the eternal Gospel.  It can be simply summarized in three statements that have become the motto of the Reformation.  Grace Alone, Faith Alone and Scripture Alone. 

      The eternal Gospel, the Good News of salvation is that you are saved from the eternal punishment that you deserve because of your sin by God’s grace alone.  It has nothing to do with your goodness, your good intentions, or your good works.  He has chosen to save you because of His undeserved love for you.  He accomplished that by sending His only Son into the world to do for you what you could never do for yourself.   The blessings of that sacrificial work of Christ become yours by faith alone which itself a gift from God that comes to you through the work of the Holy Spirit, through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments.  All of this is made known to us in the Scriptures alone.  It is not based on human reason or logic.  It is not based on the human rules of any church.  It is not based on the decrees of any human leader.  It comes from God’s Word alone.  Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone. 

     Our Reformation observance is one way of helping us to realize the importance of remaining true to that eternal Gospel.  In the passage from Revelation, the angel that proclaimed that eternal Gospel also spoke of the final judgment that was soon to come.  At first that may not sound like good news.  It will not be for those who have rejected Christ.  It will be good news though for the faithful who have had to suffer here on earth because the coming of Jesus will mean that their suffering is over and that they will be in the eternal joy of heaven in the presence of God.  That is an important message as we near the end of the church year when our readings will be reminding us of the end times. 

     May this Reformation observance be a time for us to give thanks to God for faithful servants such as Martin Luther and may we resolve to stand firm on the principles of the Reformation:  Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone.   Amen.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Zion Lutheran Church

Painesville, Ohio

Reformation 2013

Are You Ready To Die For Jesus?

Are You Ready to Die for Jesus?

II Timothy 2:1-13

     I would like to have you think back to the day that you confirmed your faith.  Confirmation Day is a big event in the life of a young person as well as in the life of an adult who is ready to publically confirm their faith before God and the congregation.  It takes a lot of study and preparation before you are ready to stand before the Lord and answer those questions about what you believe.  Do you remember what you promised on that day?  You can find the questions on page 272 in the hymnal.  Do you acknowledge the gifts that God gave you in your Baptism?  Do you renounce the devil?  Do you renounce all his works and all his ways?  Do you believe in the Triune God as described in the Apostles’ Creed?  Do you hold the Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God?  Do confess the Doctrines of the Lutheran Church as you have come to learn them from the Small Catechism to be faithful and true?  Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?  Do you intend to live according to the Word of God in faith, word and deed and to remain true to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit even to death?   And now comes the last question that gets to the heart of what we heard in the Epistle lesson for today.  Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it? 

    Whether you made that solemn promise on Confirmation Day a few months ago or ten, twenty, thirty or maybe even eighty years ago, the question still needs to be asked, “Are you ready to die for Jesus?”  That can be a difficult question to answer especially since you are living in a time and place where you are not really in danger because of your faith, much less be threatened with death because of your connection with a Christian Church.  The truth is that your faith is being threatened all the time by the attacks of the devil.  Most of the time those threats are so subtle that you don’t even recognize them. 

     The question still needs to be considered.  “Are you ready to die for Jesus?”  What does it take to be strong enough to stand against the attacks of the devil?  First of all it takes a strong faith.  Faith is actually a rather complex thing.  It involves knowledge of the Triune God and His plan for my salvation.  But there is more than just a knowledge of God.  The devil knows the facts and that makes him that much more determined to work against God’s plans.  True faith also involves trusting that what Jesus did was for the forgiveness of my sins and that eternal life in heaven is mine because of what Jesus did for me.  Even the power to believe comes from God as the Holy Spirit works in me through the Means of Grace.  If you can say that you are ready to die for Jesus, it is only because God has given you the faith to trust in His Word and promises.  One of those promises is eternal life with Him in the perfect joy of heaven in His presence. 

     As you read God’s Word further you also find that eternal life is not the only blessing that God give to you as a result of your faith.  You also have the gift of new life now.  That new life comes when you die with Christ and are raised to new life with Him through His resurrection.  Through our Baptism, your old self, that old sinful nature, dies with Christ and the new self arises to live for God.  You still have to face the temptations of the devil but you do not face them alone.  You now live with Christ and you have His power, a power that was able to defeat the devil.  That power will help you when the challenges to your faith come. 

     Paul uses several images that help us to see what this struggle is all about.  In the first one, he says, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”  When you think about a soldier you can see many parallels to your life as a child of God.  For one thing a soldier is disciplined.  A soldier learns to follow orders.  A good soldier knows the rules and also knows the consequences of failing to follow orders.  Strict discipline is essential for the continued effectiveness of the army.  A good soldier is prepared through the proper training and practice in skills that are necessary for battle.  A good soldier is also loyal to the cause and to those who are in command.  Most importantly, a good soldier is willing to sacrifice everything, including life, in order for the higher purpose to be accomplished.

     Think about how that applies to your life as a soldier of Christ Jesus.  Not only would you have to consider the question of being ready to die for Jesus, but also are you ready to live for Jesus.  I started by talking about discipline.  The root word for discipline is disciple.  Christian discipline includes an on-going study of God’s Word.  It includes making regular worship a priority because that is part of what God expects of those who are disciples.  A good disciple also knows that worship is not just following a command.  It is also an opportunity to thank and praise God for His goodness and mercy and an opportunity to grow through the regular use of the Word and the Sacraments, the Means of Grace. 

     A good soldier is also prepared for life in the world because of good training and practice in the skills that are necessary for dealing with the challenges that will come as we live in a world influenced by the devil, the world and our own sinful nature.  That training and practice come from a thorough study of God’s Word where you see how the Lord worked in the lives of His people and prepared them to face the world.

     A soldier for the Lord Jesus is also loyal.  When I started I mentioned the Confirmation vows that included a statement about remaining faithful to the Lord and the Church.  In this world you are pulled in many directions and there are influences that try to pull you away from a life of discipleship.  It can be difficult at times to remain faithful to the Lord when friends, worldly interests and the tug of your human nature try to influence you to let your loyalty to the Lord slip.  That is when your Christian training and discipline that come from the power of the Holy Spirit are so important. 

     The final point brings us back to my original question.  A soldier for the Lord is willing to suffer all, even death, in service to the higher calling as we heard in the Epistle lesson last week.  Certainly no one wants to suffer but the reality is that in this world there will be suffering as we face the enemy of our faith.  Think, though, of the strength that you have as a soldier for the Lord when you know that the victory is already yours.  Jesus has won the victory over sin, death and the devil.  Knowing that, you know that you can’t lose if you remain loyal.  In writing to Timothy, Paul says to him, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.”  His victory is your victory.  Serve Him with confidence.  The Word of God is not bound, even though, as Paul said, we may be bound for a while by the world, “but I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”  

     As a good soldier for Christ Jesus, you remember that you are serving the Lord’s purposes and that means that the good of others is your primary concern, especially their eternal salvation.  Like Paul, you can endure suffering for the sake of the elect so that they can come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Take heart in the midst of the battle.  The victory has been won. Now I ask you again, “Are you ready to die for the Lord?”  By God’s grace and with His power, we can say confidently, “Yes!”

Amen.

     

      

     

      

 

Fan Into Flame the Gift of God

Fan Into Flame the Gift of God

II Timothy 1:1-14

    What do you do when you have a problem and you can’t figure out what to do?  Most people usually go to someone with more experience and ask for their advice.  When that kind of help is easily available and is intentional, we often call that mentoring.  The idea of mentoring has been used in a number of situations.  It can be used to help young people who do not have a good adult role model as in the Big Brother, Big Sister program.  It is often used on the job when entry level employees are assigned a mentor to help them get acquainted with policies and procedures.  Your Board of Elders spend several months reading and discussing a book called The Mentor Leader as a way of helping them see the ways that intentional mentoring can help to improve the work that they are doing now and help them as they look to the future as new elders join the board. 

     As you read and hear the Epistle lesson for today you can see how St. Paul served as a mentor to young Timothy who was growing as a leader of the church at Ephesus.  Paul wanted to emphasize the importance of remaining faithful to the teachings that he had learned and to make use of the sources of strength that God would provide for him as he did his work.  His words of encouragement can be good words for you as you seek to remain faithful to the teachings of Scripture and at the same time seek to serve your Lord and Savior by serving His Church and those around you.

     The key words that stand out as I read this passage are found in verse 6, that I read before.  “Fan into flame the gift of God.”  If you have ever tried to build a fire, whether at a camp-site or in a fire place, you know what a difference it can make when you fan the flame.  Sometimes when the fire seems to be dying out, all you need to do is fan the flame a bit and soon the flames will grow.  Perhaps the best example of that can be seen when you watch a blacksmith.  Fanning the flame is an important part of getting the iron hot enough to make it workable.  A blacksmith will use a device called a bellows which blows air at the embers of the furnace to make it hotter.  The fanning of the flame makes his work more effective.  

     Paul tells Timothy that the gift of God that had been given to him needs to be fanned so that it can grow and be effective in the spreading of the Gospel and the leading of God’s people.  That will happen when Timothy continues to follow the pattern of sound words that he had been taught, both by his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice and by Paul himself, words of faith and love in Christ Jesus.  Behind all that good teaching, those sound words, was the Holy Spirit who would also be with Him to help him guard the good deposit, as Paul called it, that was entrusted to him.  That’s an interesting way to describe the teachings that you have received.  It is a good deposit, deposited in you so that it can grow. 

     As Timothy’s mentor, Paul also felt that it was important to warn him that there would also be suffering for the sake of the Gospel.  Paul was actually writing to Timothy from prison in Rome.  Scholars feel that this was the last letter written by Paul.  Paul knew about suffering for the Lord.  Yet he also boldly proclaimed, “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”  He knows that there is no other to whom he can turn for his eternal salvation and he is convinced that the Lord will keep his faith strong until that Day when Jesus comes again. 

     As you read the letters to Timothy, it should be fairly easy to identify with him and in a way see the Apostle Paul as a mentor for your Christian life as well.  He could be talking to you, giving you encouragement for the times when you will be called on to undertake something that may seem at first to be beyond your comfort level or too hard for you.  When those times come, and they happen all the time to the people of God, the same words could be said, “Fan into flame the gift of God.” 

     Think of when that gift of God was given to you.  For many of you it was given to you at your Baptism.  God gave you the gift of the Holy Spirit who would continue to work in you as you heard the word of God and grew in your faith in your early years.  Like Timothy, the foundations of the faith were taught by family members. For Timothy it was his mother and grandmother.  For you it may have been the same or perhaps someone else who taught you the first prayers, told you about Jesus, encouraged you to grow in your knowledge and trust in God’s saving love.  They were fanning into flame the gift that God had given to you.  The flame continued to grow as you had your first experiences with Sunday School.  Your Sunday School teachers fanned the flame so that it would grow.  Your faith grew as you became more and more aware of what it meant that Jesus died for your sins and that through His suffering and death and resurrection your sins were forgiven and you were given the gift of eternal life in heaven. You became aware of more of the gifts that God had given to you as you grew older and through the pattern of sound words and teaching, you came to understand the calling that you have as a child of God.  Paul talked about the holy calling that you have, not because of your works but because of God’s own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.  That’s a long sentence from verses 9 and 10, but he essentially tells us that God’s plan for us, by His grace, was to carry out a holy calling of sharing the Gospel of Jesus, a message of Law and Gospel, of sin and grace, that will bring new life to people now and eternal life to those who believe.

It truly is a holy calling because it comes from our holy God. 

      But you also know what happens when the embers of a fire are left alone for too long.  The fire goes out.  When that happens, it can become difficult and discouraging to try and carry out that holy calling in a world that always seems to be saying just the opposite.  That is what Timothy was going to face as a leader of the church in Ephesus where the Christian church was a very distinct minority among many pagan religions.  That is what you are facing in the world today.  The world around us doesn’t like to hear the message of Law and Gospel.  It has become pagan in many ways.  You may become fearful to the point that you chose to do nothing with that holy calling that you have.  Yet the encouragement that Paul gives to Timothy can be the same for you.  “Fan into flame the gift of God.”  Make use of the ways that God has provided for you to fan those embers of faith that have been given to you.  The Holy Spirit works to strengthen your faith through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments.  As you hear God’s Word, meditate on it, study it, take it to heart, the embers of your faith are being fanned and your faith is strengthened.  As you remember your Baptism, you are reminded of how the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to you to help you grow in your faith, all the time fanning the flame.  When you receive the Lord’s Supper, the Spirit is fanning into flame the gifts that God has given to you so that you are strengthened and given the courage to carry out your calling as a child of God.

     Some of those gifts include various talents and abilities that can be used for the good of God’s Kingdom here on earth.  God gives those gifts as He chooses in every congregation so that His work in each place can be done and can succeed.  When God’s people continue to fan into flame the gifts that God has given, great things can happen.  The church will be carrying out God’s plans and more and more people will be blessed as the people of God share the grace and love that are in Christ Jesus.  You can be the one who fans into flame the gift of God for someone.  That good deposit has been given to you.  By the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, guard that the good deposit entrusted to you.  Fan it into a flame that touches everything around you.

Rev. Gerald Matzke

Zion Lutheran Church

Painesville, Ohio

October 6, 2013