Christ for Us

Getting to the Root of the Problem: Trinity 19 Sermon 2024

Trinity 19
Matthew 9:1-8
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
October 6,2024
 
One of the problems with much of our medicine is that it does not deal with the root problems, but simply masks the symptoms. We take pain killers to alleviate the pain of an injury for a while, but it does not actually heal the injury.  The treatments for many illnesses and diseases do not work to cure a person, but simply cover up the symptoms. And what is worse, the masking of symptoms often makes the illness so much worse in the long run. Four friends went to great lengths to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus, even, as St. Mark tells us, making a hole in the roof, so that they could let him down (Mark 2). And when Jesus the great physician saw their faith, He took pity on the paralyzed man, and He forgave his sins.
Yes, Jesus is the great physician, because He does not mask the symptoms or relieve your pain temporarily. Jesus gets to the root cause of your misery. The root cause of all your diseases, suffering, sorrow, pain, and especially death is sin. The wages of sin is death, which should be engraved in your memory. And all sicknesses and pains are mere minions of death. To really address your misery, you must address your sin! If you are to be free from your misery, you must be freed from your sin.
And so, by first forgiving the paralyzed man before He healed him of his paralysis, Jesus teaches us that even in our greatest suffering, we should desire nothing more than the forgiveness of sins. Not only because your sin is the root cause of all your trouble, so the forgiveness of sins is the solution to all your trouble, but also because the forgiveness of sins is the one thing you cannot give yourself! A physician may be able to grant temporary relief or even cure several illnesses. But who can take away your sins? King David laments with us in Psalm 38, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.” And again, in Psalm 130, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! … If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” Before us stands God the righteous judge! St. Paul says concerning our sin, “On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:6) You may be able to hide your sins from others, so they do not judge you and put you to shame, but King David humbles himself before God when he cries to Him, “Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what was evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:4) We can hide our sins from the people we respect and fear. But we cannot hide our sins from God. He sees all, even in the depths of your heart. And you cannot remove your sins from yourself. You cannot make atonement for your sins or make up for your sin. Your sin is your greatest problem and the source of all your problems.
And so, this paralyzed man had comfort in his soul, even as his body languished on that bed, because Jesus, his Lord told him that his sins were forgiven. If his sins are forgiven, then also life and salvation are his. If his sins are forgiven, then he is reconciled with God. If his sins are forgiven, then there is no cross on this earth that he cannot bear with patience, because the forgiveness of sins makes every cross temporary and paradise eternal.
Yet, Jesus’ opponents grumble in their hearts, “Who is this who forgives sins? This is blasphemy!” It is not that these men did not believe that a person’s sins could be forgiven. Scripture is clear that God is quick to forgive and slow to anger. The Prophet Isaiah writes “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18), and likewise, the prophet Micah calls to God, “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19) And David, who felt the joy of having the weight of his sins lifted from his conscience, declares in Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, ... He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” (vss. 3-4, 9-12)
So, the question is not whether God can forgive sins. But who is this Jesus who forgives sins? And so, Jesus, knowing their thoughts, though they kept them to themselves, asks them why they think it is impossible for Him to forgive sins. He asks, “Which is easier, to say, your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise and walk. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Rise, take up your bed, and go home.” And the man immediately rose and went home! 
Now Jesus proves that He does have authority to forgive sins, because He has authority to undo the result of sin! And Jesus proves that He has the authority to forgive your sins in the same way! Christ languished on the cross, as His enemies scorned Him, shouting, “Physician, heal yourself! You who saved others, save yourself!” They mocked Him for declaring that He was God’s Son and the Christ. And Satan too laughed with scorn saying that it was impossible for Him by His death to take away the sins of the world. But which is easier? To take away the sins of the world as John the Baptist declared of Jesus? Or after having suffered and died with the weight of the world’s sins on your shoulder, to then after three days get up and walk? And so, that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive your sins and not your sins only, but also the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), God raised Christ up from the dead on the third day, declaring Him to be the Son of God and Redeemer of the world (Romans 1:4).
The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The Son of Man is Christ. He has authority on earth to forgive sins for two reasons. 1) He is God. 2) He paid for the sins of the whole world with His holy precious blood and innocent sufferings and death. Only Christ could have paid for our sins and only Christ did. Christ is a man, who forgives sins with the authority of God. This is why Jesus says in the Great Commission, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” He had this authority from eternity according to His divine nature, but He received it as a man through His incarnation and it was declared to Him again in His resurrection.
Yet, the crowds rejoiced and declared that God had given such authority to forgive sins to men. They didn’t say, “to a man or to the Son of Man.” They said, “to men.” Did they mischaracterize what happened? Are they lumping the Son of Man with all other men? Shouldn’t they rather say that this particular man has authority to forgive sins, but no other man does?
No, they got it exactly right. Christ the Godman gave authority to forgive sins to men, that is, He gave it to His Church on earth. In John 20, after Jesus rose from the dead, He who has all authority in heaven and on earth said to His disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:23) Jesus did this so that we in the Church may regularly hear and receive the good news that our sins are forgiven. Jesus said to His disciples, “The one who hears you, hears me!” (Luke 10:16) This is true in Baptism. When the minister pours water and proclaims the words of Jesus, it is Jesus Himself declaring the baptized a child of God. This is true in the Absolution. When the minister declares the forgiveness of sins in the stead and by the command of Christ, we consider it a voice from heaven and indeed, all the angels and God Himself bear witness to its truth in heaven as on earth. The Lord’s Supper is Christ’s true body and blood, not because of some power in the pastor or in his words, but on account of the words of Christ, which declare it forever.
So, what is the result of Christ giving to men such authority to forgive sins on earth, so that it is true even in heaven? Exactly what Jesus said to the paralyzed man as he still lay on his bed, “Take heart” that is, “be of good courage, be confident, your sins are forgiven.” With that little word, Jesus was telling the paralyzed man to have confidence before God’s throne, to not be afraid, but cheerful in the presence of the great judge, because his sins are indeed forgiven.
When a person is trapped in his sin, he deceives himself that his sin is not that bad and that no one knows about it and that he really hasn’t fallen too far. Yet, when a voice confronts the sinner and exposes his sin, it brings terror of conscience and repentance, as we see when David repented with tears when Nathan confronted him with his sin with Bathsheba. Likewise, when a person is overcome by guilt and cannot console his conscience because of his sin, he believes that he cannot be forgiven and is not a child of God. Even reading Scripture often does not help him, because his eyes ignore the comforting passages and his soul does not apply them to himself. Yet, when a voice sent by God declares God’s forgiveness and mercy, then the weight of guilt is lifted and the sinner finds a good conscience before God. In other words, the person finds good courage before God, because Christ has given authority to forgive sins to men.
This is why we must never forsake the preaching of God’s Word. It is indeed a voice from heaven, when it is faithful to Scripture. Christ makes clear that He intends you to hear His voice through His ministers, so that your heart may take courage and you may have a good conscience before Him.
Yet, there remains a second result of hearing this voice of forgiveness. It strengthens you to resist sin today and to walk according to the new man created after the image of Christ. To put off the old self, you must then put on the new self. You cannot walk in newness of life if you do not hear from Jesus that He has forgiven all your sins, just as the paralyzed man could not walk until after he was forgiven. So, we do not wait until we have overcome our sin before we listen to Jesus’ voice. We need to hear His forgiveness often. And through faith in the forgiveness of sins proclaimed to us, we receive power to walk with Jesus today and into eternity. Amen.

As it Was in the Beginning: Sermon on Genesis 4 for Iowa District East Fall Pastors Conference

IDE Fall Pastors Conference 2024
Pastor James Preus
Genesis 4:1-26
October 7, 2024
 
Adam was the first man. Adam was also the first husband. He knew his wife Eve not in the passion of lust, but in the purity of the marital embrace, and God blessed them with children. Adam was the first father. Adam and Eve and their children composed the first family. Adam was also the first preacher. After God declared the curses along with the protoevangelium in the Garden, He then joined to the promise of a Redeemer a Sacrament, that is, a sign of grace by clothing Adam and Eve with the skin of a sacrificed animal. The sacrificing of animals served as a continual sign of the promise that the woman’s bruised seed would atone for the sins of man. Then Adam began to preach. He regularly preached to Eve and to his children of the curses and the promise. And he taught them to sacrifice to the Lord. Adam was the first father and the first preacher. He also was the first civil ruler, who carried out punishments for crimes. So, in this fourth chapter of Genesis, we see the proto-family, the proto-church, and the proto-state functioning for the first time in a world where sin and ills contend. And for us brothers, who desire to be better husbands, better fathers and pastors, better men, it does us good to reflect how God led the first family and parish through this world of sin.
When Eve first gave birth, she named her son Cain, because he was a special possession given to her from the Lord. It appeared that Eve was under the impression that this firstborn was the fulfillment of the promise that her seed would crush the head of Satan (Gen. 3:15). Yet, when her second son was born, she named him Abel, which comes from the same word as vanity or breath (Eccl. 1:2). From these names, we see that Cain was highly esteemed by his parents, while Abel was esteemed little. Yet, when Cain and Abel brought their offerings to the Lord, it was Abel’s offering which was accepted by God, while Cain’s was rejected. And so, the Virgin Mother’s words have proven true from the beginning, “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly.” (Luke 1:52)
Yet, why did God accept Abel’s offering but not Cain’s? Because Abel brought his offering with faith and Cain did not. The text says that the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He did not. He found favor with Abel before He accepted his offering. And He found no favor with Cain before He rejected his offering. This means that God accepted Abel on account of his faith, because apart from faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). God was pleased with Abel’s offering because of the faith through which he offered it (Hebrews 11:4). 
There are two types of offerings: sacrifices of thanksgiving and sacrifices of atonement. A sacrifice of atonement makes satisfaction for guilt and punishment and reconciles sinners to God. A sacrifice of thanksgiving does not make satisfaction for guilt; rather it is offered by the one who believes he has been reconciled to God through faith. Abel offered his offering as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He believed the promise, which his father preached to him, that the seed of the woman would crush the head of Satan even as His heal was wounded. He offered the firstborn of His flock and their fat portions, because he believed that God would offer for his salvation the best He has. Cain, however, offered his offering as a sacrifice of atonement. He thought God should be satisfied with his offering, because of its merits. But there is only one sacrifice of atonement, Christ, the Seed of the Woman. So, because Cain did not put his faith in Christ, his offering was rejected. This is the same situation in our parishes today. All come to worship, yet some offer false worship in their hearts, while others offer true worship. And the preacher preaches to exhort true worship through faith in Christ.
Luther insisted that when the Lord spoke to Cain, it was Adam speaking in the Spirit to Cain. (I find Luther convincing). So, Adam said to his son, “Sin in crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” And this is what a good father and a good pastor preaches regularly. We carry about us original sin. We think it lies dormant, but it is ready to attack at any time. We must rule over it. The only way to rule over sin is through repentance and faith in Christ. As Adam did, so must every Christian father and pastor do today: rebuke sin and unbelief and call sinners to repentance and faith.
Yet, Cain did not heed his father’s preaching. Rather, he let sin rule over him, and he murdered his brother. Yet, by his death, Abel was the first to prove true Jesus’ words, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:11) Abel’s was the first human soul to enter heaven, foreshadowing Christ commending His Spirit to the Father on the cross thousands of years later. And so, though Abel died, he still speaks (Hebrews 11:4). Abel’s soul was among those seen by John in Revelation 6, who cried out to the Lord, how long? Yet, Abel and the rest of the martyred throng are told to wait until the number of martyrs is complete. So, the pattern of Genesis 4 continues even today. The righteous will be killed for the sake of God’s Word, yet their souls will rest in Christ until the resurrection.
God (or Adam, speaking on God’s behalf) asked Cain where Abel was. Cain responded, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Thus, Cain showed total impenitence and abiding hatred for his brother. Cain’s impenitence stands in stark contrast to what Jesus says all Scripture depends on: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and your neighbor as yourself. But Cain loves neither his God nor his brother. Surprisingly for many, Cain’s life is spared. However, he is excommunicated from the Christian congregation and banished from Adam’s dominion. So, whereas before false worship was hidden in the unbeliever’s heart, now a false religion is established in competition to the true Church. And as it is today, the religion of Cain grows stronger and establishes itself as the civic religion of the great and mighty. As Cain’s children forged tools, created music, and built cities, so today the wealth and influence in government and culture of those who hate God and His Church grow strong as the Church and her parishes seem insignificant.
Yet, God did not leave the first Christian family and the first Christian parish without comfort. Adam again knew his wife, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, which comes from the verb to put or to set. This shows that the promise first made in the garden still stands. The Seed of the woman will yet crush the serpent’s head. You may not have noticed it before, but Seth is the first one Moses calls a son of Adam and Eve. Neither Cain nor Abel was called a son. This again foreshadows Christ, who is the only begotten Son of God and the firstborn of all creation. Seth was born instead of Abel, because Cain killed him. So, Seth’s birth foreshadows the resurrection of Christ. Abel, the righteous man, was killed for righteousness’ sake, as Christ was. Abel’s soul ascended into heaven as Christ commended His soul to God. And now, Abel has a replacement on earth in Seth. And so, Christ rose from the dead and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness (Romans 1:4). The Father declares to Christ in Psalm 2, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.” Obviously, Christ is begotten from eternity. Yet, St. Paul says this passage is fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 13:33). It is as he wrote in Romans 1, Christ was declared the Son of God by His resurrection. And so, when Adam and Eve received a life in exchange for their dead, Moses prophesied of Christ by calling Seth the first son.
Yet, Seth’s birth does not only prophesy of Christ’s resurrection. He proves that God has not forgotten His promise to send the Redeemer, because that Redeemer will come through Seth’s lineage. The promise is established forever. And so also, Seth’s birth proves that Christ’s Church is established forever. As the lineage of the woman’s Seed cannot be snuffed out by Satan or murderers, so neither can Christ’s Church be snuffed out, but a remnant will remain forever.
When God gave Seth a son, he named him Enosh, which means man. This is the word for man used in Psalm 8, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord, that is, as people were oppressed by the Cainite tyrants, they turned to the promise of the Christ preached by Adam and Seth. Seth represents the enduring Church, the remnant that will endure until the end. Through Seth came Noah and his family, the lone survivors of God’s flood of judgment on the wicked unbelieving world. Cain’s religion, his cities and governments, music, power, and wealth were all drowned and destroyed in God’s judgment. Yet, Seth’s lineage continued. So also, this unbelieving world, with its wealth and power and prestige, with which it seeks to influence your family and parish, these will all perish in God’s judgment. But Christ’s Church will remain. And the faithful will endure in the ark of the Church.
Dear brothers, as it was in the beginning, the false religion of pride and hate will war against the Christian family and parish and usurp the power of the state. So, be a husband, a preacher, a man like Adam. Preach the word. Scripture depends on the command to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself. These truths endure that whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And the promise of Christ’s atonement and salvation still stands today as it did in the garden. When you bury your Christian dead, no soul is lost to Christ’s Church. And when God adds a child to your family or parish, He reminds you that the promise of the woman’s Seed is for yet another generation. The Son reigns. And all who belong to Him shall never perish, even if they die. As it was in the beginning, so let us preach this to the end. And God will prove faithful. Amen.
 
 

Episode 23: Mortal and Venial Sins

Episode 23 of Christ for Us Bible Study Podcast on Mortal and Venial Sins. Learn more at Christforus.org. 
Mortal and Venial Sins
 
Introduction
 
The controversy between venial and mortal sin has led to great confusion, not only among Roman Catholics, but especially among Lutherans! The Roman Catholics erroneously define mortal and venial sins, so Lutherans laity have been led to believe that there is no such distinction between mortal and venial and many mistakenly assert that all sins are the same. However, there is a biblical distinction between mortal and venial sins. Lutherans still make this distinction. And this distinction is helpful for the justification and sanctification of a Christian.
 
A mortal sin simply means a sin leading to death. Venial comes from the Latin for pardonable or forgivable. So, a mortal sin is one that leads to damnation and a venial sin is a sin that does not lead to damnation. However, the question is why? The Roman Catholic Church does not recognize concupiscence as sin. Concupiscence is the activity of original sin, the inclination to sin. And because concupiscence, which is the very desire to sin, is not sin in Roman Catholic theology, concupiscence is not mortal, but venial. This is also how the Roman Catholic Church deals with lesser sins. They categorize them as venial, because they do not estimate them as serious enough to merit God’s wrath.
Roman Catholic Doctrine on Mortal and Venial Sins
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Mortal Sin: A grave infraction of the law of God that destroys the divine life in the soul of the sinner (sanctifying grace), constituting a turn away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be present: grave matter, full knowledge of the evil act, and full consent of the will (1855, 1857)
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Venial Sin: Sin which does not destroy the divine life in the soul, as does mortal sin, though it diminishes and wounds it (1855). Venial sin is the failure to observe necessary moderation, in lesser matters of the moral law, or in grave matters acting without full knowledge or complete consent (1862).
 
The Difference between Mortal and Venial Sin[1]
Do the remains of sin exist and remain in the reborn in this life?
They by all means are and remain. For though [the reborn] are ruled by the Holy Spirit, yet they complain that nothing good dwells in their flesh, in fact, also when they want to do good, evil is connected [with it] (Ro 7:18, 21)[2], and that the flesh wars against the spirit (Gl 5:17)[3]. And even also when they are holy and serve God and are not conscious of any evil, yet they confess that they are sinners. 1 Cor. 4:4; Psalm 32:6; 130:3; 143:3.[4] In fact, he that does not acknowledge and confess this, but says that he has no sin, deceives himself. 1 Jn 1:8. Therefore all the saints have need in this life daily to repeat this: Father, forgive us our sins.
 
Is then David, committing adultery, nevertheless righteous and holy, and does he remain so?
By no means. For Scripture distinguishes between sins, namely that in the saints or reborn there are some sins because of which they are not condemned, but at the same time retain faith, the Holy Spirit, grace, and the forgiveness of sins. Rom 7:23-8:1;[5] 1 Jn 1:8-9[6]; Ps 32:1[7]. But Scripture testifies that there are also some other sins in which also the reconciled, when they have fallen, lose faith, the Holy Spirit, the grace of God, and life eternal, and render themselves subject to divine wrath and eternal death unless, turned again, they are reconciled to God through faith. Rom. 8:13[8]; 1 Cor. 6:10[9]; Gal. 5:21[10]; Eph. 5:5[11]; Col. 3:6[12]; 1 John 3:6, 8[13]; 1 Tim. 1:19[14]; 2 Peter 1:9.[15] And the useful distinction between mortal and venial sin is drawn from this basis. Paul speaks of sin ruling against conscience or with conscience put away, and sin that indeed dwells in the flesh but does not rule.1 Tim. 1:19[16]; Rom 6:12, 14[17]; 7:17[18]
 
What is the use of retaining and earnestly inculcating this difference between mortal and venial sin in the church?
That we might learn to acknowledge and earnestly avoid mortal sins.
If we are caught in that kind of sins, that we do not obstinately persevere and continue in them impenitently.
That we try the more to restrain and control sin that dwells in us, lest it become mortal. For, when this distinction is neglected or not rightly understood and used, Christians also often fall into security and impenitence. Pastors are therefore to be reminded and trained in the examinations not only to list the 7 mortal (or deadly, capital) sins,[19] but to be able to point out to their hearers, in each Commandment, which sins are mortal, which venial.
 
Is, then, original sin, which still remains in the reborn in this life, in itself such a light little sin, or, so to say, peccadillo, that God neither can nor wants to be angry against it?
All sins are not equal; some are more grievous and greater than others (John 19:11; Matt 11:22; Luke 12:47-48)[20]; yet if one judges according to the sense of the divine law, no sin per se and by its own nature deserves forgiveness; that is, none is so small and insignificant, but that it makes [one] subject to divine wrath and worthy of eternal damnation if God enters into judgment with him. Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10; James 2:10.[21] This error regarding the least commandment of the divine law is condemned by Christ in the Pharisees. Matt. 5:19.[22] Paul sadly complains also about sin still dwelling in his flesh. Rom. 7:24; Gal. 5:17.[23]
Are some sins so great and horrible that they cannot be forgiven in the Gospel to those who repent and believe in Christ?
No. Christ made satisfaction for all sins. 1 John 2:2[24]. He wants to save also the greatest sinners. 1 Tim. 1:15.[25] He commanded repentance and remission of sins to be preached in His name to all sinners. John 20:23[26]. Matt. 9:13[27], Luke 15:7[28]; 24:47[29]. Grace abounded more than sin. Rom. 5:20.[30]
Now, then, since it is clear that no sin per se deserves forgiveness, likewise that no sin is so horrible that it cannot be forgiven to those who repent and believe in Christ—why, then, are some sins in the reborn called venial, some mortal?
This should be well and carefully explained, so that each Christian can know and determine if he is living in mortal or venial sin. The explanation consists essentially in this, that everyone examine himself as to whether or not he has true repentance and faith. Rom. 2:4-5[31], Jer. 5:3[32] 2 Cor. 13:5[33]. Original sin, which still dwells in the flesh of the reborn, is not idle, but is the restless law of sin in our members, enticing, tempting, driving to sin with various suggestions and evil lusts. James 1:14[34], Rom. 7:8[35], Gal. 5:17[36]. Since, then, one who is reborn does not delight in this kind of carnal lusts, and is neither led by them nor follows [them], but earnestly represses and crucifies them as sins and mortifies {them}, but earnestly represses and crucifies them as sins and mortifies [them], but earnestly represses and crucifies them as sins and mortifies [them] through the Spirit, lest they rule or be performed (Rom. 6:12[37]; 7:15[38]; 8:13[39]; Gal. 5:24[40]), this very thing is a very sure sign of true and earnest repentance. And when the reborn pray that God would not impute their weaknesses to them but forgive for the sake of Christ, and at the same time believe and trust that Christ, as the true propitiation, would, in the sight of God, cover this their uncleanness with His innocence and obedience (Rom 4:7[41]; Psalm 32:1[42], 1 John 1:7[43], 2:1-2[44]), this also is a sure sign of truth and justifying faith. And where true faith, in earnest repentance, apprehends Christ in the Gospel, and relies on Him and is supported [by Him], there is no condemnation, but the pure grace of God, forgiveness of sins, and eternal salvation (Rom. 8:1; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 32:2)[45].  In this way there are and occur these venial sins in the reborn, for which they are not condemned, because, as Augustine says, they live under grace.
But what if we indulge and delight in evil lusts and seek occasions to give them free rein (Rom 6:12; Micah 2:1; James 1:15)[46]?
Then they become mortal sins (Rom. 8:13[47]; James 1:15), because there surely is no room for true repentance and faith where the lusts of the flesh are served and given rein, so that they break out into action. 1 Tim. 1:19; 5:8; 2 Peter 1:9[48]. It is the nature and particular character of true faith that it does not seek how to commit, continue, and heap up sins freely, but rather hungers and thirsts after the righteousness that releases and frees from sins. Therefore, where there is no true repentance, the Holy Spirit pronounces a very solemn sentence. Jer. 5:3, 9; Rom 2:5, 9; Luke 13:3; Rev. 2:5[49]. And where there is no true faith, there is neither Christ, nor the Holy Spirit, nor the grace of God, nor forgiveness of sins, nor any salvation. Therefore what? Doubtless the wrath of God, death, and eternal condemnation, unless the fallen are turned to God again. Col. 3:6; Rom 8:13[50]. As a result of this, therefore, and for this reason mortal sins occur in the reborn, namely when repentance, faith, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are driven out and lost.
How, then, should one deal with those who have fallen into this kind of sins?
There sins are not to be disguised by silence, camouflaged, excused, or defended, but solemnly and earnestly censured and rebuked. Isaiah 56:10; 58:1; Ezekiel 13:10, 18; 2 Tim. 4:2; Titus 11:13[51]: “Reprove them sharpl”,: in such a way that the fearful judgment of God is threatened on them; 1 Cor. 6:10; Gal. 5:21; Col. 3:6; 1 John 3:15; Mt. 11:21; 2 Peter 2:10.[52] For he that regards those people as true Christians, and charms and misrepresents them, not only miserably misleads them, but also makes himself partaker of their damnation. Isaiah 3:12; Jeremiah 8:11; 23:17; Ez. 3:17; 33:8[53]
Now, the preaching of repentance, rebuking sins, is the instrument and means by which God wants to lead fallen sinners back to the way and convert them. Jer. 26:2-3[54]. But if the wicked, neglecting this means, will persevere and continue in his wickedness, he indeed shall perish, but the word of the minister shall deliver his soul. Ezekiel 3:19[55].
But what if the fallen rise again by the grace of God and earnestly repent?
Then they are indeed to be received with joy and are to be restored and supported with the declaration of the forgiveness of sins. Jer. 3:12; 18:8; Ezekiel 18:21; 33:15; Matt. 18:13, 27; Luke 15:7.[56] This is what the examples of Scripture testify, e.g., Peter, David, the prodigal, the Corinthians and Galatians, And this indeed not only seven times, but seventy times seven times, Matt. 18:22.
 
Summary of Conflict between Lutherans and Roman Catholics on Venial Sins[57]
Luther said that in this way a righteous man sins in every good work. But in this place Andrada says that this is not to be understood of mortal sins but of venial ones. And this, indeed, he says rightly. For mortal sins drive out faith and the Holy Spirit, and then men cease to be righteous; but venial sins are found also in the regenerate, yet they do not on that account cease to be just. This also is said correctly. But the question is how and why the regenerate are not condemned on account of venial sins, namely, because those men are blessed whose sins are covered and to whom their sins are not imputed Psalm 32:1-2; Rom. 4:7-8). For “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The eleventh Tridentine chapter might also appear to lean toward this meaning, for it gives the following reason why the saints do not cease to be righteous in this life, although they fall into venial sins: “Because the righteous say humbly and truthfully, ‘Forgive us our debts.’” But Andrada, the interpreter of the council, does not grant this. For he contends that venial sins are in themselves so trifling and light that they are not against the perfection of love and that they cannot hinder perfect and complete Obedience to the Law, since, indeed, they are not worthy of the wrath of God and of condemnation but of pardon, even if God should enter into judgment with them. As Lindanus says: “The insignificant little faults of daily lapses are sprinklings and little spots which in themselves do not defile and contaminate but sprinkle the life of the Christian lightly as with fine dust, so that the works of the regenerate in this life are nevertheless in themselves perfect and in every respect unstained.” But that this is wrong has been demonstrated above. For although there are differences and degrees of sin, nevertheless, no sin is so insignificant and light that it is not ἄνομία, that is, a transgression of the divine law.
The Law pronounces a curse upon everyone who does not continue in all the things that are written in the book of the Law. For he who keeps the whole Law and yet offends in some one point is guilty of all. For not even one of the least commandments of God dare to be relaxed.
But we all fail in many ways according to James. The Law therefore accuses and condemns also those sins which are called venial, unless they are covered and not imputed for the sake of Christ. In one way, therefore, according to Augustine, that man is blessed who is without sin, which will be in the next life. In another way that man is blessed to whom the Lord does not impute sin, which happens in the believers in this life. However, there cannot be a complete and perfect fulfillment of the Law where man cannot be without sin.
 
Summary and Conclusion
All sins are mortal in so far as all sins condemn.
Sins are venial, not because they are not worthy of condemnation, but because they are forgiven by grace through faith.
The proper distinction between mortal and venial sins is the distinction between ruling sins, which go against conscience and which drive out faith and grace, such as murder, adultery, and other active sins. Venial sins are sins of weakness, which inflict every work a Christian does. Of these we daily repent and ask God for forgiveness, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer.
Not all sins are the same. Certain sins have more serious consequences.
It is important to recognize the distinction between mortal and venial sins, so that we guard ourselves from mortal sins and daily repent.
The problem with the Roman Catholic view of mortal and venial sin is that it does not encourage proper repentance and fear of God.
 
[1] Martin Chemnitz, Enchiridion 102-105.
[2] 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.; 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
[3] 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
[4] 1 Cor. 4:4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.
Psalm 32:6 Therefore let everyone who is godly    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;surely in the rush of great waters,    they shall not reach him.
Psalm 130:3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,    O Lord, who could stand?
Psalm 143:3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;    he has crushed my life to the ground;    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
[5] Romans 7:23-8:1: 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
[6] 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[7] Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,    whose sin is covered.
[8] 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
[9] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
[10] 21 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
[11] 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
[12] 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
[13] 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
[14] 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,
[15] 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
[16] 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,
[17] 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
[18] 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
[19] Pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth.
[20] John 19:11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” Matt 11:22: But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. Luke 12:47-48: 47 And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
[21] Deuteronomy 27:26 “‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Gal. 3:10: 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” James 2:10: For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
[22] Matt. 5:19: Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
[23] Rom. 7:24: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Gal. 5:17: For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
[24] 1 John 2:2: 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
[25] 1 Tim. 1:15: The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
[26] John 20:23  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
[27] Matt. 9:13: Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
[28] Luke 15:7: Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
[29] Luke 24:47: and that repentance for[a] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
[30] Romans 5:20: Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
[31] Rom. 2:4-5:  Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
[32] Jer. 5:3: O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?You have struck them down,    but they felt no anguish;you have consumed them,    but they refused to take correction.They have made their faces harder than rock;    they have refused to repent.
[33] 2 Cor. 13:5: Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
[34] James 1:14:  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
[35] Rom. 7:8: But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.
[36] Gal. 5:17: For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
[37] Rom. 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
[38] Rom. 7:15:  For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
[39] Rom. 8:13: For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
[40] Gal. 5:24: And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
[41] Rom 4:7: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,    and whose sins are covered;
[42] Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,    whose sin is covered.
[43] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
[44] My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
[45] Rom. 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.; 1 John 1:9:  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ; Psalm 32:2: Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
[46] Rom 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.; Micah 2:1: Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.; James 1:15: Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
[47] Romans 8:13:  For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
[48] 1 Tim. 1:19: holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,; 5:8:  But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.; 2 Peter 1:9: For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
[49] Jer. 5:3: O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent., 9: Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?; Rom 2:5: But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed., 9: There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,; Luke 13:3: No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.; Rev. 2:5: Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
[50] Col. 3:6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.; Rom 8:13: For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
[51] Isaiah 56:10: His watchmen are blind;    they are all without knowledge;they are all silent dogs;    they cannot bark,dreaming, lying down,    loving to slumber.; 58:1: “Cry aloud; do not hold back;    lift up your voice like a trumpet;declare to my people their transgression,    to the house of Jacob their sins.; Ezekiel 13:10: Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash,, 18: and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? 2 Tim. 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.; Titus 1:13: This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
[52] 1 Corinthians 6:1010 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:2121 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[b] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Colossians 3:66 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.[a]
1 John 3:1515 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Matthew 11:2121 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
2 Peter 2:1010 and especially those who indulge[a] in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,
[53] Isaiah 3:12: My people—infants are their oppressors,    and women rule over them.O my people, your guides mislead you    and they have swallowed up[a] the course of your paths.; Jeremiah 8:11: They have healed the wound of my people lightly,    saying, ‘Peace, peace,’    when there is no peace.; 23:17: They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”; Ez. 3:17: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.; 33:8: If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
[54] Jer. 26:2-3: “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.
[55] Ezekiel 3:19:  But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
[56] Jer. 3:12: Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
“‘Return, faithless Israel,declares the Lord.I will not look on you in anger,    for I am merciful,declares the Lord;I will not be angry forever.
; 18:8:  and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.; Ezekiel 18:21: “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.; 33:15: if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.; Matt. 18:13: And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray., 27: And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.; Luke 15:7: Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
[57] Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent 1:649-650

Seeing the Invisible: Michaelmas Sermon 2024

You can read below or go to Christforus.org. 
Michaelmas
Matthew 18:1-11 and Revelation 12:7-12
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
September 29, 2024
 
“I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.” We confess these words in the Nicene Creed. From Scripture we learn that God has created not only what we see, but also what we cannot see. For today’s sermon, I want to teach you about what we do not see. In 2 Kings 6, the Syrian army surrounded the city where Elisha lived to kill him, so Elisha’s servant despairing said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” to which Elisha responded, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So, the Lord opened his eyes and he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire! Thus, God rescued Elisha with the help of angels. Yet, the angels did not come into existence when Elisha’s servant saw them. The angels were already there! And so, Scripture teaches us, the angels are around us now, though we do not see them.
Hebrews 1 says of angels, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (vs. 14) And Psalm 103 calls them “mighty ones who do [God’s] Word.” They obey God’s commands and God commands them to protect us. Psalm 91 states, “He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” (vss. 10-11) And Psalm 34:7 declares, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” So, we should believe fervently that angels form a hedge around us, protecting us from evil and serving us for Christ’s sake. Yet, even more, we should start believing what Scripture says, so that we recognize that a lot more is going on than what we see.
On the cross we see a dying man, bleeding and weak. It’s a pitiful and gory sight, which inspires no hope of victory. Yet, Scripture tells us that while this is what we see physically, in the heavenly realm Michael and His angels are fighting Satan, the ancient dragon, and his evil angels, and that they cast Satan and his hordes of demons out of heaven by the blood of Christ shed for us! What we see with our eyes is not the whole picture.
Likewise, we saw little William get baptized this morning: a tiny infant had water poured on his head as a few words were spoken. To the unbeliever, a quaint tradition, which accomplishes nothing but getting a baby’s head wet. Yet, what does Scripture say? When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ like a dove, and God the Father spoke from heaven, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” And so, we should firmly believe that when little William was baptized, although we could not see it, the heavens indeed were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him and God the father declared William His own dear child. This is attested enough by Christ and the Apostles, who tell us that Baptism is a washing of water and the Spirit (John 3:3-6; Titus 3:5-8) and that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism (Acts 2:38), and that Baptism grants new birth and makes one an heir of Christ (Titus 3:5-8; Galatians 3:27, 29).  
So much more is going on around us than what we see with our eyes or sense with any of our senses. We must walk by faith not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). So, what else is true that we do not see with our eyes? The disciples asked Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And our Lord calls to Himself a little child and says, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever therefore humbles himself as this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me.”
This is not what we expect, because this is not what we see. Children are not considered great. Rather children are despised. Our culture hates little children and looks at them as pests and even parasites. Sixty-five million babies have been murdered in the womb in our country in the last fifty some years. Eighty-five percent of abortions are done for unmarried women, meaning that if people would simply stop fornicating, we would have far fewer abortions. But our culture doesn’t care about children. Our nation cares more about protecting the “rights” of adults to sexual pleasure than it does about protecting children.
And while we can point the finger and condemn others for supporting the killing of these children, we in the church have accepted the major premise, which justifies the conclusion to kill children. We think it is appropriate to look at children as a problem and to not want them. We lie to ourselves and say that we want the church to grow, while we make sure that we don’t bring too many children to church, children to whom Christ said the kingdom of heaven belongs (Matthew 19:14). Now it is God alone who builds a household and grants children (Psalm 127; Gen. 30:2). So, you must never pass judgment on others for not having children, because you do not know from whom God has withheld children according to His own purpose or what physical ailment may prevent children. However, we must change our attitude toward children and have a biblical attitude toward them. God says, “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28; 9:1) and Psalm 27 declares, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.” And Psalm 28, “your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.”  And our Lord Jesus commands, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)
So, we should put away the worldly wisdom, which has decimated our churches over the past several decades, and stop telling young married couples to hold off on having kids or stop having kids, so they can make more money. And instead, encourage young married couples to welcome the children God chooses to give them, trusting in God to protect and provide for them, and bring them to church to be baptized into Christ and raised in the true Christian faith, because this kingdom belongs to them. We see little children as expenses who prevent us from doing what we want to do. God sees them as the greatest in His kingdom, as little princes and princesses, lords and ladies, heirs to His kingdom. See that you do not despise them or hinder them from Christ’s kingdom, because their angels always behold the face of God your Father in heaven. And they are powerful to act.
Unless you become like such a child, you will by no means enter God’s kingdom. You become like a child by humbling yourself, repenting of your sins, repenting of your own wisdom and knowledge and pride, and accepting the wisdom of Christ. That is the only way to receive the forgiveness of sins through faith. Saving faith can only abide in the humble. And if you humble yourself like a child, you too will have an angel, who always beholds the face of God, who will fight for you and protect you.
Yet, this brings us to another topic. What do we need these guardian angels for? Michael declares from heaven, “But woe to you, o earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Rev. 12:12) These angels are not just neat. We need them! If God withheld the protection of the angels, we would be devoured by Satan and become his slaves (1 Peter 5:8). And so, you need to recognize the spiritual battle taking place around you for your very soul! So, we should always pray that God send His angels to protect us.
Yet, you must understand that what you watch in movies about angels and demons is fiction. To recognize Satan and his demons and to avail yourself of the assistance of the angels, you must look to Scripture. Jesus tells us that Satan is the father of lies and that there is no truth in him (John 8:44). This means that the weapons of Satan and his demons are words. Satan seeks to murder your soul with lies that you can hear with your ears. Scripture also tells us that the Law was given through the intercession of angels (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19). And from the conception, birth, and resurrection of Christ, the Good News was always proclaimed by an angel (Luke 1:26-38; 2:8-20; Matthew 28:5-6). So, we know that we find the help of angels in God’s Word, both in the Law and the Gospel.
 
So, as you fight back against the devils, you must train yourself to recognize what your eyes do not see. While the world assures you that looking at certain things on the internet or in movies is harmless titillation, Scripture warns you to turn your eyes from worthless things, because Satan and all forms of evil may enter through your eyes and make your whole body dark (Psalm 119:37; Matthew 6:22-23). So, when Jesus tells you to cut off your hand or foot or pluck out your eye if it causes you to stumble, He is not telling you to mutilate yourself. He is saying that you should cut off anything in your life that would hinder you from entering the kingdom of heaven. Satan and his hordes will use pornography, drunkenness, immoral friends, and sinful habits to pull you away from Christ’s kingdom and make you a child of hell. Satan will lie about how harmless these things are. And since Satan is a liar, he will above all use false preaching and teaching to draw you away from Christ and His kingdom.
So, if you want the protection of the angels, where do you go? If Satan uses lies, then run to the truth! The angels obey God’s Word, so they are always present where God’s Word is proclaimed! They fight for you for the sake of Jesus’ blood, so the angels are ever prepared where the Gospel of Christ’s crucifixion is proclaimed. Michael declares in Revelation 12 that those who are accused by Satan, but now rejoice in heaven conquered Satan with the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even to death (vss. 10-11). And does not Christ avail you of that same Satan-slaying weapon? Did your Lord Jesus not say, “This is my body given for you; this is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”? And did St. Paul not tell you, “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”? Yes, and it is by this blood of Christ, and by this word of our testimony that our Lord died for us, that we too conquer that great dragon, that ancient serpent, who with his lies and slander seeks to drag us to hell. This is why we rejoice with angels and archangels every time we receive the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood.
What you see is not all of reality. In fact, much of what you see, Satan uses to distract you from the truth. So, we hold fast not to what we see, but what we have heard from Christ in Holy Scripture. And we know that when we hold fast to Christ’s Word, in church and at home and at work, holy angels go with us to protect us from every evil. What is great and mighty and wealthy in this world is a delusion. Christ’s little children are greater than any power on earth. For them fight a mightier army than any nation on earth could muster. And God will send this army of angels to bring His children to their rightful inheritance, purchased with the blood of Christ. Woe to anyone, man or devil, who tries to stop them. Amen.  
I walk with angels all the way, They shield me and befriend me.
All Satan’s pow’r is held at bay When heav’nly hosts attend me;
They are my sure defense, All fear and sorrow, hence!
Unharmed by foes, do what they may, I walk with angels all the way. Amen.

The Accuser is Silenced: St. Michael and All Angels Sermon by Rolf Preus 2011

You can read the text of this sermon by Rev. Rolf Preus at Christforus.org. 

Guardian Angels: St. Michael and All Angels Sermon by Rolf Preus 2009

You can read the text of this sermon preached by Rev. Rolf Preus at Christforus.org. 

Episode 22: Women Pastors and Transgenderism

Episode 22 of the Christ for Us Bible Study Podcast is on Women Pastors and Transgenderism. You can read below or visit Christforus.org. 
Women Pastors and Transgenderism
 
The title of this topic might seem to be needlessly provocative, but it addresses a real theological issue in the Church. When Christ instituted the pastoral office, He instituted it as an exclusively male office. A pastor is a male job, not a female job. For a woman to usurp the office of pastor is for her to transgress a gender barrier established by Christ. The promotion of female pastors is in essence transgenderism. And when we make this connection, we see why most churches that have female pastors have also embraced homosexuality, so-called same-sex marriage, and now transgenderism.
 
But before we go further, let us pray:
 
Enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, O God, by the Spirit which proceedeth from Thee, that, as Thy Son hath promised, we may be led into all truth; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord.
 
 
Biblical Argument for Male only Pastors
Start with Jesus
So, why can’t women be pastors? Simply put, the Bible forbids women to be pastors. We must start with Jesus. Jesus instituted the pastoral office. He did this when He called His disciples, gave them authority to forgive sins, and sent them out to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments (Luke 10:16; John 20:19-23; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:44-47). Jesus sent only men to preach. All twelve of His Apostles were men (Matthew 10:1-4). Why did Jesus choose only men? Did He not have women followers? The Bible teaches that Jesus had many female followers (Matthew 27:55; Luke 8:2-3). These women loved Jesus, and Jesus loved them. Why didn’t He make Mary, Martha, Joanna, or Susanna apostles? Jesus certainly loved these women. He even honored some of them as being the first witnesses of His resurrection. But He did not send any of them to publicly preach and teach. Jesus certainly wasn’t afraid of going against the social norms of that day or upsetting the Jews, who would have been opposed to female rabbis. Jesus did not call women to be preachers, because He did not want women to be preachers.
 
It is important that we started with Jesus, before we got to the prohibitions by Paul, because starting with the institution helps us understand why Paul makes prohibitions. When arguing against women pastors, we often jump immediately to 1 Timothy 2:12 or 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. And many critics and proponents of women’s ordination will then attack Paul or his letters to defend women’s ordination. But it is Jesus who placed only men into the ministry. He chose the disciples. He sent out the apostles. And He did not send women to preach, even though He had many wonderful, pious women to choose from.
 
The Apostolic Descriptions of the Pastoral Office
Still, before we get to Paul’s explicit prohibition of women preaching and performing the pastoral office, we should look at how Scripture describes the pastoral office.
Under-Shepherd of the Chief Shepherd
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17)
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood. (Acts 20:28)
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4)
The hearers (sheep) are supposed to submit to the under shepherd as to Christ.
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseermust be above reproach, the husband of one wife,sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:1-2
 
St. Paul’s Explicit Prohibition
The reason for reading these passage before going into the prohibitions given by Paul, is so that we see that Paul’s prohibitions are necessary and they are what we would expect from what we already know about the pastoral office. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if we did not have Paul’s explicit prohibition of women teaching and speaking publicly in Church in 1 Timothy 2:12 and in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, the church would still not have women pastors and would have sound biblical reasons not to have women pastors.
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. 1 Timothy 2:11-15
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 14:33b-37
 
The Order of Creation and the Distinction between Men and Women
The reasons Paul gives for prohibiting women from teaching and publicly speaking in church is that Adam was formed first, Eve was deceived, and that women will be saved in child-birth.
Adam being formed first shows the order of creation. When God created Adam and then Eve, he made the husband the head of the wife. This is shown in 1 Corinthians 11 and Ephesians 5:
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife[a]is her husband,[b] and the head of Christ is God. 1 Corinthians 11:3
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Ephesians 5:22-33
In marriage, a husband represents Christ to his wife. The wife takes the place of the church. The husband provides and gives, the wife receives. This is the model Scripture gives us for Christ and His Church as well as a husband with his wife. In the church, the pastor fills the roll as husband and father. The congregation fills the roll as bride. For a woman to fill the roll of pastor is for a woman to stand in the place of Christ. It would be a lesbian relationship.
Note also, that St. Paul explains that the woman was deceived first. Why does he say this? I often hear people say, women would make great pastors, but God just says no. It’s as if God made an arbitrary rule, and we just need to follow it. This also leads to permitting women to do all sorts of activities in the church, which St. Paul clearly forbids, but it is justified, because the women are not ordained. So, women will still publicly teach, read lessons, distribute communion, etc. However, nowhere in Scripture does it say that women would make good pastors. It says that they make good mothers. And there are many examples of good godly mothers in Scripture, including Eunice and Lois, the mother and grandmother of Timothy, who taught him the faith as a child. There are examples of faithful sisters in Christ, who have corrected erring brothers, like Priscilla correcting Apollos after taking him aside with her husband Aquilla. But the Bible does not say that women could make good pastors, but God just says no. Rather, St. Paul is clearly indicating that women would make poor pastors. Eve was deceived. This may sound harsh and sexist. I am not saying that women are not smart. I am saying that God did not bestow on women the necessary attributes to be pastors, in the same way that God did not bless women with the necessary attributes to be husbands and fathers. Children need a mother. A husband needs a wife. Women are good at being wives and mothers. This is why St. Paul says that women will be saved in childbearing. He does not mean that giving birth will save them. Rather, he is saying that the work God has given them to do as they follow their course of salvation through faith is ordinarily as wives and mothers. Paul is making a direct connection to the office of pastor and the office of husband and father. Women make great wives and mothers. But a woman cannot be a husband or a father. And God does not give women the necessary attributes to be good husbands and fathers. This used to be common knowledge. Not so much anymore. Yet, the reason a woman does not make a good husband or father is the same reason she does not make a good pastor. A woman does not make a good pastor in the same way two lesbians cannot replace a mother and a father as parents for a child.
 
Societal Shift on the Understanding of the Distinction between Men and Women
Although a few churches adopted women’s ordination in the 19th century, it ramped up in the 20th century to the point that every mainline Protestant denomination had women’s ordination before the 21st century. Most churches reached this conclusion by either denying that Paul wrote 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14, or by saying that Paul did write them, but they are not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Others spoke as if God caused Paul to write these things for that time, but they do not fit in our time. And some even try to reconcile women’s ordination with the words of Paul, as if Paul was unclear in what he meant.
 
What is clear is that Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, forbids women from carrying out the office of pastor, namely, teaching and preaching. So, how have so many denominations embraced the ordination of women?
 
Feminism, which blurs the lines between men and women, brought about a cultural shift, so that women’s ordination was demanded. It didn’t matter what argument was made to get there. Feminism demanded women’s ordination, because anything a man could do, so could a woman. Anything entrusted to a man, must also be entrusted to a woman.
 
The Fruit of Women’s Ordination
Church bodies, which have embraced women’s ordination according to the dictates of feminist culture were also, by and large, the church bodies, which embraced same-sex “marriage,” and now transgenderism. The ELCA officially accepted homosexual clergy in 2009 and a few years ago made “history” with the first “transgender” bishop. One could simply blame the ELCA’s propensity for going with the progressive crowd. However, it is not just that. The acceptance of female pastors necessarily leads to the acceptance of homosexuality and transgenderism, because women’s ordination itself transgresses sex and gender.
 
A woman pastor is a transvestite. She is dressing up as the opposite sex. It is like a man wearing a dress. Our culture has so bought into feminism, that it does not recognize the bending of gender until it goes to extremes. Today we see men dressing as little girls and going into women’s restrooms and locker rooms. Even secularists are saying, “enough!” There is even a new term called TERF. It stands for Trans-excluding Radical Feminist. It is supposed to be a pejorative against feminists, who oppose trans rights. However, feminism built the groundwork for transgenderism. It fought to tear down the cultural norms which distinguished man and woman. Same-sex “marriage” is absurd. But most people today do not recognize the absurdity, because they do not recognize men and women as not only different, but complementary. A head needs a body. You can’t have two heads without a body. That isn’t a person. You can’t have two bodies without a head. That isn’t a person either. So, you cannot have a marriage with two men or two women. This doesn’t even get to the fact that two men or two women cannot have children!
 
The arguments for women’s ordination are the same arguments for same-sex “marriage” and transgenderism. A person’s sex does not determine the limits of what that person can or should do. Everything depends on how a person feels. So, if a woman feels that she is called to be a pastor, no one has the right to tell her that she cannot. Her biological sex cannot bar her. Likewise, if a man is in love with a man and wants to do unspeakable things with another man, they should be able to call their union a marriage. It doesn’t matter that fifty percent of what is essential for a marriage, a woman, is not there. It doesn’t matter that a same-sex union is by nature childless; children are no longer an essential purpose of marriage. And since the marriage bed is already defiled, the purchasing of biological material or children is justified for the sake of equal rights.
 
Transgenderism denies God’s clear word, “In the beginning, God made them male and female.” (Mark 10:6) Transgenderism denies nature and biology, insisting that there is no real difference between the sexes. Transgenderism insists that a person determines his own identity and that others must accept that identity, even if it causes harm to others. The same is true about women pastors. The practice of women pastors denies God’s clear Word, “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man…” (1 Timothy 2:12) Women pastors deny nature and biology, insisting that God did not make men with certain strengths over women and give men and women different roles in marriage, church, and society. Women pastors insists that a person determines her own identity and that others must accept that identity, even if it causes harm to others. The church did not need women pastors. The church needed mothers to cares for their children at home, as St. Paul instructs older women to teach younger women in Titus 2, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” The church needed wives to help their husbands and encourage them to lead, as Sarah did for Abraham. The church needed husbands and fathers to not only preach and teach as pastors, but to set an example of how to be a good husband and father to the men in the church, as St. Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy 4, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
 
Transgenderism is an attack on the order of creation. It isn’t about a man who feels feminine being comfortable in his body or a woman, who feels masculine feeling comfortable in her body. It is about discarding any structure of sex in any part of life. This is why many of them identify as they/them or even some made up pronoun, calling themselves gender-nonbinary. They hate that God created us from the beginning as male and female.
 
Yes, St. Paul says in Galatians 3, that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female, for you are all one in Christ.” But this speaks of our freedom in the Gospel to be heirs of Christ. Paul is not calling for the destruction of God’s creation. He is not even calling for the abolition of slave and master or employee and employer. Rather, he continues to teach that slaves should obey their master, children their parents, and wives should submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5-6).
 
Transgenderism will destroy itself, whether or not it destroys our civilization first. It is cultural suicide. Yet, we in the Church must recognize that women’s ordination is part of the transgender movement. They are both part of a movement to deny the reality of God’s creation and the clear words of God. But when we accept God’s order of creation, not only do we conform to biblical practices like only male pastors, but the household is put in order, the church supports the godly structure of the home, and men in society step up to their godly roles as protectors and providers, and women and children are protected. And then we see better the image of Christ and His Church, when we see pastors caring for their parishes as a husband and father, and fathers caring for their wives and children as Christ cares for the Church.
 

Our Hearts Are Restless Until They Find Their Rest in Christ

Sermon preached for Trinity 17 by Rev. James Preus on Luke 14:1-11. 
 
Trinity 17
Our Hearts Are Restless until They Find Their Rest in Christ
Luke 14:1-11
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
September 22, 2024
 
St. Augustine begins his famous work, Confessions with a prayer to God in which He says, “Man, a little piece of Your creation, desires to praise You, a human being ‘bearing his mortality with him (2 Cor. 4:10), carrying with him the witness of his sin and the witness that You ‘resist the proud’ (1 Peter 5:5). Nevertheless, to praise You is the desire of man, a little piece of Your creation. You stir man to take pleasure in praising You, because You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
Our heart is restless until it finds its rest in the Lord. This truth is fundamental to understanding the Sabbath. Sabbath means rest. Moses records in Genesis 2, “And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:2-3)
God blessed the seventh day and made it a day of rest. Yet, man fell into sin. St. Paul tells us that the Law was added because of transgressions (Gal. 3:19). Moses writes in Exodus 20, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” When man sinned, he fell out of God’s Sabbath. He could not find rest in the Lord on account of his sin. So, God added the Commandment to remember the Sabbath Day, so that His people might find rest in Him. But the Commandment did not give them rest, because of their unbelief. Because of their hardness of heart and rebellion, the Lord says in Psalm 95, “Therefore I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” (Psalm 95:11)
Hebrews chapter 4 explains this, “For we who have believed enter that rest, as He has said, ‘As I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter My rest,’” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.’ And again, in this passage He said, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again He appoints a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4:3-10)
The command to rest failed to give the people rest! This is what St. Paul says in Romans 3, “Through works of the Law no human being will be justified in God’s sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin.” It could be paraphrased, “Through works of the Law no human being finds rest in God, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin.” The Law does not grant rest. Rest can only be received through faith, because it is God who accomplishes the work.
This sets us up for our Gospel lesson. A ruler of the Pharisees invited Jesus to dinner on the Sabbath, and they watched Him closely to see whether He would break the Sabbath. A man suffering from dropsy was there. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Jesus asks. And they are silent. Their silence shows their ignorance of the Law and of the Sabbath. They think they find Sabbath rest in their works. And they gloat over the possibility that Jesus will fail to find that rest by showing compassion to a suffering man. Their desire for the Sabbath is evil. But Jesus’ desire is good. He heals the man, breaking the Sabbath in the eyes of the Pharisees, but making it holy in the eyes of God.
The man with dropsy is a picture of our sinful condition. Dropsy is known as a rich man’s illness, because it is caused by overindulgence. It causes the body to retain water. The man’s body retains water, so that he is swollen and bloated, yet he cannot quench his thirst. His condition is a result of overindulgence, yet it presses him into further indulgence until he dies. This is the state of sin. We do not find rest in our sin. We do not find rest in our ability to keep the Law. We find rest only in Jesus, who rescues us from our sin.
The man with dropsy is a picture of us. We are heavy laden with our sinful condition. We have consumed too much, and it is killing us. Yet, the disease of sin drives us to keep consuming more and more until we die.  We crave that which kills us. We want to be freed from it, but it drives us on and on. We find no rest in our sin, in our lust, hatred, and craving after earthly pleasure. Yet, sin is a slave master, which drives us further on. We need to find rest for our souls. We need to be forgiven and freed from our sin and the guilt which presses upon us because of it. Jesus declares in Matthew 11, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
As Jesus healed the man of dropsy from the condition, which was suffocating his very heart, so Jesus heals us of our sin and lifts the heavy burden off our conscience. Jesus did this by doing the work of re-creation. On the first day, He entered Jerusalem triumphantly to shouts of Hosanna. On the fifth day, He washed His disciples’ feet. On the sixth day, He labored on the cross until His work was done. And on the seventh day, He took His rest in the tomb. And on the first day of a new week, He rose from the dead, having taken all our sins away, so that He might give us a renewed Sabbath in the Lord to be received through faith. The first Sabbath was already holy, but we could not enter it because of our sin and unbelief. So, Jesus came to take away our sins, so that we may enter God’s rest through faith in Him.
God gave the Sabbath commandment, not because He thought we could enter His rest through our own works, but to draw us to faith in Christ, who would win for us true rest. This is why St. Paul writes to the Colossians in chapter 2, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body belongs to Christ.” The body belongs to Christ. The Sabbath regulations of the Old Testament were a shadow. Jesus is the body, which cast the shadow. We no longer need the shadow. We have the body. This is why Christians do not observe the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament, including the prohibition to work on Saturday.
However, we do not ignore the commandment. Why did God forbid them to work on Saturday? So that they could not only rest their bodies, but also find rest for their souls by meditating on God’s Word, as Martin Luther writes in his hymn, “And put aside the work you do, so that God may work in you.” And so, we still have use for this commandment today. Martin Luther explains the meaning of this commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.” God still commands us to stop working, so that we may listen to His Word and learn it. To refuse to stop working and take a physical rest is foolish. To refuse to listen to God’s preaching and Word is wicked. Jesus said to those Jews who refused to listen to His preaching, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8:47) Yet Jesus makes this wonderful promise to those who gladly hear His Word and preaching, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my Word, and my Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:23)
But outward observances of the law, even coming to church, does not give you Sabbath rest if you do not have faith. The rest Jesus seeks to give us is not simply physical rest, it is inner spiritual rest. The Lord spoke to Isaiah in chapter 66, “what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? … But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word.” The one who finds rest in Christ is the one who is humble and contrite in spirit, the one who is sorry for his sins and trembles at God’s Word. The one who finds rest in Christ is like the man with dropsy, who is weighed down with a heavy burden, which he cannot lift off himself. The Pharisees, who exulted themselves did not get this. They found rest in themselves, because they thought they had fulfilled the commandment. But their rest was fake, just as the pleasure that the man with dropsy indulged in was fake pleasure, which led him to the point of death.
If your heart is to find true rest in the Lord, you must humble yourself. You must recognize that your works are not good enough, that you have overindulged in the fading pleasures of this world, and that your sin bars you from any true rest. And when you recognize that, you are prepared to find true rest in Christ. Christ did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. He did not come to give rest to those satisfied with themselves, but to those who are heavy-burdened and who seek rest from the Lord.
The Apostles appointed Sunday for the day of worship for two reasons. First, to show that we are free from the shadow of the Old Testament and cannot be judged for not observing the seventh day or any other ceremonial law. Second, because Christ rose from the dead on Sunday, so we should know that we only find true rest in Christ. You should go to church every Sunday, because the Lord commands us to hear His Word. It is a sin to skip church, because it is despising God’s preaching and Word. Yet, much more, you should go to church every Sunday to find rest in Christ. You find rest in the Lord by hearing the words of Christ and believing His promise of forgiveness. We do not come to church to judge one another and see who has kept the Sabbath better. We come to church as dropsied sinners coming to the banquet where Jesus is, so He can heal us and satisfy that one unquenchable craving. Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in the Lord. We find that rest today in the words of Jesus. And we believe that we will enjoy that rest in perfect holiness in eternity with Him. Amen.

Sabbath Rest: Trinity 17 Sermon by Rev. Rolf Preus 2012

Sermon preached by Rev. Rolf Preus on Luke 14:1-11 in 2012. You can read the entire text at Christforus.org. 

Where Is Jesus' Compassion Today? Trinity 16 Sermon

Trinity 16 sermon on Luke 7:11-17 preached in 2024 by Rev. James Preus. Christforus.org. 
Gospel: Luke 7:11-17 
11 Soon afterward [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. 
 
Trinity 16 
Luke 7:11-17 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church 
September 15, 2024 
 
Laugh to scorn the gloomy grave 
And at death no longer tremble; 
He, the Lord, who came to save 
Will at last His own assemble.  
They will go their Lord to meet,  
Treading death beneath their feet. (LSB 741:7, Otto von Schwerin, Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense)  
 
The woman was a widow. That’s sad. But most married women are widowed eventually. She’s following the coffin of her only son. Now, that’s heartbreaking. Children aren’t supposed to die before their parents. Now, after this woman’s husband has died, death has taken away her only son. She’s alone and will likely need to depend on the charity of others to survive. Our Lord Jesus sees her and he has compassion on her. Yet, what Jesus does with this compassion is what is truly remarkable. He says to the mother of the dead man, “Do not weep,” which certainly would be a pho pas at any other funeral. Surely, at her son’s funeral, a woman is permitted to cry! But Jesus backs up his bold words by touching the coffin and saying to the dead man, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” And the young man rises from the dead, starts talking, and Jesus returns the man alive and well to his mother.  
What wonderful compassion our Lord Jesus has! Would that He would show such compassion today! Do we not have parents in our midst who have held the lifeless body of their child? Who would give all they have to see their child start moving again, open his eyes, and talk? Who would be forever thankful to Jesus if He would give their dead child back to them alive and well! Yes, we have such parents today, such pitiable mothers and fathers, even widows and widowers, who are in need of this comfort. Why doesn’t Jesus raise their dead? Or, could He at least keep them from dying! Where is Jesus’ compassion today?  
Scripture only records Jesus raising three people from the dead: Jairus’s twelve-year-old daughter in Capernaum, Lazarus of Bethany, and this young man from Nain. Certainly, there were others He raised, along with His disciples (Matthew 10:8). Yet, it is also certain that there were many more Jesus did not raise. Yet, this does not prove a lack of compassion on our Lord’s part, nor a lack of power over death. Rather, to understand this, we must learn that there are three types of death: 1) physical death, from which Jesus raised the young man from Nain; 2) eternal death, which is suffered by all in hell; and 3) spiritual death, into which all are conceived and born, which means they are dead to sin and incapable of choosing or pleasing God. When you recognize all three of these types of death, you realize that the raising of the young man in Nain was the least remarkable and least compassionate resurrection, which Jesus demonstrates in this Gospel lesson. The young man would later die again. Yet, there are worse deaths than physical death, from which Jesus seeks to save us.  
The cause of death, whether it is physical, spiritual, or eternal, is all the same: sin. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God told Adam that on the day he disobeyed Him and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die (Gen. 2:17). Yet, Adam and Eve did not physically die on the day they ate of the forbidden fruit. However, their physical deaths began. They spiritually died. And had God not converted them through the promise of Christ, they would have died eternally as well in hell. The cause of our spiritual death is sin. We are conceived and born in sin (Psalm 51:5). St. Paul writes to the Ephesians in chapter 2, “you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” And to the Romans, he wrote, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12) We die because of sin. If you want to get rid of death, you need to get rid of sin.  
And this is where Jesus shows His greatest compassion. We think Jesus was displaying His “human side” when He felt compassion on the mother. But this was not Jesus showing His human nature, but His divine nature. It is God’s nature to show compassion. That we feel compassion reflects our Creator. God showed His greatest compassion when He sent His Son to take all our sin upon Himself, and suffer and die in our place because of it. This is what God declared through the prophet Isaiah, “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by His stripes, we were healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray, we have turned, every one, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6) Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied of his son, declaring that he would “give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the compassionate mercy of our God.” (Luke 1:77-78) God’s compassion is shown in how He takes away our sins.  
And so, when Jesus raised that young man from the dead, He foreshadowed His own resurrection from the dead, when He would forever nail our sins to His cross, sins, which lock us in darkness and in the shadow of death. At Nain, Jesus raised one man from physical death. Yet, with this resurrection, He foreshadowed how He would win salvation from eternal death for all.  
Although Jesus won eternal life for all, not all receive it, because it can only be received through faith. Unless one is risen from spiritual death, which prevents a person from believing in Jesus and being saved, then he goes from physical death into eternal death in hell. So, we learn that not only is eternal death more severe than physical death, but spiritual death is much worse than physical death. For the Christian who suffers from physical death is immediately granted eternal life in Christ and will soon enjoy the resurrection of the body. But the spiritually dead can only expect eternal death and punishment.  
And so, we see that Jesus performed an even more compassionate and praiseworthy miracle at that funeral in Nain than He did by raising the man from physical death. What was the response of the people? They praised God and declared that a great prophet had risen among them and that God had visited His people. These are not simply generic praises of God. They are filled with faith and hope in God’s promises.  
In Deuteronomy 18, the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I commanded Him.” This was a Messianic Prophecy, meaning, it prophesied of the coming Messiah/Christ. When the crowd declared that God raised up a great prophet from among them, they were confessing that God had fulfilled His promise to Moses and that Jesus was the Christ. Again, the crowd said that God had visited His people. How has God visited His people? Christ Jesus is God! God said through the prophets that He would visit His people when they were in captivity in Babylon, to bring them back to their land (Jeremiah 29:10). Now God visits His people in a greater way. Again, Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied of this when he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people, and raised up a horn of salvation for us, in the house of David His servant.” (Luke 1:68-69) This horn of salvation through whom God would visit and redeem His people is Jesus Christ, the Son of David. So, by raising this young man from physical death, Christ brought about that many would be raised from spiritual death by being brought to faith in Christ, and therefore, would be rescued from eternal death in hell.  
Only Jesus can raise the dead, because only Jesus can take our sins away. When Jesus raised that young man from Nain from physical death, He demonstrated His power to raise Himself from the dead after taking all our sins away on the cross. And when Jesus converted the crowd to believe that He was their Messiah, He rescued them from eternal death by granting them faith in the only One who can take away their sins.  
We cannot bring our loved ones who have physically died to Jesus today for Him to raise them up. Yet, that does not mean that our Lord does not have compassion on us today. Jesus has compassion on us now in the midst of the shadow of death. He can comfort us in a way that no one else can, as St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring to Him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thess. 4:13-14) Christ gives us comfort in death, because He has defeated death by taking away all our sins.  
I love Jesus and I have devoted my life to telling people about Jesus, because only Jesus can comfort me when I am oppressed by things beyond my control. Only Jesus can comfort me when I lament my sins, which I cannot undo, because He alone died to take them away. Only Jesus can comfort me in the face of death, because only Christ undoes death. I love Jesus, because He is not only my Savior, but my children’s Savior. He comforts me not only as I face my own death, but as I face the death of my wife and children, regardless whether that precedes my own. Because Christ Jesus is their Savior too, as St. Peter declared in His first Pentecost sermon, “The promise is for you and for your children.”  
We cannot bring our physically dead to Jesus for Him to raise them to life for a few more decades. But we can bring our children to Jesus, for them to be raised from spiritual death and to be sustained in spiritual life, so that physical death will lose its sting and eternal death will be completely undone. Christ Jesus shows His compassion today in raising us from spiritual death, so that we may enjoy eternal life without fear of physical death or any of the sorrow associated with it. Jesus shows us this compassion in Baptism, where we are buried with Christ and united to Him in His resurrection (Romans 6:3-5). Jesus shows this compassion through the preaching of the Gospel, where we hear the good news that Christ has taken away all our sins, which is the sting of death. Through the preaching of the forgiveness of sins, we are strengthened in spiritual life, so that eternal death cannot harm us. Christ comforts us today by robbing physical death of its power to gloat over us. Rather, Christ gives us the right to mock death and call it just a little nap, because Christ will raise those who belong to Him from physical death, as a mother wakes her little child up from a nap. And they will enjoy eternal life with Him.  
Then take comfort and rejoice,  
For His members Christ will cherish.  
Fear not, they will hear His voice;  
Dying, they will never perish;  
For the very grave is stirred 
When the trumpet’s blast is heard. (LSB 741:6, Otto von Schwerin, Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense) 
Amen.