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A word for…

I. Skeptics, Opponents, and Unbelievers
II. Disciples, Followers, and Believers

based on Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

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I. The Transfiguration Shows the Eyes What Is Known by Faith
II. God Gives Us Such Occasions Through the Gospel

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I. Set before Time Began
II. Called to Life
III. Touched by the Power of Life, the Gospel
IV. Receiving the Gift of Faith
V. Encouraged in This Present Evil Age
VI. Strengthened in Word and Deed
VII. Walking with His Family
VIII. For Whom We Pray
IX. Facing Tribulation Strengthened and Protected
X. Persevering by the Gospel
XI. Triumphant through God’s Faithfulness
 

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In this part of his letter to the Galatian churches Paul is doing at least two things.  First, he continues with the point we looked at last week that this gospel is something that is NOT of human origin, but of divine origin.  Because of that, as the preceding verses tell us, this gospel is proclaimed consistently by all of Christ’s apostles throughout the church, as all received it directly from Christ, without collaboration.  Nevertheless when they DID get together they were unanimous in their confession.

BUT also because this gospel is from Christ it is the standard that governs all practice in the church, and when the practice falls short of the gospel as Peter’s practice did, the divinely given gospel MUST be upheld even to the point of rebuking an apostle.  While the apostles did not err in their inspired preaching they were still sinners and might still err in their practice from time to time.

As with Peter, pastors tend to like people and be influenced by what people think of them.  In this case, Peter was afraid of what the Jews, the people with whom he had identified all his life, would think of them.  He therefore acted as though they were more pleasing to God because of their retention of Jewish practices.

That idea leads inevitably to salvation depending upon our obedience.  We must bind our pastors to preach and practice only according to the God-given gospel.

The second thing going on here is Paul’s restatement of the gospel before Peter, and in light of Peter’s hypocrisy.    This raises the question of how  THE SAVED-BY-GRACE CHRISTIAN DEALS WITH SIN.  This is what we will cover in this week's sermon.
 

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I.  The God of This World Sows Blindness
II. The God of Love, The God Who IS, Sows Light
III. Light Shines through the Gospel

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The author is Thomas of Celano (13th century). This medieval hymn is a very clear preaching of Law and Gospel. “There is nothing in this hymn offensive to Lutheran Christians. It is truly Biblical throughout. It is the poor sinner seeking grace and mercy with God. It is evangelical, emphasizing the free access to God’s throne of grace without the mediation of pope, church, or saint. It is recognized as the most sublime hymn of the Middle Ages.” (Library of Christian Hymns, a companion volume to the Lutheran Hymnary)

As a part of the liturgy for Christian burial service it was heard wherever in the world such services were conducted.  As a result it became part of the shared heritage of whole cultures, particularly in the western world.  As a result, many of the greatest authors, poets and musicians have used this text to great effect. Sir Walter Scott used it in the conclusion to his poem Lay of the Last Minstrel. The German author Goethe used it in his greatest work, Faust, in this way: the heroine faints from fear and anguish as she hears this hymn sung in the cathedral church, and from that hour her personality is completely changed. Mozart put it to unforgettable music in his last work, his Requiem.

The hymn has had such an important place in the musical literature of the church that “in Great Britain and America no hymn-book of any note has appeared during the past hundred years without the “Dies Irae” being directly or in directly represented therein.”  (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary Handbook (Online Draft edition))

Although the tune in our Hymnary is not particularly easy, it is memorable and any difficulty is outweighed by the way it sets forth the hope of the gospel in the face of the most fearful moment faced by every human soul.

(Thanks to the late Rev. Wilbert Werling and his grandson, Rev. Jerry Gernander for portions of this article.)

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THE FORCEFUL ADVANCE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

I. “The World” Is the Kingdom of the Dead
II. The Gospel Is the Life-Giving Power of God
III. Our Place in the Kingdom

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In order to understand the Bible it is crucial to know the differences between the two main teachings of the Bible, Law and Gospel.

The law is the message that all sin condemns us before God absolutely.  So Paul quotes Deuteronomy, Galatians 3:10, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”  The Psalmists also lay out the futility of trusting in our own righteousness.  Consider Psalm 130:3, “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?”  and Psalm 5:5, “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.”

The law leaves no room for sin or sinners.

The Gospel, on the other hand is the good news of what God has done through our Savior Jesus Christ to meet the demands of the law on our behalf.  John tells us, 1 John 2:2, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”  Paul tells us, Romans 4:25, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

Those who trust in their own righteousness need to hear the law, so that they understand that they stand condemned before God and despair of their own righteousness.

Those who despair of their own righteousness must be pointed to Christ, who is our atoning sacrifice, and has taken away the sins of the world.

So Jesus preaches the law to the Pharisees who were really “pretty good” guys, and preaches the gospel to for tax collector, the corrupt and thieving public official.  The former were taught to despair of themselves.  Those in despair are taught to trust in Christ.

Are you facing the fact that your sins condemn you before God?  Then let me assure you with the words of gospel truth:  For the sake of Christ, all your sins are forgiven.

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