Grace Before Glory 1 Peter 1:13-21

 

    

Grace Before Glory
1 Peter 1.13-21

    https://youtu.be/IbFtr2RuF_Q?si=Qdsg0mOrZpKc5nMB

Introduction

     We human beings naturally desire glory. We want all things to be good, beautiful and heavenly. We want to win, not lose. We want to succeed, not fail. We want love, not hate. We want happiness, not sadness. There are different ways to pursue these goals. Most of them have some good in them. But today we see how faith in the Easter miracle of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead tops them all and will always remain the essential gift of God that gives us ultimate glory. 

Paths to Glory

     What are some common “paths to glory”? Let’s begin with a good work ethic. The Bible says that we should “…aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind (our) own business, and to work with (our) own hands” (1 Thes 4.11). We teach children to make their beds and pick up their toys. We hope this will lead them complete their assignments in school, show up for work when they get a job, and lead a productive life. In this way they can take care of themselves and others. Next, we can add being a good person and following the Golden Rule, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which is found six times in the Bible (Le 19:18; De 5:14,15; Mt 7:12; Lu 6:31; Ro 13:9; Ga 5:14). A third important path to glory is marriage and family unity. David said, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps 133). Marriage and family are the foundations to life. Where these fail, life will fail. A fourth path to glory would be good government. Peter says in the next chapter of this letter that good governments are sent by God “…for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good” (2.14). Without good government, the coarse crimes against life would plunge us into chaos and destruction. God commands all these paths to glory, and we should always pray for these paths of glory: Work Ethic, The Golden Rule, Marriage and Family Unity, and Good Government. 

The Reason These Paths Fail

     Everything I have just said is really common sense. These four paths to glory are commanded in the Bible, but you don’t need the Bible to know them. They are deeply imbedded in nature itself. Benjamin Franklin, one of the founders of our country, wrote about them in his Poor Richard’s Almanac. They are good paths, but by themselves they won’t lead to glory. Why? Because none of them can address and cure the problem of sin that is just as deeply imbedded in our hearts. 

     We may start on the path of good work ethic, but soon laziness and covetousness will tempt us especially when we see others are succeeding more than us. We begin to think we are victims and that life isn’t fair. We may strive to love our neighbors as ourselves, but it becomes all too easy to pick and choose our neighbors. Is it the drug addict that needs our help?  Is it the unborn baby that just wants to live that we need to protect? Is it a starving person in another part of the world? No one wants a troubled marriage or a disordered family. But we get on each other’s nerves and say and do those things that drive us apart. Everyone wants good government, but when sinners govern sinners, there are bound to be problems. We have a temptation to turn away from civic duty in disgust and pass those problems to the next generation. The real problem with these paths of glory is that they are all missing God’s grace. Therefore, they lack the power to get control of sin. 

     The Bible consistently teaches us that sin and separation from God is the cause of all misery and unhappiness in this world. No matter how well you know the paths to glory and pursue them, sin will catch up and pull you back down. Worse than that, much of the world now denies the paths of glory and deliberately. They avoid work but want all its benefits. They redefine the meaning of “good,” so they glorify their base desires. They have practically destroyed marriage and family and deny that it is even necessary. They use government not to commend the good but to defend and promote evil. 

Grace Is the Key to Glory

     Peter was well acquainted with this world as we are. He was a hard-working fisherman, but he could see that hard work and striving for goodness would never lead to glory. The sin within and without would eventually destroy everything. It seemed hopeless. Then one day he met Jesus. It wasn’t Jesus’ intelligence, or wisdom, or power, that impressed Peter the most. It was His holiness. When the fishing wasn’t so good one day, Jesus told Peter to cast his nets on the other side of the boat. The nets were filled, and Peter realized Jesus was different; He was holy. He said, “Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5.1-11). But Jesus didn’t depart. He stayed. He stayed with Peter and the other disciples. He stayed with this world all the way to the cross so that He could bring the one thing to them and to us that is the key to glory – His divine grace. This is what he was saying in 1 Peter 1.13-25.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

          Pastors have rightly said, “GRACE is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.” As Easter Christians we now have the true path to glory. We have the grace of the precious blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. This is the hope to which we constantly cling. Every day as we walk those paths to glory, we now have Jesus, the Son of God walking with us. Peter says that we “gird up the loins of our minds.” This means that we prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for all that we do. Our week begins with Jesus in worship. Each day should begin and end with Jesus in word and prayer.  We don’t just go to work. We don’t just assume we are being good each day. We don’t just get married and have a family. We don’t just vote, advocate, and serve for good government. Our walk is with Jesus, and thus our daily life, is a holy walk. When we work, when we interact with other people, when we live at home with our spouse and children, when we speak to or about our politicians, we are always catching those sinful lusts and desires that crop up like weeds but need to be dug up and thrown out with repentance and faith in Jesus. More than that, our walk with Jesus is always pointed toward Judgment Day. We “conduct (ourselves) throughout the time of (our) stay here in fear.” This is not a fear of being condemned, but it is a serious realization that we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Therefore, our walk isn’t “aimless” and destined for destruction. Our walk is destined for the glory of the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of our own bodies on the last day. 

Conclusion 

     When the Emmaus disciples were walking on the day of Christ’s resurrection, they were sad because they had hoped Jesus would “redeem Israel” (Luke 24.21). They knew those paths of glory since Jesus has spoken of them. But they hadn’t realized the one thing that was necessary for us to walk the paths of glory successfully – that it was necessary for “the Christ to have suffered these things and (then) to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24.26). God’s grace, His redemption through the life and death of Jesus, was the key to His glory and ours. This week, as you go about all your normal activities, remember the hope of God’s grace, His redemption, the gift of forgiveness, and holiness, so that you will live a holy life of faith and realize His glory. Amen. 

"Mary!"

https://youtu.be/WUt778sq4Sg

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.  And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.  Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. John 20.11-18

Introduction

 

     During our Lenten Season, in preparation for Easter, we've been studying the "Witnesses of the Passion." These are the people who were there when Jesus died and rose again. We've learned good things from Mary, the sister of Lazarus, Peter, Malchus, Pilate, Judas, and John. Today, on Easter Sunday, I want to present to you one of the greatest witnesses to the passion: Mary Magdalene. As we think about the impact of Jesus on her life, I pray that we would also be moved to faith as she was. 

 

A Woman of Substance

 

     The first time we meet Mary Magdalene in the New Testament is in Luke chapter eight, where she is described as one of three women disciples, along with Joanna and Suzanna. Luke describes all three of them as women of some means who were able to support Jesus financially. (There is a tradition that Mary Magdalene is also the sinful woman we read about in Luke 7.36, but there is no way to be certain of this.) These women loved to hear what Jesus said so much that they not only took every opportunity to listen to Him, they also supported Jesus with their money so that He and His disciples could reach more and more people with God’s truth and love.

 

Seven Demons

 

     Luke also tells us that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her.  She must have been very tormented by those demons, and so she was very appreciative for the healing she received from Jesus. Many people think they are free in this life, but if they don’t have the Holy Spirit and the gift of repentance and faith, they are not free from sin or from the power of the devil. The Bible tells us that Jesus partook of flesh and blood “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2.14). It is good for us to think about how we are spared from the fear of and the dominion of evil through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

 

“My Lord”

 

     Mary’s faith in Jesus is one of the strongest we find in the Bible. She was one of the disciples that stood by the cross and stayed with Jesus all the way to His death. Whenever we find a list of women disciples in the Bible, Mary Magdalene is always mentioned first. She was the first disciple to go to the tomb on Easter morning. She was the first to realize that Jesus had risen from the dead. All the disciples called Jesus “Lord” when He was living. But Mary is the only disciple who referred to Jesus as “the Lord,” and “my Lord” even after He was crucified and before she knew He was raised. This was the beginning of the true faith that all disciples have. He is our Lord no matter what. He is our Lord no matter what the world says about Him or what it has done to Him. He is our Lord no matter what the world says or does to us. This is a beautiful example of the way we fear, love and trust in God above all things. 

 

Do Not Cling to Me

 

     Jesus spoke to Mary, but she thought He was the gardener. She did not recognize Him or His voice physically. Like all the other disciples, Mary had to go through a transition. She had to move on from the old way of knowing Jesus when He was physically present with His disciples. We call this the time of Jesus' humiliation. It is the time from His birth to poverty to suffering and finally to dying on the cross. Jesus went through this in order to become a sacrifice for our sins, to stand in our place under the judgment and wrath of God. But when He said "It is finished," that time of His humiliation and suffering for us was over. After those words in the Bible, you will see that no one argues with Jesus. No one tries to arrest Him or hurt Him. He began to be in the state of exaltation.  In this state Jesus rose from the dead and the soldiers guarding His tomb fell unconscious like dead men. In this state of exaltation that He commissioned the disciples to go baptize and teach all nations. In this state He ascended into heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and Gospel began to be preached throughout all the world. In this state He is now at the right hand of the Father and rules over all things for the church. In this state He will come again on the last day. Jesus told Mary not to cling to Him because that old way of knowing Jesus in His humiliation was over.  We must hold on to Jesus now in a different way. How? How do we hold on to Jesus since He has risen and ascended into heaven? 

 

     I have noticed that if you ask any Christian this question: "What does Jesus want us to do?" I will get a variety of good answers. Some will say, "Love your neighbor." Yes, that is true. Jesus tells us that three times in the Gospels. Another person will say, "Tell others about Jesus." Yes that is true. That is the great commission. One day I was in Troy, Illinois making evangelism calls. I walked down a long street knocking on doors and inviting people to come to church. Finally I got to the last house and a very nice Baptist lady thanked me for what I was doing. But then she said, "Pastor, I bet most of the people on this street told you they were Christians." "Yes they did," I said. "But," she said, "On Sunday morning these streets will be empty. Hardly any of these folks will go to church." They knew about loving others. They knew about evangelism. But they didn't know about "clinging to Jesus" in His exaltation. The first disciples clung to Jesus as they sat at His feet and listening to Him in His humiliation. But how did they cling to Jesus after His resurrection and ascension into heaven? How do we today "cling to Jesus"? 

 

     The answer is in the very next words that Jesus told Mary, "Go to My brethren..." Mary and all of Jesus' disciples would cling to Him by clinging to each other, by being with each other in worship and fellowship. Jesus told them earlier about this when He said, "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18.20). Six times in the Lord's Prayer Jesus uses the words "our" or "us" showing us that Christianity is not as much about "me and Jesus" as it is about "we with Jesus."  St. Paul taught the Christians in Colossae to cling to Jesus by "[Letting] the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (3.16). 

 

Conclusion

 

     Mary Magdalene was a great disciple of Jesus. Though she was wealthy, she didn't idolize her wealth.  She listened carefully to Jesus and supported His ministry. When she was troubled with demons, she came to Jesus and was healed. She was the first disciple to see Jesus risen from the dead. And she was the first disciple to cling to Jesus by going to Jesus' brethern and telling them of the resurrection. I hope that all of you would agree with me when I say that I want to have a faith like Mary Magdalene. I want to listen carefully to Jesus because He teaches me to repent, believe, and live by faith. I want to go to Jesus with all my demons that trouble me in my life. I want to cling to the exalted Jesus by going to His brothers, my fellow Christians, and saying as we do every Sunday, "He is risen!"

 

     A couple of weeks ago we were talking about the importance of our faith in Jesus in a Bible study. We also talked about what life without that faith might look like. I compared it to a jigsaw puzzle that was missing one piece. What would you do with a puzzle like that? Would you spend a lot of time putting it together even without that one missing piece? I don't think you would frame it? More that likely you would throw it away. Mary Magdalene shows us a lot about our life with her life. She had friends. She had wealth. But she had demons. She had something missing in her life until she found it in Jesus. I hope you find that as well. Amen.  

Your Light Will Shine Matthew 5.16

Your Light Will Shine

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5.16

Sermon for The Fifth Sunday After Epiphany

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Mt Olive, Illinois, February 8, 2026

Audio: https://open.spotify.com/episode/27vJxWkifSVQLU1mT0JtxL

Introduction
     Dear Disciples of Jesus, on the first day of creation God created light. Light is the beginning of this world. Jesus told us that the problem of this world is that “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light… But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3.19-21). Everyone knows that light is important. It is important for life, and as the Bible says, it is important for goodness and holiness. 

     When we first moved up this way from the Metro-East, I noticed a charge on my electric bill for a large pole light - $12 a month! I thought, we don’t need that. I can save twelve dollars a month. I called the electric company to have that shut off. Right away we noticed how dark it was on our property. I had forgotten how nice it was in the city to have street lights everywhere. My family started to complain, so I called the electric company back, and told them to turn it back on. “I had been over-ruled.” The lady on the other end of the line just chuckled. Yet more important that physical light is spiritual light, and that is our theme for this week. Consider carefully what the Bible and what Jesus says about: 1. The Need of Spiritual Light, 2. The Source of Spiritual Light, and 3. The Shining of Spiritual Light in This World! 

The Need for Spiritual Light
    The Bible is very clear about this: Sin plunged the world into spiritual darkness. Isaiah said, “We look for light, but there is darkness!” (59.9). Paul warns us to “cast off the works of darkness… revelry and drunkenness… lewdness and lust… strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13.12-14). And John tells us, “He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2.11). 

     Not only is this the natural course of the world, the world tries to convince us that the darkness of sin and life without faith in God is normal. It creates false categories of truth, saying that we can be sure of some truths, those we can see like the temperature outside or the distance of a mile. But other truths, the truths which the darkness calls “religious,” are less certain. These are the reality of God and His laws against sin. The darkness goes even further, arguing there is no such thing as sin. It replaces sin with “problems” and “mistakes.” And, in many cases, these are not your fault. They are your parent’s fault or your neighbor’s fault, or your boss’ fault, or the government’s fault, or the church’s fault.” Isaiah warned: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5.20). When we look into our hearts and see that we have sinned, that we have lied, that we have had bad thoughts about others, that we didn’t do that good we should have done – we should recognize this as the darkness of sin.

     In vain the world tries to overcome the darkness of sin with its own artificial lights. These “lights” would include things like better communication, better relationships, better education, better government. All of these things are good gifts from God or can be if used in the right way. However, none of them get to the root problem of the darkness of sin. Sin is spiritual, and it needs a spiritual cure. That is why going home, going to school, going to work are all good things. But going to church is the best thing in addition to all of these.

The Source for Spiritual Light
     When I was a boy, I remember how certain businesses or cities would use giant search lights at night to attract attention. They would shine them up in the sky at night and move them around. You couldn’t help but see them and wonder, “Where are those coming from?” If you got in your car and drove around, you could usually find them. They might be coming from a car dealership that was running some kind of promotion, or a new movie premier, or a carnival. In Jesus’ time there was something similar. During the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem four giant menorahs were set up, each over fifty feet high. Young priests climbed ladders to fill the bowls with oil. They used old priestly garments for wicks. When they were lit, it was said that there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up. Jesus came to one of those festivals, and it was there that He proclaimed “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8.12). 

     The only thing that overcomes the darkness of sin is the light of God. David said in Psalm 18.28 “For You will light by lamp.” Paul said, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…” (Ephesians 5.8). Micah (7.8) said, “When I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me.” Jesus is the true source of the spiritual light that brings us out of the darkness of sin. He is the “light of life.” You notice that in our church we have candles. They are carefully lit at the beginning of the service and carefully extinguished at the end of the service. Those candles are a symbol of this “light of life.” When they are lit, it means that we are gathered together to hear God’s word and to be enlightened by it. Jesus is the light in the sense that His truth and love come into the darkness of our hearts to forgive us, heal us, and cleanse us. He died for our sins so that our guilty feelings are banished. Our regrets are wiped away. Our fear is turned to courage. Our doubt is turned to faith. Our hate is turned to love. Our sadness is turned to joy. This is the light of life. This is Jesus. 

Shining the Spiritual Light in the World
     Now we come to our main teaching of Jesus for this week. In the Sermon on the Mount He said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5.16). This light is such a wonderful gift that it is impossible to keep it to ourselves. Once God lights us up in Jesus, the world will notice. A young college student was very worried about an important physics test that had to do with the deep, physical properties of light. He and his classmates were worried about this difficult test. The day of the test came, and they all worked feverishly to answer the questions. After it was over a group of students walked away from the science building. They were all pretty sad-faced and thought they might have done poorly. But one student was smiling. “What are you smiling about?” they asked. “Do you think you aced that test?” “No,” the student said, “I just know that there are other things more important than physics. I have the light of life in Jesus.” This is what Jesus means when He said, “Let your light shine.” 

     When you hear this command, don’t be afraid of it. There is a little translation challenge here. In the Greek language this is not a command to a person. It is a command about a person. Unfortunately, we just don’t have a way of saying this in our English language. Perhaps a better way to say it is: “Your light will shine.”  Jesus isn’t telling you to do something that is difficult or something that you have to do by your own power. Remember this truth: Whatever God commands in the Bible, He gives us the power to do it. When we find ourselves in a situation in which we can shine the light of Jesus, we look to Him. He will make it happen. There are many ways this happens. Here are two examples:

     A man decided to find out which mechanics in his town were honest. He was a retired mechanic himself. He would take a car with a problem that only needed a simple fix, and he would see what happened. Many of the mechanics told him his car needed serious repairs. But one mechanic was honest, it was as easy, inexpensive repair. The retired mechanic asked him why he was honest when many others were not. He told him, “Jesus told me ‘whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them’” (Matthew 7.12). Another example is a hairdresser who would pray every morning, “Whoever sits in my chair today, please let them see Jesus in me.” Eventually one of her customers asked her, “Why do I feel so good when I leave here? It’s not just my hair that gets fixed.” The hairdresser told her about the prayer, and it eventually led her customer to Jesus. 

Conclusion
     This week remember the need for Spiritual Light. Our sins are darkness. Remember Jesus is the Source of the Light of our salvation. Pray for God’s command to come true: “Your light will shine.” Amen.  

Brought to Jesus - John 1.42

 

"Brought to Jesus" John 1.42

 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

Introduction

     During the Christmas season we remember the way God came into the world. The Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary. During the Epiphany season we remember the way Jesus was revealed and made manifest to be the Son of God to the world. Since we are all by nature sinners, we do not seek God. Instead God seeks us. God said through the prophet Isaiah, "I was found by those who did not seek Me" (65.1). Throughout the Bible we see this again and again. When Adam and Eve first sinned, they hid from God, but He found them and brought them back. God found Abraham when, as the Bible says, he was "a wandering Aramean" (Deuteronomy 26.5). One by one, every believer was found by God and brought to God. All the apostles were found by Jesus and He drew them to Himself (John 12.32). That is how we become Christians, we are brought to Christ. As we shall see that is both a great comfort to us, and it is the key to living the Christian life and bringing others to Christ. 

Jesus Is the Messiah

     After Jesus was baptized, God revealed to the world that He was His own Son. Immediately people were being drawn to Him. In our Gospel lesson today from John chapter one we see how the first disciples were brought to Jesus. Our featured disciple this morning is Andrew, he is one that we don't hear much about in the New Testament. But what he did is something we should all remember: He brought his brother Peter to Jesus. 

     Andrew was blessed to be brought to John the Baptist. He heard John proclaim that Jesus was the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Why did John call Jesus a "lamb." That's not a mighty animal at all. Are there any football teams called "The Lambs"? If there was, people would laugh at a name like that. But John knew what he was talking about. Jesus was "The Lamb of God" because Jesus was the lamb of sacrifice for all of us sinners. God, who knows all things, knew that the only salvation from the horrible problem of sin was love, sacrificial love. Sin is full of anger, hate, and violence. On Judgement Day God will deal with sin in that way. Romans 1.18 tells us that God's wrath is "revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness." But to deliver us from that wrath, God first came to the horrible problem of sin in love, through Christ, the Messiah, His Annointed One. 

     Last Sunday I mentioned the four ways we know Jesus is the Messiah. The first is through the prophecies of the Old Testament. All of them tell us that the Messiah will take away sin and bring righteousness, not by more rules, but by grace, by forgiveness. This forgiveness will be earned by His suffering and dying. The second is through Jesus' teaching. The Gospels give us a one sentence summary of His teaching: Jesus preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" (Matthew 3.2; Mark 1.15). The third way is through His miracles which were all given to save lives from the effects of sin. The fourth way is through His resurrection from the dead. In His resurrection Jesus proved that sin, death, and the devil were defeated. 

Four Wrong Ways

     This so important for us to know and believe. But we don't know it and believe by nature. Our nature is the opposite. Let's think about the three ways that human beings deal with sin. 

     The first and most ancient and common way is to Compensate. All other religions are based on the idea that we can oversome sin by trying to be good. The answer to sin is rules. Pray, give offerings, and force yourself to be a better person. Paul lived this way for many years as a Pharisee. But he finally had to admit that he was still a "wretched man" (Romans 7.24). No amount of good works can compensate for or removed the guilt of sin. That is just being honest. 

     The second way is to Compare. "Well, I'll admit I'm a sinner, but there are a lot of people worse than me." This person thinks that because others sin worse, God will somehow overlook their sins. But if God overlooks sin, He becomes a sinner Himself for He has commanded in James 2.10 "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it." Pointing to the sins of others is just a deflection. You can't just break a window a little. If you break it, you break the whole thing. 

     The third has become very strong in the last decade. This is the temptation to politicize sin. Karl Marx taught that there are oppressors and the oppressed. Although baptized in the Lutheran Church, Marx rejected God and interpreted everything in terms of the material world. In this view, even if a person does something wrong he blames it on his economic circumstances. Only the oppressors are bad, and all the evils of the world are blamed on them. But the Bible warns against this very thing. "Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God" (Proverbs 30.8-9). The rich and poor can both be sinners, and neither should excuse themselves because of their political and economic circumstances. 

     The fourth way may not be that popular, but it is growing. Some people think they can overcome the problem of sin by saying there is no such thing as sin. Driven by their worship of science and denying any place for God, the spiritual world, and the soul, they say all things are determined by our molecules. ALL THINGS. NO OTHER ASPECT OF LIFE. Since it's all just biochemistry, no one is guilty of anything because we are either born that way or conditioned to be that way. This is the moral insanity that fuels all mass murderers. The Bible is clear about this: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no god'" (Psalm 14.1).

Saved

     Joel Chandler Harris was from Georgia. In the 1800s he went around and talked to former slaves to hear their stories. He put them together in a book titled "Uncle Remus Stories." If you want some good hearty laughs, please read this book. One story is about Brer Fox who was frustrated that Brer Rabbit kept tricking him. So he made a doll out of tar and set it up by the road. Brer Rabbit comes along and greets the Tar-Baby. When the Tar-Baby doesn't respond, he gets angry and starts punching and kicking it. Sure enough he gets completeley stuck to it. I'm not going to give away the end of the story, but I'll stop here to show how sin is like that Tar-Baby. We can't fight it ourselves. The more we do, the more we get stuck to it. We have to be pulled from it. We have to be cleansed of it. 

     I would like you to think about how you have been pulled and saved from the tar-pit of sin. Paul said, "By grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2.8). I was saved by my parents who brought me to Christ in baptism, prayers, Bible stories, and the catechism. Even after that God brought other people in my life who pulled me back from sin and temptation. If someone asks me how I became and Christian, I have to honestly say that God called me to faith by the Gospel that was given to me by many different people. My becoming a Christian was not my natural choice. It was God's choice as Jesus said, "You did not choose Me. I chose you" (John 15.16). Every day I thank God that, like Peter, I was brought to Jesus. 

For What?

     It doesn't end there. I said earlier that being brought to Jesus is a great comfort (it doesn't depend on us), and it is the key to living the Christian life and bringing others to Jesus. When you realize that you are a poor miserable sinner and cannot escape from sin, but that God rescued you from it anyway - what a great joy that is. Now, doing what God wants us to do is not a burden or chore. It's a blessing. I don't keep the commandments because I'm trying to save myself. I'm doing them because I'm already saved. I'm doing them out of thanksgiving to God. 

     I mentioned that Andrew is not the most well-known disciple. There's very little we know about him. But this little thing that he did is mentioned here in the Gospel for a good reason. God is telling us that everything we do as a Christian saved from the guilt of sin is important to Him. Let me emphasize that: EVERY LITTLE THING. 

     This is one of my favorite examples of that. One day an unhappy man was walking along a railroad track in India. As he walked he saw a cigarette butt that had some writing on it. Being bored as well as sad, he picked it up and unrolled it. Apparently someone had taken a Christian tract and used it for a rolling paper to make a cigarette. It was mostly burned up, but the few words that were left were these: "Whoever calls upon the Lord will be saved" from Romans 10.13. Well, this sounded okay to him. Maybe he should look into it. When he got to the next village, he began asking people about these words. Someone told him it was from the Bible and that he should go talk to the pastor in that village. He did, and when he heard the full Gospel, he believed and he was brought to Christ. This is also a good example of a small act of Christian love that brought someone to Christ. It might have seemed like a waste. Someone gave some money to a Christian tract society. They printed the tract and sent it to India. Someone brought in the train and hopefully read it. But someone else didn't care about it turned it into a cigarette. But God wasn't done with the small act of Christian love. The sad man picked up the butt and was brought to Christ. 

Conclusion

     Everything we do by faith in God has that same potential. Your coming to worship this morning makes a difference. People notice. When someone speak evil of you and love them anyway, people notice. When you do wrong and apologize instead blaming and playing the victim, people notice. When you live as a person who has been brought to Christ, that brings other people to Christ as well. God bless you this week as you remember this little passage about Andrew: "And he brought Him to Jesus." May it be a comfort that you were brought to Jesus, and may that comfort bring others to Jesus. Amen. 

Are You Sure? How the Baptism of Jesus Gives Us Confidence

Are You Sure?

 

"When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)

 

     Are you sure? This is a question that we often ask ourselves these days. What used to be called the "information age," is now probably better called, "the disinformation age." So much of what people claim to be true and reliable is actually wrong and destructive. When the internet was first introduced, people were amazed how quickly they could get information. Overnight we had no need of encyclopedias and no need of travelling to the library to dig up information. But it didn't take long for the fraudsters to mess everything up, and we began to guard against things like phishing and maleware. In this world the truth has always been undermined by lies. But amazingly the truth always stands in the end. Today we will see how God does this as we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. 

 

     In Jesus' baptism we are brought face to face with the true and only Son of God.  It was the first of many events that would give people confidence that Jesus is their Savior and Lord.  The Apostle Peter once preached to the disciples in the Book of Acts referring to all that Jesus did “beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us” (Acts 1.22).  Jesus’ baptism was an important miracle that gave His mission a start.  It is a miracle that still, when we encounter it in God’s word, encourages us and strengthens our faith.

 

False Confidence

 

     Many people are confident about different things today.  But not all that confidence is well placed.  Make a note that the devil’s effort to undermine our confidence always works first to divert us from Jesus, all the while tempting us to think that we are connected to Jesus.  In the first century all religions, philosophies, and worldviews mocked the Christian faith and derided it. They were very opposed to Christ. Today we see what appears to be the very opposite. Almost all religions, philosophies and worldviews claim to be compatible with the teachings of Jesus.  But this is only so on the surface. When you dig deeper, you find that they are fraudsters. They don't believe in the Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary, died on the cross for the sins of the world, and rose again for our salvation. They follow an imaginary Jesus.

 

     It is important that our confidence be placed on the right person.  How does the baptism of Jesus create or strengthen our confidence in Jesus?  It does so in three ways as we listen to the words of:  John the Baptist, Jesus, and God the Father.  As we look at what each person said, we will find the confidence that God wants us to have.

 

John Tried to Prevent Him

 

     John was baptizing in the Jordan- a baptism of repentance.  People were coming to him to confess their sins and to be baptized.  This is similar to but not the same as the baptism that Jesus would later give us in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  That baptism is also for forgiveness of sins.  But in this case it doesn’t make sense to John, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”  

 

     John is puzzled because he knows that Jesus is the sinless Son of God.  At the great Christmas miracle that we just celebrated recall that the angel Gabriel told Mary that this child she was to bear would be “the Holy One of God” (Luke 1.35).  Jesus boldly challenged His enemies, “Which of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8.46).  There are many other passages to affirm this truth (1 John 3.5; 1 Corinthians 5.21; Hebrews 4.15; 7:26).  

 

     Can you imagine what it would be like to meet someone who was truly holy?  This person would tell us the truth in all things.  He wouldn’t gloss over unpleasant realities about us.  This is where our confidence building begins.  It actually begins by tearing us down.  It is healthy for us to think of Jesus being by our side at all times - listening in to all our conversations, reading all our emails, and watching everything that we watch with us. The Book of Hebrews warns us: "And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (4.13). 

 

     Our first encounters with Christ, like this one with John the Baptist, can be a little confusing and scary.  Think of Peter, Nicodemus, the Woman at the Well. His holiness exposes our unholiness.  This is something we have to see.  This is why every Sunday in our worship as a Christian church and individually in our private prayers we daily confess our sins and recognize our unholiness that we have according to our earthly bodies.  Our sin and the sins of the world around us is the most destabilizing factor in our lives.  Our confidence in Christ begins by recognizing this and confessing our sin.

 

To Fulfill All Righteousness

 

     Now Jesus speaks. “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  Jesus was not only born holy, He also complied fully with God’s holy law to fulfill all righteousness.  But in this baptism He is doing even more.  Here He is giving His righteousness to us.  He fulfilled the holy law of God not only for Himself, but for the whole world.  

 

     Isaiah spoke of this in chapter 53 of his great book.  “My righteous Servant will justify many” (v. 11).  Now let me make this as clear as I can.  In the Hebrew language the word “righteous” and the word “justify” are basically the same word.  The problem is that in English we don’t use the root word “righteous” to say “make righteous.”  If we did we might try to say something like “righteous-ize.”  “My righteous servant will righteous-ize many.”  Jesus fulfills all righteousness in this sense that He makes us righteous.  In His baptism He is not being forgiven of any sins.  Rather, He is stepping up to take the sins of the world into Himself.  Isaiah goes on to say it this way:  “For He shall bear their iniquities.”  This is the Gospel.  This is the good news answer to the problem of our unholiness.

 

     Allow me to illustrate this with an unusual story.  Back in the 1950s two young couples went out on a double date. The girl from the couple that was riding along in the back seat had certain allergies.  While they were at a party she indulged in some food that she shouldn’t have eaten.  Her boyfriend reminded her of the potential reaction, but she said it wouldn’t be a problem.  She didn’t eat much.  Everything seemed to go well for the rest of the evening until they were driving home.  Then the allergy attacked with a vengeance.  In her case this allergy appeared with the symptom of nausea.  She became very sick to her stomach but was too embarrassed to say anything.  They were getting close to her home, and she was just sure that she could hold on long enough.  But as they were within one block of her home she lost the battle with the allergy.  Now all this time her boyfriend was quite aware of what was developing…  to save her from total humility in just the nick of time he allowed her to lose the contents of her stomach in the sleeve of his suit.  He also pulled out his clean handkerchief and wiped her face.  Within seconds they were stopped in front of her house.  The other couple never knew what had happened.  They said their goodbyes, and this loving young man proceeded to help his girl friend to the house.  He had saved her from a very bad situation.  

 

     This illustrates what Jesus has done for us.  He has taken into Himself all the sin and guilt of this world in order to save us from a horrible situation.  When He was baptized, He stepped into the Jordan River in order to receive His anointing. This means that He was selected by God the Father to fulfill all righteousness.  This is the beginning of the great exchange.  We give Him our sin.  He gives us His own righteousness.  Imagine all your sins and shame.  How embarrassing it would be to see that portrayed on a huge video screen for everyone.  Think of all the ways you have hurt people and disappointed God.  But now think of all those terrible, stinking things scooped up by Jesus.  He took them with Him to the cross, and there they died with Him never to haunt you again. 

 

This Is My Beloved Son

 

     The last one to speak is God the Father.  In Jesus’ baptism we clearly see the Triune God.  Many sermons on this text focus on the Trinity.  It is a wonderful theme, but we will have to save it for another time.  For now we see that at Jesus’ baptism the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove.  Then the voice of the Father came from heaven.  “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 

 

     Jesus probably needed to hear this as much as we do.  Remember that He was fully and truly a man.  He was facing the most awesome task of all.  With this voice God the Father assured Him and strengthened Him.  Throughout His earthly ministry Jesus constantly shows us His close relationship to His Father. He constantly prayed to His Father and taught us to pray to Him as our Father. In the Garden of Gethesemane, as He was preparing for His own death, He prayed to the Father. His very last words from the cross were, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit" (Luke 23.46). 

 

     Now the beautiful thing about Jesus’ baptism is that Jesus also brings us to the Father.   The Father’s word to His Son also becomes His word to us in our baptisms.  Because we have been given Jesus’ righteousness by faith, God the Father can also say about you, “This is My beloved son or daughter, in whom I am well pleased.”  Just as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are a divine family, so we are brought into that family through our baptism and faith in Jesus. Instead of being embarrassed and ashamed in the presence of God, as John was at first, we are now, through Christ, the objects of God's pleasure. Remember the first Christmas carol every sung, the song of the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!" (Luke 2:14) And again these words: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12.32). And the words of Psalm 40 "Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me..." (v. 13). God is pleased to save us from our sins!

 

Conclusion

 

     There are so many things in this world that we cannot be sure of, there are so many deceptions and falsehoods. But today we have heard two things we can be very sure of: That Jesus is God's beloved Son, and that in Him, we are also God's beloved children. Because He fulfilled all righteousness we can be assured.  We can have confidence.  “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3.1).