The Jealous Father

Here is a story that breaks the heart:

A loving husband and father worked very hard to establish a household for his wife and children. He promised to be faithful and always to take care of them. He built a house, a magnificent home, a genuine mansion. Some might even call it a castle.

He worked and provided for all of the needs of his family. He set up a trust fund that would continually grow so as to provide for his family in perpetuity. He made certain that they were safe and protected.

One day along came a conniving swindler, who had many secret assistants. This selfish and cruel embezzler and thief came to the wife and children with a story about how the father was not as caring and loving as he had presented to them. While the father was busy providing for them and planning for their future, this other fellow convinced the family that they would be better off making their own plans and establishing their own way. He explained how they could take the investments that the father had kept from them and use them more productively. He explained that they could use these investments for things that the father had not given to them for their use, or at least not for the uses that they now would engage.

All that the father had established was undermined. The family unity disintegrated. The family members began to envy one another and to plot against one another. Turmoil supplanted the peace and harmony previously enjoyed. The children began to focus upon hoarding resources. Hard and arduous work became the daily routine. Fences were built to prevent stealing. Wars arose over property disputes.

The father spoke to the family members and urged them to return to the way that they formerly enjoyed together. A few listened and lived in peace together. But the others, the vast majority, reacted angrily and began to promote hatred toward those who listened to their father. The few remaining in the unity of the family were mistreated and sometimes enslaved and sometimes even killed.

What was the father to do? What action should he take concerning those who chose to destroy all that he had lovingly established? What should he do regarding the belligerent rebellion and subsequent attacks against those who remained in the family together?

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Harsh Words

Can one say what needs to be said about corruption without being harsh?

In the post below I struggled over using the words “cheated” and “lied” for the actions of the City Council. Even after posting it I wanted to restate it somehow. It sounds discouragingly harsh, even wrong, to say such things.

As a Christian who honors the 8th Commandment, who desires to speak well of my neighbor and to put the best construction on everything concerning my neighbor, who also honors the 4th Commandment and wants to honor all who hold the position of city father, how can I not ache when I say such things? How can I not feel that something is very wrong in this situation and even with myself?

Such is the terrible effect of these kinds of actions on the part of our parents and leaders. When they do not act honorably they force upon us a burden that we should not have to carry.

Sadly, these people were elected by the citizens. Much money was spent on the campaigns, and typically, those who spent the most won the election. Most people are not equipped to discover facts that extend beyond the advertising and media coverage. After all, how can the average citizen gain access to these facts?

I did invest time and energy researching what I could. I did learn what the big money was buying, and I voted for candidates whom I thought were not going with the flow of the money. As usual, they lost.

Does it do any real good to cry out against these things? Is there any real advantage, any real gain, to saying what no one wants to hear?

I often think of Jeremiah, the prophet of the Lord who was told even when the Lord called him to be a prophet that those to whom Jeremiah would speak would not listen but would fight against him. By Chapter 20 the poor prophet was weary and cried out:

For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. (Jeremiah 20:8-9)

He was weary of crying out against the leaders and the people. He wanted to shut up and say no more of the harsh words. But he could not keep them in as they burned like a fire in his heart and bones.

I often have also wondered how Adam felt when his son, Cain, murdered Abel. It seems that the Lord spared Adam from having to confront Cain. The Lord Himself confronted Cain. I suppose that this really was to spare them both, for the punishment should have been to put Cain to death. Yet Cain was spared.

Surely there is a lesson in both of these examples. Confrontation with harsh words should always be with the intention of serving the good. Cain was confronted with harsh words and even with exile in order to work conversion/repentance. Adam before him was confronted for the same purpose. Centuries later Jeremiah was given harsh words to speak in order that the people and their leaders would be called to be converted, too.

Surely this is what is right and good today as well. Surely harsh words need to be spoken, but should always have the good as the goal.

The truly hard part of this is the unworthiness of the one speaking the words. For as I examine myself and as any other speaker examines oneself, who can stand blameless before those to whom one is speaking?

God grant that His grace prevail, first in the heart of the one speaking, then also in the hearts of those who hear.

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Cause and Effect - Forgiveness and Repentance

At Worldview Everlasting in their “WE Got Answers” section for Feb. 2, the question was asked:

Our pastor preaches that, “If you don’t think something is sinful and you don’t repent of it then you’re not going to be forgiven.” Is this really true? If yes, how can we ever be sure of our salvation? Can you please explain?

The responding pastor rightly begins by saying: “First off, I would highly recommend speaking to your pastor about what he said and asking for some clarification.”

This question, as it is presented, leaves too much unsaid for anyone to be able to answer without knowing the greater context of this person’s pastor’s preaching. The responding pastor gives some good general thoughts to the pondering of the question. Please see his response for further pondering.

However, this rather vague question presents a wonderful opportunity to investigate this matter further. In particular, the cause and effect relationship of forgiveness and repentance is worthy of deeper investigation and explanation.

Did you catch the reversal that I here presented from what is commonly falsely presumed? Even in the response at Worldview Everlasting, the backwards presumption seems to prevail in the explanation. The parishioner’s question begins with this backwards understanding and the pastoral response did not really set it right.

First, what is the false presumption? The false presumption is that the cause and effect relationship is from repentance to forgiveness. We sinners cannot grasp God’s gracious decree of forgiveness apart from the regeneration that the Holy Spirit works through the means of grace, that is, the Gospel and Sacraments. So we tend to think from the perspective of the damned rather than from the perspective of the regenerated. Our default reasoning is from that of unbelief and the misconceptions of our sinful nature. Thus we imagine that God’s grace works the same way as our sinful mindset. We generally think that a person must apologize and ask forgiveness and change one's actions and attitudes toward us before we expect to forgive. But this is not God’s way, not at all. For this way does not truly work even among us.

The fact is that forgiveness produces repentance, not the other way around.

To understand this, we first need to understand what repentance really is. The New Testament Greek word is metanoia. Repent is not a very good translation of this word. Sadly, it has been with us for so long that it is hard to escape. Invert or convert is really closer to what is meant by metanoia. Metanoia is a change in mind. The mind is altered so that it functions differently, with an entirely new basis for reasoning.

That which effects this change of mindset is the Gospel of God’s forgiveness in Christ. When a person hears God’s declaration that in Christ the person’s sins are all forgiven, this turns the person’s mind upside down and inside out. Now the person has been turned from the previous direction and manner of thinking toward the way of Christ. Now the person looks for even one’s identity in the very person and work of Christ.

The Gospel accounts give us some marvelous examples of this.

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:1-12)

Notice what is here portrayed for our observation and learning. The Lord Jesus began the day in communing with the Father. Then He goes into the temple and indoctrinated (taught) all the people who came to Him. This is an important factor that is easily overlooked. They came to Him to receive His doctrine, His words of instruction. Moreover, this was in the temple, where the focus was upon the forgiveness of sins through the preaching and sacraments. The reason for coming to the temple was to receive God’s declaration of forgiveness and to be reunited into the Holy Communion of God’s Church on earth.

For what purpose did the scribes and Pharisees come into the temple and to Jesus? They came to oppose Jesus and His doctrine. They came to bring a woman to the temple for the exact opposite purpose for which the temple was ordained. They came to seek a pronouncement of condemnation and death.

So the Lord Jesus granted them their request. Upon their arrogant insistence, Jesus, who had been sitting and teaching, raised himself up before them and said to them: “He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

They demanded a pronouncement of condemnation, so He gave them one, the one that came from their own mindset. They all pronounced themselves to be condemned and without God’s forgiveness. They walked away in shame.

But to the condemned woman he inquired which of her accusers now condemned her. When she responded that none of them did, He pronounced God’s forgiveness and the power of that forgiveness to live as one who is no longer under the condemnation. He tells her to go and no longer sin.

But the Lord Jesus does not leave the people to imagine that this power to live no longer sinning is a decision or choice that they must perform. He explains that He is that power by which people walk no longer in darkness. He is the light that shines in their heart and mind and turns them from stumbling to walking in safety.

Here is another marvelous example:

And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:1-10)

First, Jesus came to Jericho, where Zacchaeus lived. Again people gathered to Jesus to hear His teaching. As Jesus and the crowd moved through the town, Zacchaeus felt drawn to see Jesus and calculated the path and ran ahead and climbed up a tree where he would be able to see Jesus. That was it. He wanted to see Jesus. He did not call out to Jesus. He did not decide to follow Him. He did nothing more than to hang in the branches above where Jesus would come.

It was Jesus who spoke to Zacchaeus. Jesus invited Himself into the life and house of this little man of ill repute. He pressed His way into the mind and heart of this man through the gentle invitation of His holy presence. Without actually stating it in the usual manner, Jesus absolved this man of his lifetime of sin and unbelief.

Zacchaeus understood fully what Jesus had done for him. His heart was changed by these words of Jesus to him. He climbed down out of the tree with haste and eagerly received his Savior into his home. He understood fully what this meant and responded to it in the same manner as the adulterous woman, only he openly pronounced the change of heart and mind that Jesus had worked in him, saying: “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”

Jesus confirms what had transpired, saying: This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Oh! This day is salvation come to this house . . . for the Son of man is come (to this house, of Abraham) to seek and save that which was lost.

The Son of Man (Salvation) comes and then the heart and mind are changed, metanoia/repentance. Sin no more = walk no more in darkness but in the light. Jesus is the light.

Repentance is God’s work, not ours. The change is that worked through regeneration.

This is why He can say that a person should go or sojourn and no longer sin, for He has exchanged His perfect and sinless life for ours. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He empties us of sin and fills us with His faith, producing in us life and holiness. How then can the regenerate person ever see things the same as before being baptized into Christ Jesus? Such a person does not say: “I must repent,” but lives no longer in sin, for repentance already has been and is continually worked by God within. Thus Jesus has proclaimed, “Has been fulfilled the time and has drawn near the kingdom of God. Be converted you-all and believe in the Gospel.”. (Mark 1:15)

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Where’s the Law?

Today I received a surprise from an old friend. He made a statement regarding my sermons that was surprising to hear, especially from him.

Thanks for the sermons. But where is the Law? I know that you may seem surprised to hear me say that but I didn't see much about us being poor, miserable sinners and stand in need of God's forgiveness. The soul that sinneth shall die.

My friend has long teased me by calling me the “Sherriff” and “John Law.” This began in our seminary days together as I was known for asking the question of certain professors: “But where’s the Law?”

In some of our classes, especially those that were counted as the “practical” areas of study, some of the professors rarely if ever spoke of the application of the Law. They usually only spoke of the application of the Gospel, and that application was a weakened and general application that was quite non-specific, rarely if ever actually speaking of the cross and the reason for it. As a student, I sensed what was wrong and cried out. My own understanding of clear and effective preaching of the Law and Gospel together had a long way to go, but I recognized the false preaching of those professors who had forgotten the interconnectedness of the two.

As I have become more experienced I have learned more and more the importance that both be preached, but that the Gospel predominate in the sermons. While we sinners most assuredly need to hear our lost condition so that we despair of our own efforts at worthiness and trust the Gospel as the power by which we are brought back into God’s communion of everlasting life and blessedness, this hearing and receiving of this blessed Gospel is the object of the preaching. As I have grown as a preacher, I have learned that I need to preach so as to send people from the divine service with the glorious good news of restoration and reconciliation through God’s means of grace as what fills their hearts and minds.

This is a continual concern in my preparations. I remain continually mindful of the necessity of the prevalence of the Gospel over the Law in my preaching.

I take the concern of my friend very seriously. I take any criticism of my preaching very seriously. In the past I have had very dear friends who had turned to a different gospel blast me very harshly over the Law that they heard in my sermons. The Gospel did prevail in those sermons, but because of the altered perspective of my friends, the Law was all that they heard. This was on account of the fact that their understanding of what the Gospel really is had changed and so the entire message was received from their perspective as condemnation. They began to attack until finally denouncing me as a friend. But I was not the one who had changed, except that my preaching of the Law and Gospel message became more clearly defined.

This repeated experience from friends who migrated from the confession in which we previously stood together has been painful for me. So today, it was really quite surprising to hear from this friend that he did not perceive the Law slapping him in face. I have examined a couple of the sermons and found that of the two, the Christmas Day sermon was much less in-your-face with the Law than the Advent sermon, but that it was indeed proclaimed.

My conclusion on the matter is that first of all, I need to be ever mindful of the necessity that both the Law and the Gospel be proclaimed, and that it be proclaimed so that the person can hear both as applicable in that person’s life. Secondly, I conclude that my dear friend is indeed a dear friend for sharing this with me. Thirdly, since my dear friend seems to have heard the Gospel applied to himself, that indeed both the Law and Gospel were heard, but at least from his perspective that the Gospel came through so clearly that in the end the Law was hardly even remembered as hitting him.

I could be wrong about this last part, but if so, I am sure that he will tell me so. Moreover, he has done me a great favor by reminding me of the absolute necessity that the Gospel not be preached apart from the awareness of the pronouncement of the Law.

One final note: In my own daily walk my own brokenness and extreme need for the healing and comfort of the Gospel is felt so keenly, so sharply and powerfully, and my wife’s expression of her awareness of this in her life, most assuredly must impact my preaching. As Luther wrote to Melanchthon, before one can become a great preacher, he must first become a great sinner.

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Why Good Friday?

Why did God send Jesus to suffer and die? Why was this necessary?

It was necessary to save God damned sinners from their everlasting damnation.

So then why does God damn sinners?

He damns them so that they may be saved. Apart from God’s damnation, sinners would ignore their state of condemnation. Apart from God’s damnation, all of His children would be lost forever. God manifests His wrath in order that sinners may be shaken from their complacency with their sin, which cuts them off from God, apart from the life that is of God alone.

Why is God so angry about sin? Sin tears His children away from Him. Sin breaks the holy communion that God established between Himself and His children. Sin creates a barrier between sinners and God. Satan, filled with hatred for God, introduced sin to mankind, thereby destroying God’s holy communion with Man. Sin prevents God’s good, gracious, and loving will from being enacted in Man.

Sin cannot be tolerated. It cannot exist in the presence of holiness. It corrupts and destroys all that is good. It must be punished and driven out. But God’s love moved Him to take this upon Himself, taking into Himself our flesh and our nature so that He could suffer the consequences of sin for us. Thus Jesus suffered and died in our place. He took our sin. He is the forgiveness of sin.

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A Love Letter

This is a letter that I wrote today to someone for whom I have deep and abiding love. Personal points have been removed, but perhaps someone reading this can apply it personally for personal benefit.

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I have something to share that may be of some help to you in your internal struggles. Consider the following:

The things that you do, if they are from pure motives, are not done so that someone cannot say that you did not do thus and so, but rather they are done simply from loving concern and care. If truly your actions flow from the love of God in Christ, then no one can effectively accuse you otherwise. You will be able to stand firm in God’s love, unmoved by anything that may confront you. God’s love and works are our defense, not our love and actions. Our love fails. Our actions are corrupt. Our faith and trust are false. But Christ bore our sins, our weaknesses, our falseness of faith, our failures, our condemnation.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

Therefore, do not walk after the flesh. Do not live looking to your own faith, your own attempts at loving actions, your own devotion to God. Look not to these but to the faithfulness of God in Christ, to the salvific works of Jesus, to the means of grace. These are the things wherein we walk in spirit. In these no condemnation exists.

Think on these things. You will find them to be the way of surety.