“Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.” – 1 Peter 3:18
What kind of sacrifices have you made in your life?
Sacrifice was a big part of the religious life of the People of Israel. Many animals were sacrificed over the centuries for the forgiveness of sins. However, these animal sacrifices were shadows of the one true sacrifice to come. As we read in Hebrews 10:4,
“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.“
There has only been one sacrifice for the atonement for sins, Jesus. He’s the only one who could. He is the only human who lived a sinless life and did not deserve the punishment of death, the righteous dying for the unrighteous.
Pastor, I don’t sacrifice animals. What does this have to do with me?
Today, we don’t sacrifice animals, but we do sacrifice. We give up things for the ministry of the church or to help our neighbor or to honor the Lord. We hold back on stealing our neighbor’s new Tesla or gossiping about someone in the office.
These sacrifices are good, but do they help our standing with God?
No! You’re sins are forgiven entirely by the Christ’s sacrifice. You are brought to God by Christ. You are made alive by the Spirit. All this is yours solely because of God’s work. You receive it through faith. You are joined with Christ’s death in baptism and will be joined with Him in His resurrection.
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?…For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” – Romans 6:3, 5
Many in the church over the centuries have confused this. They would say, “Yes, Jesus died for you, but you must also do XYZ to be forgiven and saved.” We must resist that message. In that message, we lose the Gospel!
So, should you sacrifice?
Yes, but not because you think it will somehow complete your salvation or that God won’t forgive you unless you do. Do it because Jesus has already died for you, the righteous for the unrighteous, and brought you from death to life.
I hope you’ll join me tomorrow as we offer a sacrifice of praise in worship because of what Jesus has already done for us.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for dying for me and giving me new life. Help me to sacrifice for You and my neighbor joyfully in response to all that You have done for me. Protect me from those who would try to convince me that another sacrifice is needed.
“Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” – John 3:5
How is a person saved?
We live in an age where there are lots of ideas on how to be saved or how to get to heaven.
Some say we just have to be a good person
Others say all religions will get you there
Still, some others say we’ll all end up in heaven eventually no matter what
But Jesus tells us something different. In John 14:6 He says,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
There is only one way to salvation and that is through faith in Jesus.
This isn’t a very popular belief in our current culture of tolerance, but this is the truth.
This shouldn’t be surprising, though. At its core, our sin, which condemns us, is that we put other gods before the one true God. It may be money, ourselves, or literal false gods, but it’s all a rejection of the Triune God as our God. We should not be surprised that God would not bring salvation through the worship of false gods.
We should also not be surprised that being a “good” person isn’t enough. First, who defines “good?” Second, God clearly says his standard isn’t good, it’s perfect.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48
So, we must have faith, but how do we do that? Is our weak and wobbly faith enough?
We can’t even believe on our own.
“Jesus answered. ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.’” – John 6:44-45
Means of Grace God gives us faith through His wonderful grace, by what we call His “means of grace.” One of those means of grace is Baptism. Through the water with the Word, we are washed clean of our sins, faith is created in us, and we are born anew as children of God and citizens of the Kingdom of God. What a wonderful gift Baptism is!
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” – Romans 6:4
Even our faith is a gift of God. That is how we have faith and that is why, even though our belief is like the shifting sands of the beach, God’s faith most assuredly saves.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the gracious gift of salvation that you have brought to us through Jesus Christ and which you promise us in Baptism. Help us to always remember that we have been washed clean of our sins and that we now live as children of God and citizens of Your Kingdom.
“‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 15:54b-57
What is the greatest comeback you have ever seen?
I was watching the Chicago Bears play the Atlanta Falcons in football this past week. Through the whole game Atlanta had the lead. In fact, with only 5 minutes left in the game, Atlanta was winning by 10 points and they had the ball. All seemed lost for the Bears. Then everything changed. The Bears stopped Atlanta and then scored a touchdown. Atlanta got the ball back, but the Bears stopped them again and scored another touchdown. The bears won the game! (Sorry ATL fans)
No Hope for Mankind When mankind fell into sin, death entered the world and the condemnation of hell became the future of every human being. This is the result of rebelling against God.
What can we do?
Some would say that we should just try to live good lives and be nice to people. If we are good people, God will let us unto heaven. However, that’s not what God says.
God gave us His Law in the 10 Commandments and other places. He didn’t say, “Do your best,” or “Try to get close.” He told us how well we have to do in Matthew 5:48.
“You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
How do you do against that standard? If you are like me, not very good. Against the standard of perfection, we see that the Law does not provide a way to be good enough to get into heaven. The Law only condemns us, each sin building a case against us. If that’s all we had, there would be no hope. Thankfully, God provides another way.
Thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!!
When Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the grave death was swallowed up in victory. Jesus has defeated death and hell.
Through faith in Jesus, His victory becomes our victory. Jesus washes away our sins. The sting of death is sin, but since we have no sin, death has no victory or sting. No longer does death have any power over us, but we have eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Praise the Lord!!
Dear Jesus,
I confess that I have sinned. If You kept a record of my sins, I could never stand before You. Thank You for dying for me. Thank You for forgiving me. Thank You for saving me.
“Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake.” – Psalm 79:9
Why do you do the things that you do?
My son (3 yrs old) did something the other day that he wasn’t supposed to do. My wife, Melissa, saw him do it and asked him,
“Are you supposed to do XYZ?”
“No” Eli replied.
“Then why did you do it?” Melissa replied.
Eli stammered for a minute and finally just said,
“Because I wanted to.”
The truth is, we usually do what we do because we want to. We rationalize other reasons and even think we have other reasons, but usually, it’s just that simple, we want to.
Do We Deserve Forgiveness? Have you ever felt the need to confess your sins to God, but also felt like you had no right to ask? Have you ever looked at your life and thought,
“God, why would you ever love a person like me? I keep doing things I know are wrong.”
It can be a difficult and scary thing to look at our lives honestly in the light of a Holy and Righteous God. The truth is, we don’t deserve to be forgiven. We have no right, based on our lives, to even ask.
Praise the Lord passages like Psalm 79:9!
When we know we can offer no reason in ourselves for God to forgive us, we see that God acts not because of what we have done, but because of who He is. His natural desire is to show compassion and forgive. So, the Psalmist prays, God forgive me because that is who You are and how You desire to be known.
God forgives us because He wants to.
How great it is to know that God forgives us not because of what we do, but because of who He is. He wants to. He loves you. So, even when you feel like you shouldn’t even show your face before God, especially when you feel like you shouldn’t show your face before God, you can still kneel before Him, confess your sins, and know the He, who is faithful and just, will forgive your sins and cleanse you of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)
Heavenly Father, I come before You a sinner. I know I don’t deserve Your forgiveness. Help me, O God my Savior, for the glory of Your name. Deliver me and forgive my sins for Your name’s sake. Help me to remember that I can always come to You and confess my sins and that You delight in forgiving me.
Amen
Having prayed that prayer, hear these words. Your sins are forgiven and are removed from you as far as the east is from the west. Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ the Righteous One.” – 1 John 2:1
What is the Primary Message of the Bible?
Depending on who you ask that question, you’ll get different answers. Of course, non-Christians will give answers like, ferry tails, myths, rules, etc. However, even in Christian circles you’ll get different answers. Some I’ve heard are:
God loves you
Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
God’s rule book
Love everyone
What other answers have you heard?
So, what is the primary message?
Some of the above overlap, but I think the end of the Gospel of John sums it up very well.
“…these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – John 20:31
Law and Gospel One of the ways you can break down the Bible is by Law and Gospel. The way Lutherans do this is by defining everything that tells us what God does for us as Gospel. Everything that tells us what we have to do is Law.
Legalism: When these two concepts get confused, the message that we are saved by grace not by our works gets confused and it usually ends up sounding like we are saved by our works. This is called legalism. You are saved by obeying God’s legal code, or…”I write this to you so that you will not sin.” However, that’s not the whole verse.
Antinomianism: That’s a big word. It basically means that since we are saved by grace we can do whatever we want. Sin all you want! It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to pay any attention to God’s Law. However, why, then, does God give us the Law and why would John write something so we wouldn’t sin?
Falling Off the Horse The truth is that neither legalism nor antinomianism is right. As they say,
“You can fall off a horse on either side.”
Our passage, today, rides the horse right in the middle. On the one hand, “Stop sinning!” [That’s Law] On the other hand, “When you do sin (and we both know you will), remember Jesus intercedes for you and saves you by His grace. [That’s Gospel]
The Law will never save us, but we don’t ignore it. We seek to obey God not to earn our salvation, but out of gratitude for the salvation we have already received, because we are now His children, and because we know His Law is good. However, as we learn His Law we also see our sin. So, we trust the Gospel for our salvation. After all, it is by believing that you have life in his name.
Dear Jesus,
Teach me Your ways, change my heart, and transform my mind that I would not sin. When I do, Lord, intercede for me. Lead me to repentance to receive Your forgiveness.
“Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” – Ezekiel 18:31-32
What are the worst problems you see in the world, today?
Would you say racism, greed, abuse, or something else?
How do we end such horrible practices?
There are plenty of solutions offered by talking heads, politicians, and our chatty neighbor, but the truth is that all the solutions in the world can’t fix what these issues truly are…a heart problem.
Ezekiel was a prophet to Israel at a time when Israel had been exiled from the Promised Land. God’s own chosen people were exiled from the land God had given them and God had allowed this to happen! Why?
Israel had turned away from God and, instead, were worshiping idols.
We can all probably understand why God would cause His chosen people to be exiled. They had betrayed Him like an unfaithful spouse or a fake friend.
Yet, God continued to provide a way to make things right. How amazing is that? Israel turned away from God to worship hand-made idols of stone and wood and, yet, He continues to plead with Israel to return to Him. Repent and live!
God is offering them a new heart and a new spirit, His Spirit.
God still does!
This is true today for us as well. If we turn away from God, He is always working to bring us back to Him. Sure, we may not worship idols of wood and stone, but here in the U.S. we have plenty of our own idols.
We may worship…
Money
Pleasure
Power
Fill in the blank
God warns us not to turn away from Him and not to put these things above Him. Yet, people do, even those who believe in Jesus still struggle with trusting other things over God.
Perhaps the solution to many of these problems in our world aren’t found in new policies or marches, but in the Gospel. It is only through the Gospel that people’s hearts will be changed. There will still be sin in the world, even in the heart of the believer, but there is also forgiveness for the believer and God’s Spirit working and living in their hearts.
God Offers Us a New Heart What a wonderful message we have that, in Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven. That’s why we keep coming back to the cross, back to the ultimate place where God provided the way, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, for us to rid ourselves of all our offenses and get a new heart and a new spirit!!
Heavenly Father,
As I look at the world, today, it breaks my heart to see so many suffering and such horrible things being done. I ask that You would cause Your Gospel to go forth and change the hearts and minds of people towards You. Help me to be a part of that great witness and continue to turn my heart to You.
“You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” – Ephesians 5:8
Have you ever known someone who seemed to emanate darkness?
Science will tell us that darkness is simply the absence of light. Darkness doesn’t “shine,” but there are some people who seem to love being cruel and evil. It seems like their darkness radiates out.
Shades of Darkness? We may think of Hitler or Hanibal Lector or some other truly horrible person, but the truth is that without Christ, we are darkness. Jesus is the Light of the World, Without Him, there is only darkness. Our sense of levels of darkness in people isn’t really because some have a little light, but more a testament to our ability to diminish how bad certain sins are.
“It’s just a little, white lie.”
No, it’s a lie. It’s wrong. It’s sin. It’s all darkness.
Shine Jesus Shine Jesus, however, is pure light. There is no darkness in Him. He is the Light of the World who came down into the darkness of the world to save it, to bring His light.
When Jesus enters us through faith, we now live in His light.
Notice, we don’t “live in darkness.” We ARE darkness. Think of us like a bundle of sticks in a cold, dark forest. Those sticks will never become a fire because they have no flame in them. It’s only when the sticks are set on fire by an outside source that they begin to burn and shine.
Thus, we are IN the light. We aren’t the light, Christ is. He is that external source who brings the light. He ignites the fire. He shines into our lives and does it so intensely that we shine into the darkness of the world, too. It isn’t our light. It’s Jesus’ light shining through us.
There Are More Sticks Jesus tells us not to hide His light. Let it shine for all to see. Let the fire burn brightly because there are lots of sticks out there who, just like we did, need to ignited. Christ’s light is spread when we love others and share the Gospel.
So, let your light shine!
Or should I say, Let His light shine. 😉
Dear Jesus,
You spoke Your light into my darkness through Your Word. Shine brightly throughout the World. Shine brightly in my life. Help me to not cover up Your light, but set it out for all to see and may many more who are, now, darkness, come to know Your light.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” – 1 Peter 1:3
He is risen!!
Did you just check your calendar? Are you thinking,
“Hold on a second! It’s not Easter!”
Of course, you’re right. It’s not Easter, today. It’s not even the same month. Yet, today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Today we celebrate the victory of Jesus over death and hell. Today, we celebrate a celebration that will never end.
We celebrate Easter every day!
Christ’s resurrection is just as important today as Easter and every other day. So, yes! Celebrate Jesus being raised from the day, today, too. In fact, did you know it’s because Jesus rose on a Sunday that we gather for worship on Sundays instead of Saturdays?
It’s a reminder and celebration every week.
Why wouldn’t we celebrate every day? We didn’t deserve our salvation. Quite the opposite, we deserved eternal punishment for our sins, but our God is merciful and gracious, not willing that anyone should perish. According to that great mercy, we now, by faith in Jesus, may be born again…given new life.
Jesus is our hope and our hope is living. He was raised from the dead so we, too, can be raised to eternal life. So, let us celebrate today and every day after, blessing the God who loved us so much and has given us new life in the risen savior.
He is risen!! He is risen, indeed!! Hallelujah!!!
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for dying and rising again for my and all people’s salvation. May I celebrate Your victory over sin, death, the devil, and hell every day of my life.
“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” – 2 Corinthians 7:1
Do you try to follow the Bible in order to be right with God?
Tim and Sarah had just gotten engaged a week ago, when Tim announced to his buddy, Sean, that he was going on a diet and getting back to the gym. Sean chuckled a bit and said,
“Tim, man, she said, ‘yes.’ You don’t have to get in shape anymore. Let’s go to Taco Bell.”
Tim said, “It’s not that. I just want to be the best I can be for her.”
Earning Your Spot in Heaven There are several passages in the Bible that tell us to live in certain ways. Don’t do X. Do do Y. Some have taken these passages and proclaimed that this is how we get right with God. This is how we get to heaven. They pile on a bunch of stress on people to live a godly life and then hit them with guilt when they fail.
The Bible, however, doesn’t tell us that following God’s Law is our way to heaven. In fact, it says you can’t get to heaven by the Law. Why? Because you can’t do it perfectly…no matter how good you think you are. You can’t earn your spot in heaven!
Worshiping and Giving Thanks The Bible says over and over that we are saved by grace not by our works. It’s a gift. If God saved you when you were still a spiritually dead sinner, no amount of good work or avoidance of sin is going to make Him love you more. So, why, then should we follow God’s Law?
We do it as our way of worshiping God and giving thanks for the gift of salvation He has given us. Just like Tim, we aren’t worrying about whether God will change His mind, we just want to be the best we can for Him because we love Him and He loves us. It’s because of God’s promises that we act.
Three More Reasons Worship and thanking God are great reasons to follow God’s ways, but there are two others as well.
It’s Who You Are – You are a child of God, holy and righteous and the Spirit of God lives in You. So, you get to live like who you are.
It’s A Better Life – God’s Law is good and true. Our lives and the lives of those around us are better off for following God’s ways.
We Are Showing Love to Our Neighbor – Much of the Law of God deals with how we treat our neighbor. By following it, we love our neighbor.
So, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. Let’s do it out of love, not fear. Let’s do it because it’s good. Let’s do it because we know God loves us and wants the best for us.
Heavenly Father,
You have given us salvation despite our sin. We could never earn it. Now, since I’ve been saved and given new life, help me to live that new life according to your ways. Forgive me and restore me when I fall. Help me to always remember that the good works I strive to do are not to earn Your love, but because You already love me.
“For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.” – Psalm 149:4
When you dress to impress, what do you wear?
Do you have an outfit you think looks great? Do you put on certain jewelry? Do you take a little more time on your hair?
We all have ways of making ourselves more beautiful, but so does God. His ways, however, are much better and don’t fade or go out of style.
Adorn I actually looked up the word. I initially through it meant clothed, but it’s more than that.
1. to enhance the appearance of especially with beautiful objects.. 2. to enliven or decorate as if with ornaments – Merriam-Webster
To adorn is to enhance with something beautiful. God doesn’t use precious metals or stones, He adorns us with salvation.
Getting Ready for the Big Day When a woman is about to get married, she usually does all manner of things to get ready. She may get a special dress, have her hair done, gets a manicure, and may get special jewelry, etc.
God is preparing us, His bride, for our special day as well, the day of His return. We don’t prepare ourselves, He does it. He washes us clean of all our sins by the washing of water with the word. He clothes us in the white robes of His righteousness. He adorns us with His salvation and He takes great pleasure in doing so.
Humility not Pride Sometimes, when people dress up, it breeds a bit of pride. “I look good!” With God it’s the opposite. He adorns the humble. He adorns those who humble themselves to confess they are sinners and acknowledge they cannot save themselves. When we see ourselves in the spiritual mirror, pure, holy, and righteous, still there is no boasting. For this all came from Jesus. If we boast, we boast only in Christ, Himself.
So, let us humble ourselves and receive God’s salvation. Let us be clothed not in our righteousness, but the righteousness of Christ. Because let me tell you something about how God dresses and adorns you…
You look good!
Heavenly Father,
I confess that on my own I am tarnished with sin and unable to save myself. Yet, Jesus died and rose again to forgive me of my sin and clothe me in His righteousness. Adorn me with Your salvation that I would be ready for the day the bridegroom, Jesus, returns.