“By this Gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” – 1 Corinthians 15:2
What’s something you hold onto most dearly?
There are many things you love in your life. Maybe you love friends, family, sports, and/or a pet. How about your church? You may even have some objects from your past that you cling to.
Have you ever been asked the question,
“If your house caught fire, what’s the one thing you would save?”
I sincerely hope that if you live with other people, they would top your list, but after the living ones, what would you save?
This question is supposed to force us to consider what really is important to us. However, there is one thing that fire can’t touch, which I hope would top your list of things most valuable to you…The Gospel.
A Counterfeit Gospel This is the warning and encouragement of our passage for today. It is by the Gospel that you are saved. However, there are many out there who would try to convince otherwise.
Be wary of the world – Some would tell you it’s complete rubbish and you need to hold onto something else. These people are easily spotted as offering something other than the Gospel. They are not always so easily resisted.
Be wary of Christians – Others, however, are more subtle. They call themselves Christians. They know the lingo and can make their message sound convincing. However, underneath it all, they are pushing you to trust in prosperity or works or enlightenment or societal change, etc.
Both are pushing you away from the Gospel, away from Jesus.
Know the Gospel. Hold onto the Gospel!
This is most important. Life and salvation depend on it. If you abandon the true Gospel, you abandon Jesus. So, you must know the Gospel and watch for false teachers. Pray in earnest that the Holy Spirit would protect and defend you and your loved ones in the Gospel. The Gospel is worth holding onto no matter the cost.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9
Dear Jesus,
Hold me in the faith Your Spirit has worked in me until the day of Your return. Give me wisdom and discernment to see when false teachers preach to me and give me the strength and will to reject them.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
PS – How many of you have the song from Journey playing in your head right now? 😉
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7
Does your life look like that of an exceptional saint?
“5 Steps to Slay Your Giants Like David”
“Never Sin Again”
“How To Live Your Life Fully For God”
Perhaps you’ve seen books with titles like these or YouTube videos. They promise to tell you how you can become the super Christian you are meant to be…but is that really what the Bible says we are supposed to be?
Heros of the Bible The Bible tells us the historical and theological truths from God. All the stories of the “Biblical heroes” actually happened. It can be easy to start to think that these heroic moments are the norm. However, we need to remember two important facts when reading the Bible:
The accounts recorded in the bible take place over thousands of years.
The accounts recorded in the Bible tell of a few people out of the millions (or maybe billions) who lived during that time.
When we read that Sampson had incredible strength and could do mighty deeds, keep in mind that were lots of other people around who weren’t unusually strong or doing mighty deeds. Elijah called down fire from heaven, but this isn’t how the typical Israelite started their campfire or how the normal sacrifice from a priest was consumed.
Most people were ordinary people living ordinary lives and doing ordinary things. They ate and worked and raised their kids. They went to worship, heard the Word of God, and went home. Not only that, but they sinned…a lot.
The David of Bathsheba Rather than Goliath Not long ago I heard someone make the case that we need to change how we do Sunday School for kids. They talked about how kids grow up thinking these heroes were amazing and that’s what their life should look like. He said that was something he struggled with for years. Then they said,
“I think I would have been better served hearing more about David and Bathsheba than David and Goliath.”
His argument was simple. David was a sinner just like we all are. Maybe we need to talk more about David (and all the people in the Bible) and his many sins and how God still loved him, drew him to repentance, and forgave him. As sinners, that’s the more relatable message and the message we really need to hear, the message of a sinner being saved by a gracious and merciful God.
Jars of Clay This is the point of 2 Corinthians 4:7. Christians aren’t super-human or sinless. If we were, people might think we were responsible for our own salvation. Rather, we are ordinary and sinful. We are like jars of clay. Nothing special in and of ourselves and easily broken.
What makes us special is what we have inside, Jesus. We have a treasure of immeasurable value that is not from us, but all the work of God so that people (and so we) can see that our salvation and even any “great deeds” we may do are wholly and completely from God.
So, if you look in the mirror and see a plain old pathetic jar of clay, that’s ok. The real treasure you have isn’t how great, beautiful, powerful, or righteous you appear to be. It’s the gift of salvation from a gracious and merciful God who loves you, draws you to repentance, and forgives you.
Heavenly Father,
Keep me ever humble and repentant that the real treasure of Jesus would shine in my life to everyone around me.
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:28
Who is the best person you know?
Who is the greatest Christian you’ve met…or heard of?
We tend to compare a lot. We compare our houses, our cars, and our lives. Right now, the United States is seeing some big divisions…or at least the appearance of division. It’s wealthy vs poor, black vs white, Democrat vs Republican, etc. These are all-to-often treated not as descriptions or categories, but seen as moral and immoral.
The wealthy have money because they stole it from the people who really earned it. The poor people are poor because they are lazy and just want a handout. Republicans hate poor people and minorities. Democrats want to take away all our freedoms. So on and so forth.
I’m not here to argue any of these points, but rather to talk about how we sometimes use these as points of comparison to make make ourselves feel morally superior to others. We compare.
“Well, I may have some flaws, but at least I’m not like those people who are xyz.”
The Great Christians We even do this with our faith. This person spends x number of hours reading the Bible or praying. He is a great Christian. This person is always serving. She is a great Christian. These people are great church leaders. They are great Christians.
Conversely, we categorize sins. We scorn the person who cusses but ignore or indulge the person who gossips. We scorn the homosexual but look the other way when two unmarried people are living together.
The Great Equalizers The truth is we are all sinners. White, black, poor, rich, Republican, Democrat, church leader, Christmas and Easter Christians, we are all sinners…all in the exact same boat. None are better than anyone else.
The other truth is that we are all beggars, completely reliant on the grace of God for our salvation. White, black, poor, rich…etc., none of us bring even the slightest thing to God’s table for our salvation.
These are the great equalizers, sin and grace.
No Boasting and No Pride We may divide ourselves, but we are all the same. There is no difference. So, there is no place for boasting or pride in ourselves or whatever group/category we put ourselves in.
This is very important to understand in our relationship and attitude towards God and our understanding of our salvation. We come humbly as a sinner to receive the free gift of forgiveness and salvation.
This is also very important to understand in our relationships with each other. We treat each other with humility and respect. We love each other, forgive each other, and build each other up because we realize that God loves, forgives, and builds them up and that we need to be loved, forgiven, and built up just as much as they do.
There is no greatest Christian.
Whether Paul, Peter, Billy Graham, or you, all are sinners and all have been given the immeasurable grace of Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father,
Forgive me for the times I have seen others as less and treated them as such. I am a sinner like they are whose only hope is Your grace. Please forgive me and help me to humbly love and respect others.
“Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’” – John 6:28-29
What does God require of us to be saved?
This is the question Jesus was asked by a group of Jews one day. His answer is crucially important, informative, liberating, and…puzzling.
Jesus tells the Jews,
“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.“
The “one [God] has sent” is Jesus. Jesus was very clear throughout the Gospel that He came from the Father, was sent by the Father, and did the work of the Father. So, the work of God is to believe in Jesus.
The Work That Isn’t Work The strange part about that answer is that the work Jesus describes as work isn’t really work at all.
I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone to offer me a job with a great salary and benefits which has the simple job description, “Believe you have the job.” You don’t have to do anything, just believe you have the job and will get paid and you will get paid. If you ever find that job, please let me know.
Why did Jesus phrase it that way?
Speaking the Language of the People The people who were asking Jesus this question firmly believed that their works were what made them right before God. They had great trouble with the concept that salvation is a gift apart from works. Just look at the way they phrased the question.
“What must we do to do the works God requires?”
They are just assuming God requires works. So, their question is what are those works. Jesus starts to move them away from that mindset by phrasing the answer in the way they were used to speaking but telling them the only thing they need to do is believe.
It would be like if I was trying to give someone a free car and they couldn’t accept the idea that someone would just give them a car. “Surely the car costs something. What do I need to pay you?” they may say. I could respond, “The cost of the car is accepting the gift.”
Still Speaking Our Language The truth is a lot of us still think like the Jews, maybe all of us. So, this passage is still very helpful for us, today.
When you start wondering what you need to do to be saved or if you’ve done what you need to do or if you’ve done enough, etc…When you question whether salvation can really just be a gift, remember this passage. The work God requires is to believe in Jesus. That’s it. Salvation really is a gift.
So, get to work. 😉
Dear Jesus,
So often I fall back into the belief that I must earn my salvation somehow. This always ends up with me discouraged or prideful. Help me to remember salvation is a gift. You have already done the work. Help me to rest in that gift.
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6-8
What is your favorite passage in the Bible?
This is one of my favorites. In it we see the perfection of God’s timing and the unimaginable love He has for us. We also see our pre-Christ condition and our complete dependence on Him for our salvation.
It’s a great place to be. To know that God didn’t wait for us nor did He base His saving actions on our merit. He saved us because He loves us, period.
It reminds me of a quote from Martin Luther.
“when Satan comes, accuses us, and says, ‘You are a sinner. God hates sin. You are damned to hell!’, we can say, ‘You’re right. I am a sinner. A terrible sinner. In fact, I am the worst of all sinners. But I will be saved.’ And when the devil says, ‘No, you’re damned. There’s no help for you,’ Christians can say, ‘No, there is a helper. His name is Jesus Christ, who gave himself for my sins.'”
In other words, when Satan accuses us of being sinners, it brings great comfort, because Christ died for sinners.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for not coming for the righteous, for I am not righteous. Thank You for not sacrificing for the good, for I am not good. Thank you for dying for sinners, for that I am, and that puts me is a great place, in the center of Your love and grace.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” – Romans 3:23-24
Do you ever feel like you sin more than anyone else?
We can all feel like that sometimes. In one sense, it’s not a bad thing. The Law of God is showing us our sins. That’s its primary function. Seeing our sins, we feel guilty. That’s good! That drives us to Jesus in repentance for forgiveness.
Don’t let it drive you to despair, though.
We all sin. You sin. I sin. Mother Teresa sinned. Everyone sins. Knowing this keeps us from being arrogant since no one has a leg to stand on. It also lets us know we are not alone. We are all in the same boat, sinners in desperate need of a savior.
Thankfully, our salvation is not earned, it’s a gift. God gives it to us out of His great grace (the undeserved favor of God). So, once again, we are all in the same boat.
Whether we are the “worst” sinner or “best” righteous person, we are still just sinners saved by the undeserved gift of God.
What if I don’t feel like I am or deserve to be forgiven?
I like Martin Luther’s answer:
“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: “I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!” – Martin Luther
When satan reminds you that you are a sinner be comforted, for Christ died for sinners.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for forgiving me and saving me. I know I don’t deserve it, but You tell me my salvation is a gift. Thank you.
Your steadfast love never ceases; Your mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness, o Lord.
I confess that I have not always lived in such as way as to bring You glory. I have not loved You with my whole heart and I have not loved my neighbor as myself.
(take a moment to reflect on the past day and confess your sins.)
I am sorry for my sins and pray for Your great mercy. For the sake of Jesus Christ, please forgive me of all my sins.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen
Prayer of the Day:
Heavenly Father,
You do not treat me as I deserve based on my sin, but according to Your great mercy and grace. You do this not because I have earned it, but because of Your great love.
Help me to trust in Your promises, especially the promise that I am saved not by what I have done, but by what Jesus has done. Remind me again and again that Your mercy is greater than my sin. When the devil claims I’m not good enough, strengthen my faith say, “Yes, you are right, but my salvation is not because of how good I am, but Jesus work on the cross.”
Help me to rest in truth that my works have no role in my salvation. Give me peace.
Teach me to trust in Your mercy and, therefore, to gladly and regularly come to You in repentance, confessing my sin to receive Your forgiveness.
Be with Faith Lutheran Church. Help us to faithfully proclaim salvation by faith in Jesus apart from works. Help us to bring the message that brings rest to the weary soul and comfort to the tormented mind. May we be a church where people find Sabbath rest in the grace of Jesus Christ.
Lord, give us attitudes and actions that reflect Your grace and mercy. Help us to never look down upon anyone for their sin, as though we ourselves aren’t covered from head to toe in sin. Rather, help us to be a church where people can freely confess their sins not only to You through prayer, but to each other, that we migh support one another and proclaim God’s grace to each other.
Amen
The Psalms:
The Psalms have long been considered the prayer book of the Bible and have been used as prayers by countless Christians over the centuries. So, we join them in this practice and pray a Psalm.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
(Take a few minutes to add your personal prayers, now.)
Conclude your time of prayer with either Luther’s morning or evening prayer, depending on what time of day it is.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank you, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Luther’s Evening Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray You to forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.