Monday, October 20, 2014

A Tale of Two Sons (A sermon based on Matthew 21:28-32)

Which would you rather have: A disrespectful son who eventually did what you said? Or a respectful, but disobedient son? Are you wishing for a third option? So does God. Thankfully Jesus came as the way of righteousness -- that is, the way we become righteous; through faith in him and his perfect obedience and innocent death for us. When we do the work of God by putting our trust in him, we're forgiven, pure, holy, and sinless before God in spite of our former sin. Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on the Tale of Two Sons told by Jesus in Matthew 21:28-32 and rejoice in what God has made you!

A Tale of Two Sons

A sermon based on Matthew 21:28-32

Sunday, October 19, 2014

 

They were the best of sons. They were the worst of sons. Two brothers were asked to get to work for their father. The first son flat out refused! "No. I'm not doing that!" What disrespect he showed to his dad! He was the worst of boys! The second son was eager to help. "Sure, dad. I'd be happy to get to work. Anything I can do to help out! Give me just a minute and I'll be right out!" What a respectful son! He was the best of sons!

Ah, but things aren't always as they seem. The first son felt remorse. He knew he shouldn't have been so disrespectful. And he decided to go do the work dad asked him to do. He was the best of sons. But the second son who seemed so obedient at first, got distracted. He completely forgot about the work dad asked him to do. He was the worst of sons.

They were the best of sons. They were the worst of sons. This is the parable that Jesus told in response to a group of priests and elders in the temple courts who demanded to know by what authority Jesus acted. He told the tale of two sons, recorded for us in Matthew 21:28-32…

 

28 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'

29 " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"

"The first," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the rostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."


I.      The Best of Sons and the Worst of Sons 


Now, at first glance this parable might seem a bit confusing. After all, parents, if you had two sons would you want either of them to act the way they did? One was openly defiant and incredibly bold in his disrespect. "I will not,"' he answered, when dad told him, "Son, go and work today in the vineyard."

This son Jesus compared to "the tax collectors and the prostitutes," Not exactly the epitome of morality, decency, or good behavior, these operated in open disobedience, flaunting their sin—their theft and debauchery—as if they were proud of it. They were the worst of sons! They were unfit to be called the children of Israel!

Now, let's face it, this was once us too, wasn't it? Cut off from God's family by our sin. We may not have been thieves or prostitutes, but we lived only to serve our own sinful appetites and not our God.

I can hear someone object, "Wait a second! That's not me! Don't compare me to a prostitute! I'm a pretty nice person!" Okay. So were the priests and the elders of Israel. At least they were pretty nice people on the outside. They loved to quote the Scriptures and "follow the rules." They were the second son.

"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir!'" Ah! What a good boy, right? Wouldn't you love if parents, if you got that response from your kids every time you asked them to do their chores? "I will, sir!" "I will, ma'am." Ah, but wait! This son looked good, but was he? Jesus said, "He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go."

In other words, he was a hypocrite. He gave the right answer, but he didn't act on it. Likewise, the priests and elders knew the verses. They knew they were to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5) But they weren't doing it. They looked respectful and pious and proper. They put on a good show. But they were all talk. When it came time for action, they failed. They were the worst of sons. And they too were unfit to be called children of Israel.

Now, let's face it, this is often us too, isn't it? We put on a good show. We know all the right answers. We say the right confessions and know the verses by heart. But when it comes time for action, we too fail.

We promise God that we will do better next time. We promise we'll be more loving to our spouse, more patient with the kids, more obedient and respectful to mom and dad. We promise that we will give more offerings—"Maybe when those PFDs come!" We promise we'll give more of our time to things that really matter instead of to worthless entertainment. "I will, sir!" we declare. But we don't always go do it, do we? We are the worst of sons (and the worst of daughters). And we are unfit to be called the children of God.

The one son was openly defiant and disrespectful, even though he eventually did what he was told. The second son was polite and answered his father well, but ultimately disobeyed his father. Which would you prefer? Now, those of you who are parents would likely prefer a third option: a third child who does both: one who politely agrees to do the work and then actually does it. And so does God. But we're not that third child. We act like both the first—in our disrespect and defiance to God—and the second—in our disobedience, refusing to do what he tells us.

What would you do with such a child? Well, you'd punish him for such disrespect, wouldn't you? You'd take away his privileges and his allowance for failing to obey and do what he was told. And that's what we deserve from our God. That's what we deserve, but that's not what we get.


II.    The Best of Sons Makes Us the Best of Sons

 

Why not? Because there was a third child. There was the best of sons who acted like the second son agreeing to do the work of the Father and who acted like the first son in that he actually did it! It's maybe not too obvious where he's found in this account, but he's there. Look at verse 32 again. Jesus said, "For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did." Did you catch it? For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness…"

What way did John show them? He showed them Jesus. Remember what he said on the shore of the river? "John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" (John 1:29) Jesus was the perfect son. He always agreed to all that his Father said. And what's more he always did what he knew his Father wanted. In John 8:29 he said, "The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."

And he did! He always obeyed! He always did what his Father wanted. But that's not all. When his Father called him to do some very difficult work—to take the sin of mankind on himself, to take the punishment for that sin, to suffer the hell that we deserve—he not only said, "I will, sir!" but he actually went and did it.

And when he died on the cross, he not only took our sins away—all our open rebellions and our secret hypocrisies—but he also gave his perfect record to us. And it's ours through faith.


How were "the tax collectors and the prostitutes… entering the kingdom of God...?" It wasn't because they changed their minds and cleaned up their act and stopped sinning that God welcomed them into heaven. It was because they believed in Jesus. It was because they repented—that is, changed their minds about their sin, about their greatest need, about Jesus as their Savior—and believed in him. That's the "work" the father called his sons to do.

Jesus said as much in John 6: [Some in the crowd] 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." That's what the "tax collectors and prostitutes" were now doing. That's what the priests and elders refused to do. So Jesus called them on it: "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."

Be we, dear friends, aren't like those priests and elders. We, like the "tax collectors and prostitutes," believe in Jesus. By the work of the Holy Spirit, we have repented, literally "changed our minds," and put our trust in him. We believe in him as the way of righteousness—"a righteousness from God, apart from law… [a] righteousness from God [which] comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and [all] are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:21-24) And we are perfect, sinless sons and daughters of our Father in heaven.

And that glorious truth, dear friends, that wonderful Gospel truth, also makes us change our minds about the other work he calls us to do. Now we're eager to serve our Father as the ex-cheating tax collectors like Zacchaeus and Matthew, who returned what they stole and used their resources to share Jesus with others. Now we're eager to serve our Father as the ex-prostitutes who followed Jesus and served him and the women of ill repute who poured perfume on his feet.

Now we're eager to hear the Father's call to action and say, "I will, sir. Here am I, send me, send me!" And we're not content to stop there, but will also go and do it. Though once the worst of sons, the worst of daughters, now we are the best of sons and the best of daughters! We are perfect, sinless saints through faith in the way of righteousness: the perfect son of God and his perfect work for us! And now we're eager to get to work for him in our church, at our jobs, in our homes, in all we do. In Jesus' name dear friends, let's get to work! Amen!


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

Thursday, October 16, 2014

No Fair! (A sermon based on Matthew 20:1-16)

Do you ever feel like you're not treated very fairly? Do you ever feel like God doesn't treat you very fairly? Then consider what would be fair. What do we deserve for our sin and rebellion against God? What do we deserve for our arrogance in thinking we deserve something from God? We deserve his punishment. That's all. So we thank God that he isn't fair with us, but instead gives us his grace. And that grace that we receive for Christ's sake--who was treated so unfairly for us--changes the way we view others and our relationship with them. Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on Matthew 20:1-16 and rejoice that God is no fair!

No Fair!

A sermon based on Matthew 20:1-16

Sunday, October 12, 2014 – Pentecost 18A

 

A popular fast food chain used to have the motto, "You deserve a break today." They wanted us to believe that because we work hard we deserved a good meal at a good price: one that they would gladly provide. Sounds fair, right? We work hard, we earn the paycheck. We take some of that paycheck and give it to the restaurant. The employees at the restaurant work hard to make a delcious (if not nutritious) meal for some of our paycheck, and we get a break from work not having to prepare our own meal. It's all very fair.

But this morning, Jesus uses a parable to remind us that life isn't always fair! We don't get what's fair and thank God! He gives us his grace instead of his justice which would be fair. And he reminds us that his grace is for everyone because no one earns or deserves it.

Jesus had just finished dealing with a rich young man who thought he was close to perfection and wanted to know what else he had to do to get his fair reward. But Jesus shocked him, "Go, sell all you have and give it to the poor." In essence he was telling the man, "You're not perfect. You love your wealth and posessions more than you love God." 

But Peter misunderstood. He thought giving up his posessions must have earned him a reward. He asked Jesus, "Lord, we have given up everything for you! What sort of a reward will we get for that?" And while Jesus did assure Peter that he would be richly rewarded, he pointed out that that reward was not something Peter earned or deserved. It wasn't fair. It was a gift of grace. In God's eyes no one deserved any more or any less than any other. But gave was no fair. He gave them all his grace. To illustrate that point he told this parable recorded for us in Matthew 20:1-16:

 

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3 "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5 So they went.

"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

7 "'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.

"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

8 "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

9 "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

13 "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

 

I.    God Isn't Fair to Us

 

In a society without trade unions or welfare provisions, unemployment meant starvation. These day laborers would wait in the market waiting for any kind of work because any job was better than hunger. Early in the morning, let's say 6am, the owner hired several of them agreeing on a reasonable wage. A denarius was a good days' pay. Let's say $10/hour for 12 hours, or about $120. And he sent them to work in his vineyard.

But these few were not enough. He went out again 9am, at noon, at 3pm, and at 5:00. He told them all he would pay them what was right. Finally at 6:00, the workday ended and it was time for the paycheck! But as the pay was passed out, everyone received the same amount! Everyone got the same $120, even those who only worked for an hour!

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 

Hey! That's no fair! Their expectations don't seem unreasonable. After all, they worked eleven hours more than the ones hired at 5:00! They worked longer and harder through the scorching heat of the day! Certainly they deserved more! As they watched the guys who only worked an hour get a full day's wages, they must have thought they were going to get a huge paycheck! What disappointment, what frustration, what sense of injustice they must have felt! So they lodged their complaint with owner, "This is unfair! Where is your sense of justice?"

'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

But the owner responded, "You want justice?" "'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go." He gave them what was fair. It was not unfair to pay them what he agreed to pay at the start of the day. They should have been thankful that the owner graciously gave them a job at all.

 

Now, what about us? How do we respond when we see how God has blessed others? Do we get upset? Do we get jealous? "How come God gives that guy so much? He has great job that pays a lot more than mine! Her life is so together, but mine is falling apart! He is always in good health no matter what he eats and I always seem to be sick! It's just not fair God! I've endured so much for you! Why don't you bless me more?!"

Or maybe you take it to whole new level: "That guy just keeps sinning in bold and blatant ways. He almost seems to flaunt it. But then when he's called out, he just says he's sorry and the pastor says he's forgiven! And what about her? She never comes to church, but once, maybe twice a year! And she's a member in "good standing"?! I'm here every week, every Bible class, every work day, literally bearing, "the burden of the work and the heat of the day." And they are made equal to me?! No fair! After all, I'm the pastor!"

But what a ridiculous objection we make, friends! How can we sinners demand justice from God? Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes 7:20, "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins," no regular churchgoer, no elder, no pastor, no one.

So we don't dare demand God for what is fair, because we know too well what we rightfully deserve for our sins. Just a few moments ago we all confessed it. "I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned against [God] and do not deserve to be called [his] child." Or positively stated in another confession: "I confess that I am by nature sinful and that I have disobeyed [God] in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve [God's] punishment both now and in eternity."

If God dealt with us according to his justice and gave us what we deserve, what's fair, we would all be punished not just for our insatiable greed demanding more from God in our malcontent, but also for our arrogant pride that thinks we deserve something more from God than he's given to us. What we deserve is to be struck down right here, right now and sent to suffer eternally in hell. That would be fair.

 

But thankfully, God does not deal with us according to his justice. Thank God that he does not give us what is fair! Instead of acting according to his justice, he acts according to his love. He gives us his grace unjustly. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." In grace and mercy Jesus left the paradise of heaven to rescue us. And living a perfect life, being perfectly content after giving so much up, he suffered the hell that we deserve. No fair! Through Christ's death on the cross he gives us free and full forgiveness for all our sins. No fair! We are sinless saints, God's dearly loved children, brothers and sisters of Jesus himself, through no work of our own, no labor of our own, no effort of our own, but only by Jesus work for us! No fair! Thank God!

And God continues to bless us with so much more even thought it's not fair! He gives us families who love us in spite of our failures. Few if any of us have ever had to sleep on the ground for lack of shelter. We rarely miss a meal, and certainly not for lack of food! It would be more than enough if God just gave us forgiveness, but he continues to give us so much more than we deserve!

But all that we have is by God's grace, not because we deserve a thing. How can we complain that we don't have it as good as the next guy when we've already been blessed so much more than we deserve?! How can we cry, "No fair!" when we see another sinner forgiven, when we realize how unfair God has been with us in his grace?! No! We don't want what's fair. And we don't get what's fair! So we can take what he gives us and go, thankful and content, knowing that God has given us far more than we deserve. He has given us his mercy and grace. No fair! J


II. God Isn't Fair to Them

 

And now that we understand what we truly deserve and how much God has given us and gives us still, it affects the way we view others.

The workers in the parable who were hired first viewed the rest with jealousy. The workers hired at the eleventh hour, at 5:00, only worked for a single hour. Yet they too received pay for a whole day. How unfair! They didn't deserve it! But the workers hired first didn't realize that they were just as undeserving. The master reminded them, "Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?"

The owner said, "I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you." God gives his grace unjustly to everyone. To those who seem least deserving. To the man spending his welfare check on his drug habit. To the inmate in Wildwood. To the 90-year-old woman who comes to faith at literally the last hour.

When these come to faith and receive full forgiveness for their sins even though they don't deserve it, are we envious because God is generous? Do we cry, "Unfair!"? When we remember how little we deserve and what grace God has shown us, we can show compassion to others as well. We, just like they, deserve no grace. No forgiveness. No salvation. There's no difference between us. There is no first or last. God gives the same grace and mercy to everyone.

One of the two criminals crucified with Jesus understood God's unjust grace. Though he had wasted his entire life of crime, at quite literally the very last hour of this man's life he said to the other criminal, who was still mocking Jesus, "Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." That day he received God's unjust grace. He didn't get what he deserved after death. Christ said, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Jesus answered Peter's question. You will be richly rewarded. You are richly rewarded. But that reward is not something you deserve. It's all about grace. There is no room for our pride. No room for our works.

Instead of being jealous of someone else's blessings, we're grateful! We're thankful for the grace and mercy that God has given us in spite of what we deserve—that we're not just saved, but priviledged to work for him—not just as servants or slaves, but as partners in the family business, as "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God!" We don't just have a duty, but have a great priviledge of bearing the burden of the work and the heat of the day for our Savior as we go to find others standing aroudn in the market and "declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Earlier this week we got our final truckload of pea gravel for our new playground. Now I have already helped shovel and wheelbarrow and rake 10 other truckloads full this past summer. And as I felt my age (and my desk job) this week, I may have thought and even said outload, "Man! I thought I was done with this this summer! This is why I got a desk job—to avoid manual labor!"

The burden (if not the heat of the day) was not a joy to me. But there were a few kids who were still hanging out after school who ran over and grabbed a shovel or a rake and got to work: "Can I help? Can I? Can I have a shovel?" For them, it was different. This playground was a gift to them and it is a great joy in their lives. And they wanted to be a part of it. They were eager to work.

That's how we are now in God's harvest field. It's not a burden, but a joy. And if there's a perceived inequality that some of us may be doing more of the work, then we rejoice that we get to do more for the Lord! It is our priviledge to sweat for him!

So, in gratitude, thanksgiving, and joy for the grace shown to you when God was not fair to you, let's get to work! Let's tell everyone about the grace God has given to them too. Tell them how God is "no fair!" Tell them now. Their last hour may be coming soon. The whistle may blow, the foreman will call it a day. And the day of reckoning will be here! And go full of joy knowing that when that day comes you will receive the richest of rewards! You will be with him in paradise! No fair, dear friends! No fair! Thank God, dear friends, he's no fair! In Jesus' name, amen.


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Forgive Like God (A sermon based on Matthew 18:21-35)

"How can I ever forgive what they did to me?" Ever ask that question? Ever feel that way? We've all been hurt before, some of us in some pretty horrible ways. How can we possibly forgive the sins committed against us? Jesus gives us the answer in a parable he told in Matthew 18:21-35. Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on that parable and learn to forgive like God...

Forgive Like God

 A sermon based on Matthew 18:21-35

Sunday, October 5, 2014 – Pentecost 17A

 

For two years the young man sat in prison. There was no parole. There was no TV. There were no visitations from outsiders. There were no rights guaranteed to the inmates. And what it made it even worse, was that he was innocent of the crimes of which he was accused and for which he sat in prison.

But rewind a few years earlier. What brought him to this point? His family. It was his own brothers who stabbed him in the back. They were jealous of their father's love and after contemplating murder, they eventually just sold their little brother into slavery. Grown men in their 40's and 50's sold their teenage brother into a life of slavery because daddy loved him more.

And now, after thriving as a slave for a while, he was wrongly accused of trying to rape his master's wife, when he refused to be seduced by her. And Joseph sat in prison for more than two years before he was rescued from prison and elevated to second in command in Egypt.

Now his brothers stood before him. And Joseph revealed his identity. Sheer terror must have struck the hearts of those brothers. Would Joseph have them imprisoned, just as he had been? Would he have them sold into a life of slavery, just as he had been a slave? Would he have them executed for their crimes? It was certainly within his power.

But instead Joseph forgave them:

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:19-21)

That makes me wonder: What if I went through what Joseph did? What if it were my brother who sold me out? Could I forgive my brother the way Joseph forgave his? Would I forgive the way Joseph forgave? ...Would you? How could you ever forgive someone who hurt you like that? For that matter, how could you ever forgive the parents or child or spouse or ex or "friend" who sold you out, hurt you and betrayed your trust? How can we ever forgive?

 In our sermon text for this morning, Jesus has a tough conversation with us. Speaking to the twelve, Jesus pulls us aside too. And he tells us how we can forgive the sins committed against us. Let's listen in and learn the secret. Matthew 18:21-35...

21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven time. 23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

 

I.      Forgiven by God

What a terrifying prayer the Lord's prayer is, isn't it? "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…"?! Do we really mean what we say? I mean, wouldn't it be better to simply pray, "Forgive us our trespasses"? Do we really want God to forgive us as we forgive—in the exact same way?

Peter must have thought he was being generous in forgiving up to seven times. Rabbinical law stated three strikes and your out. Forgive the same sin three times and you can be done. (And we discussed what Jesus meant in the three guidelines of "church discipline" last week. These aren't just three steps, three strikes and you're out. Go home and read that sermon online if you missed it.) But Peter must have felt very generous more than doubling the number of strikes.

But Jesus made it clear that to forgive 77 times or even 490 times wasn't enough. In fact, Peter shouldn't even be keeping track. You see, Peter forgot that God wasn't keep track with him. And we sometimes forget the same...

This week we celebrated a big event in our household. We celebrated… PFD-Day! With $1,884 per member of the Guenther family automatically deposited into our bank account, it means that the Guenthers are very close to getting out of debt!

What is the most you've ever been in debt? I'm guesing most of you carry a mortgage, maybe a car payment, perhaps some credit debt on top? It's not a good feeling is it, to be in debt? Germans hate being in debt so much that in the German language the word for "debt," "Schuld," is the same word for "guilt." It's not fun to be in debt. But what were the consequences for that debt? Would you have to cut a few corners and go out a few less times to pay it off? Would some of your stuff be repossessed? Would the mafia come and break your legs? Would you and your spouse and your children be sold into slavery to pay it off?

Imagine how the man of Jesus parable felt! He owed the king more than he could ever possibly repay. One talent was 300 years' wages. And he owed 10,000 talents. Let's say you only make $30,000 per year. At that salary, this man owed $30 billion! The point is, he could never repay what he owed. Even if he and his entire family were sold into a lifetime of slavery, they weren't worth that much. So with no hope at all, he groveled before the king. He begged the king, making promises he knew he couldn't keep. He asked for more time and promised to pay back the whole debt.

But the king took pity on the man. Though he only asked for more time, the king gave the man much more. For no other reason than the king's kindness, he canceled the entire debt—all $30 billion—and let the man go free.

Did you know that the gross national debt is now over $17.8 trillion! (That's up $8.1 trillion dollars from when I preached on this text in 2009! That means our national debt is growing by more than $1.5 trillion each year.) That number is staggering, isn't it? It's a number we can't even imagine. It's an amount that we can never really pay off. Ever!

Well, we owe more than $17.8 trillion to God. You see for each sin we commit--for each time we refuse to forgive another saying, "Enough is enough! If I forgive again I'll be taken advantage of!"--we deserve hell. For each sin! Augustus Toplady, the author of Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me once tried to calculate the debt we owe to God. Calculating one sin per second and graciously omitting the extra days of leap years, he figured that at ten years old each of us is guilty of committing 315,360,000 sins. At twenty the debt grows to 630,720,000. By thirty we've reached 946,080,000. At eighty one will have committed an estimated 2,522,880,000 infractions of God's holy law. That means we deserve hell 2,522,880,000 times over! And still we're foolish enough to think that if we're only given enough time, we can make it up to God? We can pay him back? We can earn his favor? No way!

And we deserve to have every blessing taken away. We deserve to lose our families! We deserve to be sold into slavery! We deserve far worse than a life of torture! We deserve an eternity of torture in hell for any one sin we've ever committed, for each time we've refused to forgive as we've been forgiven. And there's nothing we can do to pay God back for our sin! We can't make it up to him and we can't undo our sins. All we can do is fall on our knees and beg and plead with him, "Please! Be patient with me! I know I deserve nothing, but please, please, forgive me."

Then something truly amazing happens! God, the king of the heaven, takes pity on us. A pity that caused God to act. You see he didn't just ignore our debt of sin like the king in the parable ignored his servants debt. No. God paid for it.  He sent his son to suffer far worse than torture in prison. He sent Christ to endure hell on the cross to cancel our debt for us. What amazing grace! That's way, way better than getting a few PFD's. It's way better than someone saying to you, "Your mortgage, your car payment, your credit card bill--all your debt!--has been paid for! You're debt free!" Your sin has been paid for! You're debt free before God because Christ paid the debt for you. God has forgiven you! And that drastically changes the way we view the debt owed to us!

II.   Forgive Like God

Now a professor of mine once pointed out the disservice the NIV footnote does in this parable. After "one hundred denarii" in verse 28 it says, "That is, a few dollars." But a denarius was one day's wages. Let's say you make $10/hr and work 8 hours a day. That means a hundred denarii would be worth about $8,000! Now I don't know about you, but $8,000 is a lot of money for me to say, "Don't worry about. You keep it."

You see, the point is that the man wasn't thrown into prison to be tortured because he refused to forgive someone who bumped into him in the hallway, but someone who caused him real hurt, real damage. Maybe someone hurt Peter badly. Maybe they hurt someone in his family. But for whatever reason, Peter was having a difficult time forgiving. And Jesus pointed out that that difficulty came because he was forgetting about the forgiveness he had from God.

Now, I know that some of you have had some very real pain inflicted on you by someone you love (or once loved)—by your parents, by a child, by your spouse, by you ex. And they're real hurts, not just a bump in the hallway. Some are pains that I can only imagine. But Jesus calls you to forgive those sins. But it's not easy, is it?

Why not? Well, we, just like Peter, have a hard time forgiving because we somehow think that our sins are more forgivable than others'. We have a hard time forgiving because we take our eyes off the cross. An unwillingness to forgive others shows our lack of appreciation for the forgiveness that we've recieved. "My sin isn't that bad. It's not like what they did to me."

        But when we go to the foot of the cross, we're reminded again of the full and free forgiveness of the massive debt that we owed to God--a debt we could never pay back. And that forgiveness absorbs our hurt and pain like a thousand oceans would absorb a drop of poison. When you're hurt and you ask yourself, "How can I ever forgive him for what he did to me? How can I ever forgive her for what she did to me?" then close your eyes, and picture Jesus hanging on the cross. Why is he there, suffering, dying, enduring hell itself? For you. To pay for your sins against God that you might be fully forgiven.
        And there you'll find the power to forgive others. It may not be pleasant. It may not be easy. And you may still be filled with sorrow and grief at what was done. But you can let go of the anger, let go of the desire to get revenge or seek retaliation, let go of trying to get even or make them pay. Because
when remember the love and mercy and kindness and grace that God has shown to you, then you'll be moved to such gratitude that forgiving other will not seem an obligation of something you have to do, but a joyful opportunity to show your thanks to God for the forgiveness you've received. And instead of asking "How many times must I forgive?" You'll ask, "God how can I show my thanks to you and love toward the one who hurt me?" You'll be moved to forgive joyfully and freely from the heart.
        What if you
were sold into slavery, wrongly accused, and thrown into prison? Could you forgive the way that Joseph forgave his brothers? Yes, you could. Would you forgive the way Joseph forgave? By the strength that Jesus gives you, by the forgiveness that he's given you, you can say "Yes, I would forgive those who hurt me." You can say, "Yes. I do forgive those who hurt me." In Jesus name, and by the power of his forgiveness, amen!


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go! (A sermon based on Matthew 18:15-20)

When you see a brother or sister sin, you are involved because Jesus tells us we are to lovingly confront that person in their sin. I know it's not fun. But we thank God that he confronts us in our sin to lead us to repentance. Then he comforts us with the Gospel to assure us of our salvation. It's this salvation that makes us eager to love others with that same love and point out their sins in an effort to lead them to repentance that we might comfort and restore them. Read or listen to (download or stream) this sermon based on Matthew 18:15-20 and hear Jesus urge you to go, go, go to that person in love... 

Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go!

A sermon based on Matthew 18:15-20

Sunday, September 28, 2014 – Pentecost

 

The score was close. The two teams had been battling for a while. This was flag football at its finest. The Grizzlies were playing well. And this play went just as it was planned. The other team fell for the fake. The receiver was wide open! The pass was complete! And the coach and the fans all shouted, "Go, go, go, go, go, go!" as the receiver tore down the field…

Jesus had just shared with his disciples God's love for lost and straying sinners. He likened it to a shepherd leaving 99 sheep behind to go chase after that one that wandered from the fold. Now, in today's text, which immediately follows that "Parable of the Lost Sheep," he tells his disciples how he wants them to love lost and straying sinners. He tells them that he wants us—for we are his disciples who follow after him too—to go after them in the same way. Like a coach shouting from the sideline, we hear Jesus tell us to "Go, go, go, go, go, go!"

Our text is from Matthew 18:15-20…

 

15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

 

Tim was doing his job wrong. He didn't know he was doing it wrong, but he was. In fact, what he was doing was dangerous and there was a good chance that he would get fired for doing it that way. But he just didn't know any better. He'd never been trained. His co-worker, Bob, saw what he was doing. He knew it was wrong. He knew he might get fired for it. And he knew it was an easy fix, if only someone would show Tim how to do it the right way. But Bob figured, "It's none of my business. Besides, it would be uncomfortable to confront Tim. Tim wouldn't be happy to hear he was doing it wrong." So Bob said nothing.

How cold. How uncaring. How loveless.

The truth is that you know people who are doing things wrong—not just at work, but things that are sinful; they're wrong before God. And you know that the loss of a job is nothing compared to what's in store for those who sin against God and do not repent. And to say nothing, justifying it by saying to yourself, "It's none of my business. It would be uncomfortable and awkward. The person probably won't like me for confronting them. And besides, that's the job of the pastor. That's the job of the elders." Well…

How cold. How uncaring. How loveless.

So Jesus tells us to go after them, to go again and again, to go, go, go, go go, go!

 

I. Go #1 – Show Him His Fault

 

First, he says "go to him!" Go #1: 15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.  

Note, this isn't just some random stranger, but a brother—that is one who is a fellow brother or sister in Christ, in danger of losing that status by their sin. It's not an enemy, but a friend. It's one you care about, one you love, one that may have hurt you directly, one that might have hurt you badly. But they're not to be treated as an enemy, but with love and compassion.

And if that brother sins, that is, "misses the mark," messes up, and wrongs you and break's God's commands,  then go! Go to them! Point out the sin! Do it gently and kindly. Do it privately so you don't embarrass them. You know a cornered animal will fight even harder. So don't corner them. Come along side them, "Dear brother, dear sister, I'm concerned for you. Can we talk?" Confront that person lovingly, just as you would want someone to confront you.

The temptation is to just ignore it, to maybe just report the sin to the pastor or an elder and expect them to take care of it, or to avoid getting involved at all. But if you know about, you're already involved because God tells you to, "Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you."

I get that this isn't fun. It's not my favorite part of being a pastor. And I get that it's not your favorite part of being a Christian. But this is one of those crosses that we talked about last week that you get to take up. And to shirk this cross is not only loveless to the person going astray, but it's loveless to God who tells you to go. 


II. Go #2 – Take One or Two Others Along

 

Now, let's suppose you do actually confront a brother in his sin. You lovingly point out what they're doing and what God wants them to do. If he listens, great! If he repents, comfort him with the Gospel! Then let it drop. Let it die there. "You have won your brother over!" Not to your side, but back to Jesus' side! The matter is done.

But what if he won't listen to you? Well, then he's on his own, right? You tried. You did your best. Now it's on him. Shake the dust off your feet and move on! You have other things to do, right? Wrong. A person's eternal soul is at stake here. Now is not the time to get lazy! So Jesus tells us to "Go!" again!

Go #2: "But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'" "If he will not listen" is literally, "If he doesn't hear you." And it could be translated, "If he doesn't understand you." Maybe he just can't hear it from you personally. You're too close to the matter. Maybe he just doesn't understand the way you're communicating how what he did was wrong. But that doesn't let you off the hook. Go again! This time take others along with you. This is an intervention here! Maybe one of them can help your brother to see what he has done and what the sad consequences are if he will not repent.

And if he listens, great! If he repents, comfort him with the Gospel! Then let it drop. Let it die. "You have won your brother over!" The matter is done.

But if he doesn't listen? Well, now you've really tried hard. You did all you could! Now you can let it go, right? No. Still wrong. Jesus tells us to "Go!" again…

 

III. Go #3 – Tell It to the Church

 

If he won't listen to you, and he won't listen to you plus one or two more, then it's time to get more involved. Go! Go! Go! Jesus says.

Go #3: "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church…" "If he refuses to listen," is literally, "If he hears aside," that is, if he listens casually, or carelessly, not giving heed, even if you've gone to him privately, then with one or two more. Tell it to the church. Maybe someone there will be able to talk some sense into this confused sinner.

And if he listens, great! If he repents, comfort him with the Gospel! Then let it drop. Let it die. "You have won your brother over!" The matter is done.

But if he still doesn't listen? Well, then, be done with him! Three strikes and you're out! Never speak to him again, right? Well… not exactly. We are to still go after the lost soul, with tough love.  "And if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." This is what we call "excommunication." And it is far more serious than getting kicked out of a church. It's declaring that one has removed himself from "the Church" with a capital "C." To, "treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector," Is to treat him as an unbeliever. For that is what he now is. He has declared, by his impenitence, that he wants no forgiveness for this sin. And so, he has no forgiveness for this sin. He is no longer treated as a brother, but as the unbeliever that he is. He is removed from the fellowship of believers and declared to be hell-bound, not in self-righteous condemnation, but in love, praying that this declaration might jar the stubborn, impenitent sinner to recognize the seriousness of sin and the damning results of unbelief.

And by the way, how did Jesus treat the pagan (literally "Gentile") and the tax collector? Well, we know how he treated the Samaritan woman at the well and the Canaanite "dog." We know how he treated Matthew and how he treated Zacchaeus. He sought them like a shepherd who left 99 sheep behind to go after one lost sheep. So, we too keep that lost sinner in our prayers asking the Holy Spirit to break through their stubborn resistance and lead them to repentance that we might comfort them with the Gospel and bring them back into the fold.

 

IV. Go #4 – With the End in Mind

 

These first three "Go's" are sometimes called the three steps of church discipline. And I understand that title because Jesus shows a progression of increased pressure, if you will, as we strive to lead a person to repent of their sin. But I think there's maybe a danger in calling these actions "three steps." I think it can lead us to believe that we can just walk through them, 1, 2, 3, checking them off our list and then be done.

But I think better than calling them "steps" might be calling them "guidelines." The goal here is not to make sure we just do our duty to the lost sinner before we declare "Three strikes and you're out!" The goal is not to clean up the church records. The goal is not to relieve us of responsibility to the lost. The goal is to save souls—to win our brother over.

So we should go (Go #4) with that end in mind, always asking, "How can I win my brother over, not to myself, but back to Christ? How can I save this soul from hell?" We should go, go, go, go with an ardent desire to do whatever it takes to rescue that person from an eternity of torment. Go with that end in mind and we'll go with love and care, with patience and prayer, instead of just going through the motions, going through the steps to check them off.


This is our responsibility. This is our task that Jesus has given for each of us to do. This "Ministry of the Keys," as it's been called, has been given to each one of us, whether pastor, elder, or layperson, whether man or woman, whether young or old. Jesus said to his disciples of all ages: "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." And he means for us to go and do this important work!

 

V. Go #5 – With the Assurance of Sins Forgiven

 

Now all of this, is what we should be doing. But can anyone here honestly say they've done a great job at this task that Jesus gives to all believers? Have you always been willing to confront a brother or sister in their sin? Or have you sometimes just looked the other way? Have you always been willing to be persistent and keep going again and again to that straying person? Have you always kept the true goal in mind and gone through these guidelines with a sincere prayer that God would save this lost sinner? Me either.

"Dear brother, dear sister, I'm concerned for you. Can we talk?" How cold. How uncaring. How loveless we are. This is your fault. Listen to me. Be won over. Repent of your loveless sin that has failed to go, go, go as Jesus commands.

Are you sorry for the loveless way in which you've treated your brother in failing to lovingly confront him in his sin? Then I have good news for you: Jesus promised, "Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." I already announced it to you earlier in the service, but let me say it again: "God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." I forgive you, not because I have any power to forgive on my own, but because Christ has given us this privilege and responsibility to forgive the sins of the penitent.

So be assured that you are forgiven! You have peace with God. So go! Go #5: Go with assurance that you are forgiven. That's what makes you eager to serve God in thanks. That's what makes you eager to serve others. That's what makes you eager to do the difficult work of going to an erring brother to show him his fault. You are a new creation in Christ, having been forgiven of your sins! And you are eager to share that forgiveness with others. 


VI. Go #6 – With God's Promise

 

And finally, as you do go, you know that you don't go alone. Jesus gave his disciples a comforting promise as he sent them out on this difficult task: "I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

If two agree, and this is the Greek word from which we get the word symphony, God is with us. He's with us as we gather together in worship. He's with us as two or three go to confront an erring brother. He's with us when we gather together to pray for those who have gone astray. This is where we get our power. This is where we get our authority. This is where we get our strength. We go trusting Jesus' promise that he is with us—the same Jesus who was willing to leave 99 sheep behind to come chasing after us when we were lost in our sin.

So go, dear friends! Go, go, go, go, go, go! Go lovingly confront your erring brother. Go with two or three others if he will not listen. Go tell it to the church if he refuses to take heed. Go with the end in mind—that your goal is to save this lost soul from hell. Go with the assurance that you are forgiven for your failure to love others in this way and for every sin. Go with the promise that Jesus is with you as you live to serve him in thanks for the way he lived and died for you. In Jesus' name, dear friends, go, go, go, go, go, go! Amen!

 

In Him,

Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast