Cut It Out
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 3094 Salt Creates Thirst
At a meeting some young people were discussing the text, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” One suggestion after another was made as to the meaning of “salt” in this verse.
“Salt imparts a desirable flavor,” said one.
“Salt preserves from decay,” another suggested.
Then a Chinese Christian girl spoke out of an experience none of the others had. “Salt creates thirst,” she said, and there was a sudden hush in the room. Everyone was thinking: Have I ever made anyone thirsty for the Lord Jesus Christ?
Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Whoever denies or is ashamed of the Son of Man, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed (/);
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
It is better to sacrifice precious parts of the body than to go whole into Gehenna (/);
Today’s lesson continues Jesus’ teaching to the 12 regarding the life of discipleship in the Body of Christ. In other words, Jesus is still teaching based on His earlier words that those who follow Him show by their desire to serve others that they understand Kingdom Greatness. Those who would be great in the Kingdom of God are those who seek to serve rather than to be the boss, who support rather than control the service of others in Christ’s name.
There is a narrow gate that leads to life, and there are few that find it, but the gate to destruction is broad and well-travelled (/);
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire.
Israel at present is like a field with wheat and weeds mixed, but there will come a day of separation and judgment (, );
We, as confessional, evangelical Christians, as Lutherans, stand firm regarding the grace of God. We vigorously defend the position that we are to be grateful recipients of grace, and generous bestowers of grace to others who have need of it. Don’t let that fool you though; we do not, as a result, believe, teach or confess that Jesus is or that we are “ok with sin.” Christ died, for our sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous many. Unlike us, Jesus “resisted unto bloodshed, striving against sin.” He died “to save us from our sins,” not to enable us to sin with impunity. As he hated sin and its impact enough to to die for it, we should hate it enough to resist its allures in His name and by His strength.
Whatever it is that makes you the captive of sin, separate your self from it. Don’t make a big deal about it, don’t parade around with the bloody badges of your battle, trying to elicit our admiration of your bravery, just cut it out and keep it moving. At His return, Jesus Himself will reward all those who have faithfully served Him ().
At the same time, don’t let the fact that you are tested in this life lead you to discouragement. Paul and Barnabas encouraged the Christians in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch that “through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God,” and in Romans, Paul told us that “we rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience” (). Jesus told us in
N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, Christian Origins and the Question of God (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1996), 183.
18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Our love for Christ, expressed by our obedience to Him, will draw the animosity of those who do not love Him, but instead love themselves and enjoy their sin. And yes, what you submit to , you love. says,
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
As the song says, “Who do you love; are you for sure?” Showing up in the church house is commendable, because it exposes you to the Word of the Lord, whereby, in His kindness, God leads you to repentance. But if you don’t listen to the Word of Christ, His Word that came to cleanse you will judge you instead at the resurrection. The means of grace that offer to you the forgiveness of sins will become the means of your judgment if you take them in an unworthy manner:
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Another Gospel song reminds us, “What can wash away our sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
When we have, through our collaboration with the World and cohabitation with sin, stained the robes of righteousness that Christ gives to us in Holy Baptism, our confession of sin and reception of the Words of Absolution are the means by which He makes us clean again. declares the riches of God’s love for us -
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
God loves you so much that He gave His Son to die for you. Surely, you do not love Him so little that you would hold onto the passing pleasures of sin, when whatever you might get from stealing a blessing you would not get as well, and even more so, through the obedience of faith!
Each of us today, if we honestly examine ourselves, knows that we have at times, as Peter did on the night Jesus was betrayed, “followed Him at a distance.” Aren’t you tired of being close enough to see Jesus, but too far away from Him to be identified with Him?
Today, having heard God’s “strong Word,” I plead with you, don’t let His grace be in vain. declares,
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
We have been brought together by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to walk together in love, work together in fellowship, and worship together in the beauty of His holiness. His grace empowers us; His love strengthens us, and His mercy preserves us. Let us not receive the grace of God for nothing, when instead, we can, together, in the words of ,
18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.