Being, not Doing
Notes
Transcript
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.
In his book, Joining Jesus on His mission: becoming an everyday missionary, Rev. Greg Finke observes the following:
Consider this: the U.S. culture, although remarkably unchurched these days, is also becoming uniquely ripe for the church to be the Church again. What our culture is longing for is actually well within our sweet-spot as Jesus-followers! Our culture may no longer be interested in our “Churchianity” but, without even knowing it, they are uniquely ready for biblical “Christianity.” They are looking for what Jesus has already called his followers to be. For instance:
People take note when someone is willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others
People appreciate the opportunity to sort through their spiritual questions honestly without manipulation
People are intrigued by someone who exhibits both grace and wisdom
People are looking for those who exhibit authentic love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and self-control
They cheer redemptive action
They wish to discover what is true
They long for authentic community with people they can trust
They are wondering if an encounter with a loving God is possible
Finke, Greg. Joining Jesus on His Mission: How to Be an Everyday Missionary . Tenth Power Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Jesus has placed us where we are, in the world as it is today, as part of His Mission to redeem, restore, and reclaim His Creation. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News of this Mission and that its success is guaranteed by the shed blood and glorious resurrection of our Lord. The first part of what I just said might terrify you, and it should, if it were not for the second part. When we begin the Divine Service by remembering our baptism, and then confessing our sin and receiving Christ’s Absolution, we put things in the proper order. In like manner, when Jesus tells us what we are and then tells us what we do, He puts things in the proper order.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Jesus doesn’t describe what we are to do here; He tells us what we are by faith in Him.
To do the will of God - to “obey all things that [Christ] has commanded” as He said in , is impossible for those who do not believe in Christ. Paul, when writing the Roman Christians about their life in Christ, addresses the issue of how we deal with Christians who are weak in faith and prone to be scrupulous regarding worship or actions that might evoke controversy, such as eating meat as opposed to being a vegetarian. He concludes his teaching in with the words, “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” In other words, even doing that which might be agreed by all to be a “good work” does not justify the unbeliever; in fact, it condemns him, because his action acknowledges the goodness of God and the righteousness of His Commandment, even as he rejects the mercy and grace of our Lord and blasphemes against the Holy Spirit.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
On the other extreme are those who, acknowledging the harshness of the Law, argue that God, in His love and grace, cannot mean what we say when we proclaim the Law, because then God would condemn people simply for doing what people do.
On the other extreme are those who, acknowledging the harshness of the Law, argue that God, in His love and grace, cannot mean what we say when we proclaim the Law, because then God would condemn people simply for doing what people do.
On the other extreme are those who, acknowledging the harshness of the Law, argue that God, in His love and grace, cannot mean what we say when we proclaim the Law, because then God would condemn people simply for doing what people do.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Finke, Greg. Joining Jesus on His Mission: How to Be an Everyday Missionary . Tenth Power Publishing. Kindle Edition.
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
They reply, “Well of Course God condemns murderers, swindlers, and liars, but how can He judge people for whom they love, or people who don’t really understand who He is because He hasn’t clearly revealed Himself, or those whom other people despise because of their narrow-mindedness, or even the person who suffers from the disease of alcoholism? No, Christian - you are
surely misreading the Scriptures, or people have rewritten the Bible so much that there is no way to know if God actually feels this way about what we call sins.
Of course, the so-called atheist is just the extreme example of this, as he goes so far as to say that he would rather believe that there is no God than submit to the accusation of the Law. Then, when the Gospel comes to them, they hold on to the God that they hate instead of repenting of their hatred at the revelation that the same God who condemns sin saves sinners who repent and believe the Gospel.
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Many who hear our Gospel reading today hear it, not as the Balm in Gilead that soothes their wounds and frees them from the bondage of sin, but as the Rock that threatens to crush them under its weight of judgment and demand for perfection.
Many who hear our Gospel reading today hear it, not as the Balm in Gilead that soothes their wounds and frees them from the bondage of sin, but as the Rock that threatens to crush them under its weight of judgment and demand for perfection.
This is because many see these words through impure eyes. Not having heard the Gospel in its purity, but, as it were, mixed with the demands for a sanctification that is rooted in our imperfect obedience than in Christ’s perfect obedience, they end up doing the very thing that Christ teaches against in this passage: They either seek to abolish the Law or they relax the Commandments to the point that you can “be good without God.” As Lutherans, we respond: :III:18
Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions Negative Statements
18 In these last times it is certainly no less needful to encourage people to Christian discipline ‹to the way of right and godly living› and to do good works. We need to remind them of how necessary it is that they exercise themselves in good works as a declaration of their faith [Matthew 5:16] and gratitude to God [Hebrews 13:15–16]. But works should not be mingled in the article of justification. For people may be just as damned by an Epicurean delusion about faith as they are by papistic and Pharisaic confidence in their own works and merits.
When you walk in the Spirit, when you allow your light, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” to shine, you allow God to “work in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” That which is impossible with men is possible with God, not only to do truly good works, but to repent and receive forgiveness:
When you walk in the Spirit, when you allow your light, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” to shine, you allow God to “work in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” That which is impossible with men is possible with God, not only to do truly good works, but to repent and receive forgiveness:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Thus we confess:
Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions The Third Article: Sanctification
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise up me and all the dead and will give eternal life to me and to all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
This is the promise that we have in Christ: He knows our frame; He knows that we are dust, as David wrote in , and so He enters into our condition, taking on the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, so that we can be transformed as we hear and respond to His gracious gift:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
God has not started something and left you to finish it. As Paul wrote to the Philippian saints:
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
So Let the peace of God, that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Finke, Greg. Joining Jesus on His Mission: How to Be an Everyday Missionary . Tenth Power Publishing. Kindle Edition.