Getting Your "It" Together
Together with Jesus - the Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted
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1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching The Contagion of Love
The Contagion of Love
The early Latin writer, Tertullian of Carthage, declared that the one thing that converted him to Christianity was not the arguments they gave him, because he could find a counterpoint for every argument they would present. “But they demonstrated something I didn’t have. The thing that converted me to Christianity was the way they loved each other.”
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 a sense, I am putting you in the position of starting a book in the middle of the story, for this message is a continuation of a message that you didn’t get to hear, and I didn’t get to preach. Last week’s Gospel reading, , shows Jesus telling us who we are as Christians, not, as some would suppose, what we should strive to become, for He says, “you are,” not “you should be,” the salt of the earth and the light of the world. That text closes with His stated purpose of coming, “to fulfill” the Law and the Prophets. He closes this portion with these words of warning:
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.
Today’s text addresses “anger,” “lust,” “divorce,” and “oaths.” Regarding each, Jesus takes clearly accepted teachings, teachings that had been received for generations by His hearers, and goes further to show that the true measure of God’s holy, righteous, and good commandment goes beyond avoiding evil actions to resisting the devil on the battlefield of the mind.
When I worked as a coin wrapper, one of our responsibilities involved separating the Tropicana Hotel Dollar tokens from those of other casinos and from the counterfeits. There are two ways that one could view this task. With the first way, one could spend the day looking at each token to see what it was and separating it accordingly. While this would be accurate, it was also time consuming, and time was a precious commodity in the coin room. The other way was much simpler: one looked for the Tropicana tokens, and removed everything that wasn’t one.
Either way, there was something that would separate the right tokens from the wrong - an “it” factor. It could be small, almost unnoticeable, or it could be blatant, so obvious that there was no way to ignore it. In the end, it didn’t matter. those racks of tokens had to be purely Tropicana, and it was our job to may sure that it was so.
Why did God give us the Law?
Why did God give us the Law?
Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions Status of the Controversy
1 God’s Law is useful (1) because external discipline and decency are maintained by it against wild, disobedient people; (2) likewise, through the Law people are brought to a knowledge of their sins; and also, (3) when people have been born anew by God’s Spirit, converted to the Lord, and Moses’s veil has been lifted from them [2 Corinthians 3:13–16], they live and walk in the Law [Psalm 119:1].
Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions Status of the Controversy
1 God’s Law is useful (1) because external discipline and decency are maintained by it against wild, disobedient people; (2) likewise, through the Law people are brought to a knowledge of their sins; and also, (3) when people have been born anew by God’s Spirit, converted to the Lord, and Moses’s veil has been lifted from them [2 Corinthians 3:13–16], they live and walk in the Law [Psalm 119:1].
And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
The Book of Concord Article VI: Concerning the Third Use of the Law
[1] The law has been given to people for three reasons: first, that through it external discipline may be maintained against the unruly and the disobedient; second, that people may be led through it to a recognition of their sins; third, after they have been reborn—since nevertheless the flesh still clings to them—that precisely because of the flesh they may have a sure guide, according to which they can orient and conduct their entire life.
While some have tried to pit James, the Lord’s brother, and Paul the Apostle against each other, they both agree regarding the Law and Love.
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
I could quote from several passages from Paul’s epistles, but you all don’t want to be here for two hours, so I’ll limit myself to this:
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
If you want to please the Lord, love your neighbor. If you want to honor the Lord with your firstfruits, love your neighbor. If you want to “make proof of your ministry,” it won’t come from your ability to prophecy, heal the sick, speak in tongues or raise the dead, but from your ability to - what?
love your neighbor.
Even James’ test of faith is beautifully echoed by Paul:
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
Everything that Jesus says in our Gospel text comes to this point.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
All of that is summed up in these words:
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
It is said that “we judge others by their results, and we judge ourselves by our intentions.” In fairness, it is almost impossible to know what a person intends, and Jesus did say that “a tree is known by its own fruit.” But repentance is as much a work of the Spirit as is obedience, for both are the response of a heart that has been changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Satan often uses our flaws - our “its”- to separate us from one another, and each of us from God. He whispers that the pain inflicted upon us is unfair,
- Can you say, “yeah, that’s it?” -
and our resentment is justified.
He reminds us that we should be ashamed, and that our actions are reprehensible,
- Can you say, “yeah, that’s it?” -
then argues, “has God truly said that He will forgive even this?” He tempts people to sin,
- Can you say, “yeah, that’s it?” -
then reminds us that sin separates us from God, so that he can slanderously say, “there is no hope for him in God.”
Only Jesus Christ could literally fulfill the claim of the movie, “Love Story,” that “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” The rest of us have been given the gift of repentance and absolution so that we may cling to the righteousness that Christ gave to us by virtue of His active obedience and sacrificial death on the cross. Only Jesus can righteously condemn sin in the flesh and condemn the sinner to an eternal hell. Only Jesus can rescue sinners from the sentence we justly deserve, removing “it” from our account by putting it on His. The Bible declares that He does each of these things, and all of these things, because He loves - He loves the Father, and He loves us. In His authority - an authority rooted in Love, for God is love - He bids us to preach the Gospel, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded.
The mark of obedience is set by Christ, and He lived it out. He blazed the trail so that we could follow, and He gave us the cleansing gift of Holy Baptism with its continuation of repentance and absolution, for when we get off the path, when we step away from the Highway of Holiness. In the Kingdom of Heaven, where forgiveness is both precious and free, you have no need for anger, no need for lust, no need for separation, and no need to lie. “All you need is love” - Poured out by Christ, declared in the Gospel, received by faith - faith which works through love. Love brought us peace with God through Christ Jesus our Lord, and love gives us peace with our neighbor as we forgive one another and serve one another.
Holy BAptism
So let the peace of God, that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.