Weeg's Funeral

Today we come honor the life and mourn the death of Louise Heyer, or as most of us knew her Weeg. I met Weeg a few years ago. She had begun to come more and more regularly to the church I pastor and the church of which she was a member. She had been in the hospital and I visited her. Even after recovering from a major surgery, Weeg was the outspoken and feisty woman I’m sure most of you knew. We talked about God’s Word. We talked about God’s Son and the hope that we have in Him. We prayed. Similar occurrences happened over the course of the last few years. Whether it was when she was at church, in the hospital, or at her home she and I had many conversations about the the Lord Jesus.

She loved to attend church. She loved to hear the preaching of the Bible. She loved to be among God’s people. She loved to see all the children at the church, doing the goofy, crazy, and cute things kids do. She always expressed love, kindness, and encouragement to me. Indeed, I know she loved me. I know she loved her church. I know she loved her family. She was never shy in expressing her feelings or opinions. On such opinion, which was actually a fact she often repeated, is that God will work all things out. She was confident in her God. She was confident in her savior Jesus Christ. She is and will be missed by many people, including me.

Weeg believed the gospel and it is because of that gospel that Weeg is in heaven with her God and Savior Jesus Christ. That gospel is summarized in the passage I read to you. Paul answers the age old question of where does salvation come from or rather who saves. His answer is simple enough. It is God saves. That the starting point of the gospel message. God does what sinful men could not do. He saves. Consider two truths regarding God’s salvation of sinners like Weeg, you, and me.

According to the text, first of all God saves from sin-filled hopelessness. The first part of the text I read explicitly states the condition we all find ourselves in from birth, namely sin-filled hopelessness. If you are not in Christ, you are spiritually did by not living up to God’s standard and by going against His Law. This law is known by all because it is written on every human heart. Moreover, it is summarized in the ten commandments and the two great commandments. Yes, you are to love God and neighbor. You are to do this perfectly as God’s standard is perfection. However you don’t. You are condemned to die eternally and presently are dead spiritually. Not only that but you are a follow of the prince of darkness, the deceiver, more commonly known as Satan. He is your father and your end will be the same as his: death and judgment. Finally Paul says the natural man is a child of wrath. That is you are in the hangs of an angry God who is an all consuming fire. The only reason you have not yet fallen into that fire is God’s patience, giving you time to hear and respond to the salvation He has provided. At the very least. Scripture is clear. No one is able to save themself from their sinful condition. God saves from sin-filled hopelessness. How does He do this? The second point of the text I read answers this question.

Second, God saves by power-filled grace.

Verse four says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us” this is the foundation of salvation, the abundant mercy and great love of God. It is by this love that He makes those who are spiritually dead to be spiritually alive. It is by this love that He turns those who were followers of Satan into followers of Christ Jesus His Son. It is by this love that He transforms children of wrath into children of blessing.

This gracious and powerful salvation is all intimately connected to Christ Jesus. It is those who have been united to Christ Jesus by faith that experience this great salvation. It is because of Jesus that sinners like Weeg, you, and me can be saved. His perfect life secures eternal life for those who trust in Him. His sacrificial death pays the penalty of sin for those who trust in Him. As God the Son He is able to pay that infinite sin debt we owe. As a man He is able to be our substitute. As the God-man He is able to mediate between God and men. He is a perfect savior and He is able to save all who draw near to God through Him. This is why Paul says, “For by grace you have been saved by grace 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). Weeg had experienced this power-filled grace. She had come to know this Jesus who is able and delights to save weary hopeless sinners. She is with this Jesus in heaven no longer burdened by sin or misery. Those who trust in this same Jesus will likewise enter heaven when they die. They will also see Weeg again. There is salvation and hope nowhere else but in Christ Jesus our Lord. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Believers, you know this Jesus and you are well aware of how He has saved you from your sins. What a glorious salvation it is. What great joy we have in Him. What hope we have even in the face of death, even as we are in tempestuous seas of grief.

Unbeliever, you are dead in your sins, you are a follower of Satan, the world, and the flesh, and you are a child of wrath. You are without God and without hope. There is comfort in life and in death, but it is found only in one place. It is found only in on person. His name is Jesus, whom God sent so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but eternal life. If you want comfort in life and in death, if you want the comfort that Weeg herself had, then trust in Jesus today. He will save whoever comes to Him by faith.

All of you, God saves. Weeg knew this. She now enjoys unimpeded communion with Him. One day those of us who trust in God’s Son will see her again. What a glorious day that will be. In the meantime we greave her loss, look to the same Jesus she did, and await that day when we see her again. Weeg loved Jesus, but Jesus loved her first and more. Take heart. There is hope and He has a name. Its Jesus. Look to Him. Trust Him. He won’t disappoint you. Let’s pray.