Trinity 18 Sermon

Trinity Eighteen
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

The Hymn #388
The Invocation p. 15
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual Ephesians 4:22-28
The Gospel Matthew 22:34-36
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #261
The Sermon
Doctrine of the Word

The Offertory p. 22
The Hymn #307
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn (tune: 387) #260

Biblical Doctrine of the Word

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

1] As the distinction between the Law and the Gospel is a special brilliant light, which serves to the end that God's Word may be rightly divided, and the Scriptures of the holy prophets and apostles may be properly explained and understood, we must guard it with especial care, in order that these two doctrines may not be mingled with one another, or a law be made out of the Gospel, whereby the merit of Christ is obscured and troubled consciences are robbed of their comfort, which they otherwise have in the holy Gospel when it is preached genuinely and in its purity, and by which they can support themselves in their most grievous trials against the terrors of the Law. (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Law and Gospel)

These three verses summarize the Law and Gospel. God’s Law teaches us what is good for us, as we can see from the many celebrity and leadership disasters often on display. Many with prominent roles carry out the modern agenda of doing whatever we please. Now everyone has been trained to accept this and not condemn it as sinful, harmful, or corrupting to minors. As one lawyer explained, “That cannot take children away from their mother just because she does drugs in front of them.” The loss of custody came from offending the court! Missing a hearing and disobeying court orders led to the custody loss. But doing drugs and various other offenses? Not a problem.

As we can see from the long-range effects of this attitude, people still suffer from their rebellion against God’s Law. What the justice system misses, God’s Law will address in time or on Judgment Day.

The Law has three basic uses

The Curb of the Law

First of all, the Law curbs the Old Adam in us all. Even the most brutal regimes are carrying out God’s will in keeping order. Anarchy is the most violent of all systems, because no one is protected.

We often experience the effect of the curb. We were sailing down 63rd avenue when a parked but waiting Glendale police car came into view. The side streets are limited to 25 mph. The appearance of the police car prompted a discussion on the speed limits. My wife thought we could do 40 on a major connecting street, but I pointed out 63rd did not qualify. I was only at 30 mph but I let the speed drift down to 25 mph, the actual limit.

When America saw itself as a religious country, the legal system was a reflection of the Bible. Now our country sees itself as non-religious, even anti-religious. Radical minorities make the rules for the majority. The minorities set the agenda.

The curb of the Law can have an interesting effect. One year illegal immigrants bragged about their status on signs at huge rallies across the US. Then deportation began as the mood of the country darkened about the lawlessness. Legal Mexican-Americans were also opposed to open borders (though many were sympathetic too). The next demonstrations showed a singular lack of signs bragging about illegal status.

All government is derived from God, and God can use the military might of one country to punish another. Luther feared the day of God’s wrath against Germany. I doubt he could have imagined what WWII brought his country. World history is fascinating because great empires have risen and then fallen for the most trivial reasons. One historian traced the turning point of Waterloo to a moment when the French did not have enough nails to spike the English guns they captured. Soon the guns were used again, against them.

KJV Isaiah 14:5 The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

The rule of government is for our good, so we pray for wise and just rulers.

The Mirror of the Law

The Law is a mirror in showing us our sinful nature.

KJV Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The Law is diagnosis, which is good for us. If we do not know the problem, how can we receive the right remedy? If a surgeon went around trying to cut people, he would be arrested. But when they know they need surgery, a good surgeon is in great demand. So the diagnosis of the Law prepares us for the Gospel.

Unfortunately, our Old Adam makes us prone to cure problems with the Law, as if someone found out he had cancer and people tried to cure him thus:

1. What did you eat? You probably ate the wrong foods. That’s why you have cancer.
2. Did your parents or anyone else have it? You probably got it from them.
3. Where did you live? You could have gotten it from the air.
4. Stress is bad. I heard from Aunt Sadie that stress can cause cancer. You need to get stress out of your life. That’s your problem. You have always been too stressed.
5. Did you spend a lot of time in the sun when you were young? You brought it on yourself with all that outdoor activity.
6. You wouldn’t listen to me when I told you to take multi-vitamins. And now look at what you have done to yourself.

Blaming and accusing are a function of the Law. The Law always condemns, but the Law cannot cure, cannot comfort, and cannot produce fruit. The Law is good but limited.

19] Thus, the Law reproves unbelief, [namely,] when men do not believe the Word of God. Now, since the Gospel, which alone properly teaches and commands to believe in Christ, is God's Word, the Holy Ghost, through the office of the Law, also reproves unbelief, that men do not believe in Christ, although it is properly the Gospel alone which teaches concerning saving faith in Christ. (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration)

KJV Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

The Law as Guide

The third use of the Law is illustrated in the Small Catechism, where fear represents the mirror effect of the Law while love represents Gospel motivation. The Law by itself produces fear, but the Gospel moves us to love God and to obey Him out of love.

The Second Commandment.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.
What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name [Law – forbidding] but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks [Gospel motivation].
When a doctor reduces pain and cures us, we thank him. If he rescues us from death, we feel gratitude and look on him as someone who gave us a new life. Luther’s point was always this – God has taken care of all our spiritual and material needs, so we trust Him and show love to our neighbors by helping them.

Driving people with the lash of the Law is a terrible crime. The results are terrible, too. But everyone is tempted nevertheless. Ministers are tempted to drive with the Law. Members are tempted to ask for Law solving the diagnosis. In other words, since we live in a Law world, no one is converted to faith in Christ if salvation also comes from the Law. That can mean “practical, fix-it talks” instead of Law/Gospel sermons. That can mean a system of obligations and a place to satisfying them (Purgatory).

There is no need to try to create the Third Use. Preaching and teaching the Gospel will generate those fruits that are God’s will to produce. No one can program those results, though generations have tried.

One minister said correctly, “If you want a cow to give more milk, you feed her more hay. You don’t pull on her teats harder.” After years of being pummeled by the Mission Board Church Growth experts, I responded, “I have the sorest teats in WELS.”

24] For the old Adam, as an intractable, refractory ass, is still a part of them, which must be coerced to the obedience of Christ, not only by the teaching, admonition, force and threatening of the Law, but also oftentimes by the club of punishments and troubles, until the body of sin is entirely put off, and man is perfectly renewed in the resurrection, when he will need neither the preaching of the Law nor its threatenings and punishments, as also the Gospel any longer; these belong to this [mortal and] imperfect life. 25] But as they will behold God face to face, so they will, through the power of the indwelling Spirit of God, do the will of God [the heavenly Father] with unmingled joy, voluntarily, unconstrained, without any hindrance, with entire purity and perfection, and will rejoice in it eternally. (Third Use of the Law, Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration)

Old Man, New Man

Putting off the Old Man is really a metaphor. The expression is associated with removing clothes. When the Holy Spirit works on us through the Law, we remove from us the sins and temptations that take us away from God’s will. That is true if we listen to and apply to ourselves what the Word teaches. Many do not listen to the Word because they treasure the things of this world and hate God. For them, the Law is hateful in reminding them of their sin. That is why they are so anxious to show the world they will redeem it through their good works.

Putting on the New Man is associated with wearing the baptismal robe. When Ephesians was written, most Christians were adult converts who also baptized their infants (entire households, as Acts records). The audiences remembered putting on their baptismal robes, normally on Easter Sunday.

Putting on the New Man does not mean making a decision. These words are addressed to believers, to remind them of the righteousness of faith. Christ taught that all those who continued to abide in Him would bear fruit, that their prayers would be answered.

The New Man is God’s Creation by the Word. Only the Word can convert us. The Word alone converts, not love. We can be ever so friendly to our neighbor and never convert him. We might say something off-hand, using the Word, and the Holy Spirit will convict him of his unbelief. A skeptic said something like that to C. S. Lewis and converted him. The skeptic expressed the fact that the New Testament witness could really be true. That struck the intellectual Lewis like a hammer. He counted on brain-power to resist the Gospel and this intellectual skeptic took it away.

God used children playing to convert Augustine. Let us not forget his Christian mother Monica praying for him for years. The final stroke was children singing a ditty in Latin, “Take and read.” The ditty did not convert Augustine. He picked up the Scriptures and read. The Holy Spirit working through the Word had its final effect that day. He had read the Scriptures before but found them beneath his great intellect. He knew about his mother’s faith. But the Holy Spirit finished the effort that day and continued in making Augustine one of the greatest theologians of all time, second only to Luther.