The Sixth Sunday after
Trinity, 2013
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn # 331:1-4 Yea, As I live 3:70
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
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
The
Gospel
Glory be to
Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon
Hymn # 331:5-8 Yea, As I live 3:70
The Right Use of Anger
The Communion
Hymn # 387 Dear Christians 3:41
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 # 209 Who is This 3:33
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 # 209 Who is This 3:33
Sixth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly
Father, we confess that we are poor, wretched sinners, and that there is no
good in us, our hearts, flesh and blood being so corrupted by sin, that we
never in this life can be without sinful lust and concupiscence; therefore we
beseech Thee, dear Father, forgive us these sins, and let Thy Holy Spirit so
cleanse our hearts that we may desire and love Thy word, abide by it, and thus
by Thy grace be forever saved; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who
liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without
end. Amen.
KJV Romans 6:3 Know ye not,
that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his
death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of
sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that
is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we
shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead
dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he
died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
KJV Matthew 5:20 For I say
unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven. 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not
kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say
unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in
danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be
in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in
danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and
there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy
gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and
then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles
thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to
the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into
prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till
thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
The Right Use of Anger
The topic of anger is
confused by all of us, due to our sinful nature. Jesus addressed this in the Sermon on the Mount.
The introductory words are important.
– Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you
cannot possibly enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
I wish some minister had
taught the proper meaning of righteousness, because I always had the impression
that righteousness involved a human effort of perfection. Therefore it was
unattainable and all mention of righteousness seemed to be about the Law and
how we all fell far short.
Various saint stories always
emphasized how good, kind, and flawless they were, so that only added to the
misunderstanding.
The influence of Pietism
suggested that everyone assume an air of perfection, so that anyone else fell
far short. Pietism defines Christians by what they do (or avoid) and not by
what they believe.
But in this text Luther is far
more perceptive than the average clergyman and should be the foremost
interpreter. The two kinds of righteousness, as Paul taught in Romans, are the
righteousness of the Law (Mosaic or civil) and the righteousness of the Gospel.
No one is righteous through
the Law because falling short of one item makes us sinners as if we had
violated all the Law. People betray this when they say, “I never…” or “I
always…” Anyone who knows the individual can ask, “Never?” As in the famous
musical, where the captain answers, “Hardly ever.”
The only true righteousness
is the righteousness of Christ, which we receive through faith in Christ.
We could rephrase the introduction
thus – If you do not get beyond the pretense of perfection and believe in Me,
you will not be a part of the Kingdom.
So Jesus taught about anger,
which is definitely one of the great difficulties in the visible church today.
Anger is an emotional
response, best described in James – Be angry, but do not sin. That is, we
cannot help being angry but we can help what we do about it.
Anger is first of all a
personal response, because we feel offended. And it is a habit. If someone is
easily offended, the anger is fairly constant, because there is always friction
in life.
I see a lot of anger
responses in church communications, since I am on the Net about various issues.
The idea in various forums is to express ideas and discuss them. All my classes
online are just like that, but I do not have people having hissy fits when they
discuss ideas. I taught 50 world
religion classes and hardly ever had an issue. When I did once or twice, I told
them to can it, since we have freedom of expression but not freedom of
insulting. The atheists would wage war on the believers every so often.
Lutherans recently said they
would no longer be on the forum because someone disagreed with them – ALPB
Forum. Both sides said, “I quit.”
I seldom engage because if I
do, someone says, “You belonged to various synods.” So I respond, “The same as
St. Al Barry, who belonged to four -
ELS, WELS, LCMS, and a little orthodox group.” That makes them furious and fur
flies. Very tiresome.
The anger is expressed in
shunning and ruining lives, sad to say. District Presidents are easily
offended. When they are angry, they get even, and they are quite vindictive.
People do not see that side of them, but the clergy do.
False teachers always rage
when they are confronted with their errors. Their response is to silence the
opposition. They cannot offer the other side fairly, perhaps because it would
show their errors more clearly. So they persecute and drive away their
opponents.
The history of the
Reformation shows that the Catholic Church thought it was a boon to God to burn
people at the stake, drive them from their homes, and even put them on slave
ships (France) because they were Protestants. Luther’s first hymn was written
because two young men were burned at the stake for being faithful to the Word.
Religious murder is frowned
upon in America, but it continues across the world. This fury is always seen as
perfectly justified and even honoring God the best way possible.
Proper Place of Anger
Luther wrote his polemical
books, angry about the misuse of the Word to attack the doctrine of the
Scriptures. However, he was incredibly patient with the failings of people
around him.
He let the worst
back-stabbers be house guests. Agricola was the worst of the worst. Another one
stopped by and stayed during Luther’s honeymoon.
However, he did not back
down about the Word in order to please anyone.
Now we have just the
opposite. People look for ways to compromise about the Word to make everyone
happy, and they shun those who are not part of the plan.
Patience in teaching the
truth of the Word means giving the Holy Spirit time to work in the hearts of
others. Ultimately, that will decide – not whether we are good or bad at that.
No time is ever too late.
Anger with Others
Since God is so patient with
our faults and gives us complete and free forgiveness, we should show the same
patience with others.
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Romans 6:3-11
"In
this epistle lesson Paul gives Christians instruction concerning the Christian
life on earth, and connects with it the hope of the future and eternal life, in
view of which they have been baptized and become Christians. He makes of our
earthly life a death--a grave--with the understanding, however, that henceforth
the risen man and the newness of life should be found in us."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8
vols., ed., John Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VIII, p. 141.
Rom. 6:3-11.
"He [Paul] says: It is not the intention of the Gospel to
teach sin or to allow it; it teaches the very opposite--how we may escape from
sin and from he awful wrath of God which it incurs. Escape is not effected by
any doings of our own, but by the fact that God, out of pure grace, forgives us
our sins for His
Son's sake; for God finds in us nothing but sin and
condemnation."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VIII,
p. 142. Rom. 6:3-11.
"Paul does not teach that grace is acquired through sin, nor
that sin brings grace; he says quite the opposite--that 'the wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,'
Romans 1:18. But because the sins of men which are taken away are so grievous
and numerous, the grace which drowns and destroys them must be mighty and
abundant also. Where there is a great thirst, a great draft is needed to quench
it. Where there is a mighty conflagration, powerful streams of water are
necessary to extinguish it...But these facts do not give us authority to
say:...Let us injure ourselves and make ourselves ill that medicine may do us more
good. Still less does it follow that we may heap us and multiply sins for the
purpose of receiving more abundance grace."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8
vols.,VIII, p. 142f. Romans 6:3-11; Romans 1:18
"On the other hand, we are outwardly oppressed with the cross
and sufferings, and with the persecution and torments of the world and the
devil, as with the weight of heavy stone upon us, subduing our old sinful
nature and checking us against antagonizing the Spirit and committing other
sins."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VIII,
p. 145. Romans 6:6.
"But the fact is, all Christian doctrines and works, all
Christian living, is briefly, clearly and completely comprehended in these two
principles, faith and love. They place man as a medium between God and his
neighbor, to receive from above and distribute below. thus the Christian
becomes a vessel, or rather a channel, through which the fountain of divine
blessings continuously flows to other individuals."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VIII,
p. 145. Rom. 6:3-11.
"But if you possess faith, your heart cannot do otherwise
than laugh for joy in God, and grow free, confident and courageous. For how can
the heart remain sorrowful and dejected when it entertains no doubt of God's
kindness to it, and of his attitude as a good friend with whom it may
unreservedly and freely enjoy all things? Such joy and pleasure must follow
faith; if they are not ours, certainly something is wrong with our faith."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 146. Titus 3:4-8
"Your first desire will be that all men may obtain the same
knowledge of divine grace. Hence your love will not be restrained from serving
all to the fullest extent, preaching and proclaiming the divine truth wherever
possible, and rejection all doctrine and life not in harmony with this
teaching. But take
note, the devil and the world, unwilling that their devices be
rejected, cannot endure the knowledge of what you do. They will oppose you with
everything great, learned, wealthy and powerful, and represent you as a heretic
and insane."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 147. Titus 3:4-8
"Since the Word of God is this weapon [sword], it behooves us
to make use of it at all times and to this end become acquainted with it both by
means of public preaching and by earnest Bible study at home. Cursory reading
must be supplemented by careful memorizing of proof-texts and strong passages.
Only in this way shall we be able to make the proper use of the Word of God as
a true weapon of offense at all times."
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the New
Testament, 2 vols., St. Louis: CPH,
II, p. 292. Ephesians 6:17.
"The reference [the Votum] is simply to a disposition to
trust and love God sincerely, and a willingness of heart and mind to serve God
and man to the utmost. The devil seeks to prevent this state by terror, by
revealing death and by every sort of misfortune; and by setting up human
devices to induce the heart to seek comfort and help in its own counsels and in
man. Thus led astray, the heart falls from trust in God to a dependence upon
itself."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI, p. 111. Philippians 4:7.
"Take
heed, then, to embrace the message of these words presenting the love and
kindness of God to all men. Daily exercise your faith therein, entertaining no
doubt of God's love and kindness toward you, and you shall realize His
blessings. Then you may with perfect confidence ask what you will, what your
heart desires, and whatever is necessary for the good of yourself and your
fellow-men. But if you do not so believe, it were far better you had never
heard the message. For by unbelief you make false these precious, comforting,
gracious words. You conduct yourself as if you regarded them untrue, which
attitude is extreme dishonor to God; no more enormous sin could be
committed."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 146. Titus 3:4-8.
"Good works are to be performed without any thought of merit,
simply for the benefit of one's neighbor and for the honor of God; until the
body, too, shall be released from sin, death and hell."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 151. Titus 3:4-8
"This is the situation with him: the greater his external
restraint from evil, the greater his inward hatred of him who restrains. His
character is in the scales; when one side goes up, the other goes down. While
outward sin decreases, inward sin increases. We know from experience that those
youths most strictly reared are, when given liberty, more wicked than young men
less rigidly brought up. So impossible it is to improve human nature with
commandments and punishments; something else is necessary."
Sermons of Martin Luther, VI,
p. 268. Gal. 3:23-29
"Why do so many people in our country fall in with the
preachers of fanatical sects? Because these sects spread the glamor of great
sanctity about themselves. Alas! man regards the works of God as trifling, but
esteems the works of men highly. That is nothing but one of the sad results of
man's fall
into sin."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law
and Gospel, St. Louis: CPH,
1928, p. 372.
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