The Eleventh Sunday after
Trinity, 2013
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Church, 10
AM Central Time
The Hymn # 200 I Know that My Redeemer Lives 1.80
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 # 384 How Great Is Thy
Compassion 1.6
Faith versus Salvation by Works
The Communion
Hymn #236 Creator Spirit 1.9
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 # 514 God Moves in a Mysterious Way 1.81
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 # 514 God Moves in a Mysterious Way 1.81
KJV
1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By
which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless
ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I
also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that,
he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part
remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen
of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also,
as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am
not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon
me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I,
but the grace of God which was with me.
KJV
Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves
that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the
temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other
men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the
publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto
heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I
tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the
other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Eleventh Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we beseech Thee so to guide and
direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not forget our sins and be filled
with pride, but continue in daily repentance and renewal, seeking our comfort
only in the blessed knowledge that Thou wilt be merciful unto us, forgive us
our sins, and grant us eternal life; through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our
Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world
without end. Amen.
Faith versus Salvation by Works
KJV Luke 18:9 And he
spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were
righteous, and despised others:
The Word of God is quite
clear, so we must assume that people who think otherwise are anxious to insert
themselves into the discussion as the only people who can interpret the real
message of the Bible. They mean – “I know the real message, the part you cannot
understand because you do not have my deep insights and great learning. After
all, I studied Greek and Hebrew, and you did not.”
But those claims are wrong.
The Word of God is plain, so clear that anyone can learn that he needs to know
about forgiveness and salvation from the text itself. And yet the Bible is so
profound that we can study it a lifetime and continue to learn more.
To show us how He works, God
gave each Gospel a distinct message and style. Luke repeats much of what we
have in Matthew and Mark, and yet we would never want to be missing the
special, unique parts of Luke, such as today’s parable.
This first sentence tells us
exactly what we should know about this section, which is only a few verses. Try
to write a story in a few words and make a lasting impression on civilization.
I have read many such thumbnail stories, and I cannot remember a single one.
This one we cannot forget.
He told a parable…
This alerts us to a fictional
story with a spiritual message. There is no confusion about the genre of the
following verses. If there is one thing we know about Jesus’ teaching, it is
His use of parables. Some are fairly long (for parables) and this is quite
short.
Parables normally have one
major point and a few other points related to that important teaching.
What is the purpose of this
parable?
To certain people (a) who
trusted in their own righteousness and (b) despised others.
Thus in one sentence Luke
introduced a parable so clearly that we have a plot and an outline of the very
brief story. It does not take a homiletics professor to show that the people
who trusted in their righteousness would be shown up in the story.
The Jackson Literal
Translation (NJLT) has this, word for word, following the Greek word order –
He told—to those
who believed on themselves that they were righteous and despised the
others—this parable.
This may ring a bell for
those who have heard about Universal Objective Justification, currently the stealth
dogma of WELS, since they cannot admit in public what they really teach.
Does this literal wording
perfectly describe those in the LCMS, WELS, ELS, and ELCA who believe in their
own righteousness?
UOJ teaches them that they
must accept, or make a decision, in favor of their own righteousness, because
God declared every single unbeliever (sinner) righteous, according to the
wisdom of Halle rationalistic Pietists.
The modern Pharisees believe
in their own righteousness and despise all others who do not have this secret
counsel taught by the ultra elite of Stephan’s sex cult and Wisconsin’s clone
in Wauwatosa.
But this parable is not only
meant for Pharisees of yesterday and today, but also for us.
10 Two men went up into
the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisees were
ultra-saintly, very strict, and devoted to good works. They were highly
educated, as we can see from Paul’s example, since he was a Pharisee.
Publican seems like an odd
term, but it is not. The Roman Republic simply means the things (Re) that
belong to the Public. Their banner said SPQR – the Senate and People of Rome.
(q is for and)
The publican gathered taxes
for the Roman Republic, which turned into an Empire under Caesar. At this
point, during the Incarnation, it was an Empire ruled by Tiberius.
This reverses the common
thought of the time – the Pharisees were the saints and the tax-collectors
(publicans) were evil. The publicans did take advantage of their roles. If they
extorted more money from people, they made more money. Imagine that happening
today.
11 The Pharisee stood and
prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in
the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
The spirit of the Pharisee
was continued in Pietism, which became the Christian form of Pharisaical
holiness.
This holiness was based upon
what people did or did not do. The Holiness code of Methodism was almost the same
in German Pietism, except the Germans never gave up alcohol.
Some non-Biblical
restrictions were:
- Never drinking alcohol of any type, including
during Holy Communion. Welch’s grape juice was developed with the
Temperance Movement in mind, since Welch had to find a way to keep grape
juice from going into fermentation. He did this with pasteurizing. The
Pietists of all Protestant groups made Welch’s a hit. There is a belt of
grape juice communion churches still among American Lutherans of the old
General Synod, which embraced the Temperance Movement.
- Never going to the theater. This stricture
changed from era to era, adding all movies to the list, not just live
theater.
- Never using tobacco. The new version is no
tobacco, lots of marijuana, which is far harsher and more addictive.
- Never opening a store on Sunday or sell liquor
on Sunday when retail was allowed.
Among Lutherans, Pietism
created a religion of works, which included the requirement of cell groups and
holding the cell group as the real church, despising those who did not attend a
cell group. Since the cell group is THE Means of Grace, the Pietists have a
very low regard for the Sacraments and often treat them as merely symbolic
ordinances (laws).
Lutherans looking for magic
answers were told to develop cell groups again, like the cell groups that
Walther and Stephan brought over to America.
The Swedes and Norwegians
had cell groups too.
Luther wrote, for the sermon
on this text, that Luke seems to be promoting good works, which is the impression
from other passages in the third Gospel.
But this is best explained
by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:15ff.
A good tree can only bear
good fruit. Faith makes the tree good. Therefore, justification by faith is the
beginning of good works, because both belong to God – faith and good works.
In contrast, a corrupt tree
can only bear evil fruit. I was mowing and pruning yesterday. In the midst of
growth here and there, junk plants grow. They spring up, shade the good plants,
and produce abundant but useless vegetation. When they flower and fruit, they
only bear bad fruit. They are cut away and removed because they cannot produce
something worthwhile, for beauty or for food.
So Jesus teaches us about
faith and works with that plain example. It can be applied both ways, showing
lack of faith from the evil fruit of a corrupt (unbelieving) leader. Many think
the cure for bad policies in the church is to argue, lobby, arrange votes, and
“get our guy in.” That is completely wrong, so people continue to do that
anyway. It is fun, unproductive, and a great way to form friendships and
political alliances.
The cure is to address the
problem of unbelief in the Word of God.
An Evangelical was telling
me this week, “No one wants to teach what Jesus commanded. The Great Commission
includes, Go, Baptize, and teach all that I have commanded.”
I agreed and said Luther’s
whole emphasis was upon Jesus coming to us through the Word and teaching us.
The Matthew 7 passage and
this parable from Luke teach the same in different words because they come from
the same Lord and the same Spirit.
The Pharisee condemned
himself for saying, “Look at what I do,” while despising the tax collector.
But the tax collector is
different.
13 And the publican,
standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
We know he had faith because
he saw the vast difference between God’s holiness and his sins. Instead of
suggesting that God should thank him, he asked for God’s mercy. Only a person
with faith would ask for mercy.
When Peter saw the divine
power of Jesus the Son of God, he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful
man.”
Moreover, we know the
judgment of Jesus upon this tax collector, because He said,
14
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the
other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.
As people admit, even when
in the throes of UOJ addiction, justification in the Bible always means justification
by faith. Forgiveness is received through faith, and justification is the
word used to describe that forgiveness. God gives us the Gospel, which produces
faith in Christ, and this God-given faith receives the forgiveness promised by
the Word of God.
Because faith receives this
forgiveness continuously, nourished by the Means of Grace, the believer is
forgiven of all sins, each and every day.
The danger we face is
growing Pharisaical, neglecting the Word and Sacraments, and no longer trusting
in the Word. This does not happen at once or in sudden dramatic moments, but in
slow, insidious ways.
The Parable of the Sower
illustrates three general ways in which the Word is lost, but not because the
Word lacks efficacy. Difficulties can be one reason. So can the cares and
riches of the world. Many fall into a fascination with false doctrine, with
something new. We tire of the truth and find falsehood to be a glittering temptation:
exciting, new, enticing, emotional.
Although the liturgy changes
almost all the words each week (and it could be 100% with many variations, such
as a hymn liturgy), people got rid of the liturgy saying, “It’s always the
same.”
Nothing is more “same” than contemporary
worship services, where they get rid of the creeds, liturgy, appointed lessons,
and hymns. A Pentecostal services is almost exactly the same as a Lutheran
contemporary worship service. Lutherans are now copying the Pentecostal movie
screen, too. And they cannot wait to tear out the priceless pipe organ.
The simple truth of the traditional
worship service is that it gives Jesus to us – His Word, His body and blood,
and His teachings. He condemns us for our unbelief and shows us once again to
trust only in Him, not in our merits or worthiness.
Do we doubt His love for us?
We only need to look at what He has done for us.
Thou
Christian heart, Who ever thou art,
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!
For God’s own Child, In mercy mild,
Joins thee to Him; how greatly God must love thee!
Be of good cheer and let no sorrow move thee!
For God’s own Child, In mercy mild,
Joins thee to Him; how greatly God must love thee!
Paul
Gerhardt
Quotations
"Now, that
faith signifies, not only a knowledge of the history, but such faith as assents
to the promise, Paul plainly testifies when says, Romans 4:16: 'Therefore it is
of faith, to the end the promise might be sure.' For he judges that the promise cannot
be received unless by faith. Wherefore
he puts them together as things that belong to one another, and connects
promise and faith."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession,
Article IV, Justification, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 135. Tappert, p. 114. Romans
4:16.
"Also they
teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or
works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they
believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for
Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for
righteousness is His sight. Romans
3 and 4."
Augsburg Confession, Article IV,
Justification, Concordia
Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1921, p. 45. Tappert, p. 30. Romans 3 and
4.
"Identisch mit
der papistischen Lehre, dass der Glaube nicht als Mittel und nicht allein
rechtfertige, ist die andere papistische Lehre, dass die Werke
rechtfertigen." "Identical with the papistic teaching, that
faith alone is not a means and does not alone make righteous, is the other
papistic teaching, that works make one righteous."]
Adolf Hoenecke, Evangelisch‑Lutherische Dogmatik,
4 vols., ed., Walter and Otto Hoenecke, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1912,
III, p. 386.
"The article of
justification is the master and prince, the lord, the ruler, and the judge over
all kinds of doctrines; it preserves and governs all church doctrine and raises
up our conscience before God. Without
this article the world is utter death and darkness. No error is so mean, so clumsy, and so
outworn as not to be supremely pleasing to human reason and to seduce us if we
are without the knowledge and the contemplation of this article."
What Luther Says, An Anthology,
3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 703. June 1,
1537.
