The Sunday after Christmas, 2018
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn # 85:1-8 From Heaven Above
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 Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #85:9-15 From Heaven Above
The Importance of Faith
The Hymn #657 Beautiful Savior
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 #83 Hark! What Mean Those Holy Voices
KJV Galatians 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
KJV Luke 2:33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
Sunday After Christmas
O almighty and everlasting God, mercifully direct our ways, that we may walk in Thy law, and be made to abound in good works: 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.
Sermon Background
Luther is arguing against salvation by works in his sermon on Galatians 4:1-7. The similarities are remarkable. The Church was teaching that faith in Christ was good but inadequate for salvation. One had to add works (faith perfected by love) to receive forgiveness. The emphasis upon obligation and works was so great that people were convinced of damnation, but did not grasp salvation.
The message of Rome was - and still is - that no matter what is done in this life for good works, Purgatory awaits the fortunate, where they will suffer for centuries to pay for their sins - perhaps until almost the end of time.
Some remedies were offered for this life and afterlife of punishment. One was wearing the scapular, which promised a short stay in Purgatory under certain conditions. Another was dying for the Catholic faith. Given the grim future, many were manipulated into giving vast sums of money, their entire estates to lessen their suffering, to pay for Masses spoken on their behalf. Someone can read Roman Catholic literature that sounds good - until it says that a Mass benefits the priest, the one who paid for it, and the audience there for the Mass. That alone should be reason for Lutherans to avoid the term "Mass" and not refer to themselves as priests.
By emphasizing what is done and how it is presented, Roman Catholics and Roman Lutherans emphasize the splendor of the event, the robes, the incense, and the exact placement of hands and motion used in blessings. My priest friend at Notre Dame told me when shaking my hand, "Did you feel the buzz? I offered Mass today. You should feel the buzz." In other words, these pretensions make the born Catholics sarcastic about their man-made traditions, such as having the priests put on a special face after saying the Mass. As Chemnitz says, with all the drama, the Roman Mass is either a comedy or a tragedy (Examination). So now we see that repeated in the high church or Roman Lutherans and other denominations, even though they do not teach or believe the basics of the Christian Faith.
So the emphasis on works first leads to little or no faith, as it did before the Reformation and does now. The result is that people attend something that is wrong and therefore not spiritually satisfying. Nevertheless, they still feel the weight of their sins, so they drift away.
The Importance of Faith
KJV Galatians 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Luther:
1. This text is very characteristic of the apostle Paul. It is not generally understood. Not because of any obscurity in itself, but because the doctrine of faith, a doctrine it is very necessary to understand if we are to comprehend Paul, for his energetic and zealous mind is, in all his epistles, occupied with the subject of faith — because, I say, this doctrine is almost obsolete in the world, today. A lengthy exposition is necessary to make it plain. To gain space to treat the subject clearly, we will let this suffice for the introduction.
This could be called the fallacy of emphasis, the error of mankind, the foolishness of apostate denominations. They judge the person by works first of all, then praise their "faith." The result is preaching the wealthy into heaven based on contributions, endowments, and succumbing to Planned Giving Counselors. Faith is then excluded, and salvation by works is implied but never said (because that sounds bad).
By the way, this introduction by Luther, quoted above, and the entire sermon is being published via Facebook by a layman because he listened to falsehoods for so long. Sad to say, "the doctrine of faith" is no longer taught at an official level by Lutherans of all synods (ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC sic). And yet, this is the basis for the entire Bible.
If you want spiritual wisdom, then pay attention to the purpose of the Bible, all 66 books. The purpose is to teach faith in God, especially in Jesus Christ, because He is God in the Flesh - God Incarnate - revealed so we can appreciate and see God's grace in the Savior.
Paul was especially earnest to teach two groups of people (Jews and Gentiles) that salvation begins with faith in Jesus, not in works making us worthy to receive salvation. The alternative may seem absurd to many, but man resorting to human reason will always result in worthiness based on works. Listen to various religious leaders and see if they speak about faithfulness to the Word or accomplishments. In fact, they absolve themselves by praising their own accomplishments and those of dead people, as if Great-Grandpa could burnish my standing with God by what he did 100 years ago.
Paul's mission was to the Jews first, because they were already taught Monotheism and the Promises of the Savior. They already revered the Scriptures but did not hear them properly taught. Secondly, Paul preached to the Gentiles because he knew they longed for forgiveness and salvation, so he began with the doctrine of faith in both cases because that is the message of the Bible.
Paul's comparison to the child here means that we are still slaves if we obey from a sense of obligation. That is always the struggle, at all ages, because we rebel at all ages against "have to." Of course, have to means obligation. I have guidelines about when I should grade university homework. I have to within six days, but I learned that wanting to in one day made the class different and more enjoyable for everyone.
The opposite is "want to." If we look at obligations as something we want to do, because all life is a gift, then work is not work, not a burden, but enjoyable and fulfilling. That comes from seeing our lives as a gift from God, from seeing challenges as part of God's gracious will. But many life their lives in servitude, because they see themselves as boxed in by many kinds of obligations.
As long as we think only of obligations, we are still servants rather than heirs and under bondage by a host of tutors and bosses. What changes us - is faith - and seeing life as one of grace and blessings.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
I know clergy and laity who say, "But if I did that, many would shun me and get even with me for leaving the pack." In every situation there is a list of unwritten rules, so people grimly announce what will happen if one strikes out in faith rather than living in bondage. Vindictive people do exercise the power they have, which shows little faith, because they neither know nor fear God. But God is far more powerful and turns their evil into good. That is a hard lesson to learn, but it lies within the doctrine of faith. The evil against the Son of God, who did no ill, was turned into a blessing for everyone who believes.
Unfortunately, living in bondage is no fun, and the sense of burden just grows. Those who lie, manipulate, and steal seem to thrive materially. Copying them is not freedom, but additional bondage. Many who thought they were on top of the world will soon be facing justice, because evil is eventually weighed in the balance, if not now, later.
No one is justified by works.
Cain and Abel are a good example. Abel's sacrifice was accepted because it was done in faith. Cain's was not because it lacked faith. Thus Cain showed his lack of faith in killing Abel and denying knowledge of the crime. To this day, unfaith wants to silence faith and will do anything to accomplish the result. Thousands of martyrs are being made around the world, dying for the faith, trusting in the Savior.
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
The worldly wise read Paul's letters and become scandalized that the Virgin Birth is not laid out for them to see. However, not only is it taught clearly in Matthew and Luke, and even transcended in John 1, but also taught in Romans and Galatians. Just as John speaks of Jesus as "sent from God," so is he "sent from God" in Galatians. God's son (divine nature) born under the Law (human law). Romans 1 is equally clear, but someone lacking in faith will only see problems and contradictions where none exist.
I was just reading about Tacitus, a Roman historian. His earliest manuscript is about 800 years after the original date. But no one says, "We are not sure he wrote this. In fact, he may not have existed at all." No, his words are taken for granted and no one throws shade on his reputation for facts.
So we have thousands of copies of the New Testament in various forms, so the worldly wise say "There are too many, and and kept by the Church, so we cannot trust them." The manuscripts are almost as old as the original writings, in spite of persecution and a minority status.
So without faith, even the basic facts mean nothing. And facts alone do not prove anything to the unbeliever. Using logic and facts to erase doubt - that is like drinking salt water to ease thirst - it only makes the problem worse and makes a budding faith more fragile. That is why Calvinists, who love facts and logic, are prone to Unitarianism. One fact will throw them off and make them obsessed with a single issue. Young Calvinist - old Unitarian. Look at the formerly Calvinist regions of the world and America- they are no longer Christian.
Paul's verse is Gospel. God sent His Son at the chosen time, Immanuel, God with us, truly man and truly God. If we understand the purpose of God's Word, we can see this supported by hundreds of passages of Scripture.
Luther:
58. The apostle says, “God sent his son.” The fact of sending necessitates previous existence of the Son. Christ must have existed before he manifested himself on earth in human form. Again, if he is a Son, he must be greater than an angel. Being more than man and more than angels, the highest creatures, he must be true God. To be the Son of God is to be superior to an angel, as said in the Epistle for Christmas day. Further, Christ being sent by God, and being God’s Son, he must be a distinct person from him who sends. Thus Paul teaches here the existence of one God in two persons, Father and Son. We shall speak later of the Holy Spirit.
59. For the second point: We are also to believe Christ to be true, natural man, and the Son of man. Paul says he was born of a woman, or made of a woman. Now, he who is born of a woman must be truly a natural man. A woman can bear only according to her nature — bear true man. In John 6:53, Christ says: “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves.” Eating and drinking here means simply believing that Christ, the Son of God, had a true flesh-and-blood nature, like other men.
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
The agora was the market place, so agoraphobia is fear of open places (not fear of shopping). The verb for redeem here means to purchase. Jesus purchased our freedom from unbelief, being only under the law, so we might be adopted as sons, included within the family, brothers of Christ, our gracious and merciful Father...God.
What makes people reluctant to believe in their forgiveness is two-fold.
- We do not forgive easily, and when we do, we still remember the sin and throw it back at the person repeatedly. When parents practice that, they are teaching that there is no forgiveness, ever - not a good way to teach.
- We have trouble grasping that Jesus has paid the price. Our nature is to think we have to do that. Seeing our own fragile nature, we have to be reminded that our sin is drowned in an ocean of God's grace.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Verse 6 is a way of teaching faith in other terms. Because the Savior died for us, we no longer see God as distant, angry, unforgiving, condemning. Faith in Christ allows us to see the true nature of God, because the Father and Son speak and do the same things in harmony with each other, and the Spirit witnesses this to us. Abba is the equivalent of "dear Father" or any other term of endearment we would use with our earthly fathers, especially when asking for something or making amends for a wrong, like denting the car...again.
The reason the Reformation brought so much excitement and joy to people - and persecution - was the direct teaching of the Word of God, the Spirit accomplishing God's will. Thomas Aquinas, taught all day long, does not do that. Nor do the Sentences of Lombard. Or Jerome for the most part. Many of the favorite, official Teachers - in Rome's view - taught very little Gospel. The people heard plenty of Law, very little Gospel. But when the Bible was printed, distributed, and preached upon, the Spirit was engaged in teaching people directly from the Word of God.
Today, the Lutherans (ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC sic) are so bereft of Biblical doctrine that they trust marketing rather than the efficacy of the Word. The Lutheran leaders ape enormous failures of doctrine and imagine they can be just as flashy if they do so, but Schuller, Hybels (Willow Creek), Andy Stanley, etc are works salesmen.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
A servant may live in a mansion with 40 rooms, but he is under the law of that household and easily fired. But a son is the natural heir and in a completely different position than a servant, who is temporary.
So every phrase of the Bible is intended to create and strengthen faith in the mercy of God, the love of Christ, the ability of the Spirit to teach us the Word of God. As we see below -
Luke 2:39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
