The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, 2018
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
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
Saint and Sinner
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.
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Background Question
One reader asked about this accusation, that Justification by Faith teaches "a limited Atonement."
This accusation is frequently brought up, to make the Biblical doctrine sound false and dangerous. The trouble comes from merging the sacrificial death of Christ for the sins of the world (the Atonement) with the term Justification, which in the Bible is always connected with faith. They have confused the issue - a neat ploy - by combining Justification with the forgiveness and saving of the world, without faith - Objective Justification, Universal Objective Justification, General Justification, and the Justification of the World (John Sparky Brenner's term).
It is true that the term Justification does mean God's declaration of forgiveness. However, the preaching of the Gospel is the cross or the Atonement, the proclamation of what God's Son has done for us. Another term is often use - reconciliation. However, we have to ask of the Scriptures - when is someone declared forgiven? The answer is clearly in Romans 4, where Abraham is described as Justified by Faith, declared forgiven. There is a great contrast which we to overlook. Abraham is not forgiven through circumcision, so we are not children of Abraham by blood, no matter what our heritage might be. We are children of Abraham (and John's Gospel - children of God) through faith in Him.
Paul repeatedly uses the term "counted" or "imputed" in the KJV to show we are counted forgiven through faith. Jesus is our Righteousness, but we receive this righteousness only through faith.
Romans 4 22 That is why his [Abraham's] faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV for the late-arriving ELDONAs).
The idea that the entire world was counted righteous when Jesus rose from the dead - that is from the Pietists at Halle University. Contradicting themselves, the UOJ fans also state the God declared the world "not guilty" the moment Jesus died on the cross. Apparently, they derive this from 2 Corinthians, Jesus becoming our righteousness by becoming sin for us. Quenstedt and Robert Preus pointed out that Jesus did become our righteousness, but we are not righteous before we believe in Him.
UOJ turns people into Universalists and makes them indifferent to Biblical doctrine but enemies of faith. They preach and teach against faith all the time. "You are not Christians! You are Faithians! You think you have saved yourselves!" This ignorant tirade misses the point that the Holy Spirit, at work in the efficacious Word, converts our hearts. Faith is God's Creation, not unlike the original Creation worked in Genesis1 by the Logos, the Son of God.
Saint and Sinner
KJV Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Sometimes a parable is simply indicated by the introduction - "a certain man." Or - "The Kingdom of God is like..." This parable is labeled as such, perhaps so people do not speculate about names. There is also the very important reference to those who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others."
Lenski:
Luke 18:10) Two men went up into the Temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. This occurred at one of the regular hours for prayer, and the temple is the entire Temple complex. Into the court of the men these two came for their act of prayer worship (aorist). The Pharisees are described in 5:17; the publicans in 3:12. These two constituted the extremes in Judaism, the one stood at the pinnacle of holiness, the other was a wicked outcast. The scene is laid in the Holy City itself, in the very court of the Temple, and thus in the presence of God. Jesus is showing the men he is addressing a photograph of what they really are and a companion photograph of what they ought to be. It is a Pharisee but may just as well be anybody else who thinks like this Pharisee speaks and acts; it is a publican but this one represents, not publicans as a class, but all men who think as he speaks and acts.
1. Here again we have a picture and an example of the divine judgment on saints and good people. Two extraordinary persons are presented to us in this Gospel; one thoroughly good and truly pious; and one hypocritically pious. But before we take up the example and consider the terrible sentence, we must first notice that Luke here makes the impression as though righteousness came by works. For Luke is most accustomed to do this, as when we at present preach that faith alone saves, he observes that people are led to desire only to believe, and to neglect the power and fruit of faith. This John also does in his Epistle and James, where they show that faith cannot exist without works.
This is the great drama of all time - deciding who is a saint and who is a sinner. It is played in every society. As far back as ancient Greece, people could write a name on a piece of clay (ostraka) and vote that person out of the city -
ostracism. There are historical records of this happening. Now it is done with sneers, accusations, and a sudden lack of conversation or invitations. Friends of ours were told that I was not speaking at a conference where I was invited. I phoned the host to ask how that happened. He "had no idea," so I went to count the
ostraka.
The media are used all the time now to declare certain people saints and others sinners. Public relation firms spend millions to paint someone in a favorable light. Spouses, children, and military records are invented. Synods use their grapevine, to do the job of ostracism anonymously. Some people even post anonymously on anonymous blogs but use names as the objects of their wrath. That is akin to saying in a stage whisper, "Don't tell anyone who told you, but..."
This parable is especially important when considering who is a saint and who is a sinner. If someone mixes up the message of the Gospel, everything is confused. And this happens all the time. That reminds me of gardening myths that keep being repeated because the truth is not maintained when people rely on sayings passed on at the hardware store or across the fence.
The contrast in this parable is especially pointed because we have two pious men in the Temple. One is being compared to the other, and the outward contrast is great.
The tax collectors or publicans were tax farmers, as they called them in France - which helped start their Revolution. The tax collectors had to obtain a certain amount, but they did better by extracting even more money. It was actually the policy of the Eastern Roman Empire (the Christian Byzantine Empire) to soak the rich, even to torture them, to keep rebellion suppressed. Everyone was kept too busy trying to pay their taxes.
Needless to say, the tax collectors in Jesus' day were hated by the people. They obtained the money needed to keep the Roman soldiers posted as garrison troops in their land, not to mention other Roman officials in charge of various levels of administration.
In contrast, the Pharisees were looked upon as saints for their strict adherence to the Law. They were the equivalent of monks, which we seldom see today. Not long ago the monks were set apart, raised above the level of priests, and given superb education and special garments to set them apart. Like the nuns, they could be distinguished by the tailoring of their robes and those little extras, such as whether the scapular could be seen or not. All those outward decorations do convey a note of seriousness and authority. In Ontario, government officials wear heavy necklaces as signs of their office. When I introduced the Governor General of Canada, everyone in church had to be standing as he walked in. He was the Queen's representative and officially higher than the Prime Minister when they were seated on the same platform.
The clergy collar comes from the time when Roman Catholic priests were not allowed to wear their robes in public. They turned their shirts around instead, and that became the Roman collar. In the airports today, that invites a lot of extra scrutiny. But in a Roman Catholic city like St. Louis, every Catholic will say, "Hello Father."
trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
This certainly a parable against the group that looked at their own righteousness and despised others. The visible Christian Church is unfortunately a breeding ground for this attitude. We should always distinguish between the true Church, which is invisible, and the institutions of man, which are spoiled by human failings and bigotry.
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.
Here is an example of a pious man. He is very thankful he is not like others - terrible obvious sinners - and points out the tax-collector nearby as a belonging to that class. Not only is he not engaged in carnal sin or tax collecting, he shows great discipline in fasting and giving.
Everything looks good on the outside, but despising someone else is a clue. It is at this point that we have to look at what causes the good works, since anyone can perform them and fool others. For example, all denominations will raise scoundrels to sainthood on the basis of their giving. They must be honored saints or they would not love us so much!
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.
The tax-collector is just the opposition, claiming nothing and asking for mercy, not despising anyone.
We have to return to the tree comparison in Matthew 7. A good tree only bears good fruit and cannot bear bad fruit. A bad tree can only bear corrupt fruit and cannot bear good fruit. No one stops to think why the denominations are experiencing a broad collapse in members, worship attendance, and seminary enrollment. Here is the simple solution in the next paragraph.
Faith Makes Us Good
Nothing can be God-pleasing unless it begins with faith. Americans will soon discover how evil our own leading citizens and political leaders can be. It will shock Americans and the world, and truly shake them to the core that such horrible evil could be taking place among the elite, with world-wide connections.
But faith is more powerful than evil. Faith in Christ is so powerful that it makes the worst sinner into a saint. That is the meaning of Justification by Faith - God has declared this person to be a saint. The meaning of saint is holy - always used for believers in the New Testament. Nothing shows Biblical ignorance better than calling unbelieves "saints" as the UOJists do. Anything that follows from an attack on faith will surely be evil and corrupt, so they despise Justification by Faith and those who teach the Chief Article.
Someone can be perfect in the eyes of the civil law and yet be a terrible sinner, for rejecting the Gospel. On the other hand, someone can be the equivalent of the tax-collector in the eyes of all people and be a saint in the eyes of God the Faith, because that person has the righteousness of Christ through faith in the Son.
What about someone who has been forgiven, has vowed never to repeat, and yet stumbles again? Forgiveness still comes from faith in Christ and not from "making up for it." True contrition and good works follow, indeed, but outward works do not make up for a lack of faith.
If this Christian trust in forgiveness were true of the entire population, we would experience a great growth of love, joy, and peace, plus many blessings that flow from those who thank God for forgiveness and salvation. That is still part of our country's heritage and may it grow again in influencing others with the Gospe.
8. Thus we have learned from his fruits the publican’s faith. But how shall we understand what Christ says: “This man went down to his house justified,” as he had already been just through faith, before he smote his breast? He certainly must have been just before. Why then does Christ say here: “He went down to his house justified?” This is what I have often said, if faith be true, it will break forth and bear fruit. If the tree is green and good, it will not cease to blossom forth in leaves and fruit. It does this by nature. I need not first command it and say: Look here, tree, bear apples.
For if the tree is there and is good, the fruit will follow unbidden. If faith is present works must follow. If I confess that I am a sinner, it must follow that I will say: Alas God! I am a rogue, do thou cause me to be good. So this publican cares for nothing and speaks freely, though he puts himself to shame before all people, he does not care for that, as Psalm 116:10 says: “I believe, for I will speak. I was greatly afflicted,” and says: “God, be thou merciful to me a sinner!” As though he would say: I now see that I am lost, for I am a bad man, and acknowledge my sins. Unless I believe and hold to God’s mercy, and take the cup of the Savior and call upon God’s grace, I will be ruined.
In the case of Zacheus, he first believed in Jesus, after being especially curious, and then bore good works by giving back money four-fold from what he extorted.
Notice Son of Abraham -
Luke 19 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
