The Thirteenth 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
The Promise
KJV Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. 16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. 19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
KJV Luke 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast granted us to live in this accepted time, when we may hear Thy holy gospel, know Thy fatherly will, and behold Thy Son, Jesus Christ! We pray Thee, most merciful Father: Let the light of Thy holy word remain with us, and so govern our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may never forsake Thy word, but remain steadfast in it, and finally obtain eternal salvation; 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.
Background for Sermon
The
short quiz posted here lets people find out what they know about the Chief Article of Christianity. The Lutheran clergy who speak and write so glowingly about Ojective and Subjective Justification are using the same terminology and definitions - even the same defense - as the Seventh Day Adventists (my kin from long ago, Battle Creek, until that branch of the family became Evangelicals). Can the same terminology and explanations as the Adventists use be orthodox Lutheran? That is most unlikely.
The epistle lesson has the complicated language we are used to reading in parts of Paul's letters, but ends with this verse - "Gal. 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."
The Faith of Jesus is a term used in Romans, Galatians, and Philippians but seldom translated precisely today. All the modern translations use the phrase "faith in Jesus," which emphasize our faith. Because of the Two Natures in Christ, we should not be shy about discussing His faith. Jesus was completely human and completely divine, but His human nature did not limit His divine nature. He suffered just as we would have suffered under the same circumstances. A careful reading of John's Gospel shows that this human nature is emphasized to show us how much He suffered, even before the Passion. One example is His deliberate delay in reaching Lazarus and shaking in emotion in response to everyone's grief. When He looked upon Lazarus' cave-tomb, He knew He was facing the same fate. Moreover, His deliberate delay allowed the raising of Lazarus, which also sparked the arrest, torture, and crucifixion of Christ.
All the actions and words of Jesus reflect His faith in the gracious will of His Father.
The faith of Jesus does not exclude our faith in Him, but reminds us of His human nature, giving us an example of absolute trust in God the Father. That is a contradiction to those who rely on their own human reason. As one Adventist said to me, "Jesus prayed to God and yet you claim that Jesus is God. How can God pray to God. I can't understand that." I replied, "Neither can my dog, but it is still true."
The Father-Son relationship is a mystery revealed to us, and we believe what is revealed through the power of the Holy Spirit in the Word. In The Case for Christianity, by Lee Strobel (also the name of C. S. Lewis' book), he marshals all the reasons for believing Jesus rose from the dead. Unfortunately, the movie ("The Case for Christ") relies on arguments proving the resurrection true rather than the Word converting unbelief into belief. One prop is the Shroud of Turin, which was called a forgery from day one, and naturally not Scriptural but appealing to our need for something to touch and see.
The trouble with human reason proving God's Word to be true is that it is never enough and leads to more of the same. It is like drinking salt-water to cure thirst. That is why the rationalistic Christians lead the way to Unitarianism and atheism. That is the contrast between Calvinism (rationalistic) and Luther's Biblical theology (Word centered). That is also why Luther is so unpopular today among apostate Lutheran leaders.
The Promise
KJV Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
1. This is a keen, severe epistle, one that is unintelligible to the ordinary man. Because the doctrine it contains has not hitherto been employed and enforced, it has not been understood. It is also too long and rich to be treated briefly. But it is fully explained in the complete commentary on this epistle to the Galatians, where those who will may read it. The substance of it is, that here, as in the whole epistle, Paul would earnestly constrain the Christian to distinguish between the righteousness of faith and the righteousness of works or of the Law.
The setting of Galatians is Paul's quick reaction to false teachers trying to improve on Christianity, which Luther wrote is always more dangerous than a direct attack. The improvers undermine the Faith while saying they only want to make things clearer and better.
An argument, though false, is easily made. Jesus and His disciples were all Jews, so the real Christians are those who observe the Jewish customs. One thing leads to another and soon what is optional (such as the Passover Seder meal) becomes mandatory and the Law saves.
That is why the example of Abraham is so important in the New Testament. He is easy to overlook because his name comes up so often: Luke, Romans 4, Galatians, James, Hebrews - for example. However, Abraham is pivotal for the entire Bible, more so in many respects than Moses.
Abraham was declared forgiven, justified, through His faith in God's Promise to establish an everlasting and growing kingdom from his line. That could be called a triple miracle. Abraham and Sarah were both far beyond the age of child-bearing - so there are two miracles promised. The third is that no kingdom lasts, no kingdom grows forever - instead, they all shrink and often become forgotten and buried in dust of time. How many people can discuss:
- The Byzantine Empire, 1100 years and Christ?
- Ebla, whose cities are mentioned in the Old Testament?
The remains of the Byzantine Empire - Turkey. Ebla was found by accident; its tablets are numerous, proving its size and importance. One editor was shocked I knew about Ebla.
As we know, Abraham was promised that the Messiah would come from this line established by his and Sarah's son. That means he believed in Jesus, so he was justified by faith, Genesis 15; Romans 4.
That is crucial for this argument to the Galatians because Abraham was justified without the Law, without circumcision. Now the improvers, the Church Growthers, want to add the Law as a requirement.
I heard some local ministers discuss pipe organs. The college president said, "We get offered pipe organs all the time. They are completely obsolete, last century." I wondered, "Who decided this?" The improvers did.
no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
Paul is arguing from a human standpoint. The will in an estate cannot be changed, either by ripping it up or by adding to its provisions. In one case, Zsa Zsa Gabor urged her daughter to contest the will of Conrad Hilton. The will included a provision that those who contested the details would be disinherited. The daughter lost in court and therefore lost all her inheritance.
So God's Promise, received through faith, cannot be canceled, and no conditions can be added to it.
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
The Messianic Promise made to Abraham concerns Jesus alone, or to Christian believers alone. No one can say - Christians and Jews, or as they like to say now - All the People of the Book (Christians, Jews, and Muslims). Having some history in common is not the same as the Messianic Promise, which is ignored or handled in many different ways.
This effort to go back to some form of Judaism is a warning to everyone not to engage in those alleged improvements.
This Pauline truth is consistent with the First Gospel in Genesis 3:15 - that the Messiah would bruise the head of Satan, that Satan would bruise His heel. Strangely, this has been corrupted in several ways. One is that it is not a direct prophesy of the Christ. Another is that the heel is the heel of Mary. They jump from this to the small cloud that the prophet saw - that was in the shape of a heel (according to Roman Catholics). That meant that Mary would conquer various territories. Here is one hymn, the original words, "Faith of our fathers, Mary's prayers, shall bring our country back to Thee."
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
The Law kept the Jewish people together and prepared them for the coming of the Messiah. Not only that, their Scriptures, translated into Greek around 300-200 BC, taught the Gentiles the Messianic Promises as well.
Greek was the universal language of its day and far more unifying than any local language or Hebrew. Due to Alexander and the Hellenistic Empire, learning Greek was basic to being a world citizen, merchant, accountant, or soldier. People longed for the Savior and read about Him in the Scriptures, the Old Testament, as we call it. The Law that came after Abraham does not cancel the Promise, change or improve it.
19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
As we learned in studying Romans 1-5, the Law clarified the meaning of sin. For those who did not have the Law revealed, the Gentiles, they decided in their own hearts, which meant they were never entirely clear.
Lenski, Galatians, p. 169
This clears up what Paul says to the Galatians regarding the whole Mosaic law, its ceremonial as well as its moral content. The Judaizers laid great stress on the ceremonial phase of the law and demanded that the Galatian Christians keep this in order to be saved. Not only a part of the Mosaic law is abrogated in Christ, but all law with all its condemnation is ended for the believer in Christ; Rom. 8:1: There is no more verdict of condemnation from any law, for those who are in Christ Jesus by faith.
Moses received the Law on behalf of the entire nation, which had a big party while he was on Mt. Sinai.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. 22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Although this passage is difficult when reading it the first time, the ending of this section is completely clear - keeping in mind Genesis 3:15, Genesis 15:6, and the Gospel. Who is the agent in bringing forgiveness to the world? It is not man or his faith, but Jesus and His faith.
Jesus, upon raising Lazarus from his tomb, knew the Jewish and Roman leaders would move in to stop Him, silence Him, and make His Name evil to everyone. Trusting the plan, He called Lazarus out of death faced His own, which completed the Promise given to Adam and Eve, and later Abraham.
By dying and rising from the dead, Jesus revealed the grace and mercy of the Holy Trinity. Mankind could never make the world better, but the fruits of the Christian faith could do that, even in the face of persecution and indifference.
Some people recoil against Luther's adage that "Faith makes a man good," but what do they offer? They denounce faith as dangerous. They boast of their works and praise each other for sharing the same disgust with faith.
Paul's message seems infinitely better. Faith makes a man good because that means receiving God's forgiveness in Christ, which is the beginning of healing, peace, and a different life. The pure message is that this crediting of forgiveness is received not earned.
It is appealing to say, "You have to be sorry enough to earn forgiveness." Or, to say, "You have to suffer long enough. Once you have suffered a long time, you will feel the forgiveness." Or, "You have to make it up (somehow)." All of these mean putting a few coins on the table to deserve forgivness, but the reverse is true. Because God grants complete forgiveness through faith, the Gospel moves us to do what is good, not as payment, but as the fruit of faith.
If I doubt the rose garden's capacity to supply flowers for Sunday, I only have to do one thing, cleanse the plants. Following John 15, cleansing (confession and absolution) makes us even more fruitful.
I hate to admit this, but I can find dead wood and finished (going to seed) roses any given day. I do not plan and cannot plan what will happen next as I cleanse the plants. I do know that many more roses, many better roses will grow from the fruiting branches I have pruned.
