KJV John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
This harmonizes so well with Acts and Pentecost, the sending of the Holy Spirit to all believers. This lesson is part of Jesus' farewell sermons, where He taught what was coming. In the Bible, farewell sermons are treated with special respect because of their importance. He knew that the disciples could barely hold onto a Word, since they were so grieved He was going. But they were thinking of an ending entirely separate from what was clearly predicted by Jesus.
8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
26. These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the judgment is the holy cross.
Sin is hardly ever defined this way. Those today who would deny that "sin is unbelief" are the outwardly religious, just as in the time of Jesus. The Pharisees were certainly locked into their righteousness of works, but the vast majority of nominal Christians are no different.
Sin was redefined during the Social Gospel Movement, which made activist politics "the Gospel." At the same time, the last and chief promoter - Walter Rauschenbusch - made political activism the mark of a Christian. Although the clergy were clever about hiding this, the activism became their "Gospel" and they shared the same rationalistic views as Rauschenbusch. Rationalism meant Jesus was divine only in showing us the divine. Miracles are stories that made us stand back in astonishment (not divine, but internal). The Kingdom of God, for them, was wherever Christians established a new order for society. The agenda of the Brotherhood of the Kingdom, a small secretive group, was federal control of wages, work conditions, food and drugs, roughly the agenda of the Franklin Roosevelt administration. These activists got their principles adopted by the Federal Council of Churches (renamed the National Council of Churches).
One basic idea with all this was universal forgiveness and salvation - their idea of grace. To talk about faith in Christ is outmoded and prejudicial. These nominal Christians consider themselves all grace and often are utterly lacking in faith in Jesus Christ. This represents the vast majority of the Protestants and Catholics.
They have all called for mutual cooperation and merger, which means they covet the buildings, endowments, and pensions of the minority believers.
That is why the vast majority of clergy do not teach faith in Jesus Christ, because that has been bleached out of the colleges and seminaries, out of their vocabulary, out of their way of thinking. That is why the Lutherans are united through Thrivent as the Pan-Lutheran Association of Nonbelievers - PLAN.
If sin is unbelief, then righteousness is faith.
That should tell everyone why Luther is either ignored or openly loathed by the clergy. That is also why a Catholic nun said to me, "Why is the writing of a man from 500 years ago going right to my heart today?" I said, "Because he simply explained the Bible as it is.
If part of this is wrong, then all of it is. This sermon announces the program of the Christian Church forever into the future. The main job is preaching (which is entirely ignored and fake sermons are copied promiscuously and presented as original). To oppose that in some quarters is reason for excommunication.
The foundational sin is unbelief. The cure is not physical suffering, as some practice, or monetary suffering, as the giving counselors suggest. This is so radical that people build up all kinds of explanations that avoid that harrowing word for them - faith.
 |
| Is this not the exact opposite of what Luther wrote? |
Faith in God means acknowledging His Book, and that treasury of truth is something we can never empty. My latest Old Testament class-member wrote, "I knew about part of the Old Testament relating to the Gospel. Now I know that the entire Old Testament is the basis for the Gospel."
Another wrote, "I have studied the Old Testament my whole life, but I never knew what was taught in this class."
All I do is teach what Luther and his associates published.
This passage in John 16 counters all the errors I have seen among the "conservative Lutherans" and ELCA too. I found it difficult to comprehend the full meaning of it for a period of time. I learn more every time we celebrate Cantate. I look forward to it then feel like my fingers and tongue are tied up.
The judgment is the holy cross
If sin is unbelief, and righteousness is faith, then judgement is the holy cross.
We have to give credit to the Son of God - this passage is so simple that we have trouble with the universal causes and effects. As Lenski says, we are not to pick this apart and find fault with it. The Word is the fact of God's revelation, so we look at how this changes our blurred view instead of changing the proclamation itself. There are a thousand ways to distort and ruin the the Gospel, but the Holy Spirit has 100,000 ways to blast through our hard hearts.
This does not sound right, that people should both believe the Word of God and confess the truth to others - and have terrible results - insults, job loss, attacks on our families, the worst lies passed along to delight nominal Christians. That is the cross. Jesus is the only person who was without sin, and He was countered and attack at every opportunity. Some thought He free food, and others imagined He was the forerunner of Medical for All. If He healed on the Sabbath, He was attacked. If He performed a miracle no one else could imagine - the Miraculous Feeding - they demanded another miracle.
If He taught the truth, John 6, the crowds who came to see Him said, "This is a hard saying. Who can endure it? And they walked away forever. They did not like Him as the Bread of Life, even though He did on His own what Moses obtained only by asking God.
Every aspect of Holy Week was horrible, from betrayal and arrest, to abandonment, torture, and the cross. Jesus said repeatedly, "Expect the cross. If you cannot take up the cross daily, you are not fit to follow Me."
Joel 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
God's peace is not mankind's peace, so the true cross is not accepted by many. But if God has blessed it personally through His Son, there must be a good reason for it. The Prince of this world is judged, so he will work his fury upon anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ and sees the Scriptures as God's Word. The time is short for Satan, the Opposer, and he will concentrate on whoever is left.
12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
These Holy Spirit sermons are really a marvel, because they teach so much in a few words. I see nothing about getting a corner lot on a busy highway, switching to coconut oil for the popcorn to outdo the Pentecostals in gaining visitors, etc
God's Holy Spirit will guide us and show us the future.
He will glory Jesus Christ, just as the Son glorifies the Father.
All the spiritual wealth of the Father and Son will be transmitted by the Spirit.
Miracles? This week we had two miracles in our house. #1 A strong, charming, loving girl who should not have lived, born premature two years ago. #2 Her father, who had a raging cancer in his leg, could have lost it (standard practice).
His wife said, "The pastor said we already had one miracle. We can have another." He walked in, his leg healed by every art of man and God's will.
God performs miracles all the time, and the greatest one of all is speaking to our hearts, converting and guiding us through the Word/Spirit, and preparing a place for us.
James 2:18 Of his own will begat he us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
