The Book of Jude for Lenten Repentance The Fourth Midweek Service in Lent
Following Their Own Sinful Desires Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! In tonight’s reading, Jude thunders against those “certain people [who] have crept in unnoticed… who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” Among other things, Jude denounces them for “following their own sinful desires” and “showing favoritism to gain advantage.” Neither you nor I would feel a happy result if I were to thunder against “certain men,” as Jude does here. Nevertheless, there is an earnest call to repentance for us—together with our fellow Christians—here in Jude’s Words. Dear Christian friends, Every few years, the good people of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod commit great and grievous sins against certain pastors among us. We sin against these pastors, these dear fellow Christians of ours, by nominating and electing them to the offices of District President or Synodical President. >>>>> Please do NOT misunderstand: · I am NOT saying that these presidential offices are intrinsically evil, or that we should not have presidents in our church body. I am saying that you and I—together with our fellow Christians—we have revised these offices into something evil. · I am NOT flatly comparing our presidents to those “certain people who crept in unnoticed.” I am warning you and all who will listen: These offices—as we have foolishly revised them—these offices now present nearly insurmountable temptations to the good and honest Christian men who fill them. These overwhelming temptations are what have made these offices evil. · I am NOT talking about other people in some other place, such as St. Louis. I am talking about you and me. Jude warns ALL Christians about “following… sinful desires” and “showing favoritism to gain advantage.” That means Jude’s warnings are spoken personally to us, to THIS CONGREGATION and to ALL who gather at this pulpit. Stated another way, I am just as open to temptation as anyone else here. I am just as ready to follow “sinful desires” and just as quick to spot my chance “to gain advantage” as any other person in our church body! 1. On the surface, we made innocent progress toward revising the offices of president into evil institutions. There was a time when church our presidents were also full time theologians, filling church pulpits and theological classrooms. Devoting themselves primarily to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, our presidents crammed their administrative duties into their already busy schedules. Because of this, they suffered more than enough stress and even mental breakdowns, but at least God’s Word was continually in front of their faces. Not so today. When we made our presidents full time, we essentially wrenched the Word of God away from them. Our presidents are terribly busy, but not with the preaching and teaching of the Word. They love the Word; they cram time into their schedules to read the Word; they even get chances to preach the Word—but they are not primarily occupied by the Word. We have given these men too many other duties and responsibilities, forcing the Word away from their faces. A man can only do so much in a week! After we made our presidential offices full time jobs, we added to the problem by paying executive salaries. We gave these salaries because we wanted to make our presidents comparable to other business executives. This was very much like ancient Israel’s desire to have a king comparable to the kings of the Canaanites (1 Samuel 8). With these executive salaries, we placed before our presidents the temptation of reelection. A man can get used to a salary of 100-plus thousand dollars. He might feel tempted to soft-pedal his disciplinary duties and downplay some of the theological challenges posed to him, if he hopes to be reelected. That is not all. We contributed to the evil by making our presidents responsible for the financial health of the institutions they serve. Stated another way, these men are (at least partially) responsible for district or synodical income, as well as theological oversight. Now we have gutted the presidential office. Now a president can only say so much or go so far in calling his people to repentance. If he makes his people too angry, thousands of dollars in income could be lost. Then there is the problem of our own sin. At nearly every convention of district or synod, we cede more power and more responsibility to our presidents. We do this mostly because of our own laziness and disinterest in the affairs of our church body. One thing then leads to another: by continually increasing presidential power, we also increasingly entice our presidents into “following their own sinful desires” and “showing favoritism to gain advantage” with less and less accountability. There is no need to suggest that any of our presidents abuse their offices in the ways we have tempted them to do so. There is enough reason for sorrow and repentance simply to know how these offices evolved under our care. I do not know if there is anything to be done about this situation we have created, other than to call out to God for mercy, just as the people of Nineveh covered themselves with sackcloth and ashes after Jonah preached to them. I do know that… 2. Our congregation faces similar temptations in its midst. This, too, is rooted in our problem of sin. Your sin contributes to the situation, and my sin contributes even more than yours does. Here is how it is happening: · Just as it is difficult to get people involved in the life of our district and synod, it is also difficult to get the saints of Grace Lutheran Church to fill the offices that serve this congregation. To be sure, we are coming around the corner on this and making major improvements every day and I will throw no stones while living in a glass house. Jude’s warning is still worthy of our attention. · It is difficult to get the saints of Grace Lutheran Church to fill the offices that serve this congregation. When these offices do not get their proper attention, the work of these offices falls to the pastor. President, vice-president, elders, trustees, boards of education and stewardship, and altar guild: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, what the people won’t do, the pastor must.” · Here is the problem: When I pick up the duties of these other important offices, I become increasingly tempted into “following [my] own sinful desires” and “showing favoritism to gain advantage.” Why? Because the more I do of other peoples’ work, the less I do of mine—preaching and teaching the Word of God. Like a district president, when I am primarily occupied by other duties, I am NOT primarily occupied by the Word. So, too: The more of other peoples’ duties I assume, the less accountability I must provide for mine. · I am not merely speaking about office holders, either. How about you personally? No matter how old or young you are: Are you carrying out your obligation to this congregation by listening carefully to the Word of God that is preached to you? Are you doing your duty, helping to insure that the preaching and teaching of this congregation remains pure and unalloyed? Are you helping to keep your pastor’s nose stuck in the Word of God, so that he not be allowed into a position following his “own sinful desires” or showing “favoritism to gain advantage”? Even little dogs need leashes! A black line of temptation, sin and death has been drawn across every one of us. No one is above doing what these “certain people” in Jude’s letter have done. Each of us is more than capable of “following… sinful desires” and “showing favoritism to gain advantage.” Jude would have us all repent. Most especially: · I must repent of allowing myself to fall into your duties. Experience has already shown that such a fall results in unhappiness for many people. · As a church body, we would likewise do well to repent of what we have already done. Stated another way, it would be good for us to seek and find ways to remove the temptations we have built into our presidential offices. · Perhaps there are some church-life changes you could stand to make, too. There is no easy way to do this. God must provide. We could probably make some feeble attempts for ourselves in the right direction, as the Ninevites did when Jonah preached to them, but we should not fool ourselves concerning our own abilities. The power of God’s Word is what we continually need, both for our congregation and for our church body. A Savior is what we need. We are like an ox or a donkey that has fallen into a pit: we need Jesus to come and pull us out. · The power of God’s Word assures you—it assures all Christians—that Christ has fully and completely forgiven every sin. Christ’s forgiveness includes our sin of leading others into the temptations of “following their own sinful desires” and “showing favoritism to gain advantage.” · Not only that, but if we allow it, the power of God’s Word will help us to improve and protect those offices that have been established among us, making these offices brotherly again. Repentance is not merely a demand. Repentance is a divine gift that God miraculously creates for us through His powerful Word. · God’s Word will also lead us—or rather, drag us—into a good future. We will always have sin and struggle in our church and in our congregation. The devil, the world, and our own sinful nature are devoted to nothing less! Even so, God and His Word are greater than all these. Our situation cannot be better stated, than with the Holy Spirit’s own Words: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Upon this promise we may fully trust and completely rely, even when we get ourselves in over our heads. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
