“Our Changeless God Calls His Changed People to Repentance”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [Amen.]
“Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
878:4)
Old Testament Reading....................................................
Malachi 3:1-7b (esp. 6-7b)
6“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not
consumed. 7From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my
statutes and have not kept them.
Prologue: We’ve all heard the question, “What’s in a name?” While it’s true
that names in our contemporary society don’t have the same significance
meaning-wise that they did in Biblical times, they still have
identity-meaning, oftentimes connecting the named newborn with a family
relative, friend, or someone else.
Well, today instead of asking, “What’s in a name?” we ask the
question, “What’s in a context?” The occasion of Malachi’s prophetical
writing is very similar to our present-day social and cultural settings.
“Great disorder prevailed among the priests and people of Judah in
Palestine. 1. The priests did not honor and fear the Lord, the great King,
but despised His name and profaned it, in that they offered blemished
victims for sacrifice on His altar, the blind, the lame, and the sick. They
had also become mercenary and would do nothing in the Temple unless they
were paid for it. Thus they forfeited the respect of the people. Chap. 1,
6-2, 9. 2. The whole nation had robbed God, had robbed Him in tithes and
offerings. Chap. 3, 8-10. 3. Many Jews, even priests, had divorced their
lawful wives and married heathen women, who worshiped other gods. Chap. 2,
10-16. 4. The people had wearied the Lord with their words and had spoken
stout words against Him, saying that it does not pay to serve Him and to
keep His commandments and that He delights in evil-doers, blessing and
helping them. Chap. 2, 17; 3, 13-15. These sins were the occasion which
called forth Malachi’s prophecy.” (Christopher F. Drewes in Introduction to
the Books of the Bible. Copyright © 1929 Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis, MO. Page 113.)
Suffice it to say that it was a turbulent time in which the
citizens and even the civic and church leaders renounced and rebelled
against the very God, Yahweh Himself, who had chosen them to be His own
people and liberated them from numerous captivities. God led the prophet
Malachi onto this scene some 400-plus years prior to the birth of Jesus. He
did so with the emphatic message to the people then and us today that …
“Our Changeless God Calls His Changed People to Repentance.”
Ahhh, the season of Advent. It’s a time when many people are
already celebrating Christmas instead of preparing spiritually to do so.
Then, when December 25 finally arrives they breathe a heavy sigh of relief
that Christmas is over when, in reality, it has just begun.
To review some basic information about Advent let’s recall that
the word itself means to approach, come to, arrive at. It’s what the Old
Testament prophet Zechariah declared in today’s Gradual, “Behold, your king
is coming to you; righteous and having salvation.” (Zech 9:9b ESV) It
begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (or the Sunday closest to
November 30, either before or after) and turns our attention to the
threefold arrival of Jesus: first, His historic birth-arrival as the
incarnate Son of God and Son of Man; second, His daily arrival in our hearts
and lives through the reading and hearing of God’s Holy Word, the Blessed
Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the joyful declaration of Holy Absolution, and
the Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion; and third, His future arrival on
the Last Day to reunite the bodies and souls of all the dead and take to
heaven all who believed in Him as Lord and Savior. It ends at 6:00 p.m. on
December 24 and further erupts on December 25 with the celebration of Christ’s
humble birth in Bethlehem’s manger. It’s a time to formally review and
rehearse what God wants us to be constantly doing, namely, repent. In
short, …
I. Advent Is a Time for Preparation. (1-4)
1“Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. And
the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger
of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of
hosts. 2But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he
appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3He will
sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi
and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in
righteousness to the Lord. 4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will
be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
Formal catechetical instruction about repentance reveals that
“Those who repent and ask for forgiveness are to be forgiven. Only
repentant believers receive the forgiveness. Repentant believers are those
who are sorry for their sins (contrition) and believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ as their Savior (faith). Unrepentant sinners, that is, those who are
not sorry for their sins and do not believe in Jesus Christ, are not to be
forgiven as long as they do not repent.” And, “‘Then good works are bound
to follow, which are the fruit of repentance’ (Augsburg Confession XII 6).”
(Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986, 1991
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Pages 226f.)
The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther emphasized its importance by
stating in the first of his infamous 95 Theses that he composed and posted
some 495 years ago, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ He
willed that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance.” Jesus
Himself began His ministry by declaring as reported by Saint Matthew,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (St Matt 4:17 ESV) and by
Saint Mark, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the gospel.” (St Mark 1:15 ESV) His cousin John the
Baptizer prepared the way for Jesus by proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand.” (St Matt 3:2 ESV) Christ sent out His apostles with
that same message and Saint Mark reported, “So they went out and proclaimed
that people should repent.” (St Mark 6:12-13 ESV)
Of course, the emphasis on repentance was not only a New Testament
thing. It was also very much a part of the Old Testament. King David
wrote, “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and
readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his
arrows fiery shafts.” (Ps 7:12-13 ESV) Isaiah prophesied that “Zion shall
be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness.” (Isa
1:27 ESV) Jeremiah recorded about the unfaithful inhabitants of Jerusalem
that “They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to
repent.” (Jer 5:3 ESV) And, Ezekiel recorded, “Thus says the Lord God:
Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your
abominations.” (Ezek 14:6 ESV) as well as, “Therefore I will judge you, O
house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God.
Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.”
(Ezek 18:30 ESV)
You see, the ultimate idea of Spirit-motivated repentance is to be
prepared for Christ’s final return unlike the people at His birth. “Jesus’
coming at the first Christmas took people by surprise. Mary, Joseph, Herod,
shepherds, friends, and enemies—all were surprised when he came. God had
promised his Son’s coming from the dawn of the world; people had carried the
thought and hope with them through all the long years, but what they hoped
for they really did not expect. It caught them by surprise. And the second
coming of this ‘desired’ One will also surprise us, even though we hope for
it and profess to long for it.” (Eric S. Hartzell in The People’s Bible
Commentary: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Copyright © 1991 Northwestern
Publishing House, Milwaukee, WI. Page 142.)
John the Baptizer (“Malachi furthermore calls this messenger the
second Elijah.” [Theodore Leatsch in Minor Prophets. Copyright © 1956
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 532.]) heralded the Messiah’s
arrival then by urging the people of his day to be prepared by faithful
repentance. Saint Luke reported that in today’s Gospel Reading when he
wrote, “the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the
words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall
be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked
shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all
flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’” (St Luke 3:2b-6)
Today’s legitimate pastors among whom Pastor Marks and I are
counted herald the Savior’s yet-to-come end-times arrival by doing the same
thing—urging you to prepare for such by faithful repentance. At the same
time, we also encourage you to repentantly prepare to once again formally
celebrate Christ’s birth-arrival. In so doing, don’t get so caught up in
mundane preparations that you lose sight and recognition of the true meaning
of Christmas, namely, the virgin birth of the “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa 9:6 ESV) Properly prepare
and be prepared for such by diligent reading and hearing of God’s Holy Word,
joyful reflection on Holy Baptism, reassuring comfort of Holy Absolution,
and strengthening of your faith by properly partaking of Holy Communion. Do
so realizing that Advent is not only a time for preparation but also …
II. Advent Is a Time for Judgment. (5)
5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness
against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear
falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow
and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not
fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
Okay, realize without excuse, denial, or compromise that you are
changed people. By that I mean that, although God created mankind in His
own image, that is, “truly [knowing] God as He wishes to be known and
[being] perfectly happy in Him,” as well as being “righteous and holy, doing
God’s will,” you no longer possess that image of God. It “was lost when our
first parents disobeyed God and fell into sin. Their will and intellect
lost the ability to know and please God.” However, “In Christians [ALL
Christians regardless of denominational label or affiliation] God has begun
to rebuild His image, but only in heaven will it be fully restored.” (Luther’s
Small Catechism with Explanation. Page 115.)
Instead of being holy and sinless you are evil and sinful.
Instead of deserving God’s good pleasure you deserve His temporal wrath and
eternal punishment in the fiery pits of hell. Instead of deserving God’s
good favor you deserve His condemnation. That’s the stark harsh judgment
rendered because of being a changed people … changed from the holy creatures
God created to sinful creatures lured into such by God’s archenemy, Satan
himself.
Now, are you ready for the good news of rescue and reconciliation?
Saint Paul revealed it in today’s Epistle Reading when he wrote, “And it is
my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all
discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and
blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that
comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Phil 1:9-11
ESV) A 2009 Lutheran Hour Ministries devotion stated it this way, “Speaking
by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Malachi is saying that people change,
people wander, people forget God's multitude of kindnesses, but His
attitude, His love, and His grace toward us—because of Jesus—remains
constant.” (“Major Changes.” June 9, 2009. LHM Daily Devotions Ref:
LHM0012258A-0018222#) That is, Jesus accomplished the mission for which
His and our heavenly Father sent Him into this sin-infested world. He fully
atoned for the sins of all people of all time (that includes your sins!) by
living the holy life God demands of you but you don’t want to and can’t do;
bearing the inhumane punishment and crucifixion death on Calvary’s cross
that you deserve but desire to escape; and rising from the dead in decisive
victory over sin, Satan, and death itself … all for you! Because of all
that God now mercifully judges you to be worthy of forgiveness of all your
sins, spiritual healing, and eternal life with Him in heaven.
In conclusion, therefore, we excitedly pray what we prayed in
today’s Collect, “Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your
only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with
pure minds.” The reason we can excitedly pray that prayer is that …
“Our Changeless God Calls His Changed People to Repentance.”
That is, in the words of today’s Introit hear God longingly say to you, “Oh,
that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!” (Ps
81:13 ESV)
Then take to heart during this Advent season and always that
Jesus, who came, who comes, and who will come again, “is the same from
everlasting to everlasting … . Even so the Church of Christ in the New
Testament is preserved in the midst of hypocrisy and deceit, and the wicked
will finally be destroyed.” (Paul E. Kretzmann in Popular Commentary of the
Bible: The Old Testament Volume II, The Poetical and the Prophetical Books.
Copyright © 1924 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 723.) As
you do so, be especially aware that …
I. Advent Is a Time for Preparation. (1-4) That preparation is, in
particular, spiritual preparation that takes the form of daily repentance
whereby we humbly confess our sins and stubbornly trust Jesus alone for
forgiveness of them.
At the same time, also be aware that …
II. Advent Is a Time for Judgment. (5) And that judgment is a divine
judgment done in righteousness and truth by God Himself whereby He will
condemn unrepentant sinners to hell but usher repentant sinners into heaven.
So, make your Advent battle cry the words of repentant King David,
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing
spirit.” (Ps 51:10-12 ESV)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
_______________________________________________
Sermons mailing list
Sermons@cat41.org
http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
