“A Divine Distinction between the Righteous and the Wicked”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord [Amen.]
“Thine forever, God of love!
Hear us from Thy throne above;
Thine forever may we be
Here and in eternity!
“Thine forever! Thou our guide,
All our wants by Thee supplied,
All our sins by Thee forgiv’n;
Lead us, Lord, from earth to heav’n.
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
687:1, 5)
Old Testament
Reading............................................................ Malachi
3:13-18 (esp. 18)
18“Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and
the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.”
Prologue: Well, here we are at the end of another long green
Pentecost season. It’s the “Last Sunday in the Church Year” that’s also
known as “Sunday of the Fulfillment” and “Christ the King Sunday.” It,
along with the previous two Sundays, comprise the last three Sundays in the
church year during which our attention is focused on the end times. In that
context we emphasize that Jesus Christ is our just Judge and powerful King,
before whom all who are still living as well as those whose souls have
already passed from this temporal life to eternity in either heaven or hell
will stand on the Last Day for the final judgment.
Prior to our Savior’s virgin-birth some 4,000 plus years after sin
first reared its ugly head accompanied by death, destruction, difficulties,
and despair, God’s covenant people constantly wavered between being faithful
to Him and rebelling against Him. And now some 2,000 plus years after His
atoning self-sacrifice for the sins of all people of all time, God’s
baptized people around the world continue to waver between being faithful to
Him and rebelling against Him.
Sadly, fake pastors and phony preachers today claim that God is
all Gospel and no Law … that God is all about only grace and no justice …
that because God forgives all sins we don’t need to be concerned about
whether or not our thoughts, desires, words, and deeds are right or wrong …
that it ultimately doesn’t matter what god or gods (lower case g) we believe
in just so long as we believe in a higher being of some sort … or not. And
that, my friends, was the spiritual condition of the Israelites when Malachi
proclaimed God’s Word to them near the end of the Old Testament era some 400
plus years before our Savior began His earthly journey to Calvary’s cross
through the birth canal of the Virgin Mary.
Some background information tells us that “Malachi literally means
‘my messenger,’ and the prophet’s identity is never revealed. He was likely
a member of the Levitical priesthood who witnessed the corruption and
indifference he rebukes throughout the Book. The prophet asks 22 rhetorical
questions in just 55 verses. He uses these questions to argue against the
Judeans and to accuse them as people who certainly know better than to
pursue the sins that were distracting them from true worship.” (The Lutheran
Study Bible. E. A. Engelbrecht, Gen. Ed. Copyright © 2009 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 1544.)
Those twenty-two rhetorical questions emphasized that “Great
disorder prevailed among the priests and people of Judah in Palestine. The
priests did not honor and fear the Lord, the great King, but despised His
name and profaned it … . The whole nation had robbed God … in tithes and
offerings. Many Jews, even priests, had divorced their lawful wives and
married heathen women, who worshiped other gods. 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.” (Christopher F. Drewes in
Introduction to the Books of the Bible. Copyright © 1929 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 113.)
As even we today look around we find ourselves in a very similar
situation, one that seems somewhat hopeless, dismal, and headed for
who-knows-what eventual end. In many respects it seems that things just
aren’t fair … that God Himself isn’t fair … at least not fair in the way
that we humans perceive or want fairness to be. “But God’s ways continue to
not be our ways, and his thoughts not our thoughts. We may not see the
fairness—there may not be fairness! Sin is never fair. It always goes
against God’s justice. The miracle is that through the unfairness is a way,
and God’s ways are always right!” (Eric S. Hartzell in The People’s Bible:
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Copyright © 1991 Northwestern Publishing House,
Milwaukee, WI. Page 145.)
In the end, however, at the final judgment all will witness God’s
just justice when He declares …
“A Divine Distinction between the Righteous and the Wicked.”
The present times in which we’re living aren’t as friendly to
Christianity as past decades. More and more Christians are getting the
short end of the stick, other non-Christian world religions are being given
prominence, and Christians are suffering more and more for their
faith-convictions. Christians worldwide are being openly persecuted,
cruelly executed, and subjected to gross injustices for believing in Jesus
Christ.
History informs us that our own United States of America was
established on Judeo-Christian foundations. In fact, many of our founding
fathers embraced the Christian faith, even having sought refuge in this new
land to be able to practice such without threat of reprisal. But our
contemporary government is now passing and imposing on us laws, lifestyles,
and allegiances that compromise and contradict what we believe, teach, and
confess according to God’s Holy Word, the Bible. In light of such, it’s
easy to fall into Satan’s snare of asking …
I. Is Being A Christian Really Worthwhile? (13-15)
13“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How
have we spoken against you?’ 14You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God.
What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning
before the Lord of hosts? 15And now we call the arrogant blessed.
Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
That’s certainly nothing new either. There are ample examples in
the Bible of God’s very own people asking that question, albeit in their own
way. However, in order to accurately answer that probing question we must
first review the definition, significance, and application of being a
Christian. Our Synod Catechism states that “Christianity is the life and
salvation God has given in and through Jesus Christ.” (Luther’s Small
Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing
House, St. Louis, MO. Page 47.) Saint Peter declared that “there is
salvation in no one else, for there is no other name [that is, Jesus] under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ESV) Saint
Paul wrote, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom
10:9 ESV) and “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no
one may boast.” (Eph 2:8-9 ESV)
Grace, salvation, and faith are all gifts God has given us that
accurately define Christianity and which lead to the significance of being a
Christian. Holy Baptism is the sacramental means by which God first gave
those gifts to most of us. At the same time Holy Baptism also provides the
significance of Christianity, namely, “Do you not know that all of us who
have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were
buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might
walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death
like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
(Rom 6:3-5 ESV) In other words, “For as many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's
offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Gal 3:27, 29 ESV)
Notice that the meaning of Christianity is centered in Christ, the
significance of Christianity focuses on Christ, and last, but by no means
least, the application of Christianity is that Christians strive by the
power of the Holy Spirit to live their lives as “little Christs.” Recalling
what Saint Paul wrote to the Ephesians reminds us that “we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10 ESV) That is,
Christians strive by the Holy Spirit’s power to think, say, and do thoughts,
words, and deeds “in faith according to the Ten Commandments, for the glory
of God, and for the benefit of his or her neighbor.” (Luther’s Small
Catechism with Explanation. Page 154.)
Of course, we realize and readily admit that good works don’t save
us. Only the good work of Jesus Christ that consisted of His holy life,
innocent suffering, crucifixion death, and majestic resurrection from the
dead saves us. Good works are the thanks, praise, service, and obedience
that we render to God in gratitude for His merciful and gracious goodness to
us.
So, back to the original question, “Is being a Christian really
worthwhile?” The answer is a resounding …
II. Yes, Being A Christian Really Is
Worthwhile! (16-17)
16Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid
attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him
of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17“They shall be mine,
says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession,
and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
Here we benefit from distinguishing between two basic Biblical
teachings, namely, the “Theology of the Cross” and the “Theology of Glory.”
The “Theology of the Cross” teaches that in this temporal life Christians
endure all kinds of trials, tribulations, heartaches, and despairs because
of their faith in Jesus. The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh are
constantly trying to seduce us to forsake Jesus, deny Him, and abandon Him.
True Christianity was never meant to win a popularity contest.
Rather, throughout the Old Testament times God’s covenant people were a
remnant, a small drop in the large ocean of pagan heathen people that
surrounded them. And although, thanks to God alone, Christianity is
spreading throughout the world in these New Testament times, it will always
be only a scrap … always subject to persecution and execution but never to
extinction.
The “Theology of Glory,” on the other hand, is God’s promise of
everlasting joy, peace, and unity with Himself in the eternal heavenly
Garden of Eden, a recreation of that in which Adam and Eve lived in full and
perfect harmonious relationship with the Creator before falling to Satan’s
temptation to rebel against God. In His own time God will destroy this
sin-corrupted world and transfer His faithful remnant to His heavenly
Jerusalem. In the meantime, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we
may also be glorified with him.” (Rom 8:16-17 ESV)
We do so because Christ’s suffering and death defeated the author
of death, Satan himself. Christ’s victorious resurrection gives us certain
assurance that “A. Christ is the Son of God; B. His doctrine is the truth;
C. God the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice for the reconciliation of the
world; [and] D. all believers in Christ will rise to eternal life.” (Luther’s
Small Catechism with Explanation. Pages 139f.) God further comforts and
strengthens us in our faith in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection
when we read and hear His Holy Word, reflect on Holy Baptism, take to heart
the words of Holy Absolution, and properly receive with our mouths Christ’s
real body and blood in Holy Communion. And, despite all that may tempt us
to think otherwise, “We know that the exalted God-man, Christ A. as our
Prophet send people to proclaim the saving Gospel by the power of the Holy
Spirit; B. as our Priest pleads and prays for us before the Father; [and] C.
as our King rules and protects His church and governs over all the world
especially for the benefit of His church.” (Ibid. Pages 141f.)
Yes, being a Christian is really worthwhile as we receive from the
almighty Triune God the gracious gifts that Immanuel gained for us, as we
are privileged to praise and serve our Savior here in time, and as we enjoy
the unity of faith with fellow Believers in the divine worship services and
beyond. It’s worthwhile because God Himself will never leave us nor forsake
us and Jesus is with us always in sacred Word and consecrated bread and wine
until the Last Day when He will then take our glorified bodies united with
our immortal souls to be with Him in Paradise forever. Today’s Gospel
Reading previewed that in the brief conversation between our Savior and the
thief who was crucified on His right side, “‘Jesus, remember me when you
come into your kingdom.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today
you will be with me in Paradise.’” (St Luke 23:42-43 ESV) Pastor Marks
prayed for it in our behalf in today’s Collect, “Forgive Your people their
offenses that we, being governed by Your bountiful goodness, may enter at
last into Your eternal paradise … .”
So, on this Last Sunday in the Church Year let’s realize that our
lives and this world in which we are living are fading away. The signs of
the approaching Last Day are increasing in both severity and frequency. As
they do so we longingly cry out in the words of today’s Introit antiphon,
“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand
in awe of him!” (Ps 33:8 ESV) After all, new lives and a new world await us
after our just Judge and powerful King declares …
“A Divine Distinction between the Righteous and the Wicked.”
In the meantime, don’t be distracted or dismayed by the question
that Satan uses to try to make us doubt and deny the truthfulness of God’s
relationship with us through Jesus Christ, namely, …
I. Is Being A Christian Really Worthwhile? (13-15)
As we recognize the truth about Christianity and its substance
Jesus Christ, as well as the blessed hope of eternal life in heaven we
possess because of Him, we then boldly and joyfully affirm that ...
II. Yes, Being A Christian Really Is Worthwhile! (16-17)
We know it really is worthwhile because Saint Paul proclaimed in
today’s Epistle Reading, “[God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:13-14) We know it really is
worthwhile because, as today’s Gradual reminded us, Christians are “the ones
coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb. Blessèd are those whose strength is in
you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.” (Rev 7:14b; Ps 84:5 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.]
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