Sinner and Saint

Have you buried the hatchet...with the handle up?

Pentecost 15, 2017

Matthew 18:21-35 & Genesis 50:15-21

“Have you buried the hatchet...with the handle up?”

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

            Our Gospel lesson today speaks of something that is very hard to do…forgiving those who have sinned against us. That means forgiving not only those we barely know...but those we love who sin against us. And that's not easy. In fact, in The Image of Joy, Jeanette Lockerbie tells about overhearing a Christian say about a fellow believer, "I've buried the hatchet-but I've left the handle sticking up." Is that how we think of forgiveness? Thank God that He doesn't bury the hatchet with the handle sticking up!

            C. S. Lewis talks about forgiving in this way: “Everyone says that forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive.” Forgiveness is great when you are being forgiven…but doing the forgiving is not quite as easy. Sometimes we start to rationalize about forgiveness. Some thoughts that arise are: “If I had truly forgiven this person why do I still feel this way towards them?” We often think: “You can't truly forgive someone who doesn't ask for forgiveness.” or “We shouldn't forgive people who break God's law, that is condoning sin.” and “Forgiving people shows weakness of character and a subservient need to be accepted.”

          Even as Peter asked “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21) it seems that we ask our Lord “do we really need to forgive someone at all?”  Yet our Lord told Peter and continues to tell us this day “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:22) Obviously we need to forgive others that sin against us…but why? Why should we forgive people that hurt us on purpose? Why should we forgive people that lie, steal, kill, murder, cheat, abuse, and do so many other unthinkable things?

          Our Lord puts it this way: "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:23-35)

          We are to forgive others as we have been forgiven. We think of sins in varying degrees. It is bad to lie and steal but it is worse to murder and rape. In the eyes of God all sins are equal in that they each condemn us to eternal damnation. All sins corrupt equally. All sins lead to hell equally. All sins are the cause of Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus died for ALL sins…not just the really bad ones. Jesus took ALL sins upon himself…not just the lesser ones. God offers forgiveness to all people no matter what their sin may be.

          Over the past twelve years as Pastor; it’s hard to believe it’s been that long, I have heard many reasons why people don’t come back to church. Very often it deals with a problem of forgiveness. I have heard people say that they wouldn’t come back to Church because they thought others held a grudge against them. On the other hand I have heard someone tell me that they wouldn’t come back to Church because of what a relative did…over forty years ago. Or someone that was offended by what the Pastor said…over thirty years ago. Where is forgiveness?

The fact is Jesus died for all people…for family members that hurt others feelings or Pastors that offend. Jesus died for all people…even for the very worst of society. Jesus died for Adolph Hitler, Ossama Bin Laden, John Wayne Gacy, Saul and any other notorious criminal you can think of. Understand this: Jesus died for all people…but not all people will be saved. Only those that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. Yet if any of those criminals would repent…we are to forgive. It was Saul who we know as Saint Paul that did ask and receive forgiveness for his sins of persecuting and murdering the first Christians. It is up to the courts to judge and give punishment not the Church.

          We cannot judge a person’s heart. We cannot discern if someone has faith…that is God’s judgment alone. Forgiveness doesn’t mean we accept sin. Forgiveness doesn’t mean we ignore accountability. Forgiveness is for those that repent of their sins. When someone repents we are not only to forgive but to remember their sins no more and to never bring them up again. We are called as Christians to forgive others…not decide if they are to be saved. We pray every Sunday, and many other days, in the Lord’s Prayer to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” There is no limit to forgiveness!

          There is much joy in forgiving and being forgiven. There is joy knowing that God “remembers our sins no more.” (Isaiah 43:25) “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7-9)

Forgive as you have been forgiven. Forgiveness binds us together as Christians like nothing else…it makes our relationships stronger. “Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed His blood for me; Died that I might live on high, Lived that I might never die. As the branch is to the vine, I am His, and He is mine.” No matter what you may have done you are always welcome in this place; for in this place Jesus offers forgiveness and remembers your sins no more. Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.

The marks of a Christian

Pentecost 13, 2017

Romans 12:9-21

"The Marks of a Christian"

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

            Be genuine. Be true to yourself. Have you heard those terms before. Many believe that if we just acted the right way and said the right things...that the world would accept Christians and Christianity. But that hasn't been happening. I've heard it asked "why do so many people reject God?" Why does it seem that Christianity is dying? Why are so many churches getting smaller and smaller...and many of them closing? What is going on?

          May it not be said of us what Wu Ting Fang said of Christians in our country: "I met Christian missionaries in China and became impressed with their religion. When my country sent me as its ambassador to Christian America, I made up my mind to become a Christian and join the first Christian church that asked me. I have been here for three years, and no one has asked me. Now I shall not come."

          As part of their CD and single "Jesus Freak," D. C. Talk quotes Brennan Manning who said: "The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

          While this might not be the most theologically sound quote...for it is SIN that is the greatest cause of unbelief...it should nonetheless be noted that we as Christians do a poor job at sharing God's Word and keeping it.

          In the past 12 years that I have been a pastor one of the most frequently heard complaints and desire is for a sermon to help people know what they are supposed to do. I said things I shouldn't have to my child...my wife...my best friend...what am I supposed to do? I messed up...my spouse wants a divorce...what am I supposed to do? I made a bad decision...and ruined things...what am I supposed to do?

          We know that we are sinners and fail so very often. We know the skeletons that we try to hide in our closets...keeping our faults hidden from the world. We know that God has given us the 10 commandments...but we have broken them all. We know that Christians are supposed to look and act differently from the rest of the world...but we often don't. What are we supposed to do? Where is the guide that we need? Where is the book that tells us step by step what to do? Where is the book Christianity for Dummies?

          Listen to our text. "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

          Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:9-21)

          Wow! That's a great list. Maybe we should try to follow that step by step. Really that wouldn't be a bad idea. But there is a problem...a huge problem! We haven't kept God's Word. We have the 10 Commandments and we break them daily. These words our Lord gives us through Saint Paul are no different. They are wonderful words...but we just simply don't follow them all the time.

          The truth is that no matter how hard we try...no matter what we do...we will fail and our actions...our life...our goodness...our deeds...will never save us or anyone else. Our attempts at living up to the 10 Commandments or our Epistle text will not save us or anyone else. The question then remains...what are we supposed to do? Do we give up? Do we throw in the towel? No. We repent. We receive forgiveness. We receive strength. We live by faith.

          "The righteous shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4b) Saint Paul himself picks up on these words of the prophet Habakkuk when He writes: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

          There is the best advice I can give you. "Live by faith." But...that's not a nice list of step by step instructions. How does that help us? Only God and His Word create faith. Only God and His Word sustain faith. To live by faith...is to live as repentant and forgiven sinners. To live by faith means to strive to do your best as a Christian...repent of sin daily...go to Church, share Christ, and live as a Christian.

          To live by faith is to trust in Christ Jesus alone. The greatest witness we have to share to others...isn't in trying to show them we are perfect or better...but in seeking forgiveness and sharing the truth of Scripture that Christ lived and died for sinners. Christians aren't better than anyone else. We aren't more deserving than anyone else. We are forgiven. And that forgiveness was won for ALL sinners.

          So by all means, my brothers and sisters in Christ...go out and share the love of Christ with all around you. Do acts of random kindness. Donate to causes that are within our faith and doctrine. Help the needy. Share God's Word. Repent when you sin. Come to this place to receive forgiveness and strength. Live by faith. The faith given you in your baptism. The faith sustained by God's Word. The faith created by the Holy Spirit. The faith you confess this day. For that faith will save you. That faith shares Christ. That faith has and gives genuine love. That faith is a gift from God. That faith believes in the one thing needful: Christ Jesus died for me a wretched sinner and through His death and resurrection salvation was won for me. Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.