I believe in Jesus Christ. What do you mean by that statement. The English is ambiguous. It could mean:
1) I have brought myself from a state of unbelief to belief in Jesus Christ.
2) I am now in a state of belief in Jesus Christ.
3) I am now in a state of having been given faith in Jesus Christ.
1 seems to easily lead to Decision Theology. 3 is the most strict in the direction of acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is the source of our faith entirely and that we remain passive. 2 seems to be between the two, only describing the state we are currently in and not how we got to that state.
This phrase was recently used by another in a discussion about a different phrase, "I do good works." They were stated to be equivalent. Do you state: "I do good works"? Or "I did a good work"? Do you express the "cooperation" mentioned in FC SD IV:65 ? How do you express that?
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
I just learned that my childhood pastor, mentioned in this post died suddenly. When Christians die it should be a happy thing, but for the non-Christian that is truly sad. I do not have divine power to determine the state of this pastor's belief, but I would be very concerned.
I had a week long business trip where I was part of a team that sat and listened to presentations by four companys, one per day. One of these companies had a speaker introduce some of their top leaders who were present. One he described as their spiritual guide. There was not as much of a sense joking as I would have wished to see. It was really an example of "secular spirituality." I am not sure if I have heard that term previously. People push God out of their lives and try to fill the void with themselves and with worldly ambitions.
I had a week long business trip where I was part of a team that sat and listened to presentations by four companys, one per day. One of these companies had a speaker introduce some of their top leaders who were present. One he described as their spiritual guide. There was not as much of a sense joking as I would have wished to see. It was really an example of "secular spirituality." I am not sure if I have heard that term previously. People push God out of their lives and try to fill the void with themselves and with worldly ambitions.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Did Jesus allow his brothers to be unbelievers?
I was thinking about the Biblical book of Jude and its probably human authorship by Judas the brother of Jesus Christ. We know that Jesus' brothers did not believe in him early on in His earthly ministry as John reports in John 7:3-5. It also seems possible that His brothers were absent at His resurrection, as Jesus gives to Mary the Apostle John as a son (John 19:26). That point may be questioned as no others seem to be present at the crucifixion and we know that most ran away. Certainly following His ascension, there were His brothers, James and Judas, with the Apostles (Acts 1:14).
So, now the theory: The Lord did not bring His brothers to faith during the time He walked the earth because they would have led people to speculate that He was just a sham who had recruited His brothers to act like disciples.
What I am not saying:
- Jesus brothers were at risk of being lost, for Jesus knew they would live to the point where they came to faith.
- Jesus was being deceptive.
When I presented it to my Bible Study class the above objections were raised. Also it was suggested that Jesus would be taking away their free will. That can be dismissed with the proper understanding that, though we have free will, our sinful nature will only choose to disbelieve in Jesus unless the Holy Spirit acts upon us.
Why would Jesus behave according to my theory?
So, now the theory: The Lord did not bring His brothers to faith during the time He walked the earth because they would have led people to speculate that He was just a sham who had recruited His brothers to act like disciples.
What I am not saying:
- Jesus brothers were at risk of being lost, for Jesus knew they would live to the point where they came to faith.
- Jesus was being deceptive.
When I presented it to my Bible Study class the above objections were raised. Also it was suggested that Jesus would be taking away their free will. That can be dismissed with the proper understanding that, though we have free will, our sinful nature will only choose to disbelieve in Jesus unless the Holy Spirit acts upon us.
Why would Jesus behave according to my theory?
- As stated above, He would have a more believable group of disciples if they didn't include the easy-to-recruit brothers.
- Have nay-sayers in His own family kept Him from being an "easy sell" to believe in. Stated in an extreme case, if nearly all people believed in Jesus, wouldn't you find yourself compelled? That would be belief via the law - being forced to believe. Instead, Jesus comes to us through the Gospel.
- There was able to be a more dramatic reversal for His brothers, from unbelief to belief. James became a pillar of the Church in Jerusalem and wrote the book of James. Judas wrote Jude.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Weeds among the wheat
Today in Sunday School (7-8th grade) we discussed Matthew 13, including the Parable of the Weeds. I asked the students if they thought there were any unbelievers in our congregation. They seemed quite shocked to consider that concept. I told them one of the reasons I think there are unbelievers is this parable. There are such a large number of folks who don't get justification, that we are saved by Christ alone and they hold that they do their works to get saved. I don't expect those people have saving faith.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Cool new resource and God's antimaterialism
I just discovered the BibleWiki http://bible.tmtm.com/wiki/ a short time ago. I am going to put in my stuff from Jude as I prepare for a Bible study tomorrow night.
I think God may have something in for me. I think he doesn't want me to buy new things. He has this antimaterialism bent.
I think God may have something in for me. I think he doesn't want me to buy new things. He has this antimaterialism bent.
- It started about two and half years ago when we bought our new car, a Toyota Camry. We have had all sorts of trouble with it. The dealer and manufacturer would not resolve the problems. I took it to arbitration and we lost. The problems keep getting worse. That was the first new car we bought in 19 years. That other one was just not long for this world. Our other two used cars are quite old too.
- I just decided to get a new bicycle in November as mine was about 13 years old, had a cracking frame from a couple of crashes and had about 10,000 miles on it. So I waited to get a new one and then I spent, what I consider big bucks and got a 2006 Trek 4600. The chain broke (sheared) the first time I rode it about a mile down the road. The chainwheel slipped. The shifting is defective.
- I could go on with other items which I have bought and with which I had dramatic disappointments.
The conclusion I considered today is that God was perhaps chastising me for buying these things. Perhaps the actual chastisement we receive is proportional to what measures we might take to avoid it. You buy a new car/bike to avoid having to do work to maintain the old ones and figuring how to get by with your old stuff. The chastisement received with the new things in hand is more severe than if one had not bought the new stuff.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Receptionism revisited
I got an email reply to my very first post http://buchsblog2.blogspot.com/2005/05/getting-started-what-about.html and I wanted to share this response.
I received a response to my posting on the Receptionist position regarding the Lord's Supper. I raised a question in light of the Augsburg Confession article X. The respondent referred to the Triglotta translation of the same sentence I quoted from the Tappert translation.
Tappert says that the body and blood are "distributed" as well as received. Triglotta says: "the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present, and are distributed to those who eat the Supper of the Lord."
It was suggested that this Triglotta translation may support the Consecrationist position as well as the Receptionist. The Receptionist understanding would be that the presence is determined only upon and at the time of eating and drinking.
I find myself stumbling on this argument, however. The Triglotta is no different than Tappert, except that it seems to direct one towards a Consecrationist position even more strongly. Note that there is a comma inserted between the clause stating the Body and Blood are present and the clause stating that they are distributed. To my understanding, this comma would push even further in suggesting that the presence is effective apart from the distribution.
In addition, I am still hung up on the plain meaning of the words. A thing must be present to be distributed. If I were to phrase AC X to support a Receptionist understanding, I think I would word it something like this: "the Body and Blood of Christ are truly received by those who eat the Supper of the Lord."
In fact, I can't seem to get over the notion that the whole of the argument for the real presence would have been altered if a Receptionist position were true. We would no longer have an argument for the real presence, because the Body and Blood are not present until the bread and wine are eaten. Instead, we should have an argument for the real reception. This the AC and Apology do not argue for.
I received a response to my posting on the Receptionist position regarding the Lord's Supper. I raised a question in light of the Augsburg Confession article X. The respondent referred to the Triglotta translation of the same sentence I quoted from the Tappert translation.
Tappert says that the body and blood are "distributed" as well as received. Triglotta says: "the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present, and are distributed to those who eat the Supper of the Lord."
It was suggested that this Triglotta translation may support the Consecrationist position as well as the Receptionist. The Receptionist understanding would be that the presence is determined only upon and at the time of eating and drinking.
I find myself stumbling on this argument, however. The Triglotta is no different than Tappert, except that it seems to direct one towards a Consecrationist position even more strongly. Note that there is a comma inserted between the clause stating the Body and Blood are present and the clause stating that they are distributed. To my understanding, this comma would push even further in suggesting that the presence is effective apart from the distribution.
In addition, I am still hung up on the plain meaning of the words. A thing must be present to be distributed. If I were to phrase AC X to support a Receptionist understanding, I think I would word it something like this: "the Body and Blood of Christ are truly received by those who eat the Supper of the Lord."
In fact, I can't seem to get over the notion that the whole of the argument for the real presence would have been altered if a Receptionist position were true. We would no longer have an argument for the real presence, because the Body and Blood are not present until the bread and wine are eaten. Instead, we should have an argument for the real reception. This the AC and Apology do not argue for.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Keeping Christ in Christmas?
I got to read a Christmas letter from a childhood pastor, now retired, which he sent to my mother when I went to visit her yesterday. It was really sad for me. He is a pastor who never, to my recollection, taught or proclaimed the gospel to me. His letter seemed to fit that. It had no sort of Christmas greeting and almost no religious content. The best he could muster was an expression of hope for the new year with the politicians changed out to his preferred party. He hoped that it would be a better year for the world. That was his hope for the future. Life on earth would get better and it would come through human effort and change. How wrong of him not to focus on the fact that our hope should only be placed on God and the new life to come that He secured for us through the innocent life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I hold no hope for things to get better in this world. They will be indescribably better in the world to come. It won't happen by human effort but is an assured thing based on God's promise.
While on that 2-day trip to my mother's I saw a few yard signs in that town that read "Keep Christ in Christmas." That struck me as odd. Christ is already long gone from Christmas. Maybe you could put Him back, but that doesn't seem likely for a world that thinks it has no use for Him. Maybe it is better to put Christ somewhere else besides Christmas. He gets associated with all the sentimentality of the holiday season when put in Christmas. Perhaps we should bring back Epiphany which was the Eastern Orthodox Church's original date for Christmas. It used to be that congregations had a special worship service on Epiphany. Now it is often transported to the Sunday following. Folks don't even remember on what day Epiphany occurs. Epiphany: the mysteriously incarnate Lord of the universe comes to all people in addition to the Jews. The light has dawned upon a people who were lost in darkness.
While on that 2-day trip to my mother's I saw a few yard signs in that town that read "Keep Christ in Christmas." That struck me as odd. Christ is already long gone from Christmas. Maybe you could put Him back, but that doesn't seem likely for a world that thinks it has no use for Him. Maybe it is better to put Christ somewhere else besides Christmas. He gets associated with all the sentimentality of the holiday season when put in Christmas. Perhaps we should bring back Epiphany which was the Eastern Orthodox Church's original date for Christmas. It used to be that congregations had a special worship service on Epiphany. Now it is often transported to the Sunday following. Folks don't even remember on what day Epiphany occurs. Epiphany: the mysteriously incarnate Lord of the universe comes to all people in addition to the Jews. The light has dawned upon a people who were lost in darkness.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Christmas, the Church Year and animals
Well, it is about time for random theological stream-of-consciousness emission.
Yesterday was the celebration of Christmas. I watched the geese flying over and the birds at my feeder and I thought for a moment: do the animals know it is Christmas? Well, you can say no pretty easily, it seems. My wife said they probably celebrate the real day of Christmas, which is something different. Then the thoughts turn to the Church Year and to the rhythm of the week. Are these human inventions. It doesn't seem to be the case. Yahweh was directing the Israelites during the Exodus to these ideas. The Sabbath was introduced first in Exodus 16:23-29. It also links back to the account of Creation (Exodus 20:8-11 back to Genesis 1:31-2:3). The annual celebrations of Passover, Atonement, Tabernacles, etc. also tie to a yearly cycle. The months are tied to the year (Exodus 12:1-3, 13:4-6). So the calendar has divine origins.
What must surely be a human corruption, we don't maintain the 28 day months in our Roman calendar. Perhaps we should go back to the Hebrew calendar. Wouldn't that be nice to have every month except one end on the same day of the week and have exactly four weeks in it. It would be like the advantages of the Metric System.
My thoughts turned to this whole stream as I pondered the emotionalism that is almost inexorably tied to the celebration of Christmas. Things are done at Christmas to make people feel good. My pastor works hard to involve children and others in the services so that people smile and be happy. Isn't it all a false happiness, however. Feeling a "warm fuzzy" does not solve our problems. Our real happiness ought to come from Christ having come to us, taken on human form, died and rose for us. That is the real solution to our problems.
An article in the paper noted that many churches are now offering "blue" services, acknowledging that people get depressed over Christmas. Why do they get depressed? Well, is it because there is so much pressure to feel good? How about that in combination with the fact that they haven't solved their real problem. Many people don't ever feel good coming to church because they do not know the Gospel. They come out of obligation to try to do another work to make God happy with them. That is hard to do and people get bored so we add entertainment and sentimentality to bring the warm bodies into the pews.
Yesterday was the celebration of Christmas. I watched the geese flying over and the birds at my feeder and I thought for a moment: do the animals know it is Christmas? Well, you can say no pretty easily, it seems. My wife said they probably celebrate the real day of Christmas, which is something different. Then the thoughts turn to the Church Year and to the rhythm of the week. Are these human inventions. It doesn't seem to be the case. Yahweh was directing the Israelites during the Exodus to these ideas. The Sabbath was introduced first in Exodus 16:23-29. It also links back to the account of Creation (Exodus 20:8-11 back to Genesis 1:31-2:3). The annual celebrations of Passover, Atonement, Tabernacles, etc. also tie to a yearly cycle. The months are tied to the year (Exodus 12:1-3, 13:4-6). So the calendar has divine origins.
What must surely be a human corruption, we don't maintain the 28 day months in our Roman calendar. Perhaps we should go back to the Hebrew calendar. Wouldn't that be nice to have every month except one end on the same day of the week and have exactly four weeks in it. It would be like the advantages of the Metric System.
My thoughts turned to this whole stream as I pondered the emotionalism that is almost inexorably tied to the celebration of Christmas. Things are done at Christmas to make people feel good. My pastor works hard to involve children and others in the services so that people smile and be happy. Isn't it all a false happiness, however. Feeling a "warm fuzzy" does not solve our problems. Our real happiness ought to come from Christ having come to us, taken on human form, died and rose for us. That is the real solution to our problems.
An article in the paper noted that many churches are now offering "blue" services, acknowledging that people get depressed over Christmas. Why do they get depressed? Well, is it because there is so much pressure to feel good? How about that in combination with the fact that they haven't solved their real problem. Many people don't ever feel good coming to church because they do not know the Gospel. They come out of obligation to try to do another work to make God happy with them. That is hard to do and people get bored so we add entertainment and sentimentality to bring the warm bodies into the pews.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Sermon for June 26, 2005
Sermon - June 23 and 26, 2005 Ascension Lutheran Church Psalm 89
Title: Where are you?
Introduction
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text for our consideration today is Psalm 89. The Psalms are often overlooked, but today we will let this Psalm take us on a journey under the question: Where are you?
We just sang some excerpts from Psalm 89. Only portions of 6 verses of the Psalm were included, yet there are actually 52 verses in this Psalm. We will move on to consider the Psalm as a whole.
Answering The Question
Since the title of this sermon is a question, I am sure you are waiting for me to pose the question. So, here we go. Where are you? Perhaps you suspect a trick question. You may think I am asking what state of mind you are in. No, I am asking about your location. You could give a number of answers, such as Ascension Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minnesota, United States, Earth and so forth. Those are all correct. Now I will do what teachers do and ask you to give the best answer. If I ask you "where are you?," what is the best, most important answer you could give? The answer I am looking for is "I am in God’s house."
You don’t hear that phrase "God’s house" too often any more. If we went back a generation or two, it would be much more common to hear it. We see it used regularly in the Bible. The patriarch Jacob in Gen 28:17 said: "‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’" Jacob named that place Bethel, which means "house of God" in Hebrew. In Exodus 23:19, God commanded that offerings were to be brought, saying: "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God." Late in Israel’s history, in Ezra 5:2 the phrase is still used: "Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem."
Psalm 84:10 explains the value we ought to place in the house of God. It says: "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." The care we should exercise in coming to God’s house is explained in Ecclesiastes 5:1 "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong."
Application to You
Now consider this thought: you are in the house of God. Did you think about that when you walked into the building this eveningmorning? How about when you took your seat?
This is a special place. What sort of attitude should you have about coming into the house of God? That attitude will reflect what you think about God himself. The text from Psalm 89 helps us think about this attitude toward God. In Verses 7-13 we hear of the might and power of God. He should be respected and feared:
In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
These verses help us see the attitude we ought to have – of fearing the power of God. He is to be feared above all things. He is more powerful than any other. He has a strong arm, which is a figure of speech, putting the concept of God’s power into human terms. He crushed Rahab, another name for Egypt, in the ten plagues and the Exodus of Israel.
God is the powerful founder and creator of the whole world - everything we see. The heavens and the earth. He created the directions North and South. He created everything from one end to the other end and He even created the ends.
The attitude of fear and respect of God is not a very popular attitude today. It isn’t often discussed that God is a awesome, mighty, powerful god who is ruler of the universe. Instead, God is turned into only a kind, gentle god. He is made to be like a little teddy bear. If we do that, we have missed an important aspect of God and our relationship to Him. He created us and He rules over us. We are obligated to obey Him in all that he commands and wishes. We are responsible to Him.
Check on Your Attitude
What is it like to come into the house of the ruler of the universe? What is it like to come into the presence of the most powerful being who exists?
What was your attitude when you came into this house of God this morning? Did you think about the fact that you were approaching the house of the highest, most important being in the world?
Unfortunately, each of us probably didn’t approach God’s house with an appropriate fear and reverence toward God. This is a sin. It is a violation of God’s will for us to not approach with the right attitude.
There are consequences for this sin. God requires justice be enforced. The sin demands a penalty. In Psalm 89, verse 14 it says "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne." God requires punishment for sin. He requires righteousness of we who are His creation. We are facing the penalty of the eternal punishment due for our sins. In verses 31 and 32, Psalm 89 says: "if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging." We are facing a hopeless situation on account of our sin. Verse 48: "What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?" Eternal death is what awaits us.
Here Comes the Good Gospel
Where are you?
You are in the house of God. This God has not left us without hope. The hope is expressed in Psalm 89. Verses 14-17 say:
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.
These verses tell us that God requires righteousness and justice. Yet, it is the righteousness of God for which we praise Him, not our righteousness. "They exult in your righteousness." It is righteousness that is given to us. It is God’s faithfulness to us that provides His righteousness to us. Because of this righteousness we have the added benefit of being blessed. As we are taught of this righteousness that is given to us we learn to walk in the light of the presence of God. We are blessed. We thereby rejoice in the name of God because of the wonderful gift He gives us.
Now, how does this righteousness come to us? Psalm 89 teaches us about the answer to this question also. It talks about the promises made to the king in the line of king David of Israel. Verses 3 and 4 say:
You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'
Later, Psalm 89 in verses 19-29 continues to discuss this promise and show how the promise is fulfilled in the descendant of king David whom we call Jesus Christ.
Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: "I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people. I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him. No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries. My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.' I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
Although these words could be seen to partly apply to king David, they are only fulfilled completely in Jesus Christ. His throne is the one that endures forever. All His foes are crushed. Only He can be understood as the firstborn of God, that is, the Son of God.
Suffering Son
Now Psalm 89 goes on to explain what needed to happen for Jesus to bring us God’s righteousness. The Father needed to reject or turn away from the Son on the cross. Starting at verse 38, the psalm says:
But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. You have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle. You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
Our almighty God came to us and humbled Himself to the point of dying on a cross for our sins. He took our punishment on Himself and delivered His righteousness to us. Our sins have been forgiven.
He didn’t stop there. The psalm posed the question mentioned earlier: "What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?" The answer is: Jesus Christ can live and not see death. He did die, temporarily. He came alive again after dying on the cross. He saved Himself from the power of the grave. This is great news, because He can then pass this blessing on to us and grant us eternal life. We, too, are saved from the power of the grave. Death has been conquered.
Conclusion
We have journeyed through Psalm 89, starting with the appropriate fear of God in recognition of: His almighty status, our sins and our responsibility to Him for those sins. We then saw that God took care of our sins, our lack of righteousness, by giving us His righteousness. The plan to carry this out was through the descendant of king David, Jesus Christ. Jesus needed to suffer for us, to be rejected by the Father on the cross, as He took on our sins and died. He then gave us His righteousness and victory over the grave.
Where are you?
Hebrews 12 provides the appropriate conclusion to answer this question when it journeys from Mt. Sinai where the Law was given to Mt. Zion where forgiveness is given. Where are you?
You have not come to Mt. Sinai, a place to remain fearful. Hebrews 12 says (in verses 18-24):
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." ... But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
May being here, where you are, in the house of God, cause you to rejoice all day long in the name and the righteousness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
In the name of Jesus. Kevin Buchs.
Title: Where are you?
Introduction
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text for our consideration today is Psalm 89. The Psalms are often overlooked, but today we will let this Psalm take us on a journey under the question: Where are you?
We just sang some excerpts from Psalm 89. Only portions of 6 verses of the Psalm were included, yet there are actually 52 verses in this Psalm. We will move on to consider the Psalm as a whole.
Answering The Question
Since the title of this sermon is a question, I am sure you are waiting for me to pose the question. So, here we go. Where are you? Perhaps you suspect a trick question. You may think I am asking what state of mind you are in. No, I am asking about your location. You could give a number of answers, such as Ascension Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minnesota, United States, Earth and so forth. Those are all correct. Now I will do what teachers do and ask you to give the best answer. If I ask you "where are you?," what is the best, most important answer you could give? The answer I am looking for is "I am in God’s house."
You don’t hear that phrase "God’s house" too often any more. If we went back a generation or two, it would be much more common to hear it. We see it used regularly in the Bible. The patriarch Jacob in Gen 28:17 said: "‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’" Jacob named that place Bethel, which means "house of God" in Hebrew. In Exodus 23:19, God commanded that offerings were to be brought, saying: "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God." Late in Israel’s history, in Ezra 5:2 the phrase is still used: "Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem."
Psalm 84:10 explains the value we ought to place in the house of God. It says: "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." The care we should exercise in coming to God’s house is explained in Ecclesiastes 5:1 "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong."
Application to You
Now consider this thought: you are in the house of God. Did you think about that when you walked into the building this eveningmorning? How about when you took your seat?
This is a special place. What sort of attitude should you have about coming into the house of God? That attitude will reflect what you think about God himself. The text from Psalm 89 helps us think about this attitude toward God. In Verses 7-13 we hear of the might and power of God. He should be respected and feared:
In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him. O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
These verses help us see the attitude we ought to have – of fearing the power of God. He is to be feared above all things. He is more powerful than any other. He has a strong arm, which is a figure of speech, putting the concept of God’s power into human terms. He crushed Rahab, another name for Egypt, in the ten plagues and the Exodus of Israel.
God is the powerful founder and creator of the whole world - everything we see. The heavens and the earth. He created the directions North and South. He created everything from one end to the other end and He even created the ends.
The attitude of fear and respect of God is not a very popular attitude today. It isn’t often discussed that God is a awesome, mighty, powerful god who is ruler of the universe. Instead, God is turned into only a kind, gentle god. He is made to be like a little teddy bear. If we do that, we have missed an important aspect of God and our relationship to Him. He created us and He rules over us. We are obligated to obey Him in all that he commands and wishes. We are responsible to Him.
Check on Your Attitude
What is it like to come into the house of the ruler of the universe? What is it like to come into the presence of the most powerful being who exists?
What was your attitude when you came into this house of God this morning? Did you think about the fact that you were approaching the house of the highest, most important being in the world?
Unfortunately, each of us probably didn’t approach God’s house with an appropriate fear and reverence toward God. This is a sin. It is a violation of God’s will for us to not approach with the right attitude.
There are consequences for this sin. God requires justice be enforced. The sin demands a penalty. In Psalm 89, verse 14 it says "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne." God requires punishment for sin. He requires righteousness of we who are His creation. We are facing the penalty of the eternal punishment due for our sins. In verses 31 and 32, Psalm 89 says: "if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging." We are facing a hopeless situation on account of our sin. Verse 48: "What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?" Eternal death is what awaits us.
Here Comes the Good Gospel
Where are you?
You are in the house of God. This God has not left us without hope. The hope is expressed in Psalm 89. Verses 14-17 say:
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.
These verses tell us that God requires righteousness and justice. Yet, it is the righteousness of God for which we praise Him, not our righteousness. "They exult in your righteousness." It is righteousness that is given to us. It is God’s faithfulness to us that provides His righteousness to us. Because of this righteousness we have the added benefit of being blessed. As we are taught of this righteousness that is given to us we learn to walk in the light of the presence of God. We are blessed. We thereby rejoice in the name of God because of the wonderful gift He gives us.
Now, how does this righteousness come to us? Psalm 89 teaches us about the answer to this question also. It talks about the promises made to the king in the line of king David of Israel. Verses 3 and 4 say:
You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.'
Later, Psalm 89 in verses 19-29 continues to discuss this promise and show how the promise is fulfilled in the descendant of king David whom we call Jesus Christ.
Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: "I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people. I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him. No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries. My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.' I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
Although these words could be seen to partly apply to king David, they are only fulfilled completely in Jesus Christ. His throne is the one that endures forever. All His foes are crushed. Only He can be understood as the firstborn of God, that is, the Son of God.
Suffering Son
Now Psalm 89 goes on to explain what needed to happen for Jesus to bring us God’s righteousness. The Father needed to reject or turn away from the Son on the cross. Starting at verse 38, the psalm says:
But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. You have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle. You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
Our almighty God came to us and humbled Himself to the point of dying on a cross for our sins. He took our punishment on Himself and delivered His righteousness to us. Our sins have been forgiven.
He didn’t stop there. The psalm posed the question mentioned earlier: "What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?" The answer is: Jesus Christ can live and not see death. He did die, temporarily. He came alive again after dying on the cross. He saved Himself from the power of the grave. This is great news, because He can then pass this blessing on to us and grant us eternal life. We, too, are saved from the power of the grave. Death has been conquered.
Conclusion
We have journeyed through Psalm 89, starting with the appropriate fear of God in recognition of: His almighty status, our sins and our responsibility to Him for those sins. We then saw that God took care of our sins, our lack of righteousness, by giving us His righteousness. The plan to carry this out was through the descendant of king David, Jesus Christ. Jesus needed to suffer for us, to be rejected by the Father on the cross, as He took on our sins and died. He then gave us His righteousness and victory over the grave.
Where are you?
Hebrews 12 provides the appropriate conclusion to answer this question when it journeys from Mt. Sinai where the Law was given to Mt. Zion where forgiveness is given. Where are you?
You have not come to Mt. Sinai, a place to remain fearful. Hebrews 12 says (in verses 18-24):
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." ... But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
May being here, where you are, in the house of God, cause you to rejoice all day long in the name and the righteousness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
In the name of Jesus. Kevin Buchs.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Getting started - what about receptionism and AC X?
I am going to jump into a theological topic because I am interested in other's opinions on this. My question has to do with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) holding a open question position on the issue of when the real presence in the Lord's Supper is effected. Is it when the elements are consecrated (consecrationist) or when they are received (receptionist)? In practice, it seems most WELS pastors and laity practice receptionism, but the official position of the Synod is that it is an open question. When I read the Augsburg Confession, article X, I see a strong position taken that the consecrationalist position is consistent with the Lutheran Confessions.
I sent my question into the WELS Q & A (quite a resource) and I encourage you to read it for yourself.
http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1518&cuTopic_topicID=&cuItem_itemID=8848
I am left feeling like the reply was not very solid. I understand that we cannot extrapolate from what is written in the Confessions and that there is not a lot written in this article X, however, what I see there does answer the question.
What do you think?
I sent my question into the WELS Q & A (quite a resource) and I encourage you to read it for yourself.
http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?1518&cuTopic_topicID=&cuItem_itemID=8848
I am left feeling like the reply was not very solid. I understand that we cannot extrapolate from what is written in the Confessions and that there is not a lot written in this article X, however, what I see there does answer the question.
What do you think?
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