Encore Post: Ever since Jesus ascended to Heaven, Christians have wondered when He would return. We look forward to the day when He will bring an end to sin, sickness, sorrow, grief, pain, and death. Every day horrible things happen and we wonder whether this could be the day He comes back.
In every generation, some people thought that they had figured out the secret. They read the prophecies of the Bible and try to match events in their lifetime to the symbols in them. They do the math and come up with a day. But the Bible is not a giant math problem where you put the right events into the equation and get a date. In fact, all the signs of the end of days were fulfilled at the time the last books of the Bible were written. We are in the last days and have been for 2000 years.
Jesus warned us about such dreaming. He told us that no one knows the day or the hour of his return. So, we are to be ready for him. He will come for us — at the end of time or the end of our times. We do not know which will come first or when it will happen. The reason we do not know when He will return is God wants us always to be ready. He wants us to love Him and take care of each other every day, not just the day we think is the end of time or the day we will die. When things are hard in our lives, Jesus wants us to know that He will fix it all one day. We can then face these things, knowing it will not be forever.
Instead, the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead comforts us. On that day, sin will be removed from us forever. There will be no more grief, sorrow, sickness, or pain. At the call of the voice of Jesus, we will rise from the grave, body and soul reunited, our bodies transformed into a glorious body, like the one Jesus has, fit to live forever. It will be as God intended it forever. It is why we join the church of all times, places, races, languages calling out, “Come, Lord Jesus, come!”
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: Timothy was one of the very first Christians to grow up in a Christian family. His grandmother Lois and mother Eunice had faith in Christ before Timothy was born. His father was a gentile, so he was not circumcised. He always had faith in Christ and grew up to be a strong, young Christian leader.
Paul met him in his hometown of Lystra, probably on his first missionary trip. The apostle saw the gifts God had given to the young man and immediately took him along on his journeys. Before traveling with Paul, Timothy was circumcised so as not to offend Jews.
Timothy would be sent on increasingly important missions, including delivering some of Paul’s letters to churches. Paul would eventually leave him in Ephesus as a pastor, to deal with heresies and misunderstandings that had arisen there. Paul would call for him when imprisoned, perhaps for the last time. Later, Timothy was himself in prison and released. He would accompany the author of the letter to the Hebrews on a journey. According to church tradition, Timothy was bishop of Ephesus and died on 22 January 97 as a martyr.
Timothy has become one of the favorite fathers of the early church to seminaries and students studying to be pastors. Paul gives him advice that is very practical, even today. He was one of the important second generation leaders, who passed on the teaching of God’s word to a new generation — and us!
I’ve been grappling for several years with the notions of Christian submission under the 4th Commandment (or 5th, in the Protestant numbering tradition), and its interaction with a republican form of governance. Yes, the United States is a constitutional republic, not a democracy, as is so often misstated in public discourse. But, I digress… How ought we navigate this interaction as Christians, or should we at all?
For clarity’s sake, I’ll be speaking here in terms of sin and the commands of God’s law. I’ll also be speaking of things that are speculative in my mind. So, I’ll expend every effort to parse one from another with concrete verbs (will, must, shall, etc.) for the clear understanding of God’s Law, and modal verbs (may, ought, should, etc.) for my own speculation concerning our peculiar system of governance. Additionally, by “submission” or “absolute submission,” I mean that submission, which Christians can in good conscience give to rulers, when there is no conflict with the first 1st Commandment or the other nine. No Christian may obey a ruler’s command to despise the Word of God, its preaching, or the holy day of rest and worship. Nor can we take oaths against the faith in God’s name. And we shall never acknowledge a power or authority over the Triune God.
With that out of the way, regardless of the numbering tradition your readers may understand, by the 4th Commandment, I mean this, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12 ESV) All authority in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth belongs to the Lamb in His kingdom. The Earth, His footstool, is given to temporal rulers, whose authority flows from the 4th Commandment.
Expounding upon the commandments is in keeping with the Lord’s presentation of the 1st and 3rd commandments in Exodus, chapter 20, and Jesus’s exposition on the 5th and 6th commandments in Matthew, chapter 5. Martin Luther teaches it this way in his 1529 Small Catechism. “As the head of the family should teach [the ten commandments] in a simple way to his household … What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them” (SC 1:4–emphasis mine). The other authorities bit gives us an understanding of the head of household duty for secular rulers and our duty to them as subjects.
These rulers are clearly due our submission in temporal matters. They are here to provide for our good, and rule justly. The dilemma, as I see it, in a republic such as the United States, lies in identifying who wears this hat of 4th commandment authority at which various times. In Luther’s day, there was no functional republic for him to observe or reflect upon. That places the onus upon us to apply his wisdom through that lens.
For Luther and the other reformers, kings & princes, electors & dukes were easily identified. They would often claim a divine right, that is, selection by God, to their governance. This is not entirely untrue. We Christians confess that all rulers, including Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus I, King George, and the President of these United States are placed there by God for our benefit. We owe them our respect, submission, and obedience.
There’s still a rub.
Who’s in charge in a republic?
The right answer is “many people” at various times. Between election cycles, the voters are subjects who shall submit within the bounds of the first commandment. During campaigns and elections, candidates are under the rule of “We The People.” After votes are cast, voters and candidates are submissive under the electors tasked with their duties. When the courts exercise their authority, submission goes to them. When legislators write and pass laws, review appointments, and scrutinize officials, they are to be obeyed. And all are bound to rule justly and in submission a sort of king constraining and conforming the republic.
We do actually have a king, but it’s a document. The constitution is the sole temporal governing authority in the land. This king pays honor to the Lord in recognizing rights in creation that precede itself. And it defines who does what, when, and with what powers.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” (First Amendment of the US Constitution).
This protection of political speech isn’t only a right, it guards a fourth commandment responsibility. You, the electorate, have a job concerning your own authority. This responsibility does not begin, nor is not limited to the ballot box. Participation in the entire electoral function is necessary for all Christians. This means Christians ought to engage in public exhibition of their opinion concerning candidates. Christians ought to engage in public discourse concerning their opinions of candidates. Christians ought to share ideas and attempt to convince other people of their opinions, informed and defended by the Christian faith, concerning the candidates up for election.
The “petition for the redress of grievances” is also a Christian’s duty. The electorate, who wears their ruling crown in these instances ought to be willing to file suits against the government for actions outside the bounds of their authority. The redress is not limited individual suits. We also should be engaged in public discourse on the matters, filing of briefs amicii, and financial support of the NPOs in these legal battles. Legals NPOs like the Alliance Defending Freedom is one such group heavily involved in defending the LCMS from such government overreach (point initiated by Rev. Bob Smith, 26 Sep 2024).
Side note on authority: under the 4th commandment, a father or mother shall not abandon their responsibilities as father or mother. Similarly, Christians in the electorate ought not to abandon or abdicate their responsibilities as absolute ruler under the constitution, during seasons of election.
Can a Christian vote for a sinful candidate?
There can be no doubt that every candidate who has ever run for office is a sinner. If we think otherwise, we have a much bigger problem than whether to elect Judy Smalls or Jacob Little. In choosing the sinner among us sinners, we must apply prudence and reason given to us by God to select the candidate who is the least likely to cause harm. In their sin, these men and women will sin in great and small ways while ruling justly over the people. This is no different than each of us. Elections are a zero sum game in our two-party system. A withheld vote is a vote for the winning candidate. With precious few exceptions, a vote for an inconceivable winner against the two major candidates is also a vote for the winning candidate.
This is the unique situation where our primary concern is the first use of the law. The first use, the “curb,” is chiefly the duty of civil government to prevent gross errors and sin from hurting or harming our neighbor. In the political process of a republic, you have a hand in selecting the officials who do or do not prevent this. This is where engagement in the political process is absolutely necessary. Christians ought to know the track record of the people they are electing. Christians should engage in moral triage.
By moral triage, I mean seeking the least evil and least harmful outcomes in civil governance. I don’t understand this to mean a binary moral standard, classifying a candidate as entirely “good” or completely “bad.” I would also suggest that personal life, though important, should take a back seat to the outcomes of governance in curbing great sin and violence with our society.
A potential or returning political candidate’s role is one of enforcing and uplifting the first use, civil law. That means the 10 commandments must be prioritized in our selection of leaders. We may not forget Cyrus, the great of Persia, all the good things done by wicked leaders like him at the Lord’s bidding (Isaiah 45:1-3; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-8).
Using The Ten Commandments to Sharpen Our Focus
While selecting these leaders for their expected behavior in the case of the 10 commandments in the civil realm. In the case of the 1st through 3rd commandments, there is very little that government can do in particular in their first table function. The only thing that they can do is a very bad one. If government ever attempts to curtail religion, this is an evil thing. Pagans must be allowed to be pagans. priorBut more importantly, no activity of the Christian faith and life may ever be limited under constitutional governance. This is already prevalent in our society in varying degrees, and it must be pushed back. Even the rhetoric exposes a change in understanding that is deliberately put in play. At one time, the discussion will only concern itself with the “freedom of religion.”
Sometime around 2008, the language shifted to a different term. Candidates of all sorts began to speak about the “freedom to worship.” This is not concurrent with the language of a constitution that recognizes a previously existing free exercise of religion. The entirety of the Christian life and faith is protected in our republic, as it should be.
The second table of the law is the chief thing here, preventing gross wickedness by the threat of punishment, jail, or death. While a Christian leader would be preferable to a non-Christian leader, that does not mean that a Christian leader is a better selection than a non-Christian leader. This is a hard thing to consider, but the Christianness of the official isn’t a thing that will affect their governance directly. However, their behavior and policy making concerning things that effect their fellow man are directly effective in their capability or incompetence concerning governance.
The 4th commandment: honor your father and mother
A potential government official cannot step outside their own authority. They should submit when submission is required, and rule when ruling is their duty. Malicious prosecution, creation of rules that are not law but act as though they are, laws invented from the judicial bench, executives refusing to enforce the law, and actions like these are just a few examples of 4th commandment actions not in keeping with God’s law.
The 5th commandment: you shall not murder.
A political candidate cannot encourage murder. This does not mean capital punishment, and it never has. By the 4th commandment, the authority to exercise discipline and punishment, including death, is the authority of the civil government.
Murder does, however, include things that cause the death of others, or allow the death of others to be legally permissible. The discussion here begins and ends with abortion. A Christian cannot elect a candidate who approves of, encourages, or propagates abortion. There are two bodies in the decision, and one is granted no choice. God created the life of the unborn.
This also means the likelihood of murder in a particular jurisdiction determines whether the elected officials in that area are abiding by their God-given and irrevocably commanded responsibility concerning the lives of their citizens. If a city has the highest murder rate the nation, they are doing something wrong, and everyone who supports their system of governance is probably on the wrong side of this commandment.
The 6th commandment: you shall not commit adultery.
This one concerns itself less with the personal life of the candidate, which is still a concern, and more with the resultant waves that flow through society. A government that creates systems that discourage marriage and that discourage the union of man and woman in holy matrimony for the procreation and rearing of children is failing in their duty and opposing the 6th commandment. Again, this is on display in many jurisdictions and municipalities throughout the world. The United states where single motherhood is on the rise, marriage rates are on the decline. Government can encourage marriage. Government has encouraged divorce. This is evil. A candidate continuing these sorts of practices is not a suitable candidate to receive a Christian’s to vote. This is not in keeping with God’s law.
This a spot where we may confuse morality of character with a moral society. Even a scoundrel can legally promote the nuclear family unit and the stability it gives to children. This benefits all children under their governance by adding to the safety and stability of society as a whole. This is in keeping with God’s law.
The 7th commandment: you shall not steal.
Let’s just be simple about this one. Encouraging criminality which allows folks to deprive their neighbor of what they have is a thing that grows out of control when prosecutors will not prosecute crime. Those that do not enforce the law are unfit for office and have abandoned their responsibility according to the 4th commandment. They are not fit for office and ought to be removed. This is not in keeping with God’s law.
The 8th commandment: you shall not bear false witness.
This is most prevalent currently in the increasing flow of an intention to censor information that is determined to be seditious, dangerous, or “untrue.” In a society where free speech is a tenant of the function of life, all citizens must have equal and unfettered access to this right. That means allowing speech we don’t like to occur. In the current state of censorship, that speech which is censored is not censored because it is wrong. It is censored because it opposes the political ideology of the party in power. This is a false witness against those who are silenced. This opposes God’s law.
The 9th and 10th commandments you shall not covet.
Covetousness is a little different from theft. The covetous heart seeks to deprive its neighbor of what they have. The deprivation is the thing that makes the thing different from theft. It doesn’t matter to the covetous heart who receives, or if anyone received the spoils of deprivation. The covetous heart simply wants to see its neighbor lose what they have. This is the heart of the wicked evil of wealth envy.
It is statistically guaranteed that a person who has their wealth taken by way of irrational taxation will be deprived of what they have. It is also irrefutable that government waste, fraud, and corruption will destroy that wealth rather than using it. It is to the detriment of the entire society that that wealth should be taken rather than retained by its owner. The owner in a free society uses their wealth to invest, to purchase, and to acquire, which benefits their fellow man who works to provide services and goods that are desired by a wealthy person, or are employed by the same. When government steals, the wealth is simply destroyed. This is not in keeping with God’s law.
Use the reason God gave you, dear Christians. Speak to your friends and neighbors. Share your views, and kindly try to convince them. Wear the ruling crown, when it is yours, and cast it aside, when it is not.
All are one in Christ,
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Encore Post: In the church’s long season of ordinary time (Sundays after Trinity if you are on a one-year cycle, Sundays after Pentecost if you are on a three-year cycle), the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29) marks a change in the themes of the day. After this day, we turn our thoughts to the Last Day, when Jesus will return to be with us forever. We use the day to thank God for his holy angels, especially Michael the Archangel, whose army of light defeated Satan and his forces, casting them out of Heaven to the earth. In the English-speaking world, it is nicknamed Michelmas (Michael’s Mass), similar to Christmas (Christ’s Mass)
The Holy Angels (מַלְאָךְ, ἄγγελος) are God’s messengers. They were created by God to praise him and bear his messages to his people. After the fall of Satan and his evil angels, they also battle these forces and protect us from harm. Two angels are named in Scripture: Michael (“who is like God?”) and Gabriel (“God is my Strength”). Michael the Archangel is the leader of the heavenly army of Angels that battled Satan and his forces, casting him down from Heaven. Gabriel is the heavenly messenger that interpreted Daniel’s dreams and announced the conceptions of John the Baptist and Jesus.
We thank God for the ministry of angels, who stand by our side, protect us from the evil one and will, on the last of our days, escort us home to Jesus. With Martin Luther, we pray:
I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Encore Post: St. Paul had a special privilege by birth. He was a Roman citizen. The Roman general, Mark Anthony, gave his hometown, the city of Tarsus, the right of citizenship, which Caesar Augustus later confirmed. Anyone born in this city was treated as if they had been born in Rome itself. As a Roman citizen, He would have three names — a given name, probably Saulos — Saul — a Roman family name unknown to us and a co-name, Paulos — Paul. He was entitled to a fair trial before any punishment at all. He was exempt from certain punishments — including crucifixion. He had a right to trial by the bearer of imperial authority and to have his case heard before Caesar himself. It gave him status that made travel easier and allowed him influence he would not otherwise have.
The Book of Acts mentions several times that Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. He would say, “civis Romanus sum” — “I am a Roman citizen.” When he was in Philippi and the magistrate, having had him beaten and imprisoned, tried to expel him from the city, Paul demanded the Magistrate show him respect due a citizen. He came personally, apologized and asked him nicely to leave the city. When the Sanhedrin tried to execute him, a centurion arrested him and proceeded to question him, intending to torture him by flogging. Paul asked if it was legal for them to do that to a Roman citizen, and one who was born one. That brought an end to the matter, and the Tribune was determined to protect Paul. Paul would remain in the custody of two Roman governors until a trial was formally begun against him. He appealed to Caesar, which brought an end to the trial and sent him to Rome.
In his letters, Paul also talks about being a citizen of heaven. We live our lives on Earth, but this is not our home. We are citizens of Heaven. One day, we will go home to live with God and all Christians forever. In the meantime, we live in this world, but follow the rules of Heaven.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: Saul, a devout Jew and Pharisee, was born in the ancient city of Tarsus, the Roman capital of Asia Minor (Turkey). His father was likely a prosperous tent maker — a good trade to practice in a colony of retired Roman army officers. He received a fine education in both Greek culture and the Jewish faith. Saul became a convinced Pharisee — a religious movement that believed by observing God’s law as a people, they would speed the return of the Messiah.
So Saul’s father sent him to study with Gamaliel, the greatest rabbi of his time. The great teacher lived in Jerusalem and was a member of the Sanhedrin — the ruling council of the Jewish people. While Saul never mentioned meeting Jesus before his death, he was in the city during Holy Week and would fully know the events of the week. He fully agreed with the condemnation of the Galilean would-be Messiah. Anyone who claimed to be God deserved to die.
So when the cross did not snuff out what he saw as heresy, he volunteered to punish the believers of the Nazarene prophet. When Stephen Martyr witnessed to Christ’s resurrection, he fully consented with the martyrdom. He held the coats of those who stoned the deacon to death. Energized by this success, Saul received credentials from the High Priest to go to Damascus and arrest Christians to be tried in Jerusalem.
Saul persecuted early Christians because they believed Jesus to be God. So, when heaven opened and light shone on him, while on the way there, it caught him by surprise. Yet Saul knew he was in God’s presence. He asked who the figure that called to him was. It was Jesus himself. Now that he was a witness to Christ’s resurrection, a major change began in Saul’s heart and mind. When Ananias healed his vision, Saul was baptized and changed his name to Paul, the Greek form of his name.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: The Holy Spirit sent Deacon Philip to meet a eunuch in the service of Candice of Ethiopia, the mother of the reigning king. In Ethiopian society, she took care of day-to-day duties of the kingdom. Ethiopians believe she was the descendant of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Many believe they are Jewish.
Eunuchs served as assistants for the royal family. They were often castrated so that they could be trusted to guard royal or noble women and provide physical care to kings and emperors. This man appears to have been the treasurer of Candice. He is devout and has been to worship at the temple in Jerusalem. On his way home, the man is reading Isaiah 53, a detailed prophecy of the suffering and death of the Messiah. Puzzled by it, he invited Philip to explain the text to him. With this opening, Philip tells the man the good news that Jesus is the Man Isaiah prophesied. The man responded by asking to be baptized. When the Holy Spirit took Philip away, he rejoiced that salvation had come to him.
This new Christian became, in turn, the evangelist who brought the gospel to Ethiopia. A strong Eastern Orthodox church was born and grew there. Called the Coptic Church, its members still thrive in Muslim Egypt to this day. This man was the first of many Christians to believe in Christ on the continent of Africa.
Encore Post: The word “martyr” is a Greek word that means “witness” — a person who reports what he or she sees. Just before returning to Heaven, Jesus predicted His disciples would be witnesses of His death and resurrection.
The Apostles appointed Stephen a deacon. It was his task to feed the widows and the poor, using the funds collected for that purpose. God blessed his work by performing miracles as well. When men from the local synagogue asked what he believed, God blessed Stephen’s word, so that his opponents could not find a reply to answer his arguments. They finally silenced him by charging him with blasphemy — speaking lies about God.
The same Sanhedrin which condemned Jesus not more than a few weeks earlier now met to hear Stephen’s case. Stephen told the truth — that the Sanhedrin had handed over Jesus to death falsely. This infuriated them. The last straw came when Stephen related a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God in Heaven. For the Jewish people of the time, this was another way of saying that Jesus Himself is God. Jesus said the same thing in that very spot in the early hours of Good Friday. They condemned Stephen to death, too. This time, Pontius Pilate was not in Jerusalem. So they felt safe in defying Roman law and executing Stephen by the method ordered by the Jewish Law. They took Stephen out of the city and stoned him to death. The man who would one day be the Apostle Paul held the coats of those killing Stephen.
With the death of Stephen and others that followed, the word “martyr” took on new meaning. Now it meant to die for witnessing to the truth about Jesus and for preaching the good news. The martyrs’ deaths impressed Romans. If you believe in something strongly enough to risk death by torture, they thought, then perhaps the martyrs might be right. Many were baptized because of such witnesses. That is why the church likes to say: “The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Enore Post: On Maundy Thursday, Jesus told His disciples that they would abandon Him and that St. Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. Peter swore he would rather die than betray his Lord. Later, Peter denied he knew Jesus — three times.
When Jesus rose from the dead, Peter began to change. Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him. Three times Peter said he did. Jesus showed He forgave Peter when He commanded Peter three times to feed God’s sheep. From then on, Peter was no longer a fisherman. He was now a pastor — a shepherd — to care for God’s people with God’s word and His sacraments.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the crowd. Three thousand people were brought to faith and baptized that day. Peter went everywhere preaching, teaching, healing the sick and suffering for His Lord. Later, Peter would write two letters that comfort God’s people to this day.
According to tradition, Peter would tell the story of Jesus to a younger companion, John Mark, who would write it down. He would die by the order of Nero Caesar, crucified upside down because he didn’t feel worthy to die the way his Lord did. In his confession of faith, Jesus would build his church.
Encore Post: The Feast of Pentecost is the Greek name (πεντηκοστή) for the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuoth, in Hebrew שָׁבוּעֹות ). The day celebrated the harvest of the barley crop and the planting of the wheat crop in Israel. This thanksgiving day was established by God on the fiftieth day after Passover and was one of three that the Torah commanded Jews celebrate in Jerusalem if at all possible. In the days following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the city was still crowded with Jews from around the world, who stayed after Passover to celebrate this feast as well in the Holy City.
The Christian Church remembers the day as a kind of birthday of the Church. On this day, God poured out the Holy Spirit on the whole church and not just the prophets he called to proclaim his word.
Both the Hebrew and Greek word for Spirit means “Wind.” The Holy Spirit, or Holy Wind, hovered over the chaos before God created the Heavens and the Earth. During the Exodus, the Holy Spirit appeared visibly as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit settled into the Holy of Holies in the form of a cloud. When the Prophet Elijah fled to Mount Sinai, God sent a mighty wind, an earthquake, and a fire to get his attention. On Pentecost, the wind got the attention of the crowd and the wind and tongues of fire witnessed to the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost fulfilled prophecy in Old Testament (Joel 2:28-32), by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11) and by Jesus (Acts 1:5). By baptizing His people with the Holy Spirit, Jesus gave them the power to witness to God’s love. He provided them with a counselor to lead and guide them. Just like the prophets of the Old Testament, every one of God’s children now can proclaim His praises to everyone.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
