[First in a series of posts on how to read the Bible] Encore Post: For most Christians, the first rule for understanding the Bible seems obvious. The Bible is God’s Word. Yet believing that God speaks to us in his own words and is the author of the Bible affects the way we look at the Scriptures, how we approach it, what we expect from it and the assumptions that we make about what it says.
Because the Bible is God’s message to us, we believe that it is not fiction, a myth made up by people to explain the world, or something that it just very well written words to inspire us or make us feel good — like a great movie, a catchy song, or an absorbing novel written by our favorite author. After they make us feel good and escape the world for a while, nothing changes and life goes on. The Word of God, however, comes with the power of God to change our lives, brought to us by God’s own Holy Spirit. (see Romans 1:16-17, 2 Peter 1:16-21) It creates faith in hearts which do not believe and strengthens faith where it exists.
So, the clear teachings of the Bible are the final authority on everything it speaks about. When it says that all people are evil, not good, at heart, we believe that, even though our mind and culture tells us, everyone is basically good. When it tells us God made the world in six days, we believe that, too, even if the world’s myth tells us the universe has always existed and developed over millions of years into what we now see. When the Bible tells us both that God decided to save us before he made the world, but if we reject him, we can lose our faith, we believe that too, even though it doesn’t make sense to us.
So, this rule is that we assume that what the Bible teaches is true and use those things which are perfectly clear in it to understand things that are not so clear.
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
On the 26th day of the 3rd month, in 2025th year of Christ’s reign, the theme is this: The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former.
Have you ever noticed that the church is better in our minds back in the olden days? Back then, there were more people in the pews and our kids were here with us. Back then, the building was newer, and there were more people willing to serve on committees. Or the really big reason … back then, the preacher was more to my liking. Back then, we had this thing or we did that thing. It’s a bit of a trap to think this way. There is always this desire in the back of our minds to return to the glorious golden age of St. John’s in Curtis, Nebraska.
Or maybe we think even further back. Surely, when CFW Walther or Francis Pieper were alive, that was the golden age of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. There were these larger-than-life church leaders that wrote extensively and worked tirelessly for the sake of the church. If not that, then the good old days of the LCMS was back when the hymnals were in German or Danish! Related to this idea, I have been reading Martin Chemnitz from the 1580s and every Lutheran parish had a school, and everybody went to individual confession and absolution, and the preacher preached for two hours every Sunday. (That sounds impossible, but oh so glorious!)
That obsession about important dates in the life of the church is something that Haggai knew well. He put a date on each of his sermons unlike most of the prophets and indeed most of the Scriptures. He marked the life of the church by the proclamation of the Word. And he preached on this occasion about the good old days. Haggai preached, ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? Haggai is the preacher about 60-70 years after the Babylonians exiled the people of God and tore down the temple and the Ark of the Covenant was destroyed or removed from the house of God and His people. Can you imagine preaching to the church after all that they had been through?
It reminds me of when I visited churches in Russia and Latvia and Lithuania and Estonia. The communists slaughtered the priests and turned the churches into basketball gyms or swimming pools. And the people of God were not allowed to gather for Word and Sacrament for decades. Can you imagine if that was our history? Would any of you remember the church in its former glory before the pastors were killed and the buildings destroyed from the inside out?
To be sure, gathering together after such a long time would feel a bit empty and depressing. Haggai preaches along this vein when he says, How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? The church is small, and the destruction was great. The gold is gone, and the joy went with it. In fact, the Ark of the Covenant is gone. Where can the sacrifices take place? What would we do if the altar was gone and the sacramental vessels were melted down into swords and shields?
But hold up. I want to be clear: Haggai is by no means a doom and gloom preacher. In fact, he shows us exactly how to rebuild the church. First, he encourages the priests and preachers, Zerubbabel and Joshua. As I said before, Haggai defines the life of the church by the proclamation of the Word. Without new church leaders, the church in that time and place stood no chance of recovery.
And then he speaks to the church directly and encourages them: Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. What a magnificent Word from Haggai! Be strong, every single one of you! Work; I am with you! Haggai compares the Babylonian exile to the first tribulation of the people of God, the 400-year slavery of God’s people in Egypt. And they knew and we know that the 40 years in the wilderness were no glory days for the life of the church. But the point is that the Lord was with them then and was with them at the time of Haggai’s sermon.
And here come the present promises of God. Haggai preaches, God’s Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. And this is what I want you to think about. Certainly the temple at the time of Haggai was a worthy structure, but it too would be destroyed over time. The temple would be rebuilt again by King Herod.
But something way greater than a building in the capital city was in store. And when Haggai says, “Fear Not” I immediately think of the most famous “Fear Not” in the whole Scriptures. “Fear not, for behold, is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is the Christ the Lord.” What glory days of the Old Testament could compare to the glory days of Jesus Christ born of a virgin and walking the earth to eventually die on the cross? Didn’t Jesus say, “I will destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days?”
But let Haggai say it in his own words: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The Lord shook the heavens at Jesus’ baptism and spoke out of the cloud. And the Lord caused the sea to be calm and not to shake any longer. And the Lord shook the earth at Jesus’ crucifixion when He gave up His spirit. And the Lord shook the dry land in order to roll away the stone that lay in front of Jesus’ tomb on Easter Sunday.
And the Lord shook up the nations by the power of His Spirit and the proclamation of His Word throughout the whole earth. And like Haggai says, the treasures of nations have been given to God to continue the ministry of the Gospel even up to the present day and in this present place. Remember this: The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. It all belongs to Him, and we too belong to Him. What we thought were the glory days of the church do not compare to the glorious days of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ for each and every one of us.
What the Lord says is absolutely true: The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’” In other words, Haggai points us to the future and to hope. In his day, he preached to the people who were preoccupied with the past, the good old days of the Old Testament. And he preached that what was to come is greater than what they currently were experiencing.
And he meant that Jesus would be greater than every temple. And Jesus most certainly was much greater than the sacrifices in the temple. But for us today, Haggai preaches to us about those good old days of Christ’s death and resurrection. And yet he also preaches to us that our temple here does not compare with the heavenly glory that we shall experience on the Last Day.
We are right now St. John’s Lutheran Church in Curtis. But we look forward to the day when we are St. John’s Lutheran Church in heaven. We await an even greater temple, the presence of God the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, worshipping at his altar forever and ever. Indeed, the latter glory shall be greater than the former in every way! In the holy name of Jesus, Amen.
Lent Midweek I Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 March 12, 2025
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Do you pray? I think for most of us we say, “Yes!” We pray at meals and we pray at bedtime. And we pray according to our needs. I imagine that if we asked most of our non-Christian friends, “What makes so-and-so a Christian?” Many of them would say, “Well I know that he prays.” And if our relationship is close enough to that person, they may even say, “Yes, so-and-so has prayed with me and for me when I was going through a tough time.”
Have you ever realized that praying is probably the most public display of your faith to your friends, family, classmates, and coworkers? I imagine that very few of you are reading the Scriptures out loud in a public space or that you are sharing your devotional time with others during break times. And please, do not baptize your little brothers in the lake!
As you can see, most of our faith is private. And only those who gather in this place on a regular basis really understand what you believe, what you teach, and what you confess to be the truth. Only this group really values your faithfulness to God, to His Word and Sacraments, to your giving offerings or making food.
It is time that we begin to think that our prayers are a witness to our faith in this world. If you already realized that, I am proud of you. But at least for me, it was a new thought. And I do not mean to make prayer so great and meaningful that you worry about what to pray or what to say. As you know, there are pre-written prayers and there are prayers in our own words. Both are fine outward training of faith.
But you know that when a father or a mother prays for the children, the children listen to every word and learn to pray from them. And you know that when you pray for a struggling student, it calms their fears and helps them learn and retain the lesson. And you know that when your loved one is in the hospital, that your prayer for them helps them heal.
And you know that your pastor prays for you. You know that this congregation prays for you, both publicly and privately, anytime and anywhere that you need a prayer. That’s who we are, dear people of God. We pray for one another.
Here in Habakkuk, the preacher prays for his people to God and says, O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,and you will not hear?Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?Why do you make me see iniquity,and why do you idly look at wrong? Habakkuk prays like we so often do. He starts with questions. He asks God why He will not help them in their distress. The people were perishing, and the nation was struggling, and Habakkuk knew that only God could answer. Why aren’t you doing anything, God? That is definitely a prayer that we pray from time to time.
Habakkuk prays like we so often do. He prays for His nation, and for peace therein. Does anyone want violence? Of course not. Does anyone want war and bloodshed? Of course not. We pray for peace instead of war. We pray for tranquility instead of strife. We pray for unity and not division. We pray for what only God can do in His world for our nation.
Why do we pray for these things? What is our reason for praying about such matters? That is the next part of the prayer that Habakkuk prays today. Habakkuk explains the situation to God Most High. He says, Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. This is what Habakkuk is praying against. This is what he hopes will come to an end. But I ask you, Why do we tell God Almighty about what He already knows? And the answer to that is that God wants us to tell Him.
Does a father know what a daughter needs before she asks him for it? Of course. Does a mother know what a son needs before he asks her for it? Of course. Does this church know your needs before you ask for help? In most cases, yes. But even greater than that, there is nothing that your heavenly Father does not already know, and He can give to you whatever it is in all creation that you need.
God must answer! Take it from the prophet. God cannot make us see iniquity and sit idly by! God must make right what only He has the power to restore and reconcile.
And in the case of the text today, the Lord answered: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”
The first part of the Lord’s response is that “he who runs may read it.” In other words, it will be written clearly and in large letters so that even the ones who are chased by the enemy in the days of Habakkuk will know the truth of God’s answer. It would be like putting the message “God answers prayers” on a big posterboard and walking through the college campus with it. It would be like putting the Gospel out into the public spaces, like we do with our prayers. It would be like our signs out front inviting people to our church to pray, and reminding them of our usual refrain, “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.”
And the second part of the Lord’s response is that answers to your prayers arrive according to God’s timing. We want instant service and on-demand problem-solving. But sometimes our prayers need repeating because we ourselves are not ready for God’s eventual answer. God does not promise answers on our timetable or in the fashion in which we expect. How often has it been that God answers our prayers even better than imagined, even if it took a while to see God’s work in our prayers.
But the third part of the Lord’s response is far and away the most famous part of this passage. And it is the theme for this sermon and it is the theme for our prayers.
The righteous shall live by faith. This is how the Lord answered the Habakkuk prayer where he stood on the watch post and waited for the answer from the Lord about the destruction and violence that the believers were facing. In a word, “trust me, Habakkuk!”
The righteous shall live by faith. This was what Paul quoted in the book of Romans and Galatians as he proclaimed the Gospel to the new churches and explained the Christian life to God’s people. Paul himself was not righteous by his own efforts; he was a persecutor of the church until the Lord blinded him, converted him, and appointed him as the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul, like Habakkuk, constantly prayed for the congregations that he visited in each one of his epistles. It is like the Father answered his prayers and said, “Trust me, Paul!” I will care for my flock according to their needs.
The righteous shall live by faith. If there ever was an instance where public prayer became a witness to the world, it was this passage that relieved Luther and kick-started the Reformation. The church had suffered for 1500 years under a law of works, much like the early Christians did at the time of Paul in the midst of Judaism. And Luther, like Habakkuk, prayed for relief and comfort. He certainly prayed the prayer of Habakkuk that we have been studying tonight. And yet, his prayers were never good enough until this passage cleared it all up.
And so I tell you, dear people of God, the righteous shall live by faith. Never stop praying, but know for certain that the Lord will answer. And in the meantime, while you wait on the Lord, this Lord simply says, “Trust me!” And while you pray, know that you are being a witness to this community and for the sake of your neighbor.
You, like Habakkuk, Paul, and Luther before you, are not at fault for the world’s demise. You, like them, are unable to change sin, death, and the devil, destruction, or violence.
But you are saved by grace through faith, not by works, so that no one may boast. And you are God’s child, praying to your Father for everything that you need. And you are righteous because of the death of Jesus. And you are living by His holy Word each of your days. And you receive this sacrament for the forgiveness of your sins and for the life everlasting.
God will answer, and He did answer this prayer through the birth, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. And because of Him, we live in the world as His righteous people.
[Eleventh in a series of posts on church words] Confessional Lutherans have an uneasy relationship with the word “Protestant.” In 1526, with Emperor Charles V engaged in war with France and their Ottoman Turk allies. At the first Diet of Speyer, the papal princes and territories of the Holy Roman Empire agreed with their Lutheran peers to back the empire militarily in exchange for toleration and the calling of a church council in Germany. With France defeated, Charles V revoked the agreement at the Second Diet of Speyer. The Lutheran princes responded by submitting a document of protest of this action. For that reason, Lutheran princes and territories were nicknamed Protestants by their papal opponents.
Lutherans more or less rejected the term, preferring to be called, “Evangelicals.” But by the middle of the 17th century, the term was used to refer to all Christians in the West that did not accept the authority of the pope. Yet Confessional Lutherans have been unwilling to apply the term to themselves because the majority of theological traditions called Protestant deny the sacraments and their power to save and to create faith, among other things.
As we have discussed over the last seven posts, Lutherans have been drawn to various titles to describe them. Each has its charms and the ones that attract us tell us more about what the individual believe than the definition itself. Because many of these titles are claimed by other Christians, Confessional Lutherans are not entirely comfortable with any of the terms, so what do we do?
Perhaps C. F. W. Walther’s advice is best. We call ourselves Lutheran, not because we worship Luther, but because our Lutheran Confessions faithfully teach the doctrine of Holy Scripture and that all may know what we believe by reading them. It is not loving to hide what we stand for from others. Truth-in-advertising is the best policy in an age when many are looking for something enduring.
I recently interacted with an individual online who seemed to have a legitimate struggle with this issue as a Christian seeking to do good to their neighbor. In part, isn’t there a contradiction between our duty to serve our neighbor (the stranger) and strong immigration policy enforcement?
Applying Matt 25:31-46 to immigration policy is a misapplication of God‘s law. Jesus’ command concerning the sheep and the goats has two very important takeaways:
A) It is a command for me and a command for you. Neither of us can or should force our neighbor to follow God’s law in their individual self. We can and should certainly admonish against sin, but it is not ours to force.
B) both the sheep and the goats are mystified by their condition. The sheep are surprised that they have done well, because they only see the sin that remains in themselves, and no good works. The goats are angered, because they have justified themselves according to what they perceive as good works, which, apart from faith, are nothing.
Now, government functions exclusively in the first use of the law, the curb which forcefully constrains gross sin, under the fourth commandment. Government possesses the ability to punish and to kill. It is their duty to determine which stranger may or may not be among us. Government has a head of household responsibility over the entire household of this nation. All preventable harms and dangers are theirs to address.
A bad father, who does not make his children buckle up in the car when they refuse, is responsible under God‘s law when a crash causes a preventable broken arm.
A bad mother, who allows her children to indulge their love of sweets, well beyond the limits of good nutrition, creating a lifelong obsession with bad dietary habits, is still responsible in part for their adult obesity.
The fourth commandment duties of those in charge are not the most likable duties. They are necessary to prevent the obvious risks of blatant and preventable evil. In order for proper order to be maintained, the government must have absolute control over the border, and who does or does not enter the country.
That then brings us back to the Matthew 25 commandment. The person who is legally permissible in this nation, and under no threat of legal punishment, who has fallen on bad luck and needs our assistance, is our individual responsibility. When a stranger, sojourner, or foreigner comes to my door in need, I must help them.
When the government discovers an illegal entrant, they are responsible to extract or deport them. Both of these things are true. And neither one conflicts with the other.
Let us seek to avoid the confusion of office and vocation concerning ourselves and those whom God has placed to rule over us.
