Soteriology – Page 7 – What Does This Mean?

It’s a Good Friday For You

With yesterday we looked at how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, how He humbled himself to the place of servant even though He was the master, and the one who deserved to be served. He served His disciples last night attempting to prepare them for the greater service and humiliation of the very Son of God going to the cross for the sin of the world.

To suffering the Lamb goes. And all this He does willingly out of His great an amazing love for you. No sin too great no sin too small. All sins are dealt with on this day once and for all. The wrath for all the sin of the world is poured out on this one Man, the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Poured out on Him instead of you. And He loves you so much that He would rather take upon Himself the punishment than see you languish under the eternal condemnation of the Law. It’s a Good Friday for you.

Last night we heard how the Lord’s love is continual and perpetual. He loves His own until the end. And today my dear friends in Christ Jesus, this love is made even more manifest for you. Behold the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the One who takes your sin away. He is the one who pours out his blood for you and for your salvation. God became man for this very day, to serve you in this way. It’s a Good Friday for you.

The author of the sermon letter to the Hebrews speaks of our Lord going to the cross with joy. He saw the joy that would come from his sacrifice on the cross. He saw the joy of your salvation. You and the world being welcomed back into the Father’s embrace. Christ our Lord cries out on the cross, in agony and pain, but he carries it through to the end. Until your salvation is accomplished. Then like he said, he laid down his life on his own accord. He gave up his spirit and said, “It is finished.”

The great high priest, the God Man Jesus came with his body and offered it as the once and for all sacrifice for sins. This He does to fulfill all righteousness and all the words of the prophets. God with us from the womb unto the tomb. He endured it all and did it with joy because He knew what His sacrifice would win: your salvation. It’s a Good Friday for you.

Know His love, feel His embrace. See how He loves His own. How he nurtures and takes care of His bride. He lays down His life. By His stripes we are healed. He drinks the cup put before Him and fills that cup now with His own blood that we might have His life in us. And have it abundantly at that. It’s a Good Friday for you.

The cross that was a barren thing, a couple pieces of dead wood nailed together are now the place where life is given to you freely. It is your tree of life. You have your life because of the Life that hangs on the tree. He pours out His blood, and gives it you. Come and receive your life from His cross. Eat of his flesh and drink of his blood for these you have His love and His life now in you. It’s a Good Friday is for you.

See the Love of God in the Suffering Servant, your Lord Jesus, who set Himself like flint to go to the cross for you and your salvation, loving you unto the end. He has done it. The battle done. And you have life and have it abundantly for his sake.

Look to the cross and rejoice for the One who was long promised to come, has come. He has shown Himself by His self-sacrificial love, and He still showers us with His love and mercy via the preaching of His Word and Administration of His Sacraments. Sing the praise of Him who died upon the cross. And look to the cross for all mercy. Live in its shadow. By that, I mean to say come often to where the gifts of the Christ’s cross are given to you. Come then to the altar and have your eyes be fixed on Jesus on the cross. Baptism and Christ’s Supper only have their power by the event of the cross. By these Sacraments you are brought to the cross, and your eyes oriented on Christ’s sacrifice and love for you. It’s a Good Friday for you.

In the account of St. John 13 from last night, Jesus told His disciples where He was going the disciples could not come at first. He is speaking about the cross. He is speaking about his death. He must confront and battle Satan and death and defeat them for us. And by His death He conquers death once and for all. Death is swallowed up. Death took a bite of the wrong guy for He has power over death. And so now you do not need to fear death but rather look to the cross and our Lord’s passion. The cross takes the terror of death away. For your sins are taken away for the sake of Him who died for you loving you unto the end. It’s a Good Friday for you.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

The Sign of Hope We Have Waited For

At this time last year, we were just being told of the impending lockdowns to stop the spread of Covid-19. We would not have celebrated the Annunciation last year as we were in the middle of a Lenten Midweek Sermon series where pastors from area congregations swapped pulpits. And the 25^th of March fell on Wednesday. While I was saddened to see what happened because of the lockdowns and such, I was glad to celebrate this blessed day of joy and hope. The long-awaited sign, prophesied by Isaiah, was coming into existence. The Angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced to her that God was becoming man, and she would be his mother. The Word of God was becoming flesh in order to dwell among us, that we might see his glory.

A day of hope is what we need as we have been walking in the world. Isaiah’s prophesy was spoken as a rebuke against Ahaz’s unbelief in the Lord. But for you who have been called to faith in the true God, it is a word of hope, which holds you captive. It is the sign we all long for, the word which first came Eve and Adam on the day of their fall into sin. That God would become Man. And this Man would defeat sin and death for us by offering his body and blood up for the sin all the world at the cross.

Mary is rightly called the Godbearer (Theotokos) because in the moment of the preaching Gabriel, God assumed human flesh, and the flesh of Word of God Himself was conceived in the incarnation. This is the sign of God working to bring about our salvation. This is confirmation of the Lord’s promise coming true. God had not forgotten.

But the incarnation and Christmas are just half of the story. This Son of the Most High, has to do the work of salvation in His flesh. He is to serve in humanity’s stead, standing in our place, taking upon himself our pains and our sufferings, our sin. He is to suffer what all men suffer, death. But the Lord Jesus does this because it is the will of his Father, whom sent Him.

Jesus will be born to the Virgin. The sign of God’s promise will shine forth, and then He will grow up and will save His people from their sins. He will take up the throne of his father David when he ascends to the throne that is his cross. And he shall become stand as a signal for all peoples. Isaiah prophesies later: He (The Lord) shall raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Christ will lift up the lowly. He will fill the hungry with good things, he will bring down the mighty from their thrones. He will bring the word of love and hope to you who have been sitting and waiting in the darkness of this sin filled and broken world. Be at peace in the word announced to you by the Lord’s messenger. Christ loves you, and He became flesh in order to save you from everlasting death. He has remembered his mercy and now shows you that mercy by his death on the cross, taking the place that all humanity deserves for their sins of unbelief and abandonment of His Word.

God has promised, so He has done. We are very close to Holy Week in the Church year. We will be gathering together to hear the passion accounts as written for us by the Evangelists. We will see our Lord do His Father’s will, offering himself for us at the cross. This is how sin is taken away, the body and blood of God is broken and poured out for you.

May this word of our Lord Jesus Christ, The God – Man for us and for our salvation, give you hope in the midst of the darkness. He has come and He has died and He has risen again. And He remains in His flesh even upon His ascension to the right hand of God the Father. Forevermore is Jesus the God–Man, who serves you as your great high priest having offered himself for your salvation, that you might have everlasting life with God forever. And He now comes to you to give you tangible hope, a sign. He gives you the means by which you are given His forgiveness. He gives you Baptism and His Supper. Look to the promises contained therein. You are made a child of God, receiving everlasting salvation. Then you receive the very body and blood of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. You receive the very body of God in His Supper and it is life giving. What hope and what peace we now have in promises of God. Hope in the One Who has Come Born of the Virgin to offer himself up for us all. And let us now hope in the promise of His return that He might take us to be with Him forever.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

The Great Cloud of Witnesses

Encore Posts: Once every four years, the world pauses to watch the Olympics. Among the most exciting of the sports contested are the foot races, where the fastest men and women to ever walk the earth run nearly as fast as each other, the winner crossing the finish line a few thousandths of a second ahead of the others. The crowds That pack the stands cheer them on. The loudest are coaches urging them on.

The Book of Hebrews uses is image to describe the assembly of the church triumpant — all of God’s holy ones — his saints — who have died and now live in God’s presence forever. They form a “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on. (Hebrews 12:1-2) Also our coach, Jesus, stands at the finish line. We focus on him as we run our race because he endured the cross before us and for us. When we worship, we enter eternity and join them, the “whole company of heaven”, in praising God.

All Saints’ Day is an ancient celebration — begun in the Eighth Century (700s AD) It was intended celebrate all the Saints that did not have a special day assigned for them. Lutherans have kept this day a sort of Christian Memorial Day. We remember the Christians in our lives who have died and now rest with Christ, especially those who entered eternal life in the last year. It is a joyful day, more so than the day of their funeral, where grief is more intense. Most parishes read their names during worship. Some use other ways to remember — distributing flowers, lighting votive candles or other practices special to them.

Yet our celebration is not about the saints — even our loved ones. It is about Jesus, their Savior, who by his death has destroyed death and by his resurrection opened the kingdom to all believers. He is the author and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of God. It is because he is risen that they — and we — will rise on the last day. So, we dry the tears in our eyes, for he is risen! He is risen indeed! Allelujah!

Jesus Returns to Heaven

Encore Post: The Ascension is an important event in the life of Jesus and the Church. It is the final part of the work which redeemed us: the cross, where our sins were paid for, the resurrection where the power of the grave was broken and the ascension which restored all His honor, glory, authority and power. From the days of the early church, over 1500 years ago, until recent years, the church celebrated the Ascension on the fortieth day after Easter, or the Thursday ten days before Pentecost. In the 21st century, many churches celebrate Ascension on the Sunday before Pentecost.

When He ascended, Jesus left His Church a promise, a mission and a blessing. He promised to be with us always, until the end of time. He gave us our mission. We would join His mission to seek and save the lost by going to the whole world, being witnesses to His life, death and resurrection, to proclaim the good news of salvation, baptizing and teaching all He commanded us. As He ascended, He blessed them as Aaron and the High Priest did and as pastors do to this day, giving us His peace. He promised to be with us always, until the end of time itself.

Now the church waits patiently for him to return. On a day that no one knows, Jesus will return. On that day, he will raise our bodies from the grave, judge all the living and the dead, bring an end to sin, death and the power of the devil. God will live among us again, throw the greatest marriage feast of all time. He will dry the every tear from our eyes.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd

God tells us He is our Shepherd. He tends his flock, leads them to green pastures and still waters, guards them from danger, dresses their wounds, carries their lambs and is always with them. (Isaiah 40:11) This imagery is so powerful that, in ancient times, Kings often compared themselves to shepherds as well.

In the Middle East, shepherds often build a common sheep pen for their town. They would build a wall to keep the sheep from wandering away and to keep wolves and other predators from attacking them. A watchman would guard the gate or door to the pen so that only shepherds could enter. This discouraged thieves. When a shepherd was ready to feed his sheep, he would go into the pen and call them by name. They recognized the voice of the man who cared for them and would follow. He’d take them to good, green pastures and nice, quiet waters. (Psalm 23) He would protect them from wild animals, often doing battle with them, as King David describes what he did as a young shepherd. He would risk his life to save his sheep. (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

Jesus is our Good Shepherd. (John 10:1-18) He calls us by name. He leads us, guides us, corrects us and comforts us with his word. He gives us living water to drink and washes us clean in the waters of Holy Baptism. He feeds us with his own body and blood in his own supper. He appoints assistant shepherds to help feed us, protect us and guide us. He gave his life for us, his sheep. He will be with us always, even to the end of time itself, when he will lead us home, where we will live in his house forever. A Good Shepherd indeed.

What is a Good Work?

Encore Post: At first, the answer to this question seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? We all know what it means to be good. We start “advising” our children when they can barely walk to “be good.” Our schools, armed forces, institutions of all descriptions give awards for “good behavior.” Exceptionally good deeds attract occasional “feel good” T.V. news segments and feature articles. A few of these “go viral” on the internet.

But when you try to pin it down, the definition of good work changes quite a bit depending on the person we’re praising and who it is that notices the deed. What is good sometimes varies by age and by culture. A toddler who picks up her toys is being good. A firefighter that runs into a burning building to save a child or even a pet is a hero. Generally speaking, someone who takes care of others, especially if they do not have to, is often called good. We call this definition of good works Civil Righteousness.

For Christians and Jews, a person that keeps the Ten Commandments is thought of as a good, God-fearing and righteous person. We are tempted to think that if we can check off each one of the commandments in our daily routine that we are pretty good people. We’re tempted to pat ourselves on the back when we achieve this feat on the surface. It is very possible to be righteous on the outside, but in God’s eyes, this form of good works is simply not good enough. Without faith in Christ, our righteousness in like a dirty rag.(Isaiah 64:6-7)

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus takes on what the Jews thought it meant to be righteous — to be good people. God wants more than just holy deeds. He wants our every thought to be holy. “Be perfect,” he said, “as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Only Jesus himself lived up to that standard. That is why St. Paul tells us that no one is saved by works done according to God’s Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 2:16)

The Need of a New Heart

Encore Post: God used Moses to give his people the Lord’s Law on Mt. Sinai. It was the Lord’s holy will for Israel. And in effect, the way that Israel was called to live was to serve as an effective witness to the nations that surrounded it. Their way of life was to point to the Law of the Lord and bring life to the nations. That is why that he calls us to teach our children and their children. I think that is a call to remember the 3rd commandment because on the sabbath day Israel was to remember what the Lord had done for them and their salvation (Exodus out of Egypt). The generation with Moses were either eye witnesses or they were the generation that followed the eye witnesses of those events.

Israel was told not to forget the things they had seen, lest they lose life. But the problem was that Israel had a bad heart. And that is our problem too. We don’t listen and take to heart what the Lord our God tells us. If we look long and hard at our own hearts, or better yet, let’s let God talk about our heart. According to Him, we have a heart of stone. Israel could not be the witness the Lord called them to be, and neither can we. We utterly fail to walk in the way of the Lord. And we can’t make our hearts of stone alive. We need a new heart.

Dear Christian, you have been given a new heart, a new spirit.. This happened at your Baptism. This heart is made in the image of the One, the Word made flesh. Jesus walked in the ways of the Lord our God, His Father. He walked in the statutes and laws of His Father on your behalf. It was through Him and by Him that the nations learn of the mercy of God. And because of this wonderful One, Jesus Christ, you have life everlasting. Your heart is made alive in Christ, through baptism into His name. There at those baptismal waters you were made God’s child. He made Himself your God. And in and through Christ you certainly and do keep the laws and statutes of your Heavenly Father, for He has done them for you. And now we want to walk in His Way which leads us to life everlasting.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

See Also: The Law of God is Good and Wise | Fence, Mirror and Guidebook | What is Baptism? | Baptized into Christ’s Body | Sabbath as Day the of Salvation

The Faith of Children

Encore Post: Evangelicals reject infant baptism is they think faith is all about understanding and agreeing to a series of teachings about God, Jesus in particular, and how we are saved. Since infants and young children have little ability to understand things intellectually. For Lutherans and the Holy Scriptures, faith is not an exercise of our reason, but a trust in God’s promises.

The problem with understanding faith this way is that even adults do not always have an ability to think, and, when they do, may still reject the Gospel. Lutheran theologians point out that we do not think when we sleep or in a coma. Sometimes disease can take from us our mind in old age or brain trauma. Yet such adults are not considered by anyone to have lost their faith.

On the contrary, Jesus and the Apostles tell us children do have faith. In fact, Jesus praises their ability to trust God. (Matthew 18:2-6, Mark 10:13-16) John the Baptist and Timothy believed in the womb (Luke 1:41-44, 2 Timothy 3:15) So, faith is all about trusting in God to save us and children are the most trusting of all people. Jesus does not urge children to become more like adults when it comes to faith. He urges adults to become more like children.

Children are Sinners, Too

Encore Posts: On the surface, we might think that the Evangelical challenge to infant baptism is about the practice itself. If the objection was that simple, perhaps there would be much less passion in the debate.

I believe the real issues are deeper than that. For Lutherans, the emotion behind our defense of the baptism of infants comes from the assurance that our children are saved by baptism. For Evangelicals, the objection comes from their belief that children are not accountable for their sins until they can ask Jesus to be their personal savior and because they believe baptism is a human act of obedience. In short, they do not believe in original sin.

Original sin is the name theologians give to the teaching of Holy Scripture that all people are born as sinners and that that state is inherited from Adam and Eve, resulting from their first sin in Eden. The big problem that we have is less that we commit sins, than that we are conceived sinful. (Psalm 51:5)

Everyone, including children, are accountable to God for who they are and the sins they commit from the very beginning of their lives. (Romans 3:10-19) Every thought we have inclines to evil (Genesis 6:5, Genesis 8:21). These thoughts are the cause of all the sins we commit. (Matthew 15:17-20) Only by being born of water and the Spirit can we see God’s kingdom. That is why we baptize infants and children.

Martin Luther, St. Paul and Righteousness

We think of Martin Luther as a great reformer, a writer and a pastor. And he was all of these things. But his call was as a professor. His first lectures were on the Psalms, Romans, Galatians and Hebrews. To do these well, he spent many hours reading commentaries and the writings of the Church Fathers and the scholars of the Middle Ages. Once in awhile, he found himself not quite understanding a passage or a word. He spent months trying to understand some words. When he finally came to understand repentance, he described his excitement as if it unlocked all of Scripture for him.

Over Five Hundred years ago, as he was preparing to lecture on Romans, the great scholar, Erasmus of Rotterdam, published a Greek New Testament (1516) with Erasmus’ own Latin translation with it. It was then he came up against Romans 1:17: ” ‘For in it [the Gospel] the righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) of God is revealed from faith for faith” Everything he read said this righteousness was the quality of God that moves him to condemn sinners. He just couldn’t understand how that was good news.

His friends urged him to lecture on the Psalms again, so he began teaching the book in March and April of 1519 — five hundred years ago. While he was working on his lectures in his tower study, he couldn’t get Romans 1 off of his mind. Then his eyes fell on the context: “The just shall live by his faith.” All of a sudden, it occured to him that the righteousness of God is not the holy nature of God, but it is God’s gift of righteousness that Christians receive by faith as a free gift for the sake of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It was as if God had opened the gate of heaven for him. God’s righteousness is a gift God gives by his grace.

Luther has a way to go before he fully understood theology they way Lutherans do today. Yet God had revealed to him the central teaching of the faith. He would never forget his tower experience.