Monthly Archives: February 2026

I Am the Light of the World – Sermon on John 9:1-7 for Midweek Lent 1

The Scripture readings for tonight’s service are Psalm 27:1-4; Isaiah 42:1-7; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; and John 9:1-7.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When the disciples see this man who was born blind, they rightly recognize something is off. Blindness isn’t the way things should be. Eyes were created to see, but this man’s eyes are dark. That isn’t right. There should be light in those eyes, but they are dark with blindness. The disciples are correct in sensing the disconnect, but their answer misses the mark.

Notice that the disciples only ask a question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” but their question assumes that sin is the answer for this particular darkness. Instead of playing “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” they’re playing “Pin the Blame on the Sinner.” They suppose that some specific sin is the reason he had never looked into his mother’s eyes, never seen a sunrise, never seen anything. The disciples were simply trying to make sense of the darkness with guilt and blame. Too often, we do the same.

In a world that is darkened by sin, we want to make sense of why things are off-kilter. We grope around for an answer to why. “Why is there this darkness?” Sadly, the most common explanation we have for darkness is to try to assign blame. We do the same thing all the time. “Whose fault is this?” “Who can we blame?” Those kinds of questions are asked all the time in hospital rooms, at gravesides, when a marriage grows cold, and whenever things aren’t as they should be. It’s our vain search for an answer to why darkness exists.

Jesus’ answer is so wonderful. It’s a shocking answer that should lift our dark hearts. Listen to how it frees: “It wasn’t that this man sinned, or his parents” (Jn. 9:3). In other words, not every blindness, not every broken relationship, not every disease is the direct result of a specific sin. Sure. Of course. Suffering flows directly because of the Fall. Sin is what brought suffering and disease and death and darkness into God’s good creation. But Jesus doesn’t let us play the blame game that crushes others with guilt. Christ says, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (Jn. 9:3). God is going to display His saving works in and toward and through the blind man.

This text we just read was not the first time Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World.” Jesus first said it back in Jn. 8:12during a tense exchange with the Pharisees that we aren’t going to rehash. Just know that Jesus had already said that He is the Light of the World, but He says it again before He heals this man who was blind from birth. 

We heard in our Psalm tonight (Ps. 27:1-4), “Yahweh is my light and my salvation.” Here, Jesus shows that He is that light and salvation. He is the same God who began creation by saying, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3; Jn. 1:3), and here He proves that He is God in the flesh by doing something only the Creator can do. He heals the blind man with actions that replicate the creation of Adam.

In the beginning, God took dust from the ground that was wet from a mist; God used that mud to form Adam’s body and breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life (Gen. 2:6-7). Jesus doesn’t have that same mist to make mud, so He creates His own. Right there in the dirt of Jerusalem, the Creator is at work again. Our Lord spits on the ground and spreads that mud on the man’s eye sockets (Jn. 9:6). So, we should see that Jesus is not only healing the man – He is creating. He is showing that He is the One who spoke light into existence at the very beginning.

At the end of our Old Testament reading tonight (Is. 42:1-7), Isaiah spoke about Yahweh’s Servant who was coming as “a light for the nations, to open eyes that are blind, to bring prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Is. 42:6-7). Jesus is that Servant, and He is doing exactly that here. A little bit later, John tells us that Jesus did this creative work on a Sabbath (Jn. 9:14). It’s a new Sabbath of a new creation that is free – totally free – from the darkness of sin.

Like this blind man, you and I were born spiritually blind. We stumbled around in the darkness of our sin and chased after the shadows. But Jesus has come as the Light and took on our darkness. As He hung on the cross, darkness fell over the earth, and Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mt. 27:45-46). God had forsaken Jesus so that your sin – every dark thought, every selfish choice, every time you blamed someone else for your pain – would be paid for completely.

Three days later, the Light of the World burst forth from the grave. Now, the risen Christ continuously shines out of the darkness and into your heart. In His brightness you have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Co. 4:6).

Dear saints, Jesus, the Light of the World, continues to display the works of God in you (Jn. 9:3). Look again at Jn. 9:4where Jesus says, “We must work the works of Him Who sent Me while it is day.” In the past, I’ve always assumed that Jesus is still talking to the disciples because He’s answering their blame and guilt question right before. But after He corrects their wrong assumption, the disciples drop out of the account. They aren’t involved in the healing of the man in the rest of our text or even in the rest of Jn. 9. In fact, the disciples aren’t even mentioned again until Jn. 11:7. The text doesn’t specifically say it, but the way John writes this, you are to see Jesus dismiss the disciples’ blame question and then turn to the blind man when He says, “We must work the works of Him Who sent Me while it is day,” because it’s the man who was born blind who works with Jesus for the rest of the chapter.

Jesus does the work of creating, healing, and restoring. The blind man does the work of receiving, going, washing, and seeing. And if you keep reading through the rest of Jn. 9 – which I strongly encourage you do – the now-seeing man does the work of believing, confessing, and worshiping (Jn. 9:35-38; cf. Jn. 6:29). But notice that all of the man’s works are a direct result of Christ shining into his darkness. And that, dear saints, is exactly how He still works in you.

Jesus, the Light of the World, has swallowed the darkness and buried it in His now, and forever, empty tomb. Christ’s light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not, and will not ever, overcome it (Jn. 1:5). Jesus is still in the world. He promises to be with you always, to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20). He remains in the world now as the unconquerable Light of the World (Jn. 9:5). Live in His light. Let His glory shine into and through you. And watch the darkness flee. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

War of Words – Sermon on Genesis 3:1-21 for the First Sunday of Lent

Genesis 3:1-21

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 3 is the first battle in the war between the devil on one side versus God and mankind on the other side. Because mankind was the crown of God’s creation, Adam and the woman were Satan’s initial target in his war against God and what He has made. And God knew what He was doing when had Moses record this chapter for us. The Holy Spirit, I suppose, could have inspired Moses to simply write, “But they ate from the forbidden tree, and that’s why everything is messed up,” and move on to Gen. 4. Instead, the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write a detailed account of what happened. One of the reasons for that is so we can see the way the devil continues to fight against God and us. When you are fighting against someone, it’s helpful to know the weapons, tactics, strategies, and goals of your enemy so you can know how counter those attacks. So, that’s what we’re going to do as we consider this text today.

First, the devil’s weapon: He has only one. The devil couldn’t wage his war against our first parents with stones or clubs or swords or horses or tanks or guns or bombs. He couldn’t use anything physical against them because God’s creation was good – so very good, in fact, that nothing physical could harm them. The devil used the only weapon available to him, and that weapon was words.

The most important thing about us is what we believe because what we believe is the foundation of everything else in our lives. Our belief affects what we do, what we say, what we feel, and how we react. So, the devil came into the center of God’s good creation, into the garden, with words to shatter our belief and to wage his war. And the devil uses the serpent as his tool to hurl those murderous words at our first parents. The devil could’ve used anything to toss his lies at Adam and the woman. Just like an enemy could hurl a stone at a you with his arm, a slingshot, a catapult, or by dropping it from a castle wall, the stone can do harm in any of those instances, but the weapon is the same.

Satan uses the serpent here, but the devil isn’t limited to snakes when he wages war on you. He’s very imaginative and crafty with the different methods he’ll use against you. He might use a book, a video, or the news to throw his weaponized words at you to get you to doubt God and His promises. That worm could use, for example, a doctor who gives you a perfectly accurate diagnosis, “You have this disease, this cancer and you have this long to live.” That doctor might be 100% correct with that diagnosis, but that could be the method that the devil uses to hurl satanic lies at you. Remember, the Son of God, your Savior, promises that death doesn’t get the last word on you, believer. He promises, “Whoever believes in Me shall never die. [The one who believes in Me] has [already] passed from death to life” (Jn. 11:26; 5:24).

So, words are the devil’s weapon. Now, what are his tactics and strategies as he uses that weapon? His tactic is to create space, to open just enough room for you to doubt God. Getting you to doubt God is His goal, so more on that in a minute. His tactic and strategy is to separate and distance you from God and His promises. And it doesn’t take very much space. He can slither his way into the tiniest of cracks.

As that slimy worm talks to the woman here, he presents the possibility that God is holding something back and has denied her something. He wants to open up enough space to make her think that she’s insufficient. The thing you need to notice is that God actually was holding something back from the woman and from Adam. He was withholding the knowledge of evil. God never intended us to know, let alone experience and endure, evil. But God was, as He always is, infinitely good by withholding that knowledge of evil from them.

Consider how small the crack is that the devil used to plant that tiny seed of doubt. That loathsome worm says, “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5), and that statement was true. God Himself agrees. We didn’t read all of Gen. 3, but in the verse right after our reading ended, God says, “Behold the man has become like one of Us in knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). Here’s the thing: Adam and the woman were already created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). So, do you see how tiny the crack is – like vs. in the image? It’s a tiny difference vocabularically [sic.], but it’s a massive difference theologically.

God did not create us to be exactly like Him. He did create us to bear His image, which is much better for us. We can’t handle being like God. That’s beyond our capacity and ability. It’s too much of a burden for us. Scripture teaches that the best way to combat the devil’s tactic of distancing us from God’s promises, to prevent that space being opened up, is to be content with who we are and content with what God made us to be.

Whenever you sin (no matter what particular commandment you break), you never break only one Commandment. You always break at least two, if not three. Scripture clearly teaches this, but we don’t often think of it this way. Both Col. 3:5and Eph. 5:5 tell us that coveting (9th and 10th Commands) is idolatry (1st Command). When you covet, you are putting yourself in the place of God. Coveting is you saying, “God has messed up. That thing over there,” whatever that thing is, “should be mine over here.”

That is idolatry of self and putting yourself in the place of God. If your sin goes no further, you’ve broken two commands. But if your sin does go further, you break more. Stealing starts with you coveting something someone else owns, which is idolizing yourself, and then you actually take it. Lying starts with you coveting the truth to be something different than it actually is – which, again, is idolizing yourself. Then, you lie to make yourself look better or make your neighbor look worse than he/she is.

Contentment is the counter strategy you have to use against the devil’s tactics. In Php. 4:11-13, Paul urges us toward contentment. He says, “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” That secret is contentment. When things are good, be content and don’t seek more. When things are bad, be content. Know that God is in control – even of the evil things you experience, and He promises that He will provide (Mt. 6:33; 1 Tim. 6:6).

Again, the devil’s weapon is words, and his tactic is to create space between you and God’s promises. But that worm’s goal is to get you to doubt God. Don’t! God is no liar. God is faithful. He’s true to His Word.

So, your goal when fighting against temptation should be twofold. First, know God’s Word – more and more, better and better. And second, use that Word. 

You need to know that word extremely well. The woman ended up adding to God’s Word when she says that God didn’t allow them to touch the tree (Gen. 3:3). That wasn’t what God said. God never forbade them to touch the tree (Gen. 2:16-17). But the woman adds to God’s command, which shows that she thought God’s Word was insufficient.

Also, notice how during the temptation, Adam is absolutely silent. He doesn’t respond, interject, or interrupt. Adam doesn’t do or say anything. He just sits there and listens while this all plays out. That’s never the right approach when the devil attacks. When facing temptation, don’t be like Adam. Instead, follow your Savior’s example.

In our Gospel text (Mt. 4:1-11), Jesus counters all three of the devil’s temptations with Scripture. With the temptation to turn stones into bread, Christ quotes God’s Word that focuses on God’s promise of provision (Mt. 4:3-4; Dt. 8:3). Your life doesn’t consist in temporal, earthly food. Your life comes from every word that comes from God’s mouth.

When the liar (Jn. 8:44) realizes that Jesus is using Scripture to fight back, Satan tries to use Scripture against Jesus. Think of that. The devil tries to use God’s Word against the Word of God in the Flesh (Jn. 1:14). He says, “God has promised to protect You (Ps. 91:11-12), but have You ever tested that? Jump off this building and see if it’s actually true.”

Dear saints, Satan is still doing this today. Today, he’s using all sorts of voices to pluck Scripture out of context to try to accuse you. The devil will use people who hate God and His Word to quote God’s Word at you and to accuse you of ‘not being very Christ-like.’ Don’t fooled by that. 

Yes, of course, God will protect Jesus from every trouble. But God isn’t a worthless father who will bail his kid out of every trouble that kid gets himself into. To be able to counter the slimy attacks of the worm, you need to know your Bible and know it well so that you won’t be fooled by the satanic twisting of God’s Word. So, Christ counters with Scripture, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”(Dt. 6:16). 

Also, notice Jesus’ response to the third temptation. Yes, He quotes Scripture, but even before He does that, our Lord simply says, “Be gone Satan.” And the devil is forced to flee (Mt. 4:11). Sometimes, you simply need to do the same thing. Tell that vile worm, “Get out of here. I’m not falling for your lies, and I don’t want to listen to them anymore.” There’s a time to tell the devil, “Be gone, you little worm.” That’s a good strategy for you to resist Satan’s attacks.

Finally, dear saints, be comforted. You will fall in this war of words. You will fall into sin. But don’t despair. You have a God who seeks you out like He seeks Adam and the woman saying, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9). In that moment, know that God isn’t coming after you to punish you. He’s calling you back to Himself. Be quick to acknowledge and repent of whatever sin you have. Your Savior has come. He has crushed the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15), and He knows the temptations you face because He was tempted in every way as you are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). So, He sympathizes with you and your weakness. Even better, He has paid the price for your sins with His own blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19). And He clothes you, not just with animal skins (Gen. 3:21), but with the perfect, spotless robe of His righteousness (Is. 61:10; Php. 3:9).

So, fight the good fight (1 Tim. 6:2). Take up the weapons of righteousness and fight against the enemy of your soul. Your Savior is returning with the sound of His war trumpet (Mt. 24:31; 1 Co. 15:52). And in that day, you will be forever changed to be like Him (1 Jn. 3:2) – immortal, at peace, at rest, and altogether alive. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Aligned – Sermon on Matthew 6:1, 16-21 for Ash Wednesday

Matthew 6:1, 16-21

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I thought about starting this sermon with a question, but I’m going to start with the answer first. So, here’s the answer, “No. Absolutely, positively, definitely not!” That’s the answer. You’re probably wondering, “Ok, pastor. What’s the question?” Here it is: “Is Jesus telling us to be hypocrites here?” Again, the answer is, “No way. No how. Nuh-uh.” One of the common definitions of a hypocrite is ‘someone who says one thing and does another.’ Or we can flip the order – a hypocrite is ‘someone who does one thing and says another.’

That definition is overly simplistic because here Jesus says that when you fast you are to make it look like you aren’tfasting. And Jesus isn’t telling you to be a hypocrite. So, we should probably get better get a better, more Biblical definition of what hypocrite is. A hypocrite is someone who removes God from the equation of everything they do.

Scripture clearly teaches that everyone knows that God exists. Ro. 1:19-21 says that God has revealed Himself in the things that have been made. But instead of acknowledging God, people do not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him. The short way to say that is that atheists don’t exist. Sure, there are liars who falsely call themselves atheists. They claim to believe that God doesn’t exist, but they’re lying to themselves.

So basically, a hypocrite is someone who seeks the approval of men rather than of God. Jesus repeatedly says so here in Mt. 6. Christ says that hypocrites sound a trumpet before they give so that they can be praised by others (Mt. 6:2). He teaches that hypocrites pray so that they can be seen by others (Mt. 6:5). In this reading, our Lord says that hypocrites make themselves look gloomy and miserable when they fast so they will be seen by other people (Mt. 6:16).

In other words, hypocrites do good works. But they do those good works to get the approval of other sinners instead of God. Again, they remove God from the equation. Ultimately, hypocrisy is idolatry. It makes people into little gods. And if you do good works for people, Jesus says that you already have your reward which won’t last. But Jesus promises that if you do your good works for God, you will be rewarded by God, and that reward will be eternal treasure that will last forever (Mt. 6:4, 6, 18).

With all of that said, I’m going to give you the entire sermon in one sentence. Ready? There is a spiritual benefit to the bodily practice of fasting because fasting helps align our body and soul.

Christian, you are justified and saved by grace through faith and not your works (Eph. 2:8-9). Faith is not just something that happens in your heart and that’s it. No. Faith changes everything about you. Faith changes both your soul and your body. In other words, faith is lived out. We know this because God works on you to sanctify you, to make you more and more holy.

There are two aspects of sanctification. First, sanctification comes about when the Holy Spirit comes to live in you and gives you the strength to love God and love your neighbor. Sanctification is that growth in good works and acts of love. The second side of sanctification is that the Holy Spirit gives you strength to fight against your sinful flesh. Ro. 6:12-14 puts it this way, “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” In other words, don’t go on sinning. Don’t let yourself to continue living in sin.

That’s where fasting comes in. You can think of fasting as practice. Just like a basketball player will run ‘crushers’ and do dribbling and shooting drills so, when they face an opponent in a game, all of those things come naturally. Fasting is like doing those drills. It gives you the endurance and discipline and skill that you need to fight against sin when it really counts.

Before I go on, I have to add this. You can’t fast when it comes sinful actions. If you’re a kleptomaniac and habitual liar, you can’t say, “I’m going to fast from stealing and lying.” No! Those are sins; don’t do them. Fasting is temporarily denying yourself and not doing things that aren’t sinful. You do that so that you know what to do when you stand face-to-face with sinful lusts and desires.

Normally, we think about fasting as not eating. That is one way to fast. When you fast from eating and your stomach growls and starts preaching to you, “Hey, you should feed me,” you say to your stomach, “You’re not the boss. Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4; Dt. 8:3). Then, instead of eating, you read Scripture or pray. That discipline helps bring your body in alignment with your redeemed and forgiven soul.

So, I would encourage you, give fasting a try. It doesn’t have to be giving up food. Use your God-given wisdom to pick something that you regularly do and don’t do it for a certain amount of time. Let me give you a few possible examples:

Maybe, you decide that you won’t go on YouTube or social media for a few days, or you decide to limit yourself to a certain amount of time on those apps each day, or only during a certain window of the day. You get to pick. Then, when you have the desire to go on them outside of your window, read your Bible or pray or sing a hymn instead.

Maybe, you decide to give up watching a news program for a while. Instead of watching it, read the Psalms to remind yourself that God is in control. This will help you learn that the world won’t fall apart just because you don’t know what’s going on. Use that time to pray for our leaders.

Maybe, you normally listen to something on your headphones while you’re plowing snow. Instead of doing that, meditate on a passage of Scripture. Maybe, you set your alarm 15 minutes earlier and deny yourself that bit of sleep to pray for your family and friends or text them a Bible verse.

The possibilities are endless. By doing those things, you train your body and mind and bring them into alignment with your redeemed soul. You gain self-control and see that you have the strength to fight when you have desires that are actually sinful.

Yes, keep your fasting secret, but remember that Jesus promises that your heavenly Father sees your fasting and will reward you. In other words, fasting lays up treasures in heaven for you. And where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Mt. 6:21).

Dear saints, know this – God loves you whether you fast or not. He has come to win your forgiveness and salvation, and His work is finished, complete, and perfect. Certain of that restored relationship with God, know that you are His, and you are free. Free to spend your life on things that matter. Free to store up eternal treasures in heaven. 

And your Savior freely invites you now to His table to receive the greatest treasure of His Body and Blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Full Stop – Sermon on Hebrews 4:9-13 for Sexagesima Sunday

Hebrews 4:9-13

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When we think of rest, we think of it as the opposite of work. Most of the time, rest means we can change into comfy clothes and sweats and sit on a couch or recliner after a long day at work or school. Monday through Friday, rest probably means going to bed at descent time to gain enough strength just so you can get up and get back to work tomorrow and the next day and the next day until the weekend comes. Sadly, many Christians have accepted and adopted the phrase, “Everybody’s workin’ for the weekend.” We’ll work hard for days, weeks, and months to go on vacation – notice how the word ‘vacate’ is the root of the word ‘vacation.’ We vacate our work to visit sandy beaches, cruise ships, or lake cabins where there are no alarm clocks or calendars or to-do lists. Often, rest is nothing more than being inactive or idle. Even though this idea of rest isn’t completely contrary to the Bible – in fact, some of those ideas are right – but the concept of rest in the Scriptures is much fuller and more beautiful than that. 

We know that rest is something more than just recuperating from work because the first being to rest in Scripture is God. And He doesn’t need to recuperate! God’s work of creation ends with Him resting on the seventh day. Gen. 2:1-3 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.” The Hebrew word translated ‘rest’ there means “cease” or “come to an end,” which has a different nuance than our concept of ‘rest.’ But that word alsohas a specialized meaning of ‘celebrate.’

The first Sabbath day was God celebrating the finish and completion of His work of creating. It wasn’t as though God needed to catch His breath and sit on His Lazy-boy in the clouds to regain strength. No! His work was done, complete, nothing more to do. Everything was in harmony. Everything was ordered exactly the way God intended it to be. God’s rest on the seventh day was His delightful celebration that He had finished His work, and He had done it well.

You’ve probably experienced this kind of rest when you’ve finished a project that has cost you effort, time, and skill. You step back and see that everything is spot on. Imagine the satisfaction of when all the ice and snow is cleared from the cement of your driveway and sidewalk. Or when the house is clean and the meal is spread out on the beautiful table. The job is done, and you have that sweet sense of satisfaction. That’s the idea of rest in Gen. 2, and that’s why God blesses the seventh day and makes it holy.

All of God’s work of creating was moving toward that holy, blessed seventh day of rest. But also, each individual day of creation has hints of moving toward this rest. The picture Gen. 1 gives us is that God works for a time each day and has mini rests each night. But notice how the summary of each day in Gen. 1 is ordered. Each of the six days of creation end with the statement, “And there was evening and there was morning the X day” (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). The thing you need to notice with that phrase is that each day starts from the time of rest. Evening is mentioned first, then, comes morning. The time of rest comes first. The picture is that God doesn’t get His work in so that He can rest; instead, He works from or out of rest; His work is the fruit of His rest. Then, when the six days are done and everything is complete, God takes a whole day to celebrate and rejoice in His orderly, finished, beautiful creation. God’s rest isn’t Him pulling back from creation. Instead, it’s Him delighting in His creation. He’s celebrating and enjoying everything that He done and accomplished.

Also, think about what the timing of that first Sabbath means our first parents. Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day and were the final two pieces of God’s creation. So, their first full day of existence is the seventh day – the day when God rests. God ordered creation so that He could share His celebration of its completion with mankind. Adam and Eve hadn’t done anything yet. They hadn’t done any work, but they are there to celebrate with God in the ‘very goodness’ (Gen. 1:31) of His complete creation. 

This is the background of why God gave us the third Command to “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8). The Sabbath day was established so that you would remember and celebrate the wonder of God and all that He has done. In Ex. 20:8-11, when God first gave the Ten Commandments, He gives a long explanation of why the Sabbath Command exists. It’s the second longest explanation of all the Commandments. The only one that has a longer explanation is the First Command. And God ties the Sabbath Command to the fact that He made the heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day and blessed and made it holy (Ex. 20:11). The interesting thing is that when the Ten Commandments are repeated right before Israel entered the Promised Land, God ties the Sabbath Command to something different. God ties it to the fact that He had brought His people out from slavery in Egypt (Dt. 5:12-15). God connects the Sabbath Command to two things: 1) creation and 2) redemption.

So, the Sabbath Command to rest exists so that we can celebrate with God in the goodness of His works of creating and saving every week. God did all the work of creating humanity, and God did all the work of redeeming His people. The people didn’t do anything because they couldn’t do anything. God did everything that needed to be done. So, the point of the Sabbath Command isn’t only to get you to stop working. The point of the Sabbath is so you can sanctify, honor, and celebrate the work God has done for you. That point is so you would delight in the wonder and joy of His creation and His redemption.

After all that, we can get to this text from Hebrews. When our text talks about the Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God, God is promising more than a time for you to physically recover and get back to work. Instead, God is promising that you will rejoice with Him in the abundant gifts He gives. It’s a reentrance into the same rest with God that Adam and Eve had with God before the Fall into sin. This Sabbath rest is delighting in all of God’s works which make and redeem everything so it is all perfect, pristine, and complete.

One of the ways the text highlights this isn’t clear in our translations, but it is clear in the Greek. In v. 9, the text says that a ‘Sabbath rest’ remains for the people of God. In Greek, ‘Sabbath rest’ is a single word sabbitismos, and it’s a word that only appears here in the entire Bible. It’s like the author of Hebrews had to make up a new word to capture all of the meaning of the rest that is in your future. It’s a rest that is greater than all the rest that has come before. Then, in v. 10-11, the text uses a different word that gets translated as ‘rest’ three times. The word is katapausis. You can hear in it the word ‘pause’ and the ‘kata’ at the beginning just amplifies it. It means a ‘complete stop’ or a ‘full stop.’ 

Dear saints, your Sabbath rest is full and perfect because it is found in the perfect restoration that Jesus has worked and won for you. By His death and resurrection, Jesus has completely redeemed you. And because of His work, you are a new creation (2 Co. 5:17).

This Sabbath rest, this full stop, is something you have to strive after. You have to strive after it because you aren’t God. Because God is eternal and all-powerful, the reason for His rest is different than yours. Sharing in God’s rest isn’t about recovering after work. Instead, it’s the pure delight of being exactly what you are created and redeemed to be.

You have to strive to enter this rest because you want to be your own god and master. And you’ll never have God’s rest if you think that you are your own master and that everything depends on you. That kind of independence is actually horrifying because it requires and demands constant vigilance, work, and activity. Stop deluding yourself! You aren’t in control or responsible for everything. God is. Strive to let go of your need to control your corner of creation because you’ll always need to control a little more. And you can’t. Instead, be still (cease) and know that He is God (Ps. 46:10).

You enter God’s Sabbath rest by hearing His living and active Word. In John 6, Jesus is asked by a crowd point-blank, “What must we do to be doing the works of God?” In other words, “How can we strive to please God?” And Jesus responds, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (Jn. 6:28-29). So, let’s drive all of this home:

There is a Sabbath rest for you, people of God (Heb. 4:9). This rest is yours now, but it is also a future promise. It’s yours now because God the Father has finished His work of creation. And God the Son has finished His work of saving and redeeming you. But the permanent possession of that rest is still in the future. God the Holy Spirit keeps working on you through God’s Word. That’s why you need to strive and work to not fall into the disobedience of unbelief and of giving up faith in God’s promises. You need to strive to give up on trying to be your own master. You need a full stop. And how do you get that?

Well, you come here. You begin each week in the rest that is yours right now. You come into this sanctuary where Christ is (Mt. 18:20). By coming here, you receive what He promised in Mt. 11:28, “Come to Me all you who labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” or, more literally, “I will rest you.” And it is from that rest that you are strengthened to go out from here and live your life day after day, week after week. You go back into creation after celebrating the fullness and completion of God’s work in you. You go back to your vocations knowing that God is in control, knowing that He is busy completing the good work that He began in you (Php. 1:6).

This place is truly a sanctuary. It’s a holy place where holy people meet with the holy God. From Him, and from Him alone, you receive the full stop from your futile works of trying to claw your way back to God. And always, we look forward to the day when we will forever enter into God’s rest and joy and celebration of His redeemed and sanctified creation. May that day come soon. Come quickly, Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Pursue What Never Fades – Sermon on 1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5 for Septuagesima Sunday

1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Before we get into the text something needs to be abundantly clear in our minds. Salvation is a gift. It is freely given by God because He is merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6). You are saved by grace through faith and not because of your own doing; salvation is a free gift given by God and isn’t a result of your works (Eph. 2:8-9). You don’t earn your way into heaven. You don’t deserve God’s forgiveness and mercy, but He loves to freely give you His forgiveness, mercy, and grace because of what Christ has done by His death and resurrection. That needs to be firm in your mind because that isn’t what Paul is dealing with in these verses.

What Paul is dealing with is the fact that salvation can be neglected and cast aside. Salvation can be lost. That’s why those first few verses from 1 Co. 10 talk about how God’s people were overthrown in the wilderness. They prayed, and God delivered them from bondage and slavery in Egypt. God sent His judgment on their oppressors, and His people left with the treasures of Egypt (Ex. 12:35-36). On top of that, God gave them every spiritual blessing. They were Baptized in the cloud and the sea. God fed them with spiritual food and gave them spiritual drink. But even though they had received all those gifts, they didn’t enter the Promised Land. Instead, they were overthrown in the wilderness (1 Co. 10:5). Or, to use the word Paul uses at the end of ch. 9, they were disqualified.

So, what Paul is dealing with here isn’t about becoming saved. That’s a free gift. What he’s talking about is being a Christian, living a Christian life, denying self, and bearing the cross (Mt. 16:24). He’s talking about walking in the good works that God prepared for you (Eph. 2:10) and about bearing the fruit of good works that proves that faith is living (Jam. 2:17-18).

When you aren’t striving to walk in the good works God has prepared for you, Paul says you look absurd. You look like an athlete on a track who isn’t even trying. The gun goes off, and you’re still standing at the starting line as though nothing is happening, or you’re ridiculously dancing across all the lanes while the other competitors are finishing the race. When you are complacent in your faith, you’re like an unfocused boxer. The bell rings, and you’re swinging punches in the air willy-nilly while the other guy in the ring is waiting to knock you out cold.

Yes, God has saved us and freely granted us salvation. The point here is that salvation places us into a life that is filled with good works, a life where we fight against the sins of being lazy and complacent, a life where we are devoted to loving God and our neighbor, and a life where we are determined and disciplined to do better at keeping His commandments. This kind of life is what gives us a deeper and firmer faith in and devotion to Christ.

This pursuit to faith, this growth in and devotion to good works isn’t just a minor teaching of Scripture. It’s all over the New Testament. In Lk. 13:24, Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” In Jn. 6:27, He says, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but [work] for the food that endures to eternal life.” 1 Co. 15:58 says, “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Gal. 6:9, “Let us not grow weary of doing good.” Php. 2:12“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Tit. 2:14 says that Jesus purified us to be His people who are “zealous for good works.” Heb. 4:9-11 says, “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God; …strive to enter that rest.” 1 Pt. 1:22, “Love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” This teaching everywhere.

But one of the problems that we have with these many calls to good works is that we look backward. We think about how it went when we had opportunities to do good works. We look back at our failures to be diligent and how un-zealous and lazy we were. We realize that we aren’t what God calls us to be. So, the Bible is pushing us forward to good works, but we look back and see our failures. That kills our drive and motivation. Instead of being inspired by these calls to good works, we are discouraged. We think, “With all the times I’ve failed, why would I even try?” The very thing that is meant to encourage us ends up discouraging us. And that isn’t a problem with the Scriptures. The problem is our sin and looking backward.

What Paul is doing with this text is trying to get us to quit looking at our past failures and laziness. Instead, we are to look forward to the prize. In Php. 3:13–14, Paul puts it this way, “[O]ne thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

This is why Paul uses this sporting analogy here and says that he disciplines his body and keeps it under control. The Greek there literally says, “I pummel my body and make it a slave… lest I should be disqualified.”

To compete in the games that Paul mentions here, athletes in Paul’s day would devote themselves to ten months of training. They would go on strict diets and give up anything that hindered their training. Those competitors had to have the will and self-control to let go of everything that would distract them from winning. And when it was time to compete, they had one goal – winning the prize.

The prize the athletes won at the games near Corinth wasn’t a gold medal. No, they got a wreath made of dried, withered celery. Dear saints, if an athlete is willing to do all that for celery – something that you buy at the store simply so you can throw it away after it sits in your fridge for a week – how much more should you work and strive and discipline yourself and use self-control? You should do all that because your prize, your aim, your goal is the resurrection? Your goal is eternal life. It’s peace and rest with God Himself (Heb. 4:9-11).

The parable in our Gospel lesson today (Mt. 20:1-16) dealt with this too. The problem with the workers who were hired at the beginning of the day was that they kept looking backward at their work and toil and were focused on the wage. That perspective wrongly led them to think they were owed more than the guys who were hired later. The problem with those workers was that were looking in the wrong direction. They figured the goal was the paycheck when, in reality, it was a place in the vineyard. That’s why they are told to exit the vineyard.

Dear saints, pursue what never perishes. Chase what never fades because that is actually worth having and attaining. 2 Tim. 4:8 points you to the crown of righteousness which the Lord, your Savior and righteous Judge, will award to you because you have loved His appearing. That is what is before you, and that is worth striving for.

Look to that. When you wake up every morning, you are to see a track, a race, a finish line, and a prize. That prize is the imperishable crown of righteousness and life with your Savior. Get up and run that you may obtain it. Dear saints, pursue that because it will never fade. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.