Tag Archives: Commandments

Silenced – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 22:34-46

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, 
“Sit at my right hand, 
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Arrogance was behind that question, “What is the great commandment in the Law?” We know this was arrogant because the lawyer is asking this question in order to test Jesus. This text is at the end of a conversation Jesus has been having with the religious leaders. If you look back to the beginning in Mt. 22:15, you’ll see that the religious leaders are trying to entangle Jesus in His words. The Pharisees had debated which command was the greatest for centuries, but they couldn’t come up with an answer because picking one would imply that something God commanded isn’t important. Or, at least, not as important. And, of course, that can’t be true. Every word that comes from the mouth of God matters because He is the One whose powerful voice spoke all things into existence.

Imagine a student who is studying to be a heart surgeon. I don’t actually know how heart surgeons are trained, but I see them getting something similar to a recipe. It’s got a list of all utensils and ingredients needed followed by instructions on how to use them. Imagine a student seeing that recipe. Step 1: Scrub up. Step 2: Make the incision. Step 3: Find this artery. And so on, going through the whole process. If one of those students asked which step is the most important, how would the instructor reply? I imagine the instructor saying, “They’re all important! Do everything correctly – from scrubbing up to closing. You have to get it all exactly right. Don’t leave anything out, or you’ll kill your patient!”

Basically, that is what Jesus says here. Everything God has commanded is important. All the Commands are good, right, and true. That’s what Jesus communicates when He summarizes God’s Law as, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself”(Mt. 22:37-39). Everything command of God is important, and everything He requires falls into two categories of either loving God or loving neighbor. In Ro. 13:10, the Law is summarized even further, “Love is the fulfilling of the Law.”

But sadly, this summary the Law is twisted. The devil has used countless false teachers say that the word ‘love’ is God’s only command. And when they do that, those false teachers utterly corrupt love. Yes, the command to love summarizesGod’s Law, but it doesn’t replace God’s commands. Today, to combat that devilish twisting, I want to make six points about God’s Law. I’ve done this before, but it’s been seven years since I last did it. So, it’s worth reviewing again.

First, while the command to love summarizes the Law, the word ‘love’ doesn’t replace the Law. We sinners will do all sorts of things that go against what God has commanded in the name of love. But you don’t get to steal food from a store because you love your children and want to feed them. Instead, loving your children requires you to keep the Command against stealing by getting a job to buy food for them. Committing adultery is not suddenly ok just because you love someone. That leads to the second point.

Second, the Law defines how to love your neighbor. There’s a 4th Command love that honors parents. There’s an 8th Command love that does not bear false witness and tells the truth. In each Command, God is telling us, “Here is how you love Me and love your neighbor.”

The third point about the Law is closely related to that. While the Law shapes how you love your neighbor, the needs of your neighbor also shape your love for them. The 7th Command about stealing will take one shape if you are an employee. It looks like working hard, not wasting time, and doing good work. But if you own a business, the 7th Command takes a different shape. It means that you are generous and pay a fair wage that rewards the work and skills of your employees. Same with the 4th Command to honor parents. When you are a child, honoring parents means obeying them. When you’re an adult, honoring parents means respecting them.

Fourth, you show love for God by showing love for your neighbor. 1 Jn. 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” If you want to demonstrate love for God, you do that by loving your neighbor, according to the commandments and according to your neighbor’s need.

And with this fourth point we see that there is an order to your love. You are to love the people God has placed closest to you first, then love everyone else. 1 Tim. 5:8 says that a person needs to provide for all his relatives, but especially the members of his household. And Gal. 6:10 says, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” So, it is loving to give to the Feed My Starving Children offerings, but it is not loving for you to put your entire paycheck in there and not be able to feed your family or to let your brothers and sisters in Christ go hungry while you feed people you haven’t met.

Fifth, and this is the most important one: The Law always accuses. There’s no time in your life where you can say that you have kept God’s Law perfectly. As long as you have a pulse, you can’t check off the boxes to love God and your neighbor because you still have strength. Those boxes are always on your to-do list. And you and I are sinners and always fall short when it comes to the command to love. So, the life of a Christian is always filled with repentance and receiving the forgiveness that comes only through Christ.

Finally, the sixth point: Even though the Law always shows you that you are a sinner, don’t fall into the temptation of giving up in your attempt to keep God’s Law. Christian, even though you are going to fail to love perfectly, you need to strive to do it. Pray for strength and wisdom. Pray that God would open your eyes and ears to your neighbors’ needs. Then, be God’s hands and feet to meet those needs.

Changing gears and getting back to Mt. 22. We know that the Law is not the only word God has spoken to you. God also speaks His comforting words of Gospel. After Jesus summarized the Law, He turns the tables. Now, He has a question for the religious leaders about the Gospel. “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”To their credit, these Pharisees know their Bible. They know that in 2 Sam. 7, God promised that the Christ would come through King David’s lineage, and He would reign as King forever and ever.

But Jesus wants to draw them further into the Gospel and into a further knowledge of the identity of the Christ by asking, “If the Christ is David’s son, how can David also call him, ‘Lord’?” (Ps. 110:1). The Pharisees can’t figure out this riddle because they figured the Christ was going to be a man who would set things right and save them. They didn’t understand that the Christ would be fully God and fully Man. But Jesus wasn’t trying to trick them. There He was, the Christ, standing right before them. The God-Man and Messiah, talking with them, calling them to Himself. Sadly, their only response was silent ignorance.

Dear saints, this question from Jesus silences you too, but in a very different way. You aren’t silenced into the shame of the Pharisees; instead, you are silenced in a holy wonder. Your silence is an awe that realizes that, to save you from the condemnation of the Law, God has located Himself in the body of Jesus. Because of Jesus’ birth, part of God’s nature is that He now has a human body. He took on that body so He could suffer for you, shed His blood for you, die for you, rise again for you, and rule as King until all your enemies are placed under His nail-scarred feet. Your Christ, your Savior, and your God has united Himself to you.

Lucy, today, we rejoice with you that you are Baptized. You are now clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27) and joined to Him in His death and resurrection (Ro. 6:3-4). Remain in Him. Lucy and all you Baptized saints, we will never fully understand the unity that we have with God because of our Baptism. And yet, we, in silent wonder, can bask in the glory that God Himself has loved us in this way.

God came to you. He took on your flesh. He lived a perfect life and died an atoning death. Now, He is risen and rules as the Lord of all creation. Your Savior from sin is David’s Son and David’s Lord. He is your Lord and King, and yet He is your brother Who now invites you to His royal banquet to receive His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of all your sin and failure to love God and neighbor. Come and receive Him. Amen.

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

Nigh-Liver – Sermon on Luke 10:23-37 for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Luke 10:23–37

23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

You need the right tool for the right job. If you need to fix your glasses, a hammer isn’t going to help you. Sure, you might need to insert a pointy piece of metal hardware into the frame of your glasses, but it’s going to be a screw and not a nail. In fact, when you’re trying to fix a pair of glasses, it isn’t even enough to have a screwdriver. You need the right kind of screwdriver – one that is tiny and difficult for my not-so-dexterous hands to manipulate. That’s why, for me, the right tool for fixing my glasses isn’t a tiny screwdriver; it’s an optician.

The lawyer who comes to Jesus is undertaking a worthy task – desiring to have eternal life, but he is using the wrong tool. Not only does he not have the right tool in his tool chest, he doesn’t even understand of what kind of tool he needs. He thinks salvation is something he can do and achieve for himself. That’s why his question is, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus gives him perfect, correct instructions for earning eternal life by pointing him only to the Law. Love God perfectly and love your neighbor perfectly. Do this, and you will live (Lk. 10:26-28; see also Ps. 15).

The lawyer’s response to this is interesting. He doesn’t ask, “Who is God?” That would be ridiculous. He also doesn’t ask, “How do I love God?” Instead, he asks, “Why is my neighbor?” That question reveals something. Apparently, the lawyer thinks that already loves God perfectly. It’s only the second part of the equation that befuddles him. He is looking for an ‘out.’ He wants a limit on the extent of the command to love others. But there is no limit on this command. You cannot love God whom you have not seen if you don’t love your neighbor whom you have seen (1 Jn. 4:20).

In the context of this conversation between Jesus and the lawyer, that question is absurd. The word ‘neighbor’ defines itself. In at least Greek, Hebrew, Latin, German, and English, the word for ‘neighbor’ has more to do with location than anything else. In each of those languages (probably in others too), ‘neighbor’ means the person close to you. The English word neighbor is spelled so weird because it comes from two middle-English words smooshed together: nigh – as in ‘near,’ and gebur which means ‘dweller.’ Your neighbor is anyone who dwells near you. Or, to explain the title of the sermon, your neighbor is the one who lives nigh unto you – a nigh-liver.

Now, the lawyer asks the question because he’s trying to get out from under the command to love his neighbor as himself. He wants a limit to the love that is required of him because, presumably, he wants to keep lying to himself about being worthy of inheriting eternal life. But in general, the question, “Who is my neighbor?” is something we Christians should have in our minds constantly – not because we’re looking for information or identification of our neighbor. Rather, we should be asking that question so we recognize all of the targets of love that God places in front of us. Because we don’t get to pick and choose our neighbors. God gives them to us.

In the parable, God ‘neighbors’ the robbed, stripped, beaten, left-half-dead man to three people. God plops this needy guy in the path of the priest and the Levite. However, both of them intentionally and deliberately try to un-neighbor him. They move to the other side of the road to create distance between them and the wretch in the ditch.

Of course, if the situation had been reversed and either the priest or the Levite had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead, they would have desired help from anyone who passed by. Everyone who gets into trouble or danger is glad to receive help from anyone. That’s the most basic meaning of the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

But the third guy, the Samaritan, is an outsider. Jews and Samaritans hated each other. But this Samaritan recognizes that God has neighbored this man to him, and he uses, what appears to be, unlimited resources to care for him. He binds up the man’s wounds and pours on oil and wine. He bears the burden of lifting the man onto his own animal and walking to town and cares for the man overnight. He pays for two more nights so the man can stay in the inn. And on top of that, he sets up an all-expenses paid account for any charges or costs the man would rack up between the time the Samaritan leaves and comes back. 

We misunderstand this parable if we think it is teaching us who our neighbor is. Sure, the lawyer had asked who his neighbor is, but Jesus uses the parable to show what it is to be a neighbor, a nigh-liver. To be a neighbor is to show mercy. The mercy of the Samaritan had no limits. And that is why the Samaritan is such a clear picture of Christ. Jesus proves to be a neighbor. The eternal Son of God descended from His heavenly throne, took on flesh, and dwelt among us in order to neighbor us and shower His mercy upon us.

Everyone gives you an opportunity to show love. But you aren’t called to love everyone the same way. If you try to feed every single person you come across (whether they need it or not) but that comes at the cost of feeding your own children, that’s a problem. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Other portions of Scripture are helpful in this as well. Galatians 6:10 says, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Yes, you are to love everyone whom God puts along your path, but even in that there is a hierarchy. You are to care for those God puts closest to you first. And your closest neighbors are those in your immediate family – your spouse, your parents, your children. After that is the people in this congregation who have been made your brothers and sisters in Christ. Next come the people who live next to you on your block and your coworkers, boss, and friends. Finally, anyone else that God puts along your path and causes to live nigh to you.

When you think of those two great commands, “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself,” think of a dart board. What is the bullseye? You might think that God should be there, so you aim all your good works toward God. But that is wrong. God doesn’t need to be the center of your target. He doesn’t need anything from you, and you can’t give Him anything (Job 35:7, 41:11). Instead, it’s the people God places closest to you who are the center of your target. Think of God as being underneath the entire target. Christian, you love God by loving the neighbors that He has given you (1 Jn. 4:20).

Dear Banks, that brings me to you. Banks, in Jesus, God has neighbored you. Today, you are Baptized. Today, Jesus has joined you to Himself by placing His name upon you (Mt. 28:19) and clothed you in His righteousness (Gal. 3:27). Banks, you have been born of God; remain in the faith which overcomes the world (1 Jn. 5:4). Banks, God has neighbored you to us and us to you. As your brothers and sisters in Christ, we will share with you the mercy God has given us so that you can be filled with His mercy and share it with others as well.

Banks and all you saints, receive the mercy of Jesus who has neighbored you. He comes to your rescue. He binds up your wounds. He pours on the medicine of immortality. He sets up an all-expenses paid account for you in the inn of the Church. Everything you need is covered and paid for. So, let the mercy He has given you spill over to other nigh-livers that God places in your life. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Christ’s Obedience – Sermon on Romans 5:19 for Midweek Lent 1

The Scripture readings for tonight’s service are Psalm 16; Isaiah 50:5-10; and John 6:35-40.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Tonight, as we begin this series contemplating Christ’s suffering, we need to have a couple of things straight in our minds.

First, to contemplate Jesus’ suffering isn’t just about knowing facts, events, and details about Jesus’ Passion. For example, there are books and articles you can read about the horrors of what crucifixion does to a person. Doctors can tell you about what happens to the body and the pain that those who are crucified experience. There can be a benefit to those sorts of things because it can add shed light on certain Biblical texts like Psalm 22 which talks about being “poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint, … my tongue sticks to my jaws, … I can count all my bones,” etc. So, to be clear, the point of this series is not just to see how great Jesus’ suffering was or how much He suffered as He gave His life on the cross. Instead, the point of this series is to see that Christ’s suffering is for you and for your salvation.

The second thing we need to have straight is this: Tonight’s sermon is titled “Christ’s Obedience.” Obeying God does not cause Jesus to suffer. Not in the least! 1 Jn. 5:3 makes it clear that God’s Commandments, along with keeping and obeying them, are not burdensome. Yes, because we are sinners, we think God’s Commands restrict us. We don’t always want to do what the Commandments require of us and think they cause us suffering, but that’s not the fault of the Commandments.

The Commandments are simply how creation works. People who have never heard the Commandments know that murder, stealing, and lying is wrong (Ro. 2:14). All of the Ten Commandments are written into the fabric of creation just like the laws of physics. Think back to right after Christmas when we had a couple inches of ice on everything. You knew that you needed to be careful moving around because there wasn’t the normal amount of friction between your foot or tire and where you were stepping or driving. And if you didn’t compensate for how slippery everything was, the laws of physics meant that things could go wrong very quickly. The same is true for the Commandments. Whether a person recognizes them as God’s Commands or not, life goes so much better if the Commands are kept and observed because they keep us in line with how creation works.

Jesus perfectly kept God’s Commands and was completely obedient to them, and it was His delight to do so (Ps. 1:2, 119:113). Don’t get the sense that Jesus was groaning and complaining because He had to obey. Now, His obedience did bring Him to suffering because He was the Savior of us disobedient sinners. But Scripture is clear that Jesus wanted to be on the cross to save and rescue you.

Luther draws on this in his great hymn “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice,” in two of the verses. “God said to His beloved Son: ‘It’s time to have compassion. Then go, bright jewel of My crown, and bring to all salvation. From sin and sorrow set them free; slay bitter death for them that they may live with You forever.’ The Son obeyed His Father’s will, was born of virgin mother; and God’s good pleasure to fulfill, He came to be my Brother. His royal pow’r disguised He bore; a servant’s form, like mine, He wore to lead the devil captive.”

In other words, it was Jesus’ obedience to God’s will and His desire to He deliver you from sin, sorrow, and death that led Him to suffering. But obeying God’s will wasn’t what caused Jesus to suffer. I know that is a little nuanced, but I hope you get the picture.

So, tonight what I want to highlight is that Jesus’ obedience to God’s will is what makes His suffering even more profound and precious because, again, He willingly does it for you. Php. 2:5-8 gives us some insight into this: Even though Jesus is the eternal Son of God, He, “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Our Gospel reading (Jn. 6:35-40) sheds light on this. Jesus came and was born to do God’s will. Christ obeyed His Father’s will which was to be your Savior. Your heavenly Father’s will was that Jesus would win you for His own and raise you up on the last day. God’s will is that everyone who beholds Jesus and believes in Him would have eternal life. Doing all of this was Jesus being obedient to His Father’s will, and it was His delight. It was for the joy that was set before Jesus that He endured the cross despising its shame (Heb. 12:2).

So, when you think of Jesus’ obedience, remember that includes everything He suffered. And recognize that it was all for you. So, what did Jesus suffer, and how is it a benefit to you?

Jesus was born in a stable (Lk. 2:7) so you could be reborn as a child of the King of creation (Jn. 1:12-13).

Jesus was raised in the home of a poor carpenter (Lk. 2:40, 52) so you could have eternal riches (Eph. 1:18).

Jesus got tired (Jn. 4:6) so your soul could be refreshed and restored (Ps. 23:3, 5).

Jesus had no place to lay His head (Mt. 8:20) so you could live in a mansion that He has prepared for you (Jn. 14:2-3).

Jesus was arrested (Jn 18:12) so that you would not be eternally captive to the devil (2 Th. 2:26).

Jesus was bound (Jn. 18:12) to release you from the chains of sin (Mt. 18:18).

Jesus was forsaken by all His closest friends (Mt. 26:56) so you could be reconciled with God (2 Co. 5:18).

Jesus was falsely accused (Mt. 28:59-60) so that the Law could not accuse you before God (Ro. 8:1, 33).

Jesus was sentenced to death (Mt. 27:15-26) to release you from eternal death (Jn. 5:24).

Jesus carried His cross (Jn. 19:17) so you would not have to bear the burden of your sins for all eternity (Heb. 12:1).

Jesus was nailed to the cross (Jn. 19:18) so your sins could be cancelled (Col. 2:14).

Jesus was stripped (Jn. 19:23) so He could clothe you in His righteousness (Gal. 3:27).

And Jesus was forsaken by God (Mk. 15:34) so you would not be rejected by God (Ro. 5:10).

Dear saints, Romans 5:19 says, “As by [Adam’s] disobedience the many were made sinners, so by [Jesus’] obedience the many will be made righteous.” That is what Christ has done for you. His obedience, even through suffering, has made you righteous now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Depend – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 22:34–46

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord, 
“Sit at my right hand, 
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This Gospel reading takes place on Holy Tuesday. In other words, it is just a few days before Jesus will be crucified, and what we heard is Jesus’ last public teaching until He preaches the seven last words from the cross. The Pharisees and Sadducees are asking our Lord three questions to try to entangle Him in His words (Mt. 22:15). They want Jesus to say something they can use against Him and kill Him. The first two questions they asked were about paying taxes and the resurrection. But Jesus answers both questions so skillfully that they can’t find a way to accuse Him.

Our text begins with their third and final trick question that comes from a sleezy lawyer. “Teacher, what is the great commandment in the Law?” It seems as though the intent of this question is to get Jesus to put one of the Commandments above the others, and when He does that, they will say that He teaches that the other nine aren’t as important. But they end up looking like fools. It was Jesus’ finger that carved those words into the stone tablets and His voice that spoke them on Mt. Sinai. Jesus is the Author of the Commandments, and they are all important.

So, Jesus answers the question, “The great Commandment is this: love God with everything you’ve got and love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “All the Commandments matter. All of them are the greatest. They all demand that you love God and love your neighbor. All the Commandments depend on these two.” Jesus is clear here, and Scripture is clear elsewhere that what the Commandments require of us is to love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law (Ro. 13:10b). In every situation, you are to love God and love your neighbor. And it is important to spend some time on this because there is a lot of unnecessary confusion about what love looks like. A pastor friend of mine (Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller) put together a list that helps to define and shape what love looks like. And this list is biblical and, I think, very helpful.

First, love is shaped by the Ten Commandments. Love does not mean that there are no other Commandments. No, the Commandments define what love is. Love depends on the Commandments. If you are fornicating and committing adultery, you cannot presume to say that it’s ok because, “We love each other.” Adultery is always unloving.

Second, love is shaped by our vocation or our station in life. Everyone has several vocations, so I’ll use myself as an example here. Some of my vocations are husband, father, pastor, a child of my parents, a friend, etc. In each of those vocations, I am called to love. But what that love looks like depends on those different vocations. For example, part of my love as a father includes providing for my family. So, I earn a living so my wife can go and buy socks for our kids. As a pastor, my love looks different. It looks like faithfully preaching and teaching God’s Word to you, the flock that God has entrusted into my care. My vocation as a pastor does not require me to buy socks for all of you. Pastors are not called to provide socks for their congregations. But that, then, leads us to the third thing that shapes our love.

Our love is also shaped by the needs of our neighbor. If one of you, who aren’t part of my family, needs socks and can’t get them for yourself, my love for you would be to give you socks. Even if the only reason I know you and your need socks is that I’m your pastor, I’m not giving you socks because I’m your pastor. I’m giving you socks because I am your brother in Christ. And if I needed socks, I would want one of you to give me socks if you have the means and resources to provide them. In that instance, I’m loving you as I would love myself. (I think this is the most I’ve ever used the word ‘socks’ in a sermon, but I’m done now.)

That leads us to the fourth thing that shapes our love which is the gifts God has given us. God gives us stuff, skills, and talents so we can use them to love and serve our neighbor. If God has made you successful and given you a lot of money, use those resources to love your neighbor. If God has given you the talent of being good at cooking, you love your neighbor by cooking. If God has given you good mind for math, you can love your neighbor as an engineer or an accountant. The beautiful thing about this one is that the gifts God gives you can help you love your neighbor across different vocations. A person who is good at math can be a good accountant. He can earn a good living and provide for his family and, at the same time, love and serve his clients who need someone to keep their books.

Just briefly here, our neighbor’s need might mean that we have to love our neighbor in a way that we aren’t gifted. Imagine a meteor hit the church during this service. We don’t have an ER doctor here, but we do have an optometrist, a medical student, nurses, and EMTs who are gifted in knowing how the body works and how to heal. They should be the ones who go to the people who are most injured and help them. And if more people are injured, those of us who aren’t gifted in that way are called to do the best we can even though that kind of love is usually reserved for doctors and nurses. Our neighbor’s need trumps how we are gifted. Especially in an emergency, we love and serve others based on their needs rather than our love depending on our gifts. And when the ambulances get here, we who don’t know as much about first aid should step aside and let the professionals use their gifts to serve the people in need.

So, the first four things that shape our love are: 1) the Ten Commandments; 2) our vocation; 3) our neighbor’s need; and 4) our gifts. All of that is fairly obvious and reasonable. But there is another thing that shapes our love, and this last one is one that our culture fights against (for several reasons). But this one is also important to consider. The fifth thing that shapes our love is our neighbor’s sin, and this is where things can get tricky and difficult. But this is also where Jesus’ summary of the Ten Commandments – love God with everything and love your neighbor as yourself – is helpful. And God gives you wisdom to help navigate this.

Imagine you know someone who is addicted to fentanyl, your calling is still crystal clear: you are called to love that person. But now what is that love going to look like? Is it loving to just step aside and let them keep killing themselves by using that fentanyl? No, it isn’t. Their sin against themselves might even mean that you need to break one of the Commandments in order to love them. You might need to steal their fentanyl even though stealing is sin and a violation against the 7th Commandment.

Now, please recognize that the Ten Commandments are still the primary thing that shapes and defines our love. But because of your neighbor’s sin, you break the 7th Commandment about stealing in order for you to keep the 5th Commandment which calls you to do your neighbor no bodily harm, but help and defend him in every need. This is why knowing the Commandments is so important. And, again, your vocation still plays into this too. You aren’t called to travel to San Francisco, Seattle, or Portland and steal fentanyl from all the addicts in those places.

Our neighbor’s sin can hinder the ways we love them. Parents, when your children are breaking the 4thCommandment and not obeying you, your love for them looks like disciplining them; it isn’t what you want to do, but you are called to do it (Pro. 22:15; 23:13; Heb. 12:11). If you have abusive parents, you are still called to keep the 4th Commandment and honor them, but their sin could mean you have to disobey them if they demand you do something contrary to God’s Word. If your cousin, Stacy, is getting married, your love normally looks like going to her wedding and celebrating with her. But if she is breaking the 6th Commandment by trying to be married to another woman, your love for her means not going to the wedding because that would embolden her in her sin against the 6th Commandment. Yes, this is hard and difficult. Yes, this is uncomfortable. Yes, it is even confusing. You are always called to love, but sin can put constraints on love.

And that brings us to the second part of our text which is the question Jesus asks the people who are trying to trip Him up. Jesus turns the discussion to the identity of the Messiah. The Savior is David’s Ancestor and also David’s Lord. The way this is possible is that Jesus is the fully Divine, eternal Son of God and fully human. Christ is God and Man.

Your Savior’s love for you was fully shaped by the Ten Commandments, which Jesus kept perfectly. His vocation was to be the Messiah and shed His blood and bear the punishment for the sins of all humanity because that was our need. He was gifted with everything necessary to be the Savior. And He navigated our sin in such a way that He perfectly loved God by loving us and bearing our sin to the cross. Now, He is risen and lives and reigns on the throne of all creation for eternity. 

Your eternal life totally depends upon what Jesus, the Son of God and Son of David, has done. God be praised that He has done all things well (Mk. 7:37). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Ten Words – Sermon on Exodus 20:1-17 for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Exodus 20:1-17

1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 

3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 

13 “You shall not murder. 

14 “You shall not commit adultery. 

15 “You shall not steal. 

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear saints, you are familiar with this text – or, at least, you should be. We know these verses as “the Ten Commandments” – even though Scripture itself never refers to them as the Ten Commandments. (More on that in just a bit.)

We have grown used to thinking that God only gave the Ten Commandments to show us our sin so that we repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin. Saying that isn’t wrong – not in the least! Scripture says that one of the reasons God gave us the Law is to tell us what we must and have failed to do (Ro. 7:7-12). That’s how Luther uses them in his Small Catechism, and in his hymn on the Ten Commandments that we just sang, he does the same thing, “You have this Law to see therein / that you have not been free from sin, / but also that you clearly see / how pure toward God your life should be.” But God gave the Ten Commandments to do more than simply show us our sin.

Scripture calls this text “the Ten Words” (Ex. 34:28; Dt. 4:13, 10:4). The Bible refers to them as “the Ten Words” because only one of them is actually an imperative (command) – “Honor your father and mother.” All the rest are indicative (statements). A perfectly legitimate – and, admittedly, shorthand – way to understand these verses would be, “You will have no other gods before Me…. You will not misuse My Name…. You will keep the Sabbath holy…. Honor your parents. You will not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, covet.”

As God’s people heard these words at the base of Mt. Sinai, they would have understood three distinct things at the same time. First, they would have understood that this is what God demands they do, which is how we normally understand them. Second, they would have heard them as a description of who they are and how God sees them. Third, they would have heard these as God’s promise to work in them to make them all these things (Php. 1:6).

Think of it this way: A boy might be pestered and bullied by a girl at school so much that he finally retaliates and shoves her to the ground. (You boys, don’t do that because that’s wrong.) They boy’s parents get called to the principal’s office and learn about the altercation. When they get home, the parents send the boy to his room as punishment. Afterwards, the father goes into his son’s room for ‘the talk’ and says, “We do not shove, hit, or be mean to girls.”

Notice what that speech from the father does. First, by saying, “we,” the father is still showing his son that they are in a relationship. The son hasn’t been abandoned or disowned; they belong together and are identified together as a unit. Second, the father is also saying that as a unit, they act and behave a certain way – they don’t use physical force against girls. Also, the boy knows that his dad is forbidding him to use physical force against a girl. All three of those things get communicated at the same time. The Ten Words here work just like that.

Let’s stick with that analogy about the boy and the girl bully to get one more thing about the Ten Words across. As soon as the boy pushed the girl to the ground and saw that she was dirty, dusty, and hurt, the boy’s conscience kicked in because he knew what he had done was wrong even before he pushed her. That rule or command, “Don’t hurt girls,” was already known by the boy even if he had never been taught it. The girl’s pain simply awakened his conscience. The same thing is true for these Ten Words (Ro. 7:7-8).

Cain knew it was wrong to kill Abel (Gen. 4:1-9) even though God hadn’t given the commandment, “Thou shalt not murder,” yet. Joseph knew not lie with Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39:7-9) even though God hadn’t given the command, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Esau accused Jacob of cheating him (Gen. 27:36), and Jacob accused his father-in-law, Laban, of cheating him (Gen. 31:7) even though God hadn’t given the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.” Abraham knew it was wrong to lie about Sarah being his sister (Gen. 12:11-20, 20:1-14) even though God hadn’t given the commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”

Everyone knows to not break the commandments because God has written them into the fabric of creation and on the heart of every person (Ro. 2:15). Everyone, even atheists (Ro. 1:21-25), know that we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mt. 22:37). Everyone knows that we should love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:39).

God didn’t give the Ten Words so that we would know right from wrong. People knew (and still know) right from wrong already. Some think God gave the Ten Words to limit our freedom. Not at all. They are given in the context of God having set His people free, bringing them out of Egypt and slavery (Ex. 20:2). Instead, the Ten Words show God’s people what it looks like to be the free people He has created us to be. In the world that God has made, we aren’t free to do or be anything we please. We are free when we become what we are. A caterpillar is free to become a butterfly not a walrus. The Ten Words guide us to grow up to be what we are, and what we are is the very children of God (1 Jn. 3:2; Gal. 4:1-7).

Now, in an effort to assist with that growth, here’s some advice from Luther. Take each of the Ten Words with you into prayer and ask yourself these four questions: 1. What does this teach me? 2. What does this give me? 3. What does this show me to confess? And 4. What does this teach me to pray for?

For the first, “You shall have no other gods before Me,” you could pray something like this: “Father, thank you that You teach me that You are my God. Thank you that, as my God, You give me all good things. Forgive me for the times I do not trust You to be my God. Grant me Your Holy Spirit so I would love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

For the seventh, “Thou shalt not steal,” you could pray: “Heavenly Father thank You for giving me so many good things. Everything I have is a gift from You. Forgive me for loving and pursuing stuff more than You. Help me to use what You have given me to serve my neighbor.”

Now, all of this is to say that what is most important with regard to the Ten Words is to believe them. Romans 14:23 says, “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” As you believe the Ten Words, you see that God demands that you avoid certain sins and that you do certain good works. But you also see that God is accomplishing these things in you through faith. He has begun that good work in you when you were joined to Jesus’ death and resurrection in your Baptism (Ro. 6:1-11), and, again, He will complete that good work in you (Php. 1:6).

Dear saints, God promises that He is your God who has brought you out of slavery to sin by sending Jesus, who did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it. Through faith in Him, you have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. Because of Him and His work, you will enter the kingdom of heaven, and He invites you now to a seat at His table. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

God-Shaped Love – Sermon on Luke 10:23-37 for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Luke 10:23-37

23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach the lawyer that he will never be saved by the Law and that he needs a Savior to have compassion on him and give him eternal life. The lawyer is the one who has been robbed, stripped, beaten, and left dead in the ditch. The Law, represented by the priest and Levite, passes by and can not and does not help him. With the parable Jesus is teaching that to be one who inherits eternal life, we must be rescued by an outsider whom we despised (Is. 53:3-4) and who owes us nothing. We sinners need a love and compassion that we could never repay from One who doesn’t even want to be repaid. This is the only way for this lawyer to be saved and the only way for any of us to inherit eternal life.

So, the parable of the Good Samaritan is about Jesus and what He does for sinners. Christ is the Good Samaritan who finds us dead in sin. He has compassion on us, comes to us, binds up our wounds, pours on oil and wine, lays us on His animal to bring us to the inn, and sets us up in an all-expenses paid room. That is the point of the parable. The parable is not telling sinners that they need to do good to everyone. The lawyer already knew that he needed to love everyone (Lk. 10:27). He knew the Law requires that he love God and neighbor perfectly. So, if you ever hear someone preaching or teaching that the purpose of this parable is to tell us to love everyone, know that you are hearing only a half-truth, and, often, half-truths are more dangerous than full lies.

Jesus is not calling us to be the Samaritan in order to be saved. Jesus is the Good Samaritan who saves us. Then, it is true that Jesus calls us to go and do likewise (Lk. 10:37). We are to be like Jesus. Christians are to be little Christs who have compassion on their neighbor because Jesus has had mercy upon us. Because we have been rescued by Christ, we have become inheritors of eternal life and children of God. This means Jesus’ call to, “Go and do likewise,” is an invitation for us to imitate Him because children are like their father.

So now, please know, I’m not going to be preaching on the main point of the parable for a bit here, but I am going to use the parable to show how we Christians, who have been saved and rescued from the ditch, are to love God by loving our neighbor.

Dear saints, we need God to shape our love, and He shapes our love by two things: First, by the Ten Commandments, and second, by our relationship to the neighbor that God puts in our life in at any given moment. Let’s flesh this out with an example:

God has called me here to be your pastor, so I have a love for you, my neighbors and members of my flock, that is shaped by the 3rd Commandment. I am here to faithfully preach and teach God’s Word to you, and you have a love for me, your neighbor, that is shaped by the 3rd Commandment to faithfully hear God’s Word as it is preached and taught. As a parent, I have a different love for my children that is shaped by 4thCommandment, so I buy them socks. Well, how it actually works in our house is I work to earn the funds so my wife can purchase our kids’ socks because she’s a lot better at finding good deals on the socks my kids like. I have no idea which socks they like. Sometimes, my 4th Commandment shaped love is to take those socks from the clothes drier and help my kids fold and organize them in their dresser. So, I have different vocations, different callings, and different kinds of love that are  shaped by the Commandments and my relationship to my neighbor. And these vocations are what any reasonable person would expect. My love as a pastor is to preach and teach the Word of God to His flock, and as a parent, I provide and care for my kids.

Now, stick with me here while I get a little absurd. It would be wrong for me, as your pastor, to come here on a Sunday morning, stand in this pulpit, and say, “No sermon today, but here are some new socks. I’ll come to your house later and help you organize your dresser.” That would be weird, right? At least, I hope you think it would be weird because it is. You still are my neighbor, and I am still commanded to love you as I love myself. But my 4th Commandment love for you is shaped differently than my 4th Commandment love for my own kids. My 4th Commandment love for you is shaped by my relationship to you. So, I am to encourage you to honor, serve, love, obey, and respect your parents and the authorities that God has placed over you. Now, this doesn’t mean that will never buy socks for you. God might change your needs so it would be good and right for me to buy you socks. But, hopefully, God won’t put you in a position like that. But if He does, let me know, and I’d be happy to buy you socks.

So, God shapes your love by the Ten Commandments, and God shapes your love based on the needs of your neighbor whom He places along your path. The English word ‘neighbor’ comes from the old word ‘nigh’ or modernized, ‘near.’ And it’s the same for Greek word used here. A neighbor one who is near to you. So, when God puts someone near to you, that is your neighbor. The priest and Levite in the parable come across the guy in the ditch and they both un-neighbor him by crossing by on the other side of the road. They refuse and reject the neighbor God has put in their life and refuse to care for his needs. They probably thought, “Everybody is my neighbor, so I’m going to go serve them.” That’s sinful. Your neighbor is the person that God puts in your life – whether you like it or not.

In our text the lawyer asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” and Luke tells us that the lawyer was asking this because he desired to justify himself. So, in the context, this was a bad question with wrong motives. But that question, “Who is my neighbor?” is typically a good question for us Christians to ask. It helps us identify our neighbor and see our neighbor’s needs so our love can be shaped by the Commandments. So, think back to the parable. The Samaritan would have passed by many different people on the road that day. He probably even met the Levite and the priest at some point in his journey, but the Samaritan didn’t put them up in an all-inclusive room because their needs didn’t dictate that he needed to.

In the parable, the Samaritan had his plans for the day. He was going somewhere with some purpose, but God put this robbed, stripped, beaten, half dead dude in his path and upended whatever those plans were. And the Samaritan stepped up in compassion and mercy to meet those needs realizing, “This is the guy that God has put in my path, so I am going to help and love him.”

So, please recognize that God shapes your love and gives you callings based on nearness. This is why God calls you to have more love for your family than for friends or for strangers. The closer people are to you, the more responsibility you have to them, the more opportunity you have to do good to them, the more opportunity you have to serve them. But we often turn aside and try to find excuses to not serve the one God has put near us. Instead, we prefer to choose our neighbor. In our technological society, the devil has ample tools to keep us from showing love to the neighbor that God puts in front of us to love and serve.

Dear saints, whomever God puts near you is the one that God has put in your life for you to serve. So, serve the one God has drawn nigh to you. Let God’s Commands and God’s placing of people in your life shape your love. As a spouse, parent, child, boss, employee, teacher, student, or friend, remember that God is the one who has given you those relationships and has brought that person near you. Love that one, and let that love be shaped by the Commandments and your relationship to that neighbor.

And quickly, this is an aside, but it’s something I thought about months ago and marked this text to preach on this: Many of you have experienced the loss of spouses, siblings, parents, and friends recently. When those who are near to you have died, you still have a God-shaped love for them. Even though they have passed from this world, they are still near to you. So, when they die, your God-shaped love takes a different form or shape, and that shape is grief. Jesus Himself wept when His friend, Lazarus, died (Jn. 11:35). Grief is the shape love takes when those God has brought close to you are gone. So, grieve, but grieve as those who have hope in the resurrection (1 Th. 4:13).

Now, all of that was secondary to the parable. I want to close by returning to the main point of the parable. Again, Jesus is the Good Samaritan who proved to be a neighbor to you. And, hopefully, this idea of loving the one who is near to you gives you a deeper understanding and appreciation of Christ’s compassion for you.

Jesus is God. And because He is God, you weren’t His neighbor, but He chose to become your neighbor. The eternal, infinite Son of God took on your flesh in order to be ‘nigh’ to you. Out of pure compassion, He saw you in the ditch, dead in sin (Eph. 2:1). He chose to become your neighbor and raise you from your deadness in sin.

His love for you took the shape of Him going to the cross. He was stripped, beaten, standing under the wrath of God that you deserved because of your sin, and dead. Dead and buried in a grave. Now, He is risen. And because He has done all of that, you are His child. And He will bring you to your inheritance which is eternal life with Him. He has promised. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Standards – Sermon on Matthew 5:17-26 for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 5:17-26

17 [Jesus says,] “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I don’t know how well this analogy will work, but I’m going with it. Imagine you are riding a horse up a mountain. Everyone knows the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but paths up mountains rarely go in a straight line. (I have to say that to you Red River Valley-ers because some of you might not have any idea how to get up a mountain, or even what a mountain is.) This path you are on traverses back and forth, back and forth. The incline of the path is steep, but you’re riding a horse, so that doesn’t bother you too much.

After riding for a while and navigating the switchbacks, you’ve gotten fairly high up the mountain, and you start to get a little nervous because the path is only a little wider than your horse. You took to the left, and you can see hundreds and hundreds of feet below you. If you fell off your horse to the left, you’d fall to your death. But when you look to your right, you see the mountain slope and a fall that way would result in some bumps and bruises, so you decide to lean to the right. This leaning does result in a fall now and then, but you figure the scrapes and bruises are an acceptable alternative compared to certain death. But then you come to one of the switchbacks. Now, when you look to your right, you see a deadly fall, and when you look to your left, you see the slope and a fall of only a few feet. So, you decide to lean a little bit to the left. Your leaning still means falling now and then. More bumps and more bruises. Still much preferrable to falling off a mountain. This keeps happening. Lean right. Switchback. Lean left. Switchback. Right. Left. You’re always trying to avoid the big fall, but the fall keeps changing sides. And those little falls are now leaving you bruised and bloodied.

After hours of riding, leaning, and falling, you’re nearing the top of the mountain, but you aren’t to the summit yet. You’re at the highest ridge, and there’s still a long way to the top. Now, the path is only as wide as the horse. You look to your right, and you see that a fall means death. You look to your left, same thing. Now, you have to stay directly on top of the horse. But you’ve spent hours leaning – right, left, right, left. You’ve also gotten used to falling, and you’re absolutely terrified. 

Today, Jesus is teaching us about God’s Law. (Obvious statement of the day, there.) Whenever we consider the Law of God, we Christians can quickly and easily fall into one of two errors; both are dangerous and harmful. But at times we think falling to one side is going to be less deadly than falling off the other side. But a fall is a fall. Even though those falls don’t necessarily mean death, they still harm us. And the more we fall, the more difficult it is to stay on the horse. In this text, Jesus is teaching us about the Law and our relationship to it in a way that helps us stay on the horse.

When it comes to God’s Law, staying on the horse means that you take it seriously and fear to break God’s Commandments, but it also means that you never, never ever, trust in your Commandment keeping to save you.

As you live the life of faith, there will be times when you will put more trust in your keeping of the Law. You think that by doing righteous things, God is more and more pleased with you. This was the error of the Pharisees and is called ‘legalism.’ Legalism will have varying degrees. Some legalists will figure so long as they do one more good thing than bad thing that God is obligated to save them. Other legalists think that God’s grace saves them, but once they are saved, they have to make sure they live a certain way to stay saved. Legalists take the Law seriously, and figure that not taking the Law seriously is the bigger danger. Legalists would rather fall of the horse on the side of self-justification figuring it is less dangerous. But, again, falling off the horse is always harmful.

At other times in your life of faith, you might think that because Jesus has died for and forgiven you of all your sins that the Law doesn’t apply to you anymore. And because the Law doesn’t apply anymore, you are free to do whatever you want. This error is called ‘antinomianism’ (i.e. no-law-ism). Some antinomians will go so far as to say, “You don’t know what grace is until you have done some really sinful thing and been forgiven.” They will think that the worse past you had before being saved will make you a stronger or more thankful Christian.

Sometimes, antinomians aren’t that extreme. Instead, they will hear passages of Scripture similar to the portion of this Gospel text where Jesus teaches the full meaning of, “Thou shalt not kill,” where He says that anger and name-calling is the same as murder. Antinomians will justify breaking the 5th Commandment about murder saying that their anger toward someone else is justified because, “Look what they did.” Antinomians will justify breaking the 8th Commandment about lying by pointing to the fact that the gossip they spread is true. The Small Catechism rightly teaches that to keep the 8th Commandment, we must defend our neighbor, speak well of our neighbor, and put the most charitable construction on all our neighbor does. Would you want someone sharing an embarrassing truth about you to other people? Do you like it when people assume your motives when you have done something questionable? When you gossip, you either assign false motives to someone else’s actions or you invite the person you are sharing that gossip with to assign false motives to someone else’s actions. In other words, you are being an antinomian thinking that the 8th Commandment doesn’t apply to you. And every one of us does this from time to time with all the Commandments. Repent. 

Both legalism and antinomianism are errors and false doctrine. Both are poison to the soul. It is easy to think that legalism and antinomianism are opposite errors because legalism leads to a strict keeping of the Law and antinomianism leads to ignoring or belittling the Law. But these two errors are not opposites. The two share the same basic problem. Both legalism and antinomianism lower the standard of God’s Law. Legalism lowers the standard by saying that the Law is doable, followable, attainable, and achievable. Antinomianism lowers the standard by saying that the Law doesn’t matter, that the Law doesn’t actually demand what it demands. And, again, we fall into both of these errors. Sometimes, it is in our attitude to the whole Law. Or, we might fall into legalism when it comes to certain Commandments and into antinomianism when it comes to other commandments. But every one of us, at certain times, thinks that falling into one of those errors is preferable to falling into the other error, but that is always a deception. Again, repent.

Dear saints, when it comes to the Law, God doesn’t ever lower the standard. God doesn’t smile and wink at antinomians. God’s grace and mercy does not mean that God doesn’t care about sin. Yes, Jesus welcomed sinners, but not because He overlooked their sin. He welcomed them because He forgave their sin.

And your Pharisaic, legalistic good works and piety don’t impress God. God doesn’t watch your good works and respond. “Great job. I owe you for that.” No, His standards are higher than yours. Your righteousness must, it absolutely must, exceed the best of the best, or you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

So, where does this righteousness come from? It only comes through Christ. The righteous do not live by the Law; the righteous live by faith (Ro. 1:17). Romans 10:4 says, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

Dear saints, stay squarely on the horse. Don’t lean either toward antinomianism or legalism. God does require you to be perfect as He is perfect (Mt. 5:48; Lev. 19:2; 1 Pet. 1:16). And Jesus freely gives you His perfect obedience to every iota and dot of the Law. Christ has filled and fulfilled the Law in your place. His death removes your sin, and His perfection is credited to you through faith. Jesus has attained the righteous, perfect obedience to the Law that God requires, and Jesus freely gives you the righteousness that guarantees your entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus has come, not to take away the requirements and demands of the Law. He has come to take away the guilt of the Law. On the one hand, don’t imagine you are performing before God to gain His applause, and on the other hand, don’t think God doesn’t care about how you regard His Commands. Instead, God desires to freely give you His gifts of mercy, pardon, grace, and forgiveness which He gives, not through the Law, but through the Gospel.

Dear saints, you are not righteous because you do much. You are righteous when you believe much in Christ. There is a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes, Pharisees, and every other moral person you can think of – that is the righteousness given to you by Christ. And, through God-given faith, that righteousness belongs to you. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Bound Up – Sermon on Luke 10:23-37 for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

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Luke 10:23-37

23 Then turning to the disciples [Jesus] said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The whole thing started with a question intended to trap Jesus in His words. The lawyer asks, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” It’s a stupid question because of those first six words, “What shall I do to inherit…” There’s nothing he can do. The life he desires cannot be earned or bought or deserved. However, the lawyer is right, completely right, with his last three words. Eternal life is inherited, but inheritance is always based on birth. And everyone is entirely passive in that regard. None of you will be the Queen of England. You don’t have the right birth; it’s a title you will never be able to inherit. 

Jesus answers the silly question with a question: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” The lawyer gives the orthodox (ὀρθῶς v. 28) answer, “Love God perfectly, and love your neighbor perfectly.” Jesus even says, “Bingo. You’ve got it! Do this and nothing less. And you will live.” The lawyer correctly recognizes that Jesus’ response means that he is damned. The lawyer asked a Law question, got a Law answer, and recognizes the devastating results. The man had come to trap Jesus, but he finds himself trapped in his own sin. He recognizes that, under the Law, he’s toast. He looks for an escape, an out, a limit to whom he must love, so he asks, “Who is my neighbor?”

But Jesus doesn’t offer him an escape from the Law with the parable. In fact, there is no escape from the Law. The Law’s demands must be fulfilled, and, God be praised, there is One who has fulfilled the Law’s demands for you. Instead, as I’ve preached before, the parable points to another way to inherit eternal life – the way of promise (Gal. 3:18 as we heard in our Epistle text). The way to inherit eternal life isn’t by works or effort. It’s by mercy. With the parable, Jesus is pointing this scared lawyer to the inheritance that comes only by promise through the Gospel.

Jesus is the one who finds sinners not just half-dead but fully dead in sin (Eph. 2:1). He binds up the wounds of sin – both the wounds that are self-inflicted and the scars that are caused by others. He pours on the oil and wine of His Sacraments. He books you an all-inclusive room in the inn of His holy Christian Church. Jesus is the one who shows you mercy.

The point of the parable is not that we should try harder and make a better effort to love our neighbor. The parable is not teaching that we shouldn’t be prejudiced or bigoted. Of course, we shouldn’t be prejudiced or bigoted, but that isn’t the point of the parable. The point of the parable isn’t even that we should love everyone. The lawyer already knew and confessed that. So, why would Jesus tell a parable to reinforce what the lawyer already knew?

Instead, Jesus tells the parable because the lawyer has been beaten up by the Law. But the lawyer doesn’t realize – or worse, isn’t willing to admit – that he’s in the ditch dead in his sin and failure to do what the Law demands. Because this lawyer has sinned both by what he has done and by what he has left undone, he needs Jesus, the Good Samaritan who has perfectly fulfilled the Law, the show him mercy. Christ is the only One who rescues dying sinners who could not save themselves. That’s why Jesus tells the parable.

Now, after the parable is concluded Jesus says, “You go, and do likewise.” And this particular part of the text I usually don’t spend a lot of time on, and Dr. Mayor Gander, likes to point that out to me – a lot. In my defense, it is the last five words of the text. But if you are like the honorable mayor and wish I would spend more time on those words, today’s your day!

Dear saints, as we recover in the inn of the Church, we still need the Law’s instruction. We still need to our love rightly directed. And God gives us that instruction and direction in the Commandments. Christian, you do not, I repeat, do not, need the Law to save yourself. But you do need the Law to know how to respond to what Christ, the Good Samaritan, who has bound you up, has done for you.

So, with that in mind, I want to spend the rest of this sermon to talking to you about your vocation.

Whenever we talk about vocation in the Christian sense, we aren’t talking about a career. Christian vocation is all the different ways that God calls you to serve your neighbor, which means that you have many different vocations in this life.

All of your vocations are defined by a few things. First, your vocation is defined by the Ten Commandments. The lawyer was absolutely right to summarize the Law as loving God and loving your neighbor. What is often missed in our day is that we do not get to define what love is. In the Ten Commandments, God has already defined what love is. To give a quick example: men, you are called to love all women, but the love you show your wife is shaped differently than the love you show other women. Your love for all women is given shape by the 6th Commandment about not committing adultery.

Second, your vocation is defined by your relationship to your neighbor. A lot of times, we have an idea that our good works are aimed at a target. On that target are the members of our family: parents, spouses, kids, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and strangers. Typically, we think that the center of that target, the bullseye, is where God is. We think God should always be in the middle and that we should aim our good works toward Him. Then, in the next ring, depending on your age or circumstances, comes your spouse or your parents. Then the next ring is, siblings or children, then friends, then strangers.

Dear saints, I want you to chew on the idea that this picture – where God needs to be in the center, in the bullseye when you aim your good works – is wrong. God doesn’t need to be in the center of your target. He doesn’t need anything you can do or offer Him. He doesn’t need your help. You can take God out of all the circles of your target. Instead, move everyone else in. If you’re married, your spouse is the bullseye, then kids, etc. If you’re a child, your parents are the bullseye, then siblings, friends, classmates, etc.

If you are going to find God on your target, He is under the whole target. God doesn’t need your good works, but your neighbor does. Whenever you serve your neighbor, you are serving God. You can find joy in serving your neighbor because whatever you do, you are serving God by serving that needy neighbor. You see the picture?

Kids, you are called to love God by loving your neighbor by obeying your parents, by listening to your teachers, doing your homework, being respectful to adults, and by being a good friend. Adults, you are called to love God by loving your neighbor being a good husband or wife, by being a good parent, by being a hard-working employee or a good and fair boss, by paying your taxes, respecting the authorities that God has placed over you, and on and on it goes.

Third, your vocation is defined by the needs of your neighbor. Normally, this is pretty straightforward. Your boss needs you to do your tasks efficiently and with excellence. But sometimes, you need to do things that you aren’t trained to do when and if an emergency arises.

This is a weird analogy, but think of it this way. Normally, you wouldn’t walk into a hospital room and offer medical aid or advice – at least you shouldn’t. So, don’t. But pretend that a plane crashed in the church yard during the service. In an emergency like that, it would be sinful for us to continue on with our service if such a thing happened. We’d stop what we are doing and go help. Even though most of us are not doctors or nurses, we would go and do our best to be doctors and nurses and firefighters until the professionals arrived because the needs of our neighbors on that plane demanded it.

The same thing is true if someone breaks into your house and was threatening the lives of you and your family. Because of that emergency, you suddenly have the duty and vocation to be the police, judge, and, possibly, even the executioner. But remember that those are the exceptions rather than the rule. When the needs of your neighbor are immediate like that, you might need to step out of your normal vocation and fill the need because there is an emergency.

Think back to the parable. The Good Samaritan didn’t finance an all-inclusive room for everyone he met on the road that day. He didn’t put everyone on his animal or pour oil and wine on those who were well and healthy. But he did do it when the immediate needs of his neighbor demanded it. The Samaritan didn’t do any of it out of obligation; he did it, according to v. 33, out of compassion. That word, which the New Testament only uses when talking about what God has done for us in Christ, is why we know this parable is about what Jesus does for us who have been beaten up by sin and left dead in the ditch.

Dear saints, compassion is what Jesus has given you. By His incarnation and birth, the Son of God has become your brother – your own flesh and blood. He has rescued you from the ditch. He has bound you up with His grace and mercy. And He is here now to provide His forgiveness delivered to you in this Bread and Wine which is His Body and Blood as you continue to recover in the inn of His Church.

Fed and refreshed with this Sacrament, go from here and do likewise. Love your neighbor recklessly. Bind up the wounds of sin that have harmed your neighbor. Your Savior has bound you up to Himself, and He invites you to join Him in His work of binding up the wounds of your sin-sick neighbor. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Anger, Law, & Righteousness – Sermon on Matthew 5:20-26 for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity

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Matthew 5:20-26

20 “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Why did You have to pick the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus? Why does our righteousness have to exceed theirs to enter the kingdom of heaven? Why couldn’t You pick the righteousness of the sinners and tax collectors that You were eating with?

The scribes and Pharisees were the good guys. They had dedicated their lives to keeping God’s law. They made up extra commandments – more than six-hundred of them. When you looked at them, you would see good and holy people who would put our lives and good works to shame. Their lives were the supreme example of the outward keeping of God’s Law. But that’s exactly where the problem lies, and that is precisely what Jesus is getting at.

The scribes and Pharisees understood the Commandments to be attainable, keep-able, obey-able. They looked at the Commandments and saw them simply on the external. They would look at a particular Commandment and think, “I’ve done that. I’ve honored God in that way.”

In some ways they had. They hadn’t murdered anyone. They kept their bodies pure from adultery. They hadn’t stolen what was someone else’s. They had an external righteousness and life, but with that external righteousness came the most dangerous thing – pride. They figured they had done well and that God should be pleased with them. But here Jesus sits at the top of the mountain (Mt. 5:1) and preaches that their external works are not enough.

Jesus shows the righteousness that is required – a righteousness that exceeds the external righteousness of the Pharisees. And here, Jesus starts with the 5th Commandment about murder. He will go on to several of the other Commandments in the verses that follow, which you can read later today and this week for your homework. But Jesus probably starts with the 5th Commandment because, of all the Commandments, this one probably seems easiest for us to keep. Most of us can say, “I’ve never killed anybody, so I’m good concerning this Commandment.” But Jesus says, “Easy there partner. Not so fast. You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Jesus says that there is more to the Law than you realize. It isn’t enough to keep your hands from taking someone’s life. Jesus teaches that the 5th Commandment has instructions for our lips and what we say, for our minds and what we think, even for our hearts, what we feel. If you call your neighbor a ‘fool,’ if you have insulted him or her, if you’ve been angry with anyone, you’ve broken the 5th Commandment and have guilty blood on your soul. And with all the anger in our culture and society, it is a good time for us to consider this topic of anger so that we have a right mindset about it.

The Scriptures do teach us that there is a godly use of anger. Psalm 4:4 and Ephesians 4:26 both say, “Be angry and do not sin,” which means that it is possible to be angry without sinning. And Jesus is our example. He cleansed the temple, taught against the Pharisees’ hypocrisy, and endured the disciples’ repeated unbelief. All of those things did make Him angry, and the Scriptures certainly use that terminology. Jesus was angry at times, but without sin.

To understand this, it is important to make a distinction. Some will try to say, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” But you run into problems with that phrase when you come across verses like Psalm 11:5b which says, “[The Lord’s] … soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.” So, a better distinction is the difference between the anger of office and the anger of the person. I’ll explain.

Anger of office has to do with your vocation or your station in life and your calling. Think of a judge in a courtroom. To be a judge is to have an office of anger – to sentence someone to jail or give them a fine is an act of anger. But the most common example of the office of anger is what we see in parents. Parents are called to sit in an office of anger at times. When their children break the 4th Commandment to honor their parents, it is the parent’s God-given duty to be angry and discipline their children.

Parents are supposed to punish their kids when they do things that put their kids or other people in danger. If your kid runs into the street without looking for cars, you have to punish them by not letting them be outside by themselves or by restricting where they can go on their bike. That punishment is serving in an office of anger, but all of this is an anger of office not of person. In other words, you aren’t punishing your kids because you don’t like them or are angry with them; you are punishing your kids because you love them, want to protect them, and desire that they grow up to be responsible people.

In fact, disciplining your kids is one of the most loving things you can do. Listen to a few Scriptures here: Proverbs 12:1, says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” Or Hebrews 12:6 which says, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Good parents will follow the example of their heavenly Father in disciplining their children. And in Revelation 3:19, Jesus says, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline.” Even though discipline is unpleasant at the time for the one being disciplined, later “it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11).

As our culture continues to wander farther and farther from God and seeks to be free from His authority, we see other God-ordained institutions of authority are being rejected as well. As this takes place, the biblical concept of discipline and love is dangerously fading and absent, and we are seeing the evil fruits of that. Sinful and evil actions are spoken of as good and right, and anyone who calls out that sin and evil is labeled ‘intolerant,’ ‘unenlightened,’ and ‘old-fashioned.’ But we cannot give up or retreat.

We must continue to love our neighbor by calling sin ‘sin’ and evil ‘evil.’ And we must do so in loving ways that show how that sin hurts the person committing that sin and how it harms their neighbor. We need to do this in a way that encourages repentance and faith in Christ who cleanses us from every sin through His death and resurrection.

Back to the example of the office of parent, if your kids keep repeatedly breaking your rules, it can be hard to separate the anger of the office as parent and anger toward the person of your child. But, do you get the idea? I hope you do. And I hope that as you parent your children, you are able to discipline them in a way that is not being angry toward the person of your child and instead having a righteous anger of office as parent.

In this text, Jesus is talking about the anger of a person, not about the anger of office. When someone speaks poorly against us or sins against us, we get angry toward that person and our heart gets hardened toward that neighbor. When we get angry toward another person, we try to wiggle our way out of our obligation to love that person, wrongly thinking that we are exempt from the command to love them as our neighbor because we think they are our enemies. It happens to all of us, and we all need to repent because Jesus goes on, just a few verses after this text, He says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:43-45). Jesus does not authorize you to be angry with the people who sin against you. Instead, He has told and explicitly commanded you to love them, pray for them, do good to them, and serve them.

When Jesus talks about a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, He isn’t talking about an external keeping of the Law. Jesus demands that everything you think, say, do, and feel conforms to God’s Commandments. To have a heart completely free of anger, lust, greed, rebellion, bitterness, strife, and idolatry. A heart that is full of love for God and your neighbor. This is the righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. And this means that when the Law speaks to you, you do not go to a place of pride. Instead, the Law speaks to you and you fall into despair because you know that without this exceeding righteousness, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

We cannot attain to this righteousness. We cannot achieve it. And the more we try – which we should – the more we know we fail and feel in our hearts our own great sinfulness and the wrath of God that we deserve. We cannot achieve this righteousness that Jesus says is required. We have to look for this righteousness outside of ourselves.

This righteousness is not found in good works and obedience to the Law. It is Jesus’ righteousness and His perfect obedience to the Law and His heavenly Father which is given to us as a gift. Christian, Scripture says that you are in Christ who “has become [for you] wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

Dear saints, there is one person in the entire history of the world who could stand under the judgment of the Law and not be condemned by it – Jesus, your Lord and Savior. Yet, Jesus, who kept the Law perfectly and filled up the Law, He Himself bore the curse and condemnation of the Law, and suffered for sins He did not commit so that He could give you His righteousness and the reward it deserved. For our sake God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Your anger, your insults, your lust, your disobedience, your theft, your lying, your idolatry – Jesus became all of that. He took all of that upon Himself and suffered for your sins so He could give to you His keeping of the Law, His perfect obedience to God.

Through faith in Christ, you have the righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. You have the perfection and righteousness that defines God’s only Son. Your sins have been erased, and you are now in Christ. All of God’s commands are fulfilled for you.

Jesus has brought you out of your slavery to the Law. You have been united to Christ’s death and resurrection. Sin no longer has dominion over you. So, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Ro. 6:11). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Commandments: Truth & Contentment

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

Just a heads up: Tonight, we will not consider these Commandments in order. I’ll start with the 9th and 10th Commandments since they go together and are only slightly different (I’ll explain why they are different later). Then, we’ll close with the 8th Commandment.

Though it has been corrupted by sin, your conscience is an important gift from God. Imagine your conscience like a radar that picks up all sorts of sins. Blip, there’s anger violating the 5th Commandment. Blip, there’s laziness violating the 7th. Blip, there’s lust violating the 6th. Blip, there’s disrespecting authority violating the 4th. But your conscience probably doesn’t even register sins against the 9th and 10th Commandments about coveting. Coveting is, in a sense, the stealth bomber of sin. Paul mentions this in Romans 7[:7-8] where he says, “I wouldn’t even have known what it was to covet if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’”

I preached on training and softening your conscience a couple of weeks ago, and if you missed that sermon, I would encourage you to go back and read or listen to it (March 24th on Luke 11:14-28 titled “The Last State”). Tonight’s sermon will, hopefully, help to soften your conscience when it comes to the 9th and 10th Commandments. And softening your conscience to violations of the 9th and 10th Commandments will, I promise you, help you battle against your sins with regard to all the other Commandments.

Now, as we have gone through this series, I have tried to show you how God is giving and protecting His good gifts to you in each of the Commandments. If is helpful for you to see the whole Commandment, turn to p. 23 of the hymnal for the whole list.

In the 1st Command, “Have no other gods,” God gives you the gift of Himself. In the 2nd, “Don’t misuse God’s name,” God gives you the gift of prayer. In the 3rd, “Keep the Sabbath holy,” God gives you the gift of His Word. In the 4th, “Honor your parents,” God gives you the gift of order. In the 5th, “Don’t kill,” God gives you the gift of life. In the 6th, “Don’t commit adultery,” God gives you the gift of marriage. In the 7th, “Don’t steal,” God gives you the gift of stuff. In the 8th, “Don’t lie,” God gives you the gift of truth and a good name. You get the idea.

So, in the 9th and 10th Commandments about coveting, what gift is God giving you? Any guesses? I’ll give you a clue, it isn’t something that we usually recognize or rest in. Contentment. God is giving you and protecting His gift of contentment.

Everything around us screams at us that we shouldn’t be content. Open a paper, see a billboard, scroll through social media, surf the internet, turn on the radio or television and everything there will tempt you to break these Commandments of coveting. All marketing campaigns and advertisements are built around getting us to break these last two Commandments. Now, we can’t blame advertisers for our sins of coveting. And even if you cut out all media from your life, you would still break these Commands.

Now, I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. You never break only one Commandment. We’ve already seen how breaking the 6th Commandment about adultery is often followed by breaking the 5th Commandment about murder. But you never break Commandments 2-8 without first breaking the 9th or 10th Commandment. Sin, all sin, starts down in the 9th or 10th Commandment with coveting or, another way to put it, false desire. Scripture teaches this. James 1:13-15 says that God tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire, referring 9th and 10th Commandments. “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

In tonight’s Old Testament lesson (1 Kings 21:1-29), we heard how King Ahab broke the 9th Commandment and then broke the 5th, 4th, 8th, and 7thCommandments.

Now, this is why the 9th and 10th Commandments are so important. In these Commands, God gives us the gift of contentment and protects us from false desire. Colossians 3:5 says that coveting is idolatry. Hear that again: Coveting is idolatry. At its core, coveting is idolizing yourself and making yourself a (little ‘g’) god by saying, “God, You messed up. That thing my neighbor has over there should be mine over here.”

So, when you are struggling with sin, notice where it starts – coveting. If you are full of lust (which is adultery [Mt. 5:28]), you have the false desire to have a spouse that is attractive in a different way than your spouse. If you are angry (which is the same as murder [Mt. 5:21-22], you have a false desire for someone to act differently than they act. If you are lazy (which is thievery), you have a false desire there too.

Repent. Recognize that false desire and cut it off at the roots. Fight against the sin of coveting. Now, listen to these Commandments and see if you can tell the difference between the two…

The 9th Commandment
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.

What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not seek by craftiness to gain possession of our neighbor’s inheritance or home, nor obtain them under pretense of a legal right, but assist and serve him in keeping the same.

The 10th Commandment
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not estrange or entice away our neighbor’s wife, servants, or cattle, but seek to have them remain and fulfill their duty to him.

Did you catch the difference? It’s so simple, it’s silly. It has to do with whether the thing you covet has legs or not. The spouse, servants, and animals outlined in the 10th Commandment could conceivably end up in your possession in a way that would appear to be righteous. You could make your neighbor’s dog love you more than your neighbor by giving it treats or something and steal it. Don’t covet it and steal it. Don’t falsely desire what your neighbor has that can’t move, and don’t falsely desire what your neighbor has that can move.

Finally,

The 8th Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not deceitfully lie about, betray, backbite, nor slander our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the most charitable construction on all that he does.

I’ll be brief here because I know I’ve gone long on the 9th and 10th Commandments.

We break this Commandment when we desire the truth to be different and lie. But we also break this Commandment when we desire the truth to make our neighbor look bad and spread gossip. I remember when I was in Confirmation and memorized this Commandment and meaning. That last phrase, “put the most charitable construction on all that he does,” that phrase cut me down.

Yes, lying is bad, and we often have our conscience pricked when we lie. But gossip and tearing others down is just as bad. Even when you are telling the truth about someone else’s sin, you are violating this Commandment. Don’t tell someone else about another’s sin if the person you are speaking to doesn’t need to know about it. You don’t like it when it happens to you. Repent. In this Commandment, God protects His gift of the truth.

And recognize that this is the truth. Christ has come. He has kept the Law, all of the Law, perfectly on your behalf. He never fell short of perfectly loving God or loving His neighbor. He perfectly loved you by laying down His life for you. And because of what He has done on the cross, He takes all of your sin against God’s Law and in exchange gives you His perfect obedience. Christ has removed your heart of stone and given you a heart of flesh. Yes, fight against your sin, but live in Christ’s grace now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.