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

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Escape – Sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:6-13 for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Aug17

1 Corinthians 10:6-13

⁶ Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. ⁷ Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” ⁸We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. ⁹ We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, ¹⁰ nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. ¹² Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When you’re nearing the end of a task or a project, that’s not the time to get lazy, sloppy, or careless. As you get near to the goal, you need to pay close attention to what you’re doing and finish strong and make sure that you are doing things right. You’ve maybe seen replays from football games where a receiver or kick returner makes an amazing play, outruns the defense, and is about to cross the goal line. But he starts celebrating a few inches too soon and drops the ball right before the endzone. That one, careless act erases everything that he did before.

Well, here, Paul says that the end (τέλος, ‘the completion’) of the ages has come (1 Co. 10:11). And remember, he’s saying this to Christians nearly 2,000 years ago. Since it was true way back then then, it’s even truer now. Paul is encouraging us to finish strong and cross the goal line. He says, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall,” (1 Co. 10:12). In other words, don’t fall away, don’t fumble the ball, when you are so close to Christ’s return.

Plain as day, Paul tells us exactly what might drag us down and cause us to fall. In the opening verses of 1 Co. 10, he invites us to think about all the ways God’s people sinned, rebelled, and were judged after God had delivered from slavery in Egypt. He reminds us how they fell into idolatry, sexual immorality, and grumbling, causing them to be destroyed. Paul says that those things took place as examples for us.

Even though they had had God’s protection under the cloud, even though they had God’s miraculous deliverance and passed through the sea, even though they were all baptized in the cloud and in the sea, even though they ate the same spiritual food we eat and drink the same spiritual drink we drink – even though they had all those blessings from God, they were overthrown. So, Paul warns us to not be like them. To not be idolatrous, going after our own golden calves, and to not indulge in sexual immorality. To not put Christ to the test and become destroyed.

We need to learn from their example so that we don’t stumble and fall into temptation and sin right before the end of the ages. Christ is returning, and we need to persevere. If you think that you stand on your own, repent. You’re in big trouble and are about to fall (1 Co. 10:12).

Paul concludes here in v. 13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. But God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

So according to Scripture, we need to learn from from the failures of others, because we are also prone to fall. We face the same temptations they did, but God is – and always will be– faithful to provide the way of escape. Often in ways that we don’t expect.

Everyone faces the same temptations. Now, being tempted is not a sin. But coveting is a sin. That’s why God gives us the final two Commandments about coveting. Coveting is the stealth bomber of sin. It flies under the radar of your conscience. Your conscience usually detects the sins that you commit in an outward way. But the sin of coveting is committed in an inward way.

You might feel guilty about replying to your spouse or someone else in an angry way that is rude and inconsiderate. But you might not be too troubled about feeling anger if you don’t let that anger out. To be clear, both of those are sins need forgiveness. Both need repentance and faith. But the 9th and 10th Commandments about coveting show that God’s Law governs even our inner thoughts, feelings, and emotions. You’ve heard this before, but it’s worth repeating over and over again. Scripture equates coveting with idolatry (Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5).

Coveting is, basically, saying, “God, You messed up. That thing over there should be mine over here.” When we realize that coveting is idolatry and is how we place ourselves above God, then coveting becomes gross and disgusting. Don’t falsely desire what God hasn’t given you. Let God be God.

So, the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh always tempt us first to covet. They will put things in front of us that we think should be ours. Coveting is the way in which we begin to break any/all of the commandments.

But look closely at verse 13, and you’ll see three comforting truths:

First, the temptations that you face are not unique. Yes, the devil, the world, and our own flesh will individually tailor certain temptations to each of us. But everyone is tempted by the same things. Maybe in different ways, maybe through different processes, but the things that tempt you are the same things that tempt others as well.

Second, God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability. God knows precisely how much weight, how much pressure, of temptation you can bear. Imagine temptations as ropes or chains that the devil would use in order to pull you toward sin. Satan cannot use ropes or chains that are too strong for you. God simply doesn’t allow it. Those chains of temptation will completely snap at the exact weight that God Himself has determined. But also, realize what that means:

Whenever you or I sin, we aren’t pulled into that sin by forces stronger than us. No. We just didn’t fight back long or hard enough for those cords to break. In other words, when we sin, we jump headfirst into those pits. So, fight back. Fighting temptation isn’t just a mortal combat for your physical life. It’s an eternal combat for your soul. If you want to see the chains of temptation snap, just read Mt. 4 or Lk. 4 to see how Jesus resists the devil’s temptations.

The third promise that God gives here in v. 13 is that God will provide the way of escape. You have an escape out of temptation. Sometimes, people will misconstrue v. 13 and say things like, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” On the one hand that’s true, but it’s only half true. And half-truths are often worse than blatant lies. That phrase places all the weight of fighting temptation on you and your own psychological capabilities. That phrase is basically saying, “You just need to be mentally strong enough to handle it.” Well, God gives something much better than that. He gives a way of escape.

Think of Joseph. Joseph gets attacked by his brothers and thrown into a pit, but Joseph can’t handle staying in the pit the rest of his life. So, God gives an escape, and that escape is that he is sold as a servant to Potiphar in Egypt (Gen. 37:28; 39:1). Later, Joseph can’t handle Potiphar’s wife asking him day after day to fornicate with her. So, God gives Joseph another escape by putting him safely into an Egyptian prison (Gen. 39:7-20).

In Joseph’s life, we see that God causes all things – even things we think are bad or horrible – to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Ro. 8:28).

In every temptation, God gives a way of escape. I know that example of Joseph might not be comforting, so think of Paul himself. In 2 Cor. 12:7-10, he talks about having a thorn in his flesh. He prays three times that God would remove that thorn, but God’s response is simply, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

It may be that your escape from temptation is only going to come through other trials, like it was for Joseph. Or, it may be that your escape from temptation is God’s promise of His continual grace, like it was for Paul. But ultimately, your way of escape is coming because Christ is returning.

Believer, Christ is returning to bring you to the new creation. The end/completion of the ages and the resurrection of the body is the ultimate escape from temptation. So, press on in your fight against temptation and sin.

Rose, that brings me to you. Rose, today you are baptized, not just into Moses, but into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now, Rose, you bear His name (Mt. 28:19). Persist. Persevere. Fight against the temptations that the devil, world, and your own flesh will throw at you.

And all you dear saints, you fight too. To strengthen you in that fight, Jesus now invites you to His table. Here, He delivers His Body and Blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of all your sin. Here, you receive God’s grace and mercy. Here, you see God’s faithfulness to you. Resist, fight, flee temptation because the end of all things is at hand. Amen.

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

The Fight – Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday of Lent

Feb18

Matthew 4:1–11

¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Our Old Testament and Gospel readings today both record the devil coming to tempt. The first temptation was in the perfection of Eden and was aimed at Eve and Adam. The second was aimed at Jesus who was alone in the wilderness. In the Garden, Satan succeeded, and in the wilderness, he failed – and failed miserably. Now, in the past, we’ve considered how both of those temptations are similar and follow the pattern that the devil uses with us.

The devil is a one trick pony who tries to get Eve, Adam, Jesus, and you to doubt God’s Word. In the Garden, the devil asks, “Did God really say?” And when he is in the wilderness with Jesus, the devil starts his temptations with, “If you are the Son of God…” Remember, at Jesus’ Baptism, God the Father clearly said, “This is My beloved Son,” so the devil is trying to cast doubt on God’s Word again. He does the same thing In the temptations he throws at you. Now, this is extremely helpful to know and helps us fight against sin. But there is a very important difference between the temptations Satan lobs at Adam, Eve, and Jesus and the temptations he hurls at you. The difference, mainly, lies in the devil’s goal. Think through this for a minute.

In the Garden, the devil only needed to get Adam and Eve to sin once. One sin would rip all of humanity them from perfection and holiness and plunge them into fallenness and corruption. One sin and Satan figured he could stop working and retire to Arizona or Florida. But he was wrong. God completely upended the devil’s plan and promised to send the Seed of the woman to crush Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15). So, with his plans thwarted, the devil had to continue to tempt all people while he waited for that Savior to be born.

When Jesus entered creation, the devil again saw his chance for an early retirement. Here was that long-promised Seed of the woman. If he could just get Christ to commit one sin, then Jesus couldn’t be the Savior of all humanity. So, the devil waited until he thought the moment was ripe. After Jesus had fasted for forty days and nights, the devil came with these three temptations that he aimed at the second Adam (Ro. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:45).

Do you see the difference? In the Garden with Adam and Eve but especially in the wilderness with Jesus, all it would take is one sin and the devil’s goal would be accomplished. Now, it wasn’t possible for Jesus to sin; He’s God and God cannot sin. But, hypothetically, if Jesus had sinned, there would be no Savior and no reconciliation with God. No mercy. No grace. No forgiveness. But, dear saints, that is not Satan’s goal when he tempts you. The devil’s goal is not to get you to sin once. No, he has to keep coming after you.

Because Jesus did not sin, the devil needs to continually tempt you – day after day, moment after moment. He can’t leave you alone; he has to keep pestering and tempting you. Even though you were born into the sin of your first parents, Jesus has rescued you by His perfect obedience. Now through faith, the devil does not own you; Jesus does. Christ has lived perfectly and has been tempted in every way as you are, but He did it without sin (Heb. 4:15). Jesus kept the Commandments in your place and credits His obedience to you through faith.

The day is coming when the devil will no longer be able to tempt you, but that day is not yet. So, the devil continues to work on you with his temptations, and you have to fight with all the resources God has given to you. Eph. 6:10-18 details the armor that God has provided for you – the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. And remember when you read that passage, you are called to take up that armor and pray. Stand protected and call in the heavenly reinforcements to fight for you. God will send His holy angels to fight back against the devil on your behalf.

This is just an aside, but that is another difference between Jesus’ temptation and yours. Our Lord faced those temptations completely on His own. The angels only came to minister to Him after He resists the temptations and wins. You always have the holy angels assisting you in every moment and temptation.

Today, you should recognize that the devil is going to be after you constantly to try to get you to fall into temptation and sin to draw you away from Jesus. But even knowing this offers a key strategy to help you in the fight.

Adam and Eve’s fall was instant. But because you are saved and bought by the blood of Jesus, the devil is going to try, little by little, to get you to slowly slip away from the faith. For example, the devil isn’t going to tempt you to blaspheme God; he knows better than that. You aren’t going to just curse God. But the serpent will tempt you to skip church or your family devotions. Satan is going to work, little by little, to harden your conscience toward sin. And this means, dear saints, you need to be actively working to soften your conscience. This is difficult, painful work, but it is work you need to do. Here’s how you go about that.

We’ll use the 5^th Commandment as an example. The 5^th Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” and the Small Catechism’s explanation, “We should fear and love God so that we do our neighbor no bodily harm nor cause him any suffering but help and befriend him in every need.” Now imagine your conscience has a 5^thCommandment thermometer. There are degrees by which the 5^th Commandment is broken. Genocide would be way up at the boiling point. A little below that would be mass murder, then murder, then hitting and physically harming your neighbor. Way down at the bottom would be anger because when Jesus explains the 5^th Commandment, He equates anger with murder (Mt. 5:21-22). But anger doesn’t physically harm others like murdering or even hitting them does. Let me be clear, both are sin; both need repentance and forgiveness because they both break the 5^th Commandment.

Now think about where your conscience registers guilt because of your thoughts, words, and deeds somewhere on that 5^th Commandment thermometer. Maybe you don’t think twice about being angry in your heart because you figure everyone does it and that guy really was a jerk. But you wouldn’t go grab a baseball bat and hit him. So, the devil isn’t going to tempt you to do that sort of thing. Instead, what the devil is going to do is try to raise the temperature of your conscience just a bit. He’s going to try to get you to break the 5^thCommandment with more anger or holding on to that grudge a little harder. Once the temperature of your conscience acclimates to that level of sin, Satan can graduate you to the baseball bat.

What you need to do, dear saints, is stop excusing your anger. Recognize and confess it for the sin that it is. Let go of that anger and continually soften your conscience to the working of the Holy Spirit. Think through all of the Commandments like this. Recognize where your conscience registers sin and take that sin to Jesus. Confess it for the sin that it is and hand it over to the Lamb of God who takes away that sin and nails it to the cross.

And know this. The softer your conscience becomes, the more you will feel your sin. Real sanctification and actually growing in holiness is going to make you feel more and more sinful and cry out like Paul does in Ro. 7:24, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The one who will rescue you is your great high priest. He can sympathize with your weakness because He was tempted in every way as you are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:14). He invites you now to come with confidence, right here, to His throne of grace. Here you will find mercy and grace freely given to you in Jesus’ Body and Blood which will continue to strengthen you for the fight against the devil’s temptations. And as you fight, remember that God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. He has promised to provide the way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13). Amen.

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

The Sidewalk of Faith – Sermon on John 20:19-31 for the Second Sunday of Easter

Apr16

John 20:19–31

¹⁹ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Bible says our faith depends on Jesus’ resurrection. If it was proven that Jesus did not rise from the dead, Scripture says that you can forget everything else in the Bible. In 1 Cor. 15:14, Paul writes, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

The work of the Holy Spirit is not to convert reasonable, sensible people to believe wild stories. Instead, the Holy Spirit converts stubborn, obstinate hearts to believe reasonable things. The resurrection of Jesus is completely reasonable and historical. If you find it reasonable that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet – even though you didn’t see him write it with your own eyes – there is just as much evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. If Jesus rose from the dead, which He did, then you have to take Him seriously. And if you take Jesus seriously, you have to take the entire Bible seriously because Jesus took the Bible seriously.

To demonstrate that the Holy Spirit works on stubborn hearts to believe reasonable things, consider Thomas here. Our text starts the evening of Jesus’ resurrection. The ten disciples (minus Thomas) are sitting in a locked room in Jerusalem because they were afraid (Jn. 20:19), and Jesus appears to them. He forgives them of their sinful fear by saying, “Peace be with you.” And Christ restores them by sending them out with the authority to forgive sins. Then, Jesus leaves. Thomas arrives and hears the ten tell him about seeing Jesus, but he refuses to believe. There is no reason whatsoever for the ten to lie about this, and yet Thomas refuses to believe what they tell him. Unless he can thrust his fingers and hand in Jesus’ hands and side, he’s not going to believe. Thomas was being stubborn – sinfully, hard-heartedly stubborn. He doesn’t believe what is perfectly reasonable to believe.

The same can be said about those who refuse to believe in Jesus’ resurrection today. Christ’s resurrection is one of the most verifiable historical facts. Still, some make excuses to not believe. They will say the disciples just wanted to become rich and famous. Sure, they’re famous today, but they weren’t during their lives. The disciples had nothing to gain from lying about the resurrection. In fact, their lives would have been better if they had gone back to their fishing businesses or tax collecting. Through their entire lives, they were poor, arrested, persecuted, beaten, and all of them, except John, died for preaching that Jesus had risen. You don’t die for something you know is a lie. A modern atheist philosopher has said that when you consider the disciples’ lives after the resurrection, something must have happened for them to live the way they did. I don’t know what his conclusion ultimately is, but he admits there is no doubt that they had nothing to gain for what they preached.

Some doubters will say that the Gospel accounts are too different to be reliable. One gospel says two angels are at the tomb, another only has one, another doesn’t mention any. The number and names of the women vary between the Gospels. Well, the response to that is that each Gospel was written by different individuals to different audiences for different reasons. Certain details are more important to each writer, and each author doesn’t have to mention every detail. When you consider the resurrection accounts of the four Gospels, the details all fit together. And the differences are, actually, further evidence that the accounts are not made up or fabricated. A doctor of law, who teaches lawyers how to evaluate witness testimony, says that slight differences between the four Gospels are actually further evidence to their reliability. Perfectly harmonized testimony indicates that witnesses are trying to hide or distort something. But that is not what we have in the Gospels. We have varied but consistent, compatible testimony to the resurrection.

Beyond all that, there is evidence outside the Bible that points to the resurrection. A Roman emperor talks about how surprised he is that the first Christians all testified to Jesus’ resurrection and would rather die than deny it. A reliable Jewish historian, who wasn’t a Christian that lived shortly after Christ’s resurrection, says the same. All of this is to say that believing in the resurrection of Jesus is perfectly reasonable and sensible. Again, Christianity is not believing in myths or fairy tales. Christianity is believing that the Son of God came into human history to save and forgive sinners. If someone doesn’t believe that, it is only because of their own stubborn hard-heartedness, and the Holy Spirit must come and remove that heart of stone.

Faith in Jesus is always a work of the Holy Spirit. But what we believe is completely reasonable. The Christian faith isn’t a thoughtless dependence on something unknowable. Faith is grounded in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Another thing about this is that the Holy Spirit uses the fact of Christ’s resurrection to help us fight against sin because sin is nothing more than unbelief. Romans 14:23 says, “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

Let’s use an analogy to get this across. When was the last time you had to concentrate to walk on a sidewalk? A normal sidewalk – clear, clean, flat, straight, no cracks or bumps. It’s three feet across – maybe wider – so it isn’t like walking on a tightrope. You’ve probably never had to think about it. You just walk straight. Almost everyone can do that successfully. Congratulations, you can all pat yourselves on the back.

Now, let’s change one thing. What if that sidewalk was suspended between two skyscrapers hundreds of feet in the air.^[1] Everything else about that sidewalk is exactly the same. Completely firm, straight, and level. There’s no wind. (I know that’s hard to imagine living here in the Red River Valley, but the air is perfectly still.) There are still no guardrails, and you don’t have a harness that connects you to anything. If you fall off that sidewalk, you will plummet to your death. In that situation, you’d probably be stressed about taking that stroll. Your pace might be cut in half. You might be crawling on your belly. You might not be willing to take one step out on that sidewalk – even though you know you’re perfectly capable of doing it. You can walk straight, but being way up in the air like that is going to make it a completely different, terrifying experience. You would have to fight your doubts to believe you can do it because the consequences of not doing it right are fatal.

This is how it is living the Christian faith. The Holy Spirit persuades you about the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, and because Jesus is risen from the dead, everything He says is true – both Law and Gospel. What He says is sinful is sinful and separates you from God. What He promises is also true – that His death delivers you from sin, that He forgives you, that He is coming back for you. And because Jesus’ resurrection is so historically verifiable, none of that hard to believe intellectually. It’s as simple as walking on a normal sidewalk on the ground. But some still refuse to do it because the stakes are high. There are times when believing in Jesus is like walking on that sidewalk hung hundreds of feet in the air. There’s no question we can do it, but we have to fight against our fears and actually do it.

For example, you are tempted to twist the truth so your reputation isn’t ruined. You are tempted to get something without working for it and earning it. You are tempted to have an inappropriate relationship with someone who isn’t your spouse. Whatever sin it is, it doesn’t matter. In each of those moments, it’s like the sidewalk has been suspended between those skyscrapers and faith begins to waver and falter. In those moments of temptation, you realize that what the Bible says is inconvenient to what your sinful nature wants to do. You just need to keep walking straight and stay on the sidewalk. And it is precisely in those moments you need to remember that Jesus is risen, and everything He has said and done matters. And your faith needs to fight against those sinful urges and desires.

It isn’t that you need to be stronger in your own discipline and strength. Instead, you need to be stronger in your faith that Christ is risen, and the fact that Christ is risen changes everything. When you face temptations, ask yourself, “Is Jesus risen?” Because the answer is, “Yes,” you need to fight against those temptations and continue to believe that Jesus forgives you even though it is difficult. That’s when the Holy Spirit will come and continue to strengthen and encourage you to resist falling into those sins, whatever they are.

Like Thomas in this text, you have no good reason to disbelieve. Yet, our faith is often weak and shallow. To you, Jesus says what He said to Thomas, “Do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Get over yourself and believe what is obviously true. Jesus is risen from the dead and loves you. He has forgiven you of your sins and will return to bring you to Himself. And be encouraged because Jesus was thinking of you when He blessed you and spoke of you one week after His resurrection. You are in the Bible from Jesus’ own lips. Jesus says of you, “Blessed are those who have not seen,” and that’s you, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

You have everything you need to fight against the temptations that you face (1 Cor. 10:13). The Holy Spirit continues to work on you, strengthening your faith about the facts of Jesus’ resurrection. And when you sin and fail and falter, Jesus’ death and resurrection has you covered. Because of what Jesus has done, you are forgiven, redeemed, and equipped to live in a fallen, broken world. And, dear saints, through that Holy Spirit-wrought faith, you overcome the world (1 Jn. 5:4).

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Amen.

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

^[1] This analogy is borrowed and adapted from Pr. Jared Melius from Denver, CO.

The Devil’s Playbook – Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday of Lent

Feb26

Matthew 4:1–11

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

For years now, you’ve heard me say that the devil has one trick up his sleeve and that is to get you to doubt God’s Word. In the luscious perfection of the Garden of Eden, the devil began his temptation by asking the woman, “Did God really say?” And in the temptation of Jesus, the devil takes the exact same approach. He begins the first two temptations with, “If you are the Son of God…” Remember, this came immediately after God the Father declared at Jesus’ Baptism, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mk. 1:11; Mt. 3:17). So, when Satan begins, “If you are the Son of God,” he’s trying the exact same tactic he used in the Garden, “Did God really say?” Trying to cast doubt on God’s Word is the only play in the devil’s playbook, and this is helpful to know. But we need to consider this scheme of the devil more closely because he is so skilled at running this play.

Enough of you enjoy football that I’m going to try this analogy. Even if you don’t care about football, I think the analogy is still helpful, so please stick with me. Some teams will primarily use just one play called an ‘option.’ In this play, the quarterback sees where the defense is and how they move at the beginning of the play, and that will determine what he does with the ball – pass, hand it off, or keep it himself. It’s one play that has several options for success, and a skilled quarterback simply choses the best option available. This one play can be extremely effective. So, when we understand how Satan runs his one play to utilize the options he has before him, we can better defend against each of those options.

When the devil tempts us with his, “Did God really say?” he wants us to start speculating, “Why doesn’t God want me to have this thing?” whatever that thing is. There are three main answers to that speculation. One, God doesn’t actually know what I need. Two, God doesn’t want me to be happy. And three, God doesn’t have the power or ability to give that thing to me.

If any of those things are true (which, of course, they aren’t), then God isn’t worthy of our obedience or worship. And when we start speculating on those false possibilities, we begin to think that God either can’t or won’t help us. Then, we assume that we have to help ourselves, but doing that put us in the place of God which means that we fall into idolatry and sin. So, when we recognize what those temptations are doing, we can better defend against the temptation. Because the truth is: God does know what you need. He knows what you need before you ask Him (Mt. 6:8). And He promises to give it to you (Mt. 6:32). God does want you to be happy – happier than you can possibly imagine – just not necessarily in the way or in the timing you might have in mind. He doesn’t withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly (Ps. 84:11), and He knows how to give good gifts to His children (Mt. 7:11; Ps. 85:12). And God is able and pleased to give you everything that is good for you (Lk. 12:32).

Our problem is that we don’t always recognize how simple and shortsighted we are. We don’t always know what is and isn’t good for us. Too often, we are like spoiled children who think things that are harmful to us would make us happy. God knows better than we do, and He won’t ever hold back when it comes to giving us things that are beneficial for us (1 Cor. 1:7).

With all of that in mind, let’s consider these three temptations. Jesus is starving because He hasn’t eaten for forty days. The devil runs his play, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Notice how insidious this is. The devil wants Jesus to speculate, “Why doesn’t God want Me to have bread?” At that very moment, the heavenly Father was providing bread for everyone in the world. Christ is the only one who actually loves and obeys God. So, why is He starving? The devil is tempting Jesus to think that His heavenly Father either: 1) doesn’t know what He needs; 2) doesn’t want to give Jesus what He needs; or 3) isn’t able to give Jesus what He needs. Again, all of those things are false.

But Jesus doesn’t fall for the play; He doesn’t speculate. He simply responds, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Dt. 8:3). Jesus trusts that God can and will provide what is needed when it is needed. He doesn’t fall into the temptation.

If we stick with the football analogy, it’s second down, and the devil goes back to his same play. He takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple and says, “If you are the Son of God, jump off. God has promised to send the angels to protect you.” Satan wants Jesus to test God’s ability to keep Him safe. The devil is, basically, saying, “Let’s see if God will notice when you are in danger and if he can help you when you need it.” But Jesus doesn’t need to test drive God’s protection. God has promised He will care for Him, and that is enough. So, our Lord responds, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Dt. 6:16).

Now, it’s third down, and the devil is in a bad spot. But he still runs the same play trying to get Jesus to think that God is holding out on Him. Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory and offers them to Jesus if He will worship him. Jesus will, and does, receive all the kingdoms of the world but only after He has redeemed them by dying and rising again. But the devil wants Jesus to take that authority early. But our Lord doesn’t fall for the trick. Jesus quickly responds with Scripture again, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve’” (Dt. 6:13). Now that He is ascended to the throne of all creation, Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt. 28:18) with all things placed under His feet (Eph. 1:21-22).

Now, let’s bring this to you. Again, the one play in the devil’s playbook is for the devil to get you to question God’s Word which leads you to speculate that God is holding out on you. Dear saints, God does not and will not ever deny you anything that is good for you. Psalm 84:11 says, “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

Recognizing that God promises to provide and care for us is the best weapon we have to defend against temptation. The last verse of this text is so important for our fight against temptation because it clearly shows us that God wasn’t withholding anything from Jesus. At the right and proper time, God did give Jesus the bread, protection, and authority He needed and desired. “The devil left [Jesus], and behold, angels came and were ministering to Him.” And don’t think for one second that God only does this for Jesus because He does it for us sinners too.

We saw God do the same thing for Adam and Eve in our Old Testament text (Gen. 3:1-24) even after they had fallen into temptation and sinned. God gave them chance after chance to repent. Every question God asks in Gen. 3:9-13 is a merciful call to repentance because God knows that they need confession and absolution. Even when they don’t repent and confess their sins, God still gives them what they need. He gives them a promise that He will send Jesus, the Seed of the woman, to crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Then, God instructs both the woman and Adam what life will be like now that they have brought sin into the world (Gen. 3:16-19) which will help them face the challenges ahead. There, God still promises to provide food for them. After that, God covers their nakedness and shame with animal skins (Gen. 3:21). And finally, God sends His cherubim with a flaming sword, to protect them from the horror of eating from the tree of life and living forever in sin (Gen. 3:22-24).

In all of that, God is protecting them, providing for them, loving them, and giving them everything they need for life and salvation. Dear saints, if God will do that for Adam and Eve immediately after they sinned, how much more will God do for you now that He has sent Jesus to die and rise again to redeem and purchase you?

Because of what Christ has done, you are His beloved children. Jesus, your great High Priest has been tempted in every way as you are, yet without sin. Christ knows the difficulty of facing the temptations the devil throws at you, so He has sympathy for you. And even when you fall into temptation and sin, you can draw near to His throne where you will find mercy and grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:14-16). Amen.

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

Rooted – Sermon on Luke 8:4-15 for Sexagesima Sunday

Feb12

Luke 8:4–15

⁴And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, ⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ¹¹Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ¹²The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. ¹⁴And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today, I’m taking a different approach on how I’m preaching this text. We’ll use the parable and explanation as a lens through which we look at what is happening in this text. You’re all smart people, so I think you’ll catch on pretty quickly.

One day Jesus saw massive crowds coming toward Him. So many had come to listen to Him teach that Matthew actually lets us know that Jesus had to teach from a boat while the crowds listened from the beach (Mt. 13:1-9). But Jesus didn’t see this as just another day at the lake. No. He saw fields that were ripe unto seeding. He saw ground that was ready to be planted with God’s Word. So, Christ reached into His bag and started throwing the good Seed of God’s Word as far and wide as He possibly could.

As He taught, Jesus threw some seed on the path. He noticed that some were not paying much attention. They were nodding off or distracted by one thing or another. They could hear His voice, that wasn’t the issue. But He could tell that the Seed of the Word wasn’t sinking in. Christ wasn’t worried about this. Jesus knew He could get a harvest there, but He didn’t want the Seed to be trampled down or eaten by the birds. So, Jesus took out His plow. He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” But even though the plow broke the soil up, it quickly went back to being impermeable. The seed just stayed on the top. And Jesus watched in grief as the birds came and devoured the precious Seed from the soil of the path.

As Jesus taught, He threw some Seed on the rocks. Christ saw that they were joyfully listening and excited to hear. But Jesus also knew their excitement would die down, their joy would fade, and they would soon face times of testing. The Seed Jesus was spreading grew up quickly, but the roots weren’t digging down because of the rocks underneath. Jesus knew the sun would soon come out with its heat. Plants need the sun and its warmth, but if those plants didn’t have roots that could find moisture, they would wither and die. So, Jesus rolled up His sleeves to pick the rock out of that soil. He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” But the rocks just kept returning. No matter how many tons of rock Jesus removed, there was always more. And Jesus grieved as the hot sun of those trials beat down on the soil, and the plants withered away before the Word could produce fruit in that rocky soil.

As Jesus taught, He threw some seed among the thorns. Christ saw others who were listening, but those thorns threatened the growth of the precious Seed. Christ knew those listeners would go back to their homes and focus on other things – their jobs, their families, and their houses. Even though Jesus Himself had given those good gifts, He knew that soil loved those thorns more than the Word, and if those thorns weren’t plucked and picked, they would choke out the Seed of the Word. So, again, Jesus rolls up His sleeves to remove those thorns by calling out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” With those words, Jesus carefully and meticulously uprooted the thorns, but they kept coming back. The Seed of God’s Word was there and growing. But Christ mourned as He watched the thorns of the cares, riches, and pleasures of life prevent that soil from producing fruit.

But there was a fourth kind of soil that did produce fruit. In fact, it produced a miraculous harvest of a hundredfold. What made this soil good? Well, we have to remember that there is no soil that is naturally and natively good. No. Jesus, the Sower always tends what He plants with His Word. Everywhere Jesus sows the Word of God will look like an unlikely place to produce fruit, but as He continues to work on the soil, He brings about a harvest by plowing, picking, and plucking the unworthy soil.

Even the twelve disciples were those bad soils. Think of Thomas as the soil of the path. Easter evening, the Gospel Seed was tossed onto Thomas. He heard that Jesus had risen from the dead, but the birds simply devoured that Seed. Thomas refused to be tilled and softened, but Jesus didn’t give up on Thomas. Christ continued to dig His plow into the hard soil of Thomas’ heart. And one week later, Thomas believed and confessed Christ as his Lord and God (Jn. 20:24-28).

Think of Peter as the rocky soil. Peter had been warned about falling into the temptation of denying Jesus three times. Peter needed to produce the fruit of fleeing temptation, but his stone-hard heart didn’t let the roots of Jesus’ warning find the moisture it needed. Peter was withered in the hot sun of that test. Three times Peter denied knowing Jesus (Jn 18:15-18, 25-27). The Seed planted in him got scorched, but Jesus hadn’t given up on Peter either. Christ continued to sow the seed of His Word and remove the rocks from Peter’s heart. Through the labor of Jesus’ sowing and tending the soil of Peter’s heart, Peter was restored and produced great fruit as he later fed, tended, and shepherded Jesus’ lambs (Jn 21:15-19).

Several of the disciples were also the thorny soil. They saw Jesus anointed with expensive ointment shortly before He was arrested and thought it was a complete waste (Mk. 14:3-9). They were choked out by the cares and riches of this life, but Christ didn’t give up on them either. Jesus continued to pull and pluck those thorns by teaching them how that anointing was preparing Him for His burial. The sad reality, though, is that for all of Jesus’ plucking and tending, the soil of Judas Iscariot’s heart still ended up being choked out by the thorns of thirty pieces of silver (Jn. 12:4; Mt. 26:14-16).

Dear saints, all of this is to say that Jesus, the Sower, doesn’t merely scatter the Seed of His Word, walk away, and only come back periodically to see what’s happened with His precious Seed. No! He is the constant gardener. He continually scatters the Seed of His Word which guides, teaches, forgives, feeds, and strengthens you. He also digs and plows to break up the hard soil. He clears the soil of rocks and thorns. Through His Word, He corrects, exhorts, and rebukes. Some of what He does is gentle. He consoles, comforts, and encourages by declaring His love, mercy, and forgiveness. And Jesus constantly guards His field to protect what He has planted (Is. 5:1-7). He does all of this, the planting, the tending, the weeding, and the guarding so that the Seed of His Word gets well-rooted to produce abundant fruit in and through you.

Dear saints, you are God’s children. Through His Word, He gives you an honest and good heart. Yes, you are attacked by the devil, threatened by temptation, and seduced by the cares and riches of this world. But by God’s grace, He will sustain you as He continues to work on you through that same holy and precious Word. May that Word be deeply rooted in each of us today and always. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Amen.

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

The Umbrella – Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday in Lent

Mar6

Matthew 4:1-11

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Generally, there are two ways to approach preaching a sermon on Jesus’ temptation. The first is to point out the tactics that Jesus used to resist temptation and encourage the hearers to employ those same tactics because we are to fight and resist temptations (Jam. 1:14, 4:7). Those sermons can make you much more prepared than Eve was in our Old Testament lesson (Gen. 3:1-21) when the devil came asking, “Did God really say?” Preaching Jesus’ temptation that way is helpful, beneficial, and Scriptural, and I’ve taken that approach several times in the past.

That being said, those sermons are mostly oriented toward the Law and have the potential to be dangerous. They can leave you only hearing, “Jesus is your example. Here, use the same strategies and maneuvers that Jesus used. And if you follow this plan when you face temptation, you can resist sin like Jesus.”

But when – not ‘if’ but ‘when’ – you fail and fall into sin, it can be extremely discouraging. If you only hear sermons about how Jesus is your example, it can leave you thinking that the Bible is simply a self-help book. And when your life doesn’t get better, you can start to think that the Bible isn’t really all that helpful. The devil can take sermons like that and place all your sins and failures and in front of you to tempt you into abandoning the Word of God completely. So, I’m not taking that approach today. Maybe I will the next time, but not today.

Today, I’m taking the second common approach of preaching on Jesus’ temptation which is to see that Jesus is resisting temptation for you. He is doing for you what you cannot and could not do. As Christ resists and fights against the devil, He is trusting in God where you have not. And because Jesus has done all of this for you, God credits Jesus’ victory over sin and temptation to your account through faith.

To get a better understanding of this we need to see that these are real temptations for Jesus. Honestly, these temptations don’t sound all that difficult to us. Turning rocks into food, jumping off a building without a bungee cord or parachute, and bowing down at Satan’s feet are not the temptations you and I face. But the reason each of these temptations is difficult for Jesus is that in each of them the devil is tempting Jesus to abandon His mission to be your Savior. To get at this, we’ll need an analogy:

Imagine that the Ten Commandments are a giant umbrella, and God by creating you has put you under that umbrella of His Law. You and I and all humanity live under the Law, and we don’t have a choice of getting out from under it. That is not an option. The Law is always there directing, instructing, and accusing us because we are sinners.

Now, God isn’t under that umbrella of the Law. God is outside and above the Law. Whether you like it or not, God isn’t subject to the Commandments. He can’t be. Consider the 4^th Commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” How is God going to keep that Command? He doesn’t have a father or mother or any authorities above Him to honor. Or consider the 7^th Commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” and the 9^th and 10^thCommandments about coveting. God created all things, so He already owns all things. He can’t steal or covet anything because everything is His already. So, we live under the umbrella of the Law, and God doesn’t.

But when God saw your pitiful condition under the Law and how it always accuses you, He desired to save you, the only way to do that was for Him to come next to you under the umbrella. Jesus came in the flesh to live under the Commandments next to you. This is the picture we are given in Gal. 4:4-5a, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, burn of a woman, born under the Law to redeem [you] who were under the Law.” You see this?

So, when Satan initially comes to tempt Jesus here, he doesn’t tempt our Lord the same way he tempts us. The devil tempts us to break specific commandments – to disrespect those who have authority over us and break the 4^th Commandment, to hate and harm our neighbor and break the 5^th, to lust and break the 6^th, to lie and break the 8^th, and so on. But none of the temptations that the devil throws at Jesus here would lead Jesus to break one of the Commandments. Satan is doing something different here.

In each of these temptations, the devil is tempting Jesus to come out from under the umbrella of the Law. Basically, each of these temptations is Satan, that worm, saying to Jesus, “You created the umbrella! You don’t belong under the Commandments. Leave the people under there, they deserve it. They’ve earned all the punishment they get under there.”

Now with that picture in our minds, let’s consider each of the temptations. If you had gone forty days without eating, the devil would tempt you by simply putting some food in front of you. But when the devil tempts Jesus here, he doesn’t put food in front of our Lord; instead, he points to a pile of rocks. That wouldn’t be tempting for you or me, but this temptation is uniquely tailored for Christ. Jesus has the power, ability, and authority to change those stones into bread. He is God after all, so those stones are His creation. If He wanted to turn them into bread, He had every right to do so. But Jesus doesn’t. He responds by quoting Dt. 8:3, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

What that passage means is that we humans must trust that God will provide our food at the proper time (Ps. 145:15). So, this temptation to turn rocks into bread is the devil saying to Jesus, “You don’t have to wait for God to give You bread. Only the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve have to wait for God to feed them.” And the devil was right. Jesus didn’t have to wait. Because Jesus is God, if He had turned those stones into bread, God would have been providing. But because Jesus is your substitute and has willingly come next to you under the umbrella, He does wait. He waits for His heavenly Father to provide food. He chooses to be patient because you and I have to be patient and wait for food to come from our heavenly Father. So, by resisting this temptation, Jesus stays with you under the umbrella.

In the second temptation, Jesus is taken to the top of the Temple and is told to jump off. This temptation sounds really strange to us because I doubt you have ever been tempted to jump off the roof of the Alerus or the Ralph. How is this tempting? It wouldn’t be for you or me, but it is for Jesus. If Jesus had jumped off the pinnacle of the Temple, which was a very public place, people would see the angels catch Him, and they would know that He was God. Jesus could get all the glory, worship, and praise that is His due as God.

But Jesus’ glory doesn’t mainly come from doing amazing things. His main glory is staying with you under the umbrella and going to the cross to be your Savior. Just before He was arrested, Jesus began His high priestly prayer, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son” (Jn. 17:1). Again, the devil’s temptation here is to get Jesus to come out of the umbrella and get the glory that Jesus rightly deserves. But Jesus won’t do it. He remains with you under the umbrella because it is much more glorious to be the Savior of mankind than to be a miracle-worker.

Finally, in the third temptation, the devil takes Jesus to a high mountain, shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and says, “I’ll give You all this if You bow down and worship me.” Remember, Jesus had come to win all the kingdoms of the world for Himself. At the very end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Mt. 28:18). In this temptation, the devil is saying, “I can give You the kingdoms of the world right now.”

But Jesus won’t do it. Again, He stays under the umbrella. Yes, Jesus has come to reclaim the kingdoms of the world, but only after He has redeemed you by shedding His blood and dying and rising again for you.

Dear saints, Jesus has resisted temptation for you. And we know Jesus faced more temptations than these three. When Luke records Jesus’ temptation, he ends it by saying, “The devil departed from Jesus until an opportune time” (Lk. 4:13). Jesus can sympathize with your weakness because He has been tempted in every way that you are but without sin (Heb. 4:15).

One more thing about Christ’s temptation today. Notice, that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness in order to be tempted by the devil (v. 1). You can take comfort in the fact that the Holy Spirit will never ever lead you into temptation because Scripture promises (Jam. 1:13). But beyond that, you can know that by facing these temptations for you, Jesus is totally and completely determined and committed to be your Savior. He did not and will not ever come out of the umbrella with you. His desire is to give you His mercy. He has brought that mercy, grace, and forgiveness to you who live under the umbrella.

So today, right now, and always You can draw near to His throne of grace with complete confidence. Because at His throne of grace you will always find His mercy and grace to help in every time of need (Heb. 4:16). Amen.

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

Instructions for the End of the Ages – Sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Aug1

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

¹ For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, ² and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ and all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

⁶ Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. ⁷ Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” ⁸ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. ⁹ We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, ¹⁰ nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. ¹² Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The first five verses of this text remind us that God is gracious to sinners. Paul invites us to think back to when God delivered His people out of slavery in Egypt. God protected His people from the scorching heat with the cloud. God Baptized His people in the Red Sea as He delivers them out of slavery and destroyed their enemies. And, just as an aside, please, note that. Paul calls the crossing of the Red Sea the Baptism of God’s people, and God didn’t demand that the infants be left out of that Baptism. A whole lot more could be said about v. 2, but we’ll leave that for another time.

God provided mana for His people after He delivered them from slavery. That heavenly bread provided for their physical bodies, but it also provided for them spiritually, teaching them to trust that God would provide for them each day. During the Exodus, God provided physical water for His people to drink, but it was also a spiritual refreshing. God does all these things, but then we come to a shocking statement in v. 5, “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased.”

Do you remember how many of the people who passed through and the Red Sea actually reached the Promised Land? Only Joshua, Caleb, and those who were under twenty years old when they first spied out the land (Num. 14:20-35). The rest died in the wilderness as they were forced to wander for 40 years because they didn’t believe that God would bring them into the land of Canaan. But even before that happened, there were problems. In this text, Paul refers to five different times the people were tempted and rebelled against God.

The first temptation Paul mentions is in v. 6 when the people “desired evil.” It is a reference to what happened right after the people left Mt. Sinai, there were some who were tempted to go back to Egypt so they could eat meat and cucumbers (Num. 11:4-5, 31-34). I mean, seriously, cucumbers? Those foods were not evil in and of themselves. The problem was the people’s desire to go back to Egypt which meant slavery. They preferred going back to slavery over continuing to eat the food God was daily providing for them in freedom.

The second temptation to rebel that Paul refers to is the idolatry of the golden calf. The people made sacrifices to the idol and “sat down to eat and drink rose up to play” (1 Cor. 10:7, quoting Ex. 32:6). God came close to wiping out all the people, but Moses interceded for them. And God heard Moses prayer (Ex. 32:9-14).

The third temptation to rebel that Paul mentions involves sexual immorality. In Num. 25:1-18, God’s people tangled themselves up in the pagan, idolatrous, and adulterous practices with the people of Moab, and God struck down 23,000.

The fourth and fifth rebellions Paul mentions come in v. 9. The people put God to the test at the waters of Massah and Meribah (see Ex. 17:7; Dt. 16:16) when they complained that God had simply delivered them from slavery in order to kill them with thirst. And, finally, when the people complained about food again and God sent fiery serpents among them (Num. 21:4-6).

In each of those five instances, we are to see how God deals with His people who sin when they face temptation. In each of those instances, God responds with both judgment and salvation. Paul says that all five of these temptations and failings of God’s people are included in Scripture “for our instruction” and are an example for us so we are warned against falling into sin when tempted.

Because we live at the end of the ages, we need to take care that we do not become complacent or arrogant like they did. When we face the same temptations that God’s people faced during the Exodus, we need to remember that God does not let sin go unpunished. Dear saints, we can fall from grace, and we do not know when Christ will return. Because the Last Day is immanent and because we can fall from grace, we need to resist and fight against the same temptations that the Israelites faced during the Exodus.

Dear saints, this text doesn’t really have any Gospel. Don’t get me wrong, there is comfort for us here. But this text is mainly instruction for us who live at the end of the ages. So, what instructions and encouragements are here to prepare us to fight against temptation and our fallen flesh?

First, we see in all five examples of temptation, rebellion, and sin, many Israelites fell, but God always kept some from falling. In each instance, God, in His mercy, tried to save all. The only ones who fell were those who despised God’s Word and promises.

Everyone faces the same types of temptations that the Israelites faced in the Exodus. Everyone lusts – maybe not after the exact same woman or man – but everyone in this fallen flesh lusts. Everyone is tempted with anger; everyone is tempted with being untruthful; everyone is tempted with evil desires, covetousness, and idolatry; etc.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.” Ultimately, every temptation would be unbearable apart from God’s grace. But the ability to resist those temptations and the ways to escape sinning when tempted comes from God when we ask Him for it. That’s why v. 12 precedes v. 13. “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Because everyone is tempted, be empathetic to those who are struggling with temptations. They are being tempted by some sin you are also inclined toward, and a little bit of sympathy can go a long way to help them resist falling into sin. Everybody is suffering and struggling with sin and temptation. All Christians are bearing crosses and pain as they struggle along in this life.

The second lesson we have here is that God knows exactly what temptations you face, and He always provides a way of escape from those temptations. There is sort of backwards comfort in the fact that God knows how disgusting and selfish you are, but He loves you anyway. You can be comforted with the knowledge that you aren’t really worse than anyone else. And the best comfort this text offers us is that God always provides ways of escape.

The third lesson in these verses is that you do not have to sin when you are being tempted. You can resist your temptations and overcome them. Temptations are going to come. Jesus says in Lk. 17:1, “Temptations to sin are sure to come.” Luther was once talked about how temptations are inevitable and offered a helpful analogy. He said, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from making a nest in your hair.”

In light of that, let me give you a bit of advice. Think of it as a friendly suggestion. Don’t make a law of this. If it’s helpful, great; if it isn’t, don’t worry about it. Here’s the advice:

Know what your sins are and do your best to confess them individually. And please, don’t misunderstand me here. You can’t confess every sin; that’s impossible. Ps. 19:12 says, “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.” In other words, you are not able to recognize absolutely every sin you commit, but God hears your pleas for mercy and answers with more grace than you have confession. Please hear that again. God gives more grace (Jam. 4:6) than what you individually confess. But the sins you know and feel in your conscience, confess them individually.

Doing this will help you recognize the moments you face the greatest temptations and fail. When you do let the bird build a nest in your hair. Confessing individual sins can help you recognize if there is a pattern of being in a situation and falling into sin. Whe you see those patterns, avoid those situations. This is good and holy work that God has given you to do.

Those are the instructions and comforts. First, God deals with both judgment and mercy with those who fall into temptation, and we should too. Second, God provides ways of escape from temptations. Third, you do not have to sin; you can fight against it.

Now, it’s time for Gospel. Remember how Jesus has taught you to pray. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches you to first pray for forgiveness then immediately pray that your Heavenly Father would not lead you into temptation. Jesus teaches you to pray this because you cannot do it yourself. Remember, Christ has been tempted in every way that you are – except without sin (Heb. 4:15). And because of the cross, God recons Christ’s righteousness and obedience as your righteousness and obedience.

Dear saints, the temptations you face are real. The sins you continually fall into are damning. Yet, God’s grace covers a multitude of sins.

Your heavenly Father does lead you, and He will never lead you into temptation (Jam. 1:13). Today, He has led you here to hear His Word. He has led to you confess your sins. God has led you to trust His forgiveness proclaimed to you for every one of your sins in the Absolution. And Your heavenly Father is leading you now to His table where He provides you Jesus’ Body and Christ’s Blood shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins.

Dear saints, the end of the ages has come upon us. You and I cannot stand on our own. Let us all approach God’s throne of grace and believe Him when He says that His steadfast love never ceases and His mercies never come to an end. That love and mercy of God is new for you each and every morning (Lam. 3:22-23). And soon Jesus will return and deliver you to live forever with Him. Amen.

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

Confident Repentance – Sermon on Hebrews 4:14-16 for the First Sunday in Lent

Feb21

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Hebrews 4:14-16

¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

All three of our Scripture lessons today (Gen. 3:1-21; Mt. 4:1-11; and Heb. 4:14-16) deal with temptation. First, we heard how Adam and Eve were tempted in the Garden and leapt headfirst into sin. Second, we heard how Jesus Himself was tempted in the wilderness by the devil and didn’t jump into sin. And this epistle lesson brings it all together by telling you that your Savior knows your temptations, that He is sympathetic toward your weakness in the face of those temptations, and that He is always ready to welcome you to His throne of grace. Hopefully, v. 15 is a familiar verse to you already, but I want you to hear it again. Listen carefully. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

We might hear that and just fly over it without giving it much thought. I think it is easy to have a blasé attitude toward that verse and think, “Sure, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, but look how easily He resisted those temptations. He just quoted some Bible verses, and voilà. No big deal. After all, He’s God, and God cannot sin. The temptations I face are much more difficult.” Dear saints, be careful with that kind of thinking. To think that Jesus wasn’t tempted like we are is to essentially deny His humanity.

Jesus was indeed tempted in every way – every way – that we are tempted. And, in fact, I think v. 15here teaches us very clearly that Jesus knows what it is to be tempted even better than you and I do. Try this picture:

Imagine there are two men who are standing over a pit of sin. This pit could be any sin. It could be lust and clicking on certain websites, it could be anger toward others, it could be gluttony, it could be gossip. And I would encourage you to imagine that this pit is whatever sin you recognize most often in your own life. So, these two men are standing over the pit of sin with a cord tied around their waist. At the bottom of that pit is the devil trying to tempt these men into sin.

Neither of the men simply jump into that pit and willingly sin. So, the devil adds some weight. Satan adds five pounds to the first man’s cord. The man notices a little tug, but he knows what is at the bottom of the pit, so he resists. The devil adds another ten pounds to the cord, and the man has to compensate a bit to keep his balance, but he still resists. So, the devil adds another twenty-five pounds. The cord is digging into the man’s waist. It’s painful and difficult. And the man thinks, “Well, this is just going to keep getting harder. The struggle isn’t going to stop.” So, he simply jumps into the pit and sins. And there, please notice that I said that he ‘jumps’ into the pit. He doesn’t simply fall into the pit. Scripture does talk about ‘falling’ into sin but you only fall into sin after you jump. The man willingly and deliberately jumps in because he figures the temptation is just going to continue to get worse. I’ll explain that bit about jumping more in a bit.

Now, the second man doesn’t jump into the pit right away either. The first five and the additional ten pounds are just as noticeable to him as it was to the first man, but he doesn’t jump. The next twenty-five pounds cut into his skin just as it did the other, but he keeps fighting. So, the devil keeps adding weight. Another fifty pounds. Then, another hundred pounds. The second man is pulling with all his might against the 190 lbs. of temptation weight. He’s clutching on to a tree with every ounce of strength to keep himself out of the pit. The devil decides that a little more weight will do the trick and throws it on the end of the cord…

But the cord snaps. And the man is left there on the ground. He’s tired and sore and injured, but he isn’t in the pit. He remains on the firm, solid ground.

Now, which of those two men knows better what it is to be tempted? The second man. The man who resisted the temptation. He fought longer and harder, and by God’s grace, he prevailed.

With that picture in your mind, listen to what Heb. 2:17-18 says about Jesus, “[Christ] had to be made like His brothers,” that’s all of us (not just the men here), “He had to be made like His brothers in every respect in order to atone for the sins of the people.” Now, listen very carefully as the text continues, “Because [Jesus] Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Dear saints, Jesus suffered when He was tempted. When our text here says that Jesus was “tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin,” that isn’t just referring to the types of sin that Jesus was tempted with. He knows every weight of temptation that you have experienced. He knows what it is to have that cord pulling and tugging Him. Yet, He endured the weight and allure of sin. Every cord and rope and chain of temptation that the devil used to try and pull Jesus into the pit of sin broke. So, your Savior is able and knows how to help you when you are being tempted.

Now, that brings me back to what I said in the picture where the first man jumps into the pit of sin. This little analogy should shed new light on 1 Cor. 10:13, which says, “No temptation has come upon you that is not common to man. But God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.” Stop there for just a second. Jesus knows how much weight of temptation you can handle. The cords and ropes the devil would use to tempt you will all break, they will completely snap, at the exact weight that God determines. Satan can’t use ropes of temptation that are more than you can bear. The devil does not have that ability. Back to the text, “God will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation [God] will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Dear saints, that is why we have to say that when we are tempted and sin, we don’t just fall into the pit. No, we jump. You and I too easily jump into the various pits of sin. And it is only after we jump that we fall. When the weight gets heavy and the struggle long, we simply jump and find ourselves in those pits of despair. We need to fight temptations because those cords will break. Scripture promises. Later in Heb. 12[:4], we hear this, “In your struggle against sin,” and the word there in Greek for ‘struggle’ is ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagonizomai) where we get our word ‘antagonist.’ It’s interesting to know that word ἀνταγωνίζομαι is used outside of Scripture to describe a boxing match and even mortal combat – fighting to the death. So let’s use that idea. “In your mortal combat against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Fighting temptation isn’t just a mortal combat for your physical life; it is an eternal combat for your soul. Yet, you and I too often do not put up much of a fight. We jump into all sorts of sins. Repent.

Maybe you noticed that I titled this sermon “Confident Repentance,” and here I’ve spent all this time talking about temptations and the need to resist them. We do need to resist temptation. We need to fight against our sinful flesh. Yet, we also recognize that we keep jumping headfirst into sins over and over again. And the thing that this text would teach us is that we do not need to hide that fact before God. So, here is why you can confidently repent: you have a merciful God who can personally sympathize with your weakness when it comes to temptation and sin.

One of the saddest things we saw in our Old Testament lesson is that Adam and Eve fled from the sound of their Creator after they sinned. Then, over and over God is simply trying to get them to repent which is nothing more than telling the truth about your sin. God asks, “Where are you?” God knew where they were, and He knew what they had done. He was just trying to get them to tell the truth about their sin. God asks Adam a second question, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I commanded you to not eat?” In other words, God again just wanted Adam to speak the truth about his sin. But Adam passes the buck. Eve gets asked, “What is this that you have done?” and she blames the serpent. Parents wouldn’t accept these excuses from their children because Adam and Eve are both trying to put the blame somewhere else. It isn’t what we might call ‘true repentance.’

But also notice, there are little kernels of truth. Adam does say he ate – even though he blames his wife and, ultimately, God. Eve also admits she ate even though she blames the serpent. But God abundantly merciful and counts it as repentance. Notice the first thing God does. He punishes the devil and promises to send Jesus to crush his head.

God takes these sorry excuses and counts them as repentance, and this is way back in Genesis. So, how much more, now that Jesus has come and has been tempted in every way that you are, now that Scripture promises that because of Christ God is sympathetic to your temptations because He knows your struggles against them, how much more confidence can you have that when you repent and tell the truth about your sin you will also find mercy and forgiveness?

You can, with sure and certain confidence, approach God’s throne of grace and admit those times that the heavy weight of temptation got to you and you jumped into the pit of sin. You can confess the times where there was just a little weight – just measly fifteen or even ten pounds – and you jumped. You can even bring before God the times where there wasn’t any weight and you simply jumped into the pit.

Jesus knows your temptations, your weakness, and your failures. And He still goes to the cross for you. Jesus takes your sin upon Himself. Jesus has gone into every pit of sin into which you have jumped to rescue and redeem you. He suffered all the wrath you have earned by your sins. And now, He has ascended to the right hand of God the Father ready to hear your plea, “Have mercy on me.” And He does.

So, now, confidently repent. And hear His merciful invitation to take your seat at His table. Amen.

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

The Anatomy of Sin – Sermon on Genesis 3:1-21 & Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday of Lent

Mar1

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Matthew 4:1-11

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple ⁶ and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

In any sport, a good coach will watch tape of the opponent or will notice how the other team is playing. The coach will use his skill and knowledge to figure out how to minimize the opponent’s strengths and take advantage of and exploit their weaknesses. That is what we are going to do today.

The devil is our enemy who will tempt us to sin. But just getting us to sin is not his ultimate goal. Satan’s ultimate goal is to get us to hate the God who loves us, who created us, who shed His blood and died to forgive us, and who desires to sanctify us and make us sacred.

Look at the back of your Scripture insert because I printed James 1:13–15 for you there: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one.” Now, pay very close attention, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” This is how sin goes – this is the anatomy of sin. Temptation Lured and Enticed by Desires James 1_14-17 Your heart has a wrong desire, and that false desire is conceived and eventually gives birth to sin. Then, when sin grows up, it brings forth death. Knowing this, we know Satan’s game plan. But it is helpful for us to see how the devil’s game plan plays out in real time, and we saw it in our Old Testament text (Gen. 3:1-21).

Satan asked Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You shouldn’t eat from any of the trees of the garden’?” Notice what Satan is doing. He is trying to put Eve above God’s Word so that she thinks she can be the judge of what God said. Satan, that liar and deceiver, is trying to get Eve and Adam to think that God doesn’t want them to have something that is good and is holding out on them.

When Eve responds to the devil’s question, she adds to God’s Word. She repeats the command to not eat of the tree but she also wrongly puts an additional command in God’s mouth to not touch the tree.

There’s a whole sermon right there, but let me say this just briefly. It is true that if Adam and Eve never touched the tree they wouldn’t eat the fruit of the tree. You would have to touch the fruit that is on the tree and pluck it in order to eat it. But adding to God’s command didn’t keep Adam and Eve from sinning. It didn’t work for them in the perfection and bliss of Eden, and it won’t work for us in this fallen, broken world. We could consider all sorts of examples, but try this one: The 8^th Commandment tells us to not lie, but it does notcommand us to never speak. If we add to God’s command against lying an additional prohibition against speaking, what happens then? I know this example is absurd, but play it out. If you never speak, you might not lie with your tongue, but you also can’t confess Jesus’ name, can’t declare God’s praise, can’t love your neighbor by saying, “I love you.” And if you never speak, you would likely think, “I’m keeping the 8^thCommandment,” and that thought would be lying to yourself by saying you have no 8^th Commandment sin (1 Jn. 1:8). See? You still sin!

Anyway, back to observing the devil’s tactics. Eve adds to God’s command, and the devil knows she’s added to God’s Word. Satan sees that his attack is working, and he presses on by telling her a bold-faced lie, “You will not surely die!” Catch that – the devil, while lying, calls God a liar. Then, that snake accuses God of false motives, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened.” He says the reason God is lying is to keep them blind to something. Finally, he entices Eve by saying, “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And that, right there, is the essence, the anatomy, of temptation and sin. Satan sees where your desires are different than God’s desires for you. And the devil arouses those desires and tries to get you to bridge the gap between what you want and what God wants. Satan tempts you to be the judge of God.

Temptation in the Garden of Eden When Eve looked at that fruit, she should have recognized, “That fruit is death.” Instead, she wrongly sees that it is to be desired to make one wise. This is the danger for us. There are things that are put in front of us and God says, “That’s bad, and it leads to death.” But instead of regarding those things according to God’s Word, we regard them according to how we see and think. We put ourselves over and above God and judge Him to be wrong. The devil entices us to think that God is the bad guy who is holding out on us, keeping us from having our heart’s desires. Then, we think we know better than God, and we fall for the temptation and into sin.

Now, not all of these steps play out every time you sin. The more you fall into a particular sin, the more you silence your conscience. Think again of the 8^th Commandment about lying. Whenever you lie, gossip, spread rumors, or stretch the truth, you are putting yourself in the place of God. You want reality to match up with what makes you look good or better than others. When you go behind someone’s back to complain about a situation instead of addressing the problem directly with the person, you are putting yourself in the place of God. If you have a problem with an individual, do not talk about those problems with anyone else. The more you do that, the more you open yourself to sin. Repent.

My fellow sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, be wise. The devil attacks you. He comes to whisper lies in your head that God is not good and that you know better than God does. The devil’s game plan worked in the bliss of the Garden of Eden when he tempted our first parents. How much easier is it for him to attack you now when your desires are already stained with original sin? But, now, let us watch the devil use the same tactics but fail when he tempted our Savior and our Brother, Jesus, the Son of God.

The context of Jesus’ temptation is immediately after He is Baptized by John in the Jordan (Mk. 1:9-13). There is no forbidden tree anymore, so the devil is going to attack a different Word from God. With the first two temptations, the devil begins by saying to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God…” (Mt. 4:3, 6). Remember what God said about Jesus just as He was Baptized, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:17). It’s in the verse immediately before this Gospel text.

Christ in the Wilderness (Temptation) Ivan Kramskoi 1872 Jesus has been fasting forty days and nights. I remember as a kid being hungry forty minutes after dinner. Jesus is famished. He is weakened by this fast. So, this temptation to turn stones into bread is a real temptation. The tempter again tries to exploit the gap between Jesus’ desires and what God has given. Jesus wanted food. Because He is man just like you and me, His stomach and His brain would have been screaming at Him, “Feed us!” But God has not yet given Jesus food. So Satan tries to get Jesus to take for Himself what God has not given.

But Jesus responds beautifully. He responds with God’s Word, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Now, this does not mean that we don’t have to eat. It does not mean that every time you get hungry you just take out your Bible and read. Instead, it is a reminder that there is more to our life than bread. Listen to the whole verse from Dt. 8:3 – Moses is preaching his farewell sermon to God’s people who had been led through the wilderness for forty years saying – “[The Lord] humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” In short, God might withhold something from you so that He can provide for you in a way that increases your faith in Him. While you wait for God to provide, don’t fall for the temptation to reach out and take what God hasn’t given. Jesus resists the temptation to take for Himself what God had not yet provided.

So, the devil comes with a second temptation. The tempter puts Jesus on the pinnacle of the Temple and tries to use Scripture against Jesus. Basically, Satan says, “Throw Yourself down. God has promised to protect You.” From Ps. 91:11, the devil quotes, “He will command His angels concerning you,” but Satan leaves out a phrase. The rest of the verse reads, Temptation of Jesus “to guard you in all your ways.” God the Father will protect Jesus in all His ways. But God didn’t send Jesus to earth to be some X-Games-temple-pinnacle jumper.

And there is great comfort for you in this as well. God will protect you in all the ways and paths and vocations to which He has called you. No harm will come to you until God is ready to receive you into His heavenly kingdom. Everything you do, you can do without fear because God will protect you.

Jesus knows this and responds again from the book of Deuteronomy (6:16), “You shall not put the Lord your God to the text.” The devil’s temptation fails again.

So, the devil tries one more. The tempter shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory in one moment (Lk. 4:5) and says, “All these I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.”

This offer of Satan is absurd. The earth already belongs to Jesus. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” But the devil isn’t offering Jesus creation and the universe because he can’t – it doesn’t belong to him. Instead, the devil is offering Jesus the dominion of fallen mankind. Remember, that God told Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over… every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). But when Adam and Eve fell, their dominion also fell. And that is what Jesus has come to restore and recover. He came to be the New Adam who has perfect dominion over creation.

Again, Jesus resists the temptation saying, “Be gone Satan,” and quotes from Deuteronomy. Maybe we should be reading Deuteronomy more. If you’re reading through Scripture, don’t stop if Deuteronomy seems sluggish. But, most importantly, know and love God’s Word. The promises of Scripture are your best weapon against temptation and sin. God’s Word is the Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). Anyway Jesus quotes Dt. 6:13, “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.” And the devil is beaten back and defeated.

1 John 2_16 - Temptation Desire Weapons So, dear saints, be wise. Know the devil’s attacks and tactics. The devil is going to use those tactics against you, but God has given you weapons against the devil, your flesh, and the world (1 Jn. 2:15-16). When the devil comes to tempt you, take up the weapon of prayer. Pray God’s Word and watch the devils flee. When your flesh tempts you, take up the weapon of fasting. If you are tempted to certain desires of your flesh, fast from those things. Tell your body, “Body, you aren’t in control.” And when the world tempts you with its vain riches, give. Be generous to the point that it makes you unable to afford falling into the temptations of this world.

And when you are tempted, find comfort in this and in nothing else: Our Epistle lesson (Heb. 4:14-16) invites us who fall into temptation and sin to come confidently as we approach the throne of grace. Come to Jesus because He is our great High Priest who knows our weakness and gives us His mercy and grace to help in time of need.

Now, what does Jesus, the Son of God, say to you? He says, “Come back to the Garden. Be guiltless again. Here, eat this. To undo the curse of sin and the curse of the Fall, take, eat. This is My Body given unto death for you. Take, drink. This is My Blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” Amen.

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

Pastorsamwise

"Don't the great tales never end?"

Tag Archives: Temptation

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

Escape – Sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:6-13 for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

The Fight – Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday of Lent

The Sidewalk of Faith – Sermon on John 20:19-31 for the Second Sunday of Easter

The Devil’s Playbook – Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday of Lent

Rooted – Sermon on Luke 8:4-15 for Sexagesima Sunday

The Umbrella – Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday in Lent

Instructions for the End of the Ages – Sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity

Confident Repentance – Sermon on Hebrews 4:14-16 for the First Sunday in Lent

The Anatomy of Sin – Sermon on Genesis 3:1-21 & Matthew 4:1-11 for the First Sunday of Lent