Does the Lord really want to tear us down so He can build us back up again? Does He want to injure us so that He can come mend our wounds?

Yes, but God does not desire to damage or destroy us because He hates us. God tears us to pieces to save us from hell. He cares for us that much.

How can a righteous God have anything to do with an unrighteous people? The answer is simple. He must destroy the part of us that is unrighteous. And the part of us that is unrighteous is all of us. We do not have a problem with sin. Everything we do is sin! Our heavenly Father must first soften our hardened hearts with the hammer of the Law before He can place in us the pure, sweet Gospel.

We have no need for the Gospel without first hearing the Law. Why would we need a Savior if we don’t need to be saved? The purpose of the Law is to drive us to the one solution to our sin – Christ crucified.

In Luther’s day, the Baptism rite contained an exorcism. By the water and the Word, God cast out the evil spirits within and replaced them with the Holy Spirit. Evil was destroyed. Holiness was granted.

Through Word and Sacrament we are constantly reminded of God’s righteousness freely given through Christ. We are baptized through Water and the Word. He tears us down and then builds us back up again. We confess our sins and are absolved. We partake in the Lord’s Supper. Our sinful lives are bound up with Christ’s burial garments.

We are healed by our Lord’s injuries. His Son is God’s answer to the sin of His people. God destroys us and then makes us alive with His Words.

“Your hand, O Lord, in days of old, was strong to heal and save; It triumphed over ills and death, all darkness and the grave. To you they came, the blind, the dumb, the palsied, and the lame, The lepers in their misery, The sick with fevered frame. Your touch, then, Lord, brought life and health, grave speech and strength and sight; And youth renewed and frenzy calmed revealed You, Lord of light. And now, O Lord, be near to bless, Almighty as before, In crowded street, by beds of pain, as by Gennesret’s shore.” (LW #399)

¶ 9/10/2006 08:11:00 PM 0 Comments

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” This is the question of the lawyer who approached the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Law answer to this Law question is “love God and your neighbor.” Of course, the Gospel answer is “nothing.”

Have you ever noticed that there is no “I” in Gospel? The Gospel has nothing to do with us earning our salvation. It has everything to do with our Lord Jesus Christ earning our salvation.

The command to love God and our neighbor is impossible. The Greek word for love used here is “agape.” Agape is a perfect, selfless, unconditional love. There is no “I love you because...”

The 10 Commandments illustrate our lack of love. We cannot even get past the first one without sinning, “You shall have no other gods before me.” We continually place something before God. And we most assuredly do not love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love,” (1 John 4:8).

Agape love is what God has for us. It is not because of anything we have done that God loves us. It is because God is love. He has shown us love through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. It is through this act of love that we love God and our neighbor. Because we have no agape love of our own, God has given us His love to give back to Him and to our neighbor.

Once again, it all comes down to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was, is, and will be forever God’s perfect act of love.

“Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity, and as we do obtain that which You promise, make us to love that which You command; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”
(Collect for Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity)

¶ 9/10/2006 06:14:00 AM 0 Comments