Larry Devich
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Advent 3: Wednesday
Read: Zephaniah 3:14-20
The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice
over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you
with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
Works-righteousness and angry gods go together. Except for Christianity,
every other religion teaches that you're saved by what you do—be that good
works, martyrdom, meditation or throwing the maiden into a volcano. In these
religions, the gods usually range from strict disciplinarians to downright angry
deities who need to be appeased right away: pay up now, or else the next harvest
is going to be awful. Keep paying, and you might get a spot in heaven.
It makes sense—the two ideas go together. If a religion is going to teach that
you're saved by works, then it has to create a god that demands those works in a
way that you take it seriously.
So look at today's verse and wonder: the Lord is in your midst to save. And
in your midst, He rejoices over you with gladness. He quiets you with His love.
He rejoices over you—God sings over you! It's quite the contrast to that panoply
of false gods who might give you a nod if you just work hard enough.
Why the difference? Why does the Mighty One rejoice over you? Because
the hard work is already done—and He's done it Himself. He is the One who has
done the hard work of redemption, bearing your sins to the cross. He is the One
who has credited you with His good works and holiness, so that you might stand
righteous before Him. He is the One who comes into your midst in Word and
Sacrament to give these gifts to you. He delights to give you these gifts, and
even the angels rejoice when you receive them (Luke 15:10).
We make this note: does this mean that we care nothing about good works?
Hardly. That old sinful nature wants us thinking, since we do not earn our
salvation by works, that we need do no works whatsoever; and sadly, many
believe this is what we Lutherans teach. However, we still do good works, just
for an entirely better reason. In all those other religions, it's as if the gods say,
“If you impress me enough, then I'll let you into the house.” The one true Lord
declares, “I've brought you into My house and made you My children. Now, do
these good works, lest you forfeit My favor by being lured back into sin. And
when you sin, confess and be forgiven—because you remain in My house by
My grace, not your works.” In other words, we don't do good works to earn
God's favor. We do them because He favors us for Jesus' sake—He's set us free
from sin to do them!
This passage from Zephaniah is a remarkable verse, and one to treasure.
Even when the days are at their darkest and all the world accuses you that God
has forgotten you, you have His promise: the Lord is with you, rejoices over you
with gladness and singing, and quiets you with His love.
Arise, ye drooping mourners! The King is very near;
Away with grief and sorrow! For, lo, your Help is here.
Behold in many a place—O blessed consolation!—
You find Him, your Salvation, Within His means of grace. (TLH 69:3) ¶ 12/20/2006 09:05:00 AM 0 Comments
The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice
over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you
with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
Works-righteousness and angry gods go together. Except for Christianity,
every other religion teaches that you're saved by what you do—be that good
works, martyrdom, meditation or throwing the maiden into a volcano. In these
religions, the gods usually range from strict disciplinarians to downright angry
deities who need to be appeased right away: pay up now, or else the next harvest
is going to be awful. Keep paying, and you might get a spot in heaven.
It makes sense—the two ideas go together. If a religion is going to teach that
you're saved by works, then it has to create a god that demands those works in a
way that you take it seriously.
So look at today's verse and wonder: the Lord is in your midst to save. And
in your midst, He rejoices over you with gladness. He quiets you with His love.
He rejoices over you—God sings over you! It's quite the contrast to that panoply
of false gods who might give you a nod if you just work hard enough.
Why the difference? Why does the Mighty One rejoice over you? Because
the hard work is already done—and He's done it Himself. He is the One who has
done the hard work of redemption, bearing your sins to the cross. He is the One
who has credited you with His good works and holiness, so that you might stand
righteous before Him. He is the One who comes into your midst in Word and
Sacrament to give these gifts to you. He delights to give you these gifts, and
even the angels rejoice when you receive them (Luke 15:10).
We make this note: does this mean that we care nothing about good works?
Hardly. That old sinful nature wants us thinking, since we do not earn our
salvation by works, that we need do no works whatsoever; and sadly, many
believe this is what we Lutherans teach. However, we still do good works, just
for an entirely better reason. In all those other religions, it's as if the gods say,
“If you impress me enough, then I'll let you into the house.” The one true Lord
declares, “I've brought you into My house and made you My children. Now, do
these good works, lest you forfeit My favor by being lured back into sin. And
when you sin, confess and be forgiven—because you remain in My house by
My grace, not your works.” In other words, we don't do good works to earn
God's favor. We do them because He favors us for Jesus' sake—He's set us free
from sin to do them!
This passage from Zephaniah is a remarkable verse, and one to treasure.
Even when the days are at their darkest and all the world accuses you that God
has forgotten you, you have His promise: the Lord is with you, rejoices over you
with gladness and singing, and quiets you with His love.
Arise, ye drooping mourners! The King is very near;
Away with grief and sorrow! For, lo, your Help is here.
Behold in many a place—O blessed consolation!—
You find Him, your Salvation, Within His means of grace. (TLH 69:3) ¶ 12/20/2006 09:05:00 AM 0 Comments
