Larry Devich
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Tuesday of week 4 in Lent - The Second Focus for a Third Time
Read: Romans 10:1-13
But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”
(Ro. 10:8).
In Romans 10, St. Paul declares that Jesus is present in His Word. You don't
have to journey to heaven or the abyss to find Him, because His Word is near
you; and where the Word is, so is the Word made flesh. There He is.
Yesterday, we looked at the two foci of the tabernacle and Christian hope,
and we spoke of the danger of forsaking the doctrine of justification, that Christ
has sacrificed Himself to save you, and His sacrifice on the cross is sufficient.
This is the focus lost by the Roman Catholic Church. Aside from the few
orthodox Lutherans floating around, Protestant church bodies have largely lost
the other focus, the doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus with His people.
Where Lutherans give thanks that Jesus visits them in His means of grace, most
Protestants teach that those means are just signs, nothing more. We mentioned
this a little back in devotion 9, so today we ask: what effect does this have on
Protestant theology?
American Christianity has largely dispensed with the means of grace by
saying, “Jesus is present—He's here in my heart.” But this poses some
questions that should be considered seriously. For instance, how does one know
that Jesus is in his heart? We dare not dismiss lightly Jeremiah 17:9, which says,
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can
know it?” Knowing what goes on in one's heart is beyond our ability. But to the
question, “How do you know Jesus is in your heart?”, American Christianity
provides a few answers.
“Jesus is in my heart because I made the decision to follow Him,” is a
common response. “He's there because I accepted Him as my Savior and Lord.”
If that is the case, we must ask: Given the deceitfulness of the human heart, how
can you be sure you accepted Jesus sincerely enough, for the right reasons? Can
you be sure? Trust me on this one: if your salvation rests upon your decision,
you can never be sure you did a good enough job of deciding.
“Jesus is in my heart because I feel Him there.” Much of religion today is
driven by emotion, and it is often implied that God is present when people feel
good. This is terrible theology: each of us will be beaten down in life enough
where we have no energy left to feel. And if Jesus is present because we feel
good, then He must be absent when we undergo trial.
“Jesus is in my heart because I'm doing better in life.” Indeed, as Christians
we should grow in good works; but we are still sinners and will fall flat on our
faces at times. Should we conclude that, when we have made a grave mistake
and dearly need grace, that He isn't near because we've sinned?
If Jesus is present with you because of your decision, feelings or actions,
then He's present because of your works; and you can never be certain that your
works are good enough. But here is a far greater comfort: no matter your
decision, feelings or actions the Lord promises that, wherever His Word and
Sacraments are, there He is. For sure. For you. ¶ 3/20/2007 01:24:00 PM 0 Comments
But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”
(Ro. 10:8).
In Romans 10, St. Paul declares that Jesus is present in His Word. You don't
have to journey to heaven or the abyss to find Him, because His Word is near
you; and where the Word is, so is the Word made flesh. There He is.
Yesterday, we looked at the two foci of the tabernacle and Christian hope,
and we spoke of the danger of forsaking the doctrine of justification, that Christ
has sacrificed Himself to save you, and His sacrifice on the cross is sufficient.
This is the focus lost by the Roman Catholic Church. Aside from the few
orthodox Lutherans floating around, Protestant church bodies have largely lost
the other focus, the doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus with His people.
Where Lutherans give thanks that Jesus visits them in His means of grace, most
Protestants teach that those means are just signs, nothing more. We mentioned
this a little back in devotion 9, so today we ask: what effect does this have on
Protestant theology?
American Christianity has largely dispensed with the means of grace by
saying, “Jesus is present—He's here in my heart.” But this poses some
questions that should be considered seriously. For instance, how does one know
that Jesus is in his heart? We dare not dismiss lightly Jeremiah 17:9, which says,
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can
know it?” Knowing what goes on in one's heart is beyond our ability. But to the
question, “How do you know Jesus is in your heart?”, American Christianity
provides a few answers.
“Jesus is in my heart because I made the decision to follow Him,” is a
common response. “He's there because I accepted Him as my Savior and Lord.”
If that is the case, we must ask: Given the deceitfulness of the human heart, how
can you be sure you accepted Jesus sincerely enough, for the right reasons? Can
you be sure? Trust me on this one: if your salvation rests upon your decision,
you can never be sure you did a good enough job of deciding.
“Jesus is in my heart because I feel Him there.” Much of religion today is
driven by emotion, and it is often implied that God is present when people feel
good. This is terrible theology: each of us will be beaten down in life enough
where we have no energy left to feel. And if Jesus is present because we feel
good, then He must be absent when we undergo trial.
“Jesus is in my heart because I'm doing better in life.” Indeed, as Christians
we should grow in good works; but we are still sinners and will fall flat on our
faces at times. Should we conclude that, when we have made a grave mistake
and dearly need grace, that He isn't near because we've sinned?
If Jesus is present with you because of your decision, feelings or actions,
then He's present because of your works; and you can never be certain that your
works are good enough. But here is a far greater comfort: no matter your
decision, feelings or actions the Lord promises that, wherever His Word and
Sacraments are, there He is. For sure. For you. ¶ 3/20/2007 01:24:00 PM 0 Comments
