1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Sermon

Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

What you Were is not Who you Are

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

⁹ Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (NIV)

Based on his recent success as Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man, you may have forgotten that Robert Downey, Jr. had quite a troubled past, having been tangled up with drugs, drinking, and run-ins with the law.  Though your mind instantly categorizes him as one of the best to have ever played the game, with six championship rings to his name, the legacy of Michael Jordan has long overshadowed the reality of his having been cut from his high school basketball team.  You may never have guessed that Walt Disney was fired early in his career for a lack of creativity, or that Lucille Ball was dismissed from drama class because she was too shy.  It’s a shocking surprise from time to time to hear what people once were before we knew them as they came to be.  

Even more shocking is the past history described by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.  So shocking in fact, that this list has been referred to as the “role call of the damned.”  Indeed, such a list leads us to squirm as we hear it read.  Nevertheless, individuals that fit such descriptions were sadly not uncommon in Corinth at the time.  Corinth was a city teeming with people and opportunity.  It’s where business happened and wealth was accumulated.  It was educated and trendy.  Corinth was the place to be.  And, as one can easily see from Paul’s description, it was mired in worldly immorality.

Now try to imagine the struggle of being a congregation of believers surrounded by such a sordid society.  The congregation, after all, was made up of members for whom such immorality was not perceived as being immoral at all; rather, it was just a way of life.  Restraint was a foreign concept that had long since given way to instant gratification.  Serving self was job number one.  And Paul had come along with his message of a selfless Savior who called on the Corinthians to virtually turn their lifestyles upside down and inside out.  Well, you can imagine the congregation in Corinth would have had some growing pains.

The purpose of Paul’s letter was to address those growing pains. Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (v.9,10).  Paul did not hold back.  Notice that he did not tread lightly, wishing to delicately tip-toe around the issue.  He wasn’t concerned about hurt feelings or a decline in membership because the message of sin and its consequences was not a popular one.  No, Paul had the big picture in mind, the eternal picture, and he simply cared too much to allow precious souls to unwittingly trade in their place in God’s kingdom for a spot in Satan’s; to exchange their inheritance in heaven for an inheritance in hell.

In displaying his pastor’s heart for his brothers and sisters in Corinth, Paul was mirroring the heart of his Heavenly Father, who was not only concerned about sin’s influence on the congregation in Corinth, but about sin’s influence on all of his redeemed children.  Why else would God have preserved Paul’s letter, but so that it could be passed down through history?  For God knew that sadly, the situation in Corinth would not be a one-time incident in history.  

As if to emphasize what he anticipated may some day be forgotten or overlooked, Paul sounded the alarm twice, reiterating the soul-stirring reality that those whose lives are characterized by wickedness will be shut out from the kingdom of heaven.  And to carry his warning a step further, he added another warning: “Do not be deceived.”  Now why should Paul need to tack on that warning?  Isn’t the list of sins Paul drew up both clearly condemning and at the same time obviously offensive to a pure and perfect God?  Is there any question that being controlled by such stuff is spiritual suicide?

Brothers and sisters, I don’t believe it is as clear in our day – even to God’s people.  There was probably a time in America’s past when the level of depravity evident in Corinth during Paul’s lifetime was shocking.  That time appears to have passed us by.  For that reason Paul’s warning cannot be ignored.  “Do not be deceived,” he says.  But how can our society avoid being deceived when it doesn’t even know what qualifies as sexual immorality today?  That phrase has virtually lost all meaning in a culture of sex.  Living together and having sex before marriage is so normal in our culture that even the church hardly bats an eye at it.  Elementary school-age children are engaging in sexual acts, and not even privately, but for others to see.  Paul warns that the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God, and his warning falls on deaf ears, because we don’t even know anymore what it means to be sexually immoral.  Do not be deceived.  “Adultery?”  Why should a culture in which everything sexual goes care that married people are having sex with those to whom they aren’t married, and vice-versa?  In fact, to aid you in the process of arranging an affair, you can even find websites that will assist you nowadays.  And who of us has not heard of the practice of an “open marriage?”  Do not be deceived.  Ah, now here it is; perhaps the one transgression on this list that the vast majority of Christians can really agree on is wrong: homosexuality.  Precious little brings together fellow Christians like the opportunity to passionately condemn the sin of homosexuality.  And yes, to be clear, it is sin.  But do we really think we can fool God by ignoring the rest of the sins on Paul’s list and making up for it by being ten times as vocal and passionate about condemning the sin of homosexuality?  Do not be deceived.  What’s more, even that sin is on the verge of being removed from the “restricted” list.  Don’t believe it?  You would be shocked (or maybe not!) to know that there are a number sitting here this morning who, by virtue of the world’s influence, are really struggling with the question of whether or not God truly condemns homosexuality, even though it is clearly included on this list.

Realize that we haven’t even started covering the non-sexual sins yet.  But we don’t really need to spend much time on them, do we, since they aren’t as bad, right?  “Do not be deceived: Neither … idolaters … nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (v.9,10).  We brush past the warning about idolaters because that’s just an old-fashioned term for something people in the Old Testament did.  If I can call myself a Christian today (the definition of which, by the way, is as generic as it’s ever been!), then certainly I am not an idolater, because I have done due diligence and at least acknowledge there’s a God somewhere.  Never mind that he doesn’t generally tend to have first place in my life, but is a distant second, third, fourth, or somewhere else on my list of priorities behind the things that actually matter to me.  Do not be deceived.  Thieves and swindlers are admired today (unless we personally happen to be the victim!) and celebrated in movies that spin what they do as “cool.”  It has become so that we rationalize our own stealing – if we don’t get caught, then sole blame resides with those who failed to catch us.  It’s on them, not us.  It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission, right?  Take first, ask later.  Do not be deceived.  We’ve heard of anonymous support groups to assist those who struggle with drugs or alcohol, but who of us could honestly deny that we ought to be in a similar group for those infected with greed?  “Hi, I am ‘insert-your-name-here,’ and I am a greedy person.”  Sometimes we even mask our greed, or at least think we do, by giving a little more to the Lord for the wrong reasons, failing to admit that such giving may merely be an attempt to ease our own conscience when the credit card bill comes each month.  We take out loans to remodel and expand our homes, update our furniture and electronics, and add a new car, but fail to see the disconnect when we drive that new car over a cracked and crumbling parking lot on the way to God’s house.  But greed isn’t really a problem for us, is it?  Do not be deceived.  Drunkards and slanderers?  Not if I make my own definition of what “drunk” is.  Not if I think I can cloak slander with the truth so that it somehow ceases to be slander.  Do not be deceived.  At stake is our inheritance in the kingdom of God.  We simply cannot ignore God’s warning.  We cannot continue to let ourselves be deceived by denying, disregarding, or downplaying the harsh and damning reality of sin.

I don’t know if there is a section of Scripture in which the writer so thoroughly rails against sin as Paul does here.  But perhaps for that very reason, I don’t know if there is a section of Scripture in which the joyful words that follow are so eagerly awaited, so desperately longed for, and so openly welcome.  Hear the full blunt force of the law at work, and then feel the full effect of what Jesus has truly done for you and me.  “And that is what some of you were” (v.11).  “Were” is to say “no longer!”  “Were” is to speak of the past!  “Were” is to imply that there has been a change!

And Paul states clearly and beautifully how that change came about.  “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (v.11).  See how Paul knows what terror and dread is wrought by the law that he is compelled to proclaim what has been done for us through Jesus Christ in a way that is bursting with images of grace.  You were washed – but not just washed – you were sanctified – but even that isn’t the end of the matter – you were justified!  

In this part of the country we know how quickly a new layer of dust and dirt can coat the outside of our cars.  Would you appreciate the shine and sparkle of a recently-washed car if not for the filth that previously covered it?  So it is with our hearts – when God’s Word reminds us how utterly filthy and disgusting our hearts were previously, having been washed in a bath of forgiveness makes all the difference in the world.  And is there any way the word “washed” does not instantly frame in our hearts the picture of our baptism?  At the font of forgiveness is where what we were became who we are.

And this because the Holy Spirit has made us holy – sanctified us – and set us apart as his holy and special people.  He did this by counting the perfect life and the holiness of Jesus to us.  Paul’s list of transgressions never touched Jesus’ heart.  They never wormed their way into his mind.  They never materialized into outward actions.  Jesus was free of such a list.  It does not apply to him, for in holiness he did what we could not, and he did it so that we could be what we otherwise could not apart from him: holy.

Now God can rightly declare that we have been set free from sin.  Do not be deceived: your sin is paid for and you will not die.  May we now live, not according to what we were, but according to who we are: washed and cleansed, holy servants, living guilt-free lives for him who made us who we are. Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)

Luke 7:11-17 Sermon

Third Sunday After Pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) 

When Death Meets Life

Luke 7:11-17

¹¹ Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶ They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” ¹⁷ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. (NIV)

Death marched arrogantly on.  Yet again its dreaded wheel had been spun, and when the spinning stopped, another life to which it pointed was powerless against its beckoning.  After all, when Death’s dreaded reach extends toward man, man can do nothing to avoid it.  Death always wins.  It takes its life and immediately the social and cultural customs and etiquette surrounding Death ensue, for what else can men do but oblige when Death arrives, ever the uninvited guest?  Nearby neighbors and residents of Nain knew the routine.  From the moment the widow’s son had died, the mourning had begun.  The process of preparing the body was a familiar one, for no community is ever immune to Death.  Washed and wrapped, the body was placed upon a stretcher to be carried outside the city to the place of burial.  Death marched arrogantly on.

Many followed along respectfully with the procession, some simply because that’s just what you did when Death demanded its morbid parade, and others because they were torn apart inside at the plight of the widow who had now lost her only son.  Now was no time for work or play or study; Death called out to all, and everyone fell in line, all mourning and wailing, various instruments clanging in their midst, loudly announcing that Death had claimed yet another victim.  Pallbearers took turns bearing the burdensome weight of Death as they were honored to carry the corpse to its final resting place.  The funeral procession had made its way from the widow’s home to the gate of the city.  The body would be laid to rest outside the city, so as to avoid the defilement of Death.  And Death marched arrogantly on.

That is, until the procession of Death met head on with the Possessor of Life.  Ah, and what should happen when Death, to this point virtually unchallenged throughout history and claiming nearly an undefeated record, should meet face-to-face with Life?  Would Death continue its dominance?  Would Life stand idly by, unable to undo Death’s deed and watch yet another of Death’s trophies be placed in a tomb, prominently displayed, as if upon a mantel for all to see?

Luke recounts for us what happens when Death meets Life.  “Then [Jesus] went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’  The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother” (v.14,15).  And there we have an answer to our question of what happens when Death meets Life: Death has met its match!  While man alone has been and always will be powerless in the face of Death, Jesus has turned the tables on Death, which is powerless in his midst.  With this miracle Jesus attaches the reality of flesh and blood to the name he gives himself in John’s Gospel, “the Life” (14:6).  No, he is not just “the way and the truth,” but also “the life!”  And while that title certainly includes eternal life, we need not limit its significance, for we cannot quickly cast aside that he is also the One who restores physical life, as he did for Lazarus, for the daughter of Jairus, and here for the widow’s son in Nain.

And why should Jesus do such a thing?  No more than probably a day ago, some 25 miles away in Capernaum, Jesus had healed the servant of a centurion.  Remember though, that this healing took place at the request of the centurion.  He sought out Jesus and pleaded for him to heal his servant.  Jesus was willing to grant his request, and was amazed at the centurion’s faith in the process.  But here in Nain no such request had been made.  No envoys had been dispatched to seek out Jesus and ask him to come to the aid of the widow.

So why did Jesus reach out, disregard any ceremonial laws of becoming unclean via contact with the dead, and command a corpse to come to life?  It was to demonstrate that in him the natural order of things, ever since Abel’s murderous brother Cain ushered death into the world, was to be turned around.  No longer would Death march arrogantly about, tapping mankind on the shoulder as it pleased, without any prospect of hope for those in its grip.  Yes Jesus’ miracle at Nain was a vivid and blatant smack in the face to Death, reminding it that God had draped himself in humanity in order to permanently disable Death.

But there’s more to the story that cannot be ignored, for Jesus at other times and in other places would also demonstrate his power over death.  So why here, in what appears to be a random encounter with a woman he had never met, whose name is not even mentioned?  Because Jesus sought not only to showcase his almighty power over death itself, but also to put on display a side to the Savior that he wants all people to see: Jesus is a personal Savior.  Not only that he is your and my personal Savior, but also that he personally cares for you and me as individuals.

Is there any way we can doubt that from his interaction with the mourning mother of Nain?  Luke tells us, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry” (v.13).  He knew her situation, whether by omniscience, knowing and seeing all things, or by the fact that the mother of the son was alone in the funeral procession, unaccompanied by either a husband or any children.  He knew her situation, and his heart sank to his stomach for her.  It was gut-wrenching to witness her pain and loss.  Her entire means of income, her whole retirement – all gone.  No husband and no son to care for her, was she to resort to a life of begging for her remaining days?  These concerns weighed on Jesus deeply and he cared for her.

If that were it, that Jesus cared for her, perhaps we would not see so much to get excited about in this account, for we have been in similar shoes.  Our hearts have poured out to others in care and concern.  We have witnessed others experience extreme loss.  We ourselves may have experienced extreme loss.  We and others express our condolences, share our sympathies, promise prayers, and offer hands of help.  But those are the extent of our expressions of care.  We can do nothing at all to actually change the circumstances of the one hurting.  We can do little that seems to adequately show we care.

But Jesus did.  Yes, he spoke caring words: “Don’t cry.”  But he went further and took caring action: “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  His compassion was not just a general compassion for all people who have lost someone, but a specific, a personal compassion to this widow whose loved ones had been ripped away from her in death.  Jesus’ compassion compelled him to speak and show his care.

Dissect your heart and see for a moment if there is legitimately any room inside, a corner, a cubby tucked away in there somewhere, which harbors even the slightest bit of doubt over whether your Savior cares for you personally.  Yes, others will tell us God works it all out for out good, but that isn’t good enough for me at times, is it?  I need to know that he cares about me, and to be honest, it just doesn’t always feel that way.  My marriage is on the rocks – don’t you care, Jesus?  I am still single – don’t you care, Jesus?  The footsteps of the pink slip–bearing boss seem to be drawing closer to my door each week – don’t you care, Jesus?  And yes, one day – if it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will – Death will march arrogantly into your life and pluck away a loved one.  And all the comforting words of others, even brothers and sisters in Christ, will not keep you from questioning at some point, “don’t you care, Jesus?”  The irony, of course, is failing to see that the very rebellious doubt demonstrated by you in such a situation is itself death-deserving sin, and, if left unchecked, will see to it that a loved one isn’t all that dies – your faith will die as well.

“Don’t you care, Jesus?”  Stand just outside the city gate of Nain and see how much Jesus cares.  Jesus stumbles upon a complete stranger and his holy heart moves him to heal her hurt.  And that, for a stranger.  But you are not a stranger! You are known to him by name.  In baptism he called you by name and said, “I say to you, get up!”  Rise up out of the death of unbelief as a newly adopted child of God.  Jesus cares!  At his table, when you receive his precious body and blood – when you receive the life that they offer – Jesus calls to you and says, “I say to you, get up!”  Rise up out and step outside of the cloud of guilt, paid for by the body nailed to the cross for you, the very body which you receive in Communion.  Jesus cares!  And yes, one day, it will happen to you that Jesus will speak to the remains of your body, “I say to you, get up!”  On that day you will know to the fullest degree that your Savior cares for you.

In fact, no one cares more.  Jesus, the way and the truth and yes, the life, came to destroy Death.  Death in general, yes, but to put a fine point on it, he came to destroy your death.  He replaced it with his perfect life.  Why should he do that for you and for me?  Because he cares for you.  He cared for you in the past at Calvary, and when he himself raised up to vacate the tomb.  He cares for you in the present through the means of grace, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, where repeatedly he calls you to rise up in peace and forgiveness.  And finally he will care for you in the future enough to personally share his eternity with you. That, dear friends, is the confidence we have in Jesus when Death meets Life.  Amen.

                                                              

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)