St. Paul warned Timothy: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (1 Tim. 3:12); and Jesus warned His disciples: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me” (John 15:18-21).

And it’s true, the world is becoming more and more evil. Though many churches are accepted by the world because they no longer preach and teach all that the Bible teaches, believers who hold fast to Christ and His Word are suffering rejection and persecution and may even face death in this world.

And the true preaching of the Gospel? It’s seldom heard in churches any more. The number of faithful preachers has become fewer and fewer so that, in most places, a gospel of “God loves and accepts everybody as they are” is being preached, and the people feel good about their version of Christianity even though they continue on in mortal sin and stand condemned by God! And when the truth about our sinfulness and the condemnation of the Law is preached, and when the Gospel of a righteousness and forgiveness which become ours through faith alone in Jesus Christ is preached, who listens, who cares to hear?

And to those who continue to hold fast to salvation through repentance and faith alone in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, to those who continue to preach the Word of God in its truth and purity and rightly administer the Sacraments, this world has become a pretty discouraging place. We might even be tempted to think all is lost, the Church in this place has been stamped out, all our efforts to preach the truth are for naught.

Now think about what Jesus had just told His disciples. In Matthew 16:21 and 24, we read: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day … If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Jesus had promised eternal life and the glories of heaven to all who placed their faith in Him and now He tells His disciples that He would suffer many things, be killed and be raised from the dead on the third day! And He tells them that they too would be persecuted and suffer as His followers.

So, was all lost? Would there be no heaven and no glory? Was the faith they were preaching without hope!

That’s where Jesus’ transfiguration comes in (Matthew 17:1-9; cf. Mark 9:1-9; Luke 9:28-36): “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, ‘Arise, and do not be afraid.’ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’”

Jesus took Peter, James and John, His inner circle of disciples — perhaps so that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established” (Deut. 19:15) — with Him on a high mountain alone. And there, Jesus’ appearance changed. Instead of seeing Jesus in His humble state in which He did not always or fully use the divine power and glory which were His as the eternal Son of God, Jesus appeared in His divine glory. Mark describes it this way: “He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them” (Mark 9:2,3).

Though Jesus’ disciples had seen glimpses of His divine glory through His miracles, they had not yet seen Him in the glory He possesses as the eternal Son of God — the glory in which we will see Him when He returns on the Last day!

And Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in glory and talked with Jesus about the sufferings and death to atone for the sins of the world which He would accomplish in Jerusalem (cf. Luke 9:29-31).

Moses, through whom God gave the Law (also the human author of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible), led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness. And because of their unbelief and rebellion against God, Moses saw a generation of them die in the wilderness, and he too was prohibited from entering into the land of promise because of his anger against the unbelief of the people (cf. Num. 20:1ff.). He was only allowed to see from across the Jordan, and then he died and was buried in the land of Moab by God (Deut. 34:1ff.).

Elijah, a prophet of God, lived in a time in Israel’s history when most had turned away from following the true God. He challenged the prophets of Baal and proved Jehovah God to be the true God and then had to flee for his life because of wicked queen Jezebel (cf. 1 Kings 18 and 19). Elijah despaired and thought he was the last true believer in Israel until God told him He still had 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Elijah was taken alive to heaven in a fiery chariot (cf. 2 Kings 2:1ff.).

Moses and Elijah, who called upon God’s people to repent of their sinful ways and directed them to look in faith to the coming Messiah and Savior for forgiveness and life, did not receive glory during their earthly lives and ministries, but on the Mount of Transfiguration, they appeared with Jesus and shared in His glory.

And when “Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’ … a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’”

God the Father testified of Jesus that He is none other than the eternal, beloved Son of God! He exhorted Jesus’ disciples and all of us to hear Him — to listen to His Word of truth and to place our hope and confidence in Him, for He alone is our Savior!

What’s the point of the account? And why do we revisit it each year on Transfiguration Sunday?

1. First of all, it reveals to us who Jesus really is. Though He is true man, born of the Virgin Mary, He is also true God, conceived by the miraculous working of the Holy Ghost. Here on the mount, through the eyewitness account of Peter, James and John which we have recorded for us in the words of Scripture, we see Jesus for who He truly is: Jehovah God in the flesh. His miracles and His revealed glory on the mount prove it!

2. Secondly, lest we become overwhelmed with doubts about ever receiving glory, we see Jesus in glory and we see Moses and Elijah in glory. In this world, they endured suffering and tribulation, but in the world and kingdom to come, glory! It is as St. Paul writes (2 Tim. 4:6-8): “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (Cf. John 16:33; also Rev. 7:9-17 for a similar revelation of the saints in glory.)

3. Thirdly, we have the assurance that our faith rests upon God’s truth — the Holy Scriptures are true. Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:16-21: “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

4. Fourthly, God the Father testifies to the identity of Jesus — His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased — and urges and commands us to listen to and hear Jesus’ words. And, it is through Jesus’ Word and His Sacraments that we are brought to faith and preserved in the faith in Christ Jesus (cf. John 6:63; 8:31-32). Thus, we are to “hear Him” and heed His Word, because only in Him and in the truth of the Gospel is there salvation for sinful human beings like you and like me.

5. Fifthly, even though Peter and his fellow eyewitnesses desired to stay on the mountain and see Jesus in His glory, God had them go down from the mountain into the dark and sinful world below — they were not even allowed to speak of what they had seen until after Jesus’ resurrection. And so, we must live our lives in this dark and sinful world and bear witness to Christ Jesus and the glory that He has prepared for all who trust in Him. Christ still sends His ministers of the Gospel not to mountaintop monasteries but to the nations and peoples below to disciple the nations by proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and baptizing in His name.

It was on a mountain in Galilee, after Jesus’ death and resurrection and just before His ascension, that Jesus said to His chosen disciples: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

We live in the valley now, in a dark and sinful world that knows little of Jesus and His glory, and that knows little of the salvation He won for all by His atoning sacrifice on the cross. As His Church, we have the command to call and send men to preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments in Jesus’ name that the Holy Spirit might bring people to repent of their sinful ways and look to Jesus and His cross in faith for God’s mercy, forgiveness and the everlasting joys of heaven.

In this life, in this world, we can expect no glory — only suffering and persecution from the enemies of the truth. But glory will come when Jesus is revealed again in glory. It will come to all who trust in Jesus’ name, as it came to Moses and Elijah!

God grant that we hold fast to Christ Jesus, trusting in Him alone for pardon, forgiveness and the eternal glories of heaven. And though, in this world, we know no glory, all who trust in Christ Jesus will be glorified with Him when He comes again in all His glory!

O God of all glory, we thank You for revealing to us on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus in His divine glory, and Moses and Elijah with Him in glory. Grant that we hear Him and His Word and bear witness to Him in this dark and sinful world until we too, join Him in glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.” Psalm 19:12-13

So many times, we do not even see or understand that we have sinned. We don’t recognize our faults and don’t realize that we are unclean before our holy God and deserving of nothing but His eternal wrath and punishment.

When we read and study God’s Word, it reveals our sinfulness. The Holy Spirit, who authored the Scriptures, shows us what God desires of us and reveals to us that we do not measure up and have garnered the wages of our sinfulness — eternal death and damnation!

That is why David, in Psalm 19, says, “Who can understand his errors?” and prays that God would cleanse him from his secret faults — faults that he does not even see in himself and recognize.

This is also what we do in our general confession when we ask God to forgive us all our sins of thought, word and deed, both sins of omission and sins of commission. We ask God to forgive us all our sins for Jesus’ sake: those we know and recognize as sin and even those sins we do not know and feel in our hearts.

And, we are assured that God, for the sake of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (cf. 1 John 1:7 – 2:2).

Presumptuous Sins

David continues his prayer: “Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.”

“What are presumptuous sins?” we might ask. These are those sins we know are wrong and contrary to God’s commandments and, yet, we willfully choose to go ahead and do them, presuming that God will deal with us in mercy and not condemn us for our wickedness.

John Bunyan (author of Pilgrim’s Progress) once referred to sin as “the dare of God’s justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love.” And this is a fitting description of presumptuous sins. Those who commit them treat the blood of Christ, shed for the sins of all upon the cross, as a common and worthless thing to be used as a license to indulge in the sinful desires of our flesh (cf. Heb. 10:26-31). Presumptuous sins are, indeed, the “rape of His mercy” in Christ Jesus!

And, of course, the Scriptures warn against them, telling us that, if we go on sinning willfully after we have learned of Christ, we should not expect to receive pardon and forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice (Heb. 10:26-27; 2 Pet. 2:18-22). Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). To the believers in Ephesus, he wrote: “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them” (Eph. 5:5-7). To the churches of Galatia, he wrote: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21).

That is why David pays that the Lord would hold him back from following his own lusts and committing presumptuous sins. He recognized that His sinful flesh longed to plunge forward into sin and He needed God to hold him back from such sin and eternal ruin.

David adds, “Let them not have dominion over me.”

David knew well the dangers of presumptuous sin. Going against his knowledge of God’s commandments, he lusted after Bathsheba and committed adultery with her. Then, he tried to hide and cover up his sin and ended up murdering Bathsheba’s husband Uriah to do it. And, had God not sent Nathan the prophet to rebuke David and call him to repentance, he would have been lost forever! (Read 2 Samuel 11-12.)

Sin is deceitful and, once we give in to its desire, we easily become entangled and enslaved by it. We know it’s wrong to drink to excess or take mind-altering drugs but, once we give in, we find ourselves giving in again and again until we cannot stop. We know that sexual immorality, pornography and adultery are wrong but, once we give in just a little, we become addicted and enslaved. We know it is wrong to be dishonest in our dealings with others but one deception leads to another and another. We know we should take the time to hear God’s Word and worship and serve Him but, once we start neglecting to do so, it becomes easier and easier.

The apostle Paul wrote: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:15-16).

Thus, we pray with David, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.”

We ask God to graciously forgive all our sins — both those we know and those which are unknown to us — for the sake of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, and God pardons our sins for Jesus’ sake. And we pray that God would keep us back from following our sinful desires into presumptuous sins which so easily entangle and ensnare us and lead us away from Christ Jesus our Savior to our eternal ruin!

O gracious and merciful God, we have sinned in our thoughts, desires, words and actions. Some of our sins we know and recognize and others are known only to You. Forgive all our sins for Jesus’ sake. Cleanse our hearts and souls and make us acceptable in Your sight through the shed blood of Christ Jesus. Keep us back from presumptuous sins and do not let them gain the upper hand and rule over us. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” Psalm 32:5b

We speak or chant these words of Psalm 32, a contemplation of David, each Sunday as a part of our confession and absolution.

The psalm begins by saying: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (v. 1-2).

And, indeed, it is a blessing to have God’s mercy and forgiveness, to have God pardon our sins and no longer hold them against us. In fact, God’s pardon and forgiveness are our greatest need for we daily sin much in our thoughts, desires, words and deeds and deserve nothing but God’s eternal wrath and punishment.

God’s holy law condemns us. It reveals our utter sinfulness and our continual failures to be and to live as God requires and it condemns us to the everlasting fires of hell!

If we are silent about our sins and do not acknowledge and confess them, we are only deceiving ourselves. The guilt and God’s anger and threats of punishment weigh heavily upon us. As David writes, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer” (Ps. 32:4).

But, when we confess our sins and look to God in faith for mercy and forgiveness in Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior who suffered our punishment when He died on the cross and then rose again, God graciously forgives the iniquity of our sins.

The apostle John writes of the same thing when he says: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). God forgives us because “Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

And what a blessing to have God’s pardon and forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ! Without it, we would remain under the wrath of God and could have no hope of eternal life in heaven but only the certainty of the eternal torments of hell (cf. John 3:18, 36)!

David prays: “For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him” (Ps. 32:6).

By the gracious working of the Holy Spirit through the Word, the godly are brought to see and confess their sins and look to God for mercy and forgiveness in Jesus Christ and for the sake of His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. And, when we confess our sins and have God’s forgiveness, God’s judgment will not come near us.

Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

Since we all are in such desperate need of God’s pardon and forgiveness, it’s hard to imagine why people do not flock into our church services and confess their sins that they might hear and receive God’s absolution. It’s hard to imagine why they wouldn’t want the comfort offered in God’s Word and assured us in His Sacraments. Perhaps they remain self-deceived and see no need for God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus!

What about you? I ask you before God: Do you acknowledge that you have sinned? Do you confess and agree with God that you are guilty and deserving of his wrath and punishment?

Do you trust that Christ Jesus has truly redeemed you from the curse of God’s law (Gal. 3:13) — that He fulfilled the law’s righteous demands and then took your sins upon Himself, along with the sins of the whole world, and suffered your just punishment when He died upon the cross?

Do you also believe that Jesus, in the Sacrament, gives you to partake of His body and blood which were given and shed that your sins might be forgiven you?

As a fruit of your faith, do you truly desire and seek God’s help to amend your life and live it in accord with God’s Word?

If you are truly sorry for your sins and look to Christ and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross for pardon and forgiveness, I announce unto you the grace of God and, in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. + Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Colossians 1:1-8

“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: as ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:1-8

Though the Apostle Paul may never have visited the church in Colosse, when he heard of the believers’ faith in Christ Jesus and the resulting love they had for their fellow believers, he, together with Timothy, gave thanks to God for giving them the confident hope of eternal life in heaven through faith in Messiah Jesus.

The good news of God’s offer of pardon and forgiveness and the promise of everlasting life in heaven because God the Son became true man and redeemed mankind reached the ears of the Colossians through Epaphras (and perhaps others, too) and faith in Jesus was kindled in their hearts through the hearing of the Gospel.

As the good news of God’s gracious gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven for Jesus’ sake was used to generate faith in the hearts of the believers at Colosse nearly 2,000 years ago, so this same message generates faith in human hearts today. The same Gospel, that Word of truth, tells us of the certain hope laid up for us in heaven, not because of anything we have done or can do, but because God’s own dear Son, Jesus Christ, came into this world and suffered and died for the sins of all and rose again in victory. God’s Word tells us that His gift to us for Jesus’ sake is life everlasting in the mansions of heaven.

Such a gracious gift of God — the forgiveness of all our sins because of His own Son’s holy life and innocent suffering and death in our stead and the assurance that we have a place in His eternal, heavenly kingdom — will also move those who believe to selfless love for other believers and fellow heirs of eternal life in heaven, but this love is the result of God’s loving gift of salvation to us, not the cause of it.

What a comfort to know that, though we have sinned and come short of the holy demands of God’s good law, Jesus fulfilled it for us and then took our sins upon Himself, paying the just penalty upon the cross that we might have forgiveness and life everlasting through faith in His name! And this hope which we have is not an uncertain hope but simply waiting for the things assured to us by the promises of God.

God has offered and promised us a place in heaven through faith in His Son. That place has been made certain to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We await that day in confidence and assurance that heaven is ours for Jesus’ sake. And, when we face the end of our lives here in this world, we need not doubt and wonder if we will make it into heaven. Heaven is guaranteed to us because Jesus shed His blood for us and paid in full for all our sins. If our salvation depended upon us or anything we did, we could have no certainty and no hope; but because it depends upon Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for us, we have every assurance and hope of everlasting life in the mansions of our heavenly Father’s house!

Paul wrote this letter while he himself was a prisoner because there were those who were seeking to rob these believers of the assurance and hope they had in Jesus by placing other demands upon them — suggesting such things as the worshiping of angels, eating certain foods or observing certain days. Today, too, there are many false teachers who would suggest and say that to be true Christians people must exercise certain gifts, eat certain foods or observe certain days.

The apostle’s message, the true Gospel, is that we are complete in Jesus — our salvation and everlasting life are certain in Him — there is nothing we need to add to His redemptive work!

Dear Father in heaven, thank You for graciously bringing to us the Word of Truth, the saving Gospel of forgiveness of sins and life everlasting through faith in Your Son, Christ Jesus. By Your Spirit, move us to believe and take heart and be assured that, for Jesus’ sake, our sins are forgiven and, for Jesus’ sake, we have life everlasting with You in heaven. Amen.

Colossians 1:9-14

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins….” Colossians 1:9-14

Though the ancient city of Colosse no longer exists — the old east-west road was moved, causing the once-important city to wane — by the grace of God the believers who once lived there are now reigning with Christ Jesus in His glorious heavenly kingdom.

Paul — probably while he was a prisoner in Rome, along with Timothy — when they heard of the faith and love of these believers in the Roman province of Asia (in modern-day Turkey), prayed for them that they might continue in the true faith and grow in their knowledge of God.

Paul wrote to them in his letter: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness….”

Paul and Timothy continually lifted up their fellow believers in Colosse, requesting that they be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, together with all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that they would use this knowledge of God rightly and live a life pleasing to Him, doing God’s will rather than following the whims of false teachers who held up another way of faith and life. They prayed that the believers there would continue to grow in the knowledge of God and be strengthened by Him so that they would endure in the true faith and rejoice in Him and what He had done for their salvation.

Paul and Timothy prayed for these believers that they too would give thanks to God the Father for graciously making them acceptable and fit to be partakers of the eternal inheritance of the saints in light — to partake of the blessings of heaven which God graciously gives to all who trust in Christ Jesus. It was God the Father who had delivered them from the rule and power of darkness — the kingdom of the devil — and translated them into the eternal kingdom of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. And, it was through faith in Christ Jesus, and for the sake of His blood shed upon the cross for the sins of the world, that they had been redeemed, forgiven of all their sins and made acceptable in God’s eyes.

What Paul writes applies to all of us who believe today. How important it is for believers — for you and for me — to learn and be filled with the knowledge of God through the study of His Word! And it is not enough to just learn facts about God. We need to know Him and His ways and so be strengthened in our faith in Him and rejoice in the salvation He has provided us in His Son. Then, as a fruit of our faith in Him, we will also seek to please Him by walking in His ways.

And, in all this, we have every reason to give thanks to God the Father; for it is He who has made us acceptable for His kingdom by sending His only-begotten Son to die for us and redeem us with His holy and precious blood shed upon the cross! It is through God-given faith in Jesus that we have pardon and forgiveness. It is through faith in Jesus that we have life everlasting and a place in God’s eternal kingdom. God rescued us from the rule and dominion of darkness by sending His Son to redeem us, and He translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son by bringing us to know and trust in Jesus for our salvation.

Again, the point of it all is that our salvation is complete in Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us, paid the price for the sins of the whole world and rose again in victory on the third day. God the Father, through the death of His Son, made us sinners fit and acceptable in His sight; and He, by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, brought us to faith in Jesus and thus rescued us from the doomed kingdom and rule of the devil and translated us — transferring and carrying us — into the eternal kingdom of His only begotten Son!

We thank You, dear Father in heaven, for graciously sending Your only-begotten Son to redeem us and for mercifully bringing us into His eternal kingdom through faith in His name. Grant that we might grow in our knowledge of You and walk worthy of Your gracious calling. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-39

What will it be like when Jesus returns? Jesus Himself tells us it will be like it was in the days of Noah. People will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage — in other words, carrying on with life as usual and enjoying the pleasures of this life — and then the end will come and carry them all away in God’s judgment!

Peter, in his epistles, tells us that Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Pet. 2:5) and that only “a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water” (1 Pet. 3:20).

As a “preacher of righteousness,” Noah, while he was preparing the ark — possibly for as long as 120 years (cf. Gen. 6:1ff.) — was calling upon the people of his antediluvian world to repent of their sins and believe in the promise of the Gospel — that God would send the Seed of the woman to be a sacrifice for sin and so undo the damnable work of Satan when he deceived Eve and brought about the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:15).

And how many believed Noah’s message? How many repented of their sinful ways and believed the promise of God to send a Savior? Only eight souls!

We can only imagine the ridicule and rejection which Noah and his family suffered. He warned of God’s judgment in a worldwide flood in a day when, according to the Scriptural record, God may yet have only watered the earth with a mist (Gen. 2:5-6). He called upon people to repent and look to God’s promise in faith for mercy, but few saw the need to repent and believe the Gospel. Some possibly even pointed out to Noah the small size of his church — only eight souls. Certainly, the rest of the world couldn’t be wrong! And, it is likely that there were many who believed in God; they just didn’t see their need to repent and give up the things of this world to join Noah and his little church of eight souls on the strange-looking ark Noah and his sons had built.

And then the flood came…. Who was saved? Only Noah, his wife, and his three sons and their wives — only those who forsook this world and, in faith, boarded the ark! Who perished? All who failed to repent of their sinful ways and believe the promise of the Gospel!

What will it be like when Jesus returns and this world is judged? It will be like the days of Noah! People will be busy with their lives, eating, drinking, marrying, raising their families, enjoying life in this world, and then the end will come! “Every eye will see Him…” (Rev. 1:7).

And, like Noah, there are preachers of righteousness yet today warning of God’s impending judgment and calling upon all to repent of their sinful ways and believe the promise of the Gospel — that “when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5); that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4); that through faith in Him, we receive God’s mercy and are justified and forgiven and given eternal life (Rom. 3:21-28; John 3:14-16).

As in the days of Noah, people reject God’s call to repent and believe the promise of the Gospel. They may believe in God but they don’t see a need to repent and look to Christ in faith. They continue on in the ways of this world. They don’t believe that God would actually condemn them to hell; or they look at the true visible church in this world and say its too small, its quarters are too tight and restrictive.

And then the judgment comes…. “The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed” (2 Thess. 1:7-10).

And what will be the result? “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Those who repent of their sins and believe, being joined to Christ in His death and resurrection through Baptism, receive everlasting life. Those who refuse to repent and believe the promises of the Gospel will be condemned to the everlasting fires of hell!

Today is so very much just like the days of Noah!

O righteous and holy God, have mercy upon my soul and grant that I live in continual repentance and faith, looking for that day when Christ, my Savior, returns to execute judgment upon this wicked world and to receive into glory all who look to Him in faith for the forgiveness of sins and life eternal. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]