Since we will gather for worship and to partake of Christ’s body and blood given and shed for the remission of our sins, it is indeed good and right that we examine ourselves in accord with 1 Corinthians 11:28-29: “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

We do so this week on the basis of Hebrews 10:26-31, where we read: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Those who take sin lightly and imagine they can willfully continue on in sin and disobedience to God’s commandments without consequence need to consider these words of Scripture. It does not refer to our momentary lapses into sin due to the weakness of the flesh but to willfully continuing in sin. Instead of heeding the voice of God’s Spirit speaking through the Scriptures and repenting of sin and evil and looking to Christ Jesus and His cross for mercy and forgiveness, it is spurning God’s Spirit and living in impenitence (not being sorry for our sins, not looking to Christ for forgiveness and not seeking to amend our sinful ways in accord with God’s Word).

Such tread under foot the Son of God and count the blood He shed upon the cross to pay the price for their sins as a common and cheap thing. They treat Christ and His redemptive work as something they can use and abuse – it’s really not that precious to them.

And they do despite unto the Spirit of grace. Instead of heeding the Holy Spirit who guides and directs us by means of God’s Word, they reject His guidance and instruction and go their own way and live in accord with their own sinful desires, with the end being death and eternal damnation (read Romans 6).

Since it is only by God’s gracious dealing with us that we are brought to repentance and faith, willfully yielding to temptation always endangers our souls. It is a spurning and rejecting of the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, and only God knows when the Spirit will cease His gracious working in the lives of the impenitent.

I think of the words of Thomas Hastings’ hymn, “Delay not! Delay not! The Spirit of grace, long grieved and resisted, may take his sad flight and leave you in darkness to finish your race, to sink in the gloom of eternity’s night.”

Some say, “I’ll just do as I please now and repent later.” But how do you know you will repent later? Of yourself, without the gracious intervention of the Holy Spirit, you will not repent! Instead, you will continue on in impenitence and sin and suffer the eternal consequences. And, as the Scripture says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Rather than continuing on in sin, God would have us repent and look to Him for mercy in Jesus Christ. He tells us in His Word (Ezekiel 33:11): “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”

Rather than continuing on in sin and disobedience and suffering the eternal consequences, God desires that you acknowledge and confess your sins – face up to your sinfulness and the punishment your justly deserve – and God desires that you look in faith to Jesus and the atoning sacrifice He made for you when He suffered and died upon the cross for the sins of the world. He promises mercy and forgiveness to all who trust in Christ Jesus (John 3:14ff.; 5:24; Rom. 3:21-26; 4:5; 1 John 2:1-2).

And so, I ask you before God: Do you acknowledge that you are a sinner and have sinned in thought, word and deed? 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 and made atonement for all your sins? 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, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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

“Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” Matthew 11:2-3 (Read v. 2-15)

Whether John the Baptist had questions concerning Jesus or wished to point his own disciples to Jesus we don’t know for sure, but he did, from prison, send two of his disciples to Jesus with the question: “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?”

Notice that Jesus’ answer was not just an affirmative claim but clear evidence of fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. After healing many and casting out evil spirits in their presence (Luke 7:17ff.), “Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” (Matt. 11:4-6; Cf. Isa, 35:4ff.; 42:5ff.; 61:1ff.)

Indeed, the one who does not stumble and fall in regard to faith in Jesus as the Messiah (the Christ) and Savior is blessed, as Jesus said.

What about you? Do you ever have questions or doubts about Jesus as to whether He is the promised Messiah and Savior of the world? Consider His works! He opened the eyes of the blind, healed those who were lame, cleansed lepers, opened the ears of the deaf and raised the dead, including rising from the dead Himself on the third day after being crucified and dying for the sins of all. And Jesus proclaimed the gospel to the poor – to those destitute of their own righteousness before God, to those who were guilty and stood condemned under the holy law of God. To them, Jesus preached release, forgiveness and entrance into God’s kingdom through faith alone in His name.

And who was John? Jesus asked the multitudes what they went out into the wilderness to see? Was it a reed shaken with the wind – one that easily swayed in his teaching to accommodate the popular winds of doctrine? No, John was unbending in his doctrine, calling upon all, including kings and religious rulers, to repent. Was it a man dressed in soft, expensive clothing like that worn of kings or of the priests and rulers of the Jews? No, for John dressed coarsely in a garment of camel’s hair, much like Elijah, and wore a leather belt around his waist. In fact, in many ways, John and Jesus were opposites in their food and drink. John drank no wine and ate locusts and wild honey, and Jesus drank wine and ate a variety of foods, and many of their hearers were critical of both (Matt. 11:16-19).

Jesus said John was a prophet, greater than all the Old Testament prophets because he was sent to prepare the people for the coming of the LORD God, their Messiah and Savior.

Jesus said (Matt. 11:9-11): “But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Jesus called John the Elijah who was to come (v. 14).

Jesus said (Matt. 11:12-13) “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”

Though many of the Jewish leaders rejected both the baptism of John and the ministry of Jesus (cf. Luke 7:29-30; 36ff.), many people – including tax collectors and known sinners – were pressing their way into God’s kingdom. They took hold of the Gospel in faith and looked to Jesus as their Messiah and Savior and took God’s kingdom of grace for themselves with the same fervor as conquering soldiers take a kingdom and seize the spoils of war.

And what about us? Do we receive the preaching of John the Baptist and of Jesus and repent of our sinful ways, looking to Jesus and his cross for mercy and forgiveness? John preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4); and Jesus preached that all people should repent and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15). Jesus also commanded His disciples to preach “repentance and remission of sins … in his name among all nations” (Luke 24:46-47), and so we preach today.

Are we, like so many of Jesus hearers, rejecting the idea that we need to repent? Are we critical of Jesus for offering mercy and forgiveness to the religious traitors and lowlifes of His day? Or, do we take the preaching of John and of Jesus lightly and go about our lives impenitent and seeing no need for repentance and faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus?

Sad to say, I don’t see people breaking down the doors to get in and hear the Gospel. Though, as Jesus said, the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John because we can proclaim the fulfilled Gospel – the message that Christ died on the cross to atone for our sins and the sins of the world and then rose again in victory on the third day – how many desire to hear that Gospel?

Instead, people criticize the preachers – some for being too formal and liturgical and others for being too casual and contemporary. Preachers are required to be faithful stewards of God’s Word, of Christ’s message (1 Cor. 4:1ff.). Whether dressed in formal robes or a garment of camel’s hair, they are commanded and required to preach “repentance and remission of sins” in Jesus’ name among all the nations (Luke 24:46-47; Mark 16:15-16; Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:22-23). Woe unto preachers if they don’t – if they are like reeds shaken with the wind! And, woe unto the hearers who fail to repent of their sinful ways and look to Jesus and His cross for mercy and forgiveness!

Blessed is the one who is not offended in Christ Jesus!

O dearest Jesus, grant us ears to hear and hearts to believe the Gospel. By Your Holy Spirit’s working through the Gospel, grant that we repent of our sinful ways and to look to You and Your sacrifice on the cross for mercy, forgiveness and life everlasting. Amen.

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

“And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.” Luke 1:50

Young Mary expressed a truth many fail to understand in our day. The LORD’s mercy is on those who fear Him, from generation to generation.

In other words, not all receive God’s mercy and forgiveness. Though God “so loved the world,” and Christ died for the sins of all (John 1:29; 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:6; 2 Cor. 5:15; 1 John 2:2), not all are pardoned and forgiven. Rather it is those who humble themselves before the LORD God, acknowledge their sinfulness and look to Him for mercy for the sake of the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus, God the Son in human flesh and our Savior.

This same truth is expressed in Psalm 103:17-18: “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.” (Cf. Psalm 95:7ff.; Isa. 53:1; Rom. 10:16.)

In Exodus 20:5-6, we read: “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (cf. Ex. 34:6-7).

The truth expressed by Mary, as well as in the Psalms and Exodus, is not that anyone can merit God’s mercy by his works or keeping the Commandments but that God shows mercy to those who confess their sins and look to Him for mercy in Christ Jesus, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; cf. Psalm 32:1-6).

To fear the LORD is to honor and respect Him as our God, Creator and holy Judge. It is to acknowledge that His ways are right and ours are wrong and sinful and deserving of His judgment. And, it is to take Him at His word and trust in His promises of a Savior who would take our sins upon Himself, pay the price and make atonement, and redeem us to God (cf. Gal. 4:4-5). It is to repent of our sins and sinful ways and look in faith to Christ and His cross for mercy and forgiveness!

And God’s mercy is on those who fear Him – on those who partake of His covenant of mercy – from generation to generation. God’s mercy was upon the Old Testament saints, upon the young Virgin Mary, upon Jesus’ disciples in the first century, upon all who repented and trusted in Christ down through the centuries; and it is upon us today when we turn from our sinful ways to Christ Jesus for mercy and forgiveness.

Indeed, “His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation.”

Lord God, grant that we not be proud, self-righteous and impenitent, but penitent and trusting in our crucified and risen Savior for mercy. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

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

“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:34-36

Jesus tells us what will happen before He suddenly appears, coming in clouds of glory to judge the living and the dead. He speaks of what would happen to Jerusalem and what would befall His disciples (Luke 21:5ff.; cf. Matt. 24:1ff.; Mark 13:1ff.); and then he speaks about what will take place immediately before His coming.

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26).

He tells us that, “when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (v. 28). And He adds the parable of the fig tree: “Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand” (v. 29-31).

Jesus said (v. 32-33): “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” And, indeed, these signs were already fulfilled in the first century after Christ. There were wars and commotions, false Christs and false prophets. Christians were betrayed and persecuted, and Jerusalem was destroyed for its impenitence and unbelief as Jesus had warned (cf. Luke 19:41-44).

And, Jesus warns us: to “take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

Instead of living in drunkenness and excess, and being wrapped up with the cares of this life, we are to be watching and praying that we not be caught off guard and, like the rest of the world, be found living in sin and impenitence and not ready at Jesus’ return. Rather, we are to live in continual repentance, confessing our sins and holding fast to Jesus and His cross for pardon and forgiveness that we might be found ready to stand before Him when He appears.

The Bible tells us in Acts 3:19-21: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

If we are found acknowledging our sins — agreeing with God about our sinfulness — and looking to Jesus and His cross in faith for pardon and forgiveness, we will be ready on that day. Instead of being condemned, we will be given eternal life for Jesus’ sake (cf. 1 John 1:7 – 2:2; Psalm 32:1-6; John 3:14-18). But, if we are found continuing on in our sinful ways, impenitent and unbelieving, that day will find us unprepared and bring upon us God’s wrath and judgment (cf. 2 Thess. 1:7-10; John 3:18; Mark 16:16).

O gracious and merciful Savior, grant that we continue in daily repentance and faith that we might be found ready on that day when You come to judge the living and the dead. Amen.

[Scripture quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:16-17

The words of Gabriel to Zacharias echo the Word of the Lord recorded by Malachi the prophet: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Mal. 4:5-6). And, as we prepare for the second advent of the LORD, our Lord Jesus Christ, we carry on the ministry of John the Baptist in calling all to repentance and pointing them to Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all (cf. John 1:29).

While many think lightly of Christ’s return and the final judgment and see no need for repentance, it is indeed a serious matter. If the LORD judges us according to His law, who can stand (cf. Mal. 3:2ff.; 4:1,6; Ps. 130:3ff.)? Indeed, none of us, for we have all sinned and come short of what God, in His law, demands (cf. Rom. 3:19-20,23). It is for that reason that John the Baptist came, to call upon sinners to repent and look to Christ the Lamb of God for pardon and forgiveness (cf. Luke 3:2ff.; Ps. 130:4ff.). And the Church, through its ministers, still preaches the same message today (cf. Luke 24:46-47; John 20:20-23; Acts 3:19ff.).

Both John and the Church seek to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Through the preaching of God’s Word, the fathers and their descendants are united again in the true fear of the LORD. Those who were disobedient to the true faith are awakened to their sinfulness by God’s Spirit and turned to the wisdom of the just – to the wisdom of those who acknowledge and repent of their sinful ways and look in faith to the LORD God for mercy and forgiveness for the sake of the promised Messiah and His redeeming work.

The only way for you and me, or for anyone, to be ready for the Lord’s return and to escape the curse and condemnation of God’s holy law is to repent and trust in the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus for the sins of the world (cf. Gal. 3:10,13; Acts. 4:12).

O LORD God, we have sinned and come short of the righteousness your law demands. We are guilty and justly stand condemned. Have mercy upon us and forgive us our sins for the sake of the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus, Your Son and our crucified and risen Savior, that we might be found in Him just and holy and acceptable in Your sight on that day when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead. Amen.

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