The Lutheran Hour
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"God’s Seal of Approval"
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Text: John 6:27b
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Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed. The open and empty tomb tells us that God has accepted His Son’s sacrifice for lost and lonely humanity. To those of you who are searching for peace, for happiness, for hope, this day the Holy Spirit invites you to see the Savior. See God’s grace; see Christ’s blood-bought salvation, and by the power of the Lord, receive from the Savior’s nail-pierced hands, God’s “Seal of Approval” which gives salvation.
My grandfather was born in 1881. He was a smart man, greatly respected by those that knew him. Still, he claimed, like so many others of his generation, that his academic studies had ended with eighth grade. I always wondered about that, because when I finished high school, he was better educated than I was. At the end of junior college, he was still better educated than I was. He passed away before I finished senior college; but there is no question in my mind that he would still have run academic rings around me. “How is it possible” I asked myself, “for a man with an eighth-grade education to have accumulated so much knowledge?”
Then I found out. When he was in school, before someone received a seal of approval for eighth-grade graduation, they had to first pass a test – and what a test. I can’t tell you exactly which test my grandfather took, but I can share with you just a few parts taken from the final exam given to eighth-graders from Salina, Kansas in 1895. It is excerpted from an original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and was reprinted by the Salina Journal. Here are just a few of the questions … some of the easier questions. See if you think you would get an eighth-grade seal of approval.
In the area of grammar – The first question: give nine rules for the use of capital letters. 2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications. Question 3: Define verse, stanza and paragraph. Question 4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give the principal parts of do, lie, lay and run. 5. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation. In the area of arithmetic: Question 1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic. Question number two: School District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals? 3. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton. 4. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent interest.
That’s only part of the test you had to pass if you wanted to get the seal of approval from the Salina, Kansas Board of Education, for eighth grade graduation in 1895. I wouldn’t have made it, would you?
A seal of approval is an important thing. Lawyers need to pass the bar so they might get a seal of approval. Doctors need to get their certification, a seal of approval that says they can practice medicine. Vehicles qualify for a five-star government seal of approval if they do well on their crash tests. Medicines get a seal of approval from the Food and Drug Administration before they’re put on the market. Even meat receives a seal of approval, ranking it as being prime, choice, or, something else.
As a human being you also, quite regularly, give your own seal of approval. You don’t think so? Allow me to differ. Remember that restaurant where the service was slow, the salad was wilted, and the steak was a burnt offering? You’ve withheld your seal of approval by not going back. Do you want to know where you can really see your seal of approval? Look at your refrigerator. No, don’t look inside; look at your refrigerator’s door. There you will have placed … what … let’s see: there’s the appointment card for when you’re next going to the dentist or doctor. But might there not also be a report card from your child who raised his grades this past quarter? It’s put on display for all to see. Perhaps, from a younger child a piece of contemporary art, drawn in crayon, with considerable concentration and attention to detail. That artwork has been rated, and received, your highest seal of approval. Then there are the pictures: vacation pictures, Christmas pictures, class pictures, children’s pictures, grandchildren’s pictures; perhaps a birthday, or Mother’s or Father’s Day or anniversary card that has especially touched you. They received your seal of approval too, as they are placed on the refrigerator door with a magnet. Is there a poem or cartoon that rang true for you? That’s there, too.
All of these things have received your seal of approval. But our seal of approval is not confined to a refrigerator, is it? As I came back from the Minnesota South District Convention of my church this past week, in the airport I saw a little boy run to his father – full tilt. Dad swept him into the air and gave him a long-lasting bear hug. It was a seal of approval both from father and son. I saw a young lady give a kiss and shed some tears, as she said goodbye to her love. Each tear was her seal of approval. When you laugh heartily and sincerely at a joke, you’ve given your seal of approval.
Now what I want to know is, “do you, personally, have God’s seal of approval?” Since God is the One Who has made us, and has saved us, and is most concerned about us, it should be important that we have it. Let me explain. A brilliant young concert pianist was performing for the very first time in public. The audience sat enthralled as beautiful music flowed from his well-practiced hands. At the end of the concert, as the final note echoed through the hall, the audience burst into applause. They gave him a standing ovation. Everyone was on their feet, except for one old man in the third row. The pianist walked off the stage. His entire bearing showed that he was not what you might expect. He seemed disconsolate, dejected, depressed. The stage manager rushed to his side. He praised the pianist’s performance. The young man would not be comforted. “I was no good. The night has been a failure.” The manager replied, “Look out there, everybody, I mean, everybody, except for that one old man, is on their feet!” “Yes,” admitted the youth, “but that one old man is my teacher.”
Do you not see? You might have the admiration and adoration of the world, but if you do not have God’s seal of approval, the world’s opinion means nothing. Look at Scripture. Countless kings were master of life and death over their subjects; they held the future of their nation in their hands, but without God’s seal of approval, they were pitiful, spiritual paupers. But when God gives His seal of approval, when He sends His Holy Spirit of power, a wilderness wanderer like Abraham can become the father of nations; a fugitive like Moses can be God’s tool to set His people free from slavery; a lowly shepherd boy, like David, can have his hand guided by God to bring down a giant; a humble maiden in the small Galilean town of Nazareth, when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon her, can become the Mother of the world’s Savior; a murderer like the Pharisee, Saul, can be transformed into Paul, a powerful proclaimer of the Lord’s plan of hope and heaven that comes through the blood of God’s Son shed upon the cross of Calvary.
So I ask you, once again, do you have God’s all-important seal of approval? Many of you, if you are honest, are forced to confess you don’t think so. You’re not sure. You may even think God has it “in for you.” Years ago, I heard the story of a man who was having a real hard time. His business was falling apart; his wife was leaving him because of the financial problems. He couldn’t meet the mortgage payments on his home. Understandably, he had a difficult time keeping his mind on what he was doing. Because of that, one day as he drove to work, he was involved in a car accident. It was his fault, and soon a policeman was writing out a ticket, an ambulance was coming to pick up the guy in the other car, who had a broken leg. The businessman wasn’t sure if his insurance was up to date. It was then that he looked up to heaven and said, “Lord, why me?” And according to the story, a made-up story, a big voice came booming from up above and said, “Well, the truth is, there’s something about you that just ticks me off.” Do you feel that way?
If that’s the way you feel, then let me tell you this. God has every reason in the world to be ticked off at you. There is nothing about you, or me, that deserves His approval. (Eccl. 7:20) He is perfect; we are not. (Leviticus 11:44a) He is holy; we are hell-bent. (Romans 6:23a) Whenever it’s been possible for humanity to let Him down, we made the most of that opportunity. There’s not a single person listening, or not listening to this broadcast, who deserves God’s seal of approval. No matter how good our performance, no matter how beautifully we live our lives, it’s not enough to earn God’s seal of approval.
So what can we hopeless, helpless humans do? Maybe we can copy Jesus. Some say when they look at Jesus, that He is only a Teacher. Maybe Jesus could teach us how to get God’s seal of approval. But who can understand the depth of Jesus’ teaching? The Bible confesses that when Jesus taught, all too often people heard Him, but really didn’t hear Him. (Matthew 13:13)
Some say, when they look at Jesus, that He is a good Example. He was certainly that. But who among us can love as Jesus loved; can sacrifice themselves as He did? Which of us has the will power to live a perfect life every moment of every day? Who of us can carry their own sins, as well as lugging the transgressions of someone else? It’s impossible. We can’t do it. But Jesus received God’s seal of approval because He always kept the Father’s plan of saving our souls first and foremost in everything He did. Unlike us, who are willing to pay almost any price, make any compromise, bend any rule to achieve success, to receive the world’s second-rate seal of approval, Jesus never compromised. He gave up everything so that we, lost and condemned creatures might receive God’s seal of approval.
So all who believe on Him might receive God’s seal of approval, might be forgiven of their sins, Jesus fulfilled all the laws we had broken, took the punishment we had earned; died the death that we deserved. By God’s grace, through Jesus’ unswerving sacrifice, by His unearned love, we are lifted from hell and taken into heaven.
Jesus earned God’s seal of approval for us when He was born into a world that had no room for Him. He earned God’s seal of approval for us as He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane, and received the weight of every sin, you, I, everyone has committed. He earned God’s seal of approval for us when He looked into His betrayer’s face and received that kiss of disloyalty. He earned God’s seal of approval when His friends threw Him out of His hometown. He earned God’s seal of approval for us when He was beaten; when nails were pounded into His hands and feet. He earned God’s seal of approval for us when He stayed on that cross and died.
Because Jesus earned God’s Seal of approval for us, He rose from the dead on the third day, and promises to give that same seal of approval to anyone who believes. Because of what He has done, all who believe on Him as their Savior, their Substitute, have salvation. It’s that simple. Martin Luther wrote many wonderful things, but none more clearly than these words, which describe what the Lord Jesus has done. He said this: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil. Not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death (why?) that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness. Why did Jesus do this for us? So that we might have God’s seal of approval. So that your life could be changed, wonderfully, dramatically, powerfully, changed.
So, my unseen friends, I ask, do you have God’s seal of approval? Are you looking for Jesus and what He has to offer? Do you wonder if this seal of approval is really all that important? I could reply by asking you: “Is passing the bar important to a lawyer? Is being certified in his specialty important to the doctor? Is being approved by the FDA important for the marketing of a drug?” You know the answers. Those approvals are all important! Why should it be any different when it comes to God’s approval of us? He is, after all, our Maker, our Redeemer, our Judge. What He thinks of us should be important. Indeed, they are important to those who have been called by the Holy Spirit to receive the gift of salvation that comes to us through Jesus.
Do you challenge those words, all-important? Then listen to this final story. It is not a pleasant one. But it shows what God’s seal of approval can mean. During the Korean War, Christian preachers were singled out by the Communists. One day, a group of 40 Communists kidnapped a pastor, his wife and their two children. Outside the village, they tried to force the minister to deny Jesus. He refused. They threatened to bury him, his wife and children alive. The preacher refused. The family’s captors, wishing to show they were serious, dug a hole in front of them. He refused. They put his family in the hole and said, “Because of your stubbornness your innocent children are going to die right in front of your own eyes. Deny Christ and we shall leave you.” The pastor refused. They started to fill the hole. The children were about to be covered. The preacher began to shake. Was Jesus’ seal of approval worth it? The cries of his children tore at his heart. What would you have done? A few words. That’s all it would take, everyone would be free. Was Jesus seal of approval that important? The answer came from the hole, from the pastor’s wife. Seeing his pain, she called out, “In a little while we shall all be with our Lord forever. Be bold and do not give up.”
All of them were buried alive. The tragedy shocked everyone. Even the Christians of South Korea. Is God’s Seal of approval so important? Why did this happen? Years passed. Christianity experienced a revival. One day during a Christian worship service, a man stood and confessed to the congregation that he was one of the 40 who had kidnapped and buried the preacher with his family. But the man went on. He said that he was moved that Jesus’ seal of approval was so great that even the death of their children would not make a father and mother forsake it. The man shared he had wanted to know about Jesus. He had searched, and in the process the Holy Spirit had called him to be a Christian. He had received Jesus’ seal of approval. Finally, he added, every one of the 40 men; every one of the 40 men who had been with him, had, at some time, also been called to faith. This is the power of God’s seal of approval. Bought with Jesus’ blood, it is everything.
If you need to know more of God’s great love that can so transform lives, then call us at Lutheran Hour Ministries. We will give you that number before the end of the broadcast. Don’t be afraid. We aren’t asking you for money. We want to help show you. We want to tell you how God’s seal of approval can be yours. By the Holy Spirit’s power, we can point you to friends who will be glad to share the Savior with you. And, to those of you who have already been called to receive it, rejoice, and live your life as a witness. Let the world know what the crucified and risen Savior’s blood-bought seal means to you. Live your life in thanks to Jesus Christ. Stand firm in your witness. The world is watching to see what God’s seal of approval really means. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for September 7, 2003
Topic: “Grace”ANNOUNCER: What is grace? I’m Mark Eischer and here to explain this word for us today is Pastor Ken Klaus.
KLAUS: Hi Mark.
ANNOUNCER: Pastor Klaus, at one of our recent production meetings we talked about certain words Christians use and how their meanings may not always be readily apparent to those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior.
KLAUS: And today’s word is …
ANNOUNCER: Well, today’s word is “grace.” What do we mean when we talk about the grace of God?
KLAUS: Well, it might make it easier if we first talk about some of the common ways we use the word grace. You’ve heard of a grace period, right?
ANNOUNCER: Right.
KLAUS: Let’s say a professor decides to give his students extra time to complete an assignment – that’s grace; they don’t deserve it, but he gives it to them anyway. Or suppose, this is a big suppose, the bank gives you an extra week to make your house payment – that’s grace too. You don’t deserve this grace period, but it’s given to you as a gift. When it comes to Christianity, we also use the word grace, but here, a little bit differently. The simplest explanation I have of Christian grace is, God’s gifts that come to us, even though we don’t deserve them.
ANNOUNCER: But Pastor, are you saying that God’s grace is just an extension of time He gives us so we can get our act together, and how did you put it, “complete the assignment?”
KLAUS: Grace is certainly not just another word for patience. In His grace, God completes the assignment for us and makes the payment Himself. Now there are times when people do gracious things; I can give you an example. A man named Nikolai Berdyaev gave up Marxism for Christianity because of something he saw take place in a Nazi death camp during World War II. Guards were separating people, deciding who was going to go to the gas chamber and who was going to live. One mother refused to give up her baby. A Christian lady realized the Nazis were only interested in numbers and meeting their quota. Without a word, she moved the young mother aside and took her place. What that lady did was grace. The mother and her baby didn’t deserve it, but they received an unearned gift of love.
ANNOUNCER: And that’s what Jesus did for us?
KLAUS: Well not exactly, Jesus did much more than that for us. Jesus did something that was incomprehensible. What He did surpasses our human understanding. But this story can help. A Christian pastor was trying to reach a young man for the Savior. The young man said, “I don’t see any big deal about Jesus dying for humanity. If I could save a dozen people by giving up my life for them, I think I’d do it. What’s so great and gracious about Jesus dying for billions of people?” When the minister heard that, he understood the fellow’s hang-up. He said, “What you’re doing is, you’re talking about equals dying for equals, one man’s life for another man. Jesus is far more than our equal – Jesus is the Son of God.” Then he asked the fellow, “Would you die for a billion grasshoppers?” That set the man thinking. After a few days he came back to the pastor and said, “I don’t know about grasshoppers Reverend, but I know I wouldn’t die for a billion mosquitoes.”
ANNOUNCER: Well, I don’t care much for mosquitoes either …
KLAUS: Nor do I, but the difference in value between a human being and a mosquito is less than the difference between God’s Son and a human being. Yet God sent His Son into this world to die for us. He didn’t have to, we didn’t deserve it, but He did it.
ANNOUNCER: And that’s grace?
KLAUS: We’re getting closer. There was a time, at least according to a story that’s been told for many years, that the great reformer, Martin Luther, was seriously ill. He had a dream in which the devil came to him with a great scroll upon which were written all the sins and errors of Luther’s entire life. Looking at Luther with a triumphant smirk, the devil ceremoniously unrolled the document and started to read. After some time the devil stopped and said, “These are your sins. Because of these sins you have no hope of going to heaven.” Luther had to admit, “What you’ve said is all true, but you forgot one thing.” “And that is?” the devil demanded. “Simply this,” Luther said, “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sins.” That’s grace. Jesus took my place, I didn’t deserve it, but because He did, I’m saved.
ANNOUNCER: And we’ll have more to say on this topic next week – join us then. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.