The Lutheran Hour
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"Tomorrow May Be Too Late"
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Text: Hebrews 3:12-13
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! God’s great grace, shown at the Savior’s empty tomb, should silence all grumbling and grant gladness to all who live their lives in the joy which comes through the risen Lord.
About 150 years after Jesus was born, a Greek writer, a fellow by the name of Lucian, wrote down his observations about Christians and Christianity. “It is incredible to see the fervor with which the people of that religion help each other in their wants. They spare nothing. Their first legislator [and by that term legislator, he meant Jesus], Their first legislator has put it into their heads that they are brethren.”
Quite a compliment from an unbeliever, isn’t it? Although he doesn’t agree with them, goes out of his way to make fun of them, Lucian acknowledges that Christians, following Jesus who was crucified, spare nothing in their desire to help their brothers in the faith. I’d like to think his is still a pretty accurate description of those of us who have been given faith in Jesus Christ as our crucified and risen Savior. I’d like to believe that we are all eager to share the Savior’s story of salvation with sinners who do not yet know His name. I’d like to believe that the whole world, when they think of Christians, still stand in awe and admiration of the fact that we have a Christ-motivated desire to help each other out. I would like to believe, as the writer to the Hebrews says, that all Christians are exhorting “one another every day,… (so) that none of (us) may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” I’d like to believe we, as followers of Jesus, are encouragers for Christ.
Encouragers for Christ. That is what I would like the unbelieving world to see when they take an occasional glance at the Lord’s people. Sadly, I must confess, that many people, believers and unbelievers, do not come away with that picture. Many think that the description of a loving, caring, encouraging Christian church is a myth, a mirage. Some think that pews and pulpits are filled only with grumbling grouches. Last month, when I went out to speak, I had a lady call me away from the crowd for a private conversation. In hushed tones she said, “Pastor Klaus, you don’t know how much I enjoy listening to you on The Lutheran Hour. I can’t stand going to church any more. People are so uncaring, so nosy, so judgmental. I just can’t bring myself to go up the stairs of my congregation any more. And as for my husband, I can’t even say the word church anymore without him getting red in the face and shouting for about fifteen minutes.”
That lady in complaining about grumbling grouches in the church had become one herself. She was neither encouraged by, nor an encourager for Christ. She is not alone. All too often people come up to me, look around to see if anyone is listening, and then whisper into my ear, “Pastor, would you really like to know what is going on here?” or, “Pastor, do you know what this congregation did at its last voter’s meeting?” or “Pastor, do you know how this congregation is spending its money?” or…. When I politely say, “No, I really don’t know… and no, I really don’t want to know,” they tell me anyway. They can’t help themselves. When you’re a grumbling grouch you’ve got to give vent to what’s bothering you.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see the grumbling grouches among God’s people. They have been there for a long time. Listen to Satan’s word of temptation in the Garden of Eden and you will hear his grumbling: “God didn’t really tell you not to eat of the forbidden fruit,” he hissed. “You know, that’s just because He wants to keep you down. He doesn’t want you to be as smart as He. He doesn’t know what He’s talking about, you won’t die if you eat from this fruit.” Take a gander at the Children of Israel in the wilderness. They probably take the prize for being the greatest of God’s grumbling grouches. For over 400 years they had been slaves in Egypt. Understandably, they were not content with the situation and faithfully made their supplications to the Lord for deliverance.
Hearing their heartfelt cry, God sent them a leader, Moses. Courageously Moses thundered God’s ultimatum to Pharaoh: “Let My People Go!” (Exodus 5:1). When the Egyptian ruler hesitated, and then denied God’s command, the Lord used Moses to send massive plagues upon the land. The pestilence ended with the death of every first-born son among the Egyptians. Faced with God’s great displeasure and disapproval, Pharaoh gave in and the Children of Israel were delivered. In freedom they stepped out of slavery and into the wilderness. It was a great moment as God, using a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, began leading them to the Promised Land.
Having seen such miraculous power, it only makes sense that the Children of Israel would have been impressed and glad to follow God’s appointed leader. It makes sense, but that is not what happened. God’s people didn’t seem to like their new leader any more than they had appreciated their old taskmasters. They didn’t listen to him; nor did they obey him when he spoke for the Lord. What they did do was grumble. When Pharaoh had a change of heart about having set his slaves free, he led his charioteers out, in pursuit of God’s people. Caught between the forces of Egypt and the Red Sea the Children of Israel became grumbling grouches. “Moses, weren’t there enough graves in Egypt that you’ve brought us out here to die? We didn’t want to come, you know. You talked us into it. Far better to be a slave in Egypt than to be dead in the desert.” Moses told them to be patient and watch how God worked. They calmed down and saw the Lord open the sea to allow them to cross over on dry land; then they saw the sea close and destroy Pharaoh’s army. And did they clap Moses on the back and say, “Way to go, big guy?” They didn’t.
Once more they reverted to being grumbling grouches. Moses went up to the mountain to get God’s Ten Commandments. While he was gone, the people picked some new leaders to replace him and made themselves an idol to supplant the deity who had done so much to deliver them. Grumbling grouches, that’s what they were. Grumbling grouches that God punished when Moses came back down that mountain. Now, seeing God getting angry left an impression and it did change the people. But it didn’t change them permanently. Every time things didn’t go exactly the way they wanted, the grouches grumbled, they groused, they complained. Now understand, God didn’t deserve any of their complaints. He was taking care of them. Even though they were in the wilderness, God gave them food. In the morning He provided manna. They grumbled about that… probably called it “bland” and “boring,” “tasteless,” “tiresome,” and “tedious.” Tired of the grumbling, God gave them meat to eat in the evening. For 40 years God took care of all their needs. He even took care of their clothes. The clothes on their backs didn’t wear out. And was that appreciated? Well, you ask any person with a heightened fashion sense to wear the same clothes for 40 years, and see if they don’t start to grumble a little bit.
But the high point of the grumbling done by the grouches is when they were ready to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14). A dozen spies were sent into the country to check out the enemy. Ten of those spies came back quaking in their boots. The spies sobbed, “They’re too big. They’re too many. It’s impossible.” And the rest of Israel shed tears with them. Sure, two of the spies said, “Hey, God is with us, it won’t be a problem.” They were ignored. The grumbling grouches wanted to be miserable and they were. That’s when God decided that if they didn’t believe He could take them into the Promised Land, He wasn’t going to. He let the grumbling grouches have their way, and the entire generation, with the exception of the two believing spies, died in the wilderness.
Of course the entire race of grumbling grouches didn’t die out in the desert. The Bible is filled with stories of their spiritual descendants. Job grumbled. Jonah grumbled. Elijah grumbled. When Jesus was training His disciples, even these select, handpicked students could, sometimes, exhibit grumbling characteristics. Although the disciples had seen Jesus perform many miracles, when they themselves were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, they cried out, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). What an accusation! Jesus not care? Caring for sinful human kind is what had brought Jesus into this world. Caring is why He was born in Bethlehem. Caring is what made Him reach out to the abandoned leper. Caring is what made Him grab hold of a man possessed by demons, look him in the eye, and then free him from his spiritual subjection. Caring is what had Him restore a dead boy to his widowed mother; a little girl to her mourning parents; and a brother to his bereft sisters. Caring is what kept Him patient with those who doubted Him; reaching out to those who rejected Him; standing firm against those who challenged Him; continuously calling out to those who felt they had no need of Him.
Caring is why Jesus lived His life; obeying every command that each of us has broken. Caring is why He was willing to shoulder the sins of every one of us and carry those transgressions to the cross. Caring is why Jesus allowed Himself to be unjustly accused without making an objection; caring is why He let the lies told about Him stand without making a defense. Caring is why Jesus walked the way of sorrows carrying our sins, along with a ponderous cross, to the crest of Calvary. Caring is why He allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross. Think not for a moment that the Roman soldiers kept His arms stretched out upon that cross. Do not believe that those nails held Him upon that cruel tree. With the smallest of thoughts He could have traded places with His accusers and executioners. He could have, but He didn’t. He didn’t, because He cared. He cared enough to give Himself as a ransom for sinful humankind. He cared enough to be a substitute for you. He cared enough to be a sacrifice for you. Look through the annals of history and you will never see anyone who cared as did the Christ. Look through the days, the months, the years of your life. Have you known human love; compassionate, joyful, blessed love? Compared to the love and care of the Christ, all human love must be declared small and inconsequential. Understand, this is not rhetoric. It is God’s divinely given, Spirit-inspired truth. Christ cared. He cared enough to live for you; to suffer for you; to die for you and to rise for you. With His glorious resurrection you can be sure that His caring is complete; His sacrifice is successful; His love is limitless.
The love of a caring Christ is what skeptical Lucian saw in the Christians of the second century. The caring of Christ is what you should see reflected when you enter any church, when you see any Christian. That this does not happen is due to a number of reasons. Now, please, listen to me those of you who once knew Jesus, but have turned away from Him because of something which has happened to you inside a church, or because of something which one of His people has done or said. Listen to me those of you who have pronounced a negative verdict upon the Christ because of some act of charity which one of His people has left undone; some word of kindness which they left unspoken. Listen to me all of you who think that by seeing Christ’s people you have seen the Savior. Listen to me all of you who have turned away from God’s grace because of our grumbling grouches. Listen and know that even when Christ’s people are at their best, they are poor and pale imitations of the Savior, and when we are at our worst, we are hardly worthy to call ourselves His redeemed people.
We are who we are: forgiven sinners. When we become members of a church we are not given a halo with our certificate of membership. Those of us who are proud do not immediately become humble; the weak do not automatically become strong; the covetous does not suddenly find contentment. Yes, I know that some tele-evangelists will try to sweep humankind’s sinful condition under the rug saying they are not poor, they are not miserable, and they are not sinners; but they are wrong. Even as Saint Paul confessed himself to be the chief of sinners, we must admit that we daily sin much and regularly need God’s unmerited grace. We, in our poverty and pain, in our sin and sadness, must daily repent of our errors and transgressions; we, in our weakness and unworthiness, must fall to our knees and plead, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.” And then, knowing that Jesus is merciful, be raised up and try to do better. In this act, which begins, continues, and will finish in the Lord, we invite you to join us.
Do you think the church is filled with hypocrites? It is. But there is room for one more. Do you believe the church to be packed with sinners who do far more and greater wrongs than you? It is. But the church is also made up of sincere souls who, rejoicing in the forgiveness of all which has been done wrong, are striving to follow the Savior as best they can, in every way they can. We folks, redeemed by Christ, invite you to join us.
Have you ever gone to the intensive care waiting room of a large hospital? I have. The patients there have only one thing in common: they are facing death and fighting for life. Come with me. Take a look. In the first bed is a young man with head injuries. He was riding his motorcycle and was sideswiped by a driver who never saw him. The next tent-walled cubicle is occupied by an older man whose heart had to be jump-started by the paramedics three times before they managed to get him through the hospital doors. The next bed holds a four-year-old child. The little boy was scalded by boiling water, when he pulled a pot down from the stove. The next bed contains a father of three. He gave his children a hug and a kiss before he left for work this morning. Then, a piece of steel slipped and struck him in the head. There is some internal bleeding. The doctors don’t know if he will survive; and if he does, they cannot be sure he will know his children or who he is, ever again.
When you enter the intensive care unit, you will be impressed by the silence there.
Things are not near as quiet in the waiting room of the intensive care unit. There everyone is on high alert. Nothing escapes their notice. The family and friends gathered there scan the face of every person who comes through the door. Is it their doctor? Their nurse? Is it the hospital chaplain? Is the individual coming to talk to them, bringing them a tidbit of information which will give a clue as to how their loved one is doing? Is this person is for them, will the news be good; will it be bad; has the situation remained unchanged?
That is what you will see in the intensive care waiting room of any hospital. But there is more. There is something else you will see. You will see these people have become one. It doesn’t matter if they got to the hospital in a ten-year-old car with 150,000 miles on the odometer, or a chauffeur-driven limousine; they are one. It doesn’t matter if their last meal was bought by food stamps or brought by a waiter at a five-star restaurant; they are one. It doesn’t matter if the last letter they received from their bank was an overdrawn notice, or a request to stop in and renew a $100,000 CD; they are one. They all want to know… will my husband make it; will the baby be all right; how will we cope; how long will it take; what will I do tomorrow? Their pains, their worries, their fears have made them one.
Because they are one, they encourage each other; they root for each other. One family’s bit of good news is reason for all to rejoice. Another family’s loss and pain is shared by all who are gathered. You can understand that, can’t you? You can understand how that would happen? If so, you may be able to understand what I am going to say next. The Christian Church, at its core, is also one. It is one because everyone there, everyone there, is a sinner. We are one because each of us has, consciously and unconsciously, disobeyed and disregarded God’s good and gracious will. When God said go this way, we stayed put; when He said love, we hated; when He said forgive, we remembered; when He said rejoice and be glad, we grumbled and complained. Yes, we are one.
But there is something else which makes us one. We are all little brothers and sisters of the Savior. We have seen His love for us upon the cross and have stood in wonder at His empty tomb. He has, through His caring, made us His own, and with nail-pierced hands is leading us. That’s right, when Jesus took our hands and we no longer pulled away, we became one. Now, Jesus leads us, walking at a speed which is right for each of us; giving us crosses that will not crush us. We are one. And, if there are times when we grumble at the direction He takes us, forgive us. We are little children and sometimes forget all He does is for our good. If there are times that we seem to be grouchy, bear with us. The trip is not always easy, and we are, on our own, not very strong. But we are one because we have been washed from our sins by the Savior. We are one, and we would like to have you join us. If you would like to know how this can be. Call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for October 15, 2006
TOPIC: Are there any unforgivable sins?ANNOUNCER: Now, more questions that come to us from the interactive congregational workshop known as Equipping to Share. I’m Mark Eischer, here with Pastor Ken Klaus.
KLAUS: These are questions that come up again and again as people share their faith in Jesus with others. And what is our question for today, Mark?
ANNOUNCER: Can a murderer go to heaven? And are there any unforgivable sins, such as rape, murder, or abortion?
KLAUS: Two questions: one easy, one not so easy. First, can a murderer go to heaven? The simple answer is, “yes.” We know that is true because Saint Paul, who was present at the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, went to heaven. Along with that, we know that a thief can go to heaven. That is what Jesus said to the man who hung on the cross next to him: “Today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Go through the list of sins, and you’ll find none are so great that they cannot be washed away by the Savior’s blood. Of course, it needs to be said that murderers, rapists, abortionists don’t get into heaven as they are. Nor do they get into heaven by turning their lives around and becoming model citizens.
ANNOUNCER: Because not even model citizens get into heaven by being model citizens.
KLAUS: Right, and that’s another topic. Suffice it to say, all sinners first need to be washed and have their sins forgiven by the Savior.
The Apostle Paul was really specific about that when he wrote in 1 Corinthians (6: 9-11): “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, “Paul adds. “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
ANNOUNCER: And what, exactly, is St. Paul saying here?
KLAUS: He was saying that once you are washed, as it were, by the blood of Christ, once the heavenly Father, because of the Savior’s substitution, declares you forgiven and free of your sins, you are changed. God declares you innocent, righteous, on account of Christ. If any of our listeners out there are thinking their sins are too big for God to forgive them, read the Bible. There are a lot of serious sinners in those pages… and God’s love is always bigger than their sin.
Now, that’s the easy part of the question you asked.
ANNOUNCER: Right. And there is a harder part. Is there any sin that is unforgivable?
KLAUS: Now having said what we’ve just said… we have to add a qualifier. The Bible does talk about an unforgivable sin.
ANNOUNCER: Doesn’t that just contradict what we’ve already been talking about?
KLAUS: Not at all. Let me explain.
God forgives all sins that we commit. Even repeated sins. He knows we are weak and we can drift back into the same sin again and again. Even when we don’t want to. Saint Paul said it: “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want (that) is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19).ANNOUNCER: So what exactly is this unforgivable sin?
KLAUS: The unforgivable sin is this: when a person who once knew Jesus, consciously, persistently, regularly, you should excuse the expression, religiously, refuses to repent, and instead insists on flaunting his sin and unbelief before the Lord… God will eventually (and I can’t tell you when that eventually will be) God will eventually look at that person and say, “If disobedience and defiance is what you want to do… if that’s really the way you want to live your life… then you go ahead and do your own thing. I’m not going to disturb you again.”
When that happens, it is impossible for the person to repent, to be forgiven, and they are lost.
ANNOUNCER: Now, I realize we’ve talked about this unforgivable sin on previous occasions; and some Christians, when they hear about this, they get very worried that maybe they’ve committed that unforgivable sin. Can you speak to that case?
KLAUS: Can do, Mark. Here’s the bottom line. If you’re worried that you’ve committed this unforgivable sin… you haven’t. I must say that again. If you’re worried that you’ve committed this unforgivable sin… you haven’t. Remember what I said: people who have committed this sin don’t worry about how God feels about them. Their conscience is seared. They couldn’t care less if they are in a relationship with the Lord or not. If you care about your spiritual welfare, you may be a sinner, but you haven’t committed the unforgivable sin and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.
ANNOUNCER: And that’s a good place for us to leave it today. Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“I Love Your Kingdom, Lord” arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission
“No Saint on Earth Lives Life to Self Alone” text © 1997 Norman J. Kansfield.
“Let All Things Now Living” by Robert A. Hobby. From Thine Is the Glory by Robert A. Hobby (© 1997 MorningStar Music Publishers)
“I Love Your Kingdom, Lord” From Every Voice a Song (© 1995 Concordia Publishing House)