Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! A risen Savior is the comfort Christians have as they live each day of their lives. The sacrifice of the risen Savior makes it possible for them to await their day of judgment without anxiety or apprehension. May that be the comfort of the Christ for us all. Amen.
A good many years ago I was working on a project in the garage. I don’t remember exactly what the project was, but I do recall it was one of those jobs which called for me to have three hands. Since the Lord in His wisdom denied me that grace, I tried, quite unsuccessfully, to accomplish the task with two. Finally, in frustration I asked our youngest child to get her brother to help me. I remember my instructions; in tone and tenor I said, “Honey, would you ask your brother to come out to the garage and help me for a minute?”
My little girl, rather than wasting time wandering through the house looking for her brother, decided on a more efficient approach. She went to the parsonage, opened the screen door, and yelled as loudly as she could, “Kurt, Dad says you have to come out to the garage and help him.” Without my authorization, she added, “He says you’re supposed to come out and help him right now. And he doesn’t want any of your excuses, either.” Then, getting in the spirit of the thing, she finished: “And if you don’t come out right now, he says he’s going to give you a spanking; the worst spanking of your life. So you’d better get out here!” It was an impressive performance. She had taken a simple message and turned it into something fearful; she had transformed a polite petition into a demand. As I remember, Kurt came fairly quickly. When he got to the garage, he said, “Dad, you don’t have to lose your temper and yell at me. All you had to do was ask. I would have been glad to help out.”
I tried to explain to him how his sister had decided to reinterpret my request, but I was never sure, not even today, whether he really accepted my explanation. Now if that story sounds at all familiar; if a similar scenario has ever been played out in your home, you may more readily understand today’s message which speaks about God’s wonderful day of judgment.
Anyone who spends any time looking at the Bible will quickly realize the Lord has said many things about Judgment Day. As the Lord is fairly clear about what is going to come, and as He spends a lot of verses describing what will happen that day, it’s not a topic about which readers should have to do a lot of guessing. For example, the Lord is quite specific in saying that He will come back at an unknown hour and an unanticipated time (see Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32, Luke 12:40). The Savior was equally clear that before He returns the world is going to become a pretty miserable place in which to live. He says, “In those days there will be such tribulation as has not been (seen since)…the beginning of the creation” (Mark 13:19)
Naturally, as the name Judgment Day implies, God will be giving our lives a pass or fail grade. That’s the part which frightens some folks. I pray you’re not one of them. After all, Christians have the absolute, complete, total assurance that when they have been brought to faith in Jesus as their Savior, they are forgiven of all misdeeds; they are adopted into the family of faith; and on Judgment Day they will be brought into eternal peace and everlasting paradise. That’s the sum and substance; the Cliff Notes version of what God wants you to know about Jesus’ return. He wants you to see; in Jesus there is nothing of which to be afraid.
Of course, we humans aren’t really content with God’s information. Like Adam and Eve we want to know more; we want to know everything that God knows about our last days, and that is where the problem comes in. You see, Jesus told us that in the difficult days before He returns there will be false prophets and preachers who will say things God has never said. Like my daughter who gave that reformed and restructured order to her brother, these men and women will, with catastrophic results, add things to God’s Word, and, at the same time they will remove key items from the Lord’s salvation story. Many people who will be looking for something spectacular and sensational will end up giving credibility to these “False Christs and false prophets…(who will be able to) show signs and wonders, (and be able) to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect” (Mark 13:22). That’s what Jesus said when He talked about the last times. The Apostle Paul said the same thing when he warned: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4: 3-4).
Of course, changing God’s Word and the salvation which sinners find only in the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Savior is not something which is confined to the immediate time before judgment. The apostles were still living when the devil first managed to raise up false teachers and preachers to plague the church with damnable heresies and controversies. A number of years ago I was with historian, professor, and clergyman, the Reverend Doctor Paul Maier. I can remember him saying, “We think of ourselves as being so modern, so sophisticated, so brilliant, but our modern age has not come up with a single new heresy which cannot be found in the first two centuries of the early church.” Dr. Maier is right. The apostolic age saw the rise of Gnostic teachers who claimed they had been given a special revelation, a new revelation, a better revelation which superseded anything preached by the apostles. Other false prophets were blunt as they suggested Jesus’ disciples had gotten the story wrong; still others were adamant in saying Jesus hadn’t been successful in His job of redeeming sinful humankind from sin, death, and Satan.
So widespread were these misinterpretations, misconceptions, and misreadings, the men who had been selected by the Savior to be His witnesses found themselves reiterating Jesus’ comforting truth which says, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11: 25-26). In the days before a quick flight home, a press conference, and a personal appearance might have corrected a bad situation and stopped a false doctrine from spreading, the disciples ended up writing letters to the churches, the pastors, Christ’s people. As they took a stand against false prophets and teachers, the disciples were forced to be very clear on how we are saved and what Christ’s redeemed must avoid if they are to be prepared for a personal or global day of judgment.
You can hear Simon Peter’s tone of warning when he wrote: “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty… And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place… (know) this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:16-21 excerpts).
Confronting false prophets who were confusing and frightening the church in Thessalonica, Paul found himself constantly reassuring the fledgling family of faith. His first letter counters those who said Jesus was never coming back, and his second epistle comforts those who had been told Jesus had already returned and somehow, someway, the congregation of Thessalonica had missed Him. To them Paul said, “… concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us…”
That the church survived the first and second century Satanic onslaught delivered by false preachers can be credited to the power of the Holy Spirit and the commitment of Christ’s leaders to the simple story of salvation. But it would be foolish to think these false doctrines have been confined to distant centuries and remote countries. Wherever the Gospel has been preached in its truth and purity, false teachers and preachers have arisen to confound, confuse, and obscure the Savior’s suffering and sacrifice, His resurrection, and our redemption.
In recent years I have listened to countless preachers supplying facts, figures, and dates concerning Judgment Day that the Lord has never given. Using complicated calculations and special revelations, they have tried to fill in the gaps God has left. In so doing, sensationalist preachers have all but denied David’s concept of death as being a walk through a valley of shadows which will take believers to a place of green pastures, still waters, and an eternity of goodness and mercy. Even Hollywood has hopped on the Judgment Day bandwagon as it has sent out a steady stream of secular celluloid explaining how they think Judgment Day is going to be. As you might guess, Tinsel Town loves the sensational and loathes the Scriptural. As a result, when it shows the last times, when it depicts Judgment Day, it does so with special effects but without a Savior. Gladly, almost gleefully, humankind is shown to be hopeless and helpless. Without the Redeemer, this world’s final hours are undeniably dark and dreary.
With such gloomy prospects, it’s almost understandable why some people just want to be let alone, free to live and face judgment without interference. In the 1800s there was a fisherman who worked Plymouth Sound. The sun had almost set when he saw a sailor on a neighboring boat stumble and go over the side. Knowing Arthur (that was the sinking sailor’s name) had a reputation for drinking, the fisherman waited to see if everything would be OK. When he saw no struggling, no swimming, he jumped into his dingy and rowed to the spot where Arthur had gone overboard. More by God’s grace than by skill, the rescuer managed to grab a hold of Arthur’s arm and drag the drunken man to safety. Realizing this was hardly the time for a temperance lecture, the rescuer got liquor-logged Arthur back to his own bunk. Then, having made his semi-conscious compatriot as comfortable as possible, the fisherman rowed back to his boat.
The next morning the rescuer rowed back over to see how Arthur, the floundering fisherman, was doing. From a distance the rescuer gave a hail, but Arthur, who was standing on the deck of his ship, gave no answer. Twice more the rescuer called out and both times his greeting was met with silence. Finally, when he was close enough to carry on a normal conversation, he asked, “Arthur, how are you?” Arthur answered with a grunt: “What do you care?” “Well, I care a great deal, considering I saved your life last night.” “You did no such thing,” said the hung-over sailor, peppering his comments with some nautically creative cursing. “I’m fine today; I was fine last night; and I don’t need anybody like you thinking you have to save me.” Thus ended the conversation. As the rescuer rowed away, he reflected upon Arthur’s dark attitude and his equally dark future. Shaking his head, he concluded, “How sad, it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Tragically, there are many people who, like Arthur, don’t want anyone to talk to them about salvation. For them the day of death is too dreadful to be contemplated; for them, Judgment Day is too dark to be considered. As a result, they confine themselves to the here and now. They think they’re fine today and they hope they will be equally fine tomorrow. And that’s the catch. Although they may think they’re all right, they are anything but. Their day of death is marked on the calendar; their day of judgment is just down the road apiece; and without Jesus they are lost and afraid. They may not want to face that fact; they may choose to deny that fact; they may grumble and curse at anyone who reminds them of that truth, but their denials and oaths don’t change anything.
Do you remember how I started this sermon talking about how my daughter changed the message to suit her purpose? I want you to know, I’m not going to take that kind of liberty with God’s message to you. So Judgment Day may be a blessed day for you, I’d like to share God’s blessed message of salvation. First, I must tell you that God is good, and in His goodness He made a world which was unmarred and unmarked by sin. The Lord wants you to know that your first ancestors changed and corrupted that perfection when they decided they knew better than He did, when they discarded His rules and substituted their own. Their disobedience invited sin, Satan, and death into our lives and like bad relatives who refuse to leave, those three have stayed around as unwanted guests ever since. Knowing that we could not free ourselves from their corrupting companionship God sent His Son into this world to take our place. The Lord knew only His Son had the ability to live a perfect life; only His Son could resist Satan’s suggestions toward sin; only His Son could defeat death.
God wants you to believe that His Son, Jesus came to earth as the offspring of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary. The Lord wants you to know that 2,000 years ago, according to prophecy, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. For the rest of His life, He lived for you, doing all that His Father asked of Him, doing all that you couldn’t. So you might be saved, Jesus was constantly maligned and misunderstood by those who should have welcomed and worshipped Him. So you might be forgiven, innocent Jesus was denied, betrayed, beaten, whipped, and crucified. God wants you to know that before His Son died, He was saddled with the weight and the punishment of your sins.
But there is more to Jesus’ story. It doesn’t end with His death. If it had, death would still be the dark night of our souls. If Jesus had remained in His tomb, there would have been no hope for us at all. But Jesus’ story continues. Your Father in heaven wants you to believe that Jesus, having done and died as He had been asked, also rose from the dead. Three days after He was entombed, Jesus rose and defeated death. Because this is so, all who believe on Him, who have Him as their heaven-sent substitute, know that death is no longer the Grim Reaper. Because Christ is risen, when Christians go to the graveside of a loved one they mourn, but not without hope. Because Christ has risen, when the time of departure comes for believers, the living Lord makes them unafraid.
In the early 1800s, John Todd was born into a large family who lived in Rutledge, Vermont. At an early age John was orphaned and the children were farmed out to the relatives. John ended up being taken in by an aunt who was supposed to be loving. I say she was “supposed to be,” because John had never met the lady. Caesar, the aunt’s house servant was sent with a horse to collect the six-year-old boy. Caesar put the boy on the animal, and as they traveled, they talked. John said, “Will my aunt be there?” Caesar replied, “Oh, yes, she’ll be there waiting up for you.” “Will I like living with her?” “My boy, you are falling into good hands.” “Will she love me?” “Ah, she has a big heart.” “Will I have my own room? Will she let me have a puppy?” “Your aunt has everything all set, son. I think she has some surprises, too.” “Do you think she’ll go to bed before we get there?” “Oh, no! She’ll be sure to wait up for you. You’ll see when we get out of these woods. You’ll see her candle shining in the window.”
It was exactly as Caesar said it would be. There was a candle in the window and a waiting aunt in the doorway. The fine lady reached down, kissed the boy and said, “Welcome home!” She fed him supper, took him to his room, and waited until he fell asleep. At his aunt’s home, John Todd grew up, eventually becoming a great minister. Years later, long after he had left her, his aunt wrote to tell him that her health was failing and she would soon die. Wishing to reassure her that Jesus had transformed death and made it nothing of which to be afraid, John Todd wrote to her. This is what John Todd wrote:
“My Dear Aunt, years ago I left a house of death not knowing where I was to go, whether anyone cared, whether it was the end of me. The ride was long but your slave encouraged me. Finally, he pointed out your candle to me, and there we were in the yard and you embraced me and took me by the hand into my own room that you had made up. After all these years I still can’t believe it – how you did all that for me! I was expected; I felt safe in that room – so welcomed. It was my room. Now it is your turn to go, and as one who has tried it out, I’m writing to let you know that Someone is waiting up. Your room is all ready, the light is on, the door is open, and as you ride into the yard – don’t worry, Auntie. You’re expected! I know.”
John Todd knew what Jesus can do, how He can transform the Day of Judgment. Now you know, too. And, if you need to know more, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES (Questions & Answers) for November 11, 2007
TOPIC: Pastor’s Language
ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. Here’s an unusual one. A Christian lady writes, “We have a new pastor at our church. He came to us highly recommended and, after two years without a pastor, we were glad to have him. He preaches a good sermon and seems very nice… most of the time.”
KLAUS: I’ve got a funny feeling about that expression, “most of the time.”
ANNOUNCER: Yes, that’s our first clue. Our listener continues, “When he’s in front of a large group of people, he conducts himself as a pastor should. But, when he’s with people he considers to be his friends, his language changes. And it strikes me as foul and offensive language. I know pastors are people just like the rest of us, but is this the kind of thing Christian pastors should be doing?”
KLAUS: Yes, I didn’t think I was going to like that expression, “most of the time.” Our listeners should know I have not been elected or designated to be a watchdog or judge on any pastor. Nor am I going to specifically speak to this particular preacher. Even so, the lady asks some reasonable questions and I’ll try to give some reasonable responses. The lady said, “I know pastors are people just like the rest of us.” Well, in saying that she’s kind of right – and kind of wrong.
ANNOUNCER: That’s the solid kind of answer we’re known for.
KLAUS: I know. But it’s true. Pastors are like other people in that they are sinners in need of a Savior. They need the forgiveness Christ alone gives. Pastors are like other people in that they are motivated by the same urges, desires, and sinful longings as the rest of society.
ANNOUNCER: And by that I assume you mean that this pastor, in using “colorful” language is doing so for the same reasons that other people use such language.
KLAUS: Yes, partially. Some people I know use foul language because that’s all they know. It has become part and parcel of everything they say. Where you or I might, when we’re speaking, say “Uhhh” or “Well,” these people use profanity. It fills in the empty spots of their sentences while they think of the next thing to say. It’s wrong. It’s offensive, and they don’t even know they’re doing it.
ANNOUNCER: But I would suppose an ordained pastor would have a little bit better vocabulary than that.
KLAUS: Yes, I agree. Pastors who get foul usually don’t do so out of ignorance.
ANNOUNCER: Then why?
KLAUS: For the same reason other sinners swear. Some people swear to give emphasis to what they’re saying. Sort of a swearword exclamation mark. Some people use foul language to fit in, to show they’re part of the group.
ANNOUNCER: Well, I could imagine a pastor doing something like that.
KLAUS: Yes, I could, too. And that may be part of the problem.
ANNOUNCER: What do you mean?
KLAUS: In Galatians 5 (verse 13) the Lord says, ” You were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Every pastor should know that Christ died to set us free. Even though we are free of the past, that doesn’t mean we should keep on sinning.
ANNOUNCER: And the same thing is implied in Romans chapter 6, where it says: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”
KLAUS: Exactly! Paul answered his own question when he said, “No, we’re not supposed to keep on sinning…” We’re supposed to serve each other in our loving actions, and our loving words. Pastors should know that command of Christ should override their need to fit in.
ANNOUNCER: Earlier you said in some things, pastors are like everybody else, but in other things they may not be.
KLAUS: That’s true. Saint Paul tells us that in 1 Timothy 3. I can read some excerpts: “An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well… he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, or into a snare of the devil.”
ANNOUNCER: So you are saying pastors need to be careful about what they do, how they live, and also what they say?
KLAUS: Exactly because people in the church and outside of the church judge the Savior on the basis of their actions and words. That’s why when pastors mess up badly, the world reports it so gleefully in the news. They point to a sinning pastor and say, “He’s not so special – and neither is his Savior.”
ANNOUNCER: So, if you had any general advice to give…
KLAUS: To the lady I’d say, visit with your pastor, speak to him about your concerns. Most church structures provide some sort of ecclesiastical supervision that provides a way to speak, in love, to admonish and correct inappropriate conduct.
ANNOUNCER: And, what would you say to the pastor?
KLAUS: To the pastor I’d say, “Brother – knock it off!”
ANNOUNCER: 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
“The Clouds of Judgment Gather” arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission
“At the Name of Jesus” arr. by Michael Burkhardt. From Hymn Improvisations, vol. 1 by Michael Burkhardt (© 1993 MorningStar Music Publishers)
“Allegro from Concerto in b minor” by Johann Gottfried Walther. From Richard Heschke at the Hradetzky in Red Bank by Richard Heschke (© 1993 Arkay Records, San Jose)