The Lutheran Hour
-
"I Didn’t Know"
- Download MP3 Reflections
-
Text: 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
-
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! By His life, His suffering, death, and resurrection, Jesus gives forgiveness, hope, and heaven to all who believe. By the Spirit’s power may all of us believe. By God’s grace may faith in the risen Christ be given to us all. Amen.
Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there was a professor who taught at a Christian university. At the beginning of every semester the professor very clearly told the students what was expected in each class. That explanation ended with him saying, “At the end of the course you will hand in a paper. The paper needs to be double-spaced and at least ten pages long. This paper must be submitted on the last day of class.” Then the professor repeated, “I want to emphasize, the paper must be handed in the last day of class. There will be no exceptions to the paper being handed in the last day of class. And, in case you haven’t heard me, the paper must be handed in the last day of class.”
As the weeks went by, the professor regularly reminded his students of their responsibility to get their paper in on the last day of class. He said it so many times, his words became a joke. Finally, the last day of class came and, you guessed it, three students didn’t hand in their papers. The morning after the deadline had passed, one of the students came to the professor’s office and said, “Sir, my paper was done. I was home for the weekend and the car of the fellow I was riding with broke down. I didn’t get back until late last night.” The professor listened and said, “I’m glad you’ve made it back safely; but I’m sorry, you have failed the course.” The second tardy student came in during the afternoon. “I had the paper done, but my computer crashed. I had a copy of the paper but it took me until this afternoon to find it. Here it is.” The professor took the paper; but he did so with the words, “I’m sorry, your paper is late. You fail the class.” The last student, having heard the fate of the others, was shaking when he entered. With a job offer in hand, the student needed this class to graduate. He began by saying, “Professor, my father had a stroke. We didn’t think he was going to make it. I had to make an emergency run to his bedside. Sir, you know me. I’m a good student. I wouldn’t have missed the due date if it hadn’t been for this crisis.” The professor was visibly moved and inquired about the condition of the student’s father, which had been slowly improving. Then, at the end of the conversation, the professor sadly said, “I’m sorry, I cannot pass you.”
The student body was outraged at the professor’s conduct. A delegation presented a petition asking him to change his mind. The meeting began politely enough, but tempers soon flared. Words like, “It’s not fair!” and “What gives you the right?” were thrown around. The professor was silent, letting the students vent their indignation. When the delegation grew silent, he said, “These were the rules of the class. There are no exceptions. This is not the way I wanted things to turn out, but I am not the one who didn’t do what was required. I wish things were different, but I must keep my word.”
We live in a time and age when people think an individual can get around just about any rule if he has the right excuse; if he knows the right person; if he says the right thing; or has the right attitude. So strongly do we believe exceptions can and will be made that we are shocked to find places and times when grace isn’t given and exceptions aren’t made.
And if you challenge: “Pastor, give me a rule for which there is no exception;” I’m glad to do so. Well, actually the Apostle Paul is glad to do so. In his first letter to the church at Thessalonica he said, “For you yourselves are fully aware the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come… and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4). Not many exceptions in those lines, are there? Paul doesn’t say, “The day of the Lord is probably coming, or might be coming, or could be coming;” he said it was coming. And that’s when people breathe a sigh of relief and say, “Yes, it might be coming, but odds are it’s not coming soon.”
I won’t blame you for thinking that. Why? Because, for centuries preachers like me have been saying things like, “The last days are upon us. Weigh carefully the times. Look for Him who is above all time, eternal and invisible.” Those words aren’t taken from some TV or radio evangelist, they were spoken 1,900 years ago by a fellow by the name of Ignatius. He certainly wasn’t the last to talk about the last times. Here’s another quote: “There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power.” Those lines were written by a Christian leader 1,600 years ago. If you had been living around the year 1000, you would have heard numerous sermons talking about Jesus’ return. Indeed, so often were Judgment Day sermons preached back then, many farmers didn’t plant their crops and some people starved. In the 1500s the great Reformer, Martin Luther, showed his gift of prophecy was not 100%. He said, “We have reached the time of the white horse of the Apocalypse. The world will not last any longer… than another hundred years.” The year 1666 had a host of preachers warning about Judgment Day. People got scared. So scared one pastor wrote in his diary, “Every time a storm hit, people would go to church to await Christ’s second coming.” Let me simply say: Preachers have been talking about the last times for so long, people have become confused. Some are convinced every single thing which happens in the Mid-East is a portent that the end of the world is right around the corner. Others hear the words “Judgment Day” and it sounds to them like, “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”
Well, I’m not going to say I know when Judgment Day is coming. Nor am I going to predict it’s right around the corner. I don’t know – nobody knows. On the other hand, I do know, before another week goes by some of you who are listening to my voice today will have experienced a personal judgment day. No, I’ll stick with St. Paul and simply say: “Judgment Day is coming.” That is an absolute. Every day is one day closer to the time when the Savior will return and publicly separate the saved from the lost. Every mark on the calendar is one day which brings us closer to the end of humanity’s story and the completion of God’s offer of salvation.
But there is another absolute in Paul’s letter to the church. He says: When people are comforting themselves by thinking they’ve got their ducks in a row and nothing can ever touch them, that’s when sudden destruction is going to come upon them. Our generations, more than any others, ought to be aware of how sudden destruction can come. The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were caught unprepared. Nobody expected a single bomb dropped from a single plane to cause so much havoc and end so many lives. One moment they were there, the next moment a private day of judgment had occurred. Floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis which kill thousands – tens, hundreds of thousands – let us know that sudden destruction can come. Every auto accident, every car bombing, the World Trade Center, the massacre of little girls in an Amish school house, sudden strokes and fatal heart attacks tell us death doesn’t have to make an appointment.
The coming of the Grim Reaper, whether it be today or 100 years from now, is an absolute. No amount of medical attention or wise planning can halt his arrival. The day of death is coming and, how does St. Paul say it: “they will not escape.” When the day of the Lord comes, you will either pass or you will fail, you will go to heaven or you will go to hell. When Judgment Day arrives, you will be ready or you will not. And if you’re not ready, like it was in the professor’s class, no excuses will be accepted; no exceptions will be made.
Scary? Let me tell you a made-up story to illustrate how scary it will be. This story begins, as such stories often do, with a man dying. What killed him is unimportant. In less time that it takes for me to tell, the man found himself standing before St. Peter. The interview began with Peter asking, “Was Jesus your Savior?” The man hedged, “Well, not exactly my Savior. On the other hand, I did go to church when my relatives got married or buried, so it’s not as if I didn’t know Jesus. On the plus side, I was a good neighbor and the kind of guy who helped out in the community.” The man relaxed a bit when Peter, who was examining the report of the man’s life, commented, “Yes, I can see that. Your folder has a long list of charities.” Peter asked, “Can you think of anything which might prohibit your entrance into heaven?”
Now the fellow, not knowing the completeness of the information in his file, decided to keep a low profile. He joked, “Well, I wasn’t a saint, but who is? I’m about the same, maybe a cut above most. I took a few things from the office, but nothing big. You can’t exactly call that stealing, can you? I messed around with a few women other than my wife, but I never loved them, I was never caught, and I ended up breaking off the relationships. That kind of thing shouldn’t count. I wasn’t always honest on my taxes, or with a policeman or two who pulled me over, but those things are pretty normal.” Then, knowing he had already said more than he intended, the man shut up. Peter, seeing the man was through, said, “Frankly, I’m impressed. For someone who didn’t believe in Jesus as Savior, you did pretty good. Far better than most. You took care of yourself; if it didn’t cost you anything, you helped others; you were a good guy, the kind of person people counted on.”
Feeling the interview was going as good as could be expected, the man humbly said, “Thank you. I’ve always believed each of us needs to do what we can. Indeed, I believe if everybody were kind and nice, the world would be a better place.” Shutting the man’s file, St. Peter agreed. The time for a verdict had come. Peter spoke, “As near as I can tell, your situation is black and white. What I’m going to do is give you directions to a really hot place, but we’re not going to call it hell. You will stay in this really hot place for a very, very long time, although we’ll refrain from calling it eternity. On the other hand, I will say this very, very hot place is going to freeze over before you make it into heaven.” “But why?” the man asked. “You said I did good. What went wrong? If you send me there, you’re going to have to send a lot of other people there, too.”
Hearing that, St. Peter shook his head and sadly said, “My friend, you still don’t understand, do you. The bottom line is, I don’t send anyone anywhere. All I do is let people realize the desire of their heart. If Jesus is their Savior, they will want to be with Him. Jesus has answered that longing of their hearts and made preparations for them to stay in heaven. On the other hand, if people feel they have no need for Jesus as their Savior, He will not force them to come and stay with Him. No, if they don’t want Him, He will allow them to spend forever in a place where His love and grace and guidance will never intrude.” Those words concluded the interview.
Now although that story is fictional, those last words of Peter accurately describe what will, someday, happen to all of us. The last day, the day of the Lord is coming. It may come for us as individuals, it may come for us as a group, it may come to us as a human race, but it is coming. There is no escaping the moment when we will stand before the Judgment Seat of God. Now, if we try to get into heaven on our own, if we try to rely on our own goodness; if we have had no use for Jesus, or no need for Jesus, or decided to ignore Jesus, or put off following Him to a more convenient time, we will be forever lost. Hell is the Triune God’s last act of love for those who don’t want Him or the salvation which the Savior has won through His life, death, and resurrection.
Peter was right; God does not want anyone to end up in hell. He never has. Before we were ever born, the Lord loved us and desired to save us from ourselves and the sin which is wrapped around us. The Lord, better than anyone, knew that those who depended on themselves, their own ability, charitable acts, and merit would be barred from heaven and sent to the “hot place.” To prevent that and provide an alternative ending to our story, the heavenly Father sent His only Son into this world to take our place. Understand, the world didn’t want Jesus, it never has, but our lack of appreciation didn’t stop the Christ from doing the work entrusted to Him.
We daily sin, but Jesus, taking our place and doing what we could not do for ourselves, lived His life perfectly. We regularly fall victims to Satan’s inducements and the world’s enticements, but Jesus said a firm, “no!” to every allurement and attraction placed before Him. That Jesus did this, and did it without slip or stumble, is an amazing display of Divine love, a gift of grace which was, and for many, still is, unwanted, unappreciated, unapplauded, and unreceived. No, God doesn’t want anyone to end up in hell. So that even eternal death might be defeated, God’s Son, upon Calvary’s cruel cross, let Himself be murdered. In terrible pain, carrying our sins, God’s innocent Son died in our place. Why? So that all who believe on Him as the risen Savior will not perish but have everlasting life. Why? So when the inevitable Day of Judgment comes, nobody would have to depend on his own miserable accomplishments; but might, because of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, claim – and be given – a place in heaven.
The Day of Judgment is coming; the day of death is around the corner. Let me ask, “Are you prepared? Is Jesus your Savior?” if Jesus is your Savior, that day will hold no fear, but instead will be filled with glorious gladness. If Jesus is not your Savior, I am sorry, so very sorry. But I am not as sorry as you will be when you fail the course which we call “life.” Remember, no excuses accepted, no explanations allowed. God has provided a way for you, for everyone, to be saved. If you don’t want His alternative ending to your story, then you have to be content with the one you write yourself; you have to be pleased with an ending which doesn’t conclude with the words, “and he lived happily ever after.”
At the beginning of this message I told you a story about a professor who accepted no excuses. Some of you were pretty upset at that professor for his hard-hearted, heavy-handed ways. How would you feel if I told you the professor said, “Your paper must be handed in. No excuses accepted. But… if you trust me, my son will write that paper for you. He will do the research, the work – everything. He will get your paper in on time, and it will be a better paper than you could ever write. All you need do is trust me, believe on him and everything will be taken care of.” How do you feel about that professor now? Pretty fantastic fellow, isn’t he? How about his son who is doing all that work? Unbelievable! And how do you feel about any student who chooses not to take the professor up on his offer? How do you feel about the student who says, “no,” or “not now,” or “it isn’t fair,” or “I don’t believe it,” or “I don’t trust the professor. What’s in it for him?” What did I hear you say? Did you say that student would be pretty ungrateful and really stupid? I agree. Almost as bad as someone who says, “No!” to the salvation which is offered through Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the world’s Savior. He ought to be your Savior, you know. I pray He is. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for November 16, 2008
Topic: Last TimesANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Hi, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: A listener wants to know, “Are we near the last days?”
KLAUS: You do know the answer isn’t going to be easy to that question.
ANNOUNCER: I understand.
KLAUS: OK. The safe answer is this: “We are definitely moving closer to that day.”
ANNOUNCER: Closer. OK, yes, that’s a safe answer, but how close? That’s what our listener really wants to know.
KLAUS: Going to nail me down, aren’t you? All right. If I were to take a look at Scripture and the things it says about the last times, I’d say we’ve probably got a ways to go yet.
ANNOUNCER: Really? I didn’t think you’d say that.
KLAUS: Well, I might have given you a different answer had we been living back during the days of the Black Plague, with people dropping dead left and right; with the economy going down the tubes; with people being burned for witchcraft; and nothing seeming secure or solid. If I’d have lived back then, I probably would have thought the last times were right upon us.
ANNOUNCER: But you don’t feel that way today?
KLAUS: No. We haven’t reached that time when the world has become so bad, that if it were possible, the very elect of God would be falling away. That’s what it says in Matthew 16. Yes, we have our problems. We see terrible things happening, but almost every age has had troublesome times. I personally think things will get much worse – unimaginably worse – before Jesus comes to bring the final relief of Judgment Day.
ANNOUNCER: OK. Now, would you like me to give you some more of the background to this question?
KLAUS: Yes, absolutely. That could make a difference in what I’ve said.
ANNOUNCER: Well, I should share that our listener has been listening to other religious broadcasters out there, and it seems that one show after the other is speaking only about the last times and how we’re already in these last times, and the end is just around the corner.
KLAUS: Yes, I’ve noticed them that. You can gain people’s attention and support by suggesting that you have some super secret information nobody else has. Similarly, you can scare them into supporting you by holding the newspaper next to the Bible and saying, “Here’s what’s going to be happening in the next months, weeks, years!” You make people feel important if you lead them to believe their troubles are bigger, and badder, and more overwhelming than anything experienced by anybody else in the rest of recorded human history.
ANNOUNCER: And then what happens when these predictors are wrong? There have been a lot of people, so-called prophets, who have said similar things in every generation.
KLAUS: Every generation. And their followers have been terribly disillusioned; and, when they threw out the bath water of false information, they ended up throwing out the baby, too.
ANNOUNCER: And I guess the baby in this case is what – faith in Scripture?
KLAUS: Yes, and faith in God, as well.
ANNOUNCER: Well, could you tell me why you seemed reluctant, though, to say Judgment Day is not right around the corner?
KLAUS: Glad to, Mark. I was somewhat hesitant because some people, hearing that, will say, “Guess we’ve got some time so we can just kick back and relax.”
ANNOUNCER: Which can be Spiritually dangerous as well.
KLAUS: Which can be dangerous, because the big Judgment Day may not be our big worry.
ANNOUNCER: Now, what do you mean by that?
KLAUS: Mark, for 78 years The Lutheran Hour message has been saying to people: Today is the day to believe. Today the Holy Spirit is calling you to forgiveness, faith, and salvation; which comes through the blood of Jesus Christ. Every speaker has done that because they know, for somebody, maybe a whole lot of people, death could possibly come in the next few minutes, the next day, the next week.
ANNOUNCER: So you’re saying our personal judgment day should be our biggest concern?
KLAUS: It should be acknowledged. But more importantly, faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior ought to be our primary concern across the board. Through faith in Jesus, Judgment Day loses its sting, the grave loses its strength.
ANNOUNCER: So then, when Jesus does come back to judge the entire world…
KLAUS: Yes, when He comes back you don’t have to worry. Judgment Day will be, “I’m going to heaven day.” It will be a great day because, by the Holy Spirit’s power you have been given faith in what Jesus has done for you – and what Jesus has done for you is what gets you into heaven.
ANNOUNCER: And we close with this prayer: Almighty, Everlasting God, Your Son has assured forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit that our faith in Christ may increase daily and that we may hold fast to the hope that on the last day we shall be raised in glory to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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.
“In the Very Midst of Life” by Martin Luther. From Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, Chants, Truth (© 2004 Concordia Publishing House)
“Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices” by Michael Burkhardt. From Hymn Improvisations, vol. 1 by Michael Burkhardt (© 1993 MorningStar Music Publishers)
“Finale from Partita on Hyfrydol” by Charles Callahan. From Love Divine, All Loves Excelling by Charles Callahan (© 1993 Concordia Publishing House)