The Lutheran Hour

"That’s the Way It Works"

#76-18
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on January 11, 2009
Speaker: Rev. Ken Klaus
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: Mark 1:4-5

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! For the forgiveness of sinners Jesus was born, lived, died, and has risen. Today, may the Holy Spirit bring us to the full realization of how much we need the Savior; how forgiveness will be granted only to those who have faith in Him who made the supreme sacrifice to take away their sins. God grant this repentance-founded faith to us all. Amen.

It was in the 1960s, at least according to the story I was told, that an elderly Scottish couple, a couple who had never flown before, made the decision to visit their son in New York City. The excited couple got on the plane easily enough and the take off was equally non-eventful. Then, somewhere over the Atlantic, the pilot’s voice broke in over the speaker system. In a matter-of-fact way he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my obligation to inform you that one of our three engines has failed. I want to assure you there is no need for concern. This is a modern jet and it is fully capable of taking us all to New York on two engines. The greatest problem we will encounter is that we will be arriving at our destination about an hour late. I encourage you to sit back and enjoy your flight.”

About a half-hour later the captain’s voice was once again heard on the intercom. The captain’s measured announcement said, “I am sorry for disturbing you, but I must tell you we have lost the second of our three engines. Please be assured, we will make a normal and completely safe landing in New York. Unfortunately, this means we will be two-and-a-half hours late. At that point, the Scotch grandma turned to her husband and complained, “I’m thinking if that third engine fails, it’s going to take us days to get to New York.” Now, you know and I know it doesn’t work that way, does it?

Now, I can’t vouch for the authenticity of that story. Not so for this one which was told to me by a highway patrolman stationed in Dallas. He shared how, the week before, he had helped a lady in an emergency. She was on one of the over-crowded toll ways of that sprawling city when her car died. It was rush hour, she was in the middle lane, and her car simply stopped. Eventually the police arrived, stopped traffic and got her safely to the shoulder of the road.

The officer lifted the hood and checked for some of the more obvious and easily correctable difficulties. Then, the officer traded places with the lady who was still sitting in her car, clutching the steering wheel. That’s when the policeman found out the cause of the car’s problem. He got out and informed the lady there was nothing wrong with her vehicle that a gallon or two of gas wouldn’t fix. That’s right. She had run out of fuel. Having heard the news, the woman seemed terribly upset. She asked, “Tell me, officer, will it hurt the car very much if I drive it home this way?” To the Christian policeman’s credit, he didn’t laugh out loud. Indeed, he told me he wasn’t even smiling when he said, “Ma’am, it doesn’t work that way.”

Now before you say, “Nobody is that stupid,” you should know a lot of people – people like you and I – are that stupid and even more stupider. Maybe most of us don’t think a plane without engines won’t fly, and maybe we don’t believe a car without gas can drive home, but a fairly large percentage of the human race do have some sterling moments of spiritual non-smartness. I personally have encountered quite a few folks who, when it comes to salvation, believe some mighty silly stuff. What kind of silly stuff?

Well, silly stuff like thinking all religions are the same and all gods are alike. Deities are not identical and divinities are hardly interchangeable. But don’t take my word for it. Go to a leader of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism – any major religion – and ask if the being they worship is the same as the Christian God. If these leaders know what their faith teaches, and if they’re being honest at all, they will, without hesitation or indecision, tell you, “Nope, the God of the Christians is not the same person we worship. Not at all.”

Yes, people believe all kinds of silly stuff. There are those who think every spiritual path – if you believe in it hard enough and long enough and sincerely enough – will take you to the safe haven of heaven. What silliness! It doesn’t work that way. Not only aren’t the paths to heaven not the same, the descriptions of what you’ll find when and if you get to paradise aren’t even similar. Consider: when it comes to getting to heaven, Christians believe only through Holy Spirit-given faith in Jesus and the perfect life He lived; the sacrificial death He died; the resurrection He won; can anyone be awarded eternal life. Every other faith of the world says an individual must work out his own way to heaven. Some religions say, “If you don’t get it right, you come back and keep on trying till you do.” Others maintain that you must work as hard as you can, make obligatory sacrifices, and when you’re done, you will not be given an ironclad promise guaranteeing entry into a happy, heavenly home.

If you have, until this moment, thought all religions are the same, then think twice. Christianity – and Christianity alone – holds out this powerful, positive, and undeniable truth: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). No matter your past; no matter what you have done wrong, no matter how long you have done it, or how often; faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior offers total forgiveness of sins and promises sure and certain salvation. Twenty centuries ago, when Peter was confronted by the repentant crowd at Pentecost which demanded to know, “What can we do to be saved?” without hesitation he replied, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.” That’s the way it works.
And that statement causes a problem for some of our listeners. No, the difficulty isn’t whether you want to go to heaven. Most people freely admit that they would like to spend eternity in a place where there is no sadness, sickness, tears, trouble, or terror. Even unbelievers, when forced to choose between fire and flame or a place of complete peace, will admit, “If those are the only two options, I’d just as soon go to heaven.” No, the great hardship in being brought to faith in Jesus is that part about repentance.

We live in an age where political correctness has decreed nothing is sinful. Yes, we have problems, we have difficulties, idiosyncrasies, eccentricities, and questionable quirks, but most people have a hard time admitting they have done something wrong. In 1980, New York City was having a financial crisis. At that time, the city, mayored by Ed Koch, had spent a bundle of bucks putting bike lanes through Manhattan streets. Unfortunately, cars started driving in those bike lanes, pedestrians started walking in those lanes, and it was a general mess.

With such an obvious fiasco looming over his election, reporters thought they had everything necessary to make the Mayor squirm. A reporter set the tone when he said, “Mayor, in light of the financial difficulties New York City is facing, how could you possibly justify wasting $300,000 on bike lanes?” Koch replied, “It was a terrible idea. I thought it would work, but it didn’t. It was one of the worst mistakes I ever made.” Then he stopped. The journalists were surprised, even shocked. They had expected Koch to make excuses, shift the blame, pass the buck, do anything and everything other than admit he had messed up. The next reporter tried again, “But Mayor Koch, how could you do this?” Koch said, “I already told you. It was a stupid idea. It didn’t work.” Then he stopped. With 261/2 minutes to go on the show, the reporters had to move on to other, less interesting and less embarrassing subjects.

Of course, most of us don’t admit our mistakes, do we? Most of us, like Adam and Eve, try to cover up our sins with some non-too-subtle fig leaves. Most of us, like murderous, brother-killing Cain, prefer to lie about things we have done wrong. Most of us are like the little girl who tried to ignore her mistakes entirely. Oh, you don’t know about that little girl? Let me tell you her story. This little girl was in the kindergarten class of an experimental school. The institution’s headmaster walked into her class when it was visiting the library. Without a word to the teacher, he smiled and sat down on a small library chair next to the girl. She was looking at a picture book with words – you know the kind which has one picture and one word on each page.

The headmaster asked the girl to identify what she was looking at. She glowed as she began. “That’s a dog; that’s a cat; that’s a house; that’s a car; that’s a fire truck.” Then she came to the page which had a picture of a hatchet. She incorrectly identified, “That’s a hammer.” The headmaster didn’t correct her, but let her continue. On the very next page, the little girl found the picture of a hammer. She turned back to the picture of the hatchet, then the hammer, hatchet, hammer. Knowing she had been wrong, the girl chose not to admit anything. Instead, she quietly closed the book, and whispered, “You know, we are in the library, and we shouldn’t be talking.”

Like that little girl, most of us refuse to admit we are first-class, A-1, government-inspected, sinners. And if we have done things which are not quite right, we had a reason for our questionable actions. Maybe our parents weren’t nice or fair; or maybe life has treated us shabbily; maybe we have been put upon by strangers; or not understood by those who should have been close to us; possibly we were picked on in school by a bully; or we’re tired of waiting in long lines. We have our reasons for doing what we do. We live in an age where no one is a sinner. Yes, we may not be perfect, but we’re not serious sinners. If you want to see a sinner, go to the history books. Look at Adolf Hitler, or Genghis Khan, or Attila the Hun, or any of a hundred mass murderers who once ruled nations and started wars. We’re not as bad as those guys.
Truly, most people think they’re pretty good. We’re the kind of people that God ought to be glad to have come into heaven. In fact, when we think about it, we can almost see Him standing at the pearly gates, smiling as He gives the order, “Peter, throw open the gates of glory, today we’re going to have a parade. Open wide the heavenly portals, because a not-too-bad-person is coming in.”

Folks, I want to tell you that’s not the way it works. Jesus Christ came to seek and save sinners. Jesus was born to take the place of sinners. Jesus lived His life avoiding the transgressions which sinners commit. Jesus died to pay the debt which sinners had brought upon themselves. And, if you refuse to admit you’re a sinner, there’s not just a whole lot that Jesus can do for you. When you refuse to admit your sin; when you continue to maintain you’re fine just the way you are; you’re turning your back on the blood-bought salvation which Jesus has won for you.

Now, I understand why, in this era of “I’m OK and You’re OK,” you might not want to admit you have done some pretty serious stuff wrong. It’s only natural. It’s not right, but Scripture tells us it’s pretty human for us to try and cover our mistakes and put up a pretense of innocence and respectability. That’s why, if you read the Old Testament, you will find one prophet after another calling people to acknowledge their sin and be brought under the forgiveness of their loving God. Like a broken record, the word, “repent” echoes over the centuries. Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, all call God’s people to repentance. When John the Baptist came upon the scene, he was directed to prepare people’s hearts to receive the Savior. From all over Judea and from Jerusalem, people came to hear the Baptizer’s call to repentance. And, amazingly, many of them listened and confessed their sins. That’s the way it should work. Contrition and repentance before the Lord, was followed by the giving of God’s grace. Christians know, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Of course, there are those who say, “Jesus has to take me the way I am. I don’t have to change. Jesus accepted everybody just the way they were. He accepted the tax-collector and the prostitute, the sinner and the thief, and He has to accept me.” That is true, as far as it goes. Jesus did indeed warmly welcome those who were sick with sin. Jesus took them that way, but He did not leave them that way. If you doubt what I’m saying, listen to Mark, a man who chronicled the story of Jesus’ ministry. He tells us, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel'” (Mark 1:14-15). Jesus took sinners the way they were and then He changed them.

When Jesus sent out His disciples, He gave them power and a message to share. This is what the Bible says: “So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent” (Mark 6:12). When Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the theme of that message was bringing people to repentance. When the “I’m-good-enough-Pharisees” criticized the Christ for hanging around sinners, Jesus told them off with these words, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32).

So, are you one of those sinners who needs to repent? Do you need a Savior? You do, so do I. Look into your heart; look at your life. What do you see? Honestly? Truthfully? If I could take the terrible things you have thought, the sinful things you have said; the destructive deeds you have done in just the last 24 hours; if I could take those things and write them down on a great poster and hang it around your neck, what would be the reaction of people who read that card? Revulsion? Repulsion? Loathing, disgust, detestation? Now you know, and I know, I will never be able to do that. I don’t know you. But I would be glad to do it if I could spare you the tragedy of what will happen on the Day of Judgment when you meet the Lord, unrepentant and unsaved. Understand, the Lord may never allow you to be publicly embarrassed in this life, but the day will come when He will judge you. On that day, all those things you have done wrong will be made obvious and those who thought themselves too good for a Savior will see how desperately they needed Him.

Which is why the Lord offers this encouragement to repentance. Repent of your sins, rely on Jesus the Redeemer and be saved. You see, Jesus forgives sinners. Because of Him, all who are brought to repentance and faith have their sin-filled slate wiped clean. That’s what Paul told the Roman church; that’s what I’m telling you: “There is … no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). That’s the way it works.

Do you understand? I mean, really understand? That thing, that sin, that darkness of your heart and mind; that thing which you have worked so hard to keep hidden; that thing which has haunted your nights and knotted your stomach can be gone. With a repentant faith in Jesus’ suffering, sacrifice, and resurrection, it can be gone. Do you understand? I am speaking to you – of your sin – and of your Savior who gave Himself so that sin might be taken away. Do not pretend neither is important to you. They are all important. Sin and the Savior – they go together; that’s the way it works. To that end, of seeing sin and Savior, if we can help you, please call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.

Q and A for Sermon #76-18 for January 11

ANNOUNCER: A recent archeological discovery in Israel is giving scholars their first chance to examine a settlement in Judah from the time of King David. I’m Mark Eischer and my guest is Dr. David Adams, Director of the Concordia Center for Archaeology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Dr. Adams was a member of the archeological team that found a pottery fragment bearing what may be the oldest-known Hebrew inscription. Dr Adams, how do we know that this inscription is, in fact, Hebrew in origin?

ADAMS: That’s a great question, Mark, and the answer is that we cannot actually be certain yet. You see, the relationship between Hebrew and the languages of Israel’s Canaanite neighbors is something like the relationship between American English and British English: they are simply different dialects of the same language. And just like Americans call that storage space at the back of the car the trunk and the English call it the boot, so Israelites just used some words differently from their Canaanite neighbors. One of the words in our inscription is a word that occurs quite often in the Hebrew of the Old Testament but does not occur outside the Old Testament in the Canaanite dialects at all. That, and the fact that the inscription was found at a site in Judah where the pottery is characteristic of Israelite pottery rather than Philistine pottery, leads us to think the writing is most probably in the Hebrew language.

ANNOUNCER: And, how does what you’ve found relate to the Biblical narrative?

ADAMS: As important as the inscription may be, it’s really the whole site that we are excavating that is most exciting. For the first time ever archaeologists are getting to look at a settlement in Judah from the time of King David. The reason that this is important is that for many years now liberal scholars have said the Bible is wrong, that there never was a King David, or if he existed at all he was an insignificant tribal chieftain and not a real king with significant economic or political power. But our site is a substantial fortified settlement, with large walls made of massive stones. It would have taken a dedicated workforce years to build. This is not the work of a few local farmers. It required a centralized authority with enough power to organize and fund a substantial military construction effort. And that tends to support the Biblical view of King David rather than the modern liberal view.

ANNOUNCER: How have scholars reacted to this discovery?

ADAMS: As you might expect, anything that challenges the cherished theories of liberal scholars is going to encounter opposition. And our discoveries are certainly going to be debated for years to come. But we are confident that the facts stand on their own two feet. Anyone can come and see the site for himself. It’s there. It’s real. We didn’t make it up. Both the pottery and the Carbon-14 dating have been evaluated by independent specialists, so the dating is secure. The inscription is still being studied, but it does exist. It’s real; it’s not a theory.

ANNOUNCER: Now, what significance does this discovery have for Christians?

ADAMS: We expect to continue to excavate this site for maybe ten more years. And, of course, we hope to find other things that will contribute to our understanding of the world of the Old Testament. But it’s important to keep all these things in perspective. Nothing that archaeology can find is capable of fully proving the Bible to be true because the Bible is not just a description of the way things were in the past; it’s really about what God was doing to bring about the salvation of the world in Jesus Christ. So, to the extent that archaeology can help correct the false views that some have of the Bible, and help us to understand the Biblical world better, it’s a good thing. But our relationship to God doesn’t depend upon what archaeology can prove; it’s rooted in faith in Jesus Christ.

ANNOUNCER: We’ve been talking with Dr. David Adams, Director of the Concordia Center for Archaeology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. 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

“In Thee Is Gladness” arranged by Henry Gerike. From Gentle Stranger by the Concordia Seminary Chorus (© 2004 Concordia Seminary Chorus)

“O Jesus, Grant Me Hope and Comfort” by W. Osterwald & Johann Franck, arranged by Henry Gerike. From Magnificat by the Concordia Seminary Chorus (© 1994 Concordia Seminary Chorus)

“How Lovely Shines the Morning Star” by Johann Philipp Kirnberger. From A Year of Grace by Craig Cramer (© 2003 Dulcian Productions)

“How Lovely Shines the Morning Star” by J.S. Bach. From Te Deum (© 2000 Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne)