The Lutheran Hour
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"False Promises"
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Text: Luke 4:5-7
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! By the Father’s will the Savior has come to offer Himself for our salvation. True Man and True God, He has fulfilled the laws of His Father; He has resisted every temptation placed before Him and has conquered death and grave. Although the father of lies would not have you hear it, this day God’s truth is proclaimed: Christ is risen! By faith may the living Christ live in our hearts. Grant this faith, dear Lord to us all. Amen.
Dense, dumb, dull-witted, dim-witted, empty headed, and stupid. Those are words which political correctness says we are not supposed to use in reference to another individual. To do so would be harsh and hurtful; it would be insulting, insensitive, demeaning, debasing, and undignified. Of course, our modern age isn’t the first to condemn the use of such derogatory terminology. If you look in the Bible; if you turn to Matthew 5:22, there you will hear Jesus urging His followers not to call anyone a moros. moros, That’s a Greek word which has given birth to the English: moron. It doesn’t make any difference, in Greek or English, the word could hardly be considered a compliment. So His followers might not belittle those whom He had come to save, Jesus encouraged his disciples to refrain from using such words. Dense, dumb, dull-witted, dim-witted, empty-headed, and stupid.
On the contrary, we’re supposed to be kind toward others; we’re supposed to build them up. That’s what we’re supposed to do… but there are times when it’s hard for any reasonable person to follow those instructions. I mean people really do and say some incredibly stupid things. Like what kind of things? Well, recently there was a major news service which began a featured story this way: “WASHINGTON – People without health insurance are 40 percent more likely to die than those with private insurance, according to a new study.”1 What? Was that story really saying, “Get insurance and live forever?” As far as I am aware, with or without insurance the death rate of humanity is pretty constant and it’s pretty close to 100%. When the Grim Reaper comes knocking at your door, you can try saying, “Hey, look here, big fellow, you don’t want me, I’m insured. You must be looking for that under-insured fellow who lives down the road.”
The truth is this: all of us have seen, all of us have done, all of us have said some pretty stupid things. Every one of us have had moments when it seemed as if common sense had left us and rational reason had deserted us. All of us have had those ridiculously embarrassing moments, and we hoped they were only moments, when we said to all the world we are dense, dumb, dull-witted, dim-witted, empty-headed, and stupid. These moments have come often enough in my life that I have even given them a name: DUUUH. That’s it, those moments are DUUUH moments.
Here, let me give you an example of a “DUUUH MOMENT”. In 1896, Norman “Kid” McCoy, was the welterweight boxing champion of the world. Kid McCoy was a perfect blend of power, ring savvy, and sneakiness. In one of his bouts, McCoy was fighting a contender who happened to be deaf. When Kid McCoy discovered his opponent’s handicap, he instantly decided to take advantage of the man. It was near the end of the third round when McCoy stepped back, lowered his gloves, pointed to his opponent’s corner, and indicated that the bell had rung.”Oh, thank you very much,” said McCoy’s opponent. “Very kind of you to let me know the round is over.” But the bell hadn’t rung and the round wasn’t over. As soon as the other boxer dropped his hands and turned away, McCoy clobbered him with everything he had. Knocked the fellow out cold, clean as a whistle. When the man woke up, he found he had just experienced a “DUUUH MOMENT”.
Have you ever had a “DUUUH MOMENT”, an experience which made you feel like you’ve lost all your marbles? I think a cat has a “DUUUH MOMENT” when it climbs a tree and doesn’t know how to get back down. When I spend a half-hour looking for my keys which are jingling in my pocket, it’s a “DUUUH MOMENT”. When you add sugar to you cake mix – and you do it twice – that’s a “DUUUH MOMENT”. When you dial the wrong phone number, apologize to the person who answers, and then dial the same wrong number all over again….that’s a “DUUUH MOMENT”. When you read the application instructions on the lawn fertilizer bag, after your lawn burns and turns brown, that’s a “DUUUH MOMENT”. The person who wrote into Internal Revenue Service and politely asked if he could have his name removed from their mailing list, that was a “DUUUH MOMENT”. You’ve had such moments, haven’t you? You’ve pushed on the door which is clearly labeled “pull”. You’ve started your car when it was already running. All of us have DUUUH moments and I do mean all of us…
…Including the people of Scripture. When Adam and Eve were banished from Eden because they had chosen to listen to Satan’s sinful suggestions rather than continuing to live under God’s grace; when they turned around and saw the angel guarding the Garden’s entrance, that had to be a “DUUUH MOMENT.” When Moses lost the Promised Land because he had concluded he knew how to do a miracle better than God, that had to be a DUUUH day. When Samson, blind, shorn Samson, was grinding grain in an enemy’s prison house, he must have reflected on the numerous times temptation had him playing fast and loose with the gifts God had given him. David had fallen victim to a pretty woman and the temptations of Satan. That DUUUH moment had him trade the life of a loyal soldier so a king could have an affair.
Looking at his handiwork over the centuries Satan must feel pretty satisfied with his many successful temptations. No doubt he smiles and snickers at all the souls he has won because he successfully waved some bright bauble or trivial trinket in front of the nose of some unsuspecting soul. I make it sound easy, but it most certainly is not. The devil knows you have to have the proper attitude, aptitude, and ability if you are going to get anywhere in the seduction of souls. You have to be discriminating and discerning; you need to be shrewd and selective, even sensitive as you nudge a soul toward those sins which offer a certain, very personal appeal.
The temptation which proves irresistible to those whose hearts are inclined towards greed, the glutton will find unappetizing and the gossip will totally ignore. Those who long for power and wealth will not be fascinated by the most beautiful face nor will they be captivated by the most perfect physique. The devil knows these things and he never forgets there is a balance which must be struck between the speed and the slowness, the power and the gentleness of any sin’s presentation. Indeed, only the devil can truly appreciate the malevolent skill, the malicious techniques which must be employed if a human soul is to feel comfortable and content with the embracing of an evil which will slowly envelop and strangle his soul. If Satan were speaking to you today, I have no doubt he would gladly tell you, this temptation business is far more an art form than it is a science. And if it is an art form, then he is the master.
Truly, as you look back; you can see those times when the devil so obviously tricked you? Do you not feel compelled to confess: “Lord, I am sorry I have been so spiritually dense, dumb, and dull-witted; I confess the many times Satan has laid a temptation before me and I, empty headed and stupid me, gladly embraced that temptation?” Don’t you ever want to say, “Lord, there are times when I wonder, “Will I never learn? Am I always going to be so dull when the devil comes around?” If you’ve never thought about those questions, don’t worry. I have and, like the rest of humanity, I find myself answering, “On my own, I’m sunk.”
I’ve performed the wedding service for hundreds of couples. As far as I know, every one of those folks who got married planned to live happily ever after. ‘Happily ever after’, that’s what they hoped for, what they really believed would happen to them. Sure they knew the statistics, but they also knew a love as pure and powerful as theirs would bring them through whatever the world did to them, whatever temptation Satan laid before them. They believed they would be different… but not all of them were. Before the wedding present thank-you letters were written Satan showed up, twisting, changing, transforming. Traits which once had been cute, adorable, and endearing started to grate on the nerves and ended up in ongoing conflict. Marriages which began well ended up a disaster, one of the devil’s home-made disasters. But it would be a mistake to think such diabolical tragedies are confined to the home. They’re not. He works his dark evil in all spheres of human living.
Do you doubt the OUUUH moments? Look around. Jails are full of people who, thinking upon their past, end up saying, “I was a fool.” Courts are backed up with cases of people who sigh and say … well, you know what they say. Look at the talk shows …. look at the courtroom shows … look at reality TV. Observing just how messed up people can be we sometimes feel pretty good about ourselves. Still, the ultimate truth is this: sooner or later, Satan’s temptations transform every person into becoming a voluntary victim. There’s no hope; there’s no way out; there’s no escape; we are lost.
We are lost because Satan’s success is based on a very simple formula. A formula which I’ll be glad to share with you. Are you ready? Here it is: the devil wins by promising us something good if we do something bad. That’s It. He promises us something good if we do something bad. That’s what he did with Eve and Adam. “Eve, being smart is a good thing, don’t you think?” “Yes, I do, Mr. Talking Snake.” “And, Eve, don’t you think it would be a good thing to be smart like God?” “I do, indeed, I do.” “Then, soon to be smart Eve, all you have to do is eat this forbidden fruit.” That’s where the bad part came in. The devil promised something good if Adam and Eve would do something bad. If you look at Scripture, you will find that is, almost always, Satan’s not so secret formula. If you look back at your life you will find that’s the technique he’s been using on you. He’s promised you something good if you were willing to do something bad.
Indeed, so successful has been the devil’s presentation over the years, he didn’t feel any hesitation in trying the same approach on Jesus. Yes, Jesus was the omnipotent sinless Son of God … but Jesus was also the human Child of Mary. It was Jesus’ humanity that became the devil’s target. If you look at Matthew 4, it offers the first recorded interaction between tempter and Tempted. In each of the three enticements, Satan suggests that good will result if Jesus does something bad. I encourage you to read the story for yourself. Until then, may I summarize? In Temptation #1, Satan says, “Jesus, after fasting 40 days, You simply have to be hungry. You’ll feel good if you follow my suggestion, eat some bread. Just break this ridiculous, self-imposed fast and listen to me.” You see, Satan promised something good if Jesus did something bad. In Temptation #2, the devil said, “Jesus, if you want people to know You’re the saving Son of God, which is, after all, the reason You were born, let’s take the easy way. Throw yourself off the top of the temple. Angels will bring you safely to earth, the people will be impressed, and You won’t have to die on the cross.” Something good if Jesus would do something bad. Then there was Temptation #3. In this enticement Satan suggested, “Jesus, if You really want to make an impact on all the kingdoms of the world, then bow down and follow me. I’ll make you my right hand man.” Satan promised to do something good, if Jesus did something bad.
So you see how it works? It’s so simple. Now that you understand Satan’s style, now that you see how he gift wraps sin and makes temptation look both delicious and desirable, do you think you’ll be able to resist? Well, maybe, perhaps, sometimes. I will pray that happens. But, I think the bad news is this: before the end of the day, even though you understand how the devil works … even though you realize Satan’s trick, you will fall into temptation again. I don’t know what your temptation will be …. but I know it will come. The devil will show up and whisper in your ear a promise that he will give you something good if you will only do some Itty-bitty, teeny tiny bit of badness. And, even though you know better, you will listen and you will sin and later on you will look back and go, “OUUUH.” You will fall into Satan’s temptation because you are a sinner. You cannot help yourself. Put a steak bone on the floor in front of a dog. You can train that dog to leave that bone alone. You can train it not to look at that bone. You can get it to walk away from that bone. But you can’t get it to stop thinking about that bone. In the same way you can train yourself not to commit a certain sin, you can walk away from that sin, but you cannot train yourself not to think of that sin. You think about how good It would be to commit that sin and, BAMMM the devil’s got you. Temptation time. And you’re left saying, “OUUUH.”
Which is why you need Jesus. When the devil said to Jesus, “I’m promising You something good, if You do something bad.” Jesus said “No.” He quoted the Bible, as we should, and said “No.” He didn’t think about it. He didn’t hesitate. He said “No, get away from Me.” Not just these three times recorded by Matthew, but every time the devil came back waving temptation in His face, Jesus said, “No.” He did what no other human being, from Eve on down, has been able to do. Jesus said “No.” He resisted temptation for you. If I ask most Christians, “What did Jesus do for you?”, most of them will say, “Jesus died for me.” That’s a good answer. It’s a true answer and I bless them for it. But It’s also true Jesus lived for me, and for you. Jesus lived for me by conSistently and faithfully and regularly and always saying “No” to Satan’s sly temptations. Yes, Jesus lived for me, and He suffered for me, and He died for me, and He rose for me.
And what shall I do with that information? Decades ago, a foreign missionary named John Paton translated the New Testament into a native language. As he was working, he found that the natives had no word for “belief.” That was a problem. How can you tell Jesus’ story without the word believe? John was stopped, stopped cold until, one day, a native dropped in and stretched himself out on a couch. The native quietly commented on how good it felt to “lean his whole weight on” that couch. Paton wrote that down. That’s why, wherever your Bible has the word believe, John’s Bible says, ‘we should lean our whole weight on God.” You try it. It works. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever shall lean his whole weight on him, may not perish but may have eternal life.” Lean your whole weight on Jesus and your life will be changed. Lean your whole weight on Jesus and you will find the DUUUH mornents are less and the “thank you, Lord” moments are more.
To that end, may we say if we can help you get comfortable in leaning on Jesus, please, feel free, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers)
February 21, 2010
Topic: Organ DonationAnnouncer: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
Klaus: Hi, Mark. And our question deals with what subject?
Announcer: Well, burial customs and organ donations.
Klaus: Yeah, I remember teaching my 7th and 8th grade catechism classes about that. We concluded that, and there are countless exceptions to this: the body is placed into the earth and the soul of a believer will go to heaven to be with Jesus. The souls of unbelievers, of course, ends up in a considerably different location …
Announcer: But for both believers and unbelievers, there is usually some kind of burial.
Klaus: Usually, but not as universal as it once was. Cremations are increasing. Then there are those times when the way a person dies might preclude a burial.
Announcer: And what do you mean?Klaus: Especially years ago, there were Illnesses, contagious illnesses, that called for the immediate disposal of an infected body. That’s not so much the case today, at least in the industrialized countries. On the other hand, do you remember 9/11 and the destruction that took place that day?
Announcer: I remember reading about families who were left to mourn their loved ones but the physical remains were never recovered.
Klaus: Indeed, many of those families were looking for closure. They had been sure that their loved one was in one of the Towers the day they were brought down. But… they didn’t know for sure. Suppose he had gotten out; suppose he had amnesia; suppose he was in the hospital somewhere. Without a body, they didn’t know. They wanted to have a funeral service, a memorial service, but there wasn’t anything to bury. Very, very hard on these people.
Announcer: And what about organ donations? What’s our church’s view on that?
Klaus: You know, I don’t think we’ve ever talked about that topic before. There are some emotional reasons why a family might be reluctant to donate their loved one’s organs. I know this may sound strange to some, but some people have wondered, if they give their corneas, or kidney, or heart for transplant… in the resurrection, who are those organs going to belong to … the original owner or the person to whom they were given?
Announcer: And, honestly, I’ve never given any thought to that before. What’s the answer?
Klaus: Well, here’s the thing. For believers, when the resurrection comes, they will be given glorified bodies, that is, bodies unmarred by the ravages of sin and death. Anything that had gone wrong with those bodies would, at that time, be made right and perfect. So the person who had needed a kidney or a heart transplant would have their bodies restored, better than new.
Announcer: OK. That takes care of the organ recipients, what about the donors?
Klaus: Well, they would also be restored the way the Lord wanted them to be In His perfect world, before sin and death entered the picture.
Announcer: So then, there’s no problem with being an organ donor?
Klaus: No problem. On the other hand, there are some people who just don’t like the idea of having Mom’s eyes go to another person; or Junior’s heart beating inside someone else’s chest. Those folks need to be dealt with in a kindly, understanding way. The death of a loved one isn’t the time to run roughshod over someone else’s faith or beliefs.
Announcer: And, what should be done to prevent that?
Klaus: Well, if you decide to donate your organs, you need to talk it over with your family, so that your wishes are known and understood and people have an opportunity to discuss and adjust how they feel about it.
Announcer: Any other problems with organ donations?
Klaus: As far as I know, the Bible doesn’t say anything about the practice. It is an individual’s choice.
Announcer: So, then, you’re saying, if a person wants to donate their organs, they won’t have to feel like they need to look for a refund on the Day of Judgment. And they won’t be wandering around heaven looking for their original components.
Klaus: That’s absolutely right.
Announcer: Well, what happens if a person is lost at sea, or, let’s say, eaten by a shark, or vaporized in an explosion, there’s nothing left, what happens to them in the resurrection?
Klaus: that’s probably the easiest question of the day. I know you already have the answer. But for those who don’t–we have a God who called the entire universe into being with a word. If God can create something out of nothing … he can remake and restore whatever He wants. On the Day of Judgment, the sea will give up its dead … and those who believe will be given perfect bodies. The only scars in heaven will be those Christ bears on His glorified body-reminders of what He did on the cross to redeem us.
Announcer: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“O Lord, Throughout These Forty Days” arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“On My Heart Imprint Your Image” arranged by Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“O Lord, Throughout These Forty Days” arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ” by J.S. Bach. From OrgelbOchlein & More Works by
J.S. Bach by Robert Clark & John David Peterson (© 1997 Calcante Recordings, Ud.)