The Lutheran Hour

"Understanding God"

#78-23
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on February 13, 2011
Speaker: Rev. Ken Klaus
Copyright 2025 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: 1 Corinthians 2:11-12

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! To hear those words and believe they are true is God’s great gift of grace to sinful humankind. So they might be true for you, God’s Son gave His life and was sacrificed for your salvation. Today, the Holy Spirit invites you to believe and receive the things which are freely given by your Heavenly Father. God grant such a faith be given and held by us all. Amen.

The second time I flew to Israel, about a ½ hour before we were scheduled to land in Tel Aviv, I went to do some cleaning up in the washroom of our jumbo jet. That’s when I heard a knock on the door and, before I could reply, a woman’s voice, with no little authority, commanded, “Don’t forget to wash your hands, comb your hair, and zip up your pants before you come out.” Although I didn’t recognize the voice, I thought since the advice seemed solid, that it would be wise for me to do as I had been told. When I came out, I was met by a woman who turned beet red and almost fainted. Within 20 seconds she had apologized the same number of times; all of those apologies ending up with her saying, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but I thought you were my son.” Now, although the lady seemed very nice, and I’m sure she was a good mother, she wasn’t my mother and I wasn’t her son. Truth is, we didn’t know each other at all. Indeed, in this life, we seldom know people as well as we think we do.

As near as I can tell, not knowing each other is pretty much a universal… even for, make that especially for, husbands and wives. On this Valentine’s Week, you will forgive me for sharing that last August Pam and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. While our families, and some of our friends, know our history, you may not. Understand I wouldn’t bore you with it at all, if it weren’t pertinent to this day’s message. Our story begins almost 60 years ago. 59 years ago to be exact. Truman was still President when, after Sunday School and at the ripe, old age of 3, I told Pam’s mother I was going to marry her. Now I didn’t remember saying that, but her mother, thinking it was cute and utterly ridiculous, stored it away. Stored it away for a couple of decades, didn’t bring it out and dust it off again until five minutes before Pamie was to walk down the aisle.

We went through all eight years of grade school in the same class. For eight years we ate lunch together, went for recess together, competed in science projects against each other and graduated together. Our status in the pecking order of the class will be understood when I tell you, for our 8th grade Children’s Christmas service, Pam played Mary and I was Wise Man #2. We went together through all of our college years except for the last year-and-a-half when we were engaged. When we took the pre-marital compatibility inventory we scored off the charts.

We were married before I went to seminary and for four years she put me through school. It was a financial struggle and we both can remember when supper was a box of macaroni and cheese purchased with refund money from pop bottles Pam had found and turned in. Without complaint, the girl from the big city of Chicago went with me, to my first church in the little town of Edgemont, South Dakota. She went there with me, and I went into the labor room with her. Three times. She gave me pointers on how to make my preaching better and I gave her instructions on how she should breathe and when she should push. For forty years we have laughed and cried, argued and encouraged, sacrificed and shared. Truth be told she has done far more of the sacrificing and sharing than I have.

Now the reason I tell you all this, is because a person might think that if I had the sense God gave grass, I would, after the passing of 40 years, be able to say I know her, that I should know everything about her; that I should know her preferences, her dreams, her hopes, her prayers, the things which get her down, the pet peeves that drive her just a little bit nuts. You would think 40 years is enough time for me to know her… and, in some ways I do. For example, I know when she is talking to me, she wants me to look at her. None of this double, or triple tasking stuff. She wants me to look at her. I know that she doesn’t like it when I put things together without consulting the instructions which came with the product. I know she doesn’t like it when I wear my comfy paint sweatshirt nine days in a row. I know she doesn’t like these things because she has told me she doesn’t like these things. But when I have to figure these things out, I’m clueless.

The truth is, I have only the smallest, barest, tiniest inkling of what makes my wife tick; only the smallest insight into who she really is. Now it isn’t that I haven’t tried to understand her. I have. It’s just that she is a very complicated individual, having more facets that a brilliantly cut diamond. I’ve tried to understand, but every time I think I’ve made some progress, she surprises me and sends me back to the drawing board. I’m absolutely convinced if the Lord blesses us with another 40 years together, I’ll probably be saying the same thing. Of course, there is a plus to all this. Every day is a day of discovery; every hour is filled with surprises.

Which takes us to the point in this message where you’re saying: “OK, Klaus, so what’s the point?” The point is this: if I don’t really know my wife, the person whom I know better than any other person in this world, I sure don’t know anybody else. The point is this: although we may like to think differently, believe differently, none of us knows each other; not really; not completely.

Look back on your personal history. Have you ever had a friend; you know, a trusted, once-in-a-lifetime friend? Did you not, with all your heart, believe you could trust that friend completely; that you could tell that friend your secrets, reveal all of your deepest and darkest thoughts? Thinking you knew that person could be trusted, did you not open yourself up, did you not risk yourself with that individual as you have with no one else? And did that friend not betray you?

When I was in the parish I had many young couples, insanely in love young couples ask me to perform their wedding service. They were so cute. They were in love. They had stars in their eyes; they walked on clouds, and the thought that their one, true love could ever betray them, well that was laughable, ludicrous, preposterous, absurd. Upon occasion, and I still rejoice that it wasn’t very often, I had couples I had married ask if they could see me privately. Quietly they confessed that somehow, somewhere along the line their undying love had done just that: it had died. When I asked, “Why? Tell me what happened?” the man usually said something like: “I thought I knew her, but I didn’t.” She usually said something like: “He’s not the man I thought he was.” They had discovered the painful truth: we really don’t know or understand each other as well as we think.

I have been with parents whose children have gotten themselves into serious trouble. These are parents who had brought their baby home from the hospital and immediately began to dream dreams of their child’s future. Sadly, those dreams had little to do with reality. By the time these children hit their teens, the parents still thought their daughters were sugar and spice and everything nice, but everyone else saw them as pure, distilled vinegar. While these parents considered their sons to be a cross between George Washington, Bill Gates, and Jim Thorpe, everybody else saw them as a blend of Attila the Hun and the Terminator. That’s why, when the authorities come to mom and dad and reluctantly reported their child had done something dumb, dastardly, or despicable, these parents were surprised, shocked, stunned. In spite of the evidence, without any hesitation or fear of being shown to be in error, these parents responded: “You’ve got it wrong. You don’t know my kid. My kid would never do that.” Well, those authorities did know their kid and their kid had done that… had been doing THAT for some time … had been doing worse than THAT … but this time they got caught. The problem? Those well¬intentioned, doting parents had had the wool pulled over their eyes and they didn’t know their children. Truly, it’s hard, it’s impossible to know, to really, really, know somebody.

And, logic should tell us, “if we can’t know each other; if we can’t know those who are closest to us, we will never know the heart and mind of God.” Indeed, God Himself says that. To the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, the Lord stated, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways … For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Which is God’s way of saying, “No human being is big enough, strong enough, smart enough, holy enough to understand Him.” Indeed, without God’s gracious action, all of us would have remained in the shadows of ignorance. Without the Lord’s intervention, we sinners were destined to live out our days in darkness and our eternity in damnation.

Now I am not alone, nor am I first in saying these things. Almost 2,000 years ago the Apostle Paul said much the same thing in his first letter to the Christians who were living in Corinth. In the second chapter of that epistle he admits: “who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person? … So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” There you have it. Paul’s saying: “‘we can’t know the Lord … we have too many limitations, too many failings, too many faults which separate us from Him.’ Truly, our souls, limited by sin and blinded by selfishness can never identify God’s gracious intentions.” And, If we follow the creeds of the world’s other religions, we would be forced to conclude God remains furious and frustrated with us, irate and incensed at the sins which blacken our souls. Even more, without a Divine directive to the contrary, we must conclude, as these false faiths have concluded: we are on our own to repair and reconstruct the sin-ruined bridge which once linked heaven and earth.

St. Paul was right when he said, “Without the Immortal’s intervention we will never be able to understand or know what is in God’s mind or rightly determine how, or even if we can be saved.” Thankfully, and I do mean thankfully, God has intervened and He has shared what is in His heart. That’s what St. Paul says. He continues, “Now we have received … the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” It’s true. In contrast to the other religions of the world whose doctrines decree you must work your way up to the Lord, the Bible reveals God’s heart and His plan to come to earth and save us.

Today there are many writers, many theologians, many teachers who put their own spin on the Lord; Who He is and what He has done. That’s hardly new. Man has always thought he could improve on God’s will and wishes. That kind of thinking is what first brought sin into this world and it continues to be what keeps people from seeing Jesus as their Savior. When Jesus walked the earth, people tried to make Him into a Prophet, a Teacher, a Healer, a Devil, a Blasphemer, a Revolutionary, a Hedonist, and a Destroyer of law and tradition. Today, almost 2,000 years after Jesus died on Calvary’s cross and rose from the dead, people keep coming up with new perspectives and positions on Who they believe He was. They say He was a Do Gooder, a Philosopher, a Dreamer, a Kindly Soul who spoke in pious platitudes. He was the Founder of the French monarchy, a Charlatan, an Individual Whose words have been misquoted, misapplied, misused, and manipulated.

Yes, they think they have discovered an understanding of Jesus that millions before them have missed. An understanding of Jesus. Well, as we’ve been saying: that kind of understanding is impossible. People can’t understand God. The only Person Who can understand God is God, and in the Bible He shares His plan of salvation and how His Son completed that plan. There, in the revealed pages of Scripture, we learn how God, knowing our helplessness, seeing our hopelessness, decided to throw a lifeline to humanity; the lifeline we know as Jesus Christ, the One, the Only Savior of the world.

And if you ask, “How do I know?” Well, the Bible tells me so. The Bible tells me, even before Jesus was born, He was destined to be God’s lifeline of salvation. That is what the Angel of the Lord said to Joseph, the man who had been selected to be Jesus’ stepfather. Speaking for the Triune God, the angel had said, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” There you have it. Jesus was God’s Son, our Savior from sin. Now, if a person had to rely on just the word of a simple carpenter from Nazareth, he might rightly wonder if Joseph had managed to get the facts straight. That’s why I encourage you, keep reading, read God’s Word which reveals God’s heart as it offers us salvation in our Savior.

Listen to the angel who appeared to the shepherds of Bethlehem. His words were equally plain when he said: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Once again, heaven has pOinted to Jesus as the Savior. Years later Scripture allows us to stand with the Baptizer at the Jordan. As Jesus ernerges from the water, an act which is the first of many that will eventually lead to His perfection paying the price for our sinfulness, a Divine voice declares, “This is my beloved Son.” Search the Scriptures and you will see how they point to Jesus as the lifeline Who saves. Search the Scriptures. See Him perform the miracles only God can do. Listen as He says wondrous tings which even His most ardent antagonists cannot criticize. Watch with Him as He shoulders your sins in the Garden of Gethsemane as he carries those sins from betrayal to trial, from trial to cross, from cross to tomb.

For all His short life, Jesus was dedicated to the Father’s business of saving us. No matter people rejected Him, Jesus continued on. They tried to trick Him; they laughed at Him, slandered Him, hated Him. Nothing anyone did stalled or slowed down Jesus’ commitment to win our salvation. In doing so He was most successful. As proof, I offer the words of Judas, the man who turned traitor against the Christ. Judas said he had betrayed innocent blood. Pilate, the man who tried and sentenced Jesus to death said He could “find no fault” in Him. A convicted thief who died with Him, said Jesus had done nothing wrong and the tough Roman centurion who supervised His death called Him ‘the Son of God.’

There can be no mistake. Scripture has revealed the heart of God which comes to us in the Savior, Jesus Christ. To be your Savior, that is the cause which Jesus confessed when He said, “No one takes (my life) from me, but Ilay it down of my own accord.” To be your Savior is why He did not defend Himself at His trial and why He did not fight when nails pierced His flesh and attached Him to a cross. To be your Savior is why Jesus lived and died. And in His life and through His death, Scripture reveals the heart of God which freely gives you forgiveness and salvation.

Do you wish to understand what God has given you so freely? Look into the empty tomb, hear the angel say that Jesus Christ has risen as He said He would. Know that all this Jesus has done so your preparation for the grave will not be without hope last; so your mourning family and friends may be comforted when you are gone. Do you wish to understand how much God loves you? Then look into His empty tomb and see the living Lord Jesus. Do you wish to understand? Then believe Scripture which says: God so loved you that He gave His only Son.,. so that if you believe, you will not perish, but instead will be given eternal life. This is God’s freely given Gift I offer you today. And if you need to know more, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers)
February 13, 2011
Topic: Remembering and Forgetting

Announcer: And now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.

Klaus: Hi, Mark.

Announcer: Today we’re going to touch upon something very close to the heart of the

Gospel … namely, the forgiveness of sins.

Klaus: Before we get into the question, maybe we ought to just reiterate for our listeners
a little bit of the background in regard to sin and forgiveness.

Announcer: And what would you like to say about that?

Klaus: Scripture tells us that we are sinners. Indeed, each of us, even the best of us, was born into this world as a sinner. That sin which comes from our humanity is called original sin. There are also sins which we do ourselves, either by doing something bad or by not doing something good that we should have.

Announcer: And, the sins which we actually do are called “actual” sins.

Klaus: Yeah, a most appropriate name. At any rate, original sin, or actual sin, either one
is enough to condemn a soul to hell. Sadly, sinners are unable to do a blooming thing
about changing their status.

Announcer: No more than we could wake up and decide that that day we wanted to grow five inches taller. It’s beyond our capability.

Klaus: Yeah. God is displeased by our rebellion. Because He is just and fair, God couldn’t just say, “Aw, shucks, you’re good people, how about I just forget about this little matter? Tell you what, forgiveness for everybody!” No, God couldn’t do that and still be just. The price for our sin had to be paid. Nevertheless, He has mercy upon sinful humankind.

Announcer: …which is where Jesus comes into the picture. Being true God, Jesus was perfect and, therefore, could perfectly obey God’s commandments and resist all the temptations that trip us up and being true Man, He could legitimately substitute Himself for us.

Klaus: Now, because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, all who believe on Him as their Savior are forgiven and promised a place in heaven.

Announcer; Which now brings us to today’s listener comment. Our listener writes, “I’m confused about some parts of Scripture. Isaiah 43:25 says, “God forgets our sins.”

Klaus: Yeah, that passage reads, “I am He Who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” That’s pretty clear cut.

Announcer: Our listener agrees. But he also says there are passages which seem equally clear cuI… that seem to say something quite different.

Klaus: Such as?

Announcer: Passages like Matthew 12:36 which says: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” and Romans 2:6 which tells us: “(God) will render to each one according to his works:”

Klaus: OK, so that’s the problem. God forgets sins and He remembers sins. Which is it? It does seem like a contradiction. First, you can be sure that God hasn’t developed some kind of selective amnesia … forgetting some sins and then remembering them. We can also be sure that Scripture doesn’t contradict itself. Indeed, this matter can be explained relatively easily.

Announcer: So what’s the story here?

Klaus: OK. God Is a just God. That means sin has to be punished. The work of Jesus was to take those sins upon Himself and pay the. price demanded by the law.

Announcer: So far so good. I understand.

Klaus: OK. So, when Judgment Day comes, when God opens the books, we will have to
give an account of those sins … those sins which Jesus has taken away. They aren’t
there anymore. Not on our souls. When the Father looks at us, He doesn’t remember
they were once there. They’re gone. Instead, because of Jesus, He takes a look at us
and says, “You look clean to me. You pass inspection. No sins as far as the eye can
I can see.

Announcer: God, therefore, declares us justified. Now, is there anywhere in Scripture
where it sums up what we’ve been saying here today?

Klaus: About us being justified because of Jesus? Sure. In 2 Corinthians 5 it says,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to
himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling
the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the
message of reconciliation.”

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

“My Soul, Now Praise Your Maker” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.

“Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good” arranged by Peter Prochnow. Used by
permission.

“Voluntary No.1 in D” by Wm. Boyce, arr. William Scarlett. Performed by Andrew Bruhn & Michael Costello. Used by permission.