St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Epiphany 1 Baptism of our Lord

January 8 + 11, 2004 Titus 3:4-7

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

When I was leaving Bible Class at Heritage Homes—out on Welsch Road the other day—I saw an old Life magazine—from December 1998. It had a simple white cover with the huge black question, “When you think of God—what do you see?” When you think of God—what do you see? Now there’s a question for everybody to answer. Inside I expected to find pictures of God—but instead there were pictures of people! A picture of a whole bunch of very modest ladies—only one with a watch—only one with earings—nobody with makeup. They are Mormons. Their commercials about loving family life so warm and comfortable—they are converting more than 300,000 new members from around the world! There was a picture of Muslims—5 times a day they face Mecca—and pray fervently—their faces touching their prayer rug. When I graduated from the seminary there were about 2 million Muslims in the United States and Canada. Today there are more than 6 million! There is a picture of orthodox Jews—their black suits and white shirts—their black hats, their white prayer shawls—their little tassels hanging down. There are more than 6 millions Jews in the United States—respecting Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses—and tradition! They remain ever vigilant—that there should never ever be another Holocaust! There is a picture of a Hindu husband and wife—paying homage at a shrine in their home. There are offerings of flowers and cocoanut and candles. About 80% of the one billion people who live in India are Hindu—maybe 30 million more Hindus in the rest of the world. There is a picture of Buddhists—shaving each other’s heads. Every Sunday they do that—symbolically shaving away their afflictions. They say Buddhism—with its many gods—has about a million members in the United States. They have a huge temple and formal gardens just across the highway from the little WELS mission I attended when I was in college! When you think of God—what do you see? The man who wrote the article—wrote of a childhood in Church—where the God he heard about was angry—quick to judge—fierce in his blistering anger against any sin—any mistake. He was used to church where pulpits were pounded—in angry threats—where bony fingers were waved at him as painful pictures of eternal hellfire were painted. The Jesus that he saw was in unspeakable gory agony on the cross—with terrible wounds. Church was a place of guilt and fear and the threat of eternal—eternal destruction! When you think of God—what do you see? Do you see Good Friday—and Easter? Do you see the merciful Good Shepherd holding his sheep? Do you see the amazing grace of God that means all our sins forgiven? Do you see the joy of Jesus’ unconditional forgiving love? Today God’s Word comforts and encourages and enables us. This Sunday after Epiphany:

Jesus’ Love Changes Everything!

1. We are declared forgiven

2. We are rescued

3. We are born again

The part of God’s Word we are concentrating on today—is part of the Apostle Paul’s letter to his faithful co-worker Titus. The letter to Titus is pretty short—just 3 chapters—just 46 verses! When you get home from Church today you could read the whole thing in just a few minutes! When you hear the name Titus—does much come to mind? Paul wrote this letter—this pastoral letter To Titus, my true son in our common faith: That would seem to indicate Titus was Paul’s son in the most precious way of all—one who had learned about Jesus—the only Way to Heaven—from Paul. It was now Titus’ work to preach and teach God’s Word on the Island of Crete. This could not have been an easy job. Still today—if somebody calls you a Cretan—it is not a compliment. They are not saying—you have the attitude and behavior of a wonderful person from a Mediterranean Island. The apostle Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write, “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons. ‘ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply…” Titus 1:12,13a Imagine sharing God’s Word with people famous for being rude, crude, boorish liars!

Pastors and their sheep ought to be familiar with the letter to Titus. When on September 4, 1991 you sent me a letter—a divine call—signed by President Jeff Guse and Secretary John Rupnow—it mentions Titus chapter 1. “An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to much wine, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” Titus 1:6-9 Who is sufficient for such work? No one! Paul told the Corinthians—we have this treasure of the Gospel is jars of clay—in little Tupperware containers—to show that this all surpassing power is from the LORD and not dependant on us!

Chapter three—the one we are concentrating on is entitled doing what is good! Again the goal is exceedingly high. Only the Holy Spirit—powerful through the Gospel can make us strong to do what is right. Chapter 3 begins, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient…” How simple is that? It means children do what your parents tell you to do. Let the dog out! Take the garbage to the curb! Clean up your room! Make your bed! Do the dishes! Do your homework! Vacuum, dust, put your video games away—roll up the cords of the controls—put the DVDs in their right jackets and put them on the shelf! Obey your teachers—when they tell you—no talking! No talking—even when they didn’t tell you—because you know you aren’t supposed to be talking. You are supposed to be doing your work or listening and learning! Obey your teachers—not because you must or because you are afraid of them. Obey your teachers because you love Jesus. And because you love Jesus you will love and forgive your teachers! Doing what Jesus says is good—is to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one. Think about that! Don’t say anything bad about anyone! Be peaceable and considerate. This has to do with home life—with marriage and children and brothers and sisters, too. Get along! Don’t fight or argue or do things on purpose that you know irritate your little brother or your big sister! Be peaceable and considerate.

Cooperating and getting alone has everything to do with growing in faith and living your faith. In the verse just before our text it talks about how we are—apart from our faith. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another! How horrible and ugly is that? I head the other day this little grandpa told his grandchild—I have two wolves living in my head—fighting—snarling—back and forth. One is ugly bitterness—anger and grudges and quarreling and hating. The other wolf is kindness and goodness and gentleness and love. The little boy asked his grandfather which wolf was going to win this terrible fight. And the grandpa said—the one that I feed is the one who will win. The one that I feed! What do we feed? Do we feed evil—or do we feed our soul with the Gospel? The Gospel says, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

Because of his mercy! Are you merciful? I know you are supposed to be—but sometimes I think it is very difficult to be merciful. I read in the Watertown Daily Times this week about three guys—David, Joseph and Jay. David thought it would be great fun to take a little puppy in his car—drive like 80 mph and then throw the puppy out the window. So that’s what they did. And when the puppy survived—with a broken paw and a bunch of scrapes—they decided to kick the puppy—and leave it out in the middle of nowhere! Mercy? I don’t know how much mercy I could have—if it was up to me to decide what to do with these guys. I have these visions of making the punishment fit the crime. Just think—how merciful Jesus has been to me—when I am guilty of a lifetime of sin and evil. Jesus saved us, not because of righteous things we had done—but because of his mercy.

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior… This verse of Titus chapter 3 ought to be familiar to us, too. Do you listen very closely when we have a baptism during Church? The very beginning—“Our Lord Jesus instituted baptism saying in the last chapter of Matthew’s Gospel—“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” The simple act of baptism has such wonderful power because the Almighty God works in it through his Word. It is this Word of God which makes baptism the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit—as the apostle Paul describes it in his letter to Titus! Baptism is nothing less that rebirth—from death to life! It was on the news again the other night—a little grandpa—some 78 years old—falls through the thin ice into some dark and frigid lake. He is helpless—unable to breathe or see—horribly cold and dying. By the grace of God—he is found and rescued. He is saved. He is pulled from a sure and certain death and grave. He is spared. He is saved! We were dead in sins and mistakes—fatally flawed and surely lost. We are saved by grace. We are adopted through Holy Baptism because the Holy Spirit is poured out on us generously.

So that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Justified—declared not guilty for Jesus’ sake. There are all kinds of TV shows—where they have these little trials. There was this guy who said he left his glasses on the table at this little restaurant. He went back there. The waitress said—oh, yeah, she found his glasses. Then when she went and got the little shoebox where they keep all their lost and found stuff—the glasses weren’t there. The guy who lost his glasses said she was responsible. That she had given his glasses away to somebody else. That she should buy him a new pair! I don’t know! How do you decide? Who is guilty? Who is to blame? It’s one guy’s word against another! How do you know? Do you decide in about 3 minutes who is nicer—who is more polite—who doesn’t get angry and lose their temper—who doesn’t interrupt? What if you guess and pick wrongly? Then the good guy gets hurt and the bad guy gets away with it! That’s bad! I don’t know how they do it—day after day! Everybody’s the victim. Nobody did it! It’s always this terrible misunderstanding! In God’s courtroom it’s very simple. We are guilty! We are guilty of doing everything wrong! God knows. He is an eyewitness to all our sins. He has seen every mistake. He has read our thoughts. He knows all the gross and disgusting things we are capable of. He knows we are guilty for a fact! Still, we are declared not guilty—justified by his grace. Because we are forgiven we are heirs having the sure and certain hope of forever life in heaven. It cannot be any sweeter than that! Jesus’ forgiving love changes everything! We are forgiven, born again, declared not guilty for Jesus’ sake. Amen!