St.
Luke Ev. Lutheran ChurchSt.
Luke Ev. Lutheran Church
Sermon by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz
Reformation November 4, 2007 Jeremiah 31:34
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:
Imagine spending a weekend with your friends at a wonderful home by the ocean. Imagine spending a weekend with your friends—grilling out—having sea food by the ocean—maybe clams and crabs—shrimp—maybe even some lobster. Imagine having some sweet wine to drink—or maybe some beers—micro-brewed dark beers or maybe some beer with little lime wedges. Imagine staying up late into the night—out on a deck—with the stars—and a giant pumpkin harvest moon—with the sound and smell of the ocean—listening to music—maybe even dancing out on the deck. Imagine seven o’clock in the morning—smoke alarms wake you up. In a matter of moments there is thick blinding choking smoke everywhere. The newspaper delivery guy calls 911 along with a bunch of neighbors. In literally 4 minutes—the fire fighters are there—but already the whole house is engulfed in flames! As horrible as that is—it’s absolutely nothing compared to the horrible fires of hell! Today—as we celebrate the Lutheran Reformation—we are guided by the word of God—from the scroll of the prophet Jeremiah. Today God’s Word reminds us:
We Know the LORD—Our Savior
1. By grace alone
2. By faith alone
3. By Scripture alone
The Old Testament lesson—chosen to be read on Reformation is from the scroll of Jeremiah. The People’s Bible Commentary—the volume of Jeremiah and Lamentations was written by Prof. David Gosdeck—who used to be a member of St. Luke’s! Jeremiah had a difficult ministry. Jeremiah was a young man when the LORD called him to preach God’s Word. For some 41 years—Jeremiah preached law and gospel to a stubborn stiff-necked people. There are some people who have a very thick skin. On the surface any way—they do not seem to be troubled or bothered when people give them a hard time. On the surface any way—they don’t seem to be troubled when people resist what they are trying to accomplish. Jeremiah was not a person with such a thick skin. Jeremiah loved the people that the LORD loved. Jeremiah loved the people he was called to preach to. And it pained him deeply that they were so stubborn they rejected law and gospel. And it bothered Jeremiah deeply that there were people who worked as hard as they could against him—literally hating him—falsely accusing him—and doing everything they could with the help of the devil—to do Jeremiah hurt and harm! It has been said, “Jeremiah is meant to be read with the ear.” That is—its message is one that lends itself to being spoken—or read out loud. There is—of course a difference. There are people like Garrison Keillor—the Lake Woebegone Minnesota guy. He has written a whole bunch of books. But far better than reading them—is to listen to him on the radio—telling his stories. It is far better to listen to books on tape—to literally hear Mr. Keillor breathing through his nose—to hear his Minnesota accent—his Norwegian accent—the pauses—hesitations—even sometimes a kind of stutter and stammer—as he struggles for just the right word—to explain about a pontoon boat full of pudgy Lutheran ministers out on the lake—with a charcoal grill that is getting too hot! Jeremiah is a message that a husband and father could read to his family—a chapter each evening—just before supper! It is interesting—that of all the Scriptures that you could read on Reformation—that we should have a reading from Jeremiah. Do you remember the historical background? Jeremiah began his public ministry during the reign of Good King Josiah! There is a little man whose hand I shake almost every Sunday—that I call Good King Josiah! They called him Good King Josiah—because there were so few good kings! Josiah became king when he was only 8 years old. Can you imagine being the King—when you are a third grader? Of course—Good King Josiah had all kinds of men and grandpas—elders—learned men who helped him be the King. The best thing about Josiah—was by grace alone—his heavenly Father—filled his heart. That’s why God’s Word says, “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.” 2 Kings 23:25 After Josiah—it only got worse and worse. Jehoahaz became king—but only for a short while—before he was carried off to Egypt. Jehoiakim became king. He was cruel and greedy. He thought it’s good to be king—to indulge himself—to entertain himself. He was literally hostile toward worship of the one true God—murdering at least one of the Lord’s prophets—a man named Uriah. He tried to murder Jeremiah, too. But he was stopped by the Lord—who used powerful princes—who had hearts touched by the reforms Good King Josiah brought about. Jehoiakim provoked Nebuchadnezzar—who warned him and warned him—then attacked Jerusalem. He took Jehoiakim captive—literally put him in chains. But before he could drag him off to Babylon—he died! You might think people would learn from painful experience—but no! Jehoiakim was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin. He, too, was a wicked king—who lasted only 3 months—before he was dragged off in chains to Babylon. The next king is named Zedekiah—descended from King David—Zedekiah was son of Good King Josiah—brother of Jehoiakim—uncle of Jehoiachin. Zedekiah was just 21 years old when he became king. He was weak and indecisive. Zedekiah was more concerned about what people thought than what the LORD said! Nebuchadnezzar and his army came again—and besieged Jerusalem. Because of the siege—there was famine—horrible hunger in Jerusalem. Through Jeremiah—the LORD told the King—if you give yourself up to the Babylonians—your life and your family will be spared—and the city will not be burned. If you resist—there will be terrible bloodshed—and the city will be burned! What would you do? Zedekiah was more afraid of what his own citizens would think and do—than he was about what the LORD said. So he stayed inside the city—until the Babylonians broke through the wall. Then he and his army tried to escape in the dark. In the confusion—Zedekiah was separated from his soldiers and was captured. Now came the horrible promised judgment! Zedekiah’s sons were brought before him—and helpless-he had to watch as they were slaughtered one after the other—then his eyes were put out. The last thing he saw—was the death of his sons—then only painful darkness—as he was taken away in bronze shackles to far away Babylon! This was God’s fierce judgment. How eternally tragic. The LORD, the God of their fathers sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was roused against his people and there was no remedy. He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar!” 2 Chronicles 36:15-17 Have we learned from this tragic history—or pretty much ignored it? Will we be condemned to suffer the same consequences?
God’s Word this Reformation Sunday says: “No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. We are saved by grace through faith in the Great I AM—the Holy One of Israel! Faith grows through the law and gospel in the Scriptures. Without doubt one of the greatest things Martin Luther ever did was translate the New Testament Greek into every day German so people could read God’s Word for themselves! 490 years ago—Luther said we the Church were getting off the track—because we didn’t know God’s Word! What would he say today? God’s Word warns there will be a famine. Not a lack of corn because of global climate change but a famine for the truth of Scripture. In one of the most scary parts of all God’s Word Amos wrote, “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.” Amos 8:11,12
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” It is one of the most precious and practical aspects of the Lutheran Reformation—that we know from Scripture we are save by grace alone, faith alone and Scripture alone! We are forgiven by grace alone. The LORD says—I will forgive their wickedness… The Hebrew word for wickedness paints the word picture of something bent or twisted or distorted. I will remember their sins no more. The Hebrew word for sins is the most general and far reaching—a missing of the mark. It’s a failure to meet God’s standard. I can’t help but think about the terrible car crash the other day—down by Chicago—by the Eisenhower Expressway. A car was going 100 miles per hour—the wrong way. It went the wrong direction for about a mile—for about 12 city blocks until it crashed head on into another car. The man driving the wrong way was a physician. People who knew him said he was just a really really good guy…just a really, really good guy. I bet he was. But he wasn’t perfect. And that’s the problem. We are sinners every single one of us. Maybe we never drove the wrong way on the Eisenhower—but we have sinned. Have you driven through Chicago lately? What with the forever construction—did you ever miss a toll booth—and accidentally drove through the I-Pass lane? Did you mail in your toll—or just wait a few weeks—and when you didn’t get a ticket in the mail—figured what a relief! Jesus’ forgiveness is full and complete! Jesus died for the sins we know we did and the sins we are totally oblivious to. Jesus died for the mistakes we have made so often we don’t even know we do. And Jesus died for the countless good things we leave forever undone. Jesus died for them all. That’s why we are saved—by grace alone.
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” I had car trouble last Sunday afternoon. I was driving back from the hospital in Milwaukee—going about 67 miles per hour—when all of a sudden I was going 60, then 55, then 50, then 45 miles per hour. I pulled onto the shoulder—going about 40 miles per hour—very quickly aware that there is all sorts of junk on the shoulder—chunks of mufflers, pieces of splintered wood, rusted pieces of metal. Oh, you can sit on the shoulder for a while—waiting for an opening—to try and get back on the highway. Again—up to about 50 mph and again you lose power. Rolling across an on ramp at 30 mph when someone his coming down that ramp—trying to speed up to 65 is not safe either. Roll into a gas station and wearing your best suit and silk tie—you open the hood and look inside—and you might be surprised how many people stop to ask if you need help! Did I need a jump—they had cables? No… Can I help you? Do you know about cars? Old ones—not new ones—says the man driving a cranberry colored Oldsmobile from when I was in high school—in flawless—waxed and polished condition. Can I help you—asks another man. Do you have a fuel filter? Rats! In the pocket of the pants he wore yesterday! What are the odds? Do you know that helpless feeling—when you are 20 miles from home and your car doesn’t work? Watch out—one man said—don’t let somebody charge you $150 to put in a $20 part you could put in yourself! Now I worry about that! Do you know that helpless feeling? That’s the feeling we need to have—when it comes to our immortal soul! I can’t save myself! I can’t fix what’s wrong by myself! I can’t even help! I can’t even go to Smart Parts and get the replacement part myself! Only Jesus can save me. And he did. He saved my by grace alone—faith alone—Scripture alone! That’s how much Jesus loves me. He picked me—chose me—washed me clean with his innocent blood. He bought me back—for all eternity he redeemed me. Eternity will not be too long to thank him! Amen!