Pastor Steve Bauer

This is the sermon for the The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: Romans 12:9-21. The sermon theme is: How Do You Look At Love?. Here is the Written Sermon.

How Do You Look At Love?

Allison in a Christian in the west. She loves her children dearly. So, she has them in sports and activities. She is so busy that she only manages to bring her children to church about once every six or eight weeks. Aria is a Christian in the east. She loves her children dearly. She didn’t grow up as a Christian. And so, she spends much of her time at church. She teaches Sunday School. She cleans around the church. She is involved in the women’s ministries at church. But, you wouldn’t want to surprise her and visit her home. It is often unclean and unkept. Doug is a Christian in the south. He loves his children dearly. So, he takes his job seriously. He gets up early. He works hard. And he comes home late. And when he gets home, he eats and then sits in his chair. And that’s what his children have come to know of their dad. He’s the guy who comes home and sleeps in the chair in the living room. But that’s about all they know him as.

Now, as you take a step back and look at these three parents, ask yourself the question: which one of these parents dearly loves their children? You see, if your definition is somewhat shallow, then the answer is ‘all of them.’ However, if you look at love the way Paul does here in Romans 12, you arrive at a different picture. In truth, none of them have the sort of love that Paul describes here. Listen to how Paul describes love in these words: “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” ¹

As I was translating these words, I very quickly realized that these words were far more like nails than bandaids. And every time I studied another one of them, it drove another spike into my soul. Paul starts out and he says that love is not a hypocrite. How often has my love been hypocritical? Paul says that true love honors others above myself. And, as I peer into my soul, I see many times and many ways that my love has been self- serving and self-loving.

And, if you read these words closely and sincerely, the more you read, the worse it gets. Paul continues on and he speaks about the love we aren’t not just supposed to share with those who are close to us. He speaks about our love to those who are on the outside, looking in: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” ²

What about you, my brothers and sisters, how often do you repay evil for evil? If someone wrongs you, you may not go out and harm them back. But how often have your really wanted to? How often do we leave room for God’s wrath. So very often, if their’s justice and wrath to be done, our Lord doesn’t have much to do because we have either avenged ourselves in our actions or in our thoughts.

How do you look at love? If love is a shallow feeling that we can make up as we go along, they we can do it. But, if you look at what God’s word says, you find something different. You find an impossible standard. For all of us continually love ourselves. For all of us continually wants to avenge ourselves—to defend our honor and our glory.

Why would God do this? Why would he set the bar so high? Why would he command us to love perfectly? Just look at our gospel for today.³ There we meet a teacher who needed to be a student. He thought that he loved God enough. He thought he loved his neighbor enough. Jesus walks him through a story. And every word must have pierced that expert in the law. The expert learned the lesson that everyone in his life was his neighbor. And if he couldn’t even a good neighbor to his neighbors, then how could he love God perfectly? Jesus demanded his perfect love not because he expected it a price to earn heaven. No, he spoke these words to show him that he had to look outside of himself for salvation.

And there is where we rejoice. For just when we are at the point when we despair in our own works, then we can look to Jesus and rejoice in his works. In Jesus we see a Savior who loved those close to him. In Luke 18, we hear about a woman who had been crippled by a demon for eighteen years. Jesus heals her. And, of course, since he did so on the Sabbath, the Jews accuse him of sin. Listen to his response: ““You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”” ⁴

Jesus loved this woman, who was like him. She was a daughter of Abraham. He loved her enough to be persecuted by the Jews. He loved her enough to heal her and take away her sin. But Jesus also loved those who were not daughters of Abraham. In John 4, we meet the Samaritan woman. This was a woman who was very much not like Jesus. And yet Jesus goes to her, searches her out. He exposes her sin. He tells her that he is the Messiah.

Now my brothers and sisters, I spend the time reminding you of these times that Jesus showed real and true love to those near and those far away for a reason! If you hear about Jesus perfectly loving this daughter of Abraham and this daughter of Samaria your response is: “I gotta be more like Jesus”, then you have completely missed the point. Jesus was perfect because you could not be. Jesus loved those near and those far away because you are unable to. Jesus loves perfectly as your substitute, not as your example. And there on that bloody cross and there in that cold, empty tomb Jesus takes away your sin and earns this perfect love for you. And then, in water and word he gives to you what he won for you. He baptizes you and washes away your sin. But there is also something else meaningful and wonderful that happens there. He gives you a new person inside of you. So now, there is a perfect person inside of you who is stronger than your old self. It is to this new person that Paul speaks these words here in Romans 12. He speaks them as commands to our old self. But he speaks them now as invitations to our new self.

My brothers and sisters, I mention these facts because, as we look at ourselves it is all too easy to see the old self. It is all too easy to see how impossible it is for us to love completely. But it is difficult to see our new self. It is ever-so-difficult to see the Holy Spirit at work in us. He is there. But he is invisible.

Since we have these great and wonderful promises, we can turn to these invitations of Paul and look at them with joy. Love sincerely. And that starts with seeing Jesus’ great love for you. Spend time in God’s word. Read God’s word at home. Study God’s word here with your pastor and your brothers and sisters in Christ. Put others ahead of yourself. Build others up in the faith. Pray for others. Serve others. And finally, leave room for God’s wrath. Your are a baptized child of God. You are his. He will look out for you. He will protect you. Let him avenge his own name and his own children.

How then do you look at love? It is impossible for us. It is accomplished in Christ. It is given to us in baptism. Amen.

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¹ (Romans 12:9–12 NIV)

² (Romans 12:16–19 NIV)

³ Luke 10:25-37

⁴ (Luke 13:15–16 NIV)

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This is the sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: Luke 10:1-12, 16-20. The sermon theme is: Know that the kingdom is near. Here is the Written Sermon.

Know That The Kingdom Is Near

Where did you get that from? As Christians who share our faith, that is a question someone might ask you. You say that people are sinners and evil from birth, and what do they say? Where did you get that from? You tell them that Jesus has taken away not just some of your sins, but all of them, and what do they say? Where did you get that from? It reminds us to be in God’s word so that we can give an answer to those around us.

But this question isn’t just a question that others ask us. It’s also a question that you might find yourself asking Luther. When Luther was speaking about the words, “Your kingdom come” in the Lord’s Prayer, he said: “How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and lead a godly life now on earth and forever in heaven.”

God’s kingdom is not laws and states. God’s kingdom is God’s word working on the hearts of us humans. But we ask the question of Luther: where did you get that from? And, as we read sections of God’s word like these, this morning, we see so very clearly what Luther meant and that he was right.

In these words Jesus sends out 70 disciples to do evangelism work. He tells them to go from town to town and preach God’s word. He even gives them their sermon theme. He tells them to say: “‘The kingdom of God is near you.’”¹. And then what happened? Jesus told them exactly what would happen. There would be some who would accept them, receive them and rejoice in the words they would share. But there also would be a different group. There would be a group who rejected their message. Now, notice what Jesus tells them to do when this happens: “But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near”.²

Notice and see very clearly what was happening here. The kingdom of God was near. The Holy Spirit was active. God was getting his work done. How did they know this? They knew that the Kingdom was near because they saw opposition.

Jesus is teaching us a very important lesson. It is a lesson that many Christians have forgotten. When we are born we hate the Holy Spirit. We hate Jesus and the wisdom he teaches us. We go out and say: “you are a sinner.” And we say: “Jesus has taken away your sin.” And what is the result? They hate us.

What is going on here? What is going on in their hearts that they hate this Jesus that we treasure so much? For most unbelievers, God’s word is a closed book to them. It is foolishness to them. They don’t care about what the bible says simply because they don’t get it. But, then there is another group too. There is a group who has heard the voice of God. They have heard God speaking to them through his word. But, when the Holy Spirit presses on their hearts, they push back. The idea that we don’t just mistakes, but that we are really, truly evil when we are born—who wants to hear that? Jesus did all the work. He took away our sins. He doesn’t let us earn our salvation by working for him or choosing him—who wants to hear that? These are the thoughts that push the Holy Spirit away.

And what does Jesus say to us? Now you know that the kingdom is near them. When they push us away when we share our faith, then is when we know God’s work is being done. How so? Jesus tells us: “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me” ³

How do you know that God’s kingdom is near? We know it’s near because of the opposition we face. That is what our Savior tells us. How sad and sinful it is then when we conclude the opposite. We talk to our relatives or to our friends about Jesus and they push us away. And what is our conclusion? We conclude that God’s kingdom isn’t here. We wonder what went wrong. We shared good news and they reacted like we were feeding them poison. Or, we are tempted to give up on his word. We tell ourselves: If people do not like to hear all of God’s word, then we won’t talk about the stuff that is truly offensive. We won’t talk about baptism. We wont’ talk about the Lord’s Supper. We won’t say that every breath and sylable of God’s word is true and perfect. We won’t say that because, people get angry with us. When, instead, we should boldly speak the truth because it is the only thing that will bring God’s kingdom to them.

We face all these temptations. And, we see so clearly that there have been so many times we have given into these temptations. We should have seen the opposition and rejoiced that we have the privelige of suffering for the name of Christ. And, instead, we are tempted to abandon God’s word and blame our Savior. When we see these sins, then we can rejoice in the words which follow: ““I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”” ⁴

Jesus told them that again, and again, and again, Jesus kept seeing Satan fall.⁵ You can just imagine Jesus talking to the 70. You can just picture him saying: “Peter, when you told them that they were sinners on a one-way road to hell and got angry with you, I saw Satan fall. Philip, when you told them so sincerely and clearly that I am the Christ and they laughed at you, I saw Satan fall. Stephen, when you tried to show them from the Old Testament that I was there, leading and guiding history and they refused to hear you—I saw Satan fall. Matthias, when you said that I came to take away all the sins of all the people and that widow, weighted down by the Pharisees cried with joy, I saw Satan fall.”

Satan fell every time they shared God’s word. And every time they shared God’s word, God’s kingdom came to them. These words are sweet, beautiful words. For, we know that God’s kingdom is near not just because of the opposition we see. No, in a better, fuller way we know the kingdom of God is near us because of what Jesus sees. Just as he spoke to them, he speaks to us. Jesus says to you: “O my child, when you confessed your sin to me and did not cover it up, I saw Satan fall. When you opened up your bible and read God’s word, I saw Satan fall. When you came to church and tasted the forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper, I saw Satan fall. When you spoke to your relative about sin and they hated you, I saw Satan fall. When you spoke about me the sin I took away and they laughed at you, I saw Satan fall.”

And so, my brothers and sisters, the kingdom of God is near you and in you. How do we know this? We know this in part because of the opposition we face. But, most of all we know that we have the kingdom because Jesus sees it.

When we see this, how can we not? How can we not sing words like we find in our final hymn ⁶:

O Christ, who sent the Twelve on roads they’d never trod
To serve, to suffer, teach, proclaim The nearer reign of God:
Send us on ways where faith Transcends timidity,
Where love informs and hope sustains Both life and ministry.

How can we not sing these words? How can we not rejoice in this truth? Our names are written in heaven. They are not cut into earthly stone that weathers away and people forget. Our names are written in the book of life and given to us through water and word. And finally, how can we not share? Let us always pray for opportunities and courage to share God’s kingdom with the world. Amen.

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¹ (Luke 10:9 NIV)

² (Luke 10:10–12 NIV)

³ (Luke 10:16 NIV)

⁴ (Luke 10:18–20 NIV)

⁵ ἐθεώρουν τὸν σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεσόντα.

⁶ CWS 770:3

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This is the sermon preached last night as we celebrated the minor festival of the The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. The sermon text is: Romans 10:5-17. The sermon theme is: We Are Lutheran: What Does This Mean? Here is the Written Sermon.

We Are Lutheran: What Does This Mean?

On June 25th, 1530 the Lutheran Church had its birth. It was on that day that German princes went to the Augsburg to take care of business. But, more important than that taxes or land or property, the business they had before them was to confess their faith. Their task was to explain the truth of God’s word to their Emperor, Charles V. The Emperor did not want to hear about their faith. He did not want to hear them explain what they knew to be true from God’s word. So, he ordered the princes to stop allowing this “new” Lutheran teaching to be preached. Then, the Margrave George of Brandenburg stepped forward and said: “Rather than deny my God and suffer the word of God to be taken from me, I will kneel down and have my head struck off.”¹ The Emperor didn’t know what to do with this. He was used to people rebelling against him. He was used to people saying ‘yes’ to is face and showing ‘no’ behind his back. So, he was utterly unprepared to see a man willingly give up is life, but not give up his soul. And even though he knew very little German, he told this man at his feet: “Nit Ab.” “Not off.”

The Emperor was bluffing. But the Margrave George of Brandenburg was not. He was ready to give up his life. And the question we ask is simple: why. Why would he be so willing to stand up to Charles’ bluff and for his Savior?

To answer that question we need to understand these words we have before us this evening. In Romans, chapter 10, the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write: “Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.”” ²

In order to understand the actions of the Margrave of Brandenburg, we need to look at the professor in Wittenburg. Martin Luther lived in a much different world than we do. When Luther was in high school in one week half of his classmates died of the plague. And the church’s response to this tragedy was a very complex and misleading theology. They taught that God is up in heaven. He is Holy. He is sinless. And he hates sin. On the other hand, we are down here. We are down here. We are sinful. We are horrible. And God is good to us in that he baptizes us in the church and then gives us the ability to do acts that will please God. And by doing these good works, we will make God happy. And when God isn’t happy with us he has ways of showing us this. He kills half of our classmates in a week.

That is what the church of his time taught. Have you ever been in a cave that is pitch black and you don’t know the way out? Have you ever taken a test where you and no one else knew the answers? Now, imagine a man who is terrified of death. And the church tells him two, horrible teachings: 1) They tell him that he has to do good works to keep God from being angry. 2) The works that they say are good don’t make any sense.

As the months and years progressed, the Holy Spirit taught Luther two important, amazing teachings. The first we find here in these words “The man who does these things will live by them.” ³
Luther realized what God’s word plainly said. If we want to get to heaven the path to heaven is pretty clear. We just need to make sure that we are perfect. If we don’t sin–even once, then we can get to heaven.

You see, the first teaching that he discovered was the law. Now, when I say ‘law’, I don’t mean taxes and speeding laws. I mean the commands that God gives to us in his word. Luther discovered that God gave us these laws not as a ladder by which we can climb up to heaven. No, he gives us these commands to show us that we can’t get to heaven by ourselves. Earlier on in the book of Romans, Paul writes: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”⁴

This was Luther’s first discovery. And it almost killed him. He saw no way out. He saw that no matter what he did, he could not take away his own sin. And thankfully, the Holy Spirit watched over him. And, when he learned what the law was, he then learned what the gospel was. Here again, in this same letter to the Romans, Luther found these words: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” ⁵

The Holy Spirit taught Luther what these words plainly say. We continually fall short of God’s glory. But! God has declared the whole world ‘not guilty.’ And just how is it that God can declare the entire world ‘not guilty?’ Because of his grace–his undeserved love. And where do we see that love? In Jesus who redeemed us. he paid for all our sins on the cross.

Luther rejoiced in these words. Luther clung to these words like a log in the middle of a raging river. It was this truth that gave him the courage to stand alone. In 1521 he went to the Diet at Worms. There he was in front of bishops and cardinals, princes and even an emperor. And when he was told to recant, to take back what he had written, he took his stand and said that he could not go against God’s clear word.

On that day the Margrave George of Brandenburg was silent. And Luther was alone. But in the years that went by the Margrave read Luther’s New Testament in German–in his own language. And he yearned for the opportunity to stand with Luther. He yearned for the opportunity to stand before the Emperor and gladly give up his earthly life so that he would not give up his eternal soul.

So then, if we say: We Are Lutheran: What Does This Mean?, in these two men you find the answer. Lutherans believe that the whole world is cursed by sin. Lutherans believe that God declared the entire world ‘not guilty’ through Christ’s work. Lutherans believe that God’s word is true and worth for and even dying for.

One cannot look at the stand that both Luther and the Margrave George took and compare it to today. And, as we do so it deeply saddens us. Last summer the members of the ELCA voted to approve and endorse the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy. We look at this with such great sadness. But, my brothers and sisters, this is the symptom, not the cause. The cause is that they didn’t follow in the example of Luther or the Margrave of Brandenburg. Several generations ago they gave up on idea that God’s word was true–that all of it is true. And then, slowly the cancer spread. Law and gospel are rarely preached in their churches because their pastors are taught that God’s word is not true.

I mention this tonight for two reasons: 1) The Lutheranism you see today is not the Lutheranism of 400 years ago. 2) It gives us a reason to pray for Lutherans in the ELCA. For, if God could take people out of spiritual darkness as he did in Luther’s time, he can do the same today.

We are Lutheran: What does this mean? It means that we trust in the truth of God’s word: All people are sinners and slaves to sin. Our Father declared all people ‘not guilty’ in Christ. He gives this salvation to people as a free gift of grace–his undeserved love. This is the truth that the Margrave was willing to lose his head for. This was the truth that Luther was willing to be burned at the stake for. And this is the truth we cling to still today. Amen.

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¹ Concordia Triglotta, p. 23

² (Romans 10:5 NIV)

³ (Romans 10:5 NIV)

⁴ (Romans 3:20 NIV)

⁵ (Romans 3:23–24 NIV)

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This is the sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: Luke 7:36-50. The sermon theme is: How Much Do You Owe?. Here is the Written Sermon.

How Much Do You Owe?

Which one of these is not like the other? When I was little, I used to watch Sesame Street. And that was one of the games they used to play on that TV show: Which one of these is not like the other? At a very early age we are used to playing this game. We learn which things belong with others and which things do not. In the words we look at this morning we see a woman who does not belong. We meet a woman who does not fit in anywhere. Luke tells us: “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,” (Luke 7:36–37 NIV)

In these words we meet a woman. We don’t know her name. But, there is one fact we know. She did not belong. She did not belong in the house of the Pharisee. She did not belong with the guests gathered there. She especially did not belong with the Prophet of prophets, Jesus.

Before we get into the details too much at all, Luke answers a question for us. If we ask: ‘Well, why doesn’t she belong there?’, Luke tells us that she was a Sinner. It doesn’t come across too well in the english, but what’s he’s doing here is assigning to her a class¹. She belongs to the ‘sinner’ group. She does not belong to the righteous group. She does not belong to the ‘normal’ group. She belongs to the sinner group.

Luke also then describes why she belongs to this out-cast group. She had lived a sinful life. Now, we don’t know what sort of lifestyle she had. Most often when this sort of description is used, it’s used of women who break the 6th commandment. This was the sort of woman who had broken her vows to her husband long ago—if she even had a husband. This was the sort of woman that mothers did not let their sons or daughters hang around. She had committed wicked sins against her body many times.

This is the sort of woman we meet in these words. And yet, it is this very woman who chooses to go where she doesn’t belong. She takes notice of where Jesus went. Then there is a very important progression for us to take notice of. First, she goes and gets expensive perfume and goes back to the house where Jesus was. She goes in–this woman who had led a sinful life. She goes into the room where the rich
and the righteous were. She goes to Jesus and she stands there. She just stands there at his feet, behind him.

We wait for the part where Jesus looks up and sees her there. But he doesn’t. As she is there she sees it all. For it’s one thing to be around the rich people and the righteous Pharisee. But, to be at the feet of the holy and righteous Jesus—that is more than she can take. She cries. And Luke, with his eye for detail, lets us know that it wasn’t a small weeping. It was weeping with tears². And it wasn’t just one or two tears. It was a stream. It was a flood of tears. These tears flowed down her cheeks and dropped like rain on her Savior’s feet.

And then when she drenched Jesus’ feet, she bent over and started to wipe them with her own hair. Now, this is an image we need to see in our brains. Jesus came to this house. And in the words that follow, we find out that no one washed his feet. His feet were dirty. They were sweaty. No doubt, they were sticky. No doubt, they were stinky. And yet there she was, wetting his feet with her own tears and washing them with her own hair.

Then, after his feet have been wiped off with her hair, we would expect that she would then pour her expensive perfume on his feet. But she doesn’t. No, instead she kisses his feet again and again and again. Finally then, she pours her perfume on his feet.

My brothers and sisters, look at this woman! For here is a woman who owed so much and then, with such gratitude in her heart, she went into that room and embarrassed herself. Because it wasn’t enough to receive forgiveness. She, with tears of shame and tears of joy, showed her thankfulness. Look at her! For, if you undertand these words correctly, you will say to yourself: “I am this woman.” And, if you aren’t able to say this, let me introduce you to someone else: “Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”” (Luke 7:44–47 NIV)

This woman embarrassed herself with every bit of joy in her heart that day. But, I tell you the truth, she was not the one who left that house ashamed. Hers were sins of commission. She had done many bad sins. But the Pharisee’s were sins of omission. There were many good things he should have done, but didn’t. When this great prophet, Jesus came to eat with him. He should have met him at the door with a servant. This is the least we would expect. In any decent Jewish household there should have been someone to wash Jesus’ feet. But who was it who washed his feet? This sinful woman. If Jesus were really a friend to Simon, then he should have greeted him as a friend. He should have given him a friend’s kiss. Simon did not kiss him on his cheek even once. But this sinful woman kissed Jesus’ feet hundreds of times. Here Jesus is, the great Prophet, Priest and King. Simon should have greeted him at one greets a king. He should have been there with expensive oil in his hand. But, instead, it was this sinful woman who had the privilege of treating her King as he deserved to be treated.

You see, Simon did not see his sin. So he did not see his debt. He did not see his many, many sins of omission. He did not see how he had treated Jesus as if he were less than a slave, because that’s exactly where he thought Jesus belonged. Simon did not see his sin. So Simon did not appreciate the Savior eating with him.

My brothers and sisters, look at this man. For, if you do not see yourself in the sinful woman, then you will most definitely see yourself in the Pharisaical Simon. There was a pastor in Marietta, Ohio once. And this pastor invited one of the guys he met to attend his church. In response, the man said: “I don’t want to go to your church. There’s nothing but a bunch of hypocrites there.” The pastor responded: “True, and you’d fit right in with us.” You see, there are two types of people sitting in these pews. There are those who see the depth and weight of their sins. And there are those who do not.

So, my question for you is this: How much do you owe? You can’t get through these words without reaching the conclusion: We owe our Savior so very much more than we could ever pay back. For, like the woman, we have led a life of sin. And like the Pharisee, we have not served and loved. And yet, your Savior forgives you just like he forgives this woman. And that is truly the most beautiful part of these words: “Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”” (Luke 7:48–50 NIV)

Now, after all the tears and all the kisses–now he looks up at her. And the simplicity and sincerity of his words amaze us. Look at the simplicity. There is no flowery speech. He simply says the truth. Her sins are forgiven. Were they forgiven because of her many tears? Were they forgiven because of her many kisses? Were they forgiven because of her expensive perfume? No. Her faith rescued her. The very same faith Jesus, himself had given to her. That is what saved her. The tears and kisses and anointing were all effects of that faith.

His words were sincere and simple. But, notice what was lacking in what he said. Where was the part where he lectured her, telling her to go out and do good deeds to earn her own way into heaven. It’s not there. She was forgiven. And she was fully forgiven.

My brothers and sisters, this is an amazing gift that so many of you have enjoyed most of your lives. And it’s only when you see it in contrast that we appreciate it. Most families do not look like yours. Most families are either libertine or legalist. On the one hand, there are those families out there where the children say disgusting language, and the parents laugh. The teenagers get drunk and the parents shrug. They are libertine.

On the other hand, there also legalists out there. They are the ones who, when they they see their children are sorry, that isn’t good enough. They treat them horribly. Because to them, repentance isn’t enough. They have to delight in the punishment.

How thankful we are that the Holy Spirit teaches us to forgive as Jesus did. For so many of us, our parents loved us enough to show us our sins. For so many of us, when we repented of our sins, they did the same thing our Savior did. They forgave and forgot—so simply, so sincerely. And even if we didn’t grow up in that sort of family, the Holy Spirit is so strong, living and active that he teaches us to forgive just as Jesus forgave.

And so we close this morning with this question: How much do you owe? Nothing. You owe Jesus nothing to take away your sin. Jesus forgave you simply and sincerely. The only debt you owe is thanks. Continue to thank your Savior as this woman did all the days of your life. Amen.

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¹ ἥτις ἦν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἁμαρτωλός

² κλαίουσα τοῖς δάκρυσιν

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