This is the sermon for the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: Mark 10:17-27. The sermon theme is: Christ’s Love Thorough. Here is the Written Sermon

Christ’s Love is Thorough

How do you make a good first impression? For all of us have strengths and weaknesses. And how is it that, when we first meet someone, we show our strengths and not our weaknesses? What sort of first impressions do you make? In the gospel for this morning we see a man who goes out of his way to make a good first impression. In Mark 10, we read: “As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”” ¹

There a number of important conclusions we can reach about this man who meets Jesus—even from our first impression. First, he runs up to Jesus. This was a man who wanted to speak with Jesus. In fact, he wanted to speak with Jesus so much that he ran up to him and fell at his feet.

And then, when he finally had Jesus’ attention, he asked Jesus the most important question that was weighing on him. He said to Jesus: ““Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”” ² Now, notice how this man speaks to Jesus. Does he call him Lord? Does he call him Savior, Messiah, Christ, or even prophet? No, he calls him teacher. Oh, he’s a good teacher. But he’s just a teacher.

Do you remember another time when this happened? Do you remember another time when someone didn’t know who Jesus was, so he settled with the name ‘teacher’? In the beginning of the book of John, we meet this teacher of the Jews, called Nicodemus. He tells Jesus: ““Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”” ³. Nicodemus did not call him prophet, Priest, king, Christ, messiah or savior. He called him ‘teacher’. Jesus replies with a brutal law-centered message. He tells Nicodemus: ““I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’”” ⁴

Should it surprise us then, in these words, when this man runs up to Jesus, falls at his feet and then calls him ‘good teacher’ that Jesus would have a similar, cryptic, crushing message for him too? And so he tells this man bowing at his feet: ““Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” ⁵

You see, when we talk to people all we have is first impressions. But Jesus sees their souls—what they are and who they are. As Jesus looks at this man, he sees someone who asks a question not to learn God’s wisdom. No, this man asks a question because he thinks he already has the answer. He says to Jesus: ““what must I do to inherit eternal life?”” ⁶. The question is absurd to anyone who has read the bible. How can a sinful person earn salvation? How can a sinner earn what God gives for free.

And so, Jesus lays a trap for him. He tells the man: “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’’”” ⁷. The man is waiting for an amazing, wonderful, glorious answer. And what does he get instead? He hears what any child hears countless times as he is growing up. He hears the Ten commandments.

We can hear the confusion and frustration in his words as he says to Jesus: ““Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”” ⁸. He says these words as if to say to Jesus: ‘why are you telling me what grade-schoolers hear and already know? I’ve moved beyond the addition and subtraction. I want calculus’

The trap is set. And Jesus springs the trap on him. Jesus tells him: “Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”” ⁹. Now, as we read these words, it’s important to understand what Jesus does not say. He is not saying that all this man has to do to get into heaven is that he has to sell his stuff. This man asked for eternal life. And Jesus said that he would have a treasure. He did not say that selling his possessions would earn for him eternal life. And so it is for any Christian. As they give to their church and their friends and neighbors, it does store up for us a treasure in heaven. But, it doesn’t earn heaven for us. That’s what Jesus did.

Now, if we understand that, we can move past what Jesus did not say and move into what he did say. This man thought he understood it. He thought he understood the calculus of theology. He was just waiting for Jesus to give him a pat on the back and tell him ‘good job’. This man didn’t even know the addition and subtraction. This man didn’t even know the ten commandments. How could he ever arrive at the solution to the ten commandments without the great problem the ten commandments present us?

The sin that Jesus shows us is greed. But that’s only the most obvious sin. There is a bigger, darker, destructive sin lurking beneath. What moved this man to trust in his possessions above God is that he was an instant expert. There is no such thing as an instant expert. But this man thought he was. This man was lazy. He did not want to study God’s word. He did not want to meditate on it. But even worse than this, he was prideful. He didn’t even know the basics of theology. And he didn’t like when there was a real teacher to tell him the real truth. And what’s the result? In verse 22 we read: “At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” ¹⁰.

The word that Mark uses here describes a bright, sunny day suddenly turning into clouds and darkness. This man was shocked. And then he was filled with pain. Why? Because Jesus showed him that he wasn’t an instant expert. When it comes to God’s word, it is a horrible sin to be an instant expert. We see it so clearly in this man because we see it so clearly in us! It is a sin when combine ignorance and pride and make ourselves instant experts.

What does this look like? It’s the father who talks to the pastor and says: ‘Pastor, my daughter is living with her boyfriend outside of marriage. You gotta do something.’ The pastor responds: ‘Well, have you told your daughter what you have told me? Have you told her that it’s a sin to pretend that you’re married when you are not?’ ‘uhh, no.’ ‘Well, when you have spoken to your daughter, then I’d be happy to come with you and visit her.’ The man thought he knew the solution. What shock and pain that father endured. And why? Because he thought he could be an instant expert. He thought he could gloss over what God’s word spoke about the father’s role and throw it on the pastor.

What does it look like? It’s the mother who brings her son to catechism class. And, when the son realizes that catechism isn’t candy-canes and cuddles–but that instead it’s actually work, he rebels. The mother tells the pastor: ‘I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m doing what’s right. I’m putting him in catechism class and he hates it.’ The pastor says in response: ‘How often do you pray with your son? How often do you set aside the time and read God’s word to him? How often do you bring him to Sunday School and then show him how much you love God’s word by coming yourself?’ And, where she thought she would find a pastor patting her on the back and telling her ‘good job’, instead she finds shock and pain.

What does it look like? It’s the pastor who doesn’t visit his people. And as a result, he doesn’t know what sins are crushing them. It’s the pastor who doesn’t continually study God’s word in the original languages so that he can speak what God has breathed into his very own word. It’s the pastor who doesn’t pray for his people. And then when everything falls apart, what does he find in his life? He finds shock and pain.

You see, we are horrible sinners. And we show it by acting like instant experts. When we see how our sinful nature is so ignorant and so very prideful in its ignorance, then is when the Love that Jesus has for us is our greatest treasure. In verse 21, we read: “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” ¹¹. Jesus looked at him and loved him. Now, here again, as I have done many times before, let me ask you: what sort of love is this? The word here is not φίλος. Jesus did not look at him and see something that they had in common. He did not look at him and see in this man any reason why he should love him. Instead, the word we find here is: ἀγαπάω. This is the rare sort of Christian love which does what is best for someone.

This is very important for us to understand. For, if we look at love the way the world does, what Jesus does to this man in the next verse seems like the opposite of love. The words that Jesus speaks to the man fill the man with shock and pain. That’s what the Love of Christ is like. It is thorough. Where our love for him is shallow and then prideful in its shallowness, the love that Jesus has for us is just the opposite. It is genuine. It is thorough. It is thorough enough to show us the problem even if it hurts us and crushes us. When a doctor sets a broken bone, there is shock and pain. But he does this to eventually heal.

That is the sort of love that Jesus has for us. His love is thorough enough to hurt us. But his love is thorough in a different way. In the closing words of this section, we read: “The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”” ¹². Who is able to be perfect? Who of us is able to not be an instant expert? You know the answer: none of us. And this is where we rejoice. Where our love is simple, shallow and prideful, the love that Jesus has is just the opposite. It is thorough enough to shock us. But it is thorough enough to do the impossible too. It is thorough enough to show us a Savior who did the hard work of learning God’s word. It is thorough enough to show us a Savior who applied what he learned, never sinning even once. It is thorough enough to show us a Savior who takes away our sins because we cannot take them away in whole or in part by ourselves. That is how thorough Christ’s love for you is.

And so, my brothers and sisters, since you have seen how thorough Christ’s love for you is and since he has given to you the fullness of his knowledge, learn that knowledge. Read God’s word. Read it to yourself. Read it to your children. Read it to your parents. Then you will all the more appreciate how thorough Christ’s love is for you. And my brothers and sisters, since Christ has given you humility, be humble. Show your wisdom as Jesus did: sharing with others, making others grow, bringing out the best in others. For, Christ’s love is so very thorough. It is thorough enough to show us our sin. It is thorough enough to do the impossible and save us from our sin. Amen.

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¹ (Mark 10:17–21 NIV)

² (Mark 10:17 NIV)

³ (John 3:2 NIV)

⁴ (John 3:3 NIV)

⁵ (Mark 10:18 NIV)

⁶ (Mark 10:17 NIV)

⁷ (Mark 10:19 NIV)

⁸ (Mark 10:20 NIV)

⁹ (Mark 10:21 NIV)

¹⁰ (Mark 10:22 NIV)

¹¹ (Mark 10:21 NIV)

¹² (Mark 10:26–27 NIV)

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Hello all (especially Pastors),

I presented a paper at our pastor’s conference at the beginning of this week about different options for Adult Instruction Class. If you’d like to download a bunch of instruction classes, here is the link.

Here is the Paper:

Options for Adult Instruction Class

Simple Instruction Classes

Review of Christian Doctrine

From Pastor Bruce McKenney

Positive Aspects

• Very clear small catechism approch (clear bible passages followed by conclusion statements)




• Excellent progression of thought for those not familiar with the bible




• Good progression from concrete to abstract concepts

Possible Negative aspects

• No Powerpoint slides

Conclusion:

This is a clear, basic instruction class. It is suitable for people with little or no church background. I have found that it is especially suitable for inactive members who haven’t been in church for a long time.

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Adult Instruction Course

From Pastor Don Patterson

Positive Aspects

• Concise




• Small Catechism-like




• Homework




• Old Testament History




• Overview of Jesus’ last week




• Suitable for people from little or no church background.

Possible Negative Aspects

• not long enough




• possibly too simple for Christians coming from other denominations.

Conclusion:

Suitable for students with almost no bible background. Appropriate for people who can’t meet for more than an hour. A good starting BIC course, to be followed by more in-depth classes throughout a person’s life.

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God Speaks

From Pastor Halldorson

Positive Aspects

• Very straight-forward




• Very short

Possible Negative Aspects

• A pastor would have to supplement this later on with more meaty instruction.

Conclusion:

This bible study series would be suitable for situations where you don’t have too much time:

• A basic review for a Christian who has been away from God’s word for a long time




• Men’s bible breakfast




• A person who joins reluctantly out of a fear for too much of a time commitment

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God’s Answers To Life’s Big Questions

From David Moore and E. Allen Sorum

Positive Aspects

• Employs an interesting, inductive approach to instruction as one can see from the table of contents:







• What’s Wrong With the World and How do We Fix It?




• How do I Get Ready to Die?




• What Happens When I Die?




• Answers to Life’s Big Questions: Can I Get a Fresh Start in Life?




• Will God Really Forgive My Sins?




• What Does God Expect from Me?




• What Am I Here For?




• How Did I Get Here?




• Is Anybody Listening?




• How Can I Get Ahead in Life?




• Can I Have a Successful Marriage and a God Pleasing Family?




• How Can I Have a Successful Marriage? (Wives)




• How Can I Have a Successful Marriage? (husbands)




• How Can I Be a Good Parent?







• Very strong emphasis on Marriage/family/Children




• Answers the “big questions” straight from the bible, not relying too heavily on the small catechism.

Possible Negative aspects

• It misses some doctrines which we would like to see in a BIC:







• Church Fellowship




• Verbal Inspiration.

Conclusion:

This curriculum is much different in approach to many of the BICs review here. It almost entirely jettisons the framework of the small catechism. But, Professor Sorum does so in a way which renders the instruction appealing to those with no church background. And that is who this series of classes seems focused on: unchurched people with no church background. On the one hand, we appreciate the strong emphasis on family issues. On the other hand, we thirst to know about other important doctrines too (Church Fellowship, Verbal Inspiration, etc).

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Christian Doctrine

From Pastor Michael Schultz

Positive Aspects

• It does not have a lengthy apologetical section on creationism, preferring instead to simply state what the bible says.




• Lessons are long enough to teach the topic, but not so long as to burden the attention-span of the student.




• Excellent “Our Church and Others” lesson (includes different denominations as well as non/anti-church organizations (scouts, etc))

Possible Negative aspects

• The worksheets are simply notes from the Powerpoint slides. So, if you don’t have a projector, you would not be able to use this instruction class.

Conclusion:

This instruction class straddles the fence between the simple and intermediate categories. It has a strong emphasis on visual/powerpoint learners. There are no worksheets with various types of questions. There are fourteen lessons. And it would be possible to cover each of the lessons in about an hour and a half. This BIC would be ideal for new Christians (i.e. with little or no church background) who would be unlikely to go home and do ‘homework’ before the next lessons. Again, the Fellowship lesson here is a gem!

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Intermediate Instruction Classes

Growing in Hope

From Pastor Halldorson

Positive Aspects

• Very concrete and clear




• Fill-in-the-blank sections




• Good application questions and true and false questions at the end of the units




• Good unit study on the bible. It includes not just what the bible is, but how we should study it

Possible Negative Aspects

• No Power Point slides

Conclusion:

This curriculum’s strength is its clarity and its stubborn ability to make sure you know the lesson well (cf. all the true/false and other application questions). It would be immensely appropriate for people who don’t completely comprehend the lesson the first time through.

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People close to God

From Pastor Jim Huebner

Positive Aspects

• Law/Gospel presentation at the very beginning




• Quite succinct.




• Creatively brings in law and gospel in every lesson




• Appendices!

Possible Negative Aspects

• Is God’s great exchange the best law/gospel presentation model?




• Possibly not meaty enough for some people

Conclusion:

This BIC contains a very nuanced blend of law and gospel throughout all of the classes. The classes are straightforward and may not be long enough for some settings. But Pastor Huebner more than makes up for this in that he has 21 lessons in his curriculum as well as 6 appendices. A solid choice for people who want to only meet for an hour and not be done going through the instruction class for a long time.

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4 KEY CONCEPTS: SIN – GRACE – FAITH – WORKS

From Pastor John Hein

Rationale:

Unlike the other curricula, Pastor Hein gives a rationale for his unique approach to his class structure:

• Restructure a BIC from approx. 20 lessons into smaller groups: three classes of 4, 6, and 10 lessons. This makes it seem like less to commit to.




• Having a class of four weeks allows pastor to go to prospects home for the class without a major upheaval to the schedule.




• Begin contacts with four solid weeks of nothing of the basics of sin and grace. “4 Key Concepts” is basically “God’s Great Exchange” stretched out over one month. Other doctrines – such as creation, the Trinity, innerancy of Scriptures, the Sacraments – reinforce this central doctrine. (It avoids getting into a “creation vs. evolution” apologetics session right off the bat.)




• Giving the lesson to the prospect beforehand and using lots of passages gives the prospect a sense of “this is what I believe” and “this is what the Bible says” rather than “this is what the pastor says I should believe” or “this is what my church tells me to believe.” It helps dispel the belief that the pastor has chosen only the select passages that support his belief system.




• Giving the prospect the lesson beforehand allows them to come up with questions about passages that they might not think of if they were reading those passages for the first time.




• All the questions tend to be type one or type two questions. This makes the class easy enough even for people who perhaps have almost no religious background. For prospects who are more advanced the questions can serve as the basis for launching into deeper discussion.




• By using very basic questions, it would be quite possible to train laity to teach this class. They could then go to prospects home on four consecutive weeks, or switch off back and forth with pastor.




• By using a BIC with three different parts, it (hopefully) will make transition into a Sunday morning Bible course seem only natural. (“I’ve taken three bible-classes already… might as well keep going.”)

Intended use

He also describes how he makes use of his curricula:

The 4 Key concepts are based on Ephesians 2:1-10. When I make an initial evangelism visit, they tend to be more friendly, “get to know you” visits with maybe a ten minute God’s Great Exchange lesson. I then ask if I can come back and tell them a little bit more about what our church teaches. If they agree I ask them if they have a Bible. If not, I run out to the car and get one out of the trunk. I ask them to read Ephesians 2:1-10 by the next time I come by.

On my next visit I walk them through the four key concepts as found in that section, and explain how this is the basic, central message about the Bible, and how crucial it is that we understand these concepts. I then ask them if they would be willing to study them a little further with me, and give them the option of me continuing to come to their house, or coming to church.

I begin each lesson with a very brief devotion from another part of Scripture that demonstrates the four concepts. (For example, Romans 10 has all four, with an emphasis on faith over works. Psalm 51 has all four concepts (not the exact words) and is great to show how the OT teaches sin and grace, just like the new.) After prayer, we proceed into the lesson that generally takes around 40 minutes. I don’t necessarily go through every passage, but rather have main ones that I hit with each point.

Throughout the course, I work in hints that there is more coming. (“… does that answer your question? We go much more into depth on that subject in a lesson that comes in the second Bible class, if you’d like to take it.”) After completion of “4 Key Concepts” I explain that I’d love it if they’d continue in their studies, to get a little deeper into Scripture, and take the second class called “Faith Builders”? This class focuses on: the inspiration of Scripture, God in general, and the Sacraments. I give them the option of three different times that this class is taught. (“Faith Builders” runs six weeks, so if you stagger them by a few weeks, the prospects never have to wait too long for a new round of this class to be taught.) Then the third class, ten weeks long, would deal with just about everything else. }

Positive Aspects

• Divided class structure helps get new people into the class.




• A sufficient number of lessons.




• Good Diagrams




• Good application questions at the end of each lesson

Possible Negative aspects

• Could a person be a little confused if he/she started in the middle?




• Temptation for pastors to receive people into membership before they have been thoroughly trained.




• Beautiful diagrams, but no powerpoint slides.

Conclusion:

Pastor Hein gives us an interesting and creative way of approaching instruction class. The lessons are solid. In the three sets of classes there is definitely a progression from easy to more difficult. How this approach would work out in practice leaves some unanswered questions.

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GOD 101

From Pastor John Qualmann

Positive Aspects

• As the title of the class suggests, this is a straight-forward instruction class without many bells and whistles.




• This course makes extensive use of the ‘fill-in-the-blank’ learning technique.




• Well-constructed Powerpoint slides




• Retains the pedagogical structure of a small-catechism class without referring to the small catechism.

Possible Negative aspects

• This course makes extensive use of the ‘fill-in-the-blank’ learning technique.

Conclusion:

There is nothing to make this series of classes stand out from the others. It has good powerpoint slides. It has good homework. It’s a good choice for a comprehensive intermediate bible study.

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This Is What The Lord Says

From Pastor Jeff Limpert

Positive Aspects

• Clear and simple:







• what questions instead of why questions







• Lots of fill in the blank questions.




• Strong small catechism emphasis




• Emphasis on creeds




• Long lessons (sometimes 15 pages long)




• Lots of variety in the worksheets (‘what’ questions, fill in the blank, matching, true and false, memorization)

Possible Negative aspects

• Long lessons (sometimes 15 pages long)




• No Power Point slides

Conclusion:

There are only ten lessons in this series. But most of the lessons are quite long. This makes this series appropriate for people who would like to be members of your church in a relatively short amount of time and would like to spend two to three hours in each class to arrive at that goal.

I have placed this BIC in the intermediate category not because of the difficulty of the content (in fact, this series is really just a condensed version of our small catechism curriculum), but rather, because it demands a level of commitment from the student which other instruction classes don’t (longer worksheets, memorization, long individual class duration, etc)

However this is a solid bible study when these considerations are kept in mind.

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Advanced Instruction Classes

HIStory Matters

From Pastor Dan Habben

Positive Aspects

• Deals with ‘hot’ topics right away







• Inspiration




• Creation




• Corruption







• Has both powerpoint files and hardcopy files




• Clarity; very logical progression




• Good History of Salvation (Life of Jesus)




• Good Worship Lesson




• Extensive review sections

Possible Negative aspects

• Extensive review sections




• Powerpoint slides are a little cartoony

Conclusion:

A very robust instruction class suitable for people with little or no bible background. But, make no mistake, it also leaves them with a healthy, meaty understanding of God’s word.

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My Life With Jesus—Basic Christianity Class

From Pastors Mike Quandt and Mark Cares
Heavily modified by Pastor Steve Bauer

Positive Aspects

• Rotating Bible Class with three separate focuses:







• Knowing Jesus




• Connecting with Jesus




• Living For Jesus







• This BIC contains a heavy front-shifting of Christology.




• Strong apologetics section in first unit.




• Meaty appendices for commonly asked questions which are not directly covered in the lessons.

Possible Negative aspects

• Unsubstantiated Creationism section (beware!)

Conclusion:

This instruction class is well suited for Christians with a decent knowledge of the bible who are looking to join your church. I have also found it appropriate for unchurched people who have had a high level of education. The appendices are especially suited for people who have difficult questions which you can’t answer in two minutes.

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This is the sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: 1 Pet. 2:18-3:7. The sermon theme is: Do Not Give In To Fear!. Here is the Written Sermon

Do Not Give In To Fear!

When the Holy Spirit brought you to faith, what were the changes? When the Holy Spirit brought you to faith, could you see the change? Could you feel the change? When Jesus brought you to faith, did you instantly get a raise at work? Did your parents all of a sudden start treating you better? Did you get A’s on all your tests? Did the girl you asked out to the dance say ‘yes’, simply because you were a Christian?

Of course, the answer to all of these is ‘no’. Our faith is hidden. God changes us from the inside out, not the outside in. This is a simple point to make. But it’s an important one. When God brings us to faith, he does not change the place where we are in this life. If we are children, we remain children. If we are men, we remain men. If you are a woman, after you are a Christian, you remain a woman. With that in mind, we read the opening words of our section from 1 Peter: “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.” ¹

Now, none of us here this morning is a slave. But, these words teach us some very important lessons about our faith and about our God. When God brought people who were slaves to faith, did they suddenly stop being slaves? No. You will never find a passage in the bible which says that slavery is a good institution. But, what Peter tells us here is an important lesson to learn. When Jesus gave these people the gift of faith, they still remained in their vocation, or calling as a slave.

Now, for these men and women who were both Christians and slaves, there was a temptation they faced. They faced the temptation to give in to fear. For that master who was over them had the power to do them harm–tremendous harm. And that drove them to live in fear–fear of what could happen to them and fear of what sometimes did happen to them. What does Peter say is the solution to this problem? “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.” ²

There’s the solution: submit to your masters. Put up with the bad. Follow them faithfully. Now, if you’ve been following along here, you might have asked yourself a very important question. There’s something that Peter missed, isn’t there? Where’s the part about them rising up in revolt against their slave masters and grabbing freedom for themselves? It’s not there, is it? Would it surprise you to know that there are many examples in history of people being offered to be set free and then those slaves turn down the offer. They did this because they knew that their lives would be better as a slave in a household where they would have food, shelter and clothing than to be free without one or all of these necessities.

Peter encourages them to not give into fear. And it’s easy to say that. But, when you are reviled or even beaten for being a follower of Christ, it’s not that easy, is it? In fact, it’s impossible. Notice then what Peter writes in response to the objections our hearts pour out: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” ³

He tells the Christian slaves: “look at Jesus.” Jesus was the only truly faithful slave who ever existed. When they hurled their insults at him, he never paid them back. When they beat him, even though he had the power to destroy them, he instead did nothing. Even when they were killing him, he did nothing. Why? Why was Jesus so willing to be our slave? Peter tells us that he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. Jesus knew that his Father would raise him from the dead. Jesus knew that his obedience paved a path for righteousness we could never follow in because of our sin. Jesus knew that when he rose from the dead, we would be free from sin forever.

Peter tells these slaves to not give in to fear. And they did not. Because they entrusted themselves to their Father in heaven. He saw their pain. He protected them from harm in this life and in the next. He forgave their sins–even those sins they committed when the gave into fear.

Peter speaks to these Christian slaves. And he tells them to not give into fear. Instead, entrust themselves to the righteous judge, their Father in heaven. Then Peter goes in a different direction. He writes: ““Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.” ⁴

Peter now speaks to the women Christians. He starts out with these words “in the same way.” In the same way as what?. In the same way as the slaves might have unbelieving masters, so also you women might have unbelieving husbands. And just like the Christian slaves, the Christian women also lived with this great temptation toward fear. When they asked themselves “how will I win over my unbelieving husband”, they had this great temptation to arrive at a horrible conclusion based on fear. Their conclusion is to make themselves pretty. Their conclusion is to adorn themselves with braided hair or gold and silver or fancy clothing. That was the fear which drove them. They tried to find a human solution to spiritual problem.

Now, what’s the solution? Peter writes: “Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” ⁵

What’s the solution? Don’t adorn the outside. Adorn the inside! Hmm, now what does he mean by that? What does that look like? Peter calls it the: “unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit”. There is a beauty in gentleness that gold and silver cannot match. There is a beauty in having a quiet spirit that is more beautiful than any dress. So, what does that phrase mean, a quiet spirit? Does it mean that Peter’s advice for women is that they just stop speaking? No, the word here in the greek is: ἡσυχία. It means ‘stillness’ or ‘calmness.’ It is the quiet after a horrendous thunderstorm. It is the calm lake after a rainy night. It describes a woman who is not panicky and anxious, but rather, confident, calm and trusting.

And, women, just in case your are asking yourself the question: “what woman ever acted like that”? Peter answers your question. Look at Sarah. How did she show her gentleness? How did she show this ἡσυχία, this calm trust in the Lord? She called her husband “master”. Whenever I read this passage in the bible I am reminded of a woman in the last church I served, Aimee. In Craig and Aimee’s living room there’s a picture of Craig on one knee, asking Aimee to marry him. Right next to it is a picture of Aimee, on both knees before Craig, her future husband. You see, she wanted to show what it means to have a gentle and quiet spirit—not with words, but instead, with actions.

Now, women, you might be saying to yourself: “That’s just fine Sarah, you call your man ‘master’. That’s just fine Aimee, you bow down before your man. But you haven’t met my husband. He doesn’t listen to me. He snores at night and keeps me awake. He comes home and expects his food and then collapses on sofa like he is in a coma”. Peter, who had a wife of his own, says that that voice inside of you is fear.

And so, the question we asked about Christian slaves, we ask about Christian women: how? How is a God-fearing wife supposed to do this? I give you the same answer: Look to Jesus. Look at a slave who gave up heaven to be reviled. Look at a slave to his Father’s will who suffered in your place. Look at a slave who loved you so much that he died for you, rose for you and washed you clean in the waters of baptism. Look at a Savior who made you a co-heir of eternal life along with your husbands, children and parents—equal in glory, equal in righteousness, equal in honor.

When you look to Jesus, the Holy Spirit then moves you to trust him so that you will not give in to fear. You serve your husband by doing your daily tasks because you know how much you Savior loves you. That is what makes it a joy to adorn your inside with gentleness and calmness. That is what makes it a joy to, in your own way, call your husband ‘master’ as did your sister in the faith, Sarah.

Finally, then, Peter addresses men. He says: “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” ⁶. He uses that same word which is translated here in the NIV as “in the same way.” In the same way as what? In the same way as Christian slaves and Christian women entrust themselves to God and do not give into fear, so also, Christian men do the same.

But, as with the other two groups, there are fears that husbands have. God has placed men as the head of the household. And with that position comes a tremendous temptation to give into fear, especially when it comes to dealing with our wives. For husbands ask themselves the question: “how can I get my wife to honor me?” And they are tempted to come up with human solutions to spiritual problems. On the one hand, this fear can show itself by oppression. The husband says to himself: “I will make this woman respect me by threatening her and making her life miserable.” On the other hand, this fear can show itself in abdication. He can just give up his role as a leader in the family. He can say to himself: “If she disagrees with every little thing I say and do, then fine, she can have what she so desperately wants. She can be the leader of this house. I’ll go to work. I’ll come home. I’ll do whatever she tells me to do–whether I know it’s wrong or not.” All of us men have that sinful nature which wants to throw off the role that God has given to us.

What is the solution? Peter says: “treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life”. Men, if you want respect, then show respect. Respect your wives in two ways. First, respect them as ‘weaker partners’. With authority comes power. Be very understanding of the fact that when your wife promises at that altar to love, honor and obey you, she is putting herself at risk. She is trusting that you will love her and take care of her. She is weaker in that she is in the serving role, not the leading role. Show them respect also as co-heirs of eternal life. Brothers, there will be a day when we will stand with our parents, our children and our wives around the throne of God as equals not just in status, but in every way. Remember that.

And finally, we ask the question ‘how’? How can we men live up to such a task? You can’t. But your Savior did. He forgave your sins by perfectly becoming the slave his Father wanted and the slave we needed. He took away your sin by rising from the dead. And he gives you this great gift of faith which moves us to respect your wives as Christ has shown you respect.

And so, my brothers and sisters in Christ, do not give in to fear. Entrust yourselves to your Father. For he judges justly. Amen.

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¹ (1 Peter 2:18–19 NIV)

² (1 Peter 2:18 NIV)

³ (1 Peter 2:21–25 NIV)

⁴ (1 Peter 3:1–3 NIV)

⁵ (1 Peter 3:4–6 NIV)

⁶ (1 Peter 3:7 NIV)

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This is the sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The sermon text is: Philippians 1:12-27. The sermon theme is: How Do You Define Your Life? Here is the Written Sermon.

How Do You Define Your Life?

Definitions are difficult details, aren’t they? If I were to ask you: “How do you define your life”, what would you say? Maybe it might be helpful to you this morning to see your brother in the faith, Paul defining his life. In Philippians, chapter one, Paul writes: “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” ¹

If you were to ask Paul to define his life, he would say: “my life is Christ.” And, it is an appropriate response for us to have too, isn’t it? For, here we are in a Christian Church, among Christian people, hearing the words of Christ. How could we not say along with Paul “my life is Christ”? But, Paul is saying much more than the simple fact that his life revolves around Jesus. Paul has taken to heart the words our Savior says in the gospel for this morning: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” ²

Christ comes with a cross. And it isn’t just a cross which Jesus places on himself. There is also a cross which Jesus places on us because we are his followers. Paul knew this very clearly and surely. There were many sufferings which Jesus brought into Paul’s life because Paul was a follower of Christ. And notice in these words, that is what a cross is. A cross is a burden or suffering which Jesus brings into our lives for our good. A cross is not a burden or suffering which I bring into my life as a result of my own sin.

We see this in Paul’s life. He carried many crosses for his Christ. But, what is the one he focus on in these words? In verse twenty, we read: “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” ³

Paul expects that he will not be ashamed. And yet, because he followed Jesus, there was shame in his life. That was one of the crosses he carried. Just think about what it was like to be Paul. You travel from one town to another preaching in the synagogues, showing them that God’s word pointed to Jesus, the Christ. And what is going to be the result? You are going to tear apart that synagogue. You are going to disrupt that external, shallow peace and bring turmoil to their lives. You do this so that you can bring true peace to their souls. But, you know the result. Not every one wants true peace. Many people like the illusion of peace. You will bring division to that congregation. And, then you will bring division to the next congregation, just as you did in the town you just left. What a cross to bear! What a heavy burden to carry—that you know that as you preach about the peace you know in Christ, it brings division and sorrow, so that eventually it can bring peace.

How do you define your life? If, like Paul, you define your life with that word, Christ, then realize that Christ comes with a cross. Realize that one of the crosses you will bear for your Savior is shame. You will find shame in your heart because Christ defines your life with his name and his word.

It is a great blessing to be a father. But, very quickly as a father, you realize that there are basic and huge differences between a father and a mother. There is something unique, special and wonderful about the way a mother bonds with her little child. That child knows that this is mommy. And, as fathers, we know that our children appreciate us. But it’s not the same. We will never be mothers. We will never have the same sort of closeness that a mother and her child have. And it’s one thing to note it in passing.

Men notice the difference in women. But, women also note the difference in men. I go to a place to exercise. And in the class there’s one other guy and about sixteen women. And, when we get to the weight lifting part, they notice that there’s a difference. One of the women said: “I wish I were a guy so that I could lift as much as you do.”

You see where they start out? They start out in noticing that there’s a difference. What’s the next step? The next step is that we ask the question ‘why’? Why is there this difference between men and women? The true test that defines us as Christians is how we answer that question. The bible says: “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” ⁴

God created humans as male and female. Who is the one responsible for giving us our maleness or femaleness? God is. And there is where the sin and shame finds a home. For we live in a world which goes out of its way to say that we are the same. Whether we are male of female, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what you think you are. You define what your gender is. That is the message the world preaches to us. And when we take our stand on God’s word and say “No, there are differences. And I know that there are differences because that’s what God’s word says. Then the world heaps shame upon shame on us.” In fact, should it surprise us that just about every time we say those words: “I know this because God’s word says this”—that when we say this, the world always responds with shame. I believe in miracles because God’s word says this. I believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven because God’s word says this. I believe that there is a real difference between male and female, not because of my research in the area—but because that’s what God’s word says.

And how shameful it is for us when we say along with Paul “my life is Christ” but our hearts are embarrassed of Christ and his word. We are ashamed that God’s word speaks so clearly as it does. And when our hearts do this then we deserve to hear the words of Jesus in our gospel: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” ⁵

None of us wants Jesus to be ashamed of us, even though there have been many times we have been ashamed of him. When we realize this, that is the moment that the word, Christ has meaning in our lives. For Jesus was anointed to become our brother. In the beginning of the book of John, we read these words: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” ⁶

His own did not receive him. In other words, Jesus became a human. And he fellow humans were ashamed of him. Even his own disciples were ashamed of him. Do you remember that time when Jesus said that he must go up to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of wicked men? What was Peter’s response? Peter said “Never!” And Jesus said: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” ⁷ Peter was ashamed of Jesus. For who wants a king who is so fixated on dying? But that is what our Christ did. And that is who he was. He endured so much shame, even if it meant being crucified as a naked criminal for crimes he did not commit. And our Savior did all of this for you. He did this so that, when he comes on the Last Day with his Father and all his holy angels you can lift your head up in joy instead of down in shame. For your Christ had endured the shame of hell in your place. He has forgiven your sins and accepted you into his family through the waters of baptism.

You see, when Paul says that his life is Christ, that’s what he means. He is not ashamed of a Savior who endured the shame and pain of hell for us. He is not ashamed of the Christ who received Paul into his family through the waters of baptism. How could he be? It is with that understanding that he is able to carry the crosses that Christ placed on him.

And today, your Christ asks you to do the same. Say with Paul here “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” ⁸

Be confident, joyous and courageous whether it is in your life or in your death. For, since Christ is your life, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Amen.

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¹ (Philippians 1:20–21 NIV)

² (Luke 9:23–26 NIV)

³ (Philippians 1:20 NIV)

⁴ (Genesis 1:26–27 NIV)

⁵ (Luke 9:26 NIV)

⁶ (John 1:10–11 NIV)

⁷ (Matthew 16:23 NIV)

⁸ (Philippians 1:20 NIV)

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