Text: Matt. 10:5a, 21-33
Facebook live: The love of God overcomes fear!
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
The Bohemian reformer John Hus, who lived about 100 years before Martin Luther, was a man who believed the Scriptures to be the infallible and supreme authority in all matters of faith. He died, burned at the stake, for that belief in Constance, Germany, on his forty-second birthday. As he refused a final plea to renounce his faith, Hus's last words were, "What I taught with my lips, I seal with my blood."
Source Unknown.
The prospect of standing for what one believes is getting more and more difficult. Simple truths that have been understood for yours are being challenged. My truth … is the phrase of the day.
1 John 2:16-17 summarizes a bit of the dilemma:
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
The last few weeks we looked at the calling of St. Matthew and the sending of the 12 Apostles out of their comfort zone.
They were sent to point the world to Christ!
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
This brings us to our Gospel reading today:
5These are the twelve that Jesus sent out, instructing them, …
But the bulk of our text today points to what await those who profess faith in Christ.
21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The work of those who were sent would not be fun or easy. Persecution would be part of the lot of those sent. Not only would the world hate them but so too their family, brother, father children and so on. Christ says,
Have no fear of them … proclaim the truth!
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Dot not … if you will, reject the working of the Holy Spirit.
It is the only unpardonable sin. To deny the gift of faith and to whom that faith points … to Jesus Christ our Lord, is the sin to which there is no repentance; for to repent one must recognize our sin and the working of the Holy Spirit in us.
The love of God overcomes fear!
The persecution of those who name the name of Christ is growing. It is and has been dangerous to those around the world and if not yet at our shores, it is now on its way to our shores and to our lives as well.
Today, the brokenness is laid bare for all to see and at times embraced, at least by the world and the worldview of many.
No more is Christ the way the truth and the life for those whose peace is found only in:
My way! My truth! And my life!
The persecution of those who proclaim the name of Christ is growing.
It is and has been dangerous to those around the world.
As of last Wednesday, 15 Christians were killed in Nigeria and 2023 looks to have the highest persecution in the last 30 years - according to World Watch. It’s Hard to believe!
Proclaiming Christ in our country too is being met with anger and only time will tell the extent of the persecution we all might feel.
So, what do we who are Christians do in light of this evil in the world?
Well certainly we pray but we also need to be in the world though not of the world.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said in a very poignant way as he was confronted with all that Hitler and the Third Reich were doing leading up to and including World War II.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
He continues on in his book, The Cost of Discipleship:
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price’ and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
The love of God overcomes fear!
It is the mission of the church as we learned to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” It is a mission of the Church at large, our own LC-MS and of we here at Peace as well. To make disciples, to proclaim Christ, to baptize and teach; It is a rough road, and a dangerous road. Many die along the way, in doing the work of proclaiming the gospel. But Christ says, Fear not!
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
We have many sparrows next week coming for VBS. We show them Jesus in our service to them as neighbors and point them to the truth of who Jesus is as our savior and redeemer.
Christ has promised that where he is you too will be also. He has a room prepared and where He is you too will be also. And He gives you and me the work to do with this promise:
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, John 14:12a
I’d like to close with these words of comfort from Luther:
Now, since these promises of God are words of holiness, truth, righteousness, liberty, and peace, and are full of universal goodness, the soul, which cleaves to them with a firm faith, is so united to them, nay, thoroughly absorbed by them, that it not only partakes in, but is penetrated and saturated by, all their virtues.
For if the touch of Christ was healing, how much more, does that most tender spiritual touch, nay, absorption of the word, communicate to the soul all that belongs to the word!
In this way therefore the soul, through faith alone, without works, is from the word of God justified, sanctified, endued with truth, peace, and liberty, and filled full with every good thing, and is truly made the child of God, as it is said,
“To them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1: 12).
And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in and through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior now and forever.
Amen
Amen
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