15th Sunday after Pentecost (B)
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (B)
September 17, 2006
Text: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
The Law of God is good and wise. Let it never be said, when making the distinction between Law and Gospel, that Law is bad and Gospel is good. Gospel is, indeed, good, but so is the Law. The Law tells us what we should and should not do in order to lead God-pleasing lives. And then it condemns us, for we are not able to keep it. The Law shows us our sin, but it is not for that reason bad. It is not bad, but righteous… The righteous measuring stick by which our behavior is gauged. It also curbs our sinful flesh, and protects us from our neighbor’s sinful flesh, for civil law has its root in the Law of God. The Law is from God, and so it is good. But it cannot save. It can only condemn. The most important function of the Law is that it drives us to Jesus and to the Gospel. Jesus Christ saves you and me by means of His gifts given in the Gospel. Only Jesus can save us. The Law is powerless to do so, because we cannot keep it.
But the Law is still good. It was the case with the Pharisees in our text, however, that they were consumed with the wrong kind of law. It was not God’s Law they were seeking to fulfill, but manmade laws. They were concerned with the washing of hands and of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches, rather than the right disposition of the heart toward God and love and mercy for the neighbor. They were so obsessed with the little details of their laws that they forgot what God’s Law was all about. They looked on in disbelief as the disciples of Jesus ate with unwashed hands, and they called them to account for it. But Jesus exposed their hard-hearted double-talk: “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (7:6-7; ESV).
It is all too easy for us to get caught up in our own laws to the neglect of God’s Law, self-righteously condemning all who fail to live up to our manufactured standards. It is so easy for us to look at the speck in our neighbor’s eye and fail to see the beam in our own eye. Even when our neighbor’s actions are truly transgressions of God’s Law, we fail to see that we are just as guilty before God as they are. We love to measure others next to the high standard of perfection, but we measure ourselves by a different set of deluded standards… standards that make us look good compared to other men. We love to be hard on the Pharisees in our text, but we fail to recognize the Pharisaism that dwells in every one of us. Repent.
The Law of God is good and wise, but it is necessary for us to recognize the right use of the Law. The Law of God is first of all a curb against bad behavior in society. It protects us from our neighbor, and our neighbor from us. As I said, civil law has its roots in the Law of God. Even our fallen flesh, without faith, knows that the Ten Commandments at least in the 2nd Table dealing with our neighbor are good and true. The laws of our society are a testimony to this. Our whole society knows that it is wrong to kill and steal, and so we have laws that protect us from killing and stealing, and that provide for the punishment of the perpetrators of these crimes. Our whole society knows that it is good to honor father and mother, and as much as we love fornication and adultery in our society, we know there is something shameful and seedy about it. That is why we shield our children from these things. And our whole society knows the worth of a man’s reputation, and so we have laws against libel and slander. Yes, even the natural knowledge of God outside of the Bible testifies that the Law of God is good. God has written his law on men’s hearts and consciences, as St. Paul writes, “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” (Rom. 2:15). So the Law serves as a curb against the sinful flesh.
And then there is the chief use and function of the Law of God which serves as a mirror to our sinful flesh, exposing to us just how bad our sinful condition really is. It measures us against God’s righteous standards and finds us sadly lacking. It convicts every one of us. It is easy for us to say we have not murdered, but then the Law of God reminds us, “I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matt. 6:22). And so every one of us has broken the 5th Commandment. It is easy for many of us to say we have not committed adultery, but then the Law of God reminds us, “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 6:28). Every one of us, so filled with lust, has been unfaithful, breaking the 6th Commandment. There is no loophole with God’s Law. You cannot escape it. The Law always accuses. It always condemns. The Law of God is good and wise, but our transgression of it means death. It is not the Law outside of man that is evil, but that which proceeds from within, out of the heart of man: “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). The Law of God exposes the uncleanness within. And so the chief function of the Law is to drive us to repentance, to despair of ourselves and our own sinful works, so that we come to know our need for the Savior Jesus Christ.
And “Jesus sinners doth receive.” Jesus saves us from the righteous condemnation of the Law. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). That is the miracle of the Gospel. Christ has come to free us from the bonds of our sins. He took on our flesh to rid it of sin and sanctify it, to lift it up out of its fallen state. He lived and fulfilled the Law perfectly for us, as our substitute. And then He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our inability to keep the Law. He died for our forgiveness. His blood cleanses us from our sin. But sin and death could not hold Him. He has also been raised from the dead by the Father, and even now lives and dwells among us with His risen Body and Blood, announcing to us the Holy Absolution, “Peace be with you. Your sins are forgiven.” Thus where there is no righteousness in us, we receive His righteousness. We are baptized into His suffering, death, and resurrection life, and so His righteousness is put upon us and becomes ours.
We are also now freed to live God-pleasing lives without the fear of the Law. And here the third use of the Law, which is only for Christians, tells us what we should do and not do to live godly lives. This is the Christian life which is governed by love of the neighbor, as Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34), and as St. Paul writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). It is important to note and remember, however, that even this third use of the Law always takes us back to the second use, which accuses us and drives us to repentance. Even as Christians, we cannot fulfill the Law perfectly. Our old flesh has been defeated, but it clings to us in this life. And so in daily repentance we return to our Baptism, remembering that the old man in us has been drowned along with all sins and evil desires, and that the New Man daily emerges and arises to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Even as Christians, the Law cannot save us, and so we daily live in the mercy and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ which He gives us in the Gospel.
The Law of God is good and wise, but the Gospel is our lifeline, not the Law. A right understanding of God’s Law shows us that it is, indeed, good and wise, but that we should expect to find no mercy or salvation in it. Instead we cling by faith to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that on His account we have been forgiven of all our sins and set free from sin and death. The Gospel, and not the Law, is the measuring stick with which God now measures us in Christ Jesus. In the Gospel we are given Christ’s perfect righteousness. And so it is in the Gospel that God pronounces us innocent of all sin, and even more, perfect keepers of the Law, for Christ has kept the Law for us, in our place. Oh, sons and daughters of the King, rejoice, for your pardon has come, and the King now bids you dine at His Table as members of His royal family. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
September 17, 2006
Text: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
The Law of God is good and wise. Let it never be said, when making the distinction between Law and Gospel, that Law is bad and Gospel is good. Gospel is, indeed, good, but so is the Law. The Law tells us what we should and should not do in order to lead God-pleasing lives. And then it condemns us, for we are not able to keep it. The Law shows us our sin, but it is not for that reason bad. It is not bad, but righteous… The righteous measuring stick by which our behavior is gauged. It also curbs our sinful flesh, and protects us from our neighbor’s sinful flesh, for civil law has its root in the Law of God. The Law is from God, and so it is good. But it cannot save. It can only condemn. The most important function of the Law is that it drives us to Jesus and to the Gospel. Jesus Christ saves you and me by means of His gifts given in the Gospel. Only Jesus can save us. The Law is powerless to do so, because we cannot keep it.
But the Law is still good. It was the case with the Pharisees in our text, however, that they were consumed with the wrong kind of law. It was not God’s Law they were seeking to fulfill, but manmade laws. They were concerned with the washing of hands and of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches, rather than the right disposition of the heart toward God and love and mercy for the neighbor. They were so obsessed with the little details of their laws that they forgot what God’s Law was all about. They looked on in disbelief as the disciples of Jesus ate with unwashed hands, and they called them to account for it. But Jesus exposed their hard-hearted double-talk: “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (7:6-7; ESV).
It is all too easy for us to get caught up in our own laws to the neglect of God’s Law, self-righteously condemning all who fail to live up to our manufactured standards. It is so easy for us to look at the speck in our neighbor’s eye and fail to see the beam in our own eye. Even when our neighbor’s actions are truly transgressions of God’s Law, we fail to see that we are just as guilty before God as they are. We love to measure others next to the high standard of perfection, but we measure ourselves by a different set of deluded standards… standards that make us look good compared to other men. We love to be hard on the Pharisees in our text, but we fail to recognize the Pharisaism that dwells in every one of us. Repent.
The Law of God is good and wise, but it is necessary for us to recognize the right use of the Law. The Law of God is first of all a curb against bad behavior in society. It protects us from our neighbor, and our neighbor from us. As I said, civil law has its roots in the Law of God. Even our fallen flesh, without faith, knows that the Ten Commandments at least in the 2nd Table dealing with our neighbor are good and true. The laws of our society are a testimony to this. Our whole society knows that it is wrong to kill and steal, and so we have laws that protect us from killing and stealing, and that provide for the punishment of the perpetrators of these crimes. Our whole society knows that it is good to honor father and mother, and as much as we love fornication and adultery in our society, we know there is something shameful and seedy about it. That is why we shield our children from these things. And our whole society knows the worth of a man’s reputation, and so we have laws against libel and slander. Yes, even the natural knowledge of God outside of the Bible testifies that the Law of God is good. God has written his law on men’s hearts and consciences, as St. Paul writes, “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” (Rom. 2:15). So the Law serves as a curb against the sinful flesh.
And then there is the chief use and function of the Law of God which serves as a mirror to our sinful flesh, exposing to us just how bad our sinful condition really is. It measures us against God’s righteous standards and finds us sadly lacking. It convicts every one of us. It is easy for us to say we have not murdered, but then the Law of God reminds us, “I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matt. 6:22). And so every one of us has broken the 5th Commandment. It is easy for many of us to say we have not committed adultery, but then the Law of God reminds us, “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 6:28). Every one of us, so filled with lust, has been unfaithful, breaking the 6th Commandment. There is no loophole with God’s Law. You cannot escape it. The Law always accuses. It always condemns. The Law of God is good and wise, but our transgression of it means death. It is not the Law outside of man that is evil, but that which proceeds from within, out of the heart of man: “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). The Law of God exposes the uncleanness within. And so the chief function of the Law is to drive us to repentance, to despair of ourselves and our own sinful works, so that we come to know our need for the Savior Jesus Christ.
And “Jesus sinners doth receive.” Jesus saves us from the righteous condemnation of the Law. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). That is the miracle of the Gospel. Christ has come to free us from the bonds of our sins. He took on our flesh to rid it of sin and sanctify it, to lift it up out of its fallen state. He lived and fulfilled the Law perfectly for us, as our substitute. And then He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our inability to keep the Law. He died for our forgiveness. His blood cleanses us from our sin. But sin and death could not hold Him. He has also been raised from the dead by the Father, and even now lives and dwells among us with His risen Body and Blood, announcing to us the Holy Absolution, “Peace be with you. Your sins are forgiven.” Thus where there is no righteousness in us, we receive His righteousness. We are baptized into His suffering, death, and resurrection life, and so His righteousness is put upon us and becomes ours.
We are also now freed to live God-pleasing lives without the fear of the Law. And here the third use of the Law, which is only for Christians, tells us what we should do and not do to live godly lives. This is the Christian life which is governed by love of the neighbor, as Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34), and as St. Paul writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). It is important to note and remember, however, that even this third use of the Law always takes us back to the second use, which accuses us and drives us to repentance. Even as Christians, we cannot fulfill the Law perfectly. Our old flesh has been defeated, but it clings to us in this life. And so in daily repentance we return to our Baptism, remembering that the old man in us has been drowned along with all sins and evil desires, and that the New Man daily emerges and arises to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Even as Christians, the Law cannot save us, and so we daily live in the mercy and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ which He gives us in the Gospel.
The Law of God is good and wise, but the Gospel is our lifeline, not the Law. A right understanding of God’s Law shows us that it is, indeed, good and wise, but that we should expect to find no mercy or salvation in it. Instead we cling by faith to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that on His account we have been forgiven of all our sins and set free from sin and death. The Gospel, and not the Law, is the measuring stick with which God now measures us in Christ Jesus. In the Gospel we are given Christ’s perfect righteousness. And so it is in the Gospel that God pronounces us innocent of all sin, and even more, perfect keepers of the Law, for Christ has kept the Law for us, in our place. Oh, sons and daughters of the King, rejoice, for your pardon has come, and the King now bids you dine at His Table as members of His royal family. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
posted by Pastor Krenz | 1:52 PM
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