The sermon for August 6 was on Matthew 7:15-23

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

You could have heard a pin drop. Despite the huge size of the crowd, you could have heard a pin drop when Jesus finished speaking. They had never heard anything like this before. Not from the Pharisees; not from the chief priests; and certainly not from the scribes-those religious legal experts who could argue and nit-pick with the best of them, till the folks only walked away confused, not knowing any more than they did before, not knowing where they stood when it came to God.

But this Man Jesus was different. His words were far different from anything they had ever heard before. He spoke of God as though He knew God. He spoke of the Law, but not in the way the scribes did, with all their contradictions and additions. No, when this Man spoke the Law, He cut through the man-made legal loopholes, cut through the pompous pretensions, cut through the vain veneer of the scribes and Pharisees. This Man Jesus cut through it all, and nailed sin for sin, until no one could wiggle out of it; until every one, especially the humble who knew they were sinners, could see what they needed was a Savior from sin. And He was the One standing before them.

St. Matthew writes, "The people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Everyone was astonished, but not everyone was happy with what Jesus said. In this last part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a warning, a chilling and stern warning. Because it is so strongly stated by Jesus, you cannot overlook it even though you may wish to. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

What's going on here? What did these folks do wrong? The people about whom Jesus is speaking are obviously church people; they go to church or hold membership in a church, and they thought they had their bases covered. They thought they had taken care of everything, including their eternal life. These folks were even active in their church, and very religious. Look at what they tell Jesus, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" And yet Jesus will tell them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

If people who can do such great things for Jesus, apparently even the working of miracles, are rejected by Him, then where does that leave somebody like you? What is going on here?

What is going on here is that there are in the world false prophets. To say that there are religious people who look like Christians but are false prophets rejected by Christ is uncomfortable, maybe even rude. Today's society teaches that everybody's opinion or belief is just as good as anybody else's. Even in churches, you hear, more often than not, "Nobody has a right to tell somebody else he's wrong." But Jesus disagrees. There are false prophets. There are people who claim to preach and teach God's Word, but it is not God's Word they preach and teach. In Jesus' days these false prophets could be heard in synagogues and in the temple. Today these false prophets can be heard in churches.

How do you know who's a false prophet and who is true? You can't tell just by looking at them. They appear to be wonderful people. They do wonderful things. They look just like you; they look like sheep. But they are not. They are wolves, Jesus said, in sheep's clothing.

You can't tell by looking at them. So, how can you tell? Jesus says, you can tell by their fruits. You can tell by what they teach, what they preach, what they say about Jesus. You can tell by measuring up everything they say by Scripture, the Word of God. But even there, you must be careful. Even Satan can quote Scripture. The Mormons quote Scripture. The same goes for the Jehovah's Witnesses and they're in this neighborhood. So it goes for scores of other sects. All of them look wonderful. It's just like Saint Paul says in the 16th chapter in his letter to the Romans:
"I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people."

So, again, how can you tell? How do you keep yourself from being deceived by these false prophets when they quote Scripture? This is how you tell: False prophets do not properly distinguish the two major teachings of the Bible. They mix up Law and Gospel.

God's Law is good. A society that follows the Ten Commandments will be a blessed society. People who obey the Ten Commandments will be a blessed people; the Law even promises that. Obey the Law, and you will be blessed. You will prosper. You will have good health and a long life. You will fare well in all you set out to do. That is true. That is what the Law says. And false prophets love to quote that to you.

What the false prophets forget to tell you is what else the Law says. The Law of God also says that if you disobey the Law, you will be cursed. If you obey the whole Law on every point but one, then you are guilty of breaking the entire Law. The false prophets fail to tell you what Scriptures tell you, that you can't possibly keep the Law. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." If you think you can please God by living up to the Law, then the Law is going to kill you. You are condemned. That's what the Law of God says to you.

But there is another teaching in the Scripture, and it has nothing to do with the Law. It is the Gospel. St. Paul says,

"But now, a righteousness from God, apart from the Law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 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. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood."

God saw His Law nailing you, killing you. He is a holy God, and just; and so He knew that what His Law was doing was holy and just. But God is God. He is not Allah. He is not Buddha. God is just and holy, but that is not all He is. Scripture is very clear about this, and says, "God is love." And when He saw you nailed by His Law, His heart broke.

You parents, you fathers and mothers, have you ever seen your child go wrong? Your own son or daughter grows up, and starts making one choice after another that you know can only mean self-destruction. I wonder if there's a suffering greater than that of a father and mother seeing their child destroy himself. And when you try to reach out to help, the child just turns on you like some kind of vicious animal. And you're helpless. You don't know what to do.

God had that same problem. His children turned on Him, drove down the road to their own self-destruction, and every time He called them back, they turned on Him like a vicious animal. When God saw that happen, He became helpless. He sent His Son, who became a Man, like you in every way, yet without sin. Yet He gathered your sin all onto Himself. Like a sponge soaking up a spill, Jesus went around soaking up every bit of evil, every greed, anger, hatred, envy, and lust. He went to the Cross, in your place, to die there for you. God looked at Jesus, saw the only sinner, and killed him. How could God the Father kill His own Son? So that He could have you as His son.

Now you are righteous, not because you keep the Law, but because God declares you righteous in Christ. He gives you that perfect righteousness in Holy Baptism. He fills you with His righteousness in the preaching of His Word. He washes away every bit of unrighteousness from you in Holy Absolution. And, as if that weren't enough, He gives you His own Body and Blood in this Holy Supper.

Don't let anyone, not a prophet, not a preacher, not even an angel, ever take that away from you. You are no longer just a sinner. You are a forgiven sinner. That makes all the difference in the universe. You are a child of the heavenly Father. You are a brother of Jesus Christ. If any false prophet comes to you, telling you otherwise, you just tell them, "Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!" Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Last Updated: 5/27/2009