Luke 9:51-62. Tough decisions at the crossroads 27/6/10

(51) As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. {52} And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; {53} but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. {54} When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" {55} But Jesus turned and rebuked them, {56} and they went to another village. {57} As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." {58} Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." {59} He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." {60} Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." {61} Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." {62} Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Now we often hear of, or ourselves experience, what we call the ‘cross-roads in life.’ Those times when we come to an intersecting of paths, which require an important decision to be made. The decision made at these times can and often do have far reaching consequences, and are not made lightly.
At the same time, we are constantly facing lesser crossroads in our lives; which there too we are required to make decisions which affect the future in greater or lesser degrees. Here a travelling example has a close parallel with our text this morning.
Now since being here we have made a trip north by car. Now when we get to Gawler a decision has to be made if we are going to Queensland, whether we go via Broken Hill or continue east through Mildura and Dubbo. Now if I need to get to Queensland quickly and achieve what I have set out to do; I would go the direct route through Broken Hill. But to go that track means that rest stops and comfortable motels etc are not plentiful. Also, if I do not pay attention and take a wrong turn I could easily finish up hundreds of kilometres off track. But it would otherwise be the best and shortest route.

However, mostly we will go the other way, as it is far more scenic and comfortable. Also going that way means we could stop off at the In-laws place and perhaps even stay a day or two. Over-all it is a more scenic and pleasurable drive.
The decision made back at the cross-roads has far-reaching consequences. There it will be what is important at the end of the road that will determine which road will be taken.

Here in this reading we have a cross-road situation in Jesus’ life and in the lives of a number of people around him: either his followers or would-be followers. This also then is his word to us as we face our crossroads as well. Here tough decisions are to be made, and Jesus lays it on the line and makes those decisions even tougher. He calls for the need to follow the hard road, and not simply follow the easy options in life. The goal very much determines the route taken. And maybe here we can see that the route that we take in our lives tells us something of what we see as important.

It his here that Jesus himself sets the course: we read; As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. From here on, Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem. There he has a task to fulfil: There he has the centre of what he came here on this earth to do. This event was not going to be a Sunday picnic. It was not something that could be taken or left. It was not some great and glorious event as we might look for as human beings.

No Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem, knowing full well that there he would be rejected by men, and strung up on a cross to die. But even more importantly that there he would take on himself all of our sin, all of our rebellion against God, and there be punished for it all. There on the cross he is totally forsaken by his Father because of our sin, so that we in turn might be forgiven. It is for that purpose he now resolutely sets out for Jerusalem.

There we have then a focal point for us as we go through life. There we too find the goal that is important in our life. If Jesus death on the cross is central to our existence and future, there also in Jesus and his cross we must look as we make our decisions at our crossroads. There we must resolutely set our face, so that we do not lose our way. It is here that Jesus has some important things for us to think about as we stand at the cross-road.

As Jesus and his disciple set out on the road to Jerusalem they encounter an incident of ‘road-rage.’ Along the way, there were those who did not want to receive him because he did not fit in with their idea of what the Messiah should be and do for them. Because he was going to Jerusalem, they were not going to have a bar of him. They were obviously far from friendly; As James and John, in turn, seek to do an Elijah: ‘Shall we call down fire from heaven to wipe them out.’ In their indignation, they seek to fire back at the Samaritans; but Jesus in turn rebukes them, and continues on. He encourages them to remember that he has come to seek and save the lost; not first and foremost to destroy them.

But as they go along, a man comes to his cross-road in life. He approaches Jesus and says that ‘he will follow Jesus wherever he goes.’ Poor guy he does not know what he is saying. Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Like the road trip through outback Australia, there are not too many comfort stops along the way. As you travel through many parts of this country, if there is need for a comfort stop, there is only the choice of which bush or shrub you can find; if there is one. Also in many parts, there is no comfy motel room with all the mod-cons. It can all be very basic.

Here Jesus says to the man, and you and me as we seek to follow him; the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. This journey with him is not going to be a comfortable ride, with all the ease and comforts we desire. No, Jesus tells us elsewhere that it will mean taking up our crosses and following him. And all those who take Jesus and his Word seriously can verify to the fact that the Christian life is not an easy one. But at the same time because our salvation is founded in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross alone, it is there alone that we must look and cling. Nowhere else; even is it may not always be comfortable. Anyone who says otherwise is leading you up a garden path.

Now if you think Jesus is being a little harsh here, take note of what he says to the next man that he calls to follow him. Here there is a real tough decision to be made. We read: Jesus said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

In many ways, we could liken this to our journey down the road, and one of our aged parents suddenly takes very ill and dies. So we know that we must turn around and go back home and give up on what we are going ahead to do. Here Jesus is saying keep driving ahead.

What a tough call Jesus lays on this man, and you and me. I mean, not even allowing him to go and bury his father. How rough is that? In the Old Testament times ‘the duty of a burial took precedence over study of the law, temple service, killing a Passover sacrifice, observance of circumcision, and reading of the Megillah.’ So Jesus call here seems very harsh.

Even if we are to take the view that this man was simply wanting to delay taking up the invitation to follow Jesus, until his father dies at some time in the future. The call of Jesus is still the same; Let the dead bury their own dead.

Here Christ’s agenda is not set by those who do not believe. Here there is to be no delays in taking up God’s call to follow. Now is the appointed time. Now is the day of salvation. Any delay may mean missing out altogether. Take the easy road now, could mean that you have taken the freeway to Hell, where there is no opportunity to get off the broad and easy way.

But then still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Here again Jesus says that the direction is set, and nothing must distract us from the road ahead. Now often when I am driving through the country-side, Julie cuts rusty at me; and rightly so; for when I drive, I too often like to look at what the farmers are doing along the way. What happens when you do that: as you look around, inevitably you begin to veer off the straight path ahead. Then danger is surely not far away.

Here Jesus is suggesting that the same principle applies to that area which has to do with our eternal salvation. Here in Jesus illustration, it is not the family as such that is the concern: But letting the family or anything else from distracting us so that we detour off the path that is set before us. Nothing is to be allowed to distract us from keeping our focus on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, which ensures our salvation and eternal life.

What a tough, but important call, Jesus lays before us as we go through life. As we make all our various decisions at these cross-roads, we are challenged to ensure that nothing stops or distracts us from that which is absolutely essential for our lives. It is Jesus Christ and his death on the cross alone that ensures our forgiveness and eternal life in heaven. So there yours and my goal is set; there is what surely sets our thinking and our direction. So as we journey on, let us not be stopped or distracted from this.

So as you travel on look to Jesus Christ alone and his cross; set your face on him and him alone. Through that, rest assured that the Lord goes with you and your blessing is assured, and most importantly glory will go to him whom it belongs; our great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For to him alone belongs all glory and honour, now and always. Amen.

Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Colossians 1:19-23. 20/6/10
Holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
{19} For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, {20} and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. {21} Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. {22} But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- {23} if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Just think about this holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. That is what Jesus Christ has done for you and me! Absolutely amazing! No matter who we are or what we have done, Jesus declares and has done what is necessary, in order that we be holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. This surely turns life upside down for us and enables us to go forward with hope and certainty.

The trouble is we don’t always accept that God can look at us in this way. We too often think of forgiveness in the way we human treat and understand it. We so often think along the lines of what I said as I began to announce the absolution to you after you had made confession of your sins: ‘As a called and ordained servant of the Word, I announce to you that God says, ‘That’s okay. I doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it. Mind you, you should be sorry. Don’t ever do it again. I forgive you, but I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore. Go in peace, but don’t come back.’ Sadly that is all too often the way that we forgive other people; and the way that we then think that God must surely operate in relation to us, and the things that we have done, and what has been done to us.

On the one hand, we brush off our sin as if it is no big deal. Its okay. Its just a few little things that we have said and done, but they really don’t amount to much; so what is the fuss.

Here however, let us remember that every little thought and deed that goes against the Ten Commandments is sin. Every selfish act is a sin. It is not okay. In fact, they are all signs of a much deeper and more tragic problem: our rebellion against God himself. These little sins highlight the fact that we have turned away from God and chosen to do our own thing. We have chosen to put ourselves in the place of God. That is evil. That is not okay.

So our sin does matter; every single little one, as well as the deep, underlying cause of them. God’s word is very clear that our sin great and small brings about a broken relationship between God and us. It is the cause of us now facing death: and without God and his forgiveness, we are in deep trouble. We cannot pass off sin as no big deal. It has dire consequences if it is not dealt with - death and hell. Without forgiveness, there is no peace between God and us.

So without forgiveness we have something to truly worry about. If we are not prepared to take sin and forgiveness seriously, we have much to be concerned about. Too often we simply look at this issue from our perspective, thinking that we are not too bad; and so why worry. But even that attitude indicates a huge problem, because it highlights the fact that we only want to look at this from our perspective, rather than taking God and what he says, seriously. God makes it quite clear that in our sinful state we are alienated from him and deserve to be totally forsaken by him. So this is a big problem, indeed.

But then having come to that monumental understanding, God comes in and pronounces that he has come and done what is necessary to rectify the situation. He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—God himself has come and taken the punishment that we deserve for our sin, on himself. He dies in our place so that we might be fully and freely forgiven. He has done everything necessary in order for God to now look on us as holy, without blemish and free from accusation. Despite all that we are and all that we have done, and all that has been done to us, this is what he does for you and me. Amazing! Absolutely amazing!

This forgiveness and new future has all been made possible for us by Jesus Christ. All we are called on to do now, is to continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. As we trust in what Jesus has done for us, we have the certainty of knowing God looks on us now as holy, without blemish and free from accusation. It has all been done for us, so that we can be absolutely sure that it is so. The Good News that we can trust implicitly is that now nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

So surely we will not now, on the other hand, turn around and let God do all of this for us, but then hang on to our deep-seated sins, thinking that he cannot or will not forgive them, thereby rejecting what God himself tells us. Remember it is the great ploy of the devil to seek to get you to feel deep guilt over past actions and to think that God cannot forgive them. God himself declares that you are holy, without blemish and free from accusation. No matter what you have done or has been done to you, that is what Jesus has done for you; without reservation. So who do we think we are that we tell God that he doesn’t know what he is saying or doing. No, trust that nothing now separates you from his full love, forgiveness and acceptance.

Here remember that unlike us he does not say, ‘I forgive you, but I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore. Go in peace, but don’t come back.’ Yes, he does say, “Go and sin no more.” However, when we do, he reassures us again that we are fully and freely forgiven. The only sin that is unforgivable is the sin of unbelief. Apart from that, he reassures us again and again that he loves us and is with us, now and always.

That is why week after week he invites us to His Table, so that he can give us his very body and blood, which he shed on the cross, so that in turn, we can know for sure that he loves us, forgives us and is with us always. That is why we treat Holy Communion as so special in our church; because we uphold as vitally important that here, God himself is doing something so special and great for us. He knows that we need to receive real and tangible evidence that he fully forgives us and is with us always.

Then as we go forward with his blessing given in the Benediction, we can now live with absolute confidence and joy, know that we are fully and freely forgiven. We have God’s assurance that he now sees us and accepts us as holy, without blemish and free from accusation. No longer do we need to carry any guilt and shame with us. We are free to live and be the people of God that we are.

That in turn will impact on the people that we come into contact with in our lives. They will see in us a deep-seated assurance and joy, that comes from not carry any guilt around with us, and which is grounded in the absolute assurance that we are loved and accepted by God. This then will also impact on our relationships with one another as well. Because we are loved and fully forgiven, we will also seek to be loving and forgiving of one another. This in turn will bring greater reconciliation with the people around us, and then glory and honour going to our great God for all that he has done.

So to conclude, thank God that he understands the gravity of what we have done and what sin does to our relationship with God and the people around us. But also, what it cost him in order for us to be fully and freely forgiven, for all that we have done, as well as the evil that has been done to us. He knows that we have and will continue to sin much, but has done what is necessary for it all to be forgiven and no longer held against us. Every sin; no matter how heinous, is fully and freely forgiven; and so also will never be held against us. So now, nothing stands in the way of us being in God’s presence now and for all eternity. All who believe: who simply trust that this is so, because that is what God says, has this full and free forgiveness as a certainty. So go now in peace and give all glory and honour to our great God Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Galatians 2:11-21. How are we put right with God?? 13/6/10

(Gal 2:11-21) When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. {12} Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. {13} The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. {14} When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? {15} "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' {16} know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. {17} "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! {18} If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. {19} For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. {20} I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. {21} I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Here in this reading Paul is addressing the whole area of inconsistency in the Christian life of Peter and some of the Christians in Galatia. They were separating themselves from the Gentile Christians, and demanding that they be circumcised before they would be acceptable.

This surely is also a very real and important message here for us today, in light of the inconsistency that is there in Christian circles today, and even in our own lives. By that, I mean; how often don’t we confess one thing, but then go ahead and live another: We say we are Christians, but then rarely attend worship, read the Scriptures, or act in accord with what we say we believe. We think we can live as we please, without any real consideration of God and what he has to say on the matter. Others say that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, but then say we must accept Jesus, or must speak in tongues, or do whatever. Today there is a big focus placed on what we do, if we are to be truly Christian. Here I could also add many other examples, but as you can see, there is often an inconsistency between what we say we believe and what we actually believe and act.

Now in a lot of ways, it simply comes down to how and what we believe makes us right with God. If we are right with God through Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection, then we will want to live as he would have us and not as we please. We also will not want to add anything extra to how God says we are saved. Nor will we want take anything away from what he says is right and true. At the same time, we will not look anywhere else for our salvation other than Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. Everything we see, hear and are involved in will be judged, questioned, and examined in light of God's Word. As we look there, the Holy Spirit will point us to the heart of the Bible’s message - the Gospel – the Good News of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that is available through his death and resurrection.

Here in this reading God gives us a very important message by which we can evaluate what we see and hear, being taught and done, and by what we are tempted to think and do. Now here we are reminded that no one is justified by observing the Law, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That is, we do not find favour with God and find our way into a right relationship with God by the law: that is by the things that we say and do; by outward signs; or by good intentions. No, it is by God's grace alone: By the goodness that he has extended to us alone.

Yes, it is because of Jesus Christ alone that we are saved. It is because of his death on the cross that we have salvation. It is there that we have forgiveness and acceptance by God. It is there that we have all the assurance that we need in order to know that we are loved and cared for by our God, and that we have peace, joy and all the rest. All we are called on to do is to trust that this is the case: to trust that it is there and there alone in Jesus Christ, that we find that we are right with God.

Here in this reading Paul strongly makes the point that anyone or anything that takes away from this central truth of Scripture has to be opposed. We must stand up against anything that is not in accord with the truth of the Gospel. Paul had to oppose Peter, so that the people were not led down the wrong track. Today of course, we have many people who would say that, ‘you have your way, and I will have mine, and we will all get to the same place in the end.’ We are told, that we must be open and tolerant of all positions: However here Paul says that this is not the case. In fact, he says quite clearly that this thinking must be opposed.

Here God says through Paul, that no one is justified by any other way, other than through faith in Jesus Christ: other than trusting in what he has done for us on the cross. There are no exceptions to this. You will not find true and lasting salvation or peace through any other means. It is through Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection alone that we find true and lasting peace, happiness and eternal life.

Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians says that, some of his day were demanding signs; others were looking for wisdom and great knowledge, but he was determined to preach nothing except Christ and him crucified. He also said that this message is a stumbling block for those who are looking for signs and wonders, and it is foolishness to those who think that they have or need great knowledge. This is also ho-hum to those who couldn’t care less.

But again, the message is clear: the most important thing for us to focus our attention on when it comes to our salvation and the things that are important, is on Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. He also makes it quite clear that those who go looking elsewhere for peace, happiness and a right relationship with God, are on the wrong track and are destined for disaster.

Paul goes on to say that if we have to keep trying to find our own assurances that we are saved, we are in trouble. Yes, he says, we will fail not only to know of the salvation that is there for us, but also to live out the Christian life every day. Now that does not mean that Christ's death and resurrection is ineffective or that we need something extra; as appears to be the suggestion by many today. But, when we look to be involved in something more and to do something extra in order to be sure that we are OK with God; then look out. Paul says we are just proving that we are in big trouble. For those who are promoting these things then, Paul clearly says they are leading others down wrong track, and must be opposed.
Now of course the opposite situation is equally wrong. We cannot sit back and think ‘she's right mate’, I'm baptized; I believe in Jesus; but then make no effort to live and be the people God wants us to be. That again is setting aside the grace of God; and is really saying that Christ died for nothing. Paul reminds us here that we have died with Christ, and so we no longer live our lives to and for ourselves, but that they are now lived in, for and with Christ. He is the reason and purpose that we now live out each and every day of our lives, and they are lived according to his directions that we find in the Scriptures.

So here we have a very important message that we need to keep in the forefront of our thinking and living: Particularly when we are faced with people and groups who come forward with all kinds of faddish thinking, or who want to lead us into thinking that we have to do something more. Here is a clear message of the Gospel that has to be kept before us, and seen as central and basic to our faith.

We have been crucified with Christ. At our baptism we died and rose again with Christ, and there we have our proof: there we have our assurance that we have been connected to Christ's death and resurrection. There we are assured that we are now a part of God's family, fully forgiven and accepted by him. Then when we come to the Lord's Table we receive Christ's body and blood so that there again we might be reassured that we have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation: and that Christ now lives in and with us. So every day we now can go out and seek to live and act as Christ would have us. Now we can seek to live every moment, knowing that Jesus suffered and died for us, and that he now has a better way for us to live.

Yes, we now know that he loves us and has given himself for us; and so surely there is no way that we will want to set that grace of God aside again, and go back to the striving and uncertainty of looking for extras that are not really there, and are definitely not needed. So let us continue to look to our Lord Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, and we will never go wrong. Then also may all glory and honour go to him who truly is our Lord and Saviour; Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Galatians 1:11-24. Who do we listen to, God or man? 6/6/10

I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. {12} I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. {13} For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. {14} I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. {15} But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased {16} to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, {17} nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. {18} Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. {19} I saw none of the other apostles--only James, the Lord's brother. {20} I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. {21} Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. {22} I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. {23} They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." {24} And they praised God because of me.

Today in this reading we are confronted with the whole question of who do we listen to when it comes to our spiritual lives. In other words, who determines truth for us: God or man? Now this is as important a question today as it was for the people of Galatia. For there are many today who are proclaiming a different gospel, and leading people to place greater importance on human ideas and actions, above that which God has given and done for us. We are even being encouraged to accept things which go against and change what Scripture itself has to say.

So also today, we face ridicule and denigration when we make a stand for the true Gospel and God’s Word. We are branded as fundamentalist and conservative. We are told; ‘How do you know that you are right?’ or ‘What right have you got to impose your views on us, or say that we are wrong?’ We are encouraged to be more open, flexible and tolerant; and I could go on. But the point is that we face many pressures which are trying to pervert the Gospel and take our focus away from Jesus Christ and the importance of his death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. So we need to be wary of these forces and know what it is that is truly important for us.

Now in light of all of this we need to keep in mind what Paul has to say here. The true Gospel does not come from any human sources. It is God’s revealed truth to us; and we need to be prepared to stand by this revelation. Salvation by grace through faith; Christ alone; Scripture alone, faith alone; are basic truths of the Gospel that cannot be compromised. These truths and the Good News that underlies it are God’s revelation to us; that is Paul’s big point here. God has given and revealed this Good News to his Church, and we must not walk away from it or place the emphasis anywhere else.

In this reading, Paul tells us that he had studied the Old Testament Scriptures and the traditions of the Jewish faith for years; that he was a master of them; and yet, till Christ revealed himself to him, he was in the dark and worked against the Gospel. It was only after Christ had confronted him that all the Scriptures that he had read and studied, finally made sense. The Good News had then been made known to him.

So, we are reminded that we do not receive the truth through research alone; Although God can certainly do his work in us when we do. And the more time we spend in God’s Word allowing him to speak to us, the more he reveals his truth. But just because a person has done extensive theological study, that doesn’t mean they know the truth – that the Gospel has touched and changed their lives. The devil knows the Bible better than any of us; yet he does not know the Gospel. If we simply study the word to legitimise our own point of view and actions and try to use the Bible for our own purposes, it places ‘me’ in the centre and not God Almighty himself. Human logic cannot comprehend the Gospel; for as the Scriptures say it is foolishness to reason and a stumbling block to those who are seeking miracles.

The Gospel comes only by revelation from God himself: a gift from above. That is Paul’s big point here. He hasn’t simply been listening to others in order to know the Gospel – popular opinion played no part in his theology. Even though he had been devoted to the traditions of the Jewish faith and prided himself on his understanding of and practice of that faith; he was brought to see that it was all for nought. It was not the Good News of salvation. Instead, he was brought to see that it was God’s grace that had chosen and saved him and which now called him to serve. This same grace revealed Jesus Christ and the fullness of what God had done through him and his death and resurrection. This Good News transformed Paul from a murdering zealot to a faithful, suffering servant and preacher of the faith.

So also do we, today, need to look to God to reveal to us what we need to know when it comes to our spiritual lives. The true Gospel and the truth only come from him, through the means that he gives; and that is primarily through his Word, the bible. This undeserved love of God that came to Paul, has also chosen us all and seeks to reveal to us that Jesus died for our forgiveness and made it possible for us to be in his family.

He wants us all to know that he loves us and has made it possible for us to be with him in eternity. He makes it quite clear that all who simple believe: that is trust in what Jesus has done through his death and resurrection have the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of life and salvation. This is the only Good News for us all that there is. There is no other salvation; no other real life; and no other way to God.

Anyone or anything that seeks to add to this Gospel or take away from it, is a perversion. Any human work that is seen as necessary for salvation does not come from God. At a time when so much emphasis is placed on the ‘self’ and the importance of what we do [both outside the church as well as within] we need to be ever vigilant that we do not get slowly led astray. Christ alone; Grace alone; Scripture alone; faith alone, are key understandings of the revealed truth of the Gospel.

So it is this revelation of God that we need to keep in mind when we face all kinds of issues in the church and in life. No matter whether we are thinking of what it is that constitutes the Gospel; or worship issues; outreach to others; moral and ethical issues; or whatever, we need to look firstly to what God has already revealed to us. We do not merely follow the teaching of our world around us; social opinion, a bit this religion and a bit of that; or any thing else. God determines truth for us, not mankind.

That continually leads us then to a focus that is centred very much on Christ and the importance of his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. So again, we will be wary when we hear a lot of talk about ‘christianty’ without a focus on Christ and him crucified. There is so much talk about ‘living the Christian life’ but often with little reference to Christ and the cross. Thereby our sinful human nature will grab hold of that and get us to place our trust and focus on ‘me and what I must do.’ But always, God would have us focus on Christ and what he has done for us and what wants to do in our lives.

So as we go forward, let us not be confused or led astray to ‘another gospel’ which is no Gospel at all. Let us be sure that we seek to listen, understand and follow God’s Word and not some hollow human philosophy or ideas. We must base our souls’ eternal welfare on the teachings of our Lord, rather than additions and subtractions. Remember the Gospel that comes from God is all about Jesus Christ and grace: it is all a free gift. Whereas the gospel of humanity adds what we have to do; and that is a perversion.

Listen to God and what he has to say in the Bible and you will not go wrong. Look first and foremost to Christ and the cross and you will find the help and life that we desperately need. With that, God will continue to reveal his truth to us as we go forward as his Church. Then through it all not only will we be blessed but we will also be a blessing to others. But most importantly then all glory and honour will go to where it belongs; to our gracious God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish