Right with God by Faith

Right with God by Faith

First after Trinity

Collect of the Day: O God, the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; Mercifully accept our prayers; and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

New Testament: Romans 5:1-11 (KJ21)

1 Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 and patience, experience; and experience, hope;

5 and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given unto us.

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely will one die for a righteous man, yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

11 And not only that, but we shall also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

You’ve really blown it this time. You’ve sinned against God. You’ve hurt your family and friends. You’ve humiliated yourself. You feel God’s displeasure. You’re estranged from your family and friends.

How what are you going to do? Is there anything you can do to fix it? How can you make it right? That’s the problem Paul addresses with the word “justify.”

1. We’ve all blown it.

1.1. We might object: We know some people have really blown it. They get caught in a public scandal about sex or money. Denny Hastert was the Speaker of the House of Representatives and seemed to be a decent man. But then he attracted government attention because of his withdrawals of money from his accounts. It turned out that he was paying blackmail to a person he had molested when he was a high school wrestling coach. And it came to light that there were several such cases.

We might think, “Well, there are lots of cases like that, but that is not my situation. I haven’t done anything like that.” That may be true, but just because the facts in your case are different does not mean you are not in essentially the same position as Denny Hastert.

1.2. Paul uses several phrases to describe the situation of us all. We were “yet without strength” (5:6) - we were morally weak and helpless to fix ourselves. We were “ungodly” (5:6) - the opposite of God in his goodness. We were “yet sinners” (5:8) - not righteous but violators of God’s law in character and conduct. We were “enemies of God” (5:10) - we had made war on God and offended him. We were under “the wrath of God” (5:9) - found guilty, condemned, consigned to judgement.  

Paul describes all of us in chapter 3: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks after God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one”...For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10-12, 22-23).

There are no exceptions - every human, every one of us, has blown it. We might be relatively better than others, but there is not one of us who is righteous in God’s sight.

2. We all can be justified.

2.1. The solution to our having “blown it” is to be justified. Some ways we use the verb “justify” might mislead us about what Paul means. For instance, we can use it to mean “explain”  or “give a reason.” You go out and buy a couple of hundred dollars of fishing equipment, and your wife sees the charge on the credit card statement. She might ask, “Would you like to justify that?” She means, “Can you give a satisfactory reason for spending our money in that way? Do you have an explanation?”

2.2. But Paul is using the word in a different way. Last week one of the police officers in Baltimore charged in the death of Freddie Gray, the man who, after being arrested, died on the back of a police van was “justified” by a judge. The judge exonerated him, or found him not guilty of the crimes with which he had been charged. The police officer was charged with breaking laws. But the judge, upon hearing the evidence, determined that the officer had not broken the laws he was charged with breaking. So far as the law was concerned, the judge said the officer had not broken it but complied. Judged by the law the officer was “not guilty” but “just” or “right.”

That’s what it means to be justified. God, as Judge, declares you not guilty but righteous in his sight. We all must die, and after death we will face judgment. On the last day, God will declare you righteous or unrighteous, guilty or not guilty, right before the law or wrong. What justification means is that you know know the verdict that will be rendered on the Last Day. Rather than having to wait till the Last Day to see how things will turn out, you can know now what God will declare about you at the Final Judgment. In fact you can know that God will declare that you are not guilty of breaking his law but are righteous in his sight.

2.3. We have to ask, “How can that be? We all have blown it - every one of us is morally weak, ungodly, a sinner, an enemy of God, under his wrath. How then can we be declared righteous by God? Wouldn’t that be wrong? How can God be a just God, a righteous God, and then declare those who are sinners to be just or righteous?”

This brings us to the heart of the gospel, of the good news about what God has done for us in Christ.

2.3.a. Christ died for us:

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely will one die for a righteous man, yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Christ accepted responsibility for our sins and died for them, so that our sins may be forgiven and God may declare us not guilty. We declared right before God by Christ’s blood.

2.2.b. Christ also lived for us. Later in chapter 5 Paul writes:

For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.

Therefore as by the offense of one, judgment to condemnation came upon all men, even so by the righteousness of One, the free gift unto justification of life came upon all men. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous (5:17-19).

Christ as a man was our representative. He lived a righteous life and the righteousness of his life is transferred to us, or credited  as ours. Not only are we forgiven of our sins by the death of Christ, but we are considered righteous by the righteous life of Christ.

2.4. How does this justification happen? Paul says we are “justified by faith.” What is faith? Faith is not an easier work we do. It is not that God says, “Well obeying the law is hard, yes, impossible, so let me give you something else to do. Have faith, and I’ll let that count for your doing good works.”

Faith is three things. It is understanding the truth about of Christ has done for our salvation. It is believing as true what you understand. And it is entrusting ourselves to Jesus and saying, “Here I am; I cannot save myself; I entrust myself to you to save me.” Any attempt on your part to make it right will only make it worse. Only Christ can put it right. The greatness of your sin is no impediment to your justification if you put your faith in Christ.

You are in the water drowning. I throw you a life ring. You understand, “This device was made to keep drowning people afloat. I believe that this life ring is capable of saving my life. Then you take hold of it - you entrust your life to it. Not you but the life ring saves you. That is justification by faith in Christ. He lived and died to save you; believe in his saving work; put yourself in his hands and entrust your salvation wholly to him.

3. We all can have peace with God.

Since we are justified by faith we can therefore have peace with God through Jesus Christ. If God forgives you and counts you righteous by faith in Jesus Christ, you can be at peace with him. Peace has 2 elements:

3.1. There is an objective state of peace with God. You and I rebelled and sinned against God. We created a state of enmity or war with him. God directed his righteous wrath against us. A state of war existed between us and God. But Christ lived a righteous life for us and died a sacrificial death for us. We believed and entrusted ourselves to Christ. God forgave our sins and counted us righteous for Christ’s sake.

God issued a declaration of peace. This is not a temporary truce which suspends war but may not last. Beginning in 1950 war broke out on the Korean Peninsula. Three years later an armistice was agreed to. But now, 63 years later a state of war still exists. No permanent peace has ever been agreed to. When God justifies us, that justification is permanent, and God establishes a permanent peace between us.

3.2. This objective state of peace creates the possibility of personal peace - of peace within our hearts, a sense of well-being that comes from knowing that God has nothing against us, has declared the end of hostilities and a state of peace.

This subjective experience of peace can take awhile to experience. If there has been war between two countries that has gone on for many years but eventually peace is established and names or signed, it may be that the leaders and people of those two countries will take awhile to make the psychological adjustment, to realize, “We are not at war any longer. We do not have to live in fear any more. Peace has come and war is over. And, even when the two nations begin to enjoy the state of peace, they can fall back into feelings of hostility and fear.

We have to “talk to ourselves” and say, “I am right with God by faith in Jesus Christ. God forgives me, declares me righteous, accepts me. He has declared peace. I can live in peace because God has nothing against me.” It takes a “faith adjustment” to live on the basis of this reality. And every time this peace is disturbed by our sins, or by the devil’s attacks on us, we must have this same conversation with ourselves all over again: “I am justified by faith. I have peace with God.”

My hope is built on nothing less

than Jesus blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

but wholly lean on Jesus name.

What It’s Like to See God

Old Testament Isaiah 6:1-8 (KJ21)

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one cried unto another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.

7 And he laid it upon my mouth and said, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”

8 Also I heard the  voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then said I, “Here am I. Send me!”

King Uzziah ruled for 52 years. He was a very good king till success ruined him. When he became “strong,” his heart lifted up with pride and rebellion. He went to the Temple and burned incense. When the priests told him the LORD said only priests could minister in the Temple, he got very angry. Then a priest noticed a spot on his forehead. It was leprosy. For the 10 more years he lived, he had to live by himself and share rule with his son.

When he died in 740, people were left with a memory and a question. The memory was, “He died a leper because of his sin.” The question was, “What now that the king is dead?”

1. The Vision of God

1.1. Vision. It was that year Isaiah had an extraordinary experience. He had a vision. He saw the Lord. A lot of people think that, if they saw the Lord, it would a a wonderful thing. People who claim to have seen God in a near death experiences say they felt warmth, love, acceptance. But Isaiah’s experience was the sort that causes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, sweat break out on your skin, your heart to pound, and your legs go weak.

In his vision Isaiah went into the Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple represented heaven - we could say that the earthly Temple reflected the heavenly Temple.

1.2. King. Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne. Isaiah saw a king-like figure who represented God as the sovereign Ruler of the universe. God’s throne was very “high the lifted up” as though it reached to the very top of the Temple. God had on a kingly robe whose train filled the Temple. You’ve seen the trains of the brides in royal weddings. They stretch the length of the aisle of the church. What Isaiah sees is a king with a robe that is highly exaggerated because it is so long and full that it fills the Temple. This is a way of saying that the Lord is a King infinitely greater than the greatest king you can imagine.

Of course, Isaiah did not see God himself, because, as the LORD told Moses, “no one can see my face and live,” and St. John tells us, “no one has seen God at any time.” Isaiah saw a king-like figure who represented God as the sovereign Ruler of the universe.

1.3. Holy. Above the throne were seraphim, angelic beings. The word seraphim means “burning” so these were fiery creatures who hovered about the throne of God. Each had 6 wings. With 2 wings he covered his face and with 2 covered his feet. This was an act of humility. Even sinless beings must cover themselves in the presence of the LORD, saying, “I am not worthy to look upon the LORD or to be looked on by the LORD.” Each seraph also had two wings he used to fly so that he could go here and there to do whatever the Lord the Lord sent him to do.

These angelic beings called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” They repeated the word 3 times, as we did this morning when we sang, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty.” The use of the word 3 times means two things. First, it hints at the truth of the Trinity - one God who 3 times is called holy. Second, it is a way to intensify and strengthen the word “holy.” In the Hebrew language a way to strengthen a word not to use an adjective like “very” but to repeat the word. The seraphim are declaring the infinite holiness of God.

What does it mean for God to be holy? The word “holy” means “separate” or “different.” We celebrate  Holy Communion because it is different from the communion we have with each other over ordinary meals. Holy utensils were used in the Temple because they were never used for ordinary purposes. God is different from us - entirely different. He is a Being, but we are created beings and God is uncreated.

God is holy in majesty. There is no King like him. There is no President or other earthly ruler who can compare with God in greatness and power. He is the King high and holy and lifted up beyond all rule and glory.

God is holy in moral purity. There is nothing of sin or compromise with sin in God’s being. “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.”  The prophet Habakkuk said, “Thy eyes are too pure to look upon iniquity.”  Sin is repugnant to God. God purity is beyond our comprehension because it is absolute.

1.4. Glory. The whole earth is full of the LORD’s glory. The word “glory” means “heavy.” Back in the 60s and 70s, when someone said something that sounded deep and profound, someone would say, “That’s heavy, brother.”  The LORD is glorious because he is a weighty Being. There is nothing light or frivolous about God. The glory of the LORD filled the the Tabernacle when it was built. Later, when Solomon dedicated his Temple, the glory of the LORD filled the Temple and it was so overwhelming that the priests had to stop ministering. But seraphim of Isaiah’s vision see, not the Temple in Jerusalem, but the whole earth as God’s Temple, and so they sing. “Holy, holy, holy… the whole earth is full of his glory.”

1.5. Signs. In Isaiah’s vision he not only saw the Lord as the great King, but he also sensed the Temple filling with smoke and the doorposts shaking as though there were an earthquake. We remember God’s appearance at Mt. Sinai when he gave the 10 Commandments. The mountain was shaking and covered with smoke because God was appearing in his holy glory to his people. These sensory signs testify to the overwhelming presence of the LORD.

The LORD is King - infinite in power, authority, majesty, purity, glory.

2. The Experience of Isaiah

Sometimes we talk about sensory overload - when so much is coming at us overwhelms us. Imagine how Isaiah felt - he was the greatest King he could imagine, saw burning seraphim flying about singing of God’s majesty, purity, and glory, saw the building filling with smoke, and felt it shaking. What impact did this vision have on Isaiah?  

2.1. Woe. Isaiah is not just a witness in his vision; he is a participant. His response to the vision of God was, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” The way people conduct themselves in worship has a lot to do with how they envision God. Some find worship boring; others find it warm and cozy; others find it makes them feel better about themselves; some are entertained. But Isaiah finds it scary. He says in effect, “I’m a doomed and dead man because I have seen God the King in his majesty, purity, and glory.”

It may be surprising that the sins foremost in Isaiah’s mind are sins of the tongue. But it should not surprise us. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” What we say often comes from a heart where there is hypocrisy, hatred, lust, deceit. The praise of the seraphim is pure, sincere, and holy. Not so with Isaiah and God’s people among whom he lives.

In the Bible, when people get a glimpse of God’s glory, they are overwhelmed. The revelation of God at Mt. Sinai was so overwhelming that the people were terrified and said to Moses,  “The voice of the LORD scares us to death. From now on let the LORD speak to you, and then you tell us what he says.”  When Peter glimpsed the divinity of Jesus in a miracle he fell to his knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, “O Lord.”

The reality of God’s majestic holiness is one reason the prayer of confession is so important to our worship. We say every week, “Lord, you are holy, but we are not. We sinful in thought, word, and deed, by what we do and by what we are. Forgive and cleanse us.”

2.2. Cleansing. One of the seraphim flew to the altar where sacrifice was made, picked up a coal with tongs, then flew to Isaiah, touched the coal to mouth, and said, “Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”

2.2.a. The guilt of Isaiah’s sin needs to be removed. Isaiah cannot remove it or atone for it. Only God can remove sin, and he does that by sacrifice. The sacrificial animal took the place of the sinful worship and died on the altar. This is how guilt was pardoned and sin removed, so that God did not destroy the sinner. The coal from the altar applied to the point in Isaiah’s life where he most sensed his sin, assured Isaiah that God forgave h is sin.

2.2.b. But Isaiah also needs to be purged of sin if he is going to serve the Lord. The burning coal from the altar cauterizes the sin infected lips of Isaiah so that he can speak truthfully and sincerely.

The Declaration of Absolution in Morning Prayer addresses both needs. God “pardoneth and absolveth those who truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel.” There’s the forgiveness - the removal of guilt. But then the Minister says. “Let us beseech him to grant us true repentance, and his Holy Spirit.” There’s the purging of sin, the cleansing to serve God. We need both every Sunday in worship  - to hear that God forgives us and to ask God to cleanse and renew us.

2.3. Commission Then the Lord speaks for the first time. He asks, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” There is another hint of the Trinity in the Old Testament. God asks the question as both singular - “whom shall I send?” - and plural - “who will go for us?” The Lord is asking for a volunteer to speak to the people on his behalf. Isaiah, convicted of his sin, but forgiven and cleansed, speaks up: “Here am I. Send me!” He will go and represent and speak for the Lord no matter the cost to himself.

Let me ask just a few questions:

Have you glimpsed the majesty and glory of our thrice holy God?

Has your knowledge of God not just informed you are allowed you to talk about God, but has it shown your sin and convicted you that on your own you are doomed?

Has God pardoned your sin by the blood of Christ?

Do you seek the ministry of the Holy Spirit to change you -  cleanse and renew you?

Have you and do you continually volunteer to serve the Lord? When some need arises in the work and service of the Lord do you say, “Here am I. Send me!”

Prophecy of Pentecost

Prophecy of Pentecost

Whitsunday

Collect of the Day: O God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity

Old Testament: Joel 2:21-32 (KJ21)

21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord will do great things!

22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He hath given you the early rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the early rain and the latter rain in the first month.

24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar and the palmer worm, My great army which I sent among you.

26 And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of theLord your God that hath dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be ashamed.

27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am theLord your God, and none else; and My people shall never be ashamed.

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions;

29 and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.

30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth— blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

You’ve probably seen on a television program like Cops or Alaskan State Troopers the police administering a breathalyzer test. The person under suspicion blows into a tube, and the analyzer estimates the person’s blood alcohol level. Sometimes the test indicates the person is guilty of driving under the influence. Rarely the person has a medical condition or is having a medical event that causes him to appear to under the influence.

It might have been nice if St. Peter had had a breathalyzer machine available on the Day of Pentecost, because some people accused disciples of Jesus of being drunk.

1. Pentecost

1.1. Jewish people came from all over the Roman Empire to celebrate festivals such as the Feast of Weeks. The Greek name for it was Pentecost, taken from the Greek word for fifty, because the feast began on the 50th day after the sabbath of Passover week.

It was on this day that the remarkable events we read about Acts 2 this morning. The 12 Apostles and probably many of the 120 disciples mentioned in chapter 1 were meeting together, possibly in the Upper Room. Suddenly there was the sound of a rushing wind. At the same time there appeared a tongue that looked like it was on fire. It divided and rested on the heads of those present.

If you have read the Old Testament much, you may have observed that wind and fire are often associated with the special manifestation of the presence of God. This case was no exception. These were signs of the presence of God the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. All of those present were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Holy Spirit enabled them.

When people heard the sound of the wind and heard these disciples speaking, they came to see what was happening. All of them, wherever they came from, and whatever their native tongues, heard these followers of Jesus speaking in the  languages of the countries from which they came. They were proclaiming the mighty works of the Lord that had been accomplished in the life and ministry of Jesus, especially his resurrection.

1.2. These listeners were baffled. They knew most, if not all, of these Christian disciples were from Galilee and that their language was Aramaic, a form of Hebrew. So they said, “How is it that we hear these Galileans speaking in our languages, languages they had never learned?” They were amazed and perplexed and asked, “What does this mean?”

However, there were some other people who scoffed and said, “These people you’re listening to are drunk.”  But they weren’t. Peter, accompanied by the other 11 Apostles, stood up and said, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk as you suppose, since this is only the third hour of the day” - or about 9:00 in the morning.” These people were not under the influence of wine but of the Holy Spirit.

Peter then interpreted this event for them. He knew his Bible and said, “What you are witnessing is something foretold by the prophet Joel.” He quoted part of what we read from the prophet in today’s Old Testament reading. The manifestation of the Spirit in the wind, of fire, and speaking in tongues, or foreign languages was remarkable. But it was also remarkable that a Jewish prophet has prophesied it 500 years earlier.

2. Prophecy

2.1. To understand Joel’s prophecy we have to go back 500 years before Pentecost and put ourselves in the places of Joel and those who experienced his prophetic ministry. Joel lived in Jerusalem and, though not a priest, was a prophet associated with the Temple.

The memory of judgment was or should have been fresh in the minds of the Jewish people. The Lord had sent the Babylonians to conquer their land and to exile many people. Now some had returned and were trying to get re-established in the land. But recently another disaster had taken place. Swarms of locusts had invaded and left the land bare. Why? Joel says it is because the people again have turned away from the LORD. Joel warned that the devastation caused by the locusts was a harbinger of a coming the day of the LORD - a day of judgment. The only way to avoid it was to repent and return to the LORD.

But Joel also had a message of hope. The LORD would return in mercy to his people and the land  with its crops destroyed by locusts would be productive again. But the LORD would do something much greater than restore the land to produce crops. Joel prophesied a wonderful thing which Peter said was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.

2.2. What did Joel prophesy?

Three things:

2.2.a. The Gift of the Spirit

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions;

29 and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was present and at work in the Old Testament. He was active at creation shaping the world as the LORD spoke his will. He gave gifts to kings to enable them to rule. He inspired prophets to speak the Word of the LORD and guided some of them to preserve those Words in writing. He gave believers the gift of faith and enabled them to live according to God’s Word. But the impression we get is of the Spirit’s work in the Old Testament is that it was temporary and partial. He came upon people to equip them for a particular assignment. He did just enough in all believers to make and keep them believers.

But now on the day of Pentecost Jesus fulfills his promise to send another Helper, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would work in all Jesus’s followers as Jesus worked in the lives of his 12 disciples. He would pour out the Holy Spirit on his whole church. He would fill every believer in Christ. He would work not in a few but in all - not only men but also women, not only the old but also the young, not only the free but also the servants and handmaids. All the servants of the LORD will know the LORD, receive the Word of the LORD, and serve the LORD.

Peter said to those who witnessed the 120 disciples testifying to the works of the LORD in languages they had not learned, “What you are seeing is the beginning of the new age that the prophet Joel predicted. These are not drunk men and women but Spirit-filled followers of Jesus.”

You and I live in the age that began on Pentecost. All of us have the Holy Spirit living in us, sanctifying us, equipping us. The church is equipped to reach the world for Christ and to reproduce itself throughout the world.

Sometimes Susan and I marvel at the lifestyles of our kids. They accept as normal things we could not even imagine when we were at the place in life they are. When we used to go out to eat, we never ordered an appetizer. Our kids think you cannot order a meal unless you first have an appetizer. We as Christians sometimes lose sight of the blessing we enjoy. But an Old Testament believer would say to us, “You have no idea how good you have it to live in the age when the LORD has poured out his Spirit on all his people.”

2.2.b The Last Days

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

These “signs” in the heavens say to the world, “The day of the Lord is coming soon.” They are not necessarily literal but point to a cataclysmic change in the universe that means “the end is near.”

Peter quoted this part of Joel’s prophecy to say, “All the works of Jesus and now the coming of the Spirit are telling you that the last age has begun. The turning point in human history has come.” Now is is the age of grace, but the age of grace will end in the Day of Judgment. Christ has come; he has poured out his Spirit on the church; when he comes again it will be to judge the quick and the dead.

2.2.c. Universal Salvation.

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be delivered - saved. Peter says, “The LORD has given this gift of languages today, because he intends to proclaim the saving work of Jesus Christ and call all to believe and repent to to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.” Later Paul made clear that this promise was truly universal - not just for Jews who spoke different languages but for all people everywhere. All who call on the name of the Lord for salvation through the work of Jesus.

Here’s the bottom line. I can say to you, and you and I can say to everyone, “D you want to be saved?” Call on the name of the LORD.” All who call on the LORD, all without exception will be saved. No ifs, ands, and buts. Call on the name of the LORD by putting your faith in Jesus and you will be saved.

Jesus meets us at this, his Table. He says, “I died for your sins. I rose so you could be declared righteous. I ascended so  that you could go to heaven. I have poured out my Spirit so that you can call on my name and then declare my mighty saving works to the world.

A Priest Passed into the Heavens

A Priest Passed Into the Heavens

Sunday after Ascension Day

Collect of the Day O God, the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thy Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. The Epistle. 1 St. Peter

Epistle: Hebrews 4:14-5:10 (KJ21)

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed into the Heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession.

15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins;

2 who can have compassion on the ignorant and on those who are outside of the Way, since he himself is also encompassed by infirmity.

3 And by reason hereof, he ought, both for the people and also for himself, to make offering for sins.

4 And no man taketh this honor unto himself, except he that is called by God, as was Aaron.

5 So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made a high priest, but He that said unto Him, “Thou art My Son; today have I begotten Thee.”

6 And He saith also in another place, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”

7 Christ, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared,

8 though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.

9 And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all those who obey Him,

10 being called by God as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

When Secretary of State Clinton was asked if the Administration were standing by the story that the Benghazi attack was a protest that got out of hand, she famously responded, “What difference does it make?” You may be tempted to ask the same question about the Ascension of our Lord. What difference does it make? The Bible gives two main answers. One is that Christ is King in heaven, ruling over the universe for the sake of his church. The other is that Christ is High Priest in heaven listening to and helping his people. Today’s Epistle reading focuses our attention on the second of those two - Christ, our High Priest in Heaven. 1. Christ Ascended 1.1 The writer calls him Jesus the Son of God. He has the human name Jesus, because he became one with us in our humanity. He is called the Son of God, because in eternity he always was and when he became a man remained one with the Father in his Divine nature. He is man and God, one Person with two natures. He is at the same time fully God and fully man. He lacks nothing of the human nature and nothing of the Divine nature. He was born to Mary and grew up in Nazareth. He began his public ministry by being baptized by John the Baptist. For three years he spoke the words of God and did the works of God. At the climax of his ministry he died on the cross to save us from our sins. On the third day he rose from the dead, victorious over sin, death, and the devil. During the next 40 days he showed himself alive and prepared his disciples for their ministry after his departure. 1.2. Then he left. St. Luke describes the event:        And when He had spoken these things, while        they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud        received Him out of their sight. And while        they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He        went up, behold, two men stood by them in        white apparel, who also said, “Ye men of        Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?        This same Jesus, who is taken up from into        Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye        have seen Him go into Heaven” (Acts        1:9-11). He returned to the Father who had sent him because his mission was complete. He went through the heavens into the presence of God. There he is our King and our High Priest. The first Old Testament High Priest was Aaron. He and the High Priests after him represented the people before God - interceding for them and daily offering offering sacrifices for them. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest went into the Tabernacle, passed through the thick curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, and went into hte Most Holy Place which was filled with the glory of God. There the High Priest sprinkled the blood of the atonement on the Mercy Seat.   The Most Holy place was a picture of heaven. It was set apart as the dwelling place of the Most Holy God and as his throne room. There was no approaching him except by the blood of atonement. Jesus went not into an earthly Tabernacle but into heaven itself, where he continually presents to the Father his once-for-all sacrifice for our sin and where he lives forever to intercede on our behalves. 2. Christ Touched 2.1 Christ is in heaven where there is no sin, no sorrow, no tears - nothing of sin or its consequences, only perfect holiness and blessedness. Christ ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. In heaven he is not waiting to be made King; he is King, exalted at the Father’s right hand, the place of authority.   2.2. It would be natural for us to think that because of where Christ is and what he enjoys there, he does not understand what we are going through in this life. He is no longer here with us going through what we go through. We may have known someone who was born poor and grew up in a family that was always behind on their bills, got their clothes from the Salvation Army, sometimes got their utilities turned off, drove old cars, and suffered one humiliation after another. But then that person becomes rich. He invents a piece of software, or makes a great investment, or marries into a monied family. His life changes. He keeps track of  his money, buys what he wants, including a fine house furnished with luxuries, is a respected an influential member of the community. As time passes he forgets the life he once lived. He loses empathy, sympathy, and concern for those who are now in the conditions he once was. The past is forgotten. We may think that surely that is the way it is for Jesus - whose sufferings are long passed and whose life is all blessedness. 2.3. But that is not true of him. His earthly experience as a man was not protected by his Godhood from the testings and temptations we undergo. He was misunderstood by his own family, rejected by his own people, condemned by the Jewish religious leaders, abandoned by his own disciples. He experienced both physical deprivation and the powerful temptations of the devil in the wilderness. He had to face the shame and pain of death by crucifixion. He died the death of a condemned criminal. In his death he was under the Father’s condemnation for our sins. There is no sort of trial or temptation that we experience that he did not experience. Yet, he always held out to the end of temptation till he overcame it. But one victory for him was not the end of temptation. Satan was always near to tempt him to turn away from the Father’s will to do what he wanted. Yet he never sinned. Had he not experienced our trials and temptations, he would not know what we go through by experience. Had he not resisted temptation and never sinned, he could not save and help us. Jesus is in heaven enjoying all glory and having all authority. But he has not forgotten what it is like to be us - for he has chosen to remember. He knows what we go through not just by divine omniscience but by human experience. 3. So What? So what that Christ was tested and tempted as we are and understands our weakness? What are we to do? 3.1. First, we must hold fast our confession of faith in Christ. The Hebrew Christians who read this letter were experiencing pressures and persecutions. Some had had their property confiscated. Some went to jail. They were rejected by their Jewish families. Judaism was a recognized and protected religion in the Empire. Christianity was not. So some of their families were saying, “Come home to your family. Come home to the synagogue. Turn your back on this new religion. There is no need to suffer for this new faith. Come back to us.” The writer of Hebrews says, “No, don’t do that. Jesus went through what you went through. He is exalted in heaven, but her understands you, and you can be sure he will hear you and help you when you turn to him. Persevere in your faith. 3.2. Second, come to the throne of grace. For unforgiven sinners, God’s throne is a throne of judgment and condemnation. At the throne of God unforgiven sinners’ sins are exposed, their guilt established beyond doubt, and sentence of eternal punishment is pronounced. Any unforgiven sinner can only feel unimaginable feelings of guilty, doom, and hopelessness. But for those who confess Christ as their Savior from sin the throne of judgment is transformed into a throne of grace. It is a throne where you encounter the unfathomable love of God. You meet God there not as a Judge but as a compassionate Father. You go to the throne with boldness and confidence to get the help you need. A guilty prisoner can appear before a judge only with defiance or fear. But a child, who is loved by his father, can go to his father anytime without fear. He is not irreverent or non-chalant because this is his father, not his buddy. But it is his father who always welcomes him, always has time for him, and will always help. 3.3. When we come to the throne by Christ we find there mercy and grace. We need mercy because remain sinners. We should not sin, we must not sin. We must not presume upon God’s mercy as though we can sin as much as we like because God is a merciful God. Christians hate sin, struggle against sin, want to be free of sin. But they sin. What should they do then? Run away and hide as did Adam? No! They should go to the throne of grace knowing that God never turns away a sinner who comes asking for the mercy of forgiveness. If you sin, and you come through Christ to confess your sin and ask for forgiveness, you can be absolutely sure that you will always receive mercy.You will get not the judgmen you deserve but the mercy you need. 3.4. We will also find grace. Why do we need grace? Because we face constant testings and temptations. They are beyond your power to endure. Grace is God’s enabling to do what you cannot do by your own resources and power. You can go to the throne and say, “This temptation is so powerful and I have been defeated by it so many times, and here it is n with a ramrod at my heart. I need help.” Or, “Lord, I am being severely tested. I feel I am about to be overwhelmed. This just seems more than I can bear, more than I can endure. Please help me. And you will find grace from Christ who has been tempted and tried in every way you are. He will help you to not to fall, or if you have fallen to get up go on in faith. Christ is your High Priest in Heaven. He is the only Priest you need. He knows what you are going through. Go to him and find from him the mercy of forgiveness and the grace of help.