Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Romans 11. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- People sometimes struggle to have a sense of where they belong. We’ve all had odd and discomforting experiences where we are pretty certain that we are not being accepted and don’t really fit in. Often groups are like this, and sometimes even churches, where there is a certain “inner circle” that is impenetrable, and no matter what we do we just don’t really “belong.”
- In a certain sense this is true when it comes to Christianity in general. For centuries the principle beneficiaries of God’s love and goodness were the children of Israel. It is not that God didn’t love others, or that He wanted Israel to be cold toward others. It was just that for a certain period of time, until the coming of Christ, God wanted to make sure His Word, the message of His love, was kept intact. The Jews succeeded in this; we have all 39 of the Old Testament books inspired by the Holy Spirit.
- In our text, the apostle Paul assures us that we do indeed belong to God’s kingdom, and that we have full rights and privileges. There is no elite club within God’s kingdom, the church; however we should recognize just how a great a blessing it is that we too have been gathered close to God within His church.
- But it is important for us to remember that:
I. We Are Gentiles, Outsiders, And Beggars: So Let Us Not Become Arrogant As The Jews Did
Gospel: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
Text: “Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience.”
Statement: None of us likes the idea that we are somehow “second-rate” citizens, but this is the reality when it comes to the comparison of Jews and Gentiles. However, when the children of Israel rejected the Gospel and faith in God and His Christ, the focus of the Gospel shifted to the Gentiles. And we must remember that to reject the faith is to reject God and to exclude oneself from His kingdom. And when Gentiles come to faith, this is like life from the dead – and by faith we are now in possession of full status within God’s kingdom, and we most certainly DO BELONG, for God has claimed us and made us His own.
Application: In actual fact, the children of Israel were also beggars for God’s mercy and love, and were also elevated to the status of being children of God by His grace and mercy alone. But they somehow lost sight of the fact that we all live each and every day by God’s grace and mercy alone. In consequence, when Jesus did come to His own people, they were not looking for or prepared to receive a Savior; they felt little need for one.
Sadly, the same thing can happen to Christians – who come to presume that they have little need for God’s forgiveness and salvation, and begin to turn up their noses at Christ and what He comes to offer to us in worship, in His Word, and in His Sacrament. But if we do so, we risk losing everything – our faith, our place in God’s kingdom, our share of His gracious mercy and love.
Transition: But in actual fact, being a beggar in God’s house is not a bad thing at all, for:
II. If We Are Beggars At God’s Table, In His House, We Are Richly Blessed With His Crumbs
Gospel: “She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’table.”
A. For His Crumbs Include His Mercy, Forgiveness, And Salvation
Text: “Their rejection means the reconciliation of the world. . . . You were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy.”
Eph. 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
John 3:36 “He that believes the Son has everlasting life.”
B. We Have Now Received Full Integration Into The Family Of God
O.T. Lesson [Is 56:1-8] “The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Him, to love the Name of the Lord, and to be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast My covenant – these I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. . . . The Lord God Who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, ‘I will gather yet others to Him besides those already gathered.’”
C. And In Addition To Earthly And Eternal Blessings, We Are Blessed To Be Able To See Things Correctly
Gospel: “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’”
Statement: Now this is the kind of club that we should desire to belong to – that of great faith and understanding. This is no club for self-elevation and arrogance, but rather one of utter humility and utter faith and trust in God, in His goodness and love. The fact that we don’t want to belong here, but would prefer to be lauded and magnified by others, should give us pause to contemplate deeply the dreadful impulses of our sinful nature.
Application: It is surely a strange and paradoxical reality that when we desire glory and honor for ourselves, we denude ourselves of the blessings of Christ, whereas when we humble ourselves profoundly we are elevated by Christ Himself to the highest places. But these are contradictory and mutually exclusive; so we will have to choose. If we want glory we reject God and His Christ, but if we humble ourselves and remain humble, God will glorify us. And I’m pretty sure that this would be better for us, that we remain humble but always in God’s love and grace!
Conclusion: The church then, is it a place where we belong? Probably not if we’re looking for an elitist club with lots of opportunities to be lauded and glorified. What should the church be like? Not an elitist club, but rather a comfortable place where people can confess their sins and rejoice to learn more and more about God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.
I have been a part of churches where I didn’t feel like I belonged, because I was too lowly and unglorified. I’ve been to churches that I didn’t really want to belong to because I didn’t really want to humble myself enough to “fit in.” But hopefully as we grow in faith we will eagerly and joyfully humble ourselves, rejoicing in the gifts of God, and praising Him.
Then perhaps we too will hear His commendation and praise: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” [Matt. 25:21]
It is Christ’s welcome and commendation that enables us to take “OUR RIGHTFUL PLACE,” and to actually feel like we belong. May He grant such grace and humility to us all, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.