Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Ephesians 2. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Quite often what strikes us as sensible and reasonable is truly wrong. Take for example the conclusion of the people of Israel out in the wilderness. They had food – manna in the morning and quail in the evening – but they grew tired of it. I suspect we might also grow tired of nothing but chicken and bread. There was a shortage of water as well. If you have ever experienced deep thirst, you know how terrifying this can be.
- Okay, the people grew “impatient.” Now, how many of you have never had a bout of “impatience”? So they got a bit angry – and surely none of us has ever had to deal with this emotion! So they exaggerated a bit – and became accusatory to make their point. They accused God and Moses of attempted “murder” by wilderness exposure, by starvation, even though they acknowledged having “worthless food.” But that food had kept them alive for many years.
- What made sense to them was actually all wrong. And the solution that God provided for them, “fiery serpents” to afflict and kill them, and then a bronze serpent [a graven image] to “save them,” this all seemed quite wrong as well. But it was right – a proper application of Law and Gospel on the part of God.
- Just so, what we sometimes think of as “good” and conducive to a great and successful life, is not what it appears to be. And what looks as if it is difficult, suffocating, and a sacrifice of life, is much better than it seems. This is the message of our text, and of the other two Scripture Lessons for this morning. And first we consider that:
I. The “Life” We Cling To Is Actually Death
A. The Natural Inclination We Have To Judge God – As Did The Children Of Israel, Is Such Evil That It Is Spiritual Death
OT Lesson: “The people spoke against God.”
B. The Natural Tendency We Have To Rebel Against God And The Servants Of His Word Is An Outflow Of Spiritual Death
OT Lesson: “The people spoke against God and against Moses.”
C. Our Eagerness To Exercise Self-Determination, Rejecting The Gifts Of God, And Choosing To Live Out Of Our Own Wisdom And Desires Which Are Often Quite Evil Demonstrates Spiritual Death
OT Lesson: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”
Exodus 16:2,3 “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’”
Numbers 11:4-6 “And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, ‘Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.’”
D. In All Of This We Are By Nature Dead In Trespasses And Sin, Children Of Wrath
Text: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Statement: This is what seems to be “life” and really living to the vast majority of people in the world, and this is likewise what our sinful nature considers to be “life.” We should be the ones judging God and His servants, we should determine the menu – in all matters of human living and doing, which includes turning up our noses at the things of God, and determining which of our sinful passions and desires we will carry out, and explain away.
Application: It seems like life and freedom and the pursuit of happiness – but it is rebellion against the Author of life, the Creator of humanity; it is actually living death. And until we recognize this, we will continue to encounter various types of “fiery serpents,” afflictions and difficulties sent by God to chastise humanity and bring us back to repentance. And most people think that God is acting very inappropriately when He does this, and even being evil toward us. But there is also the One lifted up on the cross in Whom we can find forgiveness, healing, and life – eternal life. But this provision of forgiveness and salvation also seems absurd to those who find it reasonable to judge God and reject Him.
Transition: But as ridiculous and absurd as it may sound, the fact is that:
II. God Does Restore Life And Salvation To Humanity – But Through Death
A. First And Foremost, Through The Death Of Jesus
Gospel: “So the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”
Text: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
B. Life Comes To Us Anew Through Repentance And Faith In Jesus – Which Is Death To Sin And Death To Our Rebellion Against God
Text: “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
C. This New Life Is God’s Workmanship In Us, So That We Are Alive To Good – To God’s Glory
Text: “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Text: “He has raised us up with Christ in the heavenly places . . . so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Statement: Jesus’ death seemed to be defeat – but it was the beginning of God’s victory over sin, death and hell. Our new life seems to be something that we must do and accomplish, but it is the work of God. Repentance and honest confession of our sin appears to be the end of life and innocence, but it is actually the beginning, for it makes way for faith in God’s gracious love in Christ Jesus. And submitting to a life of good works may seem an added layer of responsibility, energy, and effort – but it is actually God’s workmanship, God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Application: And while this new life – wherein we know God and His great love for us, and His justness, so that we no longer judge Him – may seem to be quite an impressive personal accomplishment, it is actually God’s accomplishment and all glory goes to Him. No human being has grounds to boast in any of the good that God works in us, the good that He works in His people of faith as He gives us newness of life.
Conclusion: All of this still seems dissonant and disparate to our sinful nature. That nature is “dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world.” The ways of life, and how God restores life to us will always seem unreasonable and irrational to this part of our nature. But in the death of Christ, and through the death of repentance and faith, this dead and damnable aspect of our nature is passing away – and we are being brought into glorious new life!
The main point for us to remember in all of this, is that the ways of the kingdom of God, His kingdom of life and salvation, will often seem quite counter-intuitive to us, and even wrong. And our sinful nature will often be compelling us to conclude that God is the insane One, the evil One. Hopefully, it becomes easier and easier for us to recognize when this happening, and to quickly realize why it is happening, so that by God’s grace we allow Him to restore us to life and sanity.
May He grant such blessedness to each of us, for surely we know that we have lived long enough in the deadness of trespasses and sin, and the darkness of our sinful passions and desires. By His mercy and grace and love He has made us alive again together with Christ. Thanks and praise be to God, 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.