Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Matthew 7:15-27
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  March 8, 2020

Garrison Keillor, the well-known author and humorist, finds a great deal of his material in the Lutheran Church. He pokes fun at many of the stereotypes that have characterized Lutherans in the Midwest for quite a long time. But there’s one particular comment I heard that makes me chuckle and at the same time it made me proud to be a Lutheran. Keillor was talking about a young lady who was going to a Lutheran dude ranch called, “The Lazy Zion.” It was like any other dude ranch with a few minor differences. The horses at this dude ranch didn’t ever stray off the path. Even if there was an avalanche, these Lutheran horses would follow the path. Obviously, Mr. Keillor is trying to poke fun at the rigidness of Lutherans and their seeming opposition to change, but to me that’s a compliment even if it’s a backhanded one. And it highlights the truth that we want to focus on today on this Christian Education Sunday. Jesus says today, “Everyone who hears these words of mind and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on bedrock. The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was founded on bedrock.” Our Christian Education is founded on the Bedrock of Jesus Christ and his Word. There’s danger on either side of the bedrock if we try to build there. However, with God’s help and blessing, we can avoid those dangers as we continue building our house on the Bedrock of Jesus Christ.

In Greek mythology, on either side of the straits of Messina were two immortal and irresistible dangers: Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was a sheer rock wall against which many a Greek ship had been thrown and broken into pieces. On the other side was Charybdis, a huge swirling whirlpool, which could suck a whole ship into a watery grave. Between those two menacing dangers, the Greek heroes were forced to sail. And as the legend goes, it was only with the hold of the gods that the Greek sailors were able to achieve safe passage through that double danger. I’m sure you realize that Scylla and Charybdis were only made up dangers. But they do help to illustrate the dangers we need to avoid as we strive to build our house. Jesus doesn’t refer to the dangers of a rock wall and a whirlpool as he wraps up his Sermon on the Mount. Rather, they are two false ideas that come from trying to answer a simple question without looking to God’s Word. The question is, “How can I do the words of Jesus?” In other words, how do I achieve God’s will for my life? And when we try and answer that question without looking to God’s Word, we come up with two very dangerous and false ideas: first, the idea that our own good works will save us; the second, the idea that good works are not necessary. May we set the example this morning, that in order to do the words of Jesus, in order to achieve God’s will for my life, that we go back to the Word, for that’s where Christian Education is founded, on the Bedrock of Christ and his Word.

The idea that good works can save is nothing new. It’s very much like the Charybdis of Greek lore. Work righteousness is like a dangerous whirlpool that has been sucking people in for centuries. Ask an unbeliever if they think they are going to heaven and you’ll likely hear something like, “I hope so.” Ask them why and they’ll probably respond with something to the effect that they are good, that they try hard to be good. It’s part of our sinful nature to think that our good behavior or our good works are going to earn us favor. The words, “try hard,” “done my best,” “at least I’m better than so and so,” flow freely from our lips. We don’t even have to think about an argument when presented with that question. It only makes sense that God would judge us on the basis of our behavior. And in fact, that’s exactly how God is going to judge the world. Jesus says in the gospel of John, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out. Those who have done good will rise to live, but those who have practiced evil will rise to be condemned.” That would all be fine and good if we were being compared to our neighbor. But that’s not the standard that God is going to judge us against. God doesn’t say that we can be pretty good, or better than most, or above average. Instead he says, “So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

I’m sure you’ve all seen the carnival game where you try and show off your strength by swinging the hammer and ringing the bell at the top of the pole. If you have to actually ring the bell in order to win the prize, then if you think about it, all of your good attempts that still fall short of the top are really good for nothing, aren’t they? I mean, even if you can hit that thing higher than anyone else around you; even if everyone else is saying, “Wow, look at how high you hit it!” Still, if you don’t hit it all the way to the top, if you don’t ring the bell, then the man running the game isn’t going to give you a prize. In spite of all your sincere efforts, you still lose! My friends, isn’t that exactly where you and I and all of mankind stand when it comes to winning the eternal prize of heaven by our own efforts? No matter how hard we swing, no matter how hard we try to keep the Ten Commandments, we just can’t do it. It’s like building on sand. When we build on the foundation of our own works, the building is going to crash.

And yet, it’s easy to lose sight of that truth. It’s easy for us to start to think that because we are law-abiding, God-fearing men and women, God owes us good things in this life and the next. How easy for us to believe that because we pray or go to church or support Christian Education or serve on this board or that committee or stand before the altar, therefore we’ve earned God’s favor. Jesus dashes those thoughts today. He says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and drive out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’  Doesn’t that sound rather harsh? People are calling on Jesus name, preaching in his name, doing miracles in his name–why does he reject them? The answer: Jesus rejects them because they were putting their trust in what they were doing for God rather than in what God had done for them. That’s what makes the Christian faith different. Biblical Christianity is not about what you and I do for God. It’s all about what God has done for us. Our good standing with God is not based on our righteousness, but Christ’s, which we heard last week is a gracious gift to for all people. A righteousness which is revealed to us in the bedrock of God’s Word. “But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness from God has been made known. The Law and the Prophets testify to it. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe.” This is the only way anyone stands right in God’s eyes. As we flail away with that hammer, hopelessly unable to ring the bell, God sends in a pinch-hitter. Jesus, swings the hammer, rings the bell, wins the prize and then gives it to us as our very own. Forgiveness, life as a child of God, eternal salvation in heaven are yours not because of your efforts, but purely because of Christ’s effort, his work on your behalf. 

And that’s part of the foundational message we teach here at Eastside. God’s grace alone points us to the bedrock of Jesus Christ, on whom we build. But unfortunately, Christians from time to time, in order to avoid the whirlpool of work righteousness, have veered too far in the opposition direction and have run into the rock wall of licentiousness, or in other words, good works aren’t necessary. And this rock wall of Scylla, is just as dangerous as the whirlpool of works. How easy it is for us to start to think, “As long as I’m forgiven, I’m free to do whatever I want. As long as I believe right, it doesn’t matter if I live right. As long as I listen to God’s Word, I’m not expected to fully obey it.”

However, such thinking is really an abuse of God’s grace. Just because Jesus has met God’s standards for us doesn’t mean the standards no longer apply to us. God’s commandments are still in effect. The standards haven’t changed, what’s changed is our motivation for obeying those commandments. Rather than striving to keep God’s law in a vain attempt to win God’s favor, not we are equipped and motivated to keep God’s law because of what Jesus has done for us. Our godly behavior is simply our way of saying “thank you,” to God for what he’s done for us in Christ. 

And yet, because each one of us still has that sinful nature, we still need God’s reminder, God’s encouragement, yes, even God’s warning to continue to put our faith into action. We need to be reminded to not only listen to God’s Word, but to take it to heart and apply it to our lives. Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine but does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—it was completely destroyed.”  Make no mistake about it, people who are content to simply pay lip service to God are in for a real disaster when trouble comes. And whether that test is some kind of trial in this life or whether it’s the ultimate test before God on Judgment Day, the end result will be the same. When a person builds his life on mere lip service to God, when a person is content to hear the Word, but not take it to heart, when a person refuses to produce the fruits of faith, the end result is spiritual and eternal disaster. When you look at the whirlpool of work righteousness on one side and the rocks of hypocrisy on the other, it may seem like it’s impossible to stand up. But it’s not impossible. The key is to neither trust in our behavior nor neglect our behavior. The key to to build on the bedrock of Christ Jesus. And how do we do that? We teach God’s Word.

We are blessed today to focus on the blessing of Christian Education. From birth to grave, we point people the bedrock of Jesus Christ by preaching and teaching God’s Word. We focus people on Jesus and what he’s done for us. He’s made us right in God’s eyes. He’s made us holy. He’s given us a foundation on which to build, which will stand up against any and every storm. We thank God for this wonderful gift. May we continue to build on the bedrock. May we be those Lutheran horses who don’t stray from the path. And by God’s grace, then we’ll not only be educated,  but we will be wise. Amen.