A Call to Steadfastness

Reformation Sunday – November 1, 2015

In the face of deception
In the face of disaster
In the face of death

We’ve all been there before – digging our heels in and insisting that we are right. Whether as a child or an adult we are convinced there is only one way to see things, and it’s my way. We are unwilling to compromise; there will be no shifting of opinion; we will take our stand. Often times we call that being stubborn. If we look at it positively, we call it strong willed.

And we do this over some pretty minute and silly things! Like who said what three weeks ago; or which game we’re going to play and how we will play it; even things like who caught what pass on what play towin what game. Now while there are many times this behavior is less than desirable, there are times when it can be a good quality. One such situation is when we do not compromise, when we take our stand, when we remain loyal and devoted to God’s Word. We call that being steadfast. That is what Jesus calls us to be in our Reformation text this morning.

Mark 13:5-11 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

It was the Tuesday of the first Holy Week when Jesus spoke these words to his disciples. Two days from now Jesus would institute the Lord’s Supper and call himself“the way and the truth and the life.” The day after that he would suffer and die for the sins of the world. But before all this happened, Jesus would spend time with his disciples, carefully teaching and explaining to them things they needed to hear. One of those things was how the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed because of the people’s rejection of the Word of God.

Jesus’words before us now come as a result of some questions from Peter, Andrew, James and John. They approached Jesus and asked for more information about how all this would happen. So Jesus links the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem to the end of all things. In so doing, he gives a series of signs to help all believers of all time understand and live safely through this time.

Jesus begins with a word that should grab our attention. Watch out! Be on your guard! In other words, here is a call to vigilance; to steadfastness. He calls us to be steadfast in the face of deception!

As we gather together today to celebrate the Reformation, we can see how true these words are. When Luther was alive there was one who claimed to sit in Jesus’ seat; who said he had ultimate authority over Scripture. He taught that people could buy their forgiveness and that the road to heaven was dependent upon one’s own works. That man was the Pope, and his deception hasn’t stopped today.

Others have burst onto the scene as well, claiming to be Christ, seeking to deceive many. Then there are preachers who spew lies about getting a second chance when Jesus comes again and others who proclaim that it doesn’t matter what one believes, just so long as you live right. How desperate our need to heed and take serious Jesus’ callto steadfastness.

But how are we going to be able to recognize these deceivers? How will we keep the real Jesus from the imposters? After all, knowing they are coming is one thing. Being able to recognize them is another. Well, we go back to the Word. God’s Word serves as the litmus test to determine what is truth and who are phonies. Just as litmus paper turns red in the presence of acids and blue in the presence of what are called bases, the truth of God’s Word is our litmus paper.

The Bible tells us that God sent only one Savior, his Son, Jesus. It tells us Jesus, who is true God and true manin one person, not only lived perfectly in our behalf but also shed his blood for us. This blood was powerful enough to wash away the sins of the whole world, and his death was the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. This teaches us that no other Savior is needed. We don’t need a new doctrine. We don’t need to go searching for anything more. We don’t need to bend our ears to anyone who says they’ve got something new; something better. Here, in God’s Word of truth, we find the only answer to our problem of sin.

Yet, as Jesus links the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple to the things that would happen in our world as the end draws near, it wasn’t only deceivers, who seek to destroy faith, that need to be watched out for. He also calls us to remain steadfast in the face of disasters.

Now, there certainly is no one here today who can deny disasters are taking place in our world today. Whether they are natural or man-made, there is a plethora to choose from. There are floods and fires in our nation at the same time. Hurricanes; typhoons, earthquakes, war and more dot global headlines.

In the midst of all this, what does Satan do? He slithers his way into our minds and whispers, “If there really is a God, why do you see such things? If God allows these things to go on, do you really want him as your God?” Oh, Satan is a wily one as he seeks to get us to throw our hands up in despair; to blame God, even to doubt his love and fall away.

So how do we combat Satan, especially when what he says seems to look so true outwardly? We run back to the Word. We stand our ground on the one message that has come down to us from heaven; to the one place where we find absolute truth. There we are reminded that the problem is not with God, but rather with sin-depraved human hearts and the will of Satan.

There we are reminded that despite what it might look like, God is in control. In fact, Jesus said these things must happen; but in the midst of it all he is still ruling all things for the benefit of his believers – that means you. His promise is that his Word will not pass away; that the Church will prevail; and that he works all things for the good of those who love him.

To see that truth, just consider the greatest evil ever committed – Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and our Lord’s trial and crucifixion. Jesus makes it very clear that the responsibility for that monstrous crime rests with Judas and that Jewish council. In the middle of it all, it didn’t look like God was in control. Yet, out of that most monstrous crime came the redemption of the world. As he was led like a helpless lamb to slaughter, he was winning your salvation. As he died on the cross, looking so powerless, he was securing the forgiveness of your sins. It is the Word alone that uncovers this for us to see and to hold onto even in the face of disaster.

Now, if you are familiar with the events that surrounded the Lutheran Reformation, you may know that those men who stood up for the truth of God’s Word did so at the risk of their very own lives. Of course, they weren’t the first ones to do that, nor will they be the last. The believers who first read Mark’s gospel were being persecuted and were tempted to give up and compromise their confession. The Bible is full of such examples. So is secular history. So are current events.

When I contemplate that, often times I find myself wondering – as you might wonder yourself - if I would have been in those situations, what would I have done. If I were in the sandals of Daniel, would I have stood firm on the truths of God’s Word? If I would have been a reformer standing next to Luther, would I have remained steadfast? Or might I have been more like Peter and caved to pressure; been willing to compromise; wanting to save my own skin?

We would like to say we would have stood firm, but we know it isn’t always so easy. So how do we prepare ourselves for that day, perhaps not that far away, when we could be in those shoes? We heed Jesus’ callto be steadfast even in the face of death. We go back to the Word.

Jesus knew what the future held for his disciples, and he knew the only way they could stand firm and not cave in the face of persecution and death was with the power of the Spirit working through the Word. The same is true for you and me. Perhaps an illustration will help.

There is a new television show this fall that is called “Limitless.” What I can tell by the commercials is it is a show about a guy who discovers the power of a pill that opens the full possibility of his brain and gives him limitless power of memory, recollection and sight.

So it is when we receive the medicine from God’s word – its power is limitless. The reason for that is because within its pages it records for us the message of someone who stood trial nearly 2,000 years ago. Although he had done nothing wrong, that Person was accused of starting an insurrection, of threatening to tear down the temple, of all kinds of things. And what was he guilty of? Nothing but proclaiming the truth – that he was the Christ, the Savior of the world.

Jesus could have escaped the trial and torture. He could have avoided death. But he knew the only way he could defend us from God’s wrath was to endure it all. So he received the judgment of guilty and died as the sinner in place of all sinners on the cross. Then three days later he burst forth from his tomb to declare us not guilty.

It is because of that resurrection that we can remain steadfast in the face of death. We know that our sins are forgiven. We know death has been defeated. We know that if persecutors should take our life, they truly can’t take our life, because our life is wrapped up in Jesus who died and rose again. Therefore our souls will go to live with Jesus in heaven and our bodies will simply wait for the day Jesus comes again. On that day our bodies will be raised glorified from the grave and be reunited with our souls so that we can live body and soul in the presence of our Savior forever.

But here is the concern. Is there a part of us, deep down in the recesses of our hearts, that hears this message today and yawns, saying, “I’ve heard it all before?” Do we sit here simply nodding our heads saying “uhhu,” when in reality tuned out these words of warning 15 minutes ago? You know, our children do that and we can’t stand it. We know the dangerous peril there is for them when they tune us out. This is even more serious. We will not get a second chance.

Yet I wonder if we were to honestly evaluate our lives, would Christ and his Word find first place? Or might we find that we are more preoccupied with who the Packers are playing next; with what we are going to do after church is over; with everything I want to accomplish.

It can begin so easily with just a small compromise, which bears another compromise and then another? Like the confirmand who puts the Bible, the Catechism and the hymnal on the shelf the day after confirmation. Like the one who sets the word aside for a few days because there are so many other important things to do. Like the parent who doesn’t talk about Jesus with their children? Does the one intend to forsake the vows he made on confirmation? Does the other plan to place Christ on the fringes of their life? Does the parent not want their children to hear about Christ? Certainly not! But what is being said with such actions if not that it’s time for rest from these things, just for a little while, just a small compromise. Thus it begins.

But apart from unqualified commitment to his Word, grace can be lost and with it the saving faith created through the Word in the one and only Christ, our one and only Savior. Therefore let us hear the Word of the Lord! Let us recommit ourselves to purity of doctrine that comes alone from the Word, and to a life that reflects our devotion to the Savior who gives himself for us and then to us in his pure Word and Sacraments.

That’s what makes the Word so precious. It comes to us and tells us that our every sin is forgiven - our sins of compromise have been washed in the blood of Christ; our sins of dusty Bibles hurled into the depths of the sea; our sins of tuning out his words of warning trampled underfoot. Never to rise and condemn us again.

So no, it should not surprise us that error runs rampant through the world and the both nature and nations are so often in chaos. For that is exactly what our Savior foretold. Each error, each natural disaster, each country in turmoil should drive us to cling all the more tenaciously to his Word by which alone we are saved in the hour of judgment. For without his pure word there is only faithless error, fear, torment, and finally a total separation from grace on the Day of Judgment. But to retain the Word in all its truth and purity as the anchor which holds us and the rock on which we find refuge in deception, disaster and death – that is the goal of every true childof the Reformation. Heavenly Father, help us to remain your steadfast children. Amen.