Thomasius Pentecost 17

1 Thess. 5:14-24 September 27, 2009

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I’m sure you are all well aware, the scientific community is one that believes the world is millions, even billions of years old. They believe that all that we see around us is a product of evolution, namely that minute and microscopic organisms evolved into more complex and larger organisms. This theory of evolution is one that ultimately believes that in the billions of years that the world has been in existence, all these various life forms that we see around us, ourselves included, have changed and evolved to the point that we are today. As we progressed from single celled beings to fish-like creatures to things that crawled on the land to creatures that swung from trees to Neanderthals that walked upright, it was all a process which produced what we are today.

Certainly God’s inspired and inerrant Word gives us a much different picture. It is the picture that we are God’s thoughtful and perfect creation gone bad and because of this fall into sin, God’s creation truly needs a Savior. But this is not just a difference between science and religion as many would have you believe, but rather we find that even science is on God’s side. The fact that cats don’t have puppies and horses don’t give birth to piglets is something that shows large scale evolution is impossible. Animals can only reproduce after their own kind. Added to this are the immutable laws of physics which make it impossible for the Big Bang or any other theories of life to be true, save the Scripture’s account which tells us of a loving creator who is truly the origin of all species.

Yet even with this very different idea of why it is man is here, both Christians and non-Christians alike can agree that man is most certainly the greatest of all life’s creatures. Not only do we possess higher intellect than any other creature, we also have the ability to speak and communicate, something other animals can only imitate. But even more importantly we also have the ability to make and use tools. For unlike dolphins or pigs or even apes, all of which are intelligent animals, God has given to man the ability to take the materials around him and use them to make his life better. Though the first thoughts might turn to the idea of hammers and nails or ratchets and wrenches, anything that we use to make our lives better can be called a tool. Not only would this include can openers and screw drivers, but cars, airplanes and laptops also are tools that we use. These are things that you will never find in the rest of the animal kingdom for God, by design, has given man the ability to make and use tools.

And if we could go throughout society and poll and petition people as to which is the greatest tool, the greatest instrument that we can use to make our lives better, I’m sure that you would come up with as many tools as there are people. From high tech gadgets like cell phones to simple things like pocket knives, everyone has their own idea which is the most useful of tools.

But if you would ask God, if you would ask the creator of man and the one who gave to man that unique ability to fashion and use tools, you might very well get an answer that you would never think of, you might well receive the answer of His Word. For like a paintbrush in the hands of an artist or a keyboard in the hands of s skilled programmer or a scalpel in the hands of a surgeon, the Word of God is an incredible tool for life in the hands of a Christian. For in the hands of those who know what the Word is, that tool which is sharper than any two edged sword, that instrument that that reaches to the very heart of sinful man, is given to us by God to make our lives better. Better than running water and indoor plumbing, better than refrigerators and cars and telephones. God’s Word is given to us to make our lives the very best that they can be.

But like any tool, it must be used to be effective. It cannot lie on a shelf or sit in a box. We will want to take it out and see how well it works to improve all the lives it touches. We will want to “USE GOD’S WORD AS OUR GREATEST TOOL”. For what we see in the Word is that first of all, I. IT IS THE ONLY TOOL THAT TRULY HELPS OTHERS while we also see II. IT IS OUR GUIDE FOR LIFE and III. IT IS THE ONLY TOOL THAT TRULY WORKS SALVATION.

Now as we consider the Word of God to be a tool that we use, the Apostle Paul gives to us a list of ways that we can and should use the Word of God. For once this message of salvation is ours, once God has called us from the darkness of sin into the light of His salvation, teaching us that Jesus’ death is the only way that we can have life, once we are in the Grace of God, we then see that the Word of God is truly the perfect tool for every aspect of life. We then see what Paul sees as he speaks of using the Word of God.

For in our text for this morning Paul tells the Thessalonians to “warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone.” And if you think of using the Word of God as a tool, you can begin to understand what Paul means. You can begin to see that God has given us this Word so that we can indeed warn, comfort, uphold and even understand what is truly evil.

And though Paul just goes down the list of things that we can do, ways that we practically and lovingly use the Word of God, we can really divide these uses in to two main groups or categories. For on the one hand, the Word of God is considered to be a tool that is “sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This aspect of the Word of God is what we refer to as the Law. It lays down for us exactly what is the will of God. It expresses God’s desire that all mankind would love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind and that we would also love the people around us as we love ourselves.

It is with this use of the Word of God that we can and should warn those around us when they are falling into evil.We should rebuke them when they become “unruly”, that is, not doing things in the proper way or being insubordinate to those whom God has placed above them.With this one use alone there is always opportunity for us to use the Word of God as a tool that lets people see how far short they have fallen from the Grace of God.It is the tools that let the sinner see their sins and feel the threat of God that demands that the wages of sin is eternal death and damnation.

But there is a second category of the Word and that is its use as the Gospel. For where the Law makes demands and shows the sins that we all commit, the Gospel declares the Grace of God. The Gospel is there to proclaim the love of God even for the worst of sinners. It is there to “comfort the fainthearted [and] uphold the weak.” For in the Gospel there is never the message of condemnation. There is never a message that reminds us how far we have fallen from God and His perfect will. There is only the good news that Jesus our Lord has won our salvation. There is only the joyful proclamation that we are saved by God’s Grace alone.

Such a use of both the Law and the Gospel then becomes our Guide for life. For in having the condemnation of sin and the reconciliation of God through Christ, Paul encourages us to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”

In word pictures that speak volumes, Paul reminds us the Word of God is the only tool that we might use to do what God wants. And this cannot be done as a means of our salvation, but rather it is part of how we show our thanks to God. As redeemed sinners we will want to thank God by using every opportunity we have to speak to Him in prayer. We will want to give thanks for all the good gifts He has given to us, gifts like family and friends, health and well being, even sicknesses and hardships that teach us to persevere.

And most importantly in our life with God’s Word is the reminder to “Do not quench the Spirit.” For as God gives us the working of His Holy Spirit, that fire of life that burns in us the joy of life everlasting, we have the power of our sinful nature to quench this. We have the ability to say no to the things God wants us to do. We can say no to helping our neighbor. We can say no to giving our first-fruits. We can say no to the word of God which gives us life. For that is what Paul means when he says, “Do not despise prophecies.” It is not the prophecies of men, but the Word of God itself, that great gift that is often pushed behind work, family, entertainment, and anything else that seems more appealing to our sinful flesh. When we find things in this life to be more appealing than the Word, we are truly quenching the Spirit and despising the prophecies of God.

But of all the uses of God’s Word, of all the ways that it warns and comforts, of all the ways that it proclaims salvation to those who are weak and helpless, of all the times that it is there for us as a guide and a rule for Christian living, the primary use of the Word in our own lives will certainly be that it preserves us. Like preservatives that keep food from spoiling or medicines that keep people alive, the Word of God preserves us for all eternity. Though the end of all mankind is certain death, that all will have to face the grave and the sorrow it brings, the Word is the only tool that can preserve us. It is the only tool that can turn death into life.

For in Paul’s closing words to the Thessalonian Christians we hear, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” As others go to face eternal death and the pain that will be theirs without end, we will be preserved by the Word. We will be kept perfect and blameless in the eyes of God. Though our sins may be many, the forgiveness of Christ covered them. The death of our Lord paid for them. Body, soul and spirit will be there with the Lord when He comes again.

Though all of our days are filled with the tools that we have made to make our lives easier and better, none compares to the usefulness of the Word of God. In every aspect of our lives and the lives of those around us, let us wield the Word of God as the great tool it is, the Word of Law and Gospel that preserves us to life everlasting. Amen.

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

In His Service
Pastor Joseph R. Schlawin
Our Shepherd Ev. Lutheran Church
1515 W. 93rd Ave, Crown Point, IN 46307
(219) 663-5853