SERMON AUDIO
Epiphany 5 2020
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
February 9, 2020
Isaiah 58:3-9a, 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, Matthew 5:13-20
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Sometimes I get asked the question, “What is your favorite Bible verse?” For a long time I kind of hemmed and hawed at this but I have one now. I think this verse sums up the Christian faith and it is the opening to a great section of scripture teaching us how to live as Christians. Before we get to which passage it is, let’s look as some of our readings for today.
At the end of our Gospel reading we get a difficult passage, Matthew 5:20 (ESV) [Jesus says] 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [1]
The Pharisees and the scribes are the people that are really good at following the rules. They know what the rules are, they study the rules, and they even make more rules to make extra sure they are keeping the rules. Jesus says that my righteousness needs to be greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees or I will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I know a lot of the rules, but I am not very good at following them. I am in trouble. Whose righteousness can exceed the scribes and the Pharisees? We meet a man later in Matthew who thinks he is doing well. Matthew 19:16-22 (ESV) 16 And behold, a man came up to [Jesus], saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.[2]
The man thinks he is good enough, but Jesus quickly shows that he is not. God wants you to keep 100 percent of the rules 100 percent of the time. In order to earn the kingdom of heaven your behavior must be perfect and you fall so far short of perfection.
This is bad news. We live in a world where you get what you deserve. You get what you earn; and the wages of sin is death; eternal death in Hell. The more you study the law of God the more sinful you realize that you are. The more you realize that you are incapable of being good enough. You realize that even when you try to do something good even your good works are tainted with sin. The more you learn about God’s law the more you come to the realization that you are in big trouble with God.
Coming to the awareness that you cannot be good enough for God can lead you in a few different directions. One direction is despair. To give up hope. To just give in to sin. To just let your feelings be your authority and let sin become your boss. Despair can also lead to being self-destructive; damaging your body through intentional harm or abuse or neglect.
Another direction is to become self-righteous. To believe that you indeed are good enough. “Well, I may not be perfect, nobody is perfect, but I am a lot better than that guy over there, and that’s good enough for me.” Neither of these ways of thinking is beneficial. They both leave you in the depths of your sin.
My favorite Bible passage is Matthew 5:3 (ESV) 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.[3] To be poor in spirit is to know that before God you are a beggar; deserving nothing, and yet receiving everything.
The better direction is to know that you cannot do it yourself. To know you are by nature sinful and unclean. So instead of looking to yourself and your own deeds you lift up your head and see Jesus. Instead of thinking you can do it yourself, you give up on yourself and look outside of yourself. When you look away from yourself you find out that God does not play by the ways of the world. God does not give you what you deserve. God does not give you what you earn. God gives you what Jesus deserves. God gives you what Jesus earned.
My favorite Bible passage is Matthew 5:3 (ESV) 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.[3] To be poor in spirit is to know that before God you are a beggar; deserving nothing, and yet receiving everything. Blessed are the poor in spirit. You are blessed now for the last day; for judgement day. Blessed means you are redeemed for all eternity. Blessed means you have been declared “not guilty” because you wear the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. You have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus shed for you on the cross. In baptism you have died with Christ and have risen with Christ. Matthew 5:3 (ESV) 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.[4]
You are blessed by God and yet the devil won’t leave you alone. The devil is so very good at pushing you toward despair or self-righteousness. He loves to go after you a accuse you of your sins. “How can you be a Christian with the things you have done, with the things you think about? God cannot love you. God cannot forgive you.” This is the power of Matthew 5:3. Knowing you are poor in spirit you can tell the devil, “You are right. I am a sinner. I don’t deserve God’s mercy. But I am baptized and God has forgiven me all my sins. Devil, I no longer answer to you; go to hell.” When you know you are poor in spirit; when you know you are a beggar before God, the devil’s accusations lose their power. You know they are true, but they don’t matter because your salvation is not based on your works. It is based on what Christ has done for you.
Now as someone who is poor in spirit; knowing you are saved, not by your actions, but only by Jesus, how then do you live? Do you sin extra so Jesus can forgive more? Do you embrace sin? By no means! As a forgiven, baptized child of God you live as who you are in Christ. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. You live your life combating the rottenness and darkness of the world. You live your life combating the rottenness and darkness in your own life. You repent of your sin. You struggle against sin. You battle evil in your life when it is just a thought; when it is just a desire, before it gives birth to sinful words and sinful deeds. You battle against the works of the flesh, Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV) 19 … sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. ...[5] You put to death the works of the flesh and instead you live in a way that when you walk into a place it becomes a better place; brighter and less rotten. You live as salt and light letting the fruit of the Spirit flow forth from you, Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV) 22 …love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control...[6] You live life in this way not in order to earn God’s favor but because you have God’s favor. You are already a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. You live life as salt and light because this is who you are. You are salt and light because your righteousness does indeed exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees because Jesus’ righteousness is credited to you. Jesus fulfilled the law for you.
This is why St. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 2:2 (ESV) 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.[7] When you are considering your righteousness; when you are wondering, “am I really saved,” do not look to yourself. Look to Christ on the cross for you and risen from the dead for you. You, who know you are beggar before God, are blessed for eternity because of what Christ Jesus has done for you. Matthew 5:3 (ESV) 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.[8] Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
[2] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
[3] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
[4] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
[5] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
[6] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
[7] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001
[8] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001