FOUNDATIONS FOR PEACE

NOVEMBER 8th-10th, 2008
1 JOHN 5:7-12
2nd Sunday in End Times
Timothy Smith

1 JOHN 5:7-12
7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (NIV)

I believe in the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are pictures of the trinity that exist in nature:

1. A tree has root, stem and branches,
2. A flower has a shape, an odor and a medicinal virtue.
3. The sun has its mass, light and heat.
4. Water exists as snow, liquid and ice.
5. A triangle has three sides
6. A full musical chord has three notes.

The Bible clearly describes the Triune God as a plurality of persons and yet one unified, whole and complete God: Jesus teaches us to baptize, for example, in God’s name (singular), but then gives us three names: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19,20). St. Paul’s Apostolic blessing places God’s name on his people: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Cor. 13:14). The benediction used by Old Testament priests also expressed the threeness and yet oneness of God with its words: The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord makes his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace (Numbers 6:24).

I want to make it absolutely clear that I believe this and confess this. The Bible teaches it, and it is true. But this passage in 1 John 5 is not about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

On your worship card, where this passage is printed, you will find a footnote that is present in every edition of the NIV. The extra words in that footnote are found in many older English editions of the Bible printed between 1600 and the 1940’s, especially the King James Version. And the additional words are not inaccurate or false. They don’t teach anything that doesn’t agree with the rest of the Bible. But they’re not part of the original Greek text of 1 John chapter 5.

This is one of a very small handful of places where we really do need to talk about the way the Bible has been copied and handed down to us, and although we could go into much more detail about this in a Bible study, only about 15% of our members are currently involved in a Bible Study of any kind, and this is something that we all should know.

Think of it this way: If someone were to quote a famous passage in Luke chapter 2, they might say: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men—and then might add—That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” It would be an understandable mistake, because in our century, in our culture, that’s a very well-known presentation of that passage. And in the fourth century AD, a very well-known and popular presentation of this passage in 1 John also included a famous addition—but neither it nor “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown” are part of the original text of the Bible, even though they’re both true.

Let’s look at the text itself and find out exactly what John is saying, what sins in our lives it exposes, and then what is God’s solution to those sins.

Throughout this letter and the Gospel it accompanies, John’s emphasis is on Jesus as a real, living person who walked and talked and preached on earth among us. We see this in John’s emphasis on the things Jesus said—there are more “red letters” in John’s Gospel even than in Matthew’s, which is seven chapters longer. We see this in John’s emphasis on the many human things Jesus did—he wept, he had discussions with his mother, he agonized on the cross. And we see this in John’s attention to the humanity of Jesus already at his baptism when his ministry began, and even in his death and resurrection.

And isn’t that probably why John uses these three who testify? The water and the blood take us to both ends of Jesus’ ministry on earth: the water that witnesses is the water of his baptism, and the blood that witnesses is the blood he shed on the cross. These two witnesses testify also in our sacraments; the water in Holy Baptism, the blood in Holy Communion. Through these means of grace, the third one giving a testimony—the Holu Spirit—enters into our hearts and gives us forgiveness and peace.

They are testifying witnesses that Jesus, truly God and truly human, actually lived and walked and suffered on this earth as one of us. And the Spirit himself also testifies. God can speak nothing but the truth, and we trust the words of the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, completely. And inanimate things like water and blood do not lie, either. John says in our text that “we accept man’s testimony”—the testimony of the people who were personal witnesses of Jesus, people like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea and Philip and Bartholomew and Thomas and Mary Magdalene—but we have even more than this. We have the testimony from God himself that Jesus was true God and true man.

The sin this passage exposes in the world is unbelief, especially and specifically the unbelief in Jesus as the Son of God.

I’m sure that you would confess right along with me that you believe in the doctrine of the trinity; that you will confess the Apostles’ Creed right along with me in just a few minutes, and that you believe that Jesus is both truly and completely God and at the same time he is truly and completely and still to this day a human being, just like you and me. So does that mean that John doesn’t condemn any sin in us with this passage?

Certainly he does. Because John has given us this inspired part of God’s holy word to use as a defense against unbelief. And just as we accept God’s word as proof of this doctrine, we must accept God’s word as the final word for every doctrine.

But are we afraid to use it?

Are we afraid or embarrassed to take a stand about an issue like homosexuality or abortion or sexual relationships outside marriage because we’re embarrassed by what the Bible says? Probably not. So what about those other sins the Bible talks about. Would we dare to say that the Bible doesn’t say enough? Or isn’t clear?

What about growing in our faith? Is that something that should stop when our bodies strop growing? Or would we dare to say that the Bible doesn’t speak clearly enough about this?

What about all those times when we know some little thing we do or some little comment or dig we make is not walking in lock step with the word and the will of God. Do we brush those things away and think that they’re no big deal?

Think of what a little thing it was to pick an afternoon snack from this tree instead of those over there, to permit temptation to worm its way into the purest of hearts, the temptation that slithered into Eve’s heart? God didn’t really say… he hissed.

No big deal.

But the sound of the deafening crash of that “no big deal” fall into sin is still heard today. It was still echoing when the pang pang pang of the nails were being driven into God’s hands on a Friday morning. And it still echoes today.

But all of our sins, little and big, were paid for when those nails were driven home. Here we see the testimony of the blood—the blood shed at Jesus’ crucifixion. That blood is still a witness to this day, as we are connected to our Savior himself when we drink of his blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. And the other testimony—the testimony of the water—connects us to the same Savior Jesus, in the water of baptism that offers to us and gives to us the very same forgiveness, won for us by the very same Savior, Jesus Christ.

So think about this in terms of the Last Judgment. What does it mean for us on Judgment Day that Jesus was a human being? It means that wee have nothing to fear of the judgment. We might tremble in terror of what might have been; we might tremble in awe of what was averted on our behalf—but of the moment itself, there is nothing to fear, at all.

There are three witnesses, and there is One Salvation. We are saved by Jesus Christ himself, who loves us, and who have given us the peace of God that transcends our understanding, and which guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.

November 1-3, 2008
Daniel 6:10-12, 16-23
Reformation Weekend
Pastor Don Sutton

Daniel 6:10-12; 16-23
10) Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11) Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12) So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed…16) So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” 17) A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. 18) Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. 19) At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20) When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” 21) Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! 22) My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” 23) The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

Introduction
When we see lions in zoos or in film footage of the wilds of Africa, quite often we see lions lazily lying around or soundly sleeping. They look so gentle and harmless. But when lions roar amd lions hunt they show themselves the way they really are – dangerous and deadly. Today we look at several scenes of history when lions roared and as we do we think about When Lions Roar …

1. Daniel
The first scene of history we consider takes us to the time of Daniel. Daniel was one of the gifted young men from Judah whom the Babylonians took into exile in Babylon during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel flourished under God’s blessing and became a governor and chief of the king’s advisors.

As we see Daniel in our account it’s decades later. The Medes and Persians have conquered Babylon. Again Daniel has risen to prominence under Darius who is either Cyrus the Great himself or Gubaru the provincial king of Babylon. Daniel has become one of the three administrators in charge of the 120 provincial governors. The king is so impressed with Daniel he is ready to make Daniel the chief administrator.

This is when lions began to roar – first human lions. The other administrators along with the governors became jealous of Daniel. So they began to look at ways that they can take him down in the eyes of the king. They decide that the only way they can do this has to involve Daniel and his worship of God. So the lions convinced the king to issue a decree that for one month everyone must worship the king only and any violator should be thrown to the lions.

But Daniel did not obey the decree. He went home, went upstairs, opened the windows, bowed on his knees toward Jerusalem and prayed to the true God. But the lions were on the hunt and found their prey as he prayed. They reported this to the king and demanded that Daniel be thrown into the lions den. So that’s what the king did.

Imagine being in a den of lions. ..seeing their big paws that can tear a person to shreds …beholding their teeth with which they puncture and rip a body apart …hearing their intimidating roars. But Daniel was not alone. God sent his angel and the angel stilled the lions and protected Daniel.

This brings us to the first point of our sermon: When lions roar trust in the Lord for his blessing and protection. As we see from the account and know from elsewhere in Scripture God is powerful. God is compassionate. God is faithful.

Just as God, in his wisdom, allowed Daniel to face danger and death, God may allow you and me to face lions of various kinds – the lions of a bad economy and financial challenge; the lions of sickness and disability; the lions of family problems and inner turmoil; the lions of loss or even death itself. But the same God who allows these lions to roar, is there to protect us from them and get us through these lions dens. As we hear in Psalm 46: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” When lions roar in your life, trust in God.

2. Jesus
But God could have let the lions have Daniel. After all, God let faithful Stephen be stoned by human Jewish lions. He let John the Baptist be beheaded. God could have let the lions take Daniel’s life. And if he had, Daniel would have been the better off for it because his soul would have gone into eternal glory with God. That’s because Daniel trusted in God who had promised a Savior and eventually sent the Savior, his own Son in the person of Jesus.

Daniel could enjoy eternal glory because this Savior, when he came to earth would not stop from his mission of saving the world even when lions roared. God’s Son knew that the only way he could save a humankind dragged off by the roaring lion the devil and destined to eternal destruction was by his taking on the roaring lion. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, without sin he faced the lion who tempted him again and again. But Jesus never gave in not even when it meant that he give up his own life for the sins of the world.

When the lions of the devils pride roared “Crucify him!” and the Roman governor in fear of lions gave in, Jesus allowed himself to be put on a cross and there to bear not only the pain of crucifixion but his Father’s punishment for all the sin of humankind. In so doing Jesus wrote the gospel truths expressed in words of Peter: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1Pe3:18).” Or words of Paul, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. … 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5).” Or, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law (Rom 3:28).”

That brings me to the second point of the sermon: When lions roar, trust that Jesus has won for us salvation. The lions will roar in your life, whether it be the devil who accuses you of the sin into which he led you, or when God’s law curses you, or your own conscience condemns you – know that because of Jesus you have forgiveness and peace with God. Even though you deserve everything you conscience or God’s law or even the devil may tell you, Jesus has removed the curse and condemnation by suffering them for you. When you face the lions of death as did Daniel, find comfort in the eternal life Christ has won for you and is yours through faith in him. When you think of the Second Coming of Christ, which we especially think about in these last weekends of the church year, and to some extent in Advent, don’t be intimidated by the lions of fear. Look forward to Jesus’ return. Even though and I are sinners, we have no sin for which to give an account because Jesus has washed them all away. Therefore, when Jesus comes look forward to hearing that wonderful invitation, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take you inheritance the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world (Matt 25:34).”

When lions roar, trust that Jesus has won for us salvation. Martin Luther did.

3. Martin Luther
This takes us to the1500’s, the time of the Reformation. What is the Reformation? It was a movement that God set in motion using men like Martin Luther to restore God’s Word to prominence in the life of the Church and to return people to the truth that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.

You see, the Church before and during Luther’s day put the decrees of church leaders as equal to and even above the Bible as a source of truth and authority. People were taught that in baptism they received the forgiveness for their original sin and the potential to prove themselves worthy of Christ’s forgiveness by their good lives. If their lives were not good enough, they would go to purgatory, an unscriptural place where people could be finally be purged of their sin and be readied to enter heaven. In the meantime their loved ones on earth could buy their early release by paying for the saying of masses or the purchase of indulgences which supposedly afforded early release for loved ones in purgatory.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a monk, priest and professor of theology at Wittenberg University in Germany posted 95 theses or statements on the forgiveness of sins intended to stir debate and get people thinking about the truth of the gospel that it is through faith in Jesus that people have the forgiveness of sins. People discussed the 95 theses. They spread them.

At first the pope in Rome thought Luther to be a local problem. When the pope realized otherwise, he ordered Luther to take back everything he had said contrary to the teachings of the Roman Church. At one point, Luther actually promised to stop his criticism of the church if the Roman Church corrected her errors. But when church leaders again attacked Luther for his stand that the Bible is the sole authority for the Church, Luther spoke out again. In 1520 the Roman Catholic Church excommunicated or declared Luther to be outside of the kingdom of God. In 1521 the Emperor, Charles V, ordered Luther to take back everything he had said against the teachings and practices of the Roman Church. The lions roared.

As the Spirit of God guided the apostles and guided them in speaking when they were before kings and governors, the Spirit of God worked powerfully within Luther. He could not deny the gospel even if it meant death. Luther responded to the emperor: “Unless you can prove from the Bible and sound reason that I have made wrong statements and have spoken contrary to God’s Word, I refuse to recant. My conscience is bound in the Word of God. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.” When the lions roared, God enabled Luther to stand for the truth.

Therefore the third point: When the lions roar hold to the authority of Scripture and the truth of the gospel for forgiveness of sins. In our lives the lions – our own reason, unbelievers, false teachers, the immoral media and more - may roar challenging the truth and authority of God’s word and the forgiveness of sins. Remember the words of Jesus, “If you continue in my word then are you my disciples indeed, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:31)” – free from your sins, free from condemnation, free from death, free to live for the Lord, free to live with the Lord forever in eternal glory. Amen.