C, Third Sunday of Advent - Luke 3:8a, 16 "Joyful Repentance"
What is it that separates a Christian from all other
people? Is it sin? By sin I include everything that threatens to
dilute or weaken God’s holiness. No! We
Christians are no less sinners than those who are not Christian. Hopefully for us, though, we have knowledge
of our sinful nature and the sin that comes from it. In fact, if a Christian, does not believe
they’re a sinner, they actually add sin to sin in their unbelief.
We’re all warned, “If
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.” (1 John
1:8–10 ESV)
If a person can be free of sin, then why aren’t they free
of decay and death?
From the moment we’re born, our existence decays day by day
through death.
So, if sin isn’t what separates a Christian from others, is
it that we are good? Are all Christians good
people free of evil? This really is no
different to the question of sin.
If a Christian holds the view that to be a Christian one
should be good, then all Christians should be good! We know this not to be true.
Are you one who makes judgements through your own knowledge
of good and evil, rather than a right judgement made through a knowledge of
Jesus Christ? Why do we judge some as
good, and some as evil? We do so because
we’re sinners! We like to put aside
right judgement, in God’s Word, and become the authority of good and evil,
standing in the place of God, standing over his Word, sinning against the First
Commandment.
The Lutheran understanding of a believer or Christian, sees
in God’s Word, we’re one hundred percent saint, and one hundred percent sinner,
(simul iustus et peccator). That is, “at
the same time righteous and a sinner”.
This was rediscovered by Martin Luther who as a monk was seeking and
failing to justify himself before God.
Rightly, he knew his love or good was never good enough in God’s eyes!
The joy Luther learnt, through the Holy Spirit showing him,
in God’s Word, that although he failed to love God perfectly, God already loved
him perfectly. He was made right and
holy in the work of Christ at the cross and the continuing work of the Holy
Spirit in his earthly existence. Luther discovered
he didn’t have to work his own righteousness.
But it’s not even a matter of being good. Believers surpass goodness by being made holy,
despite being sinners. The holiness of
God covers one’s sinful nature and its deeds in baptism. As a result, the baptismal life is one of
being continually led by the Holy Spirit, into the holiness of Jesus Christ,
out of the sinful condition of our human nature.
As we pray and learn in the Lord’s Prayer, we trust Jesus’
Word and deed, as the Holy Spirit delivers us from evil, leads us out of
temptation, wills us to forgive others while he works the forgiveness of sin
within us. We live in peace existing on
the daily bread God gives for our physical and spiritual needs according to his
earthly and heavenly will, so we seek his kingdom and glorify his holy name. The Lord’s Prayer actually teaches us how the
work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, moves us from evil to God’s holiness,
through repentance.
The human desire to not repent, to not believe one’s forgiveness,
to not forgive, to resist being led from temptation, to remain in evil are the
very deeds Paul talks about in Romans chapter seven. He does not give into sin, by saying, “all
sin, I sin, so I’ll keep on sinning!”
That would be resisting the Holy Spirit’s work within, who seeks to
daily return the sinner to the holiness of Jesus’ blood spilt on the
cross.
Rather he says, “For
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the
very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that
it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the
desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not
do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if
I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells
within me.” (Romans 7:15–20 ESV)
Our Lutheran understanding of being a saint and a sinner,
stands out as pure Gospel against other beliefs. Such as, once one is baptised, the act of
baptism saves, so the person can do whatever they like. Or baptism is the decision of the person and once
baptised, the decider has to work to keep their salvation. Both of these strip the Holy Spirit of his
power and dilute the necessity of Jesus’ work at the cross.
But the Lutheran understanding, is pure Gospel, because
baptism is the work of God, and one’s Christian life is a work of God that we
allow to continue within. After baptism,
when others fall into sinful deeds, or when the Holy Spirit chooses to reveal
their deeds as sin, they have a crisis of faith. “Am I really a Christian?”, they worry! And others who observe their sin, are quick
to hand them over as lost sinners unless they work their way back into the observer’s
“good books” in their “good time”.
When a Lutheran falls into sin. Yes! The Holy Spirit gives one a hatred of the
sinful deeds and shows the sinner the Law. And the Law’s holy perfection
rightly causes fear!
But in God’s Word, the Holy Spirit also shows us Jesus
Christ on the cross in our place. He
shows us the love of God. Our revealed deeds
of sin, testifies to the truth of God’s Word, that human nature is sinful.
So, others see deeds of sin and immediately pass judgement
that a person is condemned by their sinful nature because their decision for
Christ and baptism appears contrary. However,
you and I understand our sinful deeds show our sinful human nature. This is the very reason why we need God’s
work in Holy Baptism, and every day after it, in the work of the Holy Spirit,
to make us holy before a perfectly holy God.
So, the thing to truly set a Christian apart from all other
people on earth, is a believer although a sinner, has freedom through Christ to
come into God’s presence to joyfully repent of sins. Covered in Christ, we don’t dilute God’s holiness,
with our sinful humanness of being human.
Sin can see a person flee God or seek to stand before him
in self-justification or through one’s works.
Both of which, make God’s love out to be a lie.
But in the freedom to repent, we joyfully rush to the foot
of the cross and pour our sins out in confession, repentance. We throw ourselves completely at the mercy of
God trusting our confession is not just a good work, but a mega-work worked by
the Holy Spirit, now that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
Jesus says, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do;
and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12–14 ESV)
God has forgiven us as repentant
sinners! God forgives us now as repentant sinners! And God promises to forgive
repentant sinners!
Our sins are horrible, and they
cause us hurt and death. They caused Christ to come and suffer and die for us,
too. But the willing confession of our
sin, glorifies God, in the salvation Jesus brings us through the cross. Our confession is a joyful “Amen” and “Yes”
to God’s good works for us and in us.
God the Father’s and Son’s good works are glorified by the Holy Spirit’s
good works within you, when you repent and confess your sin. This is the
salvation event that sees your existence in death be transformed into life,
even today in this existence of death! But
these days of death will give way to the light of eternal life!
At the resurrection, when Christ returns, the salvation event
will finish. Beforehand, any who make
judgements, about who’s good or bad, are susceptible of falling under one’s own
judgement, before God.
So, joyfully I say, joyfully repent, sinners!
God is patient where we are not. Like
an onion, God works with sinners during this earthly existence, to peel back
the layers of sin in all of us. So,
there’s always something for which we need to repent. When earthly death comes,
or Jesus returns, only then will God’s patience end.
So, before this comes, joyfully I say, joyfully
repent!
John the Baptist prepared those at the Jordan with a
baptism of repentance for the coming of Christ.
Now that we have been baptised into Christ’s death and resurrection, the
Holy Spirit moves us to continue in repentance through the hearing of God’s
Word. In God’s Word the Holy Spirit
peels back the layers of death in our existence, so we can repent and be
revived in the life of Jesus Christ.
Jesus himself says to his church, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works
you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its
place, unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:5 ESV)
Again, he says, “Remember,
then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake
up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come
against you.” (Revelation 3:3 ESV)
And a third time, “Those
whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Revelation
3:19 ESV)
Therefore, seek God’s will in his Word! Allow the Holy Spirit to show you your sin and
keep you holy!
Joyfully I say, joyfully repent, for Jesus’ sake, Amen!
