Outer Rim Territories

Advent 2 Midweek Sermon: "And in Jesus Christ"

Vicar Christopher Gillespie Immanuel Lutheran Church of Frankentrost Saginaw, Michigan Advent 2 Midweek (December 12, 2007) Text: 1 John 4:7-21; Isaiah 9:2-7 MP3 Audio I love getting Christmas cards. It is definitely one of the better places that you can witness man’s creativity with such energy and passion. We see literally hundreds of depictions of manger scenes, angels announcing the birth of Christ from on high, prophecies from Scripture written in elegant script and in gold foil, and poetry expressing the gift of Christ’s birth on that blessed Christmas. They are truly beautiful works of art. But with all the beauty and creativity of these cards comes mounds of fluff. We stand beneath the mistletoe, adorn ourselves with candy canes, build snowmen, bask in the warmth of Rudolph’s red nose, and sit on Santa Claus’s lap. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing particularly wrong with these things. But do any of them really belong with Christmas? Of course not. They are superfluous, extraneous, unnecessary. They have little to nothing to do with the Christmas confession of Christians. What these things don’t do is that they don’t speak of the main thing at Christmas, which is the Christ come as true man for our redemption. We know that Christmas is really about the coming of Christ’s nativity, when He was born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. Is it enough to behold the baby in the manger? No, we don’t stop there. When we see the babe, the Creed which we confessed earlier compels us to see the man dead on the cross for our trespasses. We see Christ arisen into heaven and sitting on the right hand of the Father. We see Jesus Christ standing as the judge of the living and dead. When we confessing Christians look at the manger, we see a baby, true, but we also see death, resurrection, and judgment. This is not the cuddly and cute nativity scene people expect. Contrary to these expectations, the Holy Spirit grants faith to see the whole picture of Christ in the manger. The babe in the manger isn’t the only difficulty with Jesus. The whole person and work of Jesus is not something which Christians agree upon. This should be surprising to us since we derive the name of our faith (Christian) from Him (Christ). One would expect all Christians to confess the same Christ. In reality though the title Christian is about as descriptive today as title American. When a Mormon can be considered a Christian, you know that the definition has changed. What are some of these other confessions of Christ? Some say “Jesus is my homeboy” which is just a colloquial way of saying “Jesus is my best Friend.” Some merely ask “What Would Jesus Do?”, setting Jesus up as a example for moral and righteous living. Others say of Jesus “My Other Boss is a Jewish Carpenter” or “Jesus is my copilot.” Still yet some say “Jesus is in my heart.” The question is: Which Jesus is your Jesus? None of these sayings are particularly wrong but they paint an incomplete picture of the Christ. Of all the reasons for Christ to be made man, all these sayings when held exclusively neglect the central article of our faith, that is, the justification of the sinner before God.

“Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man [Jesus] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by Him everyone who believes is freed from everything which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:28-29)

It is not enough to simply confess Christ as a friend, as a moral example for Christian living, or “the big man upstairs.” It is is absolutely essential that we confess Christ as died, arisen, and sitting at the right hand of God, having redeemed us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. How do we learn this? How do we know this to be true? Some would advocate learning about Christ by picking of the Bible and reading. Certainly we can learn of Christ by reading His Word. But we can just as easily neglect His Word by reading it with a preconceived notion of what we want it to say. Perhaps we seek a miracle? We can easily find Jesus performing miracles. We open our Bible, find Jesus healing a leper, and so conclude that Jesus will always work miracles to benefit our life on earth. But is this why Christ came... to work miracles? Or do we have a leprosy worse than our afflictions here, our sin? Do we have a disease that doesn’t just curse our flesh but our souls? Just look at the windows of the church. There are windows showing Christ as King, as a man of sorrow, in fellowship with men, as the great teacher, as a healer, bringing forgiveness, working miracles, and even the Son of God. All of these tasks are nothing if it were not for the central window, the window of the altar which shows Christ conceived, born, baptized, crucified, resurrected, ascended and sitting on His throne of glory. There Christ sheds his body and blood for you, that you might too die, rise again, and ascend to the presence of God. All the works of Christ as depicted here (left) are servant to his ultimate task, the redemption of the sinner (center). How do you know when Christians share the same confession as you? How do you know the media they produce, the books they print, or the the words they say are wrong? How do you know they confess a different Jesus than you? How do you know when they are appropriate for your usage? You test them against Scripture. You test them against our confession of Scripture in the Creed. The best approach is to use the tool and diagnostic of the Creed. This doesn’t just apply to choosing the best Christmas card. Your should use the same diagnostic to approach Christian books, television preachers, religious art, or anything that puts on airs of being “Christian”. Who is Jesus and what is he doing? What is the main thing of the Christian faith presented here? Is Jesus simply a healer of diseases? Is the one that gives you great gifts, paying off your debts and filling your wallet? Is he merely your friend, your buddy who holds your hand on the way? Is He simply a teacher of morality and universal truths like the Rabbis? Is Jesus like man’s best friend, the ever-forgiving dog? Is Jesus a miracle worker who gives you “Your Best Life Now”, transforming your life into something spectacular and new? Is Jesus simply the boss, with all the authority and power of God over creation? The church throughout her history has recognized that sometime people can get the wrong idea about Jesus. Where do these wrong ideas come from? People who are false teachers ignore portions of Scripture. They skip over the parts they can’t understand, ignore the parts that don’t fit their preconceptions, and ultimately falsely interpret the witness of God in His Son, the Word incarnate. To corrupt the person and work of Christ is corrupt the whole of Scripture. For without the Christ’s death and resurrection, the Word has lost its power. If Christ, the Word himself did not complete this act for us, then we are left with God’s Will and our inability to complete it to his satisfaction. All of these works of Christ (left) are for nothing with out the central article (center.) To prevent this error, our church is a Creedal church. We confess Jesus Christ as He is found in His Word. The one, holy Christian and Apostolic church has found it necessary through her whole existence to make sure that she speaks clearly about what Jesus did for us. It is a church that confesses her faith so as to prevent confusion and error. She equips her saints with true doctrine of Christ crucified and arisen to avoid the lies and deceit of Satan. And so when we confess the creed, the Holy Spirit guides our hearts and minds to “Keep the main thing, the main thing.” So-called Christian media is not always Christian. If the main thing is not Christ’s work to atone for our sins, dying our place, paying the penalty for us, then there is no heaven, there is no freedom from sin, there is no freedom from Satan, and all would continue on the highway to hell. Christ is our redeemer. Without that work, everything else we know of Christ is in vain. The other works of Christ are true and good, such as “Jesus is my friend” and “his footsteps carry me.” But those things don’t give the whole picture. We need redemption first and foremost. That is what he came to earth for. Everything necessary for salvation is present in these words:

And in Jesus Christ, God the Father’s only Son, our Lord, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. For thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

With these words, the church presents the whole testimony of Scripture of the redemption wrought by Christ in a clear and concise way. What has he done for us? He came and proclaimed the message of His heavenly Father, announcing rescue from sin, Satan, and death by a new testament in His blood. He offers Himself as the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) so serving as the propitiation for our sins, mediator between God and man, and serving His people by Word and Sacrament. The exalted Christ rules over all creation, over His bride the church in grace, and over the Kingdom of heaven to come. He has redeemed us, lost and condemned creatures.

“For By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing ; it is a gift from God, not a result of works, so that no one one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Advent is about Jesus coming not simply as your friend, as your guide, or as your leader. Jesus came to redeem you and and will come again to take you to heaven.