Rev. Paul J Cain
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Now Is the Day
First Sunday in Lent, Invocabit, 22 February 2015
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Procrastination. How easy it is to put things off for
another day! Procrastination can also be a way to attempt to avoid a problem.
It can also be a way to avoid making a decision. Many decisions are
time-sensitive. When enough time goes by, the decision is made for you. One
day, it will be too late to be saved.
Today, however, is different. Behold, now is the favorable
time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Please do not misunderstand me. I’m not urging you to fall
for the deception that is called “Decision Theology.” Scripture is clear that
we all are dead in our trespasses and sins and are enemies of God. No, there is
not enough good in us to reach out to God. He has to reach out to us and has in
Christ Jesus. By water and the Word, the Holy Spirit creates faith within us. There
is, however, enough bad in us as depraved, fallen, sinful human beings to
reject God.
We need clarification on both the word “decision” and a phrase
from today’s Epistle, “working together with Him,” in order to avoid the traps
of our religious context.
Consider the way Joshua 24:15 is often misquoted: Choose
this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will
serve the LORD."(Joshua 24:15 ESV)
I assert that this restatement of Joshua 24:15 is inadequate
and misleading: Choose this day whom you will serve (DOT DOT DOT) But
as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."(Joshua 24:15 ESV)
There is a lot left out in the middle replaced by that DOT DOT DOT. And a
significant phrase is left out at the beginning.
Consider the whole verse in context without the DOT DOT DOT:
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or
the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house,
we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15 ESV)
You get to choose
only "if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord."
And then, your choice is between one set of pagan gods or another set of pagan
gods. Because it is NOT evil to serve the Lord, Joshua declares, "But as
for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." This is not a text to
support our choosing to be saved. Jesus did it all: It is finished!
In John 15, Jesus
says, 16 You
did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and
bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the
Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These
things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Also, Ephesians 2 says: For by grace you have been saved
through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV).
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of
salvation.
Much of the
misunderstanding of Scripture like today’s Epistle text can be traced back to
the mid 1800’s and the popular revivalist preacher Charles Grandison Finney.
This isn’t a history lesson, so I’ll keep this reference short. Finney’s goal
was good—he wanted there to be more Christians. Unfortunately, he rejected the
idea that God worked through His Word and Sacraments.
Using something
called the “anxious seat” or “anxious bench” he pressured people to make a
rational decision to become a Christian, something a person cannot do according
to the Bible. Today, all across conservative Christianity, we can see altar
calls, recommended prayers to pray for new Christians asking Jesus to come into
one’s heart, and other marks of “decision theology.”
As I said before
with Finney, the intention and goal of Christians who believe this way is good.
They are zealous for new Christians, new converts. The error is twofold. First,
such a mindset denies how Scripture says people are brought to faith. That’s
serious business. Second, such beliefs attribute to human beings something that
they cannot do, something contrary to Scripture. As a result, some people who
“decide for Christ” often doubt later if they were sincere enough. Others fall
away from the church after the emotional high wears off.
God has given us
ways that He has promised to work. He has promised to use such ways. God gave
His word to the Church to convict people of their sin and to give them hope.
This is the work of the Law and the Gospel.
Scripture is clear that we all are dead in our trespasses
and sins and are enemies of God. No, there is not enough good in us to reach
out to God. He has to reach out to us and has in Christ Jesus. By water and the
Word, the Holy Spirit creates faith within us. There is, however, enough bad in
us as depraved, fallen, sinful human beings to reject God.
Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to
receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened
to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”
There is an even simpler solution to what “working together
with him” means. It doesn’t mean that we work together with God to save
ourselves. Look for the subject and verb of the sentence. They come later. “We”
is the subject. “Appeal” is the verb. Who does Paul mean by “we”? In chapter
one of 2 Corinthians, Paul refers to himself and Timothy. TSLB: As an apostle
and ambassador of Jesus Christ, Paul was in essence God’s co-worker (cf 1:1;
5:19). Paul and Timothy were entrusted with God’s message of reconciliation in
Christ, just as pastors today are entrusted with the same message of
reconciliation in Christ. The phrase “working together with Him” does not refer
to any “work” by the Christian or the unconverted in converting themselves or
making a decision to be saved. Paul and Timothy are the ones “working together”
with God to get God’s message out.
Paul quotes from Isaiah 49, a portion of Scripture that
speaks to the spiritual restoration of Israel. Many had fallen away. The Lord
had preserved a faithful remnant. Now, Paul calls all who hear his message to
repentance and faith. Now is the day. Do not procrastinate about your spiritual
future.
Procrastination is not the only threat to salvation. False
theology is an insidious evil. In addition, spiritual warfare is real and
serious. Persecution continues, even today.
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of
salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found
with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by
great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings,
imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge,
patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the
power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the
left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as
impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and
behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing
everything.
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of
salvation. Consider what trouble Paul had to suffer to proclaim that message to
his original hearers. He tried to avoid misunderstandings. He could not avoid
persecution. He had to put up with slander, threats to his life, punishment,
sorrow, and utter poverty. Yet Paul, the true witness, lives and proclaims the
living Christ in joy that you may have the riches of life everlasting.
Persecution continues. The news is daily filled with
horrific accounts and even more horrific video of atrocities committed by ISIS,
the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The group’s original name was al
Qaeda in Iraq, but they were forced to change it because Osama bin Laden
thought their tactics were too brutal. And many are illegal even according to
Sharia Law. And they are just one of the groups persecuting Christians, other
non-Muslim minority religious groups, and Muslims they disagree with.
Dave Grossman tells of a conversation between himself and an
old war veteran: “…the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe
there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better
believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil
deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep.
There is no safety in denial. “Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m
a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”
Bearing the sword is a responsibility of civil government
according to Romans 13. Civil governments around the world have the God-given
vocation to protect their citizens from threats that are external and internal.
If recent atrocities by ISIS do not spur the world to unite against them to
defeat them, what will it take? In 1 Timothy 2, St. Paul calls for us to pray
“for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and
quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” That is now familiar language to
us, especially after seeing it in traditional prayers. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus
teaches us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Yes, we
are given to be at peace with one another according to Ephesians 4. Yet, if
others will not be at peace with us, self-defense is justified.
In spiritual self-defense, our defenses are the belt of
truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the
shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6). Our only offensive
weapon is the sword of the spirit, the Word of God.
Paul’s appeal is quite personal and urgent: Working together
with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For
he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I
have helped you.” Heed God’s Word. Be equipped for the spiritual battles yet to
come.
This text reminds me of the spiritual application of “The
Sheep Dog” to pastors, a quote shared by a friend of ours: We offer ourselves,
one way or another, to try to work for God. We want, as it were to be among the
sheep dogs employed by the Lord Shepherd. Have you ever watched a good sheep
dog at work? He is not an emotional animal. He goes on with his job quite
steadily; takes no notice of bad weather, rough ground or of his own comfort.
He seldom or never stops to be stroked. Yet his faithfulness and intimate
communion with his master are the loveliest things in the world. Now and then
he looks at the shepherd. And when the time comes for rest, they are generally
to be found together. Let this be the model of your love.
Evelyn Underhill (#219, p. 356) as cited in the Minister’s Prayer Book by Doberstein
(1986).
Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of
salvation.
The old evil foe called the devil or Satan is cunning. He uses
others for his own sinister purposes. Whether those others are witting or
unwitting pawns of the old evil foe is not always readily obvious.
It is very clear from all of our Scripture texts for the
First Sunday in Lent that the threat is real. The old evil foe takes his
opportunity to lure you away from the Lord very seriously. He desires to keep
you away from the Lord, His Word, His sacramental gifts of the forgiveness of
sins, and fellow faithful Christians for as long as he can, if possible, forever.
Know this: Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is
the day of salvation. Jesus, true God and true man, our only Savior, has
defeated sin, death, and Satan for all time. The threat is real, but dangerous only
outside of Christ and His strength, His Gifts, and His protection. Amen.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
