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  • Remove Sins Completely!

Remove Sins Completely!

  • Posted by 杨牧师
  • Categories Pastor Yang's Sermons in English, 杨牧师的主日证道
  • Date June 16, 2019
  • Comments 0 comment

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

September 30, 2018

Text: Mark 9:38 -50 James5:1-12

In the name of Jesus, Amen!

Today’s Gospel reading is one of the hardest texts in the Bible. I don’t know about you. When I read it for the first time, I became very uneasy, to say the least. To describe this text as scary is not an overstatement. Look the language. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” And then Jesus continues to talk of cutting hands and feet, of plucking out eyes if they cause you to sin…Here we can see Jesus hates sins SO much that he speaks against our natural religious inclinations, and asks us to do the impossible – remove sins completely! Nothing short of that! According to world religions including some religions inside Christianity, we are supposed to remove sins gradually by doing good works, or by meditations and prayers to become holier and holier progressively. This kind of idea doesn’t seem like cutting off your body parts, it’s more like a self-help healing methods populated by best-seller publications. Unfortunately, Jesus’ words are NOT that pleasant and promising. Honestly, they are quite threatening, as far as I am concerned. Maybe you are a man or woman of steel like in a sci-fi movie, where they cut of their own hands and pluck out their eyes without feeling the pain.

It is striking that the Bible records that after each of the three major prophecies of His own passion by Jesus, the disciples still failed to understand what Jesus’ death and resurrection meant for their life, even those who were closest to Jesus, Peter, James and John, who saw Jesus transfigure on a mountain right before their eyes. Not only did they not understand the Gospel, they didn’t understand the essence of Law of God either. In last Sunday’s text, the one right before today’s lesson, Jesus already showed them who was the greatest and the importance of being humble before God like little children. Now, instead of seeking a big ego among themselves, they sought after a collective pride. They forbade someone not following them casting out demons in Jesus’ name, while they themselves failed to do so. Remember that? In the same chapter, before Jesus’ second prediction of His passion and after the transfiguration, the father of a demon possessed boy asked Jesus’ disciples to heal him, but they could not, and eventually Jesus healed him. This is an irony and where the jealousy came from because their pride was hurt. But be careful. Jesus is not saying that their following Jesus is wrong, or that person not following Jesus is right. As matter of fact He affirms them of their identity representing Him and belonging to God by saying “Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” This situation is like being a Lutheran, there is nothing wrong with being Christ-centered and holding fast the truth of the Gospel to follow Jesus ALONE. But there are other groups of Christians, who could do wonderful things in the name of Jesus, and will be in heaven too. So, Jesus here is still speaking against the sinful nature of pride.

Have you not committed a sin of pride and offended other people? The bad news is that for the disciples and for us (for each follower of Christ) — Jesus wants us to get rid of every sin completely! Using hyperbole, Jesus warns us to take every sin very seriously, not just to improve our spiritual health by sinning less and less, but to remove every sin by cutting it off completely. If your hand ever stole anything, cut it off. If your feet ever led you to a place, where you sinned, cut them off. If your eyes ever looked at woman or a man lustfully, pluck them out. You will soon find out that you run out of body parts. And I think the problem is worse than that. As we know, like Jesus tells us, all sins come out of our heart. Hands, feet and eyes are just instruments of sinful heart. Are you able to cut out your heart? Get it? Have you not understood? I think you are smarter and more honest than someone denying this simply truth. In addition, the Gospel gives us courage to say the obvious: removing sins completely by yourself is IMPOSSIBLE! It’s not that what Jesus is saying is too hard to understand. It’s that we are not willing to accept or don’t dare to believe what Jesus is saying here, because it’s against our natural religious beliefs. Well, if you don’t accept this conclusion, try harder and good luck to you. The worst is yet to come. If you cannot remove sins and cause of sins completely, there will be dire consequences – to be hung with a great millstone around your neck and be thrown in the sea would be much better for you; yes, even worse, to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ Any sin, every sin, if you don’t cut it off completely from you, you are eternally condemned. It IS a gloom and doom picture.

So, is there any hope left for us? Well, remember the context of this reading? This text is after Jesus’ transfiguration on a mountain and the second time prediction of His death and resurrection by Jesus. The cross is looming larger and larger in the background.  Jesus’ transfiguration not only predicted his passion but also let the disciples to foresee the appearance of His second coming. The Gospel of God’s salvation plan in human history is the center of the Bible and the key to interpretation of today’s text. You may be wondering what exactly Jesus means by saying, “For everyone will be salted with fire”. Good question. Spiritually speaking, there are two kinds of fire that “salts” everyone.  There is fire that destroys and punishes.  And there is fire that cleanses, and preserves.  When Jesus talks about the fire that is not quenched, obviously He is talking the fire of hell. Because of sin, everyone will be salted by fire. Thanks be to God, there is another kind of fire that cleanses and preserves. In the Old Testament times, sacrifices had to be salted in order to be cleansed and preserved. We know Jesus is the sacrifice who was salted by the fire of destroy and punishment. He endures this fire of God’s wrath on behalf of sinners like you and me. When John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming (that is Jesus)…, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”, he meant that Jesus would baptize us with the fire of the cross, which is the Gospel, and with the Holy Spirit. This is that second kind of fire – the fire that we are salted with – that Jesus gives to cleanse and preserve us for the eternity.  You were salted with the Gospel and the Holy Spirit in your baptism – for your cleansing and preserving.  It is not a one-time thing. It’s an on-going “salting” process too.  You are salted again and again when you remember your baptism dying to sin and rising in the newness of life to do good work and to endure persecutions in Jesus’ name. You are salted again every time in the words of absolution being directed to you.  You are cleansed and preserved.  You are salted again in the Lord’s Supper.  More cleansing and preserving.  Indeed, in the words of this sermon you are being salted.  Jesus now is forgiving you, cleansing you and preserving you in His gracious Gospel.  Here, Sunday after Sunday, you are being salted by Jesus in order that you may be preserved forever.

Yes, we have to remove sins completely. But the Good News is that we are able to remove completely! Not by our own good work or spiritual experience but by the grace of God because we are salted with fire, the fire of the cross, which is the fire of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit.

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen!

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我父的事
18 January, 2021

二零二壹年圣诞期第二主日 证道经文:路加福音2:40–52 奉耶稣基督的名,阿门! 新年好!终于告别了2020年,迎来2021年,但是2021年会好一些吗?我希望会好起来。2020年对所有人来说都不容易,老年人更多是面临病毒与死亡的威胁,中年人因病毒改变了生活和工作的方式,年轻人和小孩子们不再活泼天真,失去了对未来的希望。今天我想更多地说说孩子们的事情,除了不能在学校与同龄人玩耍交流,失去许多乐趣和人际交流的机会以外,如今的孩子特别是刚刚毕业或即将毕业的年轻人,对未来充满不确定,不知道以后自己要做什么,甚至不知道自己可以做什么。如今疫情没有因为疫苗出来而马上好起来,人工智能不断取代人的工作岗位,这些现实使许多年轻人面临毕业即失业的前景。十七八岁的高中生在想,二十一、二岁的大学毕业生在想,家长们更是担忧孩子们将来能做什么呢?然而今天福音经文告诉我们,有个人祂在十二岁的时候就非常清楚自己要干什么,实际上祂从小就知道自己将来要做什么,这个孩子就是耶稣。在一个奇特的情况下,在一个不寻常的场合,少年耶稣对祂母亲说了句既寻常而又非凡的话。祂说,“岂不知我应当以我父的事为念吗?”祂的意思是“我现在和将来都要做我父所做的和我父要我做的事情,常思念我父的事。你难道不知道么?”   继承父亲的事业或从事父亲所做的事情是再寻常不过的了,特别是在古时候那个选择机会很少的年代,继承父亲事业是从业绝佳途径。不仅是从业途径而且父亲的基因,并从小耳濡目染父亲的工作等等,都为孩子将来从事父亲的事业或类似工作打下坚实的基础。但对于耶稣,这句话不寻常的地方是,祂说的“我父”或“我的父亲”并不是约瑟,而是天父上帝。耶稣是圣子,是天父上帝的爱子,是马利亚还是处女时由圣灵感孕出生的。耶稣以祂父的事为念,是以天父上帝的事为念。什么事呢?就是上帝爱世人,甚至将祂的独生子赐给他们,叫一切信祂的,不至灭亡,反得永生。其实,祂母亲马利亚早就知道耶稣的身份等等一些最基本的事情,只是马利亚自己也要靠她生养的儿子耶稣得救,她自己也有一个信心成长的过程,另外,她属人的感情也一直不愿接受耶稣将来所要做的事情,因为耶稣要为世人受苦受死。上周主日福音经文中,受圣灵充满的西面在给来圣殿为婴孩耶稣做头生洁净礼的马利亚祝福时说:「这孩子被立,是要叫以色列中许多人跌倒,许多人兴起;又要作毁谤的话柄,叫许多人心里的意念显露出来;你自己的心也要被刀刺透。」当主耶稣被挂在十字架上的时候,做为母亲的马利亚,心就像被刀刺透一样。耶稣从小就知道祂父差祂降生救赎人类的事,并一直以此事为念,为此事做准备。   这就是为什么少年耶稣在殿里,坐在教师中间,一面听,一面问。凡听见祂的,都希奇祂的聪明和祂的应对。这场面就像教室里的大反转,老师不会的题,一个学生却会,并给老师和全班同学讲解出来。要知道,在耶路撒冷圣殿里的教师可都是犹太人的顶尖圣经教师啊!当然,就像聪明的孩子有很大程度上是因为继承了父亲聪明的基因一样,少年耶稣的智慧来自天父上帝的智慧;不过主耶稣是神人二性,祂做为人,一个孩子,祂的智慧跟祂从小就以祂父的事为念有直接的关系。在这一点上,圣经中的另一个例子就是今天的旧约经文列王记上第三章中,幼童所罗门王向上帝求智慧。他说“耶和华我的上帝啊,如今你使仆人接续我父亲大卫作王;但我是幼童,不知道应当怎样出入。仆人住在你所拣选的民中,这民多得不可胜数。”他以上帝立他为以色列的王,要治理以色列民为念,因此上帝不仅赐他智慧,也赐他富足和尊荣。今天的福音经文记载,在所罗门王所建的圣殿里,一位比所罗门王更大的君王,用比所罗门更智慧的言语震撼了犹太顶级的圣经教师。少年耶稣不仅因为祂是上帝的儿子,而且做为人,在成长过程中祂也是一直以祂父的事为念,所以,上帝赐给祂智慧,天父是祂智慧的来源。   少年耶稣虽然是上帝的儿子,有天父上帝的智慧,但同时做为人遵循人类成长的过程,顺从祂在地上的父母,并按照各样属神的规矩,为我们成就了诸般的义。今天经文一开始说,祂是“按着节期的规矩”上耶路撒冷去,并“守满了节期”。我们应当学习主耶稣,按照属神的规矩,有规律地去教会。这种按照属神的规矩行事本身不是形式主义或律法主义,而是良好的习惯,使我们不断从主的圣道和圣礼中得到上帝的恩典与智慧。今天的经文最后说,耶稣的“智慧和身量,并上帝和人喜爱他的心,都一齐增长”。但是在今天经文的中间,我们似乎看到少年耶稣很叛逆和不听话的样子。当父母发现耶稣不与他们一同在回家的路上以后,花了三天的时间才在圣殿中找到祂;祂母亲对祂说:「我儿!为什么向我们这样行呢?看哪!你父亲和我伤心来找你!」耶稣说:「为什么找我呢?岂不知我应当以我父的事为念吗?」当然,经文把原因说得很清楚。耶稣“所说的这话,他们不明白。”但是耶稣无论怎样,还是“同他们下去,回到拿撒勒,并且顺从他们。”少年耶稣体谅祂世上的父母还不完全明白祂的身份和所要做的事情。在这种无奈的情况下,耶稣虽然以天父的事为念,但祂顾全大局,也要为所有少年人做出孝顺父母的榜样而顺服祂的父母。   另外,今天经文也用一些词提醒我们,有关耶稣以祂父的事为念的事情,这究竟是什么事呢?经文记载的是祂父母带祂去耶路撒冷过逾越节的时候发生的故事。大家都知道,逾越节是记念上帝以大能的手将以色列人从埃及为奴之家领出来,逾越节时所吃的羔羊就是预表耶稣基督这位上帝的羔羊,除去世人罪孽的。祂父母三天后找到祂,是预言和预表耶稣基督死后第三天复活,因为这就像“是死而复活、失而又得了”。少年耶稣将来要死并复活的事情对天父上帝和耶稣来说是必要的,耶稣“应当”以此为念的。主耶稣在福音书中也曾多次表示,祂“必须”上耶路撒冷,“受长老、祭司长、文士许多的苦,并且被杀,第三日复活”。这是因为,祂一直是以祂父上帝的事业为念,要为我们成就救赎的大功。   今天,我们每一个人(不只是青少年人)当学习主耶稣的榜样,在祂里面找到对天父上帝的真正归属与忠诚,并常以天父的事为念。求主的圣灵感动我们,使我们像马利亚一样将主的话语“存在心里”,也像少年耶稣一样,常常思念上帝的教导和上帝的事情,也求主使我们能像所罗门王和主耶稣一样得到上帝的智慧与恩典,“使我们的智慧和身量,并上帝和人喜爱我们的心,都一齐增长”。 奉圣父、圣子、圣灵的名,阿门!

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