5th Sunday of Easter

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What is sin? What is righteousness? What is judgment? Church words, that's what they are. Church words for sure. But in the world, what do those words mean? It's tempting to answer quickly and easily. Well, the world just doesn't think about that. Sin, righteousness, judgment. Those are just words for church and not out there. But do even the people in church think about these words? Do Christians? Do we readily understand our Lord's words today about sin, righteousness, and judgment in John 16? Or have we cliched our churchly definitions for these terms? Everyone in this world is a sinner. Everyone has thoughts on righteousness. Everyone will be judged. The words of our Lord speak to us humans in our human condition. Everyone has to have a definition for these words. At least a working one. Now that doesn't mean that every definition is accurate or true. Some of those working definitions need to be reworked. There are plenty of thoughts about sin, righteousness, and judgment, even if the words are absent from conversation. To the world, sin is primarily a moral trespass. Gross versions are reported on the news, and we wonder what's going on with these sick people. Sin is typically absent from one's own person, though. Not completely absent, but mostly. It's the extra ten pounds that you'd like to shed. It's the habit that you'd like to kick. It's the book or hobby you'd like to get back to, but haven't. Typically, sin, if present, is manageable. Since sin is manageable, righteousness is attainable. Or assumed even. Again, we're speaking in a worldly way, mind you. The world thinks most people good so long as they play by the rules of the world. Religion is fine as long as it's private and only impacts the world through charity or welfare programs. The gospel need not come in the form of Jesus Christ or the cross to handle sin. One doesn't need the true God, just any God will do. Go to Amazon for some retail therapy. Amazon will help you. Have a drink or smoke to calm your nerves. There's plenty of cigarettes sold, there's plenty of bottles clanging in the trash can. Listen to your favorite song. Listen to all the songs. Keep listening to the songs and only the songs and let them become your philosophy. Find a lover's embrace, whether it's the right lover or the wrong one. Something to bring happiness back when sins and accusations come nagging. And it can even be the law itself. Making a promise to restore order, improve your ethics and morality, and instill that genuine striving that makes you one of the truly righteous people, something anything to lighten the load, promising you everything's just fine for you in this world. Or at least you're getting there. With sin well managed and hooked on our righteous feelings, the fear of judgment is removed. Some assume that there'll be no judgment, just nothing. Or just everybody, come one, come all, whatever you believed, whatever you did. Some know a bit better, but decide that they themselves are fit to judge. They've done enough by the law's standards, at least their interpretation of the law. They've done better than others. Their intentions met the standard, they tried. This world's prince is happy to have self-righteous people, or he's happy to have the more honest, despairing people, because both are judged guilty. Both are found wanting. What does Jesus say about the work of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit who guides us by all the truth, who glorifies Christ and declares Christ to you? What does Jesus say about the Holy Spirit's work of convicting the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment? How does God define and speak to the human condition concerning sin? Because they do not believe in me. That seems like it's from left field. Maybe it's from above. When we speak of sin, we can't simply talk of things that other people and the world consider offensive. In one sense, sin is more personal or doctrinal than it is criminal. Every sin, including crimes against our neighbor, begins with false belief. This is where the law shows its requirements to the extreme. All of the law's requirements may be summed up by the faith called for in the first table and the love of the neighbor shown in the second. And when we fail to meet those standards, the law shouts death. Sin is unbelief. Sin has other gods. Sin looks for refuge not in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but somewhere else, anywhere else. Whether it's the law itself, self-righteousness, morality, or whatever sort of pleasure. The Holy Spirit, through the word about Christ, shows us our unbelief. He shows us how we have not feared, loved, or trusted in God above all things. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin by parading our idolatry out of our hearts. You've depended on this, haven't you? You've relied on yourself, haven't you? How's that been working out for you? Is it true? Will that actually conquer death? What does it say at the death of a parent or a child? How's your God handling that? When a marriage ends? Or to the over-the-hill person looking down the hill at the grave? What has truly shaped your life? We know sin, and we feel that death and that judgment ever creeping in on us in simple things too. When things go bump in the night and you're scared, why? Where's your trust? Who are you relying on? We know sin when a family member isn't home at the set time. We know sin when we mess up at work and we think of the ramifications. From major to minor occurrence, every instance of sin is unbelief. Sin doesn't love God. Sin doesn't trust God. Sin doesn't think God will be there for your every good. Sin is afraid for the self, and sin has to get to working. Every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore, the greatest gift came down from the Father, whose steadfast love endures forever, and whose mercy and whose compassion won't change. The Son of God became man. Jesus told his disciples that he was going away to the Father. And he didn't say, I'm going away, and they reacted, yay! They were sorrowful because they knew that he was talking about his death. He spoke openly of his death on the cross. His death in our place shows us the severity of our sin and our unbelief. It shows us also the sincerity of his belief, trust, and love for his father. That he knew what was coming and he willingly went right towards it. He didn't shy away from it. It wasn't things going bump in the night, but it was the hammer driving a nail into his wrist, right? The hammer driving the nails that sound over and over into his feet. But he had no fear. He went to the cross for you. Only Christ who died, rose, and ascended to the Father, can bring about true righteousness for us sinners. We couldn't and we can't attain righteousness by works of the law, morality, ethics, donations, volunteering, or any other worldly accepted currency for righteousness. God has spoken, and this much is clear. By faith. Only Jesus could and can save us sinners from our sin. Only God, through the means of his word, baptism, and supper, can deliver to us the true righteousness of another, of one that's not ours, but given to us, and so it is ours. Only Jesus' righteousness for you. Therefore, you know how the judgment will go for you, because of how God has judged you in his beloved Son. The devil has tried to rewrite sin and righteousness. The devil would have you rely on anyone, anything, any thought but God, and so be judged, therefore, a condemned sinner, unrighteous, guilty hell. But God has judged the ruler of this world. God truly does love the world and you. Christ has died in your place. Christ has paid for your sins. You have sins, don't you, sinner? Then listen up. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, your sins are forgiven. You are clothed in Christ's righteousness. You are judged a holy saint, righteous, not guilty, heaven. Amen.