Sermon
November 23, 2011
Dear friends in Christ.
Is your will up to date? Are all
your important papers in order? Have you
decided who your heirs are going to be?
Though these might seem like strange questions to be asked at the
beginning of a Thanksgiving sermon, I assure you they have bearing on what we
are going to learn today. For as we
study the text before us we will learn one of the greatest truths our God has
ever chosen to share with us. We will
learn that we are heirs of eternal life.
In fact, as we study this text we will focus our attention on that
simple sentence, and it as our theme.
For today we will be assured that we are indeed heirs of eternal
life. Yes, According to Christ's mercy
we are heirs of eternal life! Yes,
Through the washing of the Holy Spirit, we are heirs of eternal life!
What greater news could we receive on this national day of
thanksgiving! What greater knowledge
could we obtain than the knowledge that we are heirs of heaven according to the
mercy of Christ and not because of anything we have done! In truth, I can think of no better news than
this, because the knowledge that eternal life in heaven is now mine according
to Christ's mercy and not because of anything I have done is the greatest news
I could ever have received. It's the
greatest news because I know my sinful condition. I know how I struggle and struggle to keep God's
laws as he demands, but continually miss the mark and fall short of his glory. I know how easily I get distracted and start
thinking about all sorts of other things while I'm praying to the Lord. I know how often I fall asleep at night while
I'm in the middle of a prayer to my God.
I know how hard it is to set aside time to read the Bible for the
strengthening of my own faith, so that I might always be prepared to strengthen
yours. I know the temptations that never
fail to lead me into sin. I know the pet
sins that plague me like an addiction.
No matter how hard I try to give them up, I keep coming back to them
like a dog returning to its vomit. I
know the pitiful sinful creature than I am, and you know the pitiful sinful
creature that you are. If the Lord had
left eternal life up to us and the righteous things we had done, we could never
have achieved it. For if the Lord had
left it up to us, we would be as far away from heaven as Pluto is from the Sun.
But even though we are sinful creatures who deserve nothing but God's
eternal wrath and punishment, we can take comfort in the fact that we are
indeed heirs of heaven! We are heirs of
heaven not because of anything we have done, but because of everything our
Savior has done! For it is according to
the mercy of Christ our Savior that we can look forward to the glories of
eternal life. This, in fact, is exactly what Paul is assuring us of as he
writes in our text: "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior
appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because
of his mercy." (Titus 3:4-5)
Yes, it was Christ and his mercy that has made us into heirs of eternal
life! Though we have done nothing to
deserve his love, Christ loved us so much that he died for us while we were
still his enemies. Christ made sure that
we were washed in the waters of Baptism so that the Holy Spirit might plant the
seed of faith in our hearts. Christ
loved us so much that he made sure his Word was proclaimed to us so that faith
might sprout in our hearts and grow there.
In fact, Christ loved us so much that he chose us to be his own even
before the creation of the world, carefully writing our names into the Book of
Life to make us children of God. This is
the mercy that Christ our Savior has bestowed on us and this is the mercy by
which we are now heirs of eternal life.
For it is according to Christ's mercy, which our God poured out on us
through the washing of the Holy Spirit, that we have been made heirs of eternal
life.
There is no greater truth than this!
We are heirs of eternal life through the washing of rebirth and renewal
by the Holy Spirit! For it was through
our baptism that the Holy Spirit came into our hearts and created faith in
Jesus Christ our Savior. It was through
the washing of the water with the Word that the Holy Spirit applied Christ's
sacrifice to us completely washing away every spot and stain of our sins. It is through that washing of rebirth and
renewal by the Holy Spirit that we have been sealed as children of God and made
heirs of eternal life. For this is
exactly what our God did for us as Paul tells us in our text: "He saved us
through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured
out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been
justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal
life." (Titus 3:5-7).
And this is exactly what we are!
For through the washing of the Holy Spirit our God poured out his
abundant grace on us and made us heirs of eternal life. Through the washing of the Holy Spirit, the
Lord poured his grace into our hearts though Christ Jesus our Savior. For in the same way that a waitress will pour
you cup after cup of coffee until you simply cannot drink anymore, our God has
poured his grace into our hearts. But
unlike the waitress who will stop before your cup is so full that it starts to
spill over, our God continues to pour his grace into our hearts even after it
is filled to over flowing. Even after
his grace has so filled our hearts that it spills over into our bodies and our
lives, God continues to pour out his grace for us through the forgiveness of
sins that he grants us each and every day.
He pours out his grace into our lives as he works all things out for the
good of those who love him. He pours out
his grace into our lives by keeping us faithful to him and giving us the
courage and strength to continue on in his service even when things seem their
bleakest. This is the grace that God has
poured into our hearts by the washing of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit
which we all received on the day that we were baptized. For on that day, the Holy Spirit brought us
to faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, and made us heirs of eternal life.
Though our Lord didn't have to sit down with a lawyer to get everything
in order, we know that his will is up to date!
We know that we have been listed as his heirs and that when our time
comes we will receive the inheritance that he has promised us. This is what we have to be thankful for
today. For we are heirs of eternal
life! We are heirs of eternal life not
because of anything we have done, but according to Christ's mercy and through
the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pastor David M.
Shilling
Grace Evangelical
Lutheran Church
