I know that My Redeemer Lives! (Job 19:23-27)

The Resurrection of our Lord Easter Day 
April 8, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

As we have gathered in worship on this glorious Easter Sunday, we have gathered to raise our hearts and voice in praise of our Lord Jesus who though he was crucified has now risen from death and now lives and rules eternally.  We have joined our hearts and our voices together as we have sung beautiful hymns reminding us that Jesus has risen from the dead, that because Jesus is alive we know that he has won the victory, that we know that our redeemer lives.  In fact, what better message could there be for us today than the message that Jesus is alive!  For this message that Jesus, our Savior has been raised from the dead and is now alive, is the central message of salvation recorded in the Bible.  In fact, it was this message that inspired Samuel Medley to write his beautiful eight stanza hymn that we sang only a few moments ago.  That beautiful hymn which echoes the words of Job in our lesson for today; the words that Job spoke something like two thousand years before Jesus was born. 

In fact, I would like to invite you, if you haven’t already, to open your Bibles to our lesson in Job 19:23-25.  Now, as you are opening to Job 19:23, let me remind you of some of the things that had happened to Job.  He was the one who lost all his children and all his possessions in a single day.  He is the one who endured painful sores, which covered his body.  He is the one who endured seven days of silence when his friends came to comfort him, because when his friends came they didn’t know what to say to him.  Job was the one who was in such a pitiable condition that they couldn’t even say, “Cheer up, old friend.  At least you still have your health.”  For it was obvious to them that Job didn’t even have that anymore.  Yet even in the midst of his sorrow.  Even in the midst of his suffering, the Lord strengthened Job and he was able to utter the beautiful words of our lesson today:  23 “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!(Job 19:23–27, NIV84)

What an amazing confession of faith from a man who was suffering so terribly!  What an amazing confession of the facts that took place something like two-thousand years later!  What an amazing echo of what the women told the disciples when they returned from the tomb on that Easter morning!  What an amazing thing for the disciples to hear that Jesus, their Savior, the one whom they had seen crucified; the one who they saw give up his life and die; the one whom the saw laid in a tomb that was sealed by the religious leaders and the Romans; He was now alive!  Yet, as you know, the disciples did not believe it right away.  Partly because they had not fully comprehended what Jesus had taught them, and, I’m sure, partly because of the emotional roller coaster that they had ridden for the past week.  It had only been seven days earlier when Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem in triumph to the shouts of “Hosanna!  Hosanna to the Son of David!  Hosanna in the highest!”  But then, a mere five days later, Jesus was on trial for crimes he had never committed.  Though his followers had shouted as loudly as they could, their cries of, “Jesus!” could not compete with the cries of “Barabbas!” when Pilate asked, “Whom shall I release to you?”  Though Jesus’ followers had cried out, “Release him!” they still could not drown out the echoing cries of “Crucify him! Crucify him!” when Pilate asked, “What shall I do with him?” 

Now it was early Sunday morning, just after sunrise, and the women were on their way to the tomb.  They were going to anoint Jesus body with spices and give him the proper burial, which they had not had time to give him because it was so close to the Sabbath.  As they walked along they remembered the stone in front of the tomb and wondered who would roll it away for them.  But when they got to the tomb the stone had already been rolled away.  When they went into the tomb they found that Jesus was no longer there.  There was only the angel who told them that Jesus was not there because he had risen from the dead.  Jesus, their Savior, was alive once again!  Though at first the women were somewhat bewildered by this announcement and didn’t fully comprehend what the angel was telling them, we understand and take comfort in the fact that Christ Jesus, our Savior, has risen from the dead and is alive, just as Job confessed so many years ago, “25 I know that my Redeemer lives,” (Job 19:25a, NIV84)

Could there be any greater comfort for us than the comfort that comes from knowing that Jesus, our Savior, is alive?  For the comfort we receive comes from knowing that when Christ went to the cross he drank all the hellish dregs of the cup of God’s wrath so that there would not be even one drop of suffering left for us to drink.  When Christ went to the cross he went there to give his life in sacrifice so that by his death he would completely pay the price that God demanded for the satisfaction and forgiveness of our sins.  But now, because we know that Jesus has risen from the dead, we know that he has completed our salvation.  Because Jesus is alive, we know that all of our sins have been forgiven.  Because Jesus is alive we know that sin and death have been defeated.  Because Jesus is alive, we know that he is our salvation.  He is in heaven even now interceding before God the Father on our behalf.  He is in heaven even now preparing a place for us, just as he has promised to do.  But the best part about knowing that Jesus is alive, is knowing that he will return for us one day to take us home to be with him forever.

Amazingly, even this is something that Job confessed and prophesied a couple thousand years before Jesus was even born!  For when Job spoke his beautiful confession he didn’t just stop by saying, “I know that my Redeemer lives.”  Rather, he continued on as he said in verse 25: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25–27, NIV84)

Though Job did not know Jesus as we know him, he knew that the Lord would one day send the Redeemer who would not only save him from his sins, but would also return for him one day.  Well, this hope to which Job was clinging is the same hope that the disciples cherished and taught to the people in every city and country where they traveled.  For the disciples knew, as Job did, that this same Jesus who had been taken from them into heaven would come back in the same way they had seen him go.  (Acts 1:11)

My friends, we have that same confidence in Jesus, our Savior, today.  Because we know that Jesus our Savior has risen for the dead and is alive, living and ruling in heaven, we also know that one day he will return for us.  Perhaps that day will be today.  Perhaps it will be tomorrow.  Perhaps it won’t be for many, many years.  But no matter when that day comes we have Job’s prophecy that one day our Redeemer will stand upon the earth, and we have Jesus’ own promise when he tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.(John 14:1–3, NIV84) 

What a wondrous day that will be when Jesus returns to take us home to be with him!  For on that day as Job said, “He will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!(Job 19:25–27, NIV84)

Because Jesus came to earth, suffered under the terrible weight of sin, and died on the cross, he has removed our sins forever.  Because Jesus rose again from the dead we have no doubts that Jesus is our Salvation.  We know that through him our God sees us as holy and righteous people.  We know that by his resurrection he has defeated Satan and the power of death forever.  We know that because Jesus has crushed Satan and his power, Satan can no longer harm us. We know that because of Jesus death and resurrection, our death will be nothing more than a nap our bodies will take while we wait for our Savior’s return.  Because of all of this we can sing for joy with Job, with the Apostles, with Samuel Medley, and with all Christians, “I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, he lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever-living Head!  He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death. He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring my safely there. He lives, all glory to his name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives: "I know that my Redeemer lives!"

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

I Know that My Redeemer Lives (Job 19:23-27)

September 18, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

Samuel Medley was born in England on June 23, 1738.  Though he was apprenticed to an oilman in London, he so thoroughly disliked the oil business that at the age of 17 he entered the service of the King as a sailor in the Royal Navy.  Though he had been brought up in a good home with a good education, it is clear that Samuel was anything but a Christian.  By all reports he led a very over indulgent and excessive life while serving in the Royal Navy.  However his Naval career was cut short, when at the age of 21 he endured a sever leg wound in the Battle of Cape Lagos; a leg wound that necessitated an honorable discharge from service.  Though Samuel had been anything but a Christian, it was during his convalescence that he heard a sermon by Isaac Watts that began the spark of faith in Samuel’s heart.  As his faith grew he felt called to the service of the Lord and became a Baptism minister.  Though history speaks of him as an excellent preacher and teacher of salvation, the thing for which Samuel Medley is best remember are the 230 hymns he wrote during his lifetime.  Though we have only one of his 230 hymns in our hymnal, in my opinion it is by far, the best!  For the hymn that we have is the beautiful hymn that we sang at the beginning of our service today, I Know that My Redeemer Lives!

What better message could there be for us today than the message that Jesus is alive!  For this message that Jesus, our Savior has been raised from the dead and is now alive, is the central message of salvation recorded in the Bible.  In fact, it was this message that inspired Samuel Medley to write his beautiful eight stanza hymn that we began singing at the beginning of our service and which we will conclude shortly after our sermon today.  This is the message that Job confidently proclaimed something like two thousand years before Jesus was born.  So, I invite you now, if you haven’t already, to open your Bibles to our lesson in Job 19:23-25.  Now, as you are opening to Job 19:23, let me remind you of some of the things that had happened to Job.  He was the one who lost all his children and all his possessions in a single day.  He is the one who endured painful sores, which covered his body.  He is the one who endured seven days of silence when his friends came to comfort him, because when his friends came they didn’t know what to say to him.  Job was the one who was in such a pitiable condition that they couldn’t even say, “Cheer up, old friend.  At least you still have your health.”  For it was obvious to them that Job didn’t even have that anymore.  Yet even in the midst of his sorrow.  Even in the midst of his suffering, the Lord strengthened Job and he was able to utter the beautiful words of our lesson today:  23 “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!(Job 19:23–27, NIV84)

What an amazing confession of faith from a man who was suffering so terribly!  What an amazing confession of the facts that took place something like two-thousand years later!  What an amazing echo of what the women told the disciples when they returned from the tomb on that Easter morning!  What an amazing thing for the disciples to hear that Jesus, their Savior, the one whom they had seen crucified; the one who they saw give up his life and die; the one whom the saw laid in a tomb that was sealed by the religious leaders and the Romans; He was now alive!  Yet, as you know, the disciples did not believe it right away.  Partly because they had not fully comprehended what Jesus had taught them, and, I’m sure, partly because of the emotional roller coaster that they had ridden for the past week.  It had only been seven days earlier when Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem in triumph to the shouts of “Hosanna!  Hosanna to the Son of David!  Hosanna in the highest!”  But then, a mere five days later, Jesus was on trial for crimes he had never committed.  Though his followers had shouted as loudly as they could, their cries of, “Jesus!” could not compete with the cries of “Barabbas!” when Pilate asked, “Whom shall I release to you?”  Though Jesus’ followers had cried out, “Release him!” they still could not drown out the echoing cries of “Crucify him! Crucify him!” when Pilate asked, “What shall I do with him?” 

Now it was early Sunday morning, just after sunrise, and the women were on their way to the tomb.  They were going to anoint Jesus body with spices and give him the proper burial, which they had not had time to give him because it was so close to the Sabbath.  As they walked along they remembered the stone in front of the tomb and wondered who would roll it away for them.  But when they got to the tomb the stone had already been rolled away.  When they went into the tomb they found that Jesus was no longer there.  There was only the angel who told them that Jesus was not there because he had risen from the dead.  Jesus, their Savior, was alive once again!  Though at first the women were somewhat bewildered by this announcement and didn’t fully comprehend what the angel was telling them, we understand and take comfort in the fact that Christ Jesus, our Savior, has risen from the dead and is alive, just as Job confessed so many years ago, “25 I know that my Redeemer lives,” (Job 19:25a, NIV84)

Could there be any greater comfort for us than the comfort that comes from knowing that Jesus, our Savior, is alive?  For the comfort we receive comes from knowing that when Christ went to the cross he drank all the hellish dregs of the cup of God’s wrath so that there would not be even one drop of suffering left for us to drink.  When Christ went to the cross he went there to give his life in sacrifice so that by his death he would completely pay the price that God demanded for the satisfaction and forgiveness of our sins.  But now, because we know that Jesus has risen from the dead, we know that he has completed our salvation.  Because Jesus is alive, we know that all of our sins have been forgiven.  Because Jesus is alive we know that sin and death have been defeated.  Because Jesus is alive, we know that he is our salvation.  He is in heaven even now interceding before God the Father on our behalf.  He is in heaven even now preparing a place for us, just as he has promised to do.  But the best part about knowing that Jesus is alive, is knowing that he will return for us one day to take us home to be with him forever.

Amazingly, even this is something that Job confessed and prophesied a couple thousand years before Jesus was even born!  For when Job spoke his beautiful confession he didn’t just stop by saying, “I know that my Redeemer lives.”  Rather, he continued on as he said in verse 25: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25–27, NIV84)

Though Job did not know Jesus as we know him, he knew that the Lord would one day send the Redeemer who would not only save him from his sins, but would also return for him one day.  Well, this hope to which Job was clinging is the same hope that the disciples cherished and taught to the people in every city and country where they traveled.  For the disciples knew, as Job did, that this same Jesus who had been taken from them into heaven would come back in the same way they had seen him go.  (Acts 1:11)

My friends, we have that same confidence in Jesus, our Savior, today.  Because we know that Jesus our Savior has risen for the dead and is alive, living and ruling in heaven, we also know that one day he will return for us.  Perhaps that day will be today.  Perhaps it will be tomorrow.  Perhaps it won’t be for many, many years.  But no matter when that day comes we have Job’s prophecy that one day our Redeemer will stand upon the earth, and we have Jesus’ own promise when he tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.(John 14:1–3, NIV84) 

What a wondrous day that will be when Jesus returns to take us home to be with him!  For on that day as Job said, “He will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!(Job 19:25–27, NIV84)

Because Jesus came to earth, suffered under the terrible weight of sin, and died on the cross, he has removed our sins forever.  Because Jesus rose again from the dead we have no doubts that Jesus is our Salvation.  We know that through him our God sees us as holy and righteous people.  We know that by his resurrection he has defeated Satan and the power of death forever.  We know that because Jesus has crushed Satan and his power, Satan can no longer harm us. We know that because of Jesus death and resurrection, our death will be nothing more than a nap our bodies will take while we wait for our Savior’s return.  Because of all of this we can sing for joy with Job, with the Apostles, with Samuel Medley, and with all Christians, “I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, he lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever-living Head!  He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death. He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring my safely there. He lives, all glory to his name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives: "I know that my Redeemer lives!"

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Sing Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Peter 1:3-9)

May 1, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

If I could choose only one season out of the entire church year as my favorite, I would have to choose Easter. I love Easter. I love how the whole church seems to transform from a veil of sorrow to a veil of joy. I love how we beautify our church with all sorts of different flowers as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus. But most of all I love how joyful our celebrations are as we gather to sing praise to the Lord our God on Easter Sunday. It is always so fund to gather and raise our voices together in song as we sing praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as we did last Sunday, with songs like, I know that My Redeemer Lives, Amazing Grace, Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle, and even a couple of stanzas of How Great Thou Art! As I’ve said before, I do wish that all of you could sit where I do and hear how beautiful you all sound as we raise our voices together, singing praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For, as we gathered on Easter Sunday and as we’ve gathered here again this morning, we have gathered to sing praise to the Lord our God who raised his Son from the dead. We’ve gathered to sing praise to the Lord our God who freed us from our sins and made us his own through the death and resurrection of his Son, our Savior. We’ve gathered to sing praise to our God and Father because he has redeemed us, restored us and forgiven us. In short, we have gathered to sing praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for all the great things that our God has done for us, just as Peter explains to us in our lesson for today.

Now, if you haven’t already opened your Bibles to our lesson for today, I invite you to open to 1 Peter chapter 1 beginning with verse 3 and we’ll take a look at all the reasons Peter gives us to sing praise. Now, as you are turning to 1 Peter, let me give you the back story, so to speak. As Peter writes in 1 Peter chapter 1, the year is somewhere between 62 and 64. The Apostle Paul is most likely traveling in the region of Spain, and Peter, perhaps at the request of Paul, sits down with Silas to write a letter of comfort and encouragement to the believes in the cities where Paul and Silas had traveled on Paul’s second Missionary Journey. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned in Bible Class that it was Luke who had written 1 Peter along with Peter, however, that was not correct, as Peter tells us in chapter 5 that it was with the help of Silas he had written this letter (1 Peter 5:12) And who better than Silas, the man who had visited these congregations with Paul, to aid Peter in writing this letter of praise!

Take a look at what Peter writes beginning with verse 3: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9, NIV84)

What better message could there be for us to hear on the heels of Easter than this message, giving us every reason to praise our God who has brought us into a new and living hope. What greater message could there be than the assurance that we have hope in any and every situation, especially when we take a look at the world around us. It is no secret that our economy is struggling. It is no secret that people are scared. It is no secret that more and more people have entered survival mode and are on the brink of losing hope? How many of us are in the same boat? How many of us are finding ourselves scared about the future? How many of us are sacrificing little things here and there to keep from having to enter survival mode too soon. How many are looking at the world around us and beginning to wonder if hope will hold out?

This is why Peter is writing as he is this morning! He is writing to assure us that in the midst of our economy we have every reason to sing praise to our God and Father. We have every reason to sing praise to our God and Father because even though we had once been lost in the darkness of sin and unbelief, God the Father willingly handed over his one and only son to death so that we would not have to die. Before we were even born, God the Father loved us and planned for our salvation. Before he even created the World, God the Father laid out his plan for our eternal salvation which centered on nothing that we could do for him, but everything that he could do for us. Now, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior, we have been given new birth in to a new and living hope. No matter what might be happening around us, the hope we have is secure, because our hope is in the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for us. Our hope springs from the waters of Baptism that have washed us clean through the work of the Holy Spirit in connection with the Word of God. Our hope is certain because Jesus Christ who died in our place, rose again from the dead to assure us that our sins have been completely washed away.

Now, through faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, we have been made children of God and heirs of eternal life! In the midst of an economy where people are concerned about their investments, 401k’s, stock options and other retirement funds, we have no concern whatsoever. We have no concern because we know that our retirement benefits are not only safe but they are out of this world. We are confident because we know that our inheritance is kept for us in heaven, where no thief can ever break in. No moth can ever destroy. No rust can ever corrupt. Nothing can ever spoil it, nor can it fade away, nor can it be lost because the stock market takes a turn for the worse. Thus we sing the praise of our God and Father because he has secured our inheritance through his mighty power with which we are shielded even now, until our salvation will be revealed when the Lord calls us home.

Because of this, we have every reason sing the praise of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if that’s the case Pastor, if we can rejoice in the Lord our God, if we can sing his praises because he has redeemed us, made us his own, and even protects us in this life, why do we still have to face sorrows and hardships? Why do find ourselves suffering at the hands of others? Why do face difficulties in this life? Peter answers that question for us beginning with verse 6 where he says, “6 In this [that is all these things with which God has blessed you] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9, NIV84)

Though no one likes hardships or suffering, we can still rejoice in them because we know that they come to us so that our faith might be proven to be genuine. They come to us to draw us closer to the Lord. They come to us to make us take our eyes off the things of the world and refocus our vision on the things of eternal life. They come to us because Jesus promised that when we followed him the world would hate us and we would be persecuted just as he was. They come to us because satan is looking for any and every opportunity to distract us from our faith, cause us to despair, lose our hope, and finally fall away from the faith. They come to us because sometimes the Lord sends them into our lives, as he did when he asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, so that we can learn what we are made of; so that we can learn the caliber of our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Though they are never easy to cope with, James tells us that we can consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds because it will produce perseverance of faith. (James 1:2) Though they are never the most easy thing to cope with, Paul assures us that we can rejoice in suffering because produce perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. (Romans 5:3) Though they are never easy to cope with Peter assures us that they come to help us look forward to our living hope in a better future with the Lord our God forever in heaven.

This is why we have every reason to sing praises to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! We have every reason to sing praise to our God and Father because he is the one who freed us from our sins by sending his Son to be our Savior. He is the one who crushed Jesus and caused him to suffer (Isaiah 53:10) so that we would never have to. He is the one who forsook his own son on the cross so that he would never have to forsake us. He is the one who raised Jesus from the dead to assure us that not only have all our offenses been cleared, but that he will also raise us, just as he raised his Son. Thus we have gathered together on this Sunday after Easter, to sing praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because he is the one who has made us his own and has given us a sure and certain living hope in eternal life through his Son, our Savior.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN

God's Great Exchange

April 24, 2011
Easter Sunday

Dear Friends in Christ

If you’ve ever tried to return home to the United States after traveling in a foreign country, then you know what going through customs is like. You know how you have to provide the proper documentation of who you are before they will even consider letting you in. You know how you will be asked all sorts of different questions by the custom agent before he or she will approve your credentials and allow you to enter. And you know that if you should fail to provide proper identification or fail to adequately answer the questions, you will be turned away and not able to enter at all. Yet with the proper documentation it is a very easy thing to pass through customs and return home to your own land. The same thing is true for us as Christians. Though we are citizens of heaven we are currently traveling outside of our home country, but we all know that one day we will stand at the border cross between this world and the next. One day we will be asked for our passports to eternal life. One day we will be asked why we should be allowed to enter our home land of heaven. It is because of this that I want to review with you the very hope and the very reason we have in looking forward to eternal life, and I want to begin by asking you a couple of questions. The first is, “If you were to die to night, are you sure that you would have eternal life?” …The second is, “If you did die tonight, and you were standing before God and he asked you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would you tell him?”

… Though I don’t expect you to give me an answer right here and right now, these are questions I want you to ponder as we continue today. For the answers to these questions are answers that only come through faith, and in doing so, they lead us into a right relationship with the Lord our God.

For a person to be in a right relationship with God, that person needs first of all to ask God what his requirements truly are. To find out what those are, we turn to the pages of Scripture where we learn in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And again in Leviticus 19:2, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” From this we learn that the very thing God demands of us is that we must be perfectly holy, completely set apart from sinners, without flaw of any kind, and absolutely perfect. This, in fact, is the very thing that Jesus said to a man who came to him asking , “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him with a question: "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, `Love your neighbor as yourself.' " Jesus told the man that he had answered correctly, God demands nothing less than perfection, a perfect love for him at all times, a perfect love for our neighbor at all times as well. Then Jesus said, "Do this and you will live." (Luke 10:16-28). In other words, keep on doing this at all times. Show nothing less than perfect love toward God and your neighbor in all that you do, and say and even think, and you will live. Always put God first in your life, never use his name in a wrong way, never have so much as a single greedy, covetous, lustful, vengeful, jealous, hateful, or even selfish thought. Be such a perfect, holy, sinless person at every moment of your life, and you will live, that is be in a right relationship with the Lord your God and receive eternal life.

The problem is, as we know, what God demands of us is the very opposite of what he sees. The Bible tells us, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). That means that each and every one of us has sinned in one way or another, and because of our sins, we have fallen short of God’s glory. It’s like going to Wal-Mart to buy groceries or things that you might need. You go around all the isles, spending a few hours shopping and getting all that you need, and finally when you fill that you’ve filled your cart full enough, you go to the check out. As the cashier rings up your purchases, you dig out your checkbook only to find that you ran out of checks yesterday, and completely forgot to put a new book in. So you look in your purse, or your wallet, for a check card or credit card of some kind, only to find that you’ve left them home as well. Now, you as you begin to search for some money, you know that it will be entirely fruitless because you left all your cash at home. Though you hunt and hunt for through your pockets, all you are able to find is two quarters, a dime and a nickel. The problem is, you have fallen short of that $150 tab that the clerk has just finished ringing up, and your sixty five cents will by no means cover that bill. Now, you have no choice but return home completely empty handed. That is what our sins have done to us. For in the same way that a lack of money separated you from the possibility of buying groceries, the Bible tells us, “your iniquities (sins) have separated you from your God” In fact, in the end, our sins will finally separate us from our God forever, as Paul tells us, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23)

So then, what can we do? If God sees in us the very opposite of what he demands, what can we do to change it? Well, some might say, “I’ll try harder. I’ll keep trying my best to sin less and less every day.” The problem is, of course, as James tells us, “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10). Another person might come up with the idea of balancing out the sins I commit with all sorts of good deeds. If I come home in a bad mood, yell at my kids, and argue with my wife, I’ll take them all out for a special dinner to make up for it. The problem is, even if we could balance out our sins, they would still be there. We would not be able to get rid of them, and we would still be stuck full of sins, completely lacking in holiness, worthy of nothing more than death. Another might give in to the fact that he is not perfect, he might say, “I know I’m not perfect, but at least I’m not as bad as that guy over there.” Though comparing ourselves to another might make us feel pretty good about ourselves in the short term, when we look up, and compare ourselves to God, we realize that we are still destined for eternal damnation. Though these ways might seem right and logical to us, in the end they lead only to death and damnation. (Proverbs 16:25)

So then, what can we do! If we are so filled with sins and so lacking in holiness that we can only look forward to eternal death. If we can do nothing to remove our sins, and every sin we commit means we are guilty of breaking all of God’s law that we cannot possibly keep it ourselves to earn eternal life, what can we do? The answer is nothing. But even though there is nothing that we can do, it is God who has done it all for us! This is God’s remedy.

God’s remedy centers in a person. That person is his own Son, Jesus Christ our Savior. Jesus is the one about whom the Bible tells us, that though he was true God, he was also true man. Though he was true God from eternity, he became fully human, exactly like you and me in every way, except he was without sin. Jesus was completely holy, completely without sin! In fact, what God demanded, Jesus did 100%

There was even a time when Jesus flat out asked his enemies, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46). But no one could. Even when Jesus was on trial and the Jews were seeking to have him crucified, even then the accusations brought against Jesus did not agree. Even when false witnesses were coached on what to say, they still couldn’t make their stories agree. It’s as if the Lord himself were telling the world, “There’s no one who can find one fault in my Son. He lived an absolutely holy, sin free life.”

But even though he had lived his holy, sin-free life, his life still ended in death on the cross. But his death was not in vain, as Isaiah tells us, “The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) God transferred all our sins over to Jesus and let him pay the penalty for them. In the same way that we can easily transfer money from a savings account to a checking account, the Lord transferred all our sins over to Jesus account, and sent him to the cross with those sins, so that through his death, their payment would be covered. And when Jesus died, he cried out in a loud voice to let us know that his payment was complete that our sins had been forgiven.

It’s like being back at Wal-Mart, fishing in your pockets, fining nothing more than sixty-five cents. As you’re about to apologize to the cashier, and take your leave, someone from the line behind says, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for your things.” That’s what Jesus did for us. He paid the penalty in full for us. He took our sins upon himself so that we could be in a right relationship with our God. This is exactly what the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In the same way that the Lord transferred our sins to Jesus, He transferred Jesus’ righteousness and holiness to us. Through Jesus, we become the righteousness and holiness that God demands. For God has covered us with the news cloths of Jesus’ holiness so that he no longer sees our sins, but only the Holiness and righteousness that Jesus won for us through his death and resurrection. This is God’s great exchange! He takes my sins and gives me Jesus’ Righteousness so that now, in his eyes, I am filled with holiness, completely devoid of sinfulness, and I am now in a right relationship with my God. The very thing that God demands of me, he has now given me. Not because I have earned it or deserved it, but because of his great love for me.

What a blessing this is indeed! For now that I am in a right relationship with the Lord my God through Jesus Christ my Savior, I receive his great blessings indeed. I have received forgiveness of sins and freedom from guilt. I have received the gift of eternal life and new life of faith. I have received the Lord’s guidance for life and his answers to prayers. I have received the gift of Christian fellowship and the power for living for the Lord. These are the great gifts and blessings the Lord has given me through this great exchanges. My sins on Jesus, Jesus’ righteousness on me, the gift of the forgiveness of sins, a God pleasing life, and eternal salvation forever in heaven.

So now, what about you, do you believe this? Do you know what you have to look forward to? Of course you do! If you were to die tonight, would you have eternal life? Absolutely! If you did die tonight, and you were standing before God and he asked you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” what would you answer? Heaven is mine through Jesus Christ my Savior. This is God’s great exchange! The very thing he demands of us, he gives us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Give thanks to God for what he has done for you, for he has given you eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, his Son.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN