In our culture today, many may take offense at the confession of sins in a Lutheran service. But, that confession of sin, as distasteful as it may be, does teach us a valuable truth. It tells us that “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.” And it even teaches us to confess that “we are by nature sinful and unclean”! (LSB 151)
In a day of hyper-inflated self-esteem, when we praise people, even for mediocrity, our confession of sin is just too negative. It bristles too much of, well, sin, of being fallen creatures. That’s why people find it offensive. After all, who wants to hear that “we have sinned against [God] in thought, word, and deed”? (LSB 151) That’s depressing.
But that confession speaks the truth. It says that, not only do we sin but that we were born in that sinful, fallen condition. (That’s why we sin.) It forces us to look at the ugly wart on our face, to recognize our sin and lack of holiness within us. For God has no glory for us except through the cross.
Our impulse wants to lead us away from saying that we’re sinful—or at least that bad! But, if you open your eyes, you will see that your confession of sin is truthful. Why? It’s because of death! God never created us to die. And, yet, that’s our reality.
The Old Testament does tell us, “The soul who sins will die” (Ezekiel 18:20). The New Testament says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). And Jesus tells us, “Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). So, every death testifies to the truth that we have become hostages of death.
So, if death is within us, and we were born that way, how then can we find life within ourselves when we’re full of death? We can’t! That’s why you find “unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness” (Romans 1:29) as part of who you are. That’s why you find “bitterness, anger, and wrath” (Ephesians 4:31) always ready to lash out at a moment’s notice. The wages of sin, the sickness, is always there.
If that’s within you, then you have to get life from somewhere else. Listen then to the voice of God, the Source of life. Don’t plug your ears, even if you find what He says to be harsh. For before you can get well, you need to know that you’re sick, that you need healing. You even need to realize that you don’t have the medicine to cure yourself. And it’s then that you learn to live by God’s mercy and grace—if you are to live!
When we look at human history, we only find two religions: the religion of the Law and the religion of the Gospel. The Law trusts, that is, has faith in, something that you do, whether in full or in part. But the Gospel has faith in, trusts in, what Jesus does.
These two religions oppose each other and are incompatible—and both compete for your loyalty! Even within the Christian Church, placing trust in yourself for salvation has always gurgled to the surface. After all, to say that we are powerless to do anything to save ourselves (or even contribute to our salvation) sounds so dismal!
People want something more uplifting. Focusing on human potential feels a lot more affirming than telling someone, not just to repent, but to repent every day! And, yet, to trust in yourself when it comes to God is to be standing on a precarious perch. As the Apostle taught, “Whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.”
Paul spoke no idle, theoretical warning. If he did, why would Scripture have so many warnings about something that couldn’t happen? Think of the Israelites in the Old Covenant. They believed in the prophesied Messiah, the one who would conquer their sin, once for all. They confessed their sin and even their need for God’s mercy. But they let temptation lead them into sin, and in their sin, they walked away from the faith.
We confess that we can do nothing to make ourselves into Christians. That’s God’s gracious doing, not ours. He makes the unwilling willing. He changes our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. He saves us “through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
But just because faith is a gift that God give us (Ephesians 2:8) doesn’t mean that we can’t kill the faith that God has breathed into our hearts. Willfully choosing to stay in sin without turning away from it does just that. “Whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.”
Consider the disciple, Peter. He told Jesus, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you” (Matthew 26:35). But before the night was over, Peter denied his Lord three times. He learned the hard way just how false the faith is that trusts in itself.
Love yourself, serve yourself, and put yourself first. That’s the creed of selfishness that flaunts itself in our culture. To be a Christian is always countercultural in some way; it’s always been that way. It’s just that, for a while, we’ve deluded ourselves into thinking that for us in America that wasn’t the case. I think, by now, we know better.
What did Jesus say? “If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself, take up his cross every day, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). It’s when we deny our strength and distrust our ability that we stop trusting in ourselves and, instead, start relying on God.
Faith in yourself is always uncertain. Is it good enough? How strong is it? Is it constant enough? Is it sincere enough? The Christian doesn’t trust in himself. For when a Christian examines himself, he still finds sin and death lurking within him.
Temptations come our way, even when we don’t go looking for them. They can lure us into sin and entrap us there, getting us to love what is killing us. We then, in our delusion, can call that which is enslaving us, sin, as “freedom.”
God reminds us that we face no new temptations; they are common to us all. No one is unique when it comes to sin. Your inability to stand afflicts all Christians. It’s even a feature of the Holy Christian Church on earth, until the end of time.
Christians do fall away. For in the thick of grasping onto sin, they then place trust in themselves and what they want, pushing aside the faith and trust that they have in God’s mercy and grace. But God is faithful. He invites us to reject relying on ourselves, to admit that we cannot stand, and to rely on His faithfulness.
Yes, temptations will come. But with the temptation, God will provide a way of escape. He will not let it overwhelm you. Yes, you could fall. But God won’t allow you to fall just because you’re weak; if you fall, it’s because you chose to go down that road.
God speaks words that give birth to faith. His words regenerate faith and strengthen it. Do you recall what you confessed when you became a member of this congregation? You agreed to remain faithful no matter what, but then you said “by the grace of God.”
When you promised never to walk away from your faithful confession to God’s holy Word, our rite of membership added the words “by the grace of God.” Those words are there to show that, on your own, you cannot remain in the faith—you cannot stand. But by His grace, God enables you to stand firm in the faith.
But how does God keep you in the one, true faith? He does that by:
- What He did for you,
- What He does for you, and
- What He does inside you.
So, what did God do for you? In the person of Jesus, He died for you on the cross. Was there a sin that Jesus didn’t die for to forgive? Was there anything lacking in what He did when He redeemed you? No! Jesus has fully earned heaven for you. You need do nothing, for Jesus has done it all for you.
Second, what does God do for you? He brings to you, here and now, the forgiveness that Jesus earned for you on the cross. Jesus forgiving your sins does you no good—unless you get to receive that forgiveness! And that’s what God does: He gives you real forgiveness in real time through His Word and Sacrament.
And, third, your salvation also depends on what God does inside you. As the Apostle John said, “He who is in you [God] is greater than the one who is in the world [Satan].” (1 John 4:4). The God, who creates faith in your heart, is stronger than the liar and murderer of souls. That’s the reality. And that is what faith trusts and believes.
God cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13); He is faithful. That’s what we cling to when we face temptation and sin. That’s what we hold on to when we face testing—even when we fail the test. God is faithful. And we hear His last word from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30), when we hear, “Your sins are forgiven you” (John 20:23).
Jesus fully took your sin into Himself. And it died with Him on the cross. Now, it’s true that you can fall from the faith. And you would fall away—if it depended on you! But God cannot lie. And He lives inside of you as surely as He has given to you His Word of absolution. He lives united to you, where His life becomes your life, just as surely as He feeds you with His life-giving body and blood in His holy Supper.
You can, and should, know if you are going to heaven. Listen, again, to the Apostle Paul: “I know in whom I trust. I am convinced that [God] is powerful enough to protect what he has entrusted to me until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:12). So, to believe that you are going to heaven isn’t arrogant, for going to heaven isn’t because of you.
The eternal life that God gives you is an inheritance, and so it’s all because of Him! It’s all on His terms, as you receive, in simple faith, His faithful promise of everlasting life in Christ Jesus, your Lord. Amen.
