Pastor B.J. Froiland
6^th Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 5:20-26

July 19^th, 2009

In the Name of the Father and of the Son X and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

As by one man all mankind fell

And, born in sin, was doomed to hell,

So by one Man, who took our place,

We all were justified by grace.

Dr. Martin Luther tells us in his explanation of the first commandment: “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”  To keep this law is the righteousness of God.  I tell you today, do this and you shall live.  Yes, the Law is the flawless will of God given to man that all mankind should live in perfection with God and man.  Christ said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  This is the righteousness of God.  Do this and you shall live.

The scribes and Pharisees seemed to accomplish the righteousness of God, at least in an outward way.  Our Lord said, “… unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Outwardly and by all appearances, the scribes and Pharisees loved God and loved the neighbor above all others.  How will your righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees?

I ask you, who among you can say that he has loved his neighbor as he loves himself? Do you daydream that your fellow co-worker receives that big promotion? Do you wish that your friend gets that toy he or she always wanted? You are far more comfortable loving yourself than loving your neighbor.

So the Law requires what you cannot give.  The Law is your adversary.  The Law will deliver you to the judge and the judge to the officer and the officer to the prison which is hell.  The Law requires faith and love toward God above all things and love for the neighbor as oneself.  Trust not in your keeping of the Law, but trust in the only one who fulfilled it.

Only Christ obeyed the Law by loving God and neighbor perfectly.  Only Christ keeps all the Law’s requirements.  Only Christ obeyed the law by suffering the punishment of not keeping the Law for you.  Christ did everything.  You did nothing. 

A Swedish Lutheran Bishop by the name of Bo Giertz wrote a book entitled The Hammer of God.  In this novel, Giertz describes an aged and seasoned pastor’s discussion with a young pastor.  The old pastor defined salvation as Christ choosing us, rather than we choosing Him:

“It is one thing to choose Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior, to give him one’s heart and commit oneself to him, and that he now accepts one into his little flock; it is a very different thing to believe on him as a Redeemer of sinners, of whom one is chief.  One does not choose a Redeemer for oneself, you understand, nor give one’s heart to him.  The heart is a rusty old can on a junk heap.  A fine birthday gift, indeed! But a wonderful Lord passes by, and has mercy on the wretched tin can, sticks his walking cane through it, and rescues it from the junk pile and takes it home with him.  That is how [salvation] is.”

Salvation is the Lord doing everything when you can do nothing.  Your only salvation is the righteousness of Christ’s death for your sin.  This is the righteousness of God which exceeds any righteousness of man.  This is the righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.  This righteousness fulfilled the Law.  This righteousness is grounded in God’s self-sacrificing love for sinful man.  To be perfect is to live by faith in God’s mercy under the righteousness of Christ.

Yes, even though you are not as perfect as the Lord.  And although your righteousness does not exceed that of the Pharisees, nevertheless, Christ’s life and perfection cover your imperfections.  His righteousness covers your unrighteousness.

This perfect righteousness of Christ extends to the neighbor.  God has created and redeemed you.  Recognize and shape your whole life toward serving your neighbor, your wife, your family, your boss, yes, everyone God has put in your life.  If not, you do not love God.  If you will not love your neighbor who needs you, why would you love God who doesn’t need you?

God would much rather be deprived of His service than the service you owe your neighbor.  The righteous saints in heaven say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry … thirsty … naked … sick … or in prison?” and the Lord answers: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me.”  In serving your neighbor, you are serving God Himself.

Yet, God serves us first and foremost.  You may offer your gift at the altar before God, but remember that your heart is a rusty old can on a junk heap, as mentioned in the quotation earlier.  This wretched tin can you nevertheless offer to God, even as David tells us in Ps. 51, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” 

Bring your gift to the altar of God.  Bring your broken, contrite, sinful, and worthless rusty-old-tin-can of a heart to the Lord.  He will create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you.  At the altar of the Lord, give Him your very worst and He will give you His very best.  He gives to you the costliest and most expensive gift of all: the very Body and Blood of His Son.  Give Him your worst and He will give you His Best. 

In the Son of God, the unrighteous, broken, and sinful creation is not only restored, but made perfect.  Yes, in Christ you have a righteousness which exceeds that of the Pharisees.  For as sin entered your life by the original sin of the first man and

All mankind fell in Adam’s fall;

One common sin infects us all.

From one to all the curse descends,

And over all God’s wrath impends. 

But Christ, the second Adam, came

To bear our sin and woe and shame,

To be our life, our light, our way,

Our only hope, our only stay.

By the righteousness of Christ, you now enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Amen.

The Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Amen.

XBJFX