Oneness and unity...these things are missing because sin has entered into the world. We see the break in families, in marriages, in our nation...and in the church...we see the disruption in ourselves. Sin is that pervasive and it is not a hypothetical thing, but through the lack of oneness we see its effects.

But our Savior Jesus also came to restore our oneness and unity. He prayed for it and then He conducted what was necessary to bring it about. In Christ, we are one with God; reconciled to the One who created us and who saved us!

From this unity with the Lord -- and though in this world we will continue to have much tribulation (John 16:33b) -- we may nevertheless take heart because nothing can remove the oneness we have with the One who overcomes the world shattered by disunity. What is more, however, with unity and oneness in Christ, we see the fruit of this -- though never perfect -- but there in so many ways: families living in their baptismal grace; congregations receiving Word and Sacrament; and even for sinners like you and me -- baptized into Jesus -- we pray, "Our Father..."...in Him, we too are one.

Let us remain in this oneness and unity by gathering in the morning.

Tomorrow is the last Sunday of Easter...let us continue to worship as we proclaim: "Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!"

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon...it ends before Law and Gospel will be proclaimed:

“That All May Be One” (John 17:20-22)

For Your Life in Christ the Week of the Seventh Sunday of Easter

June 1^st, 2014

Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine, CA (LC-MS)

Pastor Espinosa

 

Introduction: What did our Lord pray for before He ascended and sent the Holy Spirit?

1. It is an important question, because it would seem to address what is most important to our Lord Jesus Christ, concerning us before His crucifixion!
2. And be sure to know this: Jesus prayed for you, not just the first-century disciples!

 

John 17:20: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.”

 

1. That is, Jesus prayed “for those who will believe in me through [the apostle’s] word” = that includes YOU!
2. OK, so we know He was praying for you, but what was He praying for specifically?

 

Part I: What Jesus Asked For…For You!

 

John 17:21: “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

 

1. Two little words to take note of:
2. “all”
3. “one”
4. R.C.H. Lenski wrote, “though so many in number all believers are to be one unit, one body, one spiritual whole.” (The Interpretation of John, 1155)

 

1^st Corinthians 12:20: “As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”

1. There is almost universal acknowledgement that oneness is a necessary attribute:
2. On Sport’s Teams: During play-offs, commentators often consider which team is playing as a team, instead of – for example – just depending on star players.
3. Businesses and corporations: Need synergy, unity, common goals, and a common vision.
4. Governments seek oneness and unity for the people they serve. This is the reason why there is a fundamental division in our great country:
5. There are those who insist that God is primary.

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote about America in 1831: “There are an innumerable multitude of sects in the United States. All differ in the worship one must render to the Creator, but all agree on the duties of men toward one another. Each sect therefore adores God in its manner, but all sects preach the same morality in the name of God…Besides, all the sects in the United States are within the great Christian unity, and the morality of Christianity is everywhere the same.” (Democracy in America, Mansfield & Winthrop, eds. 278)

1. In 2014, however, this no longer holds true. There are now many who insist that God is secondary or entirely unnecessary. This fundamental breach represents a culture war & oneness is limited.
2. Oneness is crucial for marriage, especially during crisis.
3. Oneness is vital for good parenting.
4. But the oneness Christ prayed for is infinitely greater than all of the forms of the world’s oneness:
5. First, consider the comparison: our oneness corresponds with (Jesus prayed): “just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you” = the ONENESS of God!
6. How could we ever achieve such oneness? We can’t! But God can!
7. Second, this is a spiritual oneness.
8. So by God’s work, we become spiritually one!

In Jesus' Love,

Pastor Espinosa

The section in John's Gospel that we are presenting tomorrow is extraordinarily important for understanding our lives in Christ and how we live the Christian faith. Here is the thought progression:

Premise 1: True believers love God.

Premise 2: If you love God, you will keep God's commandments.

Conclusion: Therefore true believers keep God's commandments.

But if you know the overall saving faith, you know that we are also sinners who always fall short of God's commandments (not sometimes, but always), so what was St. John teaching through these words?

This will be what tomorrow's sermon is all about and I rejoice for the wonderful grace and work of God that is described in this part of God's Word (in St. John's Gospel).

Additionally, not only will we pray to celebrate this 6th Sunday of Easter, but we will also pray in anticipation of the Ascension of our Lord that is coming up this Thursday. Furthermore, we will remember those who gave their lives for our country in the Prayers of the Church (this weekend is the Memorial Day weekend).

What is more we will -- as always -- distribute the true body and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. What a gift to poor sinners like you and me!

Finally, I would like to remind you that we have a short but very important voter's assembly meeting tomorrow as we will by God's grace establish our administrative leadership for 2014-2015 (the new parish council). Please help us ensure that we have a constitutional quorum.

Rejoice in the Lord dear people of God, the love of Christ prevails and He keeps you in the palm of His hand!

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon:

“Whoever Has My Commandments” (John 14:21)

For Your Life in Christ the Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 25^th, 2014

Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Irvine, CA (LC-MS)

Rev. Dr. Al Espinosa

 

Introduction: The Problem of “Cheap Grace”

1. In his book Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes the tragedy of cheap grace: “Cheap grace means justification of sin but not of the sinner. Because grace alone does everything, everything can stay in its old ways. ‘Our action is in vain.’ The world remains world and we remain sinners ‘even in the best of lives.’ Thus, the Christian should live the same way the world does…Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without repentance; it is baptism without the discipline of community; it is the Lord’s Supper without confession of sin; it is absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ.” (43-44) What a great WARNING!

 

1. The old saying “Talk is cheap” means that it’s easier to say something than do it. It’s easy to say you love someone. It’s really easy to say you love God. But again, talk is cheap. You know it, the people around you know it, and according to today’s Gospel, Jesus knows it. He doesn’t say, “If you love me, then say so,“ but he says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (v15). As sinners, we would seem to have a big problem with this. What are we to make of these words? In our Gospel, the Lord describes the relationship that actually does make Jesus’ very difficult – and anything but cheap – “keeping” happen: (much of this outline is taken from Concordia Pulpit Resources, Volume 21, Part 2 March 13-June 12, 2011 Series A, the published outline was written by Pastor Espinosa).

 

Part I: By the Grace of God, Disciples KEEP [through Christ]

1. Disciples who love Jesus keep his commandments (v15).

2.  There are real signs and indicators that we love Jesus, that we are truly born again (Jn 3:3, 7).

3. Holy Baptism and Holy Communion

4. That we LOVE GOD. Agape love made known especially by what you DO!

 

McGrath: “True knowledge of God moves us to worship, obedience and the hope of eternal life.” (Roots That Refresh, 42)

 

1. This is the love that God gave to you in Christ (Jn 3:16). No theoretical love here! He was crucified!

 

2. So no love in a vacuum or again, no theoretical love.

John 14:15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

1. Easy to misunderstand. This is NOT a rehashing of the Mosaic Law like a legalistic check-list.
2. The word “keep” = like keeping a TREASURE!
3. It is “taking care” of something very important.

 

Illustration: Raising a child: you don’t do it perfectly, but if you really love your child, you keep them, you take care of them no matter what!

1. So Jesus is teaching: because you love Him, you strive to honor him.
2. His commandments are the living out of his gifts of Word, worship, and your neighbor.
3. If you love him, you will TAKE CARE of these with the highest care and devotion.

 

Part II:  Christ Keeps His Disciples in His Care Through The Gift of The Holy Spirit

1. The problem is that as we strive to honor God, we FALL SHORT on account of our sin!
2. We neglect devotion in the Word.
3. We do not rightly hunger and thirst for the Sacrament.
4. We do not love our neighbor as we should.

 

The Lord knows! So you must know what He DID ABOUT IT! {the rest of the sermon will get into this vital detail!}

In Jesus' Love,

Pastor Espinosa

Tomorrow we are focusing on one of the most EXCITING descriptions of WHO and WHAT you ARE in the Lord Jesus Christ!

God's Word says:

1. You are a chosen race.

2. A royal priesthood.

3. A holy nation.

4. His own possession.

I will of course make this quite personal to you as we get into your identity in the Lord Jesus. It is an invigorating, inspirational, and powerful identity!

A long time ago -- before I was a pastor -- someone told me that the highest office, the most important position was to be a pastor. Through my training and study, however, I realized that that was incorrect. The highest position, the brightest status is what YOU ARE. You the chosen one, you are a royal priest, you are holy, and you are God's jewel...all through Jesus. You can't top this. The pastor is just a fellow priest who has been called to serve what has been given to all the priests. Yes, the Scriptures speak of honoring leaders, etc., but this does not cancel your highest status.

With this new identity, comes a new activity...it is simple and basic, but it is also powerful and miraculous...and it is an activity that belongs to YOU. We will also get into this.

So Jesus has risen!

So what?

Well, for one thing it means that you who have been baptized into Him and who believe in Him have a new identity and a new priority for living...that's what!

Come to church! Invite a friend! Receive the Lord's Supper for forgiveness and renewal; come and receive the Word and be equipped; come and rejoice!

Reminders:

8:15 set up

9:30 worship

11:00 Sunday School and Bible Study

12:00 parish council

12-3 high school youth (we go to the Geislers at 2 pm)

3:00 confirmation

Let us rejoice!

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon:

“Out of Darkness”

(1^st Peter 2:9)

Pastor Espinosa

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

We have had the very short, but very powerful letter of 1^st Peter in front of us as of late:

 

Two Sundays ago -- March 4^th -- we were reminded that now that Christ is risen we see the bigger picture: heaven is our home and in the meantime we are exiles passing through and so we conduct ourselves with a holy fear so that we hold on to faith in our Living Lord instead of going along with a world that wants to tear itself away from the Lord. (1^st Peter 1:17)

 

Last Sunday -- March 11^th -- we considered how the Resurrected Lord equips us to cope with unjust suffering along the way and the endurance which not only demonstrates that the Living Lord Jesus is with us (you are able “to go on” because Jesus is holding you up!), but that same endurance also acts as a witness to others in the world. (1^st Peter 2:19-20)  When you keep serving and forgiving and loving, people start to wonder: “where does such a life come from?” You know the answer!

 

Today -- March 18^th -- we receive a fantastic testimony about your true identities now that the Savior has conquered death and about what it is our lives are now all about. 1^st Peter 2:9 will be our focus and it is powerful description of the new life we have in the One who is risen!

 

Here is the text:

 

1^st Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

 

We need this Word from the Lord. The reason Peter is writing this letter to the scattered Christians throughout the Roman Empire is because they are going through all kinds of struggles. Keep in mind that elsewhere in the Bible Rome is called “Babylon” referring to it being steeped in false religion and phenomenal immorality (cf. Romans 14:8). We are in the same boat today…we are immersed in false teaching and we live in a world that has lost its moral compass. All of these are incredibly dangerous spiritual threats to us and our families. So the Christians back in Peter’s time were “the easy and constant targets of ridicule and persecution.” (Concordia Journal, Jan. 2002, Vol 28, Num 1, 110). And because this situation is the same today, we really need this message from God through First Peter!

One of the examples of the phenomenal confusion – a form of getting you to question your faith -- that is out there is represented by a recent (April 17, 2014) TIME article “In Praise of Darkness” by Barbara Brown Taylor. Interestingly while Ms. Taylor is criticizing many Christian churches for not dealing with the darkness that affects us all, she – at the same time – lumps all Christian churches together. She points out that through the dark times in life we often grow the most; the darkness is an important part of life. That much is true. But she goes on to criticize those Christian traditions who insist on this superficial – what she calls – “solar spirituality” that insists that with true faith everything is great and LIGHT all the time, but once we encounter darkness, the Church doesn’t know what to do with this! She goes so far as to write, “Christianity has never had anything nice to say about darkness.”

 

She actually makes a valid point about some churches today. But we aren’t one of them. Our tradition acknowledges that the fact of the matter is that we are in a battle! And there are many times that the true Christian enters into dark times, times of suffering, times of feeling discouraged, times of spiritual uncertainly, times when God just feels hidden (we Lutherans appreciate the aspect of God called Deus Absconditus or the Hidden God). Furthermore, we fully acknowledge that in these dark times, God is working to bless us! More importantly, however, Ms. Taylor makes a false argument: that because darkness can sometimes be used for good, that it is always good. No it isn’t. Sometimes, it’s really bad. When darkness is spiritual confusion and unbelief, then that darkness can lead people to condemnation and life in eternity without God (this is how the word “darkness” is used in 1^st Peter).

 

This is an example of the world generating road blocks against your faith. These are little attacks that you get from sources like books, magazines, television, friends – esp. those who don’t know Christ – and needless to say the greatest source of in-your-face images and words is now before us in smart phones, i-pads and laptops. How much of this helps your faith? How much of this draws you closer to Christ? What words and images are bombarding your eyes, your ears and your mind? Is it dark or is it light?

 

There is old saying, “garbage in, garbage out.” But if what you receive is good, then good things flow from you. If you receive darkness, darkness comes out; but if you receive light, light comes out. If you receive Christ, Christ comes out!

 

So God is concerned about our darkness to the extent that when Jesus rose from the dead, He changed believers in the True God in who and what they are.

 

To encourage you and to strengthen you as you go through life, being harassed, being attacked, being tempted to sin, etc., the Lord proclaims the truth of your new identity in Christ at 1^st Peter 2:9 (I am here giving abbreviations of the four points):

 

1. You are chosen.
2. You are a royal priest.
3. You are holy.
4. You are a jewel.

 

And with this phenomenal new identity (verse 9), comes also a new priority in what you DO (also verse 9): “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

In Jesus' Love,

Pastor Espinosa

Tomorrow we have a special gift to our mother's! Our children will present an important "thank God for mom" gift! So bring mom to church!

In the message we are going to consider our lives in the face of unjust suffering. This will not be a pep talk or a 12-step program on how to endure, no. Rather, we will delve into 1st Peter chapter 2 and see how endurance is a grace-gift flowing from the Gospel of Christ, keeping us in the One who endured unjust suffering out of His fantastic love and mercy for you and me! "This [Endurance] Is A Gracious Thing!" and what is perhaps most exciting is that going through unjust suffering is not -- contrary to popular opinion -- a sign of the Lord's abandonment, but -- much to the contrary -- a sign of the Lord's abiding presence! No one can stand like those held up by Jesus!

The Sunday School children are doing a special Sunday School painting project, so we ask that they would come to church in old clothes (just in case paint gets on their clothes)!

Today's Catechism Convocation was a blessing and I'm proud of the Saint Paul's contingent that came out. May the Lord continue to bless this ministry that celebrates our confessional witness. Saint Paul members who attended were Linda Seward, Loren Kellogg, Mark Kuntz, Mei Kuntz, Bill Frank, Ali Frank, Ray Hullet, Aubrey Hullet, Pastor Espinosa, Traci Espinosa, Christina Espinosa, David Espinosa, Esbeydi Espinosa, Bryan Espinosa, and Katherine Espinosa.

I am attaching the Power Point that we shared with the youth.

We hope to see you in God's house tomorrow, joyful to receive the Word and Sacrament of Jesus, keeping your sins covered by the blood of Christ and strengthening you to continue to walk in the light of Christ!

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon:

“This Is A Gracious Thing” (1^st Peter 2:19-25)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Alleluia! Christ is risen! [wait for response: “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”], so why – since Christ is risen – do we Christians continue to suffer in so many unjust ways? Doesn’t it stand to reason that if Christ is risen, victorious over death and the grave, that He would intervene to relieve us [those who trust in Him and who follow Him] of our unjust suffering? Where is the Risen Christ when I need Him in the face of being mistreated? Indeed, isn’t this the reason why so many former Christians are former Christians? And isn’t this the reason why we are tempted to turn away as well?

 

The Word of God teaches us differently -- correcting our sinful skepticism which resides in our sinful nature -- in today’s epistle from 1^st Peter 2:19-20: “¹⁹This is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.”

            First of all we should be conscientious about the context of what St. Peter was addressing precisely: Peter was writing to house-slaves who belonged to Roman Empire families. “There were many slaves throughout the empire, and when Christianity was preached to them, many slaves were converted to it.” (Lenski, The Interpretation of 1 and II Epistles of Peter, the three Epistles of John, and the Epistle of Jude, 114) Unfortunately for these house-slaves, they “were being pummeled by their irate masters, the only offense of the [house-slaves] being that they lived Christ-like lives which were used of the Holy Spirit to convict [their masters] of [their] sin.” (Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Volume II, 65)

So yes, St. Peter was addressing Christian house-slaves in the first century in the Roman Empire, but taken in the context of Scripture, St. Peter is only echoing the words of Jesus spoken to all believers and yet we will be able to come back to St. Peter and realize the richness of his words from God. But again, our Lord spoke similarly as recorded in the Gospels:

Matthew 5:10-12: “¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Jesus also taught as recorded in Luke 6:27ff: “²⁷Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either….³⁵But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”

And in 1^st Peter chapter 2 we learn more about this grace that is given to us. It is easy to go along with the popular idea that God is setting up a transaction: endure bad things without complaining and I’ll give you a reward. This understanding falls short, especially since this section of God’s Word is anchored to the heart of the Gospel! This endurance of the Christian is bound to the rest of what St. Peter records: “²¹For to this [endurance in the midst of unjust suffering] you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ²²When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁶For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

The Lord through His Gospel/Wonderful Good News that He has saved us from our sins and our death has called you to live in faith no matter what…and especially when you are caused to suffer…and especially when that cause is unjust; when it is wrong; when you shouldn’t have to! Why would God do this?

Precisely dear Christians because such a life demonstrates NOT that the Risen Jesus is not here, but exactly the opposite: that the Risen Jesus IS HERE. There would be no endurance in the face of unjust suffering, if Jesus Himself were not upholding you keeping you – by His grace – following Him when every atom of your being wants to run and hide in the opposite direction. This is a gracious thing that the Lord empowers us to endure; this is God’s gracious work when we can stand and not only is our faith refined (to trust in God alone), but the Lord then permits an astounding testimony to take place.

Eusebius of Caesarea who wrote in the 4^th century A.D. (the 300’s) – 1700 years ago – was a Christian historian who also wrote about the martyrs (Christians who gave their lives for the faith). In Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History he writes about “The holy martyrs….endured tortures, beyond all description; Satan striving with all his power, that some blasphemy might be uttered by them. Most violently did the collective madness of the mob, the governor and the soldiers rage….Against [a Christian woman named] Blandina, also, in whom Christ made manifest, that the things that appear mean and deformed and contemptible among men, are esteemed of great glory with God, on account of love to him, which is really and powerfully displayed, and glories not in mere appearance….Blandina was filled with such power, that her ingenious tormentors who relieved and succeeded each other from morning till night, confessed that they were overcome, and had nothing more that they could inflict upon her. Only amazed that she still continued to breathe after her whole body was torn asunder and pierced, they gave their testimony that one single kind of the torture inflicted was of itself sufficient to destroy life, without resorting to so many and such excruciating sufferings as these. But this blessed saint, as a noble wrestler, in the midst of her confession itself renewed her strength, and to repeat, ‘I am a Christian, no wickedness is carried on by us,’ was to her rest, refreshment and relief from pain.” (Cruse, tr., Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, Hendrickson, 1998, 150)

In Jesus' Love,

Rev. Alfonso O. Espinosa, Ph.D.

When we hear things like our time in "exile," it sounds so austere, weird, and/or religious...hard to relate to at first glance. But God is teaching us that our lives in Christ do not mean that we simply say, "I believe in Jesus" and then go on autopilot through our lives. Being in Christ means that we live differently and we confess a new relationship not only with God but with the world.

We are in temporary residency...we are just passing through. If we hold to anything in this life as if it is our source of identity, peace and happiness, then we are making a big mistake. This is not to say that we can't enjoy the good gifts in this life. Of course we're supposed to, but we view the things in this world differently..they are passing and there is only ONE thing that lasts: our being in Christ. In our Lord and in Him alone we have lasting peace and lasting joy. So we fear God -- in the right way -- and fear nothing else.

Come to Church and grow in your walk with the LIVING and Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ!

Also, come and receive the Holy Sacrament and receive the real body and blood of Christ for the absolute assurance of the forgiveness of sins!

We will of course also offer Bible Study and Sunday School tomorrow at 11:00 am. There is confirmation for the youth at 3:00 pm.

ALSO: You are invited to the FREE Catechism Convocation for the People NEXT Saturday, May 10th at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Escondido at 1087 W. Country Club Lane, Escondido from 9 am to 3:30 pm. Our special keynote speaker is Dr. Rod Rosenbladt who will present on sharing the Gospel while in your everyday vocations in a simple and non-threatening way. There will be two others speakers who will cover our relationship with the Church and with the Government. These are timely and important topics.

I will have the privilege along with Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz to serve all young confirmands and high school students...we are offering two break-out sessions to the YOUTH.

Again, it is ALL FREE! Please come! I would love to see you there.

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow's sermon:

“The Time of Your Exile”

(1 Peter 1:17-25)

Pastor Espinosa

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The Word of the Lord from 1 Peter 1:17:

 

“¹⁷And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,”

 

This verse is about praying as a Christian and living as a Christian; as one who puts themselves into the picture of today’s worship bulletin: you go through life walking with the Risen – victorious over sin, death, and the devil – Living Lord Jesus Christ! The picture itself depicts the two disciples and Jesus on the road to Emmaus, but it is a reminder of the life we are called to live (remember in verse 15 of 1^st Peter 1 -- just before today’s epistle -- it is God who calls you, so that in response you may call on Him as verse 17 says). God calls you to a living faith in the Living Lord and He does so through His Word…remember that those Emmaus disciples said that their hearts burned within them as Christ spoke to them (Luke 24:32)…in the same way we know we are truly walking with Jesus today when He continues to speak to us every, single day through His Word causing our hearts to burn with a living faith. But if you take away the Word, there is no faith; and if there is no faith, then we are not walking with Jesus, but we’re walking alone with all of the worthless things (the “futile ways” and “perishable things” that St Peter refers to in verse 18). There are only two ways to live: on the road that leads to eternal life with the Living Lord; or on the road that leads to eternal death without the Living Lord. These are the only two options.

 

Don’t ignore Him Christian, because He is the only life…every other form of so-called “life” will turn to dust and lead to death! But in this section of 1^st Peter everything hinges on the way you live and how you conduct yourself. Let me say it again because what I just said sounds blasphemous in relationship to being saved by grace alone, but it is biblical and as I will demonstrate completely consistent with God’s grace alone as our salvation: “everything hinges on the way you live and how you conduct yourself.” 1^st Peter 1:17 has the main verb in a very long sentence that extends from verse 17 through 21: the verb anastraphete which is translated as “behave, conduct oneself, live.”

 

            The Word of the Lord here at 1^st Peter 1 is teaching on HOW…how are we to behave, conduct ourselves, and live? That’s the question and it teaches you point blank how to live as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ; as a true child of the Living God. Everything is known in proper context.

First in regard to your prayer life which is of course an extension of your faith life, ask yourself “how do I pray?” Answer: you pray to God and present yourself before the Lord every single day knowing that “God judges impartially according [to your deeds].” This truth must be put into the framework of Law and Gospel. You come before the Father who is an impartial Judge who deals with you ONLY on the basis of Law and Gospel. There is no other criterion. And because there is an objective universal criterion, God is truly impartial and treats all people the same. The way God judged St. Peter is the way He judges you; the way that God judged Moses is the way that He judges your pastors; the way that God judged the martyrs is the way that He judges your children; the way that God judged St. Mary is the same way that God judges your enemies. He is 100%, totally and completely impartial:

 

Romans 2:11:  “For God shows no partiality.”

 

Ephesians 6:9: “Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.”

 

Colossians 3:25: “For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.”

 

Acts 10:34: “So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,’”

 

And here is the verdict when God judges according to His Law: we are completely and utterly condemned “because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” This past week the media has had a heyday indicting and elaborating upon the sin of Los Angeles Clipper’s owner Donald Sterling for his racist remarks and his reprehensible treatment in the past in regards to housing discrimination towards minorities. But here’s the thing: we bask in self-righteousness. We love to accuse someone else of their wrong-doing; we delight to gossip about the bad things that other people do; and this makes every man a judge; it makes every man prove that in accord with the sinful nature we want to be God. It is a sad commentary on our culture, because in God’s courtroom being banned from the NBA for life and being fined 2.5 million dollars is nothing, but being banned from heaven and eternal life is everything! When God judges impartially and only our bare sin is laid before Him, then Donald Sterling has nothing on us, because we are all sinners deserving condemnation.

 

But the text clearly says that He judges each man’s deeds. How on earth does the Gospel ever come into play here? Luther: “There is no faith where there are no good works. Therefore link faith and good works together in such a way that both make up the sum total of the Christian life. As you live, so you will fare. God will judge you according to this…Works are evidence of our belief or unbelief…They show whether you have believed or have not believed…The works are fruits and signs of faith and that God judges people according to these fruits, which certainly have to follow, in order that one may see publicly where belief or unbelief is in the heart.” (Buls, Exegetical Notes: Epistle Texts, Series A, Festival Season Sundays, 119).