How does God Define You?

The second woman replied: When my son was younger and in youth group his youth pastor had a HUGE bag of starbursts and he was asking the kids questions like “who was in the den? What three men escaped the fire untouched? Who built the ark?” Whenever someone answered correctly he would throw them one starburst. Then he asked the kids “who here can tell me something God did in their life?” My son Michael raised his hand and said “we prayed for my Dad to be healed from cancer and God answered our prayers.” Pastor Johnny walked over to Michael and gave him the whole bag! I was a wreck!! And I will never forget it.

Never-mind the impact of that action upon Michael’s dental health, think about what that said to little Michael: God is only active when incredible things happen. The evidence that God loves you is when He responds to your prayers in a particular way.

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Recently, I gave, as an illustration of what can be our relationship with our fellow believers in Christ who are not Confessional Evangelicals, the ministry of Priscilla and Aquila to Apollos. I said that, because of the teachings in which you have been catechized, and the regular, faithful preaching of and proper distinction between Law and Gospel, you are in a position to encourage your brothers and sisters with the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, and help them grow in the faith that is once for all delivered to the saints. I also said that the meet, right, and salutary sharing of the Gospel would have an impact, not only in the spiritual lives of those who are believers in Christ, but even in the community as a whole, as more and more people begin to live out their godly vocations in service to their neighbor rather than in an effort to gain God’s favor.

Dr. Luther wrote about this in Part III, Article IV of the Smalcald Articles:

The Book of Concord Article 4: Concerning the Gospel

[4:] Concerning the Gospel

We now want to return to the gospel, which gives guidance and help against sin in more than one way, because God is extravagantly rich in his grace: first, through the spoken word, in which the forgiveness of sins is preached to the whole world (which is the proper function of the gospel); second, through baptism; third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar; fourth, through the power of the keys and also through the mutual conversation and consolation of brothers and sisters. Matthew 18[:20*]: “Where two or three are gathered …”129

Where the Gospel is purely proclaimed, the Church is found, and Christ is present.

There is an old saying: an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Even older than this, Jesus said,

Matthew 7:16–20 NIV

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

University of North Carolina sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton in 2005 published a massive study of the religious beliefs of teenagers. Their conclusion was that most of these teenagers adhered to what they called moralistic therapeutic deism.

1. A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth. 2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most religions. 3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. 4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem. 5. Good people go to heaven when they die (Sire, James W.. The Universe Next Door (p. 51). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition).

It sounds “meet, right, and salutary.” It sounds much like what children are taught in Sunday School or Children’s Church in many a congregation, even in our Confessional Evangelical world. It sounds this way because Moralistic Therapeutic Deism has, as Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:5, “a form of godliness but denying its power.”

Our Epistle Reading for All Saints’ Day is from

1 John 3:1–3 NIV

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

The difference between our text and this popular idea that has infected many both inside and outside the Church relates to the person of God. God does what He does because of Who He is. For example:

Isaiah 45:21 NIV

Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.

Because, as God has revealed Himself through His Word, He is both righteous and a Savior, He can be trusted both to “judge the world in righteousness,” as Paul quoted from Ps. 96:13 in his sermon on Mars’ Hill, and “be a Savior of all, especially of those who believe,” as he wrote in 1 Tim 4:10. Dr. Luther described faith it in his preface to Paul’s Epistle to the Romans:

Select Works of Martin Luther: An Offering to the Church of God in “The Last Days,” Volume I Preface to the Epistle of Paul to the Romans

Faith works so effectually, is such a living spring and powerful energy in the heart, that it cannot remain inactive, but must break forth into works. Nor could he that has true faith sit down at ease, whether good works were commanded or not: even if there were no law, he would, by this impulse influencing and urging him in his heart, be carried forth into action, nor would he come short in any pious and Christian duty

Faith works this way in the Christian because it is the gift of God. God creates it in us as we hear the Gospel, not on the basis of our acts after we hear it. A living and powerful God creates a living and powerful faith in His children, thus bringing forth a living and powerful Church which is able and intended to stand in the evil day, not in the strength of signs and wonders, but in the strength of God’s Word.

We are the children of God. That isn’t just an honorary title; the call of God through the Gospel transforms us! Hear what the Spirit says through the Apostle Peter:

2 Peter 1:3–4 NIV

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

This is the inheritance of each and every generation of God’s children. Concerning those who came before us, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews wrote:

Hebrews 11:39–12:2 NIV

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Holy Spirit unites us to Christ and to one another through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, so that together we walk with Jesus into our inheritance, those exceeding great and precious promises. Together, we worship the Lamb in the beauty of holiness, the holiness that the Holy Spirit imparts and establishes within us, not that which is the work of man’s hands or human imagination as we share in Christ’s Body and Blood. Together, we proclaim the praises of our great God and of our Savior, Jesus Christ, in the Divine Service, and as John wrote prophetically in the Revelation of Jesus Christ:

Revelation 7:9–10 NIV

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

This is not a treasure that we bury, not a “sacred secret” that we keep to ourselves. This is joyous good news that the world needs to hear, that we need to hear, every day until the day that He returns to restore all things. We need this message to stand against the message of despair, hopelessness, and destruction that Satan and his slaves hurl at us through every avenue at their disposal. We need to be refreshed by the Word of Life against those who would try to drag us down into the lake of fire, the second death.

And we need to declare it, for our sakes and for the sake of all. Christ died for all, and wills that none should perish. We are the light of the world, Jesus said, and we are called to shine the light of the glorious Gospel in every place, to every person whom our Lord brings to us, “until the Day dawns and the morning star rises” in every heart, to the praise of His glorious grace.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

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