{"id":3804,"date":"2021-07-15T16:11:52","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T16:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/?p=3804"},"modified":"2021-07-15T16:15:49","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T16:15:49","slug":"be-merciful-as-your-father-is-merciful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/07\/15\/be-merciful-as-your-father-is-merciful\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Merciful as Your Father is Merciful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Trinity 4| Luke 6:36-42| Pastor James Preus| June 27, 2021\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/2021-TRINITY-LUTHERAN-CHRIST-FOR-US-07042021-15081.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBe merciful, even as your&nbsp;Father&nbsp;is merciful.\u201d With these words, our Lord Jesus simply teaches us to behave like Christians.&nbsp;Christians are children of their heavenly Father. Children imitate their fathers. Christians are disciples of their teacher,&nbsp;Jesus Christ. If a disciple is like his teacher, he is perfect. And so, we should recognize that in order for us to be merciful, as Jesus here commands us, we ought to first know&nbsp;<em>how<\/em>&nbsp;our Father in heaven is merciful.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People commonly think that in order for God to show mercy&nbsp;to&nbsp;us, we must become worthy of his mercy (quite a strange concept of mercy, indeed). But if that were the case, if God waited until we showed ourselves worthy of his mercy, then what would it mean to be merciful as our Father is merciful? We would wait around for other people to show themselves worthy of our mercy! We would judge them to determine whether they deserved our mercy. We would condemn them for their failings. We would withhold our compassion and love. In short, we would be a miserable lot of judgmental, self-righteous&nbsp;hypocrites!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But how is our&nbsp;Father&nbsp;merciful? While we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:8) When we were still enemies with God, the Father sent his Son to make satisfaction for our sins with his blood. Before we believed, Christ died for us. Before we&nbsp;were sorry for&nbsp;our sins, God forgave us for Christ\u2019s sake.&nbsp;While we hated him, God loved us.&nbsp;This means that when Jesus tells you to be merciful as your Father is merciful, he is telling&nbsp;you&nbsp;not only to love your neighbor, but to love your enemies and pray for those who&nbsp;hate you. Forgive in your heart those who have sinned against you and have not said sorry. Do not judge them. Do not condemn them. Rather, give without expecting anything in return. You can only do this if you have faith in the mercy your heavenly Father has shown to you.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This helps us understand Jesus\u2019 words, \u201cJudge not, and you will not be judged.\u201d We do not judge, because God has not judged us. Rather, he laid all our sins upon Jesus&nbsp;and passed judgment on him in our&nbsp;stead. God did not condemn us, but rather condemned Jesus on the cross. When we do not judge, we always do so in light of Jesus.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Jesus\u2019 words, \u201cJudge not\u201d have been greatly abused. Satan has purposefully twisted these words to promote sin, and so the true meaning of these words is ignored. People use the commandment, \u201cJudge not\u201d to defend their own sinful desires. \u201cDon\u2019t judge me! I have the right to live this way. Jesus said, not to judge.\u201d Or people will use these words to defend being silent against false teaching and damaging sins. \u201cI\u2019m not going to say that that religion is wrong, because Jesus said not to judge.\u201d Or \u201cI\u2019m not going to confront my brother or sister in Christ with his sin, because Jesus said not to judge.\u201d But this is not what our Lord is teaching us. And those who use Jesus\u2019 words to avoid confessing the truth become increasingly intolerant to correct teaching, so that they pass judgment in the exact way Jesus forbids us.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Jesus tells us not to judge, he is not saying that we should not speak the truth or confront sin. In John 7, Jesus tells us to judge with right judgment. Rather, when Jesus tells us not to judge, he is telling us&nbsp;to&nbsp;be merciful, to seek to forgive, to seek to restore your brother to Christ. When your neighbor annoys you, don\u2019t judge him for it. We all have annoying traits. We all sin every day, sins of weakness.&nbsp;You certainly would hope that others wouldn\u2019t nit-pick you for every mistake you make. So don\u2019t nit-pick others for their failings. However, when sin becomes more brazen and persistent, so that it cannot be ignored, such as when people openly&nbsp;fornicate or commit adultery, lie, cheat, and steal, it is required of a Christian to confront these sins. St. Paul writes, \u201cBrothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.\u201d&nbsp;So, we learn that we can confront sin without breaking Jesus\u2019 command not to judge. Indeed, we must confront sin.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two sides of the horse we should be careful not to fall off of in regard to this commandment, both of which result in judging and condemning our neighbor. The first is to pass judgment on your&nbsp;neighbor for his sin and condemn him to hell, to not try to restore him to repentance and faith, but to call him a lost cause and to decide that he can\u2019t be saved, or even, that you don\u2019t want him to be saved. This certainly is the judgment Jesus forbids. We have no right to judge or condemn others. Only God does. And God desires all sinners to repent and be saved. By judging and condemning&nbsp;others, we do not help them. Yet, the other side is to refuse to judge what is right and wrong and so to refuse to speak the truth. This side usually thinks they are following Jesus\u2019 commandment not to judge, but they are doing the opposite. Because, if you do not repent of your sins, then you will go to hell. So, to ignore sin is actually to condemn your neighbor!&nbsp;It is not loving if you know that your&nbsp;brother&nbsp;is in great danger of damnation, because he\u2019s trapped in a sin and to not warn&nbsp;him. That is to pass judgment upon him, by neglecting to warn him and tell him how to escape judgment through faith in Christ, who forgives all sins.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You are not sinning against Jesus\u2019 command not to judge when you confess the truth from God\u2019s Word, even if the word you speak itself passes judgment. Jesus says in John chapter 12,&nbsp;\u201cIf anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.\u201d&nbsp;(vss. 47-48)&nbsp;So, Jesus, who will in fact return to judge the living and the dead, even says that he does not judge, but rather the word he speaks will judge them. What this means is that when you speak&nbsp;God\u2019s word with the intention of your sinning brother or sister returning&nbsp;to Christ for forgiveness, you are not passing judgment. A sinner may receive judgment from those words, but it is God&nbsp;judging them for rejecting his word.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus says a blind man can\u2019t lead a blind man. Who&nbsp;are&nbsp;the blind? They are those who do not know God\u2019s mercy. Last week we heard about how the Pharisees grumbled that Jesus received sinners. They should have rejoiced. But they were blind. They did not know God\u2019s mercy&nbsp;for sinners. They did not recognize their own sin. They were hypocrites with&nbsp;logs&nbsp;in their eyes,&nbsp;criticizing those who were getting their eyes healed. A person who does not know God\u2019s mercy cannot show mercy. Unless the light of God\u2019s grace has&nbsp;shone&nbsp;on you, you cannot see. Unless your cup runs over, then you won\u2019t be able to pour into your brother\u2019s cup.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the question is, how can you not be blind? How can you remove the&nbsp;log&nbsp;out of your eye? Through repentance and faith in Christ, that is, by turning from your sin and asking God for forgiveness. Then the&nbsp;log&nbsp;is removed. Then you can see clearly God\u2019s mercy. Then your aim for your brother or sister&nbsp;trapped in sin is not to lord it over them, but to lead them to Christ who heals the blind.&nbsp;You recognize the&nbsp;log&nbsp;is there when you recognize that you are a sinner. You remove the&nbsp;log&nbsp;by turning to Christ, who forgives. Then your desire for all people is for them also to receive this same forgiveness.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People often say, \u201cI don\u2019t want to go to church, because it is filled with hypocrites.\u201d&nbsp;So, a common response is, \u201cWell, there\u2019s always room for one more.\u201d But Christians shouldn\u2019t call themselves hypocrites. Jesus doesn\u2019t call his disciples hypocrites. He calls&nbsp;hypocrites those, who refuse to repent of their own sins, while condemning others for their sins. But Christians are not hypocrites. Christians recognize their own sin. They are sorry for their sins. And they go to church to receive forgiveness from&nbsp;<em>him<\/em>&nbsp;who receives sinners. Sure, there are going to be hypocrites and false Christians, who go to church. But true Christians are not hypocrites. True Christians are sorry for the sins they have committed against their God, and they&nbsp;gladly receive his forgiveness for Christ\u2019s sake.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You won\u2019t find a less judgmental church than a confessional Lutheran Church. You won\u2019t find a less judgmental church than Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. Now, how can that be?&nbsp;We teach that there are no other gods, but the Lord God,&nbsp;and that it is a sin to worship any other god. We teach that it is a sin to teach falsely and to neglect hearing God\u2019s word. We teach that it is a sin&nbsp;to disobey your parents and other authorities.&nbsp;We teach that it is a sin to have an abortion, because it is killing a child made in God\u2019s image. We teach that it is a sin not only to murder, but to hate someone in your heart.&nbsp;We teach that all sexual relations outside of that between a husband and wife within marriage is a sin, and even to lust after another person in your heart is a sin. We teach that stealing and cheating is a sin, along with gossiping. We even teach that it is a sin to covet your neighbor\u2019s stuff. If we teach that all these&nbsp;are sins that cause a sinner to deserve damnation to hell, how can I tell you that you won\u2019t find a less judgmental church?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because we preach Christ crucified for sinners. The purpose of calling sin, sin is not to condemn, but to save. We preach the law, so that sinners know their need for a Savior; so that they know that without Jesus there is judgment for sin. And we preach the Gospel that Jesus saves sinners from judgment through his death and resurrection. And we want everyone to believe the Gospel and be saved. We want&nbsp;everyone to escape judgment and condemnation and to be given all that we have been given by our merciful Father.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can\u2019t get less judgmental than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus rescues sinners from judgment. When Jesus tells us to be merciful as our Father is merciful, he is telling us to confess&nbsp;him as our Savior&nbsp;by showing with our words and actions the mercy God has shown us through Jesus Christ;&nbsp;to forgive those who sin against us; to be patient and humble;&nbsp;and to confess the truth. Our hope is for everyone we meet to escape judgment through Christ.&nbsp;Our hope is for others to receive our&nbsp;Father\u2019s&nbsp;mercy, just as we have received it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trinity 4| Luke 6:36-42| Pastor James Preus| June 27, 2021\u00a0 \u201cBe merciful, even as your&nbsp;Father&nbsp;is merciful.\u201d With these words, our Lord Jesus simply teaches us to behave like Christians.&nbsp;Christians are children of their heavenly Father. Children imitate their fathers. Christians are disciples of their teacher,&nbsp;Jesus Christ. If a disciple is like his teacher, he&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/07\/15\/be-merciful-as-your-father-is-merciful\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,7,64],"tags":[250,533,207],"class_list":["post-3804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-sermons","category-sermons-by-historical-lectionary","category-sermonsbyrevjamespreus","category-trinity-4","tag-james-preus","tag-luke-6","tag-trinity-4"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3804"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3811,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804\/revisions\/3811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}