NOTHING LACKING!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 49:1-6
Gospel Lesson; John 1:29-41
Sermon Text; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Maybe you have already heard this story about Little Johnny. Little Johnny had a little, baby brother. And, one Sunday, Little Johnny went with his parents and his new little brother to church. It was at that service that Little Johnny's baby brother was to be baptized. During the baptism, Little Johnny stood right along side his parents, watching what was going on, and listening very carefully to what the pastor was saying. He noticed that the pastor was encouraging and exhorting his parents that his little baby brother should be brought up in a Christian home.
The baby was baptized and the church service ended. Little Johnny and his family got into their car. Soon, Little Johnny began to cry, in the back seat of their car. His dad looked in the rear view mirror, and noticed that Little Johnny was crying. The dad asked him, "Why are you crying? What is wrong?"
Little Johnny said, "The pastor said that my little, baby brother should be brought up in a Christian family. But, I want him to stay with us."
Little Johnny had made an assessment of the whole group, his whole family. He thought that there was something lacking in the whole group, in his whole family. He thought that his whole family was not acting like a Christian family.
Often times, when we think about guilt, we think about individual guilt, my guilt, another person's guilt, someone else's guilt – individual, personal guilt.
We often do not think about group guilt or corporate guilt. But, so often in scripture God talks, not about individual, personal, private guilt, but He talks about group guilt and corporate guilt. For example, how many times in the Old Testament did God judge the Children of Israel as a group? Not one, or two or even three people, but He judged the whole group of the Children of Israel, the entire group. He said that you have not been faithful to me; you have not walked in my ways. Therefore God judged the entire group, the entire nation. That happens so many times in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament, if you look at the book of Revelation, which is a book that was written to seven churches, seven different congregations, you will see examples of God assigning group guilt. I want you to listen to just a few examples of how our Lord assigned group guilt to those congregations.
To the church in Ephesus, He said this; "I hold this against you (as a group, as a church). You have forsaken your first love." They had group guilt.
To the church in Pergamum, He wrote this, "I have a few things against you. You have people there who hold to the teaching of Baalem. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of Nicolaitans. Repent therefore." The whole group was guilty.
To the church in Thyatira, He says, "I hold this against you. You tolerate that woman Jezebel. By her teachings she misleads my servants into sexual immorality." There He is talking to the entire congregation, talking about group guilt.
To the church in Sardis He says, "I know your deeds. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die. For I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of God." There was group guilt for that entire congregation. That entire congregation had problems.
Laodicea is another congregation that has group guilt. God says, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold, nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth." There God talks about group guilt. The entire congregation was being spoken to.
When we look at our text in today’s scripture reading, (on the back of our bulletin), Paul is writing by inspiration of God, not just to one individual, but to an entire group. He writes this to the church in Corinth. He writes this to the entire congregation of Corinth.
If you look at the book of Corinth, God assigns group guilt to that congregation, in a number of different ways. I would like to go through a few of the different ways, that this entire congregation was guilty.
First of all, they had a tendency not to gather around the pure, simple, true Word of God. They were more moved by eloquent speakers, rather than by the Word of God! The more eloquent the speaker was, the more apt the congregation was to listen to him! So, instead of gathering around the pure Word of God, having that be the one thing that they wanted to listen to, they were more interested in being entertained. That was group guilt. They were, in a sense despising the simple, plain Word of God, and Paul spoke to the entire congregation about that. It was something that they needed to repent of, turn to their savior and know that they were forgiven for that. They needed to strive to seek more than eloquence, but rather the pure, simple Word of God, even if it was not presented in such an eloquent manner.
They had another problem, another group problem as a congregation. They were broken up into factions. Some of them said, "I follow Paul." Others said, "I follow another pastor, Apollos." Yet others said, "I follow a different pastor, Peter."
They were also broken up between the rich and the poor.
They had factions in that congregation, and Paul writes to that entire congregation, assigning group guilt. He tells them that it is something they need to repent of, know that they are forgiven for, and then seek to work together, not in factions, but as a whole group that serves their savior.
Another problem they had dealt with a young man in that congregation. That young man was living in sexual immorality. The entire congregation ignored the situation. They did not try to call that young man back to the faith. They did not try to point out his sin. They were not worried that he was on a path that was leading to eternal destruction. They were letting him go his merry way. Paul wrote to them and called to them saying that this was a group problem that they had. It was something that they needed to repent of, trusting that they are forgiven. And with God’s help, call back that straying young man, out of love for his soul and love for their congregation.
They had another problem. Apparently the commitment of marriage was starting to fall apart in that congregation. There were members in the congregation who were not committed to the marriage commitment that God had assigned to them. They were not calling each other back to hold onto the marriage commitment that God had given to them. And, so Paul wrote to them. This was a group problem in their congregation. He was calling them to repentance, for forgiveness, and then to seek to live according to God’s Will.
We could go on and on, since there are other things that the group in Corinth was guilty of. God spoke to them, in the letter of first Corinthians, about their group guilt.
What about our congregation? Are we responsible for group guilt?
There is no ideal congregation. There is no perfect congregation. Congregations are made up of people who are sinners. As a congregation, there are certain things that we are guilty of, as a group. Maybe we are guilty of some of the things that St. Paul said the Corinthian congregation was guilty of.
Group guilt - Corporate guilt
Maybe God could look at us and say, "Here you have the saving gospel message of your savior. You have the treasure that could win souls. And, yet you are not as active as you could be in your neighborhoods and communities. You could be going out and spreading that saving gospel message, and longing to bring lost souls to the Kingdom of God. Certainly there could be group guilt, there, that we should repent of, know we are forgiven for, and with God’s help, seek to live according to His Will.
Maybe we have visitors and guests who come here to our church service. They may look different than we do, or perhaps they act a little different than we do. And, instead of welcoming them with open arms, as God would want us to do, we might leave that to someone else. "I am not going to talk them, because maybe someone else will talk to them." And, then those guests walk out of our church without anyone having spoken to them, welcoming them with open arms into the Body of Christ. Could there be group guilt, among us as congregation? Certainly. Every congregation has group guilt.
Maybe we have brothers or sisters who are living in some sin. We may be aware of it, and instead of having a love for their souls, seeing them on a path that could lead them to destruction, and caring enough to reach out and speak with them, bringing them back to repentance and the Kingdom, we simply let them go their merry way…to the danger of their own soul. Could that be that we as a congregation have group guilt? Certainly, Holy Cross, just like any other congregation is not a perfect or ideal congregation. There are many faults with us, and many wrongs that we, as a group, have done.
We should, on our knees as a group,
in repentance to God,
admit that we are not a perfect group,
we are not a perfect church,
we have our faults,
we have errors,
and we have made mistakes.
What should we do, as a congregation? Should that trouble us? Should that depress us? Should that cause us to give up? By no means! This congregation has every reason for great joy and great confidence, in spite of our faults, in spite of our guilt, and in spite of our errors. And, that is exactly what St. Paul wanted the Corinthian congregation to know, as he began to write to them the letter of First Corinthians.
Consider the great things that God has done for this congregation, Holy Cross Lutheran Church. It is not the things that we have done for God, because certainly we have our faults, but consider the great things, the profound things that God has done and continues to do among this group of people - God’s people.
First of all St. Paul addresses the Corinthian congregation, and he would address Holy Cross the same way; "To the Church of God," (this is God’s church). Regardless of our weakness, regardless of our faults, this is God’s church. In Greek, the word church is ecclesia.
ecclesia means:
Those who have been called out,
Those who have been called out of darkness,
Those who have been called out of sin,
Those who have been called out of this dark world, into God’s believing family.
This church, in spite of all its faults and errors and mistakes and guilt, we are the Church of God. God has called us, through the Holy Spirit, to believe in Jesus as our Savior. We have the same savior, the same forgiveness of sins, the same baptism, the same Lord, and the same promise of Heaven.
What great things God does for this congregation!
It is not what we have done for Him,
but the great things that God does for us!
Secondly St. Paul writes to that congregation in Corinth, and he said, "To those called to be Holy." And, he would write the same thing to this congregation. This is a group of people who have been called to be Holy. We are called to be Holy. We are not Holy on our own. We admit to our guilt. We admit to our faults and errors. And, yet we are called, not to become Holy, but to BE HOLY! Which means we are Holy! We are Holy in God’s eyes! We are perfect in God’s eyes, as a people. In God’s eyes, we are perfect, as a people!
How can that be? It is because God’s Son, Jesus, died for the people of this congregation. God’s Son, Jesus, lived a perfect life for the people of this congregation. God, by His free grace as a gift, sees the people of this congregation as Holy, for Christ’s sake! He declares us Holy! He declares us forgiven!
What great things we can say of this congregation! Not because of what we have done for God, but because of what God has done for us!
St. Paul goes on and he says, "Grace and peace are yours! From God our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
What great things can be said of this congregation. Grace belongs to this congregation.
God’s undeserved kindness,
His undeserved love,
His undeserved blessings,
are ours,
all because of what Jesus did for us on the cross!
That is all ours!
The forgiveness of our sins,
the promise of eternal life,
the promise of Heaven,
all belongs to us!
Grace and Peace are a result of God’s grace to us. We are a people who are at peace. We have peace in our hearts. We are a people who know that despite all of our errors and faults, we are forgiven. God loves us! God forgives and cares for us. God will watch over us and provide for us! We are a people at peace!
Great things can be said of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, not because of what we have done for God, but rather because of what God has done for us.
St. Paul goes on and he says, "For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all your speaking and all of your knowledge."
What great things can be said of this congregation. We have been enriched in every way. God has enriched us in all of our speaking, and in all our knowledge. What is it that has enriched us in the way we speak and in what we know? We are enriched by the Holy Word of God that has been sent to us, from Heaven itself! We have in this congregation the Holy, revealed, pure, true, Word of the Living God! In this congregation, in our speaking, we speak the Holy, revealed, pure, true, Living Word of God. We speak about the Law, which shows our sin and shows our need for a savior. We speak the Gospel, which tells us about our savior, and what God has done for us, in Christ Jesus. We speak and declare the forgiveness of sins. We speak about God’s Will for us, and what God promises to do for His people. We have been enriched in all of our speaking and in all of our knowledge. We know the Word of God. We know the Gospel. We know that our sins are forgiven! What great things God has done for our congregation. Not what we have done for Him, but what great things God has done for us, day, by day, by day!
St. Paul goes on and says, "You do not lack any spiritual gift."
This congregation does not lack one spiritual gift. Every gift we need, we have. We have the Word of God, we have the Holy Sacraments, and through those, the Holy Spirit works in this congregation.
He goes on and says, "He will keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the Day of our Lord, Jesus Christ."
What great things God has done for this congregation. He says that He will keep us strong until the end. We can’t keep ourselves strong. We are weak people, with sin and faults. He promises, though that He will keep us strong until the end!
We have all we need. We have the Word of God, and through that, the Holy Spirit works to create faith, to strengthen us in our faith, and to keep us in our faith.
We have the Holy Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper, God delivers to us the forgiveness, the free forgiveness of sins! He gives us the body and blood of our savior. He strengthens us and builds us up in our faith. He promises, through the Word of God and the Lord’s Supper, He will keep us strong until the very end, until the day we are safely home in Heaven.
What great things can be said of this congregation! Not because of what we do for God, but because of what God has done for us!
He closes by saying, "God is faithful."
God is faithful! God is faithful to this congregation, to these people, to you and me, to us as a group!
God is faithful!
If God says our sins are forgiven,
they are forgiven!
If God says Heaven is ours, then
Heaven is ours!
If God says He will work out everything for our good, then He will work out everything for our good!
If God promises to answer our prayers,
He will answer our prayers!
God is faithful! God cannot be unfaithful.
God is faithful!
What great things can be said about this congregation. God is faithful to this congregation. Not because of what we have done, but rather what He has done for us.
Shouldn’t that move us, then to be people, as a group, as a congregation, to be on our knees in repentance, admitting that we have faults, have made mistakes and errors as a congregation, as a group? And as a group, shouldn’t we seek God’s forgiveness, which has been freely won for us in Christ, trust in that forgiveness and cling to that forgiveness? And, as a group, shouldn’t we rejoice that we are part of His Fold, the Fold of the Great Shepard? We are His Sheep! We are His Lambs, which He feeds, cares for, and protects! He comforts us and blesses us. And finally, He lifts us up on His shoulders and carries us Home!
Shouldn’t we as a people, as a congregation,
because of what God has done among us and for us,
shouldn’t we as a group
commit to living for Him as a people,
serving Him better,
listening to His Word more and more often,
serving one another and loving one another better,
carrying one anothers’ burdens,
pray for one another,
hold one another’s hand during times of trouble,
call one another back when we see someone straying,
and bind up the broken hearted.
We are the people of God.
We are the People of God!!!
Thank God for His grace to us!
Amen.
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