WE ARE THE LORD'S VINEYARD: ARE WE FRUITFUL OR UNFRUITFUL?
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson; Philippians 3:12-21
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 21:33-43
Sermon Text; Isaiah 5:1-7
There is a big difference between the two, little words "why" and "how". How something happens can be very different, from why it happens. Let me give you two examples, and then let us look at what scripture has to say about it, in our lives.
First of all let us look at this example, of the how and the why. Here in my hands I have some grapes. First we will decide how this group of grapes ended up at my house. And, then we will discuss why is it at my house.
So, how did it get there? Well, my wife Sherri took out a piece of paper and wrote down on that piece of paper a list of things that she wanted from the grocery store. One of the things she put onto that list were grapes. Then, Sherri got into the car and drove down to the grocery store. When she got there, she sought out those grapes. She looked until she finally found these grapes. When she found them, she picked them up and carried them to the counter, where she paid a price for them. After she paid for these grapes, she carried them safely home, to our house. There they were washed, made clean and finally put onto the table.
So, how did they get there? Sherri did everything. She looked for them, she found them, she bought and paid for them, she washed and cleaned them, and she put them onto the table.
But why are those grapes there? They are there for a purpose. They are there for a reason. They are there to serve our family. They are there to provide us nourishment and enjoyment.
How did they get there? Sherri did everything.
Why are they there? So they can do something. So they can serve us.
In today's scripture reading, we learn about a vineyard. How did the vineyard get there? Well, the gardener of that vineyard did everything. He dug up the ground. He cleared out the stones. He chose the vine. He planted that vine. And, finally, he built the watchtower. He did everything, to put that vineyard in place.
But why was the vineyard there? Scripture also tells us that the gardener dug a winepress. The vineyard was there for a purpose. The gardener did everything to put the vineyard there, but it was there to do something for him. It was there to serve him, to provide wine for him, his family and his loved ones.
Which gets us to you and me. There is a big difference between how we are saved and why we are saved.
As Lutherans, I think that it is often very easy for us to answer the question, "How were you saved?" You can easily answer that question. But the other question we need to answer is, "Why? Why were you saved?"
Let us look at those two questions. First of all, how did God save you? The Bible tells us that God chose us, in Christ, before the world was created! He wrote our name on a list and He chose us! Then the Bible tells us that He sent His Son. It says,
"In the fullness of time,
God sent His Son,
born of the woman,
born under law
to redeem those under the law."
He sent His Son! His Son came to this earth, He saw us, and He found us! The Bible says,
"Jesus came
to seek and
to save that which was lost."
And, having found us, He picked us up and paid a huge price for us. Peter says,
"He purchased us,
not with gold or silver,
but with His holy precious blood."
He paid a great price for us. He picked us up and made us His own! Through The Word of God, He worked faith in our hearts to believe that Jesus is our only savior from sin. He washed us and He cleansed us. He washed us in the waters of Holy Baptism. And, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ in The Word, He tells us that our sins are forgiven.
God saved us! So, how are we saved? We are saved only by what God has done for us. You all probably know Ephesians 2:8-9 which clearly tells us,
"It is by grace
you have been saved,
through faith, and
this is not from yourselves,
it is a gift of God,
not of works,
so that no one can boast."
God did everything to save us!
But, why? Why did God save us? For what purpose did God save us? Did you know that Ephesians 2:8-9 goes on and tells us for what purpose God saved us? First it tells us how. It says, "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, it is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast". And then it goes on to say why. Why did God do that? What purpose do you serve? It says,
"For we are God’s workmanship
created in Christ Jesus
to do good works."
It is just like my wife, who did everything to get these grapes home. She bought them. She washed and cleaned them. And now, they are there for a purpose. They are there to serve us.
So, God saved you. He did everything to save you, and He did it for a purpose. He saved you so that you can serve Him. He saved you so that, as scripture tells us, you can bear fruit for Him. He saved you so that you can do what is pleasing to Him. He saved you so that you have a worthwhile purpose in this life. And that worthwhile purpose is to serve God, by serving one another.
Martin Luther put it so well in the explanation of the 2nd Article of the Creed, when he first of all asked, "How did God save me?" Listen to what he said.
"I believe that Jesus Christ is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity. And, also true Man, born of the Virgin Mary. And, that He is my Lord, who has redeemed me a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sin, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent sufferings and death."
That is how He saved us. But then he goes right on and says why He saved us.
"In order that I might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness."
Why did God save us? He saved us so that we can serve Him. He saved us so that we can bear fruit for Him. Now, we all need to understand this. Bearing fruit is a result of being saved. You cannot bear fruit, if you are not saved. You cannot bear fruit, in fact, you are fruitless, if you do not have faith in Christ, as your savior. The Bible tells us that without faith, without faith, it is impossible to please God. If you do not believe that Jesus is your savior, if you are not saved, you will be fruitless. You will (let us say), serve no useful purpose in this life and you will bear no fruit at all. No matter how good our outward lives may look to us, in God’s eyes it says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." And, without faith, we do not serve the purpose for which God created us. The Bible tells us,
"Faith, without works, is dead."
It is telling us that there is a connection between faith and works. Works, the fruit, is the evidence that we believe in Jesus as our savior. It is evidence that we are saved. If there is no fruit, then that is evidence that there is no faith. There cannot be faith, if there is no fruit. On the other hand, in the Bible, Jesus says,
"A good tree
bears good fruit."
If you believe in Jesus as your savior, then you are saved and then there will be evidence of that in your life. You won’t be able to help it. Faith is living! Faith is active! Faith believes in Jesus as its savior and is so full of thanksgiving, because we have been made new creatures! Faith is busy and active serving God and serving the purpose for which God saved us in the first place!
As we look at today’s scripture reading, the question is: Which of these are you? Which are you? You know, it is very interesting, when Jesus gives us a picture of Judgment Day. What does He tell us is going to happen on Judgment Day? Remember, The Bible is very clear that we are saved only by what God has done for us. So, what is going to happen on Judgment Day? The Bible says He is going to look at those on His left and He is going to say to them, "I was hungry and you didn’t give me anything to eat. I was thirsty and you didn’t give me anything to drink. I was in prison and you didn’t come to visit me. I was naked and you didn’t clothe me."
Then, they are going to look at Him and say, "Lord, when did we see you hungry, or in prison, or naked, or thirsty?" And, He is going to say, "Whenever you didn’t do it to the least of one of these, my brothers, you didn’t do it for me."
What is He looking at? He is going to be looking at the evidence. There will no fruit there. And, the fact that there is no fruit is evidence that there was no faith. Because there was no faith, and He will say to those on His left, "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and all of his angels."
On the other hand, He will look at those on His right. He will say, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was naked and you clothed me. I was in prison and you visited me." And, they are going to look at Him and say, "Lord when did we see you hungry, or naked, or in prison, or thirsty?" And, He is going to say, "Whenever you did it to the least of one of these, my brothers, you did it to me."
And, there, what is He looking at? He is looking at the evidence, the fact that you bore fruit in this life. It doesn’t save you, but it is evidence that you have faith in Jesus as your savior. And you are saved by that faith.
And, so the question is: Which of those am I? Is there evidence in my life that I am a believer in Jesus as my savior? Or is there a lack of evidence in my life that I am a believer in Jesus as my savior?
As I look at these two clumps of grapes, one with small grapes and hardly any of them on the stem, and the other clump that is covered with large, plump grapes, I wonder which we are more like. You know I think, no I know, (if we really look at ourselves) we are more like this small group of grapes, aren’t we? Yes, we are.
We believe in Jesus as our savior. We believe that Jesus died for our sins. We claim that Jesus is the One who is our redeemer. And, we know that we are saved only by what Jesus has done and not by what we have done. And, we want to bear fruit, don’t we? We want to bear fruit for our savior. That is the natural fruit of faith.
Then I look at my own life, and I think about what purpose God saved me for. I know that He saved me, so I could serve Him and live a good life. He has made it possible for me to live a new life!
I look at my family life and I think, "God save me so that I can treat my wife the way Jesus would treat her. I want to be self-sacrificing for my wife. That’s what I want to do. And, to some degree I am. But then I look at myself, and I see that there are lots of times when I am not self-sacrificing for my wife. I don’t listen, the way I should. And, I don’t serve her, the way I should. The fruits I bear are little fruits and few fruits.
And, then I look at my children and know that Jesus saved me, so that I could live for Him. I can live that new life and bring up my children in the fear and instruction of the Lord. And, that is what I want to do. And, we do that. We have devotions, we talk about our savior and we try to live for our savior. But then I look at the other things in my life. I think about the times when I lose my temper, when I shouldn’t. I think about the times when I give a bad example, when it is not a good spiritual example for my children, and I realize that the fruit is small and weak.
And then I look at the gifts that God has given us. (And, we know that all of us have been blessed with great amounts of gifts from God.) I look at my money and I know that God has given me this money so that I can use it to serve Him and bear fruit for Him. God gave it to me to serve others, and to serve my church. And, I want to do that. I want to bear fruit for Him. But then I look at my checkbook and realize that so many times I have spent it on myself and on self-serving things. And, the fruit I bear is, at best, small and weak.
And then I look at the talents and abilities that God has given to me. I know that God has given me all of my talents, has saved me from my sin, and given me a new life so that I can bear fruit for Him. God has given me all of these talents, so I can help those in need. I can use my skills and abilities for my church. And, to some degree I do that. But then I look at myself and see how short I have fallen. I see how weak and small the fruit is.
Isn’t that true of you and me? Aren’t you thankful that God doesn’t save us on the basis of how much fruit we bore for Him? If God saved us on the basis of how much fruit we bore for Him, we would be in trouble. I am so grateful that God saves me on a different basis. I am so grateful that when I look at my sin, and all of the fruitlessness in my life, I know that Jesus took all of that fruitlessness on, as His very own. And, all the worthless things that I have done, Jesus paid for on the cross, with His life and His precious blood. I am forgiven and I know that the perfect life that Jesus lived, His kindness, His goodness, His way of always serving others and always serving God, has been given to me as a free gift! God sees that as if it were my own perfect, holy, life of serving Him! I know that I am saved, not because of the fruit I bear, but because of what my savior did for me! That makes me so thankful, it makes me so thankful, that I want to bear more and more fruit for my savior. I want to serve the purpose that He saved me for. And, I want to grow.
But, how do I grow? How do I grow, so I bear more fruit? How do I grow, bearing more and more fruit? The answer is simple. The stronger my faith, the more fruit I bear. I want to grow in my faith, so that I can bear fruit for my savior.
How do I grow in faith? The answer to that is simple. There, God does everything for me. He does it through The Word and Sacrament. That is how He promises to strengthen me in my faith. He digs the soil of my heart through His Word and Sacraments. He plants the seed in my heart through Word and Sacraments. He causes the rains to fall on my heart, through Word and Sacrament. He feeds me through His Word and Sacrament. He surrounds me with the watchtower of the Holy Christian Church, through which my brothers and sisters in Christ feed me with The Word and The Sacrament.
And, He prunes me. That means that He permits troubles to come into my life. How come? He permits troubles to come into my life, because those troubles draw me closer and closer to the Word and the Sacrament. And, I need those. It is through The Word of God and The Sacrament that my faith in my savior grows and grows. And, as my faith in Christ grows, my ability to bear fruit for Him grows and grows.
That is our purpose!
That is the reason for which we have been saved!
How are we saved? We are saved by grace alone, by what God has done for us, in Jesus Christ. Why are we saved? We are saved, so that we can go out and bear fruit for our savior. God grant us all to grow in faith so that we can grow in fruitfulness, for Jesus sake.
Amen.
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