THE POWER BEHIND THE WORD
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Historical Lesson;
Acts 2:22-36
Gospel Lesson;
John 7:37-39
Sermon Text;
Ezekiel 37:1-14
We talk about salvation in three different categories. And, in order to understand the work of the Holy Spirit, it is important to understand the different categories of salvation. We talk about
Salvation won,
Salvation distributed, and
Salvation received.
First of all, let’s talk about salvation won. How was your salvation won? The Bible is very clear on how your salvation was won. We believe our salvation was won on the cross. Our salvation was won by Jesus Christ. Our salvation was won, when Jesus took all of your sins. He bore them on the cross. He made full and absolute, complete, and total payment for every single one of your sins. And, because of what Jesus has done – His death on the cross, His perfect life – God will not and does not hold your sins against you, anymore.
Salvation won is a free gift. We don’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. We don’t work for it. Christ has done everything for us. Everything! He has lived a perfect life, paid for every single one of our sins, salvation has been won on the cross by Christ, for…whom? For everybody, for the entire world. The Bible says,
"He is the atoning sacrifice
not only for our sins,
but for the sins of the whole world."
Salvation has been won by Christ on the cross for every, every, every single person. That means we could run out this door right now, onto Milwaukee Street, stop the first car that comes along, talk into the window, and tell that person, (no matter who it is, no matter who it is), we could tell them that salvation has been won for them. "Your sins have been paid for, because salvation was won on the cross by Christ for the whole world." That is salvation won.
Now, let’s go to salvation received. Even though salvation has been won on the cross by Christ, for everybody, everybody in the whole world, not everybody will be saved. There will be people, (even though their sins have been paid for), who will end up in Hell for eternity. So, how do we receive the salvation that Christ won for us? Again, the Bible is very clear about how salvation is received. Anyone who believes that Jesus won salvation for us, anyone who believes, shall be saved. The Bible says,
"It is by grace you have been saved,
(through what?)
through faith,
not by works,
so that no one can boast."
Jesus made the promise,
"God so loved the world
that He gave His one and only Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him,
shall not perish but have eternal life."
And so, we know that salvation has been won on the cross, by Christ, for the whole world. But, only those who believe in Jesus as their only Savior from sin will receive salvation or benefit from salvation. Which means, faith in Jesus is absolutely necessary for salvation.
However, that presents a problem. The problem is this. We believe faith is the hand that grabs hold of what Christ has done for us, clings to it, and makes it our own. What if I said to this glove, "If you want to be saved, if you want to benefit from everything that Jesus did for you, His salvation won, all you have to do is grab hold of that cross, pick it up, and make it your own by faith."
Would this glove be able to pick up that cross? This glove is incapable, absolutely incapable of picking up the cross of Jesus Christ, and making its own by faith. That is exactly what our scripture reading is getting at, today. The description is a beautiful vision. It is a great vision of our natural condition, by nature. It describes us as a valley of dry bones. What can dry bones do? Dry bones have no power. They have no ability. They can’t do anything on their own. They can’t assist, in any way, in making themselves alive. Nor can we. We are not capable of bringing ourselves to believe in Jesus as our Savior. The Bible is very clear about that, and it comes at it from all kinds of different angles. First of all, the Bible tells us that the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Anybody who doesn’t have faith in Jesus as his or her Savior thinks the cross is foolishness. "Why would I even want to pick it up in the first place, if my sinful nature thinks the cross is foolish?"
Number two, the Bible tells us,
"The sinful mind does not accept the things of God,
nor can it do so."
My sinful mind is not capable, on its own, of accepting the fact that there is only one way to be saved. And, that is through faith in Jesus.
The Bible describes us as spiritually blind. Blind people cannot see the right way.
The Bible describes us as naturally hostile toward God, not wanting to have anything to do with God.
The Bible describes us as dead people. The Bible says, "You were dead in your trespasses and sins." And, what can dead people do? Dead people can do nothing. They can’t lift a finger.
v
So, Christ has won salvation, for everybody.v
Everybody’s sins stand forgiven.v
And, only those who believe in Jesus, as their Savior, receive salvation.However, we cannot bring ourselves to faith in Jesus as our Savior, nor can we keep ourselves in faith in Jesus, as our Savior. Which gets us to salvation distributed. How does what Jesus did for me on the cross, get poured into my heart, so that my heart comes to believe, truly believe that Jesus is my Savior from sin? That’s where we get, on Pentecost Sunday, to the work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says,
"No one,
no one can say that Jesus is LORD,
except by the Holy Spirit."
It is impossible for us to come to faith on our own, except by the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can bring us to believe in Jesus as our Savior. There is no other way to be saved. And so, in spite of the fact that the Father sent His Son, and Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, we cannot be saved, we cannot be saved apart from the working of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must create saving faith in our hearts.
Now, how does the Holy Spirit do that? It is critical for me to know. The Bible tells us,
"Faith comes from hearing the message.
And the message is heard through
the Word of Christ."
The Holy Spirit works through ‘means’ or tools, just as in today’s scripture reading. He worked through the means of the wind that blew into the hearts of those dead bones, and they came to life. The Holy Spirit works through ‘means’ in our lives. The ‘means’ He works through is the Word of God. What is it in the Word of God that creates faith in Jesus as our Savior? It is the Gospel message.
The Gospel message
is the message of salvation won.
That is the Good News!
The Bible tells us that God called us through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and belief in the truth. That is how He called us. He called us through the Gospel. It says He called us through the Gospel, so we may share in the glory of Jesus Christ. And so, we know that when salvation won is preached, when we preach that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, (which means Jesus died for your sins), that is the Gospel. The Holy Spirit works through that. He comes into dead hearts, and makes them alive in Jesus, so they can pick up that cross of Jesus and make it their own, by faith. Apart from the working of the Holy Spirit, we are incapable of coming to faith, or staying in faith in Jesus as our Savior. That is what our text is really all about.
How did those dead bodies come to life? It was simply through a promise that was preached to them. God promised them that He would give them life. Through that promise that was preached to those dead bones, they came to life.
The same is true for you and me. The only way we come to spiritual life, is through the promise of salvation won, which the Holy Spirit causes to be preached to us and we come to faith in Jesus as our Savior.
Now, that gets me to some practical applications in your life. Is the Holy Spirit in your heart? If the Holy Spirit is in your heart, you are a believer in Jesus as your Savior, and you are on the way to Heaven. If the Holy Spirit is not in your heart, you are incapable of believing in Jesus as your Savior. You will not benefit from what Jesus has done for you and you will not be saved. The work of the Holy Spirit is essential for our salvation. So, is the Holy Spirit in your heart?
Let me describe somebody to you, and then you think about this in your mind, whether the Holy Spirit is in this person’s heart. Let’s imagine there is a young teenager. This teenager has fallen into some sin. After falling into this sin, this teenager thinks to himself, "What a fool! How could have I done that? How could I have sinned against God?"
And so, he repents and trusts in Jesus’ forgiveness.
A week later, he falls into the same sin, the exact same sin. And he thinks to himself, "What a fool! How could I have done that? How could have I sinned against my Savior?" Again, he repents and turns to Jesus for the forgiveness of his sin.
Several days later he falls into it again, and then again, and then again. Each time, in his heart, despising what he has done, wishing in his heart, wishing that Jesus would forgive him, looking at other Christians and thinking, "Boy, I wish I could be like that person, strong like that person. But, here I find myself, falling into the same sin over, and over, and over."
Is that person a Christian? Does the Holy Spirit, does the Holy Spirit LIVE in that young man’s heart? There are three questions we need to ask ourselves.
If the Holy Spirit lives in your heart, you will have a hatred of sin. If you believe in Jesus as your Savior, believe Jesus died for your sin, and the Holy Spirit has come in and caused you to believe in Jesus, then He has made you a new person who loves your Savior and hates sin.
Does that young man I just described hate his sin? The answer is yes. That young person has thought over and over, "What a fool. How could I do that? Why did I fall?" Like St. Paul, who said, "The evil that I don’t want to do, I keep on doing." There is a hatred of sin, in that young person’s life. Although the person is weak, he or she is fighting against his or her sinful nature. There is a true hatred of sin. That is a sign the Holy Spirit is inside that person.
On the other hand, if you do not have a hatred of sin, if you intend to walk out of this church building today, and you have every intention in your mind of going back to some sin that you have been committing, and you don’t have any desire to change it, you don’t have any desire to hate that sin, then the Holy Spirit does not live in your heart. He does not live in your heart; you are not a new creation. You are not a new creation who trusts in Jesus as your Savior, and wants to stay away from the things that your Savior wants you to stay away from.
The young person I described has a desire for grace in Jesus Christ. He expressed a longing, "I wish Jesus would forgive me." That is a sign that the Holy Spirit lives in him. Anyone who has a longing for salvation won, has been convinced in their heart by the Holy Spirit, "Yes, Jesus is the only way. He is the only way I can be saved. He is the only way my sins can be forgiven. He is the only way that I can be acceptable in God’s eyes." And that young man has expressed in his heart a desire for grace in Jesus Christ. That is faith. And that is a sign that the Holy Spirit lives in him.
On the other hand, if you do not have a desire for grace in Jesus Christ, and if as I preach about sin, you think to yourself, "Well, I get tired of the pastor talking about sin all of the time. I get tired of that. I don’t need to hear that. I don’t want to hear that. And, I don’t have any strong desire to come to the Lord’s Supper. I don’t have any desire to hear him tell me over and over again my sins are forgiven," then the Holy Spirit does not live in you. You are not a new creation. The Holy Spirit has not brought you to repent of your sins, and understand that you are a lost and condemned creature. There is only one way that you can be saved, and that is by salvation won, by what Jesus Christ has done for you.
That young man expressed a love for his fellow Christians. He said, "I wish I could be like the other Christians in church. I wish I could stay away from those sins." There is a Bible passage that says, "This is how we know that we have crossed over from death to life. We love the brothers." That is how we know that we have crossed over from death, spiritual death, to life. We love the brothers. We love our fellow Christians. We long to be like Christians who cling to Jesus as their Savior. We long to be like Christians who follow after Jesus in His footsteps. That is a sign that you are a new creation. That is a sign that you are a part of the body of Christ. That is a sign that you want to be with other people, who have the Holy Spirit living in them.
On the other hand, if you do not have a love for your brothers and sisters in Christ, if you do not long to be like other Christians, if you don’t wish that you could cling to Jesus as your Savior, like some others do, if you don’t long to be with your fellow Christians, gathered around Word and Sacrament, in fact, if you say, "I don’t want to look like a Christian, I don’t want to act like a Christian, I don’t want to be with Christians, I would rather be with other people," you are not a new creation. The Holy Spirit does not live in you. You do not have faith. You cannot be saved.
So, if any of you fit the description where the Holy Spirit does not live in you, now I want to talk to you. I want to talk directly to you. Today is the day.
Today is the day
to turn to Jesus,
as your Savior.
You know, Ezekiel was facing a pretty tough congregation – bones! That is a tough congregation to face. But, he was able to preach to those bones and those bones came to life! It was not because Ezekiel could hold them spellbound! It was not because Ezekiel was extremely eloquent. It is not the fact that we, (a pastor, a preacher, a person who talks about the Word of God) can hold somebody spellbound or be eloquent in our preaching that can bring someone to life. There is only one thing that can bring someone to life. And, that is the preaching of salvation won. And then we get out of the way of the Holy Spirit. We preach the Word of God, and we let the Holy Spirit work through Word and Sacrament to distribute salvation into our hearts, so that we believe in Jesus. And so, let me get out of the way of the Holy Spirit. And let me preach salvation won to anyone who may not be a believer, yet.
Salvation won
is for everybody!
Salvation won is for all sinners!
There is no one in this world whom the Holy Spirit does not desire to live in and make a new creation.
There is no one in this world who has fallen so deeply that God will not forgive.
There is no one in this world who is so unworthy that the Holy Spirit does not desire to come into his or her heart.
There is no one, no one in this world who has been so unfaithful that it is too late, (so long as you are still alive).
There is no one in this world who has committed too great a sin, or too many sins that the Holy Spirit does not desire to come into his or her heart and cause belief in Jesus, our Savior from sin.
The awesome message in scripture, through which the Holy Spirit works, is the Gospel message.
Salvation has been won,
by Christ,
for all!
It is received by faith and is distributed by the Holy Spirit, through the Gospel, in Word and Sacrament.
"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith, just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives me and all believers all our sins. And on the Last Day, He will raise up me and all the dead, and grant me and all believers in Christ, eternal life. This is most certainly true!"
Amen.
Top of Page
|| Church Sermons || Return to Home Page