SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION
Text: 1 Peter 4:8-11.
Source from Back to Luther with German archive reference. Back to Walther's Epistle Sermons.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge Of God, and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
In this same Lord, dear friends.
As we heard during this last festival, Christ a few years after his appearance in this world, left the world and withdrew his visible presence. Since that time, 2,000 years have gone by and no sinner has again been considered worthy of seeing the Lord of glory upon this world. Now he dwells in a light which none can approach. But, my brethren, it will not remain that Way. There will come a day in which Christ will step out of his hidden light and once more appear upon this sinful world. As certainly as Christ finally came after the prophets of the Old Covenant prophesied about him for 4,000 years, so certainly will Christ come again according to the prophecies of the apostles and evangelists of the New Covenant to judge the quick and the dead.
No sooner had Christ ascended to heaven then — pay close attention — the first sermons which God commanded to be preached to the world was this: Christ will come again. While the Apostles were still looking after their ascending Lord in amazement, while they directed longing eyes to the clouds which had just received him and hidden him from their eyes, Luke tells us, behold, two men, namely two angels, stood by them in white garments and spoke thus to them: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen him go into heaven." Acts 1,11.
From that hour on the apostles preached everywhere: Christ will come again on the last day; "our conversation," they say, "is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." Phil 3,20. With this blessed hope the apostles cheered and comforted themselves and others in all their tribulations; in this blessed hope they persevered and joyfully suffered the martyr's death.
However, the apostles presented Christ's return at the end of days not only as certain but also as near. Wherever they went, they testified to this with one voice. St. John says: "Little children; it is the last time." 1 Jn 2, 18. Paul cries: "The Lord is at hand!" Phil 4;5. James preaches: "Behold, the Judge standeth before the door." Jas 5,9. Peter announces: "The end of all things is at hand." 1 Pet 4,7. Jude testifies: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints." Jude 14.
And we dare not suppose that the apostles erred; they cried out: "The Lord is at hand," and they knew very well that thousands of years could go by before the Lord would return. When Peter, for example had spoken of Christ's imminent return, he adds: "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousands years as one day." 2 Pet 3,8. And when Paul had announced judgment day he nevertheless added: "Now we beseech you brethren, let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." 2 Thess 2,3.
Will you ask, how could the apostles speak so clearly of the imminence
of the end of the world? My friends, because they spoke not human language but God's; in God’s eyes the end is near, even if thousands of years must go by. And this is God's will: At all times his servants must shout to all Christians: "The Lord is at hand!" so that everyone will be ready if he comes today or tomorrow. It is God's will: We are to live at.all times in such a way as though the Judge were already at our door; for though the appearance of Judgment Day can delay, we do not know this positively; he can just as well descend upon us this very day with all his terrors.
That is why all true prophets have preached of the nearness of the Lord; the Evangelical Lutheran Church has also not failed to give its testimony about this event. Until his death Luther himself as a good watchman preached this to sleeping Christendom, and all true teachers follow him. Yes, for centuries our Church has sung:
The Bridegroom soon will call us:
Come, all ye wedding-guests!
May not his voice appall us
While slumber binds our breasts!
May all our lamps be burning
And oil be found in store
That we, with him returning,
May open find the door! (67,1)
My brethren, listen now to a testimony that I also in my great weakness will give, since our today's Epistle demands that we do that.
Quote the text here: 1 Peter 4, 8-11.
The Epistle just read contains many admonitions directed to the scattered Christians living in Asia Minor. We will get the true meaning of our text only if we connect it directly with the Words which precede it. There the apostle says: " The end of all things is at hand." V.7a. And then he immediately continues in our text in the words: " Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." We see from this that all of the admonitions which follow are admonitions especially for Christians in the last times. With this thought in mind, let us in the fear of the Lord ponder:
WHAT SHOULD CHRISTIAN DO BECAUSE OF THE NEARNESS OF THE END OF ALL THINGS?
1. They Should be Sober and Watch unto Prayer,
2. Be Fervent in Charity, and finally,
3. Be Faithful in the Use of Their Gifts and in the Works of Their Office and Calling.
God, you have appointed a day in which you will judge the world in righteousness through your Son; but you alone know the day and the hour when this day will come. Yet you say to us in your Word; "It is at hand.” In our times you have let us see many signs by which you cause this to be loudly preached to us. Oh, rule our hearts that we believe you, that we do not as the unbelieving world live on securely, and this great, terrible day seize us in the midst of our sins. Rule us that we now devoutly hear the admonition which you give us, so that we do not perish in the corruption of the last times and lose our souls, but become worthy and be ready at all times to stand before the Son of man. Amen.
I.
According to God's Word the nearer the end of all things comes, the greater will the security and lust of the world be. The nearer the frightful hour comes when all the visible things and the glory of the world will suddenly be consumed by the fire of divine wrath, the more most men will revel in the good things of this world. The more God will cause signs, that the entire world will soon, soon collapse and the Judge of the living and the dead appear in the clouds of heaven, to be seen of all creatures, the less will it be believed; everyone will continue securely and carelessly, as though the world will last forever, as though judgment day were a fable, a little fairy tale. Christ says: "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Mt 24,27-29. "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Lk 17,28-30.
If we compare our present times with this description of the last times, we find it an accurate picture. All the signs in nature, the kingdoms of the world, and the Church, which should precede the end of all things, have in the course of the last century, and particularly in the last few years, taken place. God by the most frightful events has loudly announced the imminent destruction of the world. But what has happened! With every passing year the world has become only the more secure; at no time was the idea of judgment day ridiculed more than it is now; that very Christ, who has come, is almost universally rejected, but that this Christ will very, very soon return is a subject of even greater ridicule; yes, even those who today believe God's Word are immediately afraid they are dealing with a case of enthusiasm when they meet someone convinced of the nearness of Christ's return. We are clearly living in the midnight hour, when even the wise virgins are beginning to slumber.
Soon the world with all its lusts will have disappeared; God has sent us enough preachers of this truth in our days; but what has happened? With every passing year the creature is even more abused. Ever more resolutely has the world rejected God and his heaven and has chosen gold and silver as its gods; everyone seeks to become rich, to gather only more of the glittering filth of this world, to acquire more land and property, fields and houses. They act as though they want to make this world their eternal home. They seek only to live sumptuously and joyfully every day and wherever possible to clothe themselves in purple and fine linen, as did the rich man in the Gospels. Drunkenness and gluttony has brought temporal misfortune to so many, that even the unbelievers are trying to prevent their destruction from coming.
What does the apostle admonish the Christians of those times to do? He says: "The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." V.7. He is not saying that, when the end, of all things is at hand, Christians should not use the world, that in self-chosen spirituality and humility they should not spare the body and not take care of its needs; he also is not saying that they dare not enjoy those temporal comforts which God gives them even in these last times. No, in another place the apostle says that all of God's creatures are good and nothing to be refused; they should be received with thanksgiving. They who say: "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch (referring to things which all perish as they are used), according to human precepts and doctrines," (RSV) are captured by the precepts of this world. Col 2,21.22.
No, says the apostle, we are to be only sober and watch unto prayer. Even
though judgment day is near we can eat and drink, but, as Christ says, we should not burden our hearts with eating and drinking; we can also have something to treasure, but we are to do it in such a way that we are ready to sacrifice it any hour; we can have and gather silver and gold, but we are not to let our heart cling to it, nor rely on it, nor be sorrowful if we lose it again; we can also seek and build a home here, but we are to consider it only a hotel which we will leave the next morning and be most eager to go into the home of our heavenly Father; even in the very shadow of judgment day we can plant and sow but only do it in such a way that we are ready, if God wills, not to enjoy the fruits of our sowing and planting; we can also provide for the future, but we should do it only in such a way that our heart is not burdened with our care.
Then we are sober and watch unto prayer, when our heart is not captured by the earthly things with which it has to deal, if it is free and is continually in such a condition that we can lift it in prayer to God; if amidst the things, business, cares, goods, and joys of this world our innermost, deepest yearning is for salvation, for heaven; if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; if we travel as strangers and pilgrims in this world who always have our heavenly goal before us; if in the midst of our care for our earthly future we still look day and night for the promised return of our Lord; if, as Luther says, our whole life is one Lord's Prayer, if we everywhere sigh in our hearts to God and our desire of desires is: Lord, deliver us from evil; come, Lord Jesus, and take me from this evil world to yourself.
Oh, happy are we then! Then judgment day can come in the midst of eating and drinking, in wealth and honor, in earthly business and work, yes in joys and happiness, in days of festivities; it will not come upon us, as it does upon the world sunk in earthly things, like a thief in the night or like a snare, but as a long-awaited and hoped for redemption from this perishableness and as a glorious installation into immortal life. Oh, how happy a Christian is! He is in this world but not of it; he uses the world, but he does not abuse it; with the body he lives in the world, but his mind is directed toward heaven, from which he awaits his Savior Jesus Christ; therefore, he will not be condemned with the world.
II.
The apostle gives Christians a second admonition because of the imminent end of the world: " Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging." Vv.8.9.
According to the prophecy of our Lord, the nearer the end of all things comes, the greater also shall be temporal and spiritual distress, especially among Christians. Christians will be hated, rejected, excluded, and forsaken by the world; ever more will they be exposed to misery and their rights denied them; there will be one persecution after the other; Satan will summon all his hellish powers to plague and torment Christians because he knows that he has little time. More and more false Christs will arise; temptations will become greater and greater and the seductions to error and sin will be more and more dangerous, so that even the elect would be misled into error (if this were, possible); God's pure Word will become more and more precious and the true worship less and less; in the last times even Christians will become extremely weak and frail, so that Christ even asks: "Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" Lk 18,8. How necessary therefore mutual brotherly love will be in the last times, so that Christians, oppressed on all sides by the world, at least do not forsake each other, but help one another, considering the weaknesses of both Christians.
If we compare our times with the above, can we deny that we find them in these descriptions? Where are the Christians who do not have to complain about misery, wretchedness, and distress of all kinds? Isn’t the world living sumptuously and joyously while poor Lazarus, the Christian, lies before it doors and must live by their grace? Does not universal sighing in poverty, need, and misery arise from the whole, small, oppressed, scattered flock of Christ? And where can one confess Christ without hatred and persecution arising? Must not Christians think themselves fortunate, if they are not driven array but are permitted to eat the crumbs which fall from the tables of the gluttons?
But is not the most frightful thing the spiritual distress in which Christians today languish? How precious God's Word is today! How few they are who have a good knowledge, a rich knowledge of it! Are not all merely children in the faith? Where are the fathers in Christ? where good leaders? Alas, if Christians think they have found such they are almost always wolves in sheep's clothing. How powerful today are the prevailing errors! How countless the false prophets, who have gone out, that, if it were possible, they would mislead the very elect into error! How difficult, how inexpressibly difficult, it is now for those who are in earnest about not departing to the right or left to remain in the faith! How many there are now, who, although they have God's Word, read the sweet Gospel, are nevertheless almost always wrestling with unrest, anxiety, uncertainty, yes, with despair! How many have fallen away after they have for a short time run an excellent race on the way of life! Oh, the unmentionable wretchedness of our times! Oh, the great distress of this last world!
God knew all this in advance; that is why the Holy Ghost moved the apostles to cry to the Christians who would live at the end of all things: " Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves." May this be said to us in these last evil times! Oh, Christians who see and feel your common misery and who are more and more forsaken by the world, do not forsake each other; extend a helpful hand; do not close your heart to your poor brother; do not become tired of giving; visit each other in tribulation and comfort each other; let no brother or sister in Christ sigh and complain to God in silence that they are not esteemed but are forsaken even by Christians; let your love be seen not only in friendly faces and comforting words, but also in helpful deeds; pray God that he kindle in you real " fervent love."
Alas, Christ has predicted that in the last times unrighteousness will gain control and therefore the love of many will grow cold. Oh my dear Christians, do not let this word become true in you! Show your love also in the spiritual misery in which we are now. Have patience with one another! Do not despise the weak but receive them; do not reject the fallen but lift them up again; the deeper their fall the greater is the pity you should show them, for their distress is so much the greater; do not consider them your enemies, but admonish them like brethren; with a gentle spirit come to the aid of the erring also; do not reveal the sins of your brethren and sister but without shaming them quietly try to heal the wounds of their souls; cover the sins of your neighbor, " for," says the apostle in our text, " charity shall cover the multitude of sins." With the measure with which you measure out it shall be measured to you again. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Judge not, and you shall not be judged; condemn not and you Shall not be condemned. Behold, the Judge stands before the door; soon we will all stand before his judgment throne.
III.
The apostle adds a third and last admonition for the Christians of the
last Limes: " As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God, If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth; that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." Vv, 10. 11. Here Christians, in view of the imminent end of all things, are admonished to be faithful in the use of their gifts and in the works of their calling.
Even this admonition is especially necessary in these last times. As soon as a person perceives that the end of all things is near, the temptation to despair of being able to make, save, and build something is also present. Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians, as well as church history, furnishes us with sad examples of those, who in the belief that judgment day was near, left their calling, did not work any more, were busybodies, and only afterwards thought of how they could prepare themselves and deliver their souls; they considered their gifts useless and supposed that everything was lost; the visible church was gone; to want to build now was to fight against God, for God had decided to reduce everything to ruins; nothing more remained but for God to appear with fire to take vengeance upon those who were not obedient to the Gospel. So they thought.
But our text says, that such thoughts are wrong. Oh, no, my dear Christians, God has not revealed the wretchedness of the last times to you that you should make it worse or even dejectedly and faint-heartedly be idle. God's threats will be fulfilled without your help. But know, on the other hand, that the abomination of desolation in the last times is revealed to you that in these times when everything seems to be lost, you according to the ability you have received, are to help along in rescuing what can still be rescued and preserve what can be preserved. Oh, cheerfully help rebuild the fallen wall of the Church wherever God gives you the opportunity! You will not be struggling against God but for God. You are battling against God only if you want to help rebuild false things. For why has not judgment day come long ago? Because, as Peter writes in his second letter, God is patient with men and does not want anyone to be lost but that everyone should repent. For that reason he does not want to come with his frightful judgment until the very last person who can still be saved will be saved.
" As every man hath received the gift," the apostle therefore says, " even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." V.10. Perhaps that is why the gift of a good knowledge has been given you in these dark days; do not keep it to yourselves; share it with your poor fellow Christians; teach and instruct the ignorant by virtue of your spiritual priesthood, whenever God gives you the opportunity. If you have the gift of explaining Scripture, then open the Scriptures to your brethren; if you have the gift of comforting people, seek out the troubled, the sorrowful, the sick, the dying and support them; if you have the gift of shutting the mouth of the gainsayer, do not remain quiet as a good soldier of the truth. Never forget the warning of the apostle: " If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." V. 11a. Woe to him who utters his own thoughts, prudence, and wisdom instead of God's Word! If you have the gift of ruling, do not withdraw your counsel from the Christian congregation; if you have the gift of reconciling those who are quarreling, help heal the breach.
If you think that you have absolutely no gift, then bear in mind that if you believe in Christ, you as a member of the body of Jesus Christ certainly have your gift for the common good; if you believe that you can not uncover any gift in you, at any rate you have the gift of offering a prayer in the name of Jesus which will be heard; then pray in the quiet of your chamber for your brother, for the preservation of the Word and the Holy Sacraments; with your
sighs stand in the gap, make yourself a wall against the spreading corruption; then in the last times, when all corners of the earth are filled with a curse, you will be a great blessing which only eternity will reveal.
Therefore my friends, though we may from day to day become more and more certain that the day of the Lord, when he will destroy all the works of men, is constantly coming closer, let us not for that reason step back, nor forsake our calling, but stand firmly where God has placed us. Our text tells us that though things may seem wretched in the last times, the ministry of the Church will not cease completely; the admonition: " If any man minister, let him do it
as of the ability which God giveth." applies to these last times. For hundreds of years the oppressed Church cried to God;
In these last days of sore distress
Grant us, death Lord, true steadfastness
That pure we keep, till life is spent,
Thy holy Word and Sacrament, (292,2)
and God will certainly grant this prayer. Let every one therefore remain in his calling wherein he has been called, and help wherever he is able; of course, he should not do all this by his own power, but with " the ability which God giveth;" then will also take place what the apostle adds: " That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.