19TH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Dear friends in Christ Jesus.

Without a doubt the most miserable and unhappy people are those who still do not have forgiveness of sins, even though in earthly things they may be poor or rich, beggar or king, or live in temporal distress or earthly glory. If a person's sins are unforgiven, he is still under the authority of darkness and excluded from the blessed kingdom of the great God. Because of his unforgiven sins he is still at war with God; he is God's enemy and God is his enemy. The holy angels, therefore, abominate him; in horror they view him as the adversary of the Most Holy whom in deepest respect they serve with eternal praise and rejoicing. If his sins are unforgiven, God's wrath still rests upon him; do what he will, God hates it; not only do his manifest sins but also his seemingly good works offend God; yes, upon everything which he undertakes, upon his coming in and his going out, upon his works and his rest, upon his sleeping and waking, upon his eating and drinking, upon his joys and sorrows, rests God's curse. His hope for another better life in eternity is an empty dream; day and night, in body and soul, he stands at the brink of a frightful abyss, into which at his death he must fall and, eternally separated from God, in which he must perish body and soul.

The saddest thing in this connection is that those whose sins are unforgiven usually do not recognize their dreadful condition, their misery, their unhappiness; they have the delusion that all is well, everything is peaceful, and there is. no danger. They are unhappy and deem themselves happy; they are under God's wrath and. they suppose that they in God's favor; they are excluded from God's kingdom and with assurance hope of eternal salvation.

Accordingly, what can be more important and necessary than that everyone should earnestly examine himself to see whether he has received forgiveness of sins or not, and, if he does not yet have this great blessing, to seek it with all earnestness? What deception can be more bitter than supposing that one has received forgiveness but in reality he has not? What can be more terrible than having God angry with us, while we believe we are sitting in his lap; what more horrible than being secure and carefree on this world where we are really living as God's foes and must in the world to come appear before his judgment throne as his enemies.

On the other hand, what person is more happy than he whose sins are forgiven? God is his friend; he, therefore, also has the holy angels as his loving and protecting companions and all of God's children as his brothers and sisters. Whatever he does, even the most insignificant thing, is pleasing to God. The curse is taken away from him and a blessing rests upon everything which he undertakes and meets. He can be of good cheer in poverty because he is rich in heavenly treasures; he can be of good cheer in tribulation because he knows that God sends him everything out of love alone and that everything must, therefore, work together for good; he can be good cheer even if all forsake him, yes, are hostile to him. God does not forsake him; if God is for him who can be against him? He can be confident in death itself; his death is but the narrow gate to a perfect life, for where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

My friends, if you compare the lot of those who have this treasure and those who do not, should you not all exclaim: Oh that my sins, were also forgiven! Certainly, all of you agree with me. Let us, therefore, today in heartfelt devotion learn from our Gospel what a man must do, in order that God will forgive him his sins also. God give us, etc.

The text. Matthew 9:1-8.

Upon the basis of this Gospel permit me to answer the question:

WHAT MUST A MAN DO SO THAT GOD WILL FORGIVE HIS SINS?

According to our text, I answer:

I. He Must Recognize that he can do Nothing to Merit His Forgiveness, but Receive it Alone out of Grace, and

II. He Must in Faith Cling to the Word, in Which God Promises him the Forgiveness of All his Sins.

God, "who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy!" Micah 7:18. Oh grant, that your amazing love to us sinners, your willingness to have mercy upon us and forgive us our sins, is not revealed in vain. Open the hearts of everyone of us, as once you did Lydia's, so that we permit ourselves to be led by your Word on the way of salvation, remain upon it, and in eternity enjoy your forgiving and blessed love and grace without end. Amen. Amen.

I.

"Son, be of good cheer." According to our text, that is the way Christ once spoke to a man sick of the palsy, to whom he wanted to give forgiveness of sins. Would Christ have spoken that way to him, if he would have been in good spirits, unconcerned about his sins, and supposed that he could have easily obtained and earned forgiveness himself? Certainly not. From Christ's words it follows logically that the man sick of the palsy had in the past been comfortless, full of anxiety and unrest on account of his sins, and must even have been, ignorant of how he could obtain forgiveness. From this example presented to us in Scripture we see that the first thing a person must do in order to receive the forgiveness of his sins is that he really recognize that he can do nothing to merit the forgiveness of his sins but can receive it alone by grace.

Yet most do not wish to enter through this narrow gate.

A large number of so-called Christians are never at all concerned about the forgiveness of their sins. Either they just do not believe in God, or they think: God is not at all concerned about man's little sins; or, He is too gracious to punish men on account of their failings and sins; or He punishes sin on this world; he does not let the affairs of the godless prosper to punish them, the virtuous and the upright, on the other hand,be blessed. Many are so blind that they suppose that they are not sinners. If one asks them, Do you hopeto be saved? they answer, Why, yes, who doesn't hope for that! If one continues and asks, Upon what do you base this hope? they reply, From my youth on I have been pious; I have never injured anyone; no one can honestly speak evil of me; I have not been like other people, a curser, Sabbath-breaker, robber, murderer, fornicator, adulterer, thief, perjurer, and the like; God has always been in my mind; I have prayed diligently, given alms to many poor, and kept the holy Ten Commandments to the best of my poor ability; I have not lived like many another. Why should I not be saved? However, there are others, who because of many sins are restless; they want to do something to have their sins, forgiven. What do they do? They want to pray away their sins; by certain good works, by keeping certain oaths, by bearing all manner of pain, and the like, they want to atone for them.

But my friends, all these are false ways, which never attain their purpose. Yes, by these ways God is more angered than reconciled; sins are multiplied and not forgiven. For is it not a sacrilege to demand from God the forgiveness of our sins as something he owes us, something he is in duty bound to give us? Should we not, give God all honor? should we not ascribe everything, which we are, and have, to God's goodness? Is it not terrible that a person is willing to admit that out of love God created him, out of love has given and preserved and provided for his body and soul, and then when it comes to the greatest of all treasures, the forgiveness of sins and salvation, wants to take the honor from God and ascribe it to himself? Woe to all such self-righteous! Their sins will be retained forever and ever.

No, if anyone wants to have forgiveness of sins, he must go a different way. Bear in mind that even if he were not a sinner, he could not humble himself deeply enough before the great holy God, for even though the angels did not fall, but remained in their implanted holiness, they nevertheless bow most deeply before God; they give him alone all honor; they know of nothing which they have deserved; they take everything as a gift of free mercy; they throw their crowns down before God's throne, cover their faces before God, and in reverential awe sing to him the trishagion. How much deeper must, therefore, man, the transgressor of the divine commands, the fallen creature, humble him-

self before God, if he seeks the forgiveness of his sins before the Most Holy God!

One does not merely humble himself by outward actions, for God sees the heart. It above all consists in honestly confessing his sins in their number, greatness, and seriousness, in seeing that he has deserved God's wrath and displeasure by them, and that nothing but grace can save him, nothing but God's free mercy. Whoever perceives that, so that he becomes comfortless as did the man sick of the palsy, that he must say with David, "Oh Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed; but thou, O Lord, how long?" Ps 6:1-3. "Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me." Ps 38:3b.4. "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord...If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." Ps 130:1,3,4. If anyone perceives his sins that way, that he says with Paul, "I am the chief of sinners," he has taken the first step in obtaining the forgiveness of his sins.

No person, however, can do that in himself! Only the Holy Spirit can humble him that, deeply, and He does that through God's Word. Whoever wishes to arrive at that state must sit down with God's Word, especially the Ten Commandments, and examine himself according to them, fall uροn his knees, and cry to God, Lord, open my heart and eyes, that I may see the' wonders of your Law and honestly confess my sins. If one does that, God will soon take pity on him and reveal his sinful life and heart so clearly to him, that he will become anxious for comfort.

This, however, does not dispose of the matter. Here knowledge of one's sins, and though it is connected with the deepest remorse, brings to no one the forgiveness of sins, "even though," as the hymn says, "he shed a sea of tears." The second thing which he, who wishes to have forgiveness of his sins, must do is that he holds fast in faith to the Word in which God promises all sinners forgiveness of their sins.

II.

If God had only the attribute of love, he could forgive the sins of everyone who humbled himself before him and desired forgiveness from his free love. God, however, is not only very love but also very righteousness and holiness. Since his righteousness and holiness absolutely demand the punishment of sin and payment of the debt, God cannot forgive anyone his sins merely because he humbly prays for it; for God would then cease being righteous' and holy; he would cease being God.

Nevertheless, God has done something, so that he could remain righteous and still forgive sins; he sent his dear Son into the word, let him become a man, and although he was without sin and not obligated to obey God's law, he made him subject to the Law, and gave him up into suffering and a bloody death. All this the Son of God did and suffered not for himself but for sinful mankind; for them he fulfilled the Law and thus won a righteousness which avails before God; for them he was punished and died and thus atoned for their sins. And all this God had recorded and preached to all men.

What must a person, therefore, do if he wants to receive forgiveness of his sins? He must accept what God announces and offers in his Word and cling to it, or in one word, he must believe it.

We see this clearly in the man sick of the palsy in our. text. He was comfortless; he perceived his sins, perceived them clearly; he knew of no other counsel or help; he considered himself a lost sinner; and yet he firmly believed that Christ would help him body and soul; for our text expressly states: Christ "saw their faith." namely, the faith of the man sick of the palsy and those who brought the man to him. And what did Christ do? Did he prescribe some work? Did he impose some penance upon him? Nothing of the kind. He merely said to him, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." What did the paralytic have to do in order to receive forgiveness? Nothing but accept and believe what Christ said to him.

Do you suppose, my friends, that indeed the paralytic needed nothing but faith in order to receive the forgiveness of sins, but Christ himself said to him, "Son, be of good cheer," etc. Do not say, Oh, yes, I would also believe this, if it would be said to me. No, bear in mind that Christ came into the world for all men; he atoned for the sins of all men through his suffering and death; he earned for all men a perfect righteousness by his obedience to the divine Law. This is now also told to all men. The Word of God is, therefore, a general absolution for all men; it says to all men, "Son, be of good cheer," etc., for Jesus is the Savior of all of you. And whenever a person is baptized whenever he partakes of Holy Communion, especially whenever he hears the absolution, then especially is he told, "You, you be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." What can and must a person then do in order to receive the forgiveness of his sins? He should accept the word which is preached to all men and thus also to him; he should trust it completely; he should believe it - that is the way he has what he seeks.

See, what a pleasant and easy way into heaven God has prepared for us! How Shall we escape if we neglect such great salvation? Is it not horrible if a person remains without forgiveness of sins, because he does not want to recognize his sins? because he does not want to experience divine sorrow? because he does not want to let himself be disturbed in his enjoyment of the world? because he does not want to let go of certain sins? because he does not want to embrace God's Word before the mocking world?

Oh, may none of us so burden himself. May everyone to whom the way to grace and forgiveness is shown also travel on this way; then here on earth we will walk in good cheer as God's children and in eternity be happy and blessed as God's heirs.

Jesus Christ, oh help us all! Amen. Amen.

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