3RD SUNDAY IN LENT

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

Dear friends in Christ Jesus!

In the New Testament, Christians are more often and urgently admonished to remain faithful and are warned more against apostasy than anything else. And so we read,."He that endureth to the end shall be saved." Mt 10:22. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Rev 2:10. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Gal 5:1. "Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward." 2 Jn 8, "Continue thou in the things which thou has learned."

2 Tim 3:14. "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." Rev.3:11.

Would to God that one could shout all this aloud to present day Christians! But sad to say, the way things stand with most of the baptized of today, one cannot admonish them to persevere in the faith until the end; for how can he persevere who has not even begun to believe? How can one admonish him to remain faithful to Christ until death, who does not even side with Christ nor carry on his warfare under the banner of his cross? How can one encourage him not to lose again the things which he has wrought, who has not even sought and found the one thing which is needful? How can one call upon him to hold fast to the crown and not fall from grace, who is not even adorned with the crown of a true Christian nor does not stand under God's grace? One cannot cry out to most Christians, Do not fall away! but; Arise from your fall; return to the truth which you have forsaken; return to Christ whom you have left; seek again the grace which you have lost!

If you compare the life of most present-day Christians with the descriptions which God's Word gives of pardoned Christians, you will discover that matters stand far differently with the majority and that most are certainly going the wrong way which never can lead to heaven.

According to God* s Word a true Christian seeks his comfort in Christ; a true Christian will never again be ruled by his own spirit but by the Spirit of grace, the Holy Spirit; a true Christian considers the divine truth more precious than gold and pearls, more dear than the whole world, and will struggle for it until death; a true Christian has an inner love for all his fellow-redeemed, even his enemies, but especially for his brethren in the faith; not only does he rejoice with those who do rejoice but he also weeps with those who weep and gladly helps them with all which lies in his powers; a true Christian is, moreover, poor in spirit, humble over against God and men, and, therefore, gladly reckons himself among the lowly; a true Christian is afraid of sin, battles against it, does not excuse himself, and daily cleanses himself of sin in the blood of the reconciliation; a true Christian no longer has any pleasure in the vanity of the world, does not seek for good days for his flesh, and gladly becomes like Christ also in his suffering and humiliation; finally, a true Christian has a deep trust in the care of his heavenly Father and, therefore, in faith casts even all his earthly cares into the lap of his dear Father.

Now tell me, where do we find such Christians? Alas, the Lord must now complain about all Christendom as he did about the congregation at Ephesus, "Thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Rev 2:4b.5. Yes, my dear friends, though there are many who once were received into God's covenant of grace through Baptism and were reborn, most have nevertheless fallen away, forsaken God1s covenant, and lost the grace of the rebirth. Permit me today to speak to you a bit more on how this tragic apostasy generally takes place in order to warn, admonish, and encourage all of you.

The text. Luke 11:14-28.

We hear that when Christ had driven out a devil, a few of the Pharisees made the blasphemous statement, "He casteth our devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils." V. 15. Christ then showed them first of all how he destroys the kingdom of the devil in mankind and thus does not become his friend but the devil's mightiest foe and conqueror. Toward the close Christ shows how

it often happens that Satan is driven from a person but returns with seven spirits more wicked than himself, if the person falls away and again makes room for the devil in his heart.

On the basis of the last portion of Christ's words I will speak to you on

THE TRAGIC FALL FROM FAITH

I. How that Happens, and

II. Its Tragic Results.

O Lord Jesus Christ, you have died for all sinners and paid dearly with your blood that they may all be your sheep. You not only pasture those who already know that you are their Shepherd, but diligently and anxiously search also for those who have lost you and are on the wrong road. Oh, go after all your lost sheep among us and let the preaching of the Gospel be your voice which calls out to them, Return! Let this voice penetrate their heart so that it is divinely moved to seek you their Good Shepherd this very hour. And then, then, keep them in your flock until you will have gathered us all in your heavenly fold. Amen.

I.

Christ says in our Gospel, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he waIketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out." V. 24. With these words the Lord means to say: When a person is torn from the spiritual power of Satan and is received into Christ's kingdom of grace through faith, Satan does not give up the hope of misleading such a person and deceiving him in regard to his salvation; no, he wanders through dry places, that is, he works in the hearts of unbelievers who are already blinded; but Satan does not find a pleasing dwelling place in these hearts; they are like desert places; he yearns to be back again in the fresh heart of him who has taken Christ into his heart. The evil spirit, as .we might say, finds more enjoyment in making only one true Christian fall away from Christ than leading a thousand secure sinners around by the nose. Day and night he, therefore, si inks after the true Christian in all he does and waits for a suitable moment when he can seat himself upon the throne of a Christian1s soul and cause him to fall.

When the Lord continues and says, "And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished," v.25, he indicates how it is possible for those who are in grace to fall again into God's disfavor, into blindness and sin; this happens when a believer does not lock his heart any more against Satan, yes, as it were, has swept it and decorated it, that is, prepares it so that the evil spirit again finds the door willingly open to receive it as a desirable guest. So we see: No one can be forcibly removed from grace who has Christ in his heart, for Christ is stronger than anyone; nothing can tear us out of his hand; he makes those who believe in him so powerful that through him they are able to do everything; if they are again conquered, they themselves are at fault.

If you, therefore, ask how then the tragic fall from grace takes place, if you ask: How is it possible that a person who is on the blessed road to heaven can again leave it? and that he who has found salvation can again let go of and lose it? I will answer this question.

There is only one way to come to faith but a thousand by-ways by which one can again leave it. Many lose God's grace by gradually, slowly falling away,

as seems to have happened to the traitor Judas. Others, on the other hand, fall suddenly, as David did through adultery and Peter by his denial. Many do not know that they have fallen as the bishop of Laodicea to whom Christ had to say, "Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Rev 3:17. Others, on the other hand, know very well that they have fallen, as Cain; therefore, they often in the end fall into despair. Many fall away openly so that everyone can see it; they not only lose their living faith from their hearts but also desert publicly to the heterodox or as Demas to the world; from orthodox Christians they turn into enthusiasts, from confessors of the pure doctrine to tools of the antichrist Of to blasphemers, mockers, and persecutors. Others, on the other hand, fall only inwardly; they remain in outward communion with Christians; they still go to church and the Lord's Table; they always speak of divine things as if they were the best Christians, as the apostle sums it up, they keep the appearance of a godly life but deny the power thereof, as the bishop of Sardis to whom Christ commanded that it be said, "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." Rev 3:1. Many fall so that they become most light-hearted, yes, wicked, and like the most unclean of animals roll about again in the filth of every sin; others, on the other hand, so fall away that they lose only the willing, joyful heart of doing good, the true evangelical spirit, and fall into a troubled striving to fulfil the Law.

So you see, my friends, that falling from grace occurs in very many different ways; therefore, a most earnest examination is necessary to see whether one is still standing; even though you may not have fallen the way this or that one did, you may have nevertheless fallen but in a different way; if not suddenly, then perhaps gradually? if not consciously, perhaps imperceptibly? if not outwardly, perhaps inwardly? if not in a gross, perhaps in a subtle way? Alas, how many place their hand to the plow and look back again! how many begin in the Spirit and end in the flesh! how many leave the Egypt of this world, go along through the Red Sea of the first temptations and then at last yearn again for the flesh pot's of Egypt, perish in the wilderness, and never reach the heavenly Canaan!

How does Satan begin to entice a person, who has found his rest in Christ and his Gospel, out of his fortress and rob him of his crown? In order to achieve this, the tempter employs chiefly two ways; either he tries to get the person to follow wilfully errors dangerous to his soul, or to hurl him into sins against his conscience.

It is, of course, true that not every error into which a Christian falls will immediately subvert his state of grace; but every error is nevertheless a poison for the soul which threatens it with death; whoever knowingly and wantonly perseveres in an error suffers shipwreck of his faith just as well as he who sins wilfully. Faith has indeed no other foundation than God's Word; how can true faith, therefore, remain in a person who knowingly leaves God's Word? How can love to God remain where the love of God's revealed truth or the pure doctrine is lost? The entire Christianity of a person who ceases to be particular about every word of Scripture is no longer built upon the Word but upon his deceitful heart.

The Galatians are a remarkable example of how the best Christians can be brought to fall from grace by false doctrine; after Paul went away, they listened to false teachers and were misled only on the doctrine of justification. Finally, the apostle had to cry out to them, "Though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Gal 1:8. "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?" Gal 3:1. "Christ is become of no effect unto

you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law; ye are fallen from grace." Gal 5:4. "Ye did run well; who did hinder you?" Gal 5:7. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Gal 5:9. "He that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be." Gal 5:10.

We see that we cannot joke with false doctrine; swerving just a little from the truth can cause us to lose our soul and salvation. That is why Satan often makes the Christians eager to read false books, to hear false preaching, and to fraternize with false brethren; if at first he succeeds in making a person indifferent to the truth, he in the end succeeds in making him uncertain even in the most important teachings and converts his divine faith into a human one; for if faith is no longer founded alone upon God's Word, then faith is only a pretense by which one is lost. That is why we are so often admonished to remain with Christ's words, to hold fast the faithful Word, to be on guard against false prophets and not to believe every spirit but to test the spirits whether they are from God. Why are all these admonitions given if false doctrine were not so ruinous and dangerous to our souls?

Another way by which Satan seeks to hurl Christians from grace is either by suddenly pushing them into great sin or by gradually bringing them under the dominion of sin again; he uses chiefly three sins, either pride, or lust, or greed. Many stop watching over their heart; pride arises, they lose their poverty of spirit and humble mind by which they consider themselves as nothing and exalted over no person; self-righteously they ponder upon what they do; they become puffed up over their knowledge; they forsake their simplicity, they search minutely into high things and in so doing forget the main thing; they lose the knowledge of themselves, they become blind and dogmatic, they do not want to be reprimanded, finally, they excuse all their sins, and thus fall from grace, often without knowing it; they still speak of believing in Christ but their hardened heart knows nothing about it.

Others do not watch over their flesh, they again begin to nourish it and seek good days in this world; they become indolent in prayer, in reading and hearing God's Word; they hit upon the thought: Since man is never able to merit anything by his works, why is it necessary to deny oneself so earnestly? they, therefore, begin again to take part in the pleasures of the world and act like the world and call that Christian freedom; in order to evade the mockery of the world they repeatedly deny Christ and his truth and call this Christian wisdom, and before they can think they have in this way become just like a child of the world who keeps nothing but a few Christian phrases.

Others fall from grace by a love of worldly things and a false trust in them. At first as true Christians they consider all worldly things as nothing but they perhaps are blessed with temporal things; instead of using them only for helping their poor brethren in every possible way and bringing an offering for church and school, they cling to it with their heart; they become constantly more greedy of getting more, their planning grows constantly bigger, they always invest their capital in new undertakings so that they have an excuse, if they are to help a poor person who is in trouble, of no money; the more they scrape together the more stingy and greedy they become instead of more generous, and thus they lose Christ; finally in the depths of their heart they say to that lump of gold, My comfort! On the other hand, others whom God has not blessed with temporal things but to whom he sends worry and want often cast aside all trust in God, sink into the sorrow of this world and thus finally fall into death and damnation.

You see, that is the way one erases his name from the book of life by himself; that is the way one turns from being a child of grace into a child of

wrath and imperceptibly leaves the invisible kingdom of Jesus Christ, the King of grace and becomes a slave of Satan, the prince of darkness.

II.

Permit me to add a few words concerning the tragic results of such a fall from grace. Christ describes it in our text thus: "Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven more spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." V. 26. Christ tells us that whoever falls from grace loses not only the grace he received but also falls into a ruin which is seven times greater than that in which he lay before his conversion.

Of a truth, that is terrible. But daily experience confirms it. If a person has known the truth in the past and falls away, if he lets error deceive him, if he falls from the true orthodox church and goes to a heterodox, enthusiastic sect or even to the antichristian papacy, then such a person is a more bitter foe of the truth than all those who grew up in error. Seven devils enter into the soul of such an apostate, when before, ere he knew the truth, only one evil spirit ruled his soul. There is more hope that the greatest mocker, who was brought up in unbelief from his youth, on, will finally come to the knowledge of the truth than that such a denier of what he knew to be the truth should again be enlightened and converted. A sevenfold darkness covers his wretched soul and the evil foe already rejoices that he will never again find grace. History gives us enough frightful examples of how deliberate deniers of the truth finally were awakened but in despair had no comfort. Oh, how necessary it is to watch one's heart, that one is not infected by the pestilence of heresy and unbelief, but remains in the clear knowledge of the saving truth!

The results are the same with those who. fall from grace by sinning against their conscience. It is easier for the most godless child of the world to be awakened from his sleep of sin and be converted than for a Christian, who has driven the spirit of grace from himself and become a fallen secret hypocrite or a known despiser of Christ and his Gospel, to return to communion with Christ. Either such a person is in such great blindness that he still considers himself converted, or he despairs completely of receiving help, or finally he maliciously tramples the blood of the reconciliation under foot and reviles the Spirit of grace so that he can longer be renewed. Therefore, such are called in Holy Scripture withered, twice dead trees which will hardly become green and produce fruit but are ready for the eternal fires; and St. Peter utters this important warning, "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been' better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." 2 Peter 2:20,21.

Who, therefore, is able to describe the misery, the misfortune, the wretchedness into which he hurls himself who, casts away the. treasure, whether it be through error or through sin, which he once had seized! They deserved to be mourned over! Their fall is the more lamentable the less they know and are concerned about it.

Well, now, my friends, today I have held up before you a clear mirror in which those, if they do not wilfully close their own eyes, certainly will find their picture who either have fallen or have never arisen.

Oh, you that are convinced of your secret or known fall, I ask you: Do you not want to arise again? do you not want to return? Once again Jesus Christ calls out to you through the preaching of his Gospel to return to him; do not delay one second; the danger to your soul grows mightily from hour to hour like the waters of a flood. Do not go farther and farther away Until you perhaps no longer hear Christ's call of grace. But do not suppose that it is too late; no, only Satan whispers that to you, after he has hurled you into error or sin; do not let yourselves be bound by the cords of despair; ' tear them by the grace which is even now being told to you. Christ has received gifts also for those who are rebellious, also for you. Groan with David and weep with Peter and you also will join them in finding grace again. If it is difficult for one who has fallen to rise again, it is nevertheless easy if he merely accepts grace anew and quickly turns around, as the prodigal son, the moment he perceives his misery.

Say not: "My sins are far too great,

His mercy I have scorned and slighted,

Now my repentance is too late;

I came not when his love invited."

Oh trembling sinner, have no fear;

In penitence to Christ draw near.

Come now, though conscience still is chiding;

Accept his mercy, e'er abiding.

Come; blest are they who this believe:

My Savior sinners - oh all rejoice -

My Savior sinners doth receive. (386,4) Amen,