The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 15, 2024Psalm 86; 1 Kings 17:17-24; Ephesians 3:13-21St. Luke 7:11-17
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Scriptures speak of three deaths
and in turn, our Lord, Jesus Christ, rescues from each of these deaths with
resurrection. First, there is temporal death. This is the separation of body
and soul. It is the death that we tend to think of, and fear, most. It is the
moment when the body ceases to breathe and the soul is separated for a time.
This death comes for all—believers and
unbelievers—on account of original sin and the sin which clings to the flesh. Until
Christ reveals Himself on the Last Day, everyone experiences temporal death.
However, for the unbeliever, this is a terrifying step into the unknown. It is
the closing of the eyes to this world and a frightful step into something of
which they cannot conceive.
For the Christian, temporal death is a
frightening thing until one realizes that Christ has made death a portal. His
death has removed the sting of death.[1]
We still endure death because of the corrupt nature of our flesh, wrought by
sin. This corruptible must put on the incorruptible; the dishonorable must put
on the honorable; the weak and natural must put on the powerful and spiritual.[2]
We do not face death unknowingly. We know what lies on the other side of
temporal death. The holy angels descend to guide our soul to the bosom of
Abraham, that is, to the side of Christ.[3]
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has made temporal death a sleep for
those who die in Christ because “He who believes in Jesus, though he may
die, he shall life. And whoever lives and believes in Jesus shall never
die.”[4]
Secondly, there is spiritual death. Spiritual death is separation from God, when the unrepentant and unbelieving are alienated by willful sins from “the life which is of God.”[5] The prodigal son “was dead” in his sinning in the foreign land.[6] All are born dead in your trespasses.[7] Those who are alive in Christ, that is, who have an active and living faith, are still sinners and certainly still sin. However, their faith leads them to hate their sin and desire to be free from it. These holy ones, these Christians, are spiritually alive. Those who are spiritually dead are those who willfully sin against God. They are unrepentant and unbelieving. All mankind is born spiritually dead. We are not born ignorant of God or His holy law. We are born opposed to it; striving against it; and hating God.
And so long as we draw breath on this
side of glory, all Christians are tempted to such spiritual death. We are
tempted to willfully cast aside God’s Law and His Holy Gospel. We are tempted
to cast aside the Savior who bled and died for us. We are tempted to treat His
Holy sacrifice as cheap and turn instead toward the indulgence of our flesh.
Willful sinning is knowing what God’s Law is and choosing to do the
opposite—whether you think it doesn’t matter because “God will just forgive
you” or because you don’t believe God is serious. Such willful sinning leads to
unrepentance because it isn’t worth repenting of sin that you don’t take
seriously.
Finally, there is eternal death.
Eternal death is the death awaiting those who are spiritually dead. This is
eternal damnation, where the spiritually dead will be eternally separated from
God, who is life. This death has two parts. First, there is the suffering of
the soul immediately after death. Then, this suffering is intensified when, in
the resurrection of all the dead, those eternally damned souls are reunited
with their bodies to suffer for all eternity in body and soul.[8]
In Christ, there is life.[9]
This Life has promised to rescue in each of the three kinds of death. In Hosea
13, Jesus says, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I
will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I
will be your destruction!”[10]
He ransoms, rescues, redeems in the three kinds of death by means of giving
life, that is, through resurrection.
Scripture is quite clear that temporal
death is the least of the deaths in that it is temporary for everyone. It is
still a consequence of sin, but it is the least deadly. Christ’s rescue from
temporal death is the physical resurrection of all flesh on the last day. All
who are in their graves “…will hear the voice of the Son of God…and come
forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have
done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”[11]
Also, to combat this temporal death,
Jesus has given His Word, the words of Holy Scripture. These words are given to
be used during this temporal life for the instruction, rebuke, warning,
exhortation, and consolation of man.[12]
These words prepare the soul for temporal death, that the hour of death might
be met in peace and joy, strengthened by the Holy Spirit by the Word of God.
From the second death, spiritual death, by which the unrepentant and unbelieving are separated by willful sins from the life found in God alone, we are also rescued by Christ. Because we are born in our sin, we are sinners by birth, and original sin clings to our flesh, we are as good as the dead young man in the reading. He didn’t cry out to Jesus for help. He didn’t accept Jesus into his heart. He didn’t choose Jesus over other gods. Such acts of man’s will to turn toward God are the teaching of the Arminian churches, such as the Methodist Church. They teach that man is born with the power to choose God for Himself. That man was never truly dead in trespasses and sins, only seriously ill. But the Scriptures are clear. The young man of Nain was dead; dead in his trespasses and sins, just as everyone is born spiritually dead and incapable of acting, willing, or choosing to be saved.
The faith given to man is absolutely
God’s work alone, just as the resurrection of this young man was the work of
Jesus Christ alone. His physical resurrection is a picture of your spiritual
resurrection. Just as the young man is raised by the words of Jesus, “Young
man, I say to you, arise,” so too your faith is given to you by the Word of
God. God works through the means of His Words and those words combined with
physical elements in the Holy Sacraments to work faith in you. This faith then
receives and clings to the forgiveness won by Jesus Christ on the cross.
This faith receives the benefit of the
action of Jesus to deliver you from spiritual death. His death paid the penalty
that you owed to God for your state as a sinner. Before you ever took a sinful
thought, word, or deed, you had already willfully turned your back on God. Your
soul was already spiritually dead and turned against God. The penalty for this
sin is death and it is this penalty that the death of Jesus has paid. And so,
the resurrection of your soul from spiritual death is entirely the work of God
so that you would receive the benefit of the broken and shed Body and Blood of
Jesus.
Spiritual death is perhaps the most
concerning of the three deaths because it is like a ticking time-bomb. All men
are born spiritually dead. Once you experience temporal death, the opportunity
for the Word of God to work in your heart has ended and your eternal fate is
decided. It is during your temporal life, during your life on this side of
glory that the Word of God has the opportunity to work faith in you as well as
for you to willfully turn your back on God and return to the filth of your sin.
That is why it is essential to be in church every Sunday and every opportunity throughout
the week; to read the bible every day; to begin and end each day with the Word
of God and prayer; and to focus your life on Christ—that His death and
resurrection would be the most important thing in this world for you because it
is the most important thing in this world and the next.
Our Lord has also delivered us from the
third death, eternal death. He has done this by providing everything we need to
endure in the faith until the last day. He died to pay the penalty of our sins,
but He rose the third day that we might have life and life to the fullest. He
rose for our justification, that we would be declared righteous before the
Father.[13]
Our penalty is paid, and we are made sons of the heavenly Father, sons who will
inherit His everlasting kingdom.[14]
This is yours by faith, for it is a promise that you cannot see at this time.
It is a promise made by God to all who believe, who hold the faith once
delivered by the Holy Spirit and preached week in and week out from this
pulpit.[15]
Christ rescues from eternal death by
means of resurrection to eternal life. In the resurrection on the last day, you
will not be tempted to sin. You will not be inclined toward sin. You won’t even
be interested in sin. If that were the case, then it wouldn’t be eternal life.
It would be temporary life. Eternal life means you are free from sin in every
way. You will not endure sin and you won’t win. Rather, you will be in perfect
bliss to enjoy the glory of God in a way not even the angels have been given to
understand. You will be in perfect bliss with all the saints who have gone
before and who are yet to be baptized. You will know God and see Him with your
own eyes.[16]
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
[1]
1 Corinthians 15:55.
[2]
1 Corinthians 15:42-44.
[3]
St. Luke 16:22; 23:43.
[4]
St. John 11:25-26.
[5]
Ephesians 4:18.
[6]
St. Luke 15:32.
[7]
Colossians 2:13.
[8]
St. John 5:25-29.
[9]
Colossians 3:4; St. John 1:4.
[10]
Hosea 13:14.
[11]
St. John 5:25-29.
[12]
2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 15:4.
[13]
Romans 4:25.
[14]
Galatians 3:7, 26; 4:1-7; Ephesians 1:5.
[15]
Jude 1:3.
[16]
Job 19:27.
