July 09, 2017
Trinity 4
Luke 6:36-42


In Name of the + Jesus. Amen.
“The distinction between law and Gospel is an especially brilliant light which serves the purpose that the Word of God may be rightly divided and the writings of the holy prophets and apostles may be explained and understood correctly. We must therefore observe this distinction with particular diligence lest we confuse the two doctrines and change the Gospel into law. This would darken the merit of Christ and rob disturbed consciences of the comfort which they would otherwise have in the holy Gospel when it is preached purely and without admixture, for by it Christians can support themselves in their greatest temptations against the terrors of the law.” (Formula of Concord, Article V.1)
“Become merciful.” Is this a statement of Law or Gospel? I’ll give you a grammatical hint: it’s imperative, that is, a command, and belongs to the Law. So, also, “Judge not…condemn not…forgive…give…” are all imperative. This is the Lord’s command for you, the sort of Christian instruction you so desire. Not merciful? Better change. Judgmental and condemning? Stop it. Unforgiving? Better start. Neglecting your neighbor and the offering plate? Shape up.
There you go. Now you have something to work on this week. And if you can’t get your act together, all your failures will come back to haunt you. If you keep up your unmerciful, judgmental, damning, unforgiving, miserly behavior, don’t be surprised when others treat you the same way. But worse than that, fail to live up to this standard in any way and in any of its detail and you’ll have damned yourself in eternity to hellfire.
And this alone, my friends, is not Christian preaching. We don’t need the Bible or Jesus to tell us to be merciful, colorblind, forgiving, or generous. We already know that’s how we should be in our hearts. And our hearts agree with the Buddha, Confucius, and the rest of the pagan pantheon of religious gurus. Only giving you something that you need to improve on, or work on, or strive for is not Christian preaching.
It is the preaching of the Law alone. It may be useful. It may be edifying. But it’s also always accusing. It always disturbs consciences. It always brings into doubt whether we are truly children of God and inheritors of heaven. This is because the imperative words do not and cannot give the power to accomplish them. And God does not give these imperative to show you what you can do, but instead what you absolutely cannot do.
The Father forces you to look at your life with consciences informed by His Word. Only then can you be truly honest and confess, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” The goal is to show you “the log that is in your own eye” and bring you to confess you’re absolutely powerless to remove it. The Law must reveal to you your great need before you might receive the remedy and answer. You are blinded by your sin and need your eyes opened by the good Surgeon. Blind men cannot lead blind men, without everyone falling into the pit of hell. You are blind and your Father comes today with healing.
What, then, is the good news? What is the Gospel that must be preached today, from this pulpit, and into your ears? You are not merciful, true. But your Father is merciful. That’s good news! You are judgmental, no doubt. But you will not be judged eternally despite it. Good news! You condemn and damn your neighbor. And yet, your Father will not damn you. More good news! You refuse to forgive but your Father never stops forgiving. Sweet news! You don’t give to help your neighbor in need or to support the work of the church as you should. And still, the Father never stops giving to you everything you need for your body and life. Sweet, good news!
Why would your heavenly Father do all this for you, when you don’t deserve any of it? Now that’s a good question. For God to act towards you precisely the opposite of what you deserve makes Him a crazy and unjust God.