2022-12-5 Vespers - The Contemporary Word of Scripture

 2022-12-5 Isaiah 11:1-12:6    2 Peter 2:1-22 

In the name of the Father, +Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Like many of you, I am often amazed by how current the ancient Scriptures are. We feel that with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Biblical writers are talking about our current age, not just their own. I observe that in his sermons on 2 Peter 2, Martin Luther thought the same thing.  Luther declared that the Apostle Peter must have been talking about the false doctrines and  corruption of the Pope and many of the clergy in his own time. And, five hundred years later, I am sitting in my study, translating what the Apostle Peter is saying into 21st century issues.  

In our own day, we can easily find preaching that bases your salvation on how moral of a life you lead. There is such a focus on doing good, that at the end of the day, that is all that matters to God and men. I have heard church people say such works-righteous things like, “I’m trying to make it into heaven.”  Then, outside the church sphere, there is the popular sentiment that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. If one is good or bad, it matters not, what they actually confess. 

In our own day, we can easily find people standing under the Christian flag who assert that God only cares about the soul, not the body.  The body is inconsequential.  The body dies and enters into dust.  What lives on is the spirit or the soul.  

In our own day, we can easily find religious leaders that deny the authority of Holy Scripture as the norm and source of our faith.  We can easily find pastors or Bishops that deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and, they also deny our own forthcoming resurrection and the judgment of God. They deny the limits of the human body and say that it may be used however we see fit.  They encourage us to follow the sensuous leading of our bodies. The mantra is “Love is all that matters.” Scripture that speaks against your preferred way of loving no longer applies. 

Yet, in the midst of this chaos of false doctrine and corruption of church and society, there are those who remain faithful to God and His Word. We must persist with faithful interpretation of Scripture and sound doctrine.  We persist in passing this onto the next generation. We welcome into our fellowship, those that the Holy Spirit is leading into faith.  We lift up the cross of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Lord. We have faith that he dies for our sakes on account of Christ and his cross and our heavenly Father declares us righteous. 

God desires that all people come to faith. The Holy Spirit seeks out the elect. He preserved Noah, and Lot. He called Saul into the Apostolic Ministry. He took away the Apostle Peter’s doubt. 

As we acknowledge the sin and corruption around us, some of it done in the name of God, we give thanks to God that He continues to be faithful to us.  I take comfort from the witness of Isaiah.  Because of what we see, we say, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. 

With joy we draw water from the wells of salvation that our God give us. 

In the name of the Father, +Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.