Month: April 2024

Real Assurance

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(1 John 3:18-24)

We are no strangers to pharmaceutical companies promoting the latest ground-breaking medication or treatment for everything under the sun in commercials filled with active people living their best lives filled with joyful smiles. Of course the commercials all end with the same disclaimer, listing every possible side-effect from those that are inconvenient up to and including some that may even be life-threatening. 

But perhaps what is more commonly overlooked is that oftentimes in the commercial, the intended results of the medication or treatment cannot make the reliable claim that it will work in all the people all of the time. Instead, the results are couched in language that indicates possibility without making promises. “Some participants experienced positive results.” “A certain percentage of those treated noticed a difference.” “Patients may respond well to the treatment.” Whatever the language, rarely is there a guarantee that something is effective all of the time. In fact, it isn’t just pharmaceutical companies; we’ve gotten used to products across the board the really do nothing more than offer the possibility of improvement in one way or another.

While that may be the new norm for a culture who is used to being marketed to nonstop, there’s one area that we cannot ever find peace in merely the possibility of or high percentages. We cannot rest easy unless nothing but a full guarantee is provided. Only REAL assurance will do. To what am I referring? Our status before God. 

John grabs our attention as those interested in this assurance with a phrase from our verses. He addresses how we can “set our hearts at rest in his presence” (v.19). That’s what we want! That’s what we’re after! The peace of mind of not having to worry if we should be stressed in his presence, but can be confident of rest in his presence. We don’t want guesses. Not wishful thinking. Not possibility. Just real assurance. And it’s found only in Christ.

Outside of Christianity, optimism and possibility are the best offers anyone will find. Like the pharmaceutical companies, the best other religions can offer is possibility if you’ve lived a good enough life or tried hard enough. Maybe a higher being or god will be satisfied enough. But only Christianity says that’s not good enough. You can be assured of being at peace with God. You can be confident that your soul has every reason to be at rest in his presence – because of Jesus Christ.

Now that we’re paying attention to John, we’re listening to what he says next to find out how our hearts can be at rest in his presence. He writes, “If our hearts condemn us” (v.20). Doesn’t that apply to us all? We all have or even right now are dealing with heart that condemns us.

And there are different reasons for that. If your heart condemns you, in many cases there is probably a reason why! You’ve probably done or thought or said something deserving of such condemnation! When we did something wrong, when we broke a rule, our conscience accuses us. We know we weren’t entirely truthful with our spouse, and so our heart condemns us. That’s what the conscience does.

But it’s not just always because we’ve done something wrong. Sometimes our hearts go over the top in tearing us down. They convict us with feelings of guilt. Feelings of shame. Feelings of inadequacy. Feelings of insecurity. They’re all there, sometimes justifiably; other times not. But while your heart doesn’t care why those feelings or emotions are there, it definitely will make sure that you’re aware of them. That’s what John meant by the phrase, “If our hearts condemn us” (v.20).

We show that we recognize when our hearts accuse and condemn us because we try to address it. I could try to pretend what I did wasn’t that bad – but my own heart won’t be fooled. I could try to rationalize my wrong to someone else, but I still know why I really did it. I could try to shift the blame entirely onto someone else, but it would still linger because that never entirely lets me off the hook. I can try to imagine that God doesn’t really exist or that there’s no such thing as sin or wrong doing, but there’s too much in the world that seems to indicate otherwise. If so many billions have been convinced that there is a God, can I really be so confident that they’re all wrong and I am in the very small minority who is right? No, there is nothing we can do to get to that place of having a heart that is free of self-condemnation. 

John had an answer for when our hearts condemn us, as he continued, “If our hearts condemn us we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (v.20). God knows everything. Wait, God knows everything??? How is that a comfort for when my heart condemns me? You mean I cannot hide from God what I think I can hide from my parent, my teacher, my spouse, my friend, anything that God doesn’t already know about? How terrifying! How is that a comfort that God knows everything?

Because God knows something else that is even more important that all the sin that we could never hide from him. He knows the solution to that sin because he himself is the solution to that sin. It was John who quoted Jesus in his Gospel with saying that very thing! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned…” (John 3:16-18). Whoever believes is not condemned. Believing in Jesus = no condemnation! I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of confident assurance I want before God! Jesus didn’t come into this world to condemn me but to rescue me.  

That’s why John emphasized the need for faith in Jesus in the verses from 1 John. He wants us to realize how and why we can actually be in a place of confidence before God where our hearts don’t actually condemn us. There is only one path that ends up in that place, and John highlights it in verse 23. “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ.” Believe in Jesus Christ, and you are no longer condemned. That’s his command. So if we think God is most concerned with how we live or how we behave, we’re missing what matters most: what we believe and who we believe in for our assurance. Believing in the Son means we have assurance that we do not stand condemned before God.

Imagine if you had that level of confidence in approaching your boss about a concern or a request. Imagine having that level of confidence about a tough conversation you need to have with your spouse. Imagine having that level of confidence with the officer approaching your driver’s side window who just pulled you over.

With God, you don’t have to imagine, you just believe, and it’s the reality! You know exactly where you stand before a holy and righteous God thorugh faith in Christ Jesus. And where you stand is “not condemned.”

Not condemned.

Living in this kind of real assurance of eternal life is also one of the most freeing things a person could ever experience. And what does it change us to do? “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth” (v.18). Real assurance means we can be real with others. There’s enough that’s fake in this world. There are enough pretenders. Yes, sometimes it’s us, too. We scroll past them on social media. We see them on the news. We get emails from them. We don’t need more artificial intelligence, but more real assurance. When we find that real assurance in Christ, we can then be real with others. Often times that means we can go beyond words, as John encourages us, and make a real difference with actions and truth.

To better appreciate what this means, let’s start by acknowledging how exceptional we are at manipulating words. For example, in an effort to soften the blow or avoid conflict or more pressure from someone else, even though we are virtually 100% committed to not following through or attending, we tell others we’ll try or see if we can make it work or get back to you. Be honest – those are empty words. They mean nothing and carry no weight, and we really only throw them around pretending we’ve let ourselves off the hook. We use verbal sleight of hand to avoid the words that would more accurately reflect what we actually mean.

Instead of all of that, we can be honest about what we really mean by speaking the truth. We can spend more time in action instead of a lot of mental time hiding our intentions or wishes with verbal camouflage. And where we struggle in any of these areas, let us take advantage of the added blessing that comes with the real assurance we have in Christ: the privilege of prayer.

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask…” (v.21-22). Because we have complete assurance of where we stand before God, we also have direct access to God, with the added promise that he will hear and answer our prayers. When we ask of God what God wants for us and others, he’ll grant it.

And guess what? God just made it clear what he wants for us and others: to love with actions and truth instead of words or speech. If that’s what God wants and our prayers are tied to making that happen, then count on God coming through. In other words, if you genuinely want to grow in loving others with real action and in truth instead of being fake or pretend, you need only to ask. The God who assures you that he hasn’t condemned you also assures you that he will complete your requests. Unlike the website that times out or the app that cannot complete the requested action, God hears – and answers – your prayers. Really.

That’s the blessing of real assurance. If you want it, stop paying attention to your heart. Don’t listen to it. Don’t follow it. Don’t let it guide you. God is greater than your heart, and he says what your heart can never know on its own: in Jesus Christ, you are not condemned. Believe it, it’s true. Then, go live in that truth by putting your faith and love into real action. 

Real Threats

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(1 John 4:1-6)

Whether you’re driving around a relatively new car or still chugging along in one that’s been around for a decade or two, chances are good that you’ve had the opportunity to become familiar with the dash board indicators that light up when something is wrong. When those light up, indicating that something has failed or needs maintenance, it’s probably best to schedule an appointment with the mechanic sooner rather than later. The mechanic can then run a diagnostic test to determine with more precision exactly what needs to be fixed. Then he can put together a plan and estimate to let you know how much he’s going to overcharge you to fix it 😁.

No matter how much you may dislike car trouble or dealing with mechanics, it would be foolish to ignore the warning and just keep driving your car. Doing so would likely cause more damage or could even end up leaving the vehicle unable to be driven. The indicators are there for a reason. They tell you something’s wrong so that it can be tested and fixed.

Car trouble is one thing. Spiritual trouble is quite another. Even in a worst-case scenario when it comes to your car, you could manage to get by without it for a time by depending on others.

But that’s not the case spiritually. The ramifications of spiritual trouble going unchecked or neglected are potentially eternal. So John provides us with a warning that is to be taken very seriously – and not to be avoided or put off the way we might an auto repair. “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (v.1). 

With he uses the word “spirits,” it might sound as if John’s writing belongs in a Halloween story involving ghosts and spooky things. However, that’s not the use of the word spirit that John is employing here. With that term he means to include any and all groups or individuals that claim any sort of religious responsibility or authority. Examples of this today could include the online promo for this conference or that webinar sponsored by such and such ministries. Or any book or devotional by an author with a faith-related theme or goal. Or a clip or YouTube Channel of someone preaching or teaching anything from Scripture. Any group or individual speaking on a biblical topic/theme is included with that term spirit.

Why does it matter that we test these spirits? Two reasons: 1) they aren’t all from God, and 2) there are “many false prophets.” 

There is a clear conclusion we need to draw about every spirit that is not from God. If a spirit is not from God, then where is it from? Don’t be fooled into thinking there is some wide range of answers to this question. There are no teachers in this category (those who are not from God) who are more harmless or less harmless than others. This isn’t a multiple choice question. If a teaching is not from God, then it is harmful, because it is from only one other place, from the one who opposes God: Satan. John later identifies this type of teaching as “the spirit of the antichrist” (v.3). 

And lest we think this might just be a case of a few bad apples ruining the whole bunch, John’s warning clarifies that there are “many false prophets [who have] gone out into the world” (v.1). What does that mean when it comes to the discernment we exercise in listening to other religious authors/teachers/singers/preachers? Perhaps a little more caution is in order. Maybe rather than simply presuming that we’re in safe waters every time the words “Christian/church/faith/pastor/etc.” are involved, our first step ought to be to exercise caution and tread lightly. 

While I was growing up in our WELS, it was generally frowned upon to read books or use materials that were not produced by our own WELS Northwestern Publishing House. While that sentiment isn’t as wide-spread today as it was then, the longer I’ve been in ministry, the better I understand the reason for that concern (especially given the circumstances of that time – our church body was navigating the waters of having officially declared ourselves to no longer be in fellowship with another Lutheran church body that had a different spirit about it than it had in the past when we shared a common blessed unity and fellowship for many decades). False prophets that stand in opposition to God are everywhere.

And if they are everywhere, that means you also have a responsibility to test me. Yes, I have been called by Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran to be a pastor, under shepherd to the Good Shepherd. Yes, I have received some of the best theological training available at our Martin Luther College and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Yes, I have twenty years of pastoral ministry under my belt this year. And yes… I am also capable of falling into the very category of spirits John is warning you about. So when he says to test the spirits, I must be included among them. 

But you might be feeling inadequate. After all, who are you to be qualified to do such a thing? That’s where you do well to follow the rest of the guidance John provides. “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (v.2-3).

There is a specific doctrinal teaching here, the incarnation, which refers to the Bible’s teaching that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. However, we are not doing a disservice to John’s words here to stretch that teaching to include anything and everything about Jesus Christ. If God in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ is the litmus test John wants us to use to identify real threats, then every teaching that pertains to Jesus Christ is fair game to help us expose threats. And by extension, since the whole reason we have the Bible is so that it can point us to Jesus, then all of Scripture is useful in helping us steer clear of those spirits that are not from God. 

It’s like pulling a thread on a sweater. It doesn’t matter where you pull the thread from. The sleeve. The collar. The front or back. The hem. Wherever you start to pull on that thread, eventually it will do damage to the whole sweater.

So it is with Scripture. Any attack on Scripture is an attack on Jesus. Therefore, any attack, any false teaching that is unchecked, will eventually undermine the whole point of the Bible – to show us our salvation in Jesus.

That is a tall order! There is so much contained in the Bible and so many different ways it could be twisted or maligned. How can we ever really know for sure if what we’re hearing or reading is true or false? 

You’re more qualified than you may know. If you’ve ever been to a professional theater production of a popular play or musical, you know what it means once the lights start to dim. It’s exciting because you know the show is about to start!

But did you ever stop to think why the lights are dimmed in a production like that? Wouldn’t more light – not less – enable everyone to better see everything that’s happening on the stage? One might think so.

However, depending on where everyone is seated in the audience, it’s not always easy to clearly see which actors are doing the speaking or singing. But when the lights are dimmed, it allows the spotlight to draw everyone’s attention to the appropriate actors carrying out the dialogue or song. The audience isn’t left scanning the stage to try and figure out which actor is speaking at any given time. The spotlight makes that obvious.

It’s also how we identify spirits that aren’t from God. When someone’s teaching, speaking, singing, preaching, etc. does not shine the spotlight on Jesus Christ, it is a different spirit. Take caution. Be aware. When the spotlight isn’t on Jesus, that ought to give us pause. 

And to be more precise, I don’t just mean paying lip service to Jesus, as if he gets a few mentions here and there. Specifically, I mean proclaiming the good news that Jesus Christ is our Savior from sin. He became man (here’s why the incarnation matters…) so that as one bound to the same law that we are all bound to, he could keep it perfectly for us. He became man so that he could die, and by his death on the cross suffer not only physical, but also the spiritual punishment our sins deserved. Though he himself was without sin, he took our sin upon himself so that real payment for sin could be offered up. And in this season of Easter, we celebrate that he really rose in that same physical body. That means that the payment for sin has been accepted by the Father and the sentence of eternal death has already been served for us. We have nothing to fear!

When that Jesus is not central to the message of anyone you are listening to, then it’s time to tune that message out. And whatever confidence we lack in being able to do so is restored to us through the Resurrection, which proves to us how powerful God is. Listen to John’s encouragement. “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood” (v.4-6). 

Our confidence comes in knowing that through Jesus Christ, God has overcome. He is greater than the evil one running roughshod over the world. That confidence allows John to implore his audience to keep listening to him. That isn’t arrogance on John’s part, but rather a confidence that his message is always going to be centered on Jesus Christ our Savior. 

As it will be here on this site and in my preaching. I know that because it is the promise I made (along with all pastors in our church body) when I was ordained into the pastoral ministry. We make a promise to remain faithful to the Scriptures and what they teach as confessed in our Book of Concord. That promise is no more and no less than faithfully preaching and teaching Jesus Christ lived, died, and risen as our Savior.

And I am confident that Jesus will continue to be my main message because here his sheep know his voice and long to hear it. Ears will perk up if some voice that does not belong to the Good Shepherd begins to be heard. So then, never tire of listening to the Good Shepherd’s voice. Hear it frequently, announcing your forgiveness in the absolution and Supper, and claiming you as his very own sheep through the water of baptism. For so long as you listen to his voice and believe it, you have nothing to fear.

Real Repentance

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(1 John 1:5-2:2)

Even if you didn’t have your special glasses to watch the solar eclipse, unless you live in a cave or under a rock, you surely heard about it or saw pictures of it online. People made plans to travel to other states to get the best possible experience with such a rare phenomenon. While California only had about 35% coverage, there were other states in the path of totality that were able to witness the sun being covered up entirely at different times of the day. 

It’s one thing for the sun to be blotted out momentarily to reveal an eerie darkness, but could you imagine if the world was like that all the time? I’m not just talking about the gray skies and gloom sometimes associated with the Pacific Northwest or the Midwest, but actual darkness because of a lack of light. Not only would our mental health be affected, but some of the very basic, fundamental errands and day-to-day activities would be much more difficult with less light.

It’s our own experiences with light and dark that help us relate to the distinction John is makes in the verses from 1 John, where he connects God with light and unbelieving sin with darkness.

What is it that bridges the gab between darkness and light? Repentance. Even though the word itself isn’t used in these verses from John, repentance is nonetheless described. The basic meaning of repentance is to turn around. The Bible uses the term in primarily two ways, which have been called the wide sense and the narrow sense.

At times when we hear Peter or Paul preaching, they exhort their hearers to repent and believe. That is the wide sense of repentance. It is another way of referring to a person coming to faith. When repentance happens in that sense, a person has been converted from unbelief to faith in Jesus as Savior.

The narrow sense of repentance is more specific. It refers to the recurring process that has been described as having three steps: 1) contrition (“sorrow”) that confesses sin, 2) faith that believes Jesus has forgiven that sin, and 3) a change of heart/mindset that seeks to struggle against that sin in the future and aims to overcome it.

For most of us reading this, repentance in the wide sense has probably already taken place – the Holy Spirit has converted us from the darkness of unbelief to the light of faith in Jesus. But repentance in the narrow sense will never stop taking place in our lives. It is an ongoing practice. That activity is both made possible by the resurrection of Jesus, which guarantees our forgiveness, and is fueled by it as well. We wish to remain in God’s light, and real repentance keeps us there. 

Why is repentance so important to John? Because it is essential to achieving one of his goals in writing this letter. He stated as clearly as it could possibly be stated in verse one of chapter two: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.” John wants what God wants: to put a stop to sinning. Here’s a question for you to wrestle with: do you want what John wants? Do you want what God wants? Do you want to stop sinning?

I assume that almost everyone reading this knows the answer to that question. Absolutely we are supposed to want to stop sinning! Duh! No brainer, right? 

Except that we aren’t made up of just a mind. We have hearts, too, and our hearts have this nasty tendency to reveal our true colors. Our hearts expose us. Our hearts convict us. Our hearts give away the truth that our lives are riddled with countless examples of times that our actions clearly demonstrated that we were not interested in putting a stop to sin. 

I know I shouldn’t do this or that… as I proceed to carry it out. I know exactly the circumstances, the scenario, the conditions, that lend themselves to engaging in this sin or that one, and I do nothing to safeguard against them. I spend more time thinking through how I will either hide or get away with a certain sin than I do battling against it. I slip back into the damnable lie that convinces me that because God is all-forgiving, I have nothing to fear, because an all-forgiving God has bound himself to forgive me no matter what, so I’m in the clear. Consider how much premeditation goes into our sinning and ask yourself if that’s a reflection of a genuine desire to stop.

Then consider the other end of the sin. It has already been committed. It is in the past. When we perform the postmortem, what do we see?

How do you respond when either your own conscience or another person calls out your sin? Do you remorsefully spill the beans and spiral into feelings of shame and regret because you can’t believe you did it yet again, even though you want so badly to stop? Hopefully that is our response at least some of the time!

But we also handle it another way. We deflect the accusation and with calculated precision detail all of the factors beyond our control that took place and led to the sin, masterfully attempting to shift the blame where we feel it really ought to be. We resort to personal attacks against the one who would have the gall to point out our sin. Maybe we just go with one of the oldest standbys of all: deny it. When you look at how you tend to respond to your sin being pointed out to you, is your response really a reflection of a genuine desire to stop – or just a genuine desire for the other person to stop accusing you?

How we love the darkness! How steeped in it we truly are! God help us! God save us! God rescue us from eternal darkness!

Good news – he has!

Listen again to John. “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1:5). In God alone is there not even the slightest speck of darkness! Only light! So if someone, if something is going to save us from the darkness, it can’t be ourselves or anyone else who is only steeped in darkness. No, it must be someone who is only light, one from whom light emanates. One who can overcome the darkness and not be overcome by it. 

Because that is what light does. Light exposes and dispels the darkness. It’s never the other way around. Darkness cannot cover or hide the light. We can wear a pair of sunglasses to protect us from the bright sun, but those sunglasses don’t actually lessen the light at all – the sun shines just as brightly whether we’re wearing them or not!

Sin puts up a wall of darkness between God and us, but his light still shines regardless. That light will expose the darkness of our sin, but darkness will never put out the light. Therefore, we need to confess that darkness of sin that separates us from his light so that we can be rejuvenated by it. How comforting! His light is always shining. We need only to remove the covering from our eyes. We need only to confess our sins and then we see the light again. 

That’s repentance. It calls out the darkness of sins and shows a much better way – the light of God, the forgiveness and grace that emanate only from him. That repentance is real because of the reality of the resurrection. Had the dead body of Jesus Christ remained in the tomb; had the stone remained intact to shut out the light and keep the tomb covered in the darkness of death and sin, then the light would have been snuffed out. Then darkness and the one who reigns in darkness would have been victorious. 

But Easter really happened! The Resurrection is real!

So then, is your repentance. We take our darkest sins to the source of all light and see what he does with them. Look at how many different ways John describes what God does with that sin! “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (v.7). “He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (v.9). “[Jesus Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (2:2). See what the Light does to the darkness of sin?!? Sin doesn’t stand a chance!

So let’s keep killing sin. Let’s repent – really. If sin is a part of our day-to-day lives – and it is! – then let’s also make repentance a part of our day-to-day lives. Whether it’s when you wake up every morning, go to bed at night, or as often as it might happen somewhere in-between, let’s be intentional and very conscious of killing our sin by repenting of it and letting the Light decimate it and destroy it, leaving nothing but purity and righteousness in its place.

When that becomes a regular part of our daily routine, the benefits are ongoing, because repentance rewires your heart. It just does.

It’s a terrible thing when a corrupt church or teacher twists the Bible to make forgiveness into some conditional arrangement wherein a person is only forgiven if certain stipulations are met. The rationale behind that foolishness is that if everyone is freely forgiven without any conditions or requirements, then people will just keep sinning and live however they want. 

But that reasoning sells grace and the power of the gospel too short. Instead, what happens when real repentance becomes a regular part of our daily routine is that it renews and rewires our hearts. The more the darkness is exposed, the less appeal and power it has. Instead, the light becomes far more attractive. Not sinning becomes a genuine desire. Walking in Jesus’ footsteps makes our heart sing. Blessing others through our obedience satisfies our hearts. Doing that which brings delight to God fills our hearts with joy. Living in the light and embracing the fellowship we have with not only the God who himself is light, but also others who walk in the light – that’s when we’ve arrived. That’s what matters. That’s the real deal. That’s real repentance. 

Real Fellowship

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(1 John 1:1-4)

It can feel a bit like a sucker punch when it happens. It can happen in a number of different ways, but somehow you discover that a friendship you share with someone doesn’t have the same level of closeness for the other person as it does for you. It may have became obvious that you were just being used as a means to an end when interaction in the friendship comes to a halt after they got what they wanted. Or something that you shared in confidence was shared with another person. Or you heard through the grapevine that this friend supposedly shared something rather negative about you with someone else.

It stings. It hurts to find out that a friendship or relationship with someone that you valued highly does not carry the same weight for them as you thought it did. 

While John doesn’t use the word “friendship” in these verses, his use of the word “fellowship” certainly includes the idea of it. Fellowship is often the term used to describe relationships that exist within the church of believers. However, there really is one fellowship, one friendship we have that matters more than all others – our relationship with God. In these verses John draws attention to both that special fellowship, as well as the fellowship with other believers which flows from that. 

He explains, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (v.3). The reality of Jesus’ Resurrection is that it cements the blessings of fellowship we share both with Christ and with his church, with all believers. Those bonds, those relationships and friendships, surpass all others, not only in their quality, but in their duration: they will be forever!

This blessing of fellowship that Christians share is vastly underrated and underutilized today. The way John speaks about it here directly dismisses today’s common take on religion/spirituality – one that has crept its way into Christianity, too – that one’s faith is only between God and that person. “I don’t need to belong to a church or attend one to have faith in God. I can feed my faith and grow in my faith on my own in so many ways nowadays. The significance and role of the church isn’t what it used to be. It just isn’t as necessary as it used to be.” That approach actually reveals a level of immaturity and misunderstanding, not to mention selfishness, when it comes to understanding church and fellowship. While it’s true that faith in Jesus is personal, it isn’t private, nor did God ever intend it to be.

John stated very clearly his purpose for passing on his eyewitness testimony, and it wasn’t only for others to be brought into fellowship with God, but also with God’s people: “…so that you also may have fellowship with us” (v.3). No one is ever just brought to faith in Jesus, but also into fellowship with believers. And that is God’s intent, since he uses fellowship to funnel his blessings to us – and through us to others!

Consider the imagery that the apostlePaul often refers to in his letters when talking about believers. When he writes about the different ways God has gifted individuals within the church, he likens it to a body (see Romans 12 & 1 Corinthians 12). A body has lots of different parts and unique responsibilities, but as each carries out its own unique task, the whole body ends up being served.

That picture of the body also captures the oneness, the unity, the fellowship within the church, which flows from the body being connected not only to all the respective parts, but also to Christ, the head. Without the head, the rest of the connections would be meaningless, because the body could not exist. But with Christ as the head, connected to the rest of the body, the body functions in harmony and with purpose. Each part is valued and appreciated, and each part carries out its work to serve the whole body, not just its own selfish purposes. It’s a beautiful thing – and it’s real. 

How can we be sure though? When we’ve been burned before by past relationships that still sting, how can we be sure it will be any different within the church? Because of the Resurrection. 

It’s understandable that we may not get it at first. Neither did Thomas. Thomas was not with the disciples that Easter evening when Jesus appeared to them. The reports of Jesus being raised from the dead had been pouring in all around, from the women as well as those disciples in the upper room. Yet Thomas struggled to believe it could be true because he wasn’t present to witness it and experience it himself. Not only did he have his doubts – he didn’t even try to hide them or keep them to himself. He bluntly expressed to the others that he refused to believe what his own senses were not able to confirm! 

Surely that doubt left an impression on the disciples who had seen and touched the risen Jesus, to the point that it made John aware of how natural it was for others to doubt or be skeptical of the Resurrection. For that reason, John emphasized that he and the other disciples could confirm the Resurrection because they weren’t settling for some second-hand report about it. Rather, they themselves were eyewitnesses. 

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard…” (v.1-3a). Since in Christ, God really dwelled among men, and John and others really witnessed it, what we have in him is real. Since they witnessed a very alive Jesus, the Resurrection was real. Therefore, what we have here within the church – is real.

The older I get, the more I can relate to what John repeatedly expresses in his letters – that he has no greater joy than to see his children walk in love and truth. Seeing Christians connect with each other is a joy. When those connections are real and strong and meaningful, it’s a beautiful reminder of what God does and continues to do when he builds up his church. It’s built through the Word and the Sacrament, but don’t discount that what God is also building is real relationships with each other through the good news of the gospel, which is rooted in the Resurrection of Jesus. It’s real, and so is our connection with each other because of it. 

John isn’t just passing along theological bullet points here, either. He is talking about real relationships that exist within the body of Christ because Christ is risen. And just as he does in his other letters, here too, he highlights that those real relationships are for him a source of joy. His final words in these verses capture that. “We write this to make our joy complete” (v.4). It fills John with joy to see the fellowship that Christians share. 

In fact, his joy doesn’t reach its fullest potential until he communicates it to others. Yes, John himself knows Jesus. He knows he’s forgiven. He knows heaven is his home. He knows a Jesus joy and peace that cannot be experienced ever anywhere in this world apart from him.

Yet even with all of that, John is still lacking… until he writes and tells others about it. Then his joy is complete. It has to be expressed, both to his fellow believers (to whom he’s writing) and to others who through his gospel message might be brought into the same fruit-bearing fellowship with Jesus and his church.

What is keeping you from discovering that same joy? Skepticism? A refusal to open up because you’ve been burned in the past? Drifting away from Jesus and his church? Letting misplaced priorities rob you of the genuine joy of Christian fellowship? 

If I drew a picture of circles within a larger circle and each shrinking circle represented greater engagement and connection and commitment to Jesus and his church, with the very center of the circle being the absolute most engaged a person could ever be in their congregation, which circle would you place yourself in?

Are you on the fringe – you’re listed in the directory but hardly know anyone and when you show up, others take you for a guest? Are you a step inside that circle? You attend occasionally enough to know a few faces but aren’t really interested in more than that? Are you one step inside that circle? You attend pretty regularly, perhaps your children are enrolled in the school, you give regularly and are likely to sign up for things? Are you a step inside that, actively attending a Bible class or small group, and serving consistently? Are you inside that, leading others, giving generously, and regularly making your joy complete by telling others about Jesus as John did? Which circle would you place yourself in, and what would it take to work on getting closer to the center?

The bonds that are forged and fortified within the church are different than any other because the foundation of those bonds is different. When Jesus is what we have in common, then we have something far more substantial than just a common interest or cause. It’s not like joining a Facebook Group of hikers that you check periodically when you’re planning a hike. No one will check in on you if you don’t post or comment for weeks or months. You can be as engaged as much or as little as you like. You have no real commitment or responsibility to the group.

But when Jesus is the basis of our bond, we have from him all that we need. We also have from him anything that others might need from us. He won’t make a promise he can’t keep. His feelings toward us are not conditional. His love and forgiveness toward us are not based on the merit of our contributions to the group. When HE is the shared bond, then HE provides all that we need.

Not only does he do that for us in Word and Sacrament; he also does it through us as we fellowship with one another. When you think of the ways we experience the blessings of Jesus in our lives, so many of those are experienced through fellow believers.

A girlfriend patiently listens to and cares about your frustrations over coffee. A godly man that you admire greatly offers marriage advice when you hit a rough patch. An anonymous gift buoyed you up when you were struggling financially. The prayers that you never heard that were being offered up for you. The conversations others were having about how best to help you in your time of need. The care and concern shown when you were drifting away. The focused accountability to remind you of your commitments and the importance of carrying them out. The compassion expressed in so many ways when you were hurting.

Many of us can testify that we experience these things to a greater degree within our church family than we do even within our biological family! This is the fellowship that we have in Christ that John is celebrating. It’s real, because Jesus and his Resurrection are real.

Do you want to experience this level of connection and fellowship, but wonder how to? Then foster that fellowship. Attend a Bible class. Sign up to serve. Show up for activities. Worship together. Offer to help others. The list is endless. Make my joy complete by taking the next step. Better yet, put a smile on Jesus’ face by being deliberate about growing in your faith and fellowship. Oh, and you can be sure you’ll end up finding plenty of joy yourself, too. It’s real – as real as the Resurrection!

He’s Risen – Really!

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(John 20:1-18)

A friend recently ordered us seafood takeout from a specific place that he liked because it doesn’t use imitation crab in its dishes like other places often do. He wanted the real thing. If you’re visiting a friend for a few days and he tries to pass off turkey bacon as the real thing at breakfast well, that might just be enough to rethink who your friends are. You might be able to fool an amateur with a generic brand of clothing, but someone who knows their stuff can tell if it’s not a designer label. Even with AI on the rise, AI-generated images often still have glitches that reveal them to be fake. While their are some pretty good attempts at imitating the real thing, for the most part we still have the ability and means to be able to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. 

Nowhere does that matter more than on Easter Sunday. On Easter, Christians of every nation, tribe, and language gather together to celebrate the most significant event in human history: the resurrection of Jesus. If this event is not real, if it is in fact made up or a complete fake, well then, what Paul wrote in First Corinthians 15 is soberingly true: our faith is useless and we are still stuck in the damning reality of our sin. If the Resurrection of Jesus Christ isn’t REAL, then neither is forgiveness, grace, or eternal life. Instead, we’d be destined to find out just how real hell is. Without those realities, the only thing that would be REAL would be our hopelessness. 

This would be a great place to reference the number of convincing proofs that strongly support the reality of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. But I’m going to skip right over that in this post (besides, you can always just google it). Why? For one, because John’s account recorded for us simply doesn’t read like the stuff of made-up fairy tales. It’s an unblemished look at flawed participants who not only could have painted themselves in a much more favorable light if this was all fake, but also would not likely have included so many unnecessary details.

But there’s another reason I’m not going to spend more time making a case to prove how plausible the Resurrection really is. Because the Resurrection isn’t the real issue for most skeptics. No, the resurrection is actually not so implausible… if one acknowledges there actually is a God.

After all, if there is a divine being, an entity who created and oversees and governs all things, then Jesus being raised from the dead wouldn’t be much of a stretch at all for God to pull off, would it? No, the real issue isn’t the resurrection, but whether or not there is a God behind it. So rather than spending time trying to prove the Resurrection, we simply proclaim it. We testify to it, and we let God show us the difference in made in people’s lives that first Easter and still today.

The question I want to focus on is the one asked of Mary to help her uncover the real significance of what has happened. The angels asked it first. “They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’” (v.13). Now angels aren’t omniscient, but one would not have needed the sleuthing skills of a Sherlock Holmes to figure out why Mary might have been crying. The answer was really quite obvious. Nevertheless, Mary provided the reason. “‘They have taken my Lord away,’” she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him’” (v.13).  Mary was saddened by the obvious lack of Jesus’ body in the place where she had seen him laid. He wasn’t where he was supposed to be so that she could carry out her last act of humble service for her Savior.

Immediately on the heels of her answer, Mary turns and is asked right away again by a man she takes to be the keeper of the garden, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” (v.15). Had he not been within earshot to hear the response she had literally just given? Was it really necessary to repeat the exact same question? 

It was. But not for the angels’ sake, because they might have somehow missed her answer. And not for Jesus’ sake, who doesn’t ask questions for his own sake, but for the sake of others. No, the question was asked – and repeated – for Mary’s sake. It was really asked to set the stage for the revelation of the greatest miracle that has ever taken place in the history of the world: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! 

Mary was not really in much of an emotional state of mind to consider the significance of the question that had been asked twice of her. From her vantage point, she saw nothing unnatural at all about the tears she was shedding. She had wanted to honor her Jesus by properly caring for his beaten and bloodied body. It was a simple thing, but it was something she longed to do. So when there was no crucified corpse in the tomb, her heart sank. In the end, she didn’t care about why the body of her Jesus was not there or who was behind it – she just wanted to know where it was, so she pleaded for the man she thought was the gardener to point her in the right direction. 

But we can consider how remarkable the question really was, for we know why there was no body in the tomb. Christ had risen! Death could not detain him! Hell could not hold him!

Knowing that, when we consider the question asked of Mary, it leads us to realize how backwards everything really was that first Easter morning. The only crying at Jesus’ empty tomb that would have made any sense would have been tears shed in sheer joy!

Tears of grief or sorrow would only have been appropriate if the body was still in the tomb, wrapped in the linens and covered in the cloth. But John goes out of his way to spell out that detail for us – there was no body – just the coverings. Therefore, there was no reason to cry! Had Jesus still been dead, had Mary and the other women and Peter and John all arrived at the tomb that Sunday morning to see what they expected to see – the dead body of Jesus – then there would have been reason to cry! A dead Jesus would have been reason to cry uncontrollably because it would have meant no Easter. No Resurrection. No victory over death. No forgiveness. No salvation. That would have been cause for tears!

Because we’d still be in our sin. We’d have reason every day of our lives to absolutely dread death and be terrified of when it might strike us at any moment. Because we’d know deep down inside that we’d finally have to answer for our past and we’d be left to what rightfully awaited us: hell. Condemnation. The punishment our daily sins deserve.

But since Jesus wasn’t in the tomb, we see the question asked of Mary in a different light! He lives – really! He’s risen – really! It really happened! So then… why was she crying???

It’s a good question for us to ask ourselves. Why are you crying? Maybe the tears are literal, physical tears that run down your cheeks. Maybe it is just a sad, heavy heart – one that you might hide well from others, but still carry with you wherever you go. What is the cause of it? What is pressing down, weighing on you heavily?

It is so easy for us to downplay this Easter stuff in favor of “real” issues we have to deal with. Sure, we’ll do the Easter Sunday thing. We’ll sing a familiar Easter hymn or two, probably followed by a brunch. The family photo of everyone all dressed up has been taken. The kids will have snatched up their eggs filled with candy. Perhaps we have Sunday afternoon or evening plans with family or friends. Yes, it will all be a nice little escape from the daily grind of life. 

But then it’s right back to real problems on Monday morning, if not sooner. Another Easter will have come and gone, but the real problems still remain. The money going out exceeds the money coming in but those bills and debts don’t care. That means I still have to show up at a job I hate, working with people I don’t care for. The roof still leaks. The car is still having trouble. I can’t figure out what is behind my child’s recent behavior. Being single is wearing thing. Depression and anxiety are real. There’s the health issue I’m putting off because if I go to the doctor I know it’s going to be something that I just can’t handle right now. I’m still crawling through so many firsts without a loved one in my life. So many “real” issues!

But that’s the point of asking the question. If Jesus really rose, then why are you crying? Let’s not so quickly default to the “yeah, but’s…” as we breeze past Easter. Enough with the “real” problems that we don’t see how Easter could ever fix.

Jesus REALLY rose and it REALLY matters more than anything else on your mind right now. Yes, it may feel like the boulder-size problems plaguing you right now are slowly crushing you – and Jesus doesn’t diminish those problems! In fact, it’s just the opposite! The One who denied eternal death its claim on him by REALLY rising from the dead is the same One to assure you he’s here to handle the other stuff! If Jesus Christ can unloose hell’s grip and deny its rightly-deserved demand on our souls for our track record of more sins than we could ever possibly count, then Jesus Christ REALLY can deliver us from anything and everything else we’ll ever face!

Do you hear Jesus asking you what he asked Mary? “Why are you crying? Why are you worried about ______?” No, he’s not diminishing your REAL problems at all; rather, he’s amplifying the significance of what we celebrate at Easter! With his “Why are you crying,” Jesus was stacking up all of our worldly concerns right next to the reality of his Resurrection and showing us how small they suddenly appear!

Yes, those things are REAL problems, but the Resurrection is also REAL. If death and hell could not prevail against Jesus, is he so weak to rise from the dead only to turn around and succumb to your much smaller problems? Of course not! He’s risen – really! He lives – really! And his promise to you who have been freed from the damnation of your sin is that he can – and will – also handle the smaller things. 

He’s risen – really! Why are you crying? May the only tears we shed be tears of joy over how small and insignificant our worries begin to appear when stacked up against the enormity of Jesus’ resurrection!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!