Genesis 50:15–21; Romans 8:18–23; Luke 6:36–42; Ps 138

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

In the 16th century, during the Reformation, the enemies of the Gospel used the second verse of our Gospel reading to support the idea that salvation comes because of works. The verse says: Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Alone, this passage does seem to indicate what they say, but much the same as with the argument from non-believers on this passage last year, they are wrong and a wider reading of the Bible will answer, that is to say, the Bible itself tells us what Christ means when He says not just this but, Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful…. give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. We should rather respond to non-believers and those who deny the Gospel with a simple question: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?

That parable is in what we call the sermon on the plain, where Jesus teaches the beatitudes again. Jesus uses the parable to warn the Israelites who are listening to Him about the dangers of what the Scribes, Pharisees, and priests were teaching. These men not only twisted God’s Word, as the modern unbelievers do and the Papacy does, but they ignored the parts of the Old Testament that didn’t garner them power and money, such as when David wrote: In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required… I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart (Psalm 40:6, 8). What does that mean but that the temple sacrifices and offerings served another purpose than what these men claimed, not that they earned merit before God but something else. Similarly, that the keeping of the Law is not a burden but a delight to David, a delight because he is doing it in response to God’s mercy toward him.

Likewise they twisted God’s commandments. When God warned them, keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye (Prov. 7:2), they taught such verses meant that forgiveness only comes by perfect obedience to the Law, which is true in so far as it goes, but they ignored all of God’s Word which was not Laws, that is, they ignored the whole teaching about the work of the Christ to save man from the Law which no sinful man is able to keep pure and undefiled (cf. Ps 119:9), as David also says, Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you (Ps 143:2). To borrow from St. James, they failed to keep one part of the Law and thus became ignorant of all of it (cf. Js 2:10). Much of the Old Testament, even the rules governing worship in Leviticus, taught not what man must do to please God, but rather how God had designed man to be and what God in Christ would do to save man. The point of the commandments was not the tabernacle, not the temple, not even the perfecting of men, but rather to show Israel that they were impure and in need of the Savior, more, to show who that Savior would be and what He would do to make them pure.

The Papacy of Luther’s day, and still today, as well as the non-believers, have committed the same sin and error as the Scribes, Pharisees, and priests. They read only orders and requirements in the Bible, both those which are there and those of their own invention. But what does the context of the rest of the Bible tell us Jesus means when He says, Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven? First, to whom is He speaking? Not the teachers of the Law who have oppressed Israel, but the common man and woman of Israel who have borne the burden of the Law all their lives, but also have looked for the coming Savior. Thus Jesus is not speaking to completely ignorant Gentiles who do not know the Old Testament, nor those who are teachers of God’s Word but have twisted, but those who do know it and know of the coming Savior. Furthermore, see what Jesus says at the beginning of our text: Be merciful, even as your Father… your Father is merciful. Who can call God Father except those who already believe in Jesus as their Savior. He is not laying down new requirements for them to be saved, but rather teaching them how they are to live as children of God, because elsewhere God teaches through St. John, to all who did receive Jesus, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (1:12–13). Note that it is not because they did not judge, did not condemn, did forgive, but rather because they believed in His name and all that His name, Savior, implies. The good work of mercy and forgiveness follow after faith as the Bible clearly teaches. Jesus says, So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ (Lk 17:10) Not our requirement for forgiveness, but what we are created to do.

Jesus says in John 14, If you love me, you will keep my commandments (14:15). Again, this looks like a requirement for salvation, but note that He says first, If you love me, by which He means that you also believe in Him first. If you believe in Jesus, and therefore love Him, is it not natural then to do what He has said, as Joseph did with his own brothers, showing them the same mercy he had received by forgiving them and loving them? Is it not natural to do what He commanded if you love Him? Not judging unjustly, as the Matthew 7 text says, not condemning, but rather forgiving as you have been forgiven. Or is it right to receive forgiveness from God but deny it to someone who has wronged you as the unjust servant did in the parable: forgiven his un-payable debt, he immediately throws his fellow servant in prison who could not pay him a pittance. In the parable the king heard of this and immediately reversed his mercy; how much more important does God consider the mercy He has shown us, we who are His children and have already received His mercy. This is why Jesus says, you will keep my commandments. Not because of force or fear, but because of love for what He has done.

Furthermore, the Bible is explicit that salvation is by grace through faith. Paul says, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:5–7). Not by right judgment, no condemnation, and forgiveness, but by God’s mercy through Baptism, the very Baptism these three children receive today. And Paul again: all are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Rom 3:24–25). Not some, but all who are saved are saved as a gift. Again Paul: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1). By faith, not by Law or works. And, if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace (11:6). Can Paul be more clear? Yes: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8–9). The Bible is clear if you would but read and hear all of it, if the Pope, the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the priests had but loved all of it like David.

However, we Lutherans must heed the remainder of what Jesus teaches: Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” Now Jesus warns against pride and self-deception. This is a great danger to the Lutheran church, that we become puffed up because we keep the whole Word of God. Some of the cause of the downfall of the men Jesus preached against was also pride. We should not be so foolish as to think we are immune when they were not. Just because you attend this church, or just because I am pastor here, does not mean we are not capable of falling to pride. If we do, then are we not judging unjustly, condemning for what we have ourselves committed, failing to be merciful as God was merciful to us? When we fall we must repent. When we find the log in our own eyes, we must first beg God forgiveness for that sin, and thus be renewed so that we are able to help our neighbors see their own errors.

Our defense against such a fall from grace is exactly what our enemies refuse to do: submit to the Word of God, whole and entire, self-interpreting, and having authority over our reason. Remember what Christ said, A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Each of you must attend to God’s Word, all of it, not just today at Divine Service, though, dear online viewers that you should also join us in person, but at Bible Study which is not a repeat of the sermon; at Adult Instruction, which I teach to prepare you to face the devil and the world; at home with your own Bible and your own copy of the Catechism and Confessions. If you do not prepare yourself now, if you do not learn about Christ your teacher now, how will you be able to like Him later? How will you know the lies of the modern Scribes, Pharisees, and priests? You won’t. You will be hoodwinked because you will have no defense against false doctrine. Attend to God’s Word then! Stop being lazy!

David’s Psalm today says, though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. Pride and haughtiness God despises, but the humble, like Mary, like John the Baptism, like David, He regards with love and compassion. Jesus provides His gifts of Word, of Baptism, of the Lord’s Supper, so that you will be equipped in the midst of trouble, so that your life will be preserved. When David sinned, God forgave him and restored him. When we become prideful, realize our sin and fall into despair, God will forgive us as well when we acknowledge that log in our own eyes, and He restores again the joy of our salvation. Then we can truly love our neighbors by warning them of the lies their teachers have taught, so that they too may join us in the joy of Christ’s salvation. I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.

Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.