LESSON: ROMANS 4:9‒12

If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. Romans 11:6

In his mercy, the lord in the parable of Matthew 18:23‒35 pities the wretched situation of the servant before him. He sets aside and gives up his rights and says no more about selling his servant “with his wife and children and all that he had.” He could certainly have insisted on his rights, declaring, “You have to pay up; I have my rights and have no intention of giving them up for your sake.” No one could have found fault with him on this score.

But he does not want to deal with his servant on the basis of rights. He exchanges rights for grace and has pity on his servant. He sets him free, together with his wife and children and all that he has, and forgives him his whole debt. This is also what God proclaims through the Gospel, saying to us, “He who believes shall not only have his debt forgiven but also the punishment he has merited.”

Works must never come into consideration here. Anyone who suggests that one can get rid of the guilt and punishment for sin through works has denied the Gospel. That God should have pity on you and that you should earn or merit His favor cannot be harmonized in any way. Paul’s argument is unanswerable, “If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6). If you pay what you owe, there is no need for His mercy. If you are the recipient of His mercy, you are not paying for it. Hence we must allow Him to initiate His dealings with us and to act quite alone; we must receive from Him and believe in Him. That is what the Gospel is all about, as we see also from this parable.

SL.XI.1794,16
AE. 79:255-265

PRAYER: As lost and condemned sinners, without any righteousness or merits of our own, O God, we have no other recourse but to throw ourselves on Your mercy and love. It is the glory of Your Gospel that it assures us that Your grace alone is our effective means of salvation, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.

LESSON: HEBREWS 9:11‒14

“Out of pity for him, the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.” Matthew 18:27

The lord has pity on this servant in his wretched condition. The servant is securely caught and entangled in his sins and foolish enough to suppose that he can help himself out of his hopeless plight. He does not look for mercy. He knows nothing about grace. He feels nothing but his sins which oppress him sorely. There is no one to whom he can turn for help. Even while he is in this wretched plight, the lord turned to him in pity and released him.

In this action of the lord, there is portrayed to us what the Gospel in its nature really is, and how God deals with us. If you are entangled in your sins and are afraid that you can find no help to rescue you from your sad plight, the Gospel comes to you and says, “No, not so, my dear friend, it does not help you to martyr yourself to the point of distraction and to become alarmed. It is not your works but God’s mercy alone which moves Him to have pity on you in your wretched situation. He sees that you are in the grip of fear, that you are throttling yourself in the mire of your sins, that you cannot extricate yourself from your plight. He can see that you cannot pay your debt. In pity and mercy, He forgives you your whole debt. Therefore, it is a case of pure mercy. He forgives you your debt, not because of your works or any merits. He has pity on your cries, entreaties, and the requests you have made on your knees.”

This means that God regards a humble heart, as David declares, “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17). A heart that is broken, he says, and contrite, that cannot help itself and is quite content to have God reach out a helping hand to it, is the most acceptable sacrifice before God and the right way to heaven.

SL.XI.1793,14‒15
AE. 79:255-265

PRAYER: Eternal praise and thanks be Yours, heavenly Father, for Your mercy and grace and the rescue from all sins available to us in Your Gospel of salvation, as revealed to us in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

LESSON: 1 JOHN 2:1‒6

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’” Matthew 18:23‒26

The message which this servant heard from his lord and master was anything but joyful. In all seriousness and deadly earnest, the master delivered a most startling and shocking judgment. The servant becomes so distressed that he falls down and begs for patience. He makes a promise exceeding all his power of fulfillment, saying, “Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” Here we have a picture, a portrait of those for whom the Gospel really has a message.

This is also how matters stand between us and God. When God wants to settle accounts, He sees to it that His Law is preached through which we learn to know our indebtedness. For example, He tells our conscience, “You shall have no other god but regard Me alone as your God, love Me with your whole heart, and place all your trust and reliance on Me alone.” This is the account, the register, in which what we owe Him is written down.

What does the servant do? He makes an offer, fool that he is, to pay his debt. He falls down and asks his lord to have patience with him. Nothing can save this man but the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.

SL.XI.1791,8‒11
AE. 79:255-265

PRAYER: Lord God, when we look at our lives in light of Your holy Law, we see nothing but sin and condemnation. Our sins are truly many and great. Our one and only consolation is that as our loving heavenly Father You do not look at our sins according to Your Law, but that You regard us in accordance with the righteousness offered us in Your Gospel, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXII - MONDAY

LESSON: MATTHEW 18:18‒22

“Out of pity for him, the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.” Matthew 18:27

“Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’” Matthew 18:32‒33

In the Gospel, there is nothing but sheer forgiveness. The lord of the servant forgave him his whole debt, and the lord expected that servant to forgive his fellow servant and release him from his debt. This is how God wants matters to stand in His kingdom. No one should ever be so displeased with his neighbor or angry with him that he cannot forgive his neighbor.

As Christ points out in the context immediately preceding, even if your neighbor incurs your anger not just seven times “but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22), that is, as often as it would be possible to do so, you should drop your rights and feel remit him everything. Why? Because Christ has also done this for you.

He has initiated and set up a kingdom in which there is nothing but pure grace, a kingdom which will never end, in which everything will be forgiven you as often as you have sinned. He has sent out His Gospel which proclaims not punishment but pure grace alone. As long as this regime stands, you can always rise again, no matter how deeply and how often you have fallen away from it.

One thing Christ expects of you, that you forgive your neighbor the sins he has committed against you. Otherwise you cannot hold your place in His kingdom of grace or enjoy the good news that your sins are forgiven you. This, in brief, is the gist and meaning of this Gospel.

SL.XI.1789,6
AE: 79:255-265

PRAYER: We thank You from the bottom of our hearts, O God, for the full and often repeated forgiveness of our sins which we enjoy in Your kingdom of grace. May we always be found ready, in the enjoyment of Your forgiveness, to forgive our neighbor his sins, through Jesus Christ our Savior.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXII - SUNDAY

LESSON: MATTHEW 18:23‒35

Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Romans 13:3

The Gospel, or the kingdom of God, is nothing else but the estate or regime in which there is nothing but the forgiveness of sins. Where there is a regime in which sins are not forgiven, there is no Gospel or kingdom of God. Therefore, the two kingdoms must be kept clearly apart: the one in which sin is punished, the other in which sin is forgiven; the one in which rights are demanded, the other in which rights are given up. In God’s kingdom where He rules through the Gospel, no rights are demanded, nor does one operate with rights. In God’s kingdom there is nothing but forgiveness, remitting, and donating, no wrath or punishment, nothing but brotherly service and benevolence.

This does not, however, abolish secular law and justice. This parable teaches us nothing about the secular realm; it teaches us only about the kingdom of God. When a secular prince rules his people in such a way that he allows no one to perpetrate an injustice and punishes evildoers, he does well and deserves praise.

We need such a regime, but we cannot get into heaven thereby. The world cannot be saved by its secular government. But secular government is necessary to prevent the world from becoming worse than it is, and to ward off and hinder evil. If there were no secular government, one man would simply swallow up the other man, and no one in the end would be able to retain life, property, wife, or child. To prevent universal destruction and ruin, God has set up the authority of the sword so that evil might be in part restrained, and that the secular authority might establish peace and prevent men from doing each other injustice and wrong. This order of things the Christian must also accept.

SL.XI.1788,4
79:255-265

PRAYER: We thank and praise You, heavenly Father, for all the blessings which we have been privileged to enjoy in our earthly lives through good government and good rulers. Keep us ever mindful of our duties in the secular realm, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: PSALM 103:13‒22

We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. Romans 5:3‒5

Faith exercises itself in trials and temptations, and every day brings new trials. Experience does not repeat itself so often, as we see also in this Gospel (John 4:47‒54). The way in which this official set his faith working is past. These particular circumstances will not crop up again, but there will be other trials. If the same temptations present themselves, it should, of course, be easier to cope with them. The more victories one has, the more firmly one takes hold of Christ and becomes skilled in bearing everything that Christ chooses to lay upon one.

In this Gospel, you have received an example of an increasing faith. It is clear enough; take it to heart! Each Christian will always be given opportunities to practice his faith. He can also trust that God will always help him. In this way, he will have the experience of God’s help to lead him on to greater faith.

There is always something new cropping up so that we may see and grasp that our Lord God is true. If we have the trust and confidence that He will nourish and preserve our body, we can also believe that He will save our souls.

SL.XI.1770,20‒22
AE. 79:225-232

PRAYER: You are our loving heavenly Father, O God. As such, you can never forget the needs of Your children. Grant us ever stronger faith, tested and proved in trials and temptations, for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

LESSON: COLOSSIANS 1:9‒14

The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way. . . . He himself believed and all his household. John 4:50, 53

We must always keep ourselves in trim so that we do not just remain at the one fixed level but continually increase. Hence there must be a cross, temptation, and tribulation in which faith can grow and become strong. Even as clarity of faith increases, so also there is progress in the disciplining of the body. The stronger faith becomes, the weaker the flesh becomes. The smaller our faith, the stronger our flesh becomes, and the less success we have in putting it off.

We are inclined to think, “If I am to be always helping my neighbor, what is going to become of me? I shall be going to him for something in the end.” If we had a correct faith, one which reflects Christ in us, we would not be doubtful about having enough, but would declare in all confidence, “God will provide for us in every need.” If we give up at every little puff, how shall we face up to something really big?

Faith must be practiced to increase. Simply to go on and always remain every day what we were yesterday, and tomorrow what we are today, is not a Christian life. In this Gospel, John takes special care to point out how this royal official increased in faith.

What did he believe after he came to his house? Not that his son had recovered and been restored to him. He could see his living son before his eyes. From the way in which he had experienced Christ’s help, he now also believed that Christ would help him in any other troubles that would cross his path.

SL.XI.1768,17,19
AE. 79:225-232

PRAYER: Increase our faith, Lord Jesus, by removing all doubt and uncertainty from our hearts, filling them with the certainty and confidence of faith, for Your name’s sake. Amen.

LESSON: LUKE 11:5‒13

“Go; your son will live.” John 4:50

In the matter of faith, one must let everything go and cling to the Word alone. When we have gripped that, let the world, death, sin, hell, and every misfortune storm and rage. But if you let go of the Word, you will be doomed.

We can see this in people whose stability depends on their earthly livelihood. When there is enough in the house and the barns are full, they trust in God all right and even speak of having a gracious God. But when they have nothing left, they begin to doubt. Soon it is all over with their faith. They trust only what they actually see before their eyes. When they can see nothing there, they do not know where to look for succor. Worry and care about earthly, bodily needs drive out faith. If they had really taken hold of the Word in true faith, they would have declared, “My God lives. He has promised to care for me and nourish me. I will set to work and trust God to bring to pass what Christ has said: ‘Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well’” (Matthew 6:33).

Clinging to the Word and dispelling worry about earthly needs is the Christian way. As long as you keep your eyes fixed on your poverty, you cannot believe. This royal official also had probably formed such a view of things that he may have thought, “He will not listen to me. He has given me a rather sour reply. He does not want to come along with me; He is putting me off.”

Had he viewed the matter like this, his mission would have been an utter failure. But when he refuses to entertain such a view, he hears words of real consolation from Christ, “Go; your son will live.”

SL.XI.1767,15
AE. 79:225-232

PRAYER: God our Father, You ask nothing of us but faith alone and give us the assurance that You will provide us with all our needs. Keep us always strong in an unwavering faith, fixed on Your mercy and grace in Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.