Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (2009) Rev. Toby Byrd

Your Day of Salvation In Him

Ephesians 1:3-14 (ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, [4] even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

[5] he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. [7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, [8] which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

[9] making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ [10] as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

[11] In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, [12] so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. [13] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

In the Epistle Reading for today, St. Paul provides us with a beautiful look at the Triune God and His working in our lives. These twelve verses of Ephesians are the most beautiful doxology in Holy Scripture. Within these verses St. Paul glorifies God as, the Fountain of our Salvation (Lenski). Thus, a careful reading of this Epistle brings us to a clear understanding of how God calls us to faith.

Often, in my work throughout the community, I will come across a person who simply must relate their salvation story to me. Usually, it's goes something like this, “I was dating this wonderful girl and she kept after me to go to church. Of course, I was always reluctant, but once I gave in and we went to a Sunday night service. I couldn't believe it, that preacher; he preached a sermon that was meant just for me! God was talking to me in that sermon and from that evening on I have accepted Jesus and turned my life over to Him.” Or it might go something like this, “There was a time in my life when I was in real trouble. I was scared to death and didn’t know where to turn. Then I remembered my mother told me that whenever you find yourself in a predicament, call on God in prayer, and He will help you. Well, that’s just what I did. And I couldn’t believe it; God came to my aide and solved my problem for me! From that moment on I knew that there was a loving God to watch over me and I accepted Jesus as my Lord and my life hasn’t been the same ever since.” Then, inevitably, I am asked, “Do you remember the day you were saved?”

Some within the Christian community hold great value in one's reply to that question. If you can't remember the day you were saved, then they conclude; you aren't. Oh, they say, I’m sure you know who Jesus is, but so do demons, therefore, your admission that you can’t remember the day of your salvation is proof positive that you haven’t been saved.

When I am asked the question, “Do you remember the day you were saved?” Usually I respond by saying, “No, I can’t say that I do, however, I do know when it was. First, it was when God chose me before creation in His Son, Jesus Christ and then it was about three o’clock on a Friday afternoon some two-thousand years ago when our Lord Jesus brought that choice to fruition by willing going to the cross and giving His life for the forgiveness of my sins; giving His life so I could live for eternity. Moreover, carrying out His Will, He called me to faith through the proclamation of the Gospel. He chose the venue and the Words which made me realize that there was nothing within me that could save me from the clutches of sin or the terrors of hell. He came to me just as surely He came to my friend through his girl friend who kept urging him to go to church. He came to me just as surely as He came to my other friend whose mother gave him sound advice to seek the Lord when troubled. Moreover, when He came to me His Law condemned me of my sinfulness and offered me nothing to alter the outcome. I had nowhere to turn, nowhere to find solace or relief from the inevitability of the consequence of my sin. I was facing the eternity of hell and damnation. But God, in His great mercy, came to my rescue.

St. Paul reminds us of this truth so clearly in his letter to Titus, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 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: 3-7 ESV). What a blessed truth this is. This is the truth of Holy Scripture; this is the reality of salvation; God finds a way of coming to us and rescuing us from the clutches of sin. It’s not our seeking, it’s His.

In today’s Epistle Reading, God tells us through the apostle Paul, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (v. 4). Now this answer really throws some Christians for a loop. They cannot understand that God “predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (v. 5). Many simply can’t accept that they didn’t have something to do with their coming to faith or their salvation. They insist it has to be their choice or their effort, otherwise, how can they believe they are saved? Their work, their effort, this is what their decision is, are tangible proofs of their salvation. The will of God, the effort of Christ, these are intangibles, things which cannot be seen or quantified. No, thank you very much, I’ll believe in my decision to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. However, when our Lord Jesus answered the disciples question, “‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘with man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God’” (Mark 10:26-27 ESV). Sadly, those who are unaware of the depth of their human depravity will never fully understand or believe how great the goodness of God truly is.

However, Holy Scripture and common sense tell us there is nothing we can do that will accomplish the work of God. Man is simply incapable of doing God’s work. This fact perplexes many because they have always believed they were saved because of some action of their own. Yet, St. Paul, in today’s Epistle, makes it clear, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.”

The history of Holy Scripture is replete with God coming to and calling those who served Him. We see this time and again in the pages of the Old Testament. Throughout those pages we see the promise of a future deliverance for an unfaithful people. The theme of death and resurrection which defined the work of Jesus as gospel is outlined in the angel’s rescue of Isaac. Israel’s safe passage across the Red Sea, David defeat of his enemies, and the return of the captives from Babylon all point to the One who will come to our rescue, who will call us and guide us away from danger. Whether it was Adam’s creation from the hand of God or the call to Abraham, or Moses, or the persecutor Paul, we see God working His will without the help of His creation. Not one of those I mentioned were ever preoccupied with serving Jesus, they were not looking for a Savior nor were they seeking salvation when God, in His infinite wisdom set them aside and called them to faith. There was nothing in them that said, let’s make up our mind to turn to Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Their love of Christ was purely the gift of our heavenly Father. They were elected, by God, to serve Him and His Son; they were blessed to be recipients of God’s gracious love and mercy. After all, did not God send His Son into the world to save it?

Holy Scripture makes it clear; we were elected before the creation of the world through the gracious will of God to be adopted through His Son, Jesus Christ, to be His sons and daughters. Listen to St. Paul as he explains our salvation, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will . . . . In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (vv. 11, 13). St. Paul refers to our salvation in Christ by saying we are saved “in Him” no less than twenty-five times in his epistles. Of these, three come quickly to mind:

In his second letter to the church in Corinth, St. Paul exclaims, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21 ESV). Our salvation is solely depended on our Lord Jesus who took our sin upon Himself, paying the penalty in full so we wouldn’t have to. Moreover, what price could we pay? What offering could we, mere mortal creatures, bring to our Divine Creator that would offset our sinfulness, our disobedience of His Will? What could we do that would appease our heavenly Father? The answer is nothing! Only His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ could fulfill the demands of the Law, and this He did through His life, death, and resurrection. How blessed it is to know that He did all this for us.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, St. Paul says that rather than glorify in our strengths, we should truly be thankful that we are, “found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philip. 3:9 ESV). Not our work, but rather the work of Christ. Not our acceptance of Christ, but our reception of His gift of faith.

Moreover, to the church in Colossae, St. Paul wrote, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7 ESV). The gift is from God! He alone places the gift of His Son into our hearts, leading us to faith in His Son’s atoning sacrifice to save us from our sin. He builds us up, He establishes our faith, and His Word teaches us these truths for which we give abundant thanksgiving.

The truth of Holy Scripture teaches: it is God who has truly reconciled the human race unto Himself through Christ; that it is God who offers and distributes to us His grace purchased through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus through the means of grace, His saving Word of the Gospel and the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion; that it is the Holy Spirit who works faith through God’s Word, Holy Scripture; that justification was accomplished by Jesus alone on Calvary’s cross; that the work of the Holy Spirit is to sanctify all who have been justified; that God will not forsake us in our times of great weakness nor in the face of temptation; rather, He will strengthen, increase, and support the good work He has done in us to the end; and God will eternally save and glorify to life eternal all those whom He has elected, called, and justified. This is the manner in which God calls us to receive the faith He has reserved for us since before time began.

Thus, Holy Scripture highlights two essential truths of Christianity; God, before the creation of world, formulated a plan by which He would save sinful man and salvation was to be accomplished through His Son, Jesus Christ. The means then to bring this message, this call of salvation to those so predestined was through His saving Word, the Gospel and through His sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Furthermore, God foreknew who would be the recipients of this salvation. Now the question is, “If God foreknew all who would be saved, and it is God, ‘who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:4 ESV),” then why aren’t all saved?

First, let me begin by saying that it isn’t because God predestines some to damnation. This is a horrible doctrine taught by man which is nothing more than a human fabrication, a human invention. Nowhere in Holy Scripture is this logical reverse of the truth supported. On the contrary, Holy Scripture makes it very clear why some are lost; it is solely because of their own unbelief and opposition to the earnest, gracious will of God in the Word. Sin and sin alone is what stops one from hearing the call to salvation. Sin leads one to want to continue living in darkness instead of walking in the loving light of Christ. Sin leads the creature to reject the Creator and seek gods of their own making. Sin is the work of Satan whose sole purpose for existing is to destroy the pinnacle of God’s creation, man. Sadly, he is successful in far too many lives; leading souls to believe their decisions to follow his promptings are the correct decisions. This is because it satisfies their desires. However, doing so hardens hearts to God’s Word and closes the ears of the soul, deafening them to God’s merciful call.

Answering the question, “Do you remember the day you were saved?” is not the same as answering the question, “Do you remember when you were brought to saving faith?” The answer to that question is quite different. From a practical and earthly point of view, my reception of God’s call came at a very early time in my life. I was baptized as a young boy. On that day, when I was bathed in the waters of baptism, I was sanctified by the Holy Spirit who began a “good work” in me (Acts 2:38). Through the washing of regeneration, my sins, all my sins including original sin, were washed away. I was buried with Christ on that day and resurrected with Him to life (Rom. 6:4). On that day I was called and the Holy Spirit lit the flame of faith within me. At first that flame was but a flicker, however, with His continued presence, the Holy Spirit fanned that flame of faith into a roaring fire; a fire that grew throughout my childhood and continues to grow to this day toward a raging inferno for Christ. This is the process of sanctification. I know the day on which I was brought to faith because it is printed on my Baptismal certificate. But I had nothing to do with my salvation, nothing to do with His gift of faith to me. My gift of faith came solely through the gracious will and mercy of God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-9) when He reached out and said to me, “Follow Me.”

As Lutherans, we place the emphasis on God being the author and perfecter of our salvation. When and where that occurs is not important. When we rely or insist on knowing the day and hour of our salvation we are saying that we place more emphasis on our actions than God’s power. Relying on our acceptance of Jesus is a theology of glory which is contrary to the Scriptural and Lutheran theology of grace. This is true because the theology of glory gives the credit to man and robs Christ of His glory and His accomplishments. Furthermore, relying on the theology of glory is very risky business because our actions are always subject to human failure. Thus, relying on ourselves, we could never be certain of our salvation. However, the theology of grace gives all credit where it truly belongs; it gives it to God, who alone saves through His Son, Jesus Christ. Reliance on our heavenly Father and the efforts of His Son, Jesus Christ, gives us the perfect assurance that we are saved because He says it is so. Moreover, although we may not remember the exact date of our call to salvation, we cling to and remember the One who has called us, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. This is our day of salvation; our day of salvation in Him. Amen.

May the Peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.