Proper 15 - E - 2013 - By Faith From Outside Ourselves

The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 18, 2013 - Pastor Adam Moline

Jeremiah 23:16-29       Hebrews 11:17-40; 12:1-3      Luke 12:49-56

Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Our text today is from the Epistle lesson just read, especially these words, “By Faith.”  Thus far our text for today. 

Dear friends in Christ.  Its quite the list of scoundrels that are mentioned in our lesson for today.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.  Moses, Rahab, Barak, Gideon and more.  And this list of names is just continuing from last week’s lesson when Abel, Cain, Enoch, and Noah were also included.  It’s a list of people who were guilty and sinful before God, who by their thoughts, by their words and deeds failed time and time again. 

Rahab was a prostitute.  Abraham and Isaac both lied about their wives being their sisters.  Barak trusted in Deborah more than God.  Gideon asked God for signs two nights in a row before believing.  Abel was murdered by Cain.  Noah became drunk and naked after exiting the ark.  These people were sinners.  These people were guilty.  These people had so much sin as to not deserve or be able to earn one shred of God’s grace. 

And if we read the pages of scripture we see that their lives were at times extremely difficult.  They lost loved ones to death.  They were beaten and flogged.  Noah watched everyone in the world except for his family die.  Moses dealt with the continuous complaints of the people of Israel.  They weren’t all rich, many of them had no permanent home, but lived in tents in the desert. 

And yet, we hear the refrain again and again – 19 times total – in our text.  By faith Joseph believed in the coming exodus.  By faith Abel offered his sacrifice.  By faith Noah built the ark.  By faith Abraham left Haran, and by faith Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt.  Its faith that is behind all the great saints of scripture.  It’s faith that makes them the patriarchs.  Its because of faith that their lives are recorded.  Our text says that by faith they conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. For you see, it’s by faith that they are truly great men. 

This faith was not from within.  These men did nothing to make themselves believe, they did nothing to accept God or invite him in.  God found them as they wandered about in their sinful lives.  God called them, and selected them to be His.  The Holy Spirit called them by the Gospel, promising them salvation, and an eternal land that they would one day inherit.  God gave them the gift of faith to cling to God’s promises.  And believing God’s word to them, it was counted to them as righteousness.

Dear friends, the same thing is true of us.  In our lives every day, we face challenges and struggles.  We have problems.  We have issues.  We cannot seem to ever get everything to go our way.  We aren’t all rich.  We aren't all famous.  We aren’t sure how to pay the bills or deal with grandma’s illnesses.  We have loved ones who die suddenly.  We face sorrow and suffering.  We’ve lied and stolen.  We’ve drank too much, we've committed adultery.  We are the worst of sinners, its true. 

And yet, we’ve been given faith, a faith from outside ourselves.  It’s a faith poured out on us generously through water and the word.  It’s a faith that has come to us through Word and Sacrament.  It’s a faith that clings to Jesus.  It’s a faith that looks at what he has done for us, by taking our sin.  By killing our sin on the cross.  By lying dead in our tomb.  And by rising again and promising life to all who have faith in him. 

This faith really does cling to Jesus.  That word cling is the prefect word to use.  We’ve all had static cling, where our pants seemingly stick to our leg on their own.  Or the piece of spaghetti that clings to the wall.  They are stuck, and sometimes it seems like nothing can undo the clinging power that holds them there. 

The same is true of Jesus.  We cling to him, not on our own, we’re just stuck to him.  By faith we belong to him.  We cannot by our own reason or strength believe or come to him.  But he calls us, he blesses us.  By faith he makes us his children.  By faith he washes us.  By faith he feeds us.  By faith he gives us the entire blessings of heaven and eternity.  It’s all by faith, outside ourselves. 

And our text tells us that faith comes from Jesus.  He’s its author.  He’s its perfecter.  He’s its worker in us and in our lives.  If he cared for sinful Noah and Abraham, he will care for you too, dear friends.  He will care for you, and provide a place for you.  By faith, you belong to him, and will, even forever more.  Amen.