Sermon -- Holy Trinity (June 12, 2022)

ROMANS 5:1-5

THE TRUINE GOD IS UNITED TO WORK RECONCILIATION, REDEPTION, AND RESOLVE.

In the name + of Jesus.

     Every Sunday, we confess our faith in the Triune God.  Our Catechism divides the Apostles’ Creed into three articles which focus on God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We believe in one God, but that truth can be clouded when we break the Trinity up into three parts for the sake of study.  What also can be mistaught is the working of the Holy Trinity, as if each person of the Holy Trinity is responsible for a specific task and that no person of the Trinity infringes upon the work of the others.

     So, for example, we teach that the Father is the Creator, the Maker of heaven and earth, that the Son is the Redeemer, the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, and that the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier who calls us with the Gospel and sets us apart for the kingdom of God.  While these things are true, they are also incomplete. 

     Yes, God the Father is the Maker of heaven and earth.  But Genesis tells us that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).  Regarding God the Son, St. John wrote, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3).  So, who created the heavens and the earth?  The Triune God.  In the same way, we assign the creation of faith to the Holy Spirit.  The Bible states, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Yet, Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (John 6:37), and he also said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  So, who is it who brings you into the kingdom of God?  It is the Triune God.  The Triune God is united to work reconciliation, redemption, and resolve.

     The Triune God is united in his purpose, in his commitment, and in his actions to save and to bless you.  The Triune God revealed himself to you because he wants you to know him as the source of everything good, especially of your eternal good and the goodness of his kingdom.  St. Paul spoke of the blessings we receive as the Triune God is united to work reconciliation, redemption, and resolve.  The first blessing St. Paul mentioned was peace.  “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). 

     You have been justified by faith; therefore, you have peace with God.  He is not angry or spiteful or vengeful.  Rather, he loves you, cares about you, and desires you to be his dearly beloved children.  The Triune God was united in achieving this.  God the Father so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.  God the Son became a man so that he could do the work that justifies you.  Jesus’ perfect obedience satisfies the demands of God’s Law.  Jesus’ vicarious death satisfies the justice of God’s Law.  Vicarious means that Jesus suffered and died as your substitute under God’s Law.  Therefore, your sins do not condemn you.  They have been taken away from you.  You are declared “Not guilty” for Jesus’ sake.  Jesus’ innocent death is the payment for all sins.  You get the benefit of that payment by faith in Jesus.  The Holy Spirit loves you so that he reveals this good news to you and works in you the faith to believe it. 

     Having been justified by faith, you have peace with the Triune God.  You have been reconciled to him which means that God proves himself to be the friend of sinners.  He does not resent you for what it cost him to redeem you.  And while you honor and fear him as God, you do not need to be terrified of him or be fearful of his judgment.  The Holy Spirit reveals to you the redeeming love of God the Son.  God the Son reveals that you have a good and merciful Father in heaven.  The Triune God is united to work for your reconciliation, redemption, and resolve.

     The next blessing St. Paul highlights is grace.  “Through (Jesus) we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:2).  The Triune God is most gracious to you.  He does not treat you as your sins deserve (which is mercy), and he gives you blessings that you don’t deserve (which is grace).  He hears your prayers and answers them as is best for you.  He assures you that your body will be raised up from the grave and will never again be corrupted, flawed, weakened or sickened.  He will deliver you a new heaven and a new earth which will never know violence, tyranny, or natural disasters.  In this world, you try to protect yourself from such evils and learn to cope with what you cannot avoid.  In the glorious kingdom to come, you will graciously be delivered from every evil, every burden, and every threat.

     This brings us to another blessing which the Triune God gives you.  St. Paul wrote, “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2).  The hope that we have is for our eternal life in heavenly glory.  It is not a hope because it is in question, like, “I hope we have nice weather on our vacation.”  Perhaps a better word would be confidence.  We are confident of our place in the heavenly kingdom because it is promised by God, it was purchased by Jesus’ death, and it is guaranteed by his resurrection.  The only reason we call it a “hope” is because we have not received it yet.  But the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all at work to bring you to this heavenly home.  In this hope, we rejoice.

     St. Paul goes on: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).  It sounds strange that we would rejoice in our sufferings.  Sufferings are not fun, whether it is loss, or pain, or sorrow.  Some may rage against God because they believe God failed them or has it out for them.  We, however, can rejoice in spite of our sufferings.  That’s because we know that our Father in heaven is still our good and merciful Father in heaven even when we suffer harm.  We have peace because we have been reconciled to him.  We know that the Son of God remains our faithful Savior even when we are reduced to tears.  We remain under God’s grace because we have been redeemed by him.  We know that God the Holy Spirit will not abandon us no matter what we have lost in this world.  He works in us a resolve to be faithful and even grateful, not just in days of gladness, but also in days of pain and sorrow.  For, our Triune God is still on our side, still seeks our eternal good, and still upholds all his promises.

     We don’t always know why we suffer what we do.  We assume that there is nothing good in suffering because it is hard.  But we don’t always know what is good for us.  This is illustrated for us by Chesterton’s fence.  G. K. Chesterton was a Christian author about 100 years ago.  He wrote about people who saw a fence and said, “We have to tear down this fence so that we can find out what is on the other side of it.”  Another countered, “Someone built this fence for a reason.  We should not tear down this fence precisely because we don’t know what is on the other side of it.”  So, who was right?  What was the good thing to do?  We don’t know because we don’t know all the facts or the consequences of acting one way or the other. 

     We don’t always know what is good for us; we only know what feels good and what does not.  But if we must endure suffering, “suffering produces endurance” (Romans 5:3).  Our Triune God is united to work in us resolve to trust that God knows our situation and knows best what we need in every situation.  We know that our Triune God is always good and is always devoted to our eternal good.  We may never know why we have to learn endurance by suffering, but we know that the mercy of our God endures no matter what we go through.  He works in us the resolve to endure faithfully.

     “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character” (Romans 5:3).  When we learn patient endurance, we develop a more Christ-like character.  Our Lord is training us like soldiers who prepare for battle.  They go through drills as a sergeant barks out orders and demands diligent performance.  The soldiers learn to perform their duties under duress.  The sergeant will also fire live rounds of ammunition over the soldiers’ heads.  While this is frightening, it is for the soldiers’ good.  The heat of battle should not be the first time they have to perform their duty under fire.  The soldiers’ training allows them to complete their assigned tasks despite the heat of battle.

     The Triune God also trains you through suffering and endurance to grow in the nature of a Christian.  You do not have to resort to panic or anger or despair when difficult days come.  You call upon God as you have learned to do.  You refrain from sin when turning to sin is expected and rewarded.  You are willing to suffer for doing good, just as Jesus did.  You trust his word, knowing that God’s word will not pass away when this world and all its glory does.  You get to benefit from fellow Christians whose concern for you increases when your burden does.  The Triune God is united to work in you a resolve to be faithful even to the point of death; for, you know that the crown of life awaits.

     This is the Christian hope, “and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).  The hope we have is summed up at the end of the Nicene Creed: “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”  This hope will not disappoint you.  Everything else you put your hope in may disappoint you.  We hope for a world without violence.  We hope for more satisfaction in our jobs.  We hope that friends will not fail us.  We hope that food, utilities, and gas will become cheaper.  These things would be nice, but we have no guarantee on any of them.

     But the blessings from our Triune God are certain.  The Triune God has even put his name upon you to assure you that you are his and receive his benefits.  You are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  If you bear God’s name, then you know that the Father is pleased to call you his dearly loved children.  You know that the Son has taken away your sin and covered you in his innocence.  You know that the Holy Spirit dwells in you to guide you, comfort you, and strengthen you.

     The nature of the Triune God will always be a mystery to us, but his love is not.  The Trinity is in unity to work for your good—reconciling you to himself, redeeming you for time and eternity, and working in you the resolve to be faithful in all things.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.