This sermon was preached at the chapel at Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw, Michigan.
CONFESSING GOD’S WORD IS NOT ABOUT POPULARITY, BUT THE TRUTH.
In the name + of Jesus.
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave this warning to
his apostles, “They will lay their hands on you and will persecute you,
handing you over to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and
governors for my name’s sake. … You
will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all people for my name’s
sake: (Luke 21:12,16-17). If the
prophet Jeremiah had heard Jesus’ words, he would have reviewed his life and
said, “Check. Check. Check.
Check. And check.”
The Lord had called Jeremiah to a ministry
that no one would envy. He was called to
preach to a stubborn people who despised him and his message. Jeremiah issued warnings to the people of
Jerusalem that God’s patience had reached its end. Judgment was imminent. The city and the temple would be
destroyed. Those who wished to save
their lives should surrender to the Babylonian army. Any who did not would die from starvation,
disease, or the sword. For this,
Jeremiah was branded a traitor and a liar.
But confessing God’s word is not about popularity, but the truth.
Not only was Jeremiah despised for his
preaching, the people in Jerusalem had other preachers who were preaching the
opposite. They were assuring them that
God’s favor would always rest on them.
They promised the people deliverance from all enemies. They declared days of peace and prosperity
because Israel was a people chosen by God.
Now, whose message do you think was more popular? Which one would you rather hear? Can you guess why Jeremiah was despised?
Jeremiah was a young man when the Lord
called him to be a prophet. Jeremiah
tried to excuse himself from preaching because of his youth. The Lord dismissed that claim. I also wonder if Jeremiah knew the challenges
he would face and was trying to dodge the Lord’s call. In either case, the Lord gave Jeremiah all
the confidence he would need to serve as the Lord’s spokesman. He told Jeremiah, “‘You must go to
everyone to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, because I am with
you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord.’ Then the Lord stretched out his
hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said
to me: There! I have now placed my words
in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1:7-9).
Jeremiah never had to be inventive or develop gimmicks to make his
message more appealing to the people. He
was given the words of the Lord. He only
had to repeat them and proclaim them. Confessing
God’s word is not about popularity, but the truth.
Some of you will be called to be pastors
or teachers. All of you are called to be
confessors of God’s word. And just as
God gave his words to Jeremiah, so God has given his word to you. You know what is good and right. You know what is evil and wrong. God has made that plain to you. You know that there is judgment for the
unbeliever and that there is forgiveness for the penitent. God has shown you that, too. While you might think that you are too young
to confess God’s word like Jeremiah claimed, you are not. God’s word is true. It has authority because it is God’s word,
not because you are old enough to make it so.
You are all confessors of God’s word. You delight in what God has to say because
you know it is true. More importantly,
you delight in it because it is that word which assures you that you are
redeemed children of God. You are not
God’s people because you are better or smarter than others. You are not God’s children because you attend
Michigan Lutheran Seminary. You are
God’s children because you have been baptized into God’s name. You have been washed clean of all your sins
through the innocent blood of Jesus. He
has taken your sins, your death, and your punishment. You, in turn, receive his innocence. He took God’s curse so that you live under
God’s favor. Therefore, you don’t need
to fear anything. As St. Paul wrote, “If
God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31)?
Well, Jeremiah would answer that question
for you. A lot of people. You are confessors of God’s word, but you
will find that a lot of people don’t want to hear anything that God has to
say. That might feel strange to you
because of how much you delight in hearing the word that assures you of God’s
faithful love and of the eternal glory to come.
You will not experience it here in the relative safety of the MLS
dorms. But you might experience it at
your summer job. You might face it with
neighbors or relatives. You will
certainly face it at a public college.
And when you do, you might wonder what is wrong with you. If you have to stand alone in your
confession, you will be tempted to abandon it.
Even if you know God’s word is right, the desire to be liked by other
people might sway you to seek their favor over God’s favor. Like the Pharisees, we can yearn to crave the
praise of men more than the praise of God.
Beware. Confessing God’s word is
not about popularity, but the truth.
I don’t say this to scare you, but to
prepare you. And I encourage you with
what the Lord told young Jeremiah: “Do not be afraid of them, because I am
with you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:8).
With the Lord there is hope and strength
and truth and refuge. You may not be
popular with the world for your confession, but don’t let that convince you
that there is something wrong with you. Popularity
is not how we determine who is right. Jesus
told us, “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is
the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. How narrow is the gate, and how difficult is
the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Mattew 7:13-14). Those who reject the word of the Lord will
perish, but those who faithfully hold to Jesus Christ and his word of the Lord
will be saved by him.
Confessing God’s word is not about popularity,
but the truth. So, people may say all
kinds of nasty things to you and about you.
This would be very troubling to anyone.
But that is why you need to hear the word of the Lord again and again. You need to be reminded of God’s favor upon
you and God’s faithfulness to you. You
are not what the world says you are. You
are a child of the Most High God. And he
tells you, “Do not be afraid of them, because I am with you, and I will
rescue you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:8).
This is also why you will need to
faithfully be in God’s house Sunday after Sunday. You will need the encouragement of your
fellow Christians. They will pray for
you. They will encourage you. They will remind you that you are not
enduring this wicked world alone. And
you will need to be nourished and strengthened in holy communion where you will
receive the body and blood of Jesus which has overcome death, the devil, and
the world.
The prophet Jeremiah faithfully preached and confessed God’s word for many years. They were hard years. Eventually, Jeremiah was dragged down to Egypt against his will. There, he continued to confess and to preach. Tradition says that his listeners finally stoned him to death. But do not grieve for Jeremiah. He is with his Lord and is doing very well. This is our ultimate goal as well. Even if the world hates you, they are not in charge. Your Savior, Jesus Christ, is. He holds your life in his hands, hands which were nailed to a cross to redeem you. He is with you. He is your refuge. And he is faithful to you. So do not fear. His word endures, and it will save you.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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