Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2005 : May 22, 2005

Theme: What the Triune God Wants of You

Church year occasion: Holy Trinity

One day long ago the richest man in the world was trying to find out who or what God was. He went to the wisest man in the world and asked him, "What is God?" The wisest man said, "Come back tomorrow, and I will give you an answer." The next day the richest man came back for his answer, but the wisest man asked for another day. So he came back the next day and received the same answer, and the day after that was the same. Eventually the wisest man in the world said, "I can't say who God is because the longer I think about it, the more difficult it is for me to answer."

One of the Fathers of the Christian Church, Tertulian, heard about this incident and said, "There you have the wisest man in the world, and he cannot tell you who God is. But the most ignorant mechanic among Christians knows God, and is able to make him known to others."

On this Holy Trinity Sunday, we will look at a passage of Scripture that tells us who God is in his very essence -- three persons in one God -- and also what that Triune God wants of you. Basically, God wants us to know him and to make him known to others.

This morning in Bible class we talked about how some people think that every religion is following the true God, but that it's just a different picture of the true God. If that were true, then Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians all follow the same God. But there are two very distinct things revealed in the Bible that tell us this can't be the case. They show that the God of the Christians, or in other words, the God of the Bible, is the only true God. Both of them are found in the words we're looking at this morning at the end of Matthew's Gospel. The first is that the true God reveals himself as three Persons -- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit -- in one God. And the second is that our salvation is found only Jesus Christ.

That becomes very clear at the end of Matthew's Gospel account where Matthew focuses on one of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances to his disciples. We read: "The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go." Jesus took this time to instruct his disciples for one of the last times, so he went to a location where his enemies would not bother them. But something curious is mentioned about the disciples --something we would expect, and something we would not. "When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted." We would expect them to worship Jesus. After all he had just shown that he was not only their master and teacher, but also the master of death and sin and hell and the devil. He was God, so he deserved their worship. But some doubted. Some of Jesus' disciples may still have had some doubts -- just as we might doubt that our God is a God of love when a loved one is raped or murdered. It was possible that all of them doubted what they were supposed to do now, especially since Jesus had told them that he would have to leave them soon.

Doubt is the opposite of faith, and we are just as prone to doubting our God as the disciples were. How many times haven't we thought things like, "I doubt that going to church is going to do anything for me this morning," or "I doubt this prayer will do any good"? Or how about this -- even though Jesus gives us the Great Commission of telling others about him, aren't there times that we have thought, "I doubt the message will do anything for that person." Doubt is a scary thing. It's the opposite of faith; it's the opposite of trusting in our God.

That's why Jesus made sure his disciples would have no doubt about who he was and what that meant for their entire existence on this earth. He told them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

Jesus had shown his authority before, of course. He had taught with authority, unlike the other religious leaders of the Jews. He had cast out demons with the authority of the Son of God. He had even forgiven sins, which only God could do. And now his authority as the risen and victorious Savior was even more apparent. In fact, Jesus told them that as God himself, he had all the authority of God -- he ruled over everything. That means that Jesus has authority over you. Do you like to hear that? Many times for us, the word "authority" has a bad sound to it, at least if we are the ones who don't have it. Teenagers go through that stage where they rebel against authority; adults don't like someone telling them what to do either. We just like to be our own boss. But what a tragedy it would have been if God had allowed us to continue with that kind of thinking. Instead of letting us try with our own authority to take of the devil and sin, Jesus did it for us. That's why Jesus' words telling us of his authority over everything are not the kind of words that give us loathing because we aren't our own bosses, but they are words of comfort -- nothing can stand in our way with Christ's authority behind us. In fact, not even the gates of hell can overcome us. So with Christ for us and his absolute authority backing us, our doubt is gone.

Christ's authority also assures us that through his own life and death in our place, he has taken every time we have failed to worship him rightly, every time we have sinned, and pinned them to the cross as he suffered for them. The authority that Jesus had during his time on earth when he told sinners that their sins are forgiven is also meant for us. "Be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven." That promise of Christ's authority makes all the difference in the world to us because it tells us that Jesus is God and that he has forgiven our sins. We are not bound to sin any longer. Our master is the One who conquered sin, death and hell for us. We are saved for eternity. There is no doubt about it. There is no fear because of sin. There is no wondering whether we have done enough to earn God's favor. Christ did it for us, and his perfection is ours. Simply believe and eternal life is yours.

But simply believing will not be enough for the Christian. Although we are saved through that faith in Jesus alone, we will want to serve our Triune God with our entire lives. One natural way we can serve and worship our God is by following Christ's program. And it flows from the promise of his authority. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." Whenever you see that word, "therefore," you should ask yourself, "What is it there for?" We are being commissioned by God himself who has all authority in heaven and earth. That is why we can go and make disciples of all nations. Obviously we aren't the ones who actually make heathen into believers. It is the Holy Spirit working through us to save lost souls. And Jesus gives us the two ways in his program that allow us to do it -- by baptizing and by teaching. "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." We use the only tools that God has given us -- the means of grace, which is the gospel in Word and sacraments. When we baptize an infant or an adult, the gospel message is having its effect. Faith is being strengthened or created. When we tell people about Jesus as the only way to eternal life, we are giving them the one thing they need for life in heaven -- the gospel.

But what happens even when we know that we have Christ's authority behind us and we know what the gospel means to us? Our own selves try to distract us from what is most necessary in life -- spreading the gospel message. "When I talk to my friend, I think they will probably laugh at me. I won't know what to say. Someone else is more qualified. Send someone else, Lord!" Sounds a lot like Moses, doesn't it? Boy, we would like to say that we are much better than Moses when God called him, be we aren't at all, are we? We can come up with all kinds of excuses. "I would rather be spending time with my family." "My job is too important. After all, I have to be able to send my kids to college and even put bread on the table before that." "God gave me time to relax, too, you know." All those things are good, if they are used in moderation. But look at it this way. Suppose there is a friend of yours or an acquaintance, or even a family member, who will spend an eternity away from God if you don't tell them about what God has done for them. For whatever reason, God has put you in the right place at the right time with the right message -- the message of sins forgiven. You can tell them what baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit means -- that there are three persons, yet only one God. You can tell them that the Father is the One who created us and still provides for us and protects us. You can tell them that God the Son is Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life when they couldn't and gave them that perfection when he died on the cross, and at the same time took away every single sin they've every committed. You can tell them that the Holy Spirit is the one who uses the simple gospel message to change people's hearts and lives when he creates faith in Jesus in their hearts.

God has called you to be his messenger of salvation. God has forgiven your sins and wants you to tell others that their sins have been completely forgiven also. God wants you to know him and what he's done for you and continues to do for you, and then make him known to others. But will you answer that call, or will you let it slip by and say nothing? It is a great commission indeed. Yet you have the authority of Christ himself. You have the program of the gospel message from Christ himself. And you also have Christ himself with you every step of the way because you have Christ's presence. Jesus said, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He wants you to be absolutely sure that he is with you as you go on that great commission of saving souls for eternity. The first thing God told Moses from the burning bush was the same message: "I will be with you." (Exodus 3:12) The first thing God told Joshua when he succeeded Moses and was probably a little afraid of the daunting responsibility was: "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Those are some comforting words to those two giants of faith in the Old Testament. And those are the same comforting words that Christ gives to you as well as he sends you on the great mission of your life -- his great commission to spread his gospel of salvation to everyone you know.

As a father was tucking his 6-year-old son into bed, he asked him, "Son, when do I love you the most? When you've been fighting with your sister and you're getting into a lot of trouble? Or when you've been really helpful to mom and really nice to everyone else?" The son thought for a moment and then said, "Both times!" "Right," the father said, "and do you know why?" "'Cause you love me. You tell me that every day," the boy replied. The boy knew that no matter what, his father loved him because he constantly said so and acted that way also. God loves us the same way -- whether we're good or bad, he still loves us.

That's what you're Triune God wants of you -- to know him and to make him known to others. Amen.