Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2008 : February 3, 2008

Theme: Get into a Gospel Rut

Church year occasion: Transfiguration Sunday

What do these ideas have in common?

The 9/11 terrorist attacks were concocted by the U.S. government to promote militarism and a police state.
The Apollo moon landing was faked by NASA to trick everyone into thinking we beat the Russians to the moon.
Beatles member Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-alike, which is revealed on album covers and when you play some of their songs backward.

These are what we call conspiracy theories. A conspiracy theory looks at an often unexplainable event, from JFK's assassination to UFOs, and supposes that there must be a sinister plot behind it all, enacted by powerful, shadowy figures, to shape history according to their own designs. The problem with conspiracy theories is that, by their very nature, they are not provable -- and those who try to prove them have a way of disappearing.

One of the more interesting conspiracy theories I've come across was a novel called Foucault's Pendulum written by Umberto Eco. In the novel three main characters work at a small publishing company in Milan. A strange man approaches them to publish a cryptic story about the Knights Templar who have resurfaced in the present day to take over the world. Then the man strangely disappears and is never heard from again. At first the three men make fun of the man's story and even invent a conspiracy of their own in mockery. But eventually they start finding that some of the things they wrote about are coming true, and they start believing their own conspiracy. The more they try to get away from what they have created, the more they become enmeshed in it, like a fly in a spider's web. They find themselves in a rut -- everything they see and even imagine has cryptic and dangerous consequences and fits somehow into their conspiracy. By the end of the novel, we are left to wonder if the conspiracy theory they invented is just a cleverly invented story or if it's actually true.

This morning the Apostle Peter will tell you the most important story you'll ever hear, but he doesn't leave us wondering if it's true or not. He was there. He saw and heard it all happen. He says,

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The characters in Foucault's Pendulum got into a rut of their own making. Everything they experienced made them think the story they made up was true. As Christians, we can get into ruts, too. We can start believing the religions of this world instead of the account in the Bible because they're more mysterious and therefore more appealing. Or we can get into a different rut -- a gospel rut -- in which we find everything in life focuses on the good news of Jesus and what he's done for us and how we respond in our lives. Peter encourages you to Get into a Gospel Rut.

The first thing you will find in that gospel rut is Jesus' glory. That's important because the people to whom Peter was writing were starting to hear all kinds of things about Jesus, many of which weren't true. False teachers were pressuring them to abandon their faith altogether. An easy target for false teachers was Jesus' return in glory on Judgment Day. Some Christians were under the impression that Jesus would come back in only a few months or a few years at the most -- but he would definitely return during their lifetimes. So false teachers would point to the fact that Jesus hadn't returned yet even though he had promised that he would come back soon. "Jesus hasn't kept that promise, so how can you trust him at all?" was their point.

Peter's response to false teachers then and now is simple: You can trust that Jesus is who he said he is because Peter saw him as he really is -- the Son of God himself. Peter said, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

Peter was referring to the day when Jesus took Peter as well as James and John to a mountain in Galilee and was transfigured before them. Jesus gave them a glimpse of his glory as God. Why do you think he would do that? Here's a hint: It was only six months before Peter and the rest of Jesus' followers would see Jesus hanging on a cross, bleeding and dying, and eventually dead. Jesus wanted his closest disciples to see exactly who he was -- God himself -- even when they saw him suffer and die. But Peter also used his experience on the mountain to assure his fellow believers when they began to doubt whether Jesus was really God's Son. Peter said, "I was there. I saw Jesus in his glory, which can't even be described in words."

Matthew's account says that Jesus was like the sun, and his clothes were like the rays of the sun. Mark's account says that Jesus' clothes were so white that it was whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. Luke tells us that his face changed and his clothes were like flashes of lightning. Peter didn't make that up. He saw it with his own eyes. The Apostle John also talked about that day when he said, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:18)

But Peter and John and James did more than see Jesus' glory; they heard his glory as well on that mountain. Peter says, [Jesus] "received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain."

God often appeared in the form of fire and cloud and smoke in the Old Testament. It was known as "the Glory of the Lord." Can you think of some times in the Old Testament when God appeared to them in the form of fire and smoke -- the Glory of the Lord? God used that form when he made a covenant with Abraham. He used that form when he appeared to Moses in the bush. He used that form when he led Israel in the wilderness and when he entered his house -- the tabernacle or the temple. Why? It was to show his people that he was there with them. God was present on that mountain in Galilee as well. God the Father said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Those words showed who Jesus was -- the eternal Son of the Father sent on a mission to save the world from sin. Those words showed that God loved his Son and was happy with his work; Jesus was doing everything according to God's plan. He was living the perfect life that we all are to live. And soon he would give up that life as the sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Peter had seen and heard Jesus' glory. When you get in the rut of this world, where you start doubting the Bible and what it says about Jesus, get out of that rut and into the rut of the gospel, where you, too, will see and hear Jesus' glory. And in that gospel rut you will also be certain of your salvation.

Every year people have to do their taxes. That time is upon us again. Every year we are told that this year it is simpler and easier to do than last year. Don't believe everything you hear. I'm sure I will be using every finger that I have in doing my taxes this year as I have used in previous years. You know what I mean? As you're in one form, the directions tell you to go somewhere else, fill out a form, which tells you to go to another publication and another form to find how to do something else. Pretty soon, you have almost every finger used to mark pages that you have to get back to. Eventually, you are completely lost, you've forgotten where you are and you don't know how to get back to where you need to be.

Does your life ever seem like that: You are completely lost, you've forgotten where you are and you don't know how to get back to where you need to be? That happens when we start to take more pleasure in this world than we do in Christ and his gospel message; when we love ourselves and our own choices more than we love God and his will for our lives. It's easy to feel off course in life -- like we have gotten out of the rut of the gospel because we've heard it before and we know what it says. That is a horrible place to be. When we start taking our salvation for granted, when we fail to rejoice in the forgiveness that is ours in Christ, we will also notice that our lives as Christians reflect it -- we don't have as much joy in doing good works, and they become few and far between. We tell ourselves, "I'm a Christian. I know I'm going to heaven, but I've got too much going on in my life right now. I can't spend my time doing "church stuff" all the time. Besides, I did something for my fellow believers last October when I helped out at church." Do you see what's happened to that Christian? He's fallen into the rut of complacency -- he's happy to let opportunity after opportunity to serve Christ and fellow Christians and strangers pass him by.

Do you ever feel like that? Do you wonder how to get out of that rut? Remember what I said earlier: Don't believe everything you read. Just because someone tells you that taxes are going to be easier this year, don't believe them. On the spiritual plane, don't believe everything you hear or read either. Today some Christians don't believe creation is a literal account, or they say that homosexuality is an acceptable alternative lifestyle, or that babies shouldn't be baptized. What do you think Peter would say about that? He'd tell us that we have no right to sit in judgment on Scripture. He'd tell us: Don't believe everything you read, but do believe everything you read in the Bible. And this is why. Peter says, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

Knowing that every word in the Bible is God's word and therefore 100% true, we can trust it. We can trust that word that says, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) We can trust that word that says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31) We can trust Jesus when he said every teaching in the Bible is important when he said, "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've commanded you." (Matthew 28:19) Those words give us certainty that our salvation is won and that heaven is ours simply through faith in Christ. They tell us that every teaching of Scripture is not only important, but also trustworthy because they come from God himself. When you see those things, you are in a gospel rut, not only rejoicing in your salvation, but also looking for ways to put your Christian faith into practice as you serve God and your fellow man by what you do.

Wouldn't it have been great to be on that mountain with Peter, James, and John to see Jesus' glory and to be assured of our salvation? Yes, it would have been, but we don't need it. How do we see Christ's glory shine today with even more glory than he did on that mountaintop long ago? We see more glory in Christ when we look at ourselves as sinners declared holy in God's eyes, when we see a baby being baptized and brought into God's family, when we gaze at the cross and know that Jesus died there for me, when we can taste God's forgiveness and God's glory in the Lord's Supper. And one day you'll have the goal of your faith -- your eternal inheritance made possible only by Christ. Then you will see Christ's glory with your own eyes. When you remember all those things, you are exactly where you need to be -- in a gospel rut. Amen.