Sermon Tone Analysis

Subject: Politically incorrect sermon  

Trinity 8 August 10, 03

Sermon Text: Matthew 7: 12-14Historic Lessons.Psalm 48OT: Jer.

15: 19-21Romans 8: 12-17Gospel: Matthew 7: 15-23

Hymns: 226 (1-5) , 258, 260, 226 (6-9), 261.I.N.I. 

Trinity 8 Introit:    We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, in themidst of Your temple.

According to Your name, O God, so is Your praise to theend of the earth.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, In the city ofour God, in the mountain of His holiness.

Trinity 8 Collect:   Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank You thatYou have caused us to come to the knowledge of Your Word.

We pray: graciouslykeep us steadfast in this knowledge unto death, that we may obtain eternal life;send us, now and ever, pious pastors who faithfully preach Your Word, withoutoffence or false doctrine, and grant them long life.

Defend us from all falseteachings, and frustrate the counsels of all who pervert Your Word, who come tous in sheep¡¦s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves, that your trueChurch may evermore be preserved among us, and be defended and preserved fromsuch false teachers, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son who lives andreigns with Your and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever.

A-men.

I.N.I.

What I am going to say will not fit the present venue of political correctness.

In contrast to those who would argue that Islam is a religion of peace, theKoran (Qur¡¦an) speaks a different tune.

Two former Islamic brothers writethese words on the basis of the Qur¡¦an in reference to the kafir or theunbeliever:    Certainly the Qur¡¦an declares the expulsion or destruction of the infidel.

Even a cursory reading of the Qur¡¦an or the Hadith gives evidence of amissiological endeavor that calls for the complete eradication of thenonbeliever.

In regard to the call to jihad, the Islamic holy war against the infidel, thetwo authors offer this statement: A literal exposition (of ¡§heaven¡¨) demonstrates that militaristic jihadgives the greatest rewards to the Muslim striving to serve Allah with all hisheart.

The devout Muslim is, therefore, compelled into militaristic service.

The term ¡¥Muslim fundamentalist¡¦ is correct insofar as it refers tosomeone who desires to follow Allah wholeheartedly and with an honest, simpledevotion to the Islamic Scriptures.

A ¡§simple devotion¡¨ to the Islamic Scriptures, is then summed up by theCaner brothers in these words: The significant difference between Christians and Muslims, then, is not history,but theology.

Orthodox Christians are taught to live at peace by the livingand written Word of God.

Muslims are taught by the Qur¡¦an and Allah¡¦smessenger to ¡¥fight and slay the Pagans wherever you find them¡¦ (Surah9:5).

The point of all this I will now try to establish.

We hear much about¡§those¡¨ Muslims that have ¡§hijacked¡¨ the Islamic faith.

Allegedly,they are the ones calling for a jihad and they are the ones implementing thesuicide bombings.

In contrast, I would suggest to anyone that these Muslimsare the ¡§real¡¨ Muslims, the ¡§devout¡¨ Muslims.

All the rest arewhat some might call ¡§Jack-Muslims.¡¨    Once again, I appeal to the Canerbrothers, ¡§The authors of this book assert that Islam does in fact have anessential and indispensable tenet of militaristic conquest.

The terroristswere not some fringe group that changed the Qur¡¦an to suit political ends.

They understood the Qur¡¦an quite well and followed the jihad to theletter.¡¨     Islam is not a religion of peace, but a religion of conquest and bloodshed.

Indeed, those who refuse the jihad are apostates, and not truly devout Muslims.

If a fatwa (declaration of war) has been called, all Muslims are underobligation to respond.

A fatwa was signed and declared by five Islamiccaliphates against the United States on February 23, 1998.

Those Muslimswho do not respond cannot be considered ¡§good Muslims.¡¨ One other aspect of this needs our attention this morning before we consider thewords of St. Paul.

The ¡§devout¡¨ Muslim, or as some might say ofChristians, the ¡§born again¡¨ Muslim is compelled to give his life, ifnecessary, and fight in the jihad or holy war, not out of love for Allah, butout of fear.

As Allah is quoted, ¡§Unless you go forth, He will punish youwith a grievous penalty, and put others on your place.¡¨  In a sense, God has called us to a jihad or ¡§Holy War.¡¨  St.

Paul restatesthe fatwa of God this morning in his words to the Romans, ¡§If you liveaccording to the flesh you will die.

But if by the Spirit you kill theactivities of the body, you will live.¡¨

There is the Christian fatwa.

Doyou hear and comprehend this?

We are commanded to commit murder, ¡§to slaythe pagan and infidel.¡¨   However, this fatwa is directed, not againstothers, but against ourselves, that is, against our fleshly pagan and infideldesires.

And God does not call us to carry this out in the context of fear andpunishment, but rather in the context of Holy Baptism and His love for ussinners.

This morning we then consider this thought: THE ENCOURAGEMENT GOD GIVES US TO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NOTACCORDING TO THE FLESH.(THE

CHRISTIAN FATWA) 1.

We do not owe the flesh anything.2.

We are God¡¦s adopted children.

WE DO NOT OWE THE FLESH ANYTHING         The first encouragement Paul gives us in our Christian fatwa is that we do notowe the flesh anything.

After Paul has spoken of what the Romans have in HolyBaptism, what Jesus has done to rescue them from the sinful body that bringsdeath and how no condemnation can be theirs in Christ, he now goes back to theiroriginal premise with the words, ¡§and so.¡¨   Remember that premise fromour sermon on Holy Baptism several weeks ago, ¡§Let¡¦s go on sinning so thatGod may be more gracious to us?¡¨     In this backdrop, Paul writes, ¡§Andso, fellow Christians (brothers), we do not owe it to the flesh to loveaccording to the flesh.¡¨   As Christians, we are no longer under anyobligation to live as the world lives.

We have been freed from the bondage ofSatan and have been given our freedom.

The ¡§flesh¡¨ of which Paul speaksis not the skin that covers our bodies, but the old sinful nature with its evilinclinations to lust, greed, malice and a host of other sins.

With the wordƒêƒØƒÞ, the present tense of the verb ¡§to live,¡¨ Paul suggests anaction eagerly pursued by the Roman members.

In a gentle and loving way, Paul now sets up the results of the eager pursuit ofthe flesh with a conditional sentence, ¡§If you live according to the flesh,you will die.¡¨

The flesh is our enemy, indeed, one of the three enemies ofthe Christian, along with the ¡§world,¡¨ and the devil,¡¨  which Lutherdefines in the Sixth Petition of the Lord¡¦s Prayer, ¡§And lead us not intotemptation.¡¨

We are at war.

And this is a fatwa.

This is a lovingwarning from our Savior through the pen of St. Paul.

It is here so that we canknow and identify the tricks of Satan meant to destroy our faith begun in HolyBaptism.

In contrast to living according to the flesh, Paul calls us to war against theflesh or the sinful body, ¡§But if by the Spirit you kill the activities ofthe body, you will live.¡¨

The ¡§activities of the body¡¨ obviously arenot the normal functions of daily life.

We must eat, we must drink, we mustsleep and God calls us to work.

These other ¡§activities¡¨ are defined byPaul in Galatians, ¡§Sexual sin, impurity, unrestrained lust, worshiping ofidols, witchcraft, hate, bickering, jealousy, anger, selfishness, quarreling,divisions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.¡¨   Temptation to theseactivities must come because we still live in a sin-filled world.

But as Lutheronce said, ¡§We cannot stop the birds from flying over our heads, but we canstop them from roosting in our hair.¡¨

However, I suggest that therein lies our problem.

We are finally no differentthan the Romans with their axiom, ¡§Let¡¦s go on sinning so that God may bemore gracious to us?¡¨   I suggest that we take our sins too lightly.

Wemight not be quite so bold as to suggest what the Romans said.

But I suggestwe think this way, ¡§Yes.

I sin, but God will forgive me anyway, so thatlustful look or that malice I hold in my heart or those temper tantrums I have,or the quarreling and bickering that goes on in my family is not all thatserious.¡¨   Is this really any different than the word of the Romans?

Have we really followed the fatwa of our God or could we be accused of being¡§Jack-Christians¡¨ when it comes to our devotion to our Savior?

It wasto one of the churches in modern Turkey that Paul wrote, ¡§Since you arelukewarm, I am going to spit you out of My mouth.¡¨  God says we do not owethe flesh anything, but does it not seems that we still want to make weeklypayments?

It is like making payments on a car that no longer runs.

How smartis that?

So often, we are making payments toward Satan on a life that isdead.

Must we not all say, ¡§Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner.¡¨ WE ARE GOD¡¦S ADOPTED CHILDREN         The second encouragement Paul gives us in our Christian fatwa is that we areGod¡¦s adopted children.

Interestingly, Paul does not say, ¡§Unless you goforth, God will punish you with a grievous penalty.¡¨   Instead, he bringsthem back to baptism, specifically their adoption through Holy Baptism.

Paulwrites, ¡§For all who are moved by God¡¦s Spirit are God¡¦s children.

For you did not receive the spirit of slaves to make you feel afraid again, butyou received the spirit of God¡¦s adopted children by which we call our¡¥Abba, Father!¡¨    Our encouragement to engage in a fatwa against ourflesh comes not from fear of God, but rather from God¡¦s love towards us assinners.

Being moved by the Holy Spirit means that we are led away in thegracious mercy of our Savior who shed His innocent blood for our sins of alifetime.

But now, I beg you to notice Paul¡¦s comparison.

Paul calls the Romans, andus, both ¡§sons¡¨ (ƒåƒÙƒßƒÙ) and ¡§children(ƒäƒÕƒÛƒÞƒÑ).

Both are Gospel and terms of absolution.

¡§Sons¡¨ is opposed to slaves.

But ¡§sons¡¨ also agrees with conduct,for a son should act the part expected of him in relation to his father, indeed, we are sons of a King.

Should we not be happy to act as princes?

Also, slaves work out of fear; fear of being punished if they do not perform.

God enjoins us to engage in this fatwa, because we are His ¡§adoptedchildren.¡¨   ¡§Adopted children¡¨ is what we are because of Holy Baptism.

We now carry the name of our Savior.

This is a legal term.

We are now theproperty of God the Holy Spirit as Paul says, ¡§Do you not know that you arethe temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?¡¨   If we are Histemple, we are His property.

That is again why we do not owe Satan and ourflesh one single thing!

As children, we do not live under the Law, butunder grace.

But Paul also calls us ¡§children of God.¡¨   ¡§Children¡¨ carries withit the idea of birth.

Indeed, through Holy Baptism, God created us anew andgave us a new birth.

¡§Children¡¨ brings out the idea of endearment.

While a son is expected to act in a way that reflects the reputation of thefather, ¡§children¡¨ conveys the idea of dependence, even immaturity.

In speaking of immaturity, how often do we become wearied with our own sin?   Weshould have come to maturity and stopped sinning for as long as we have beenChristians.

Do you often think with St. Paul, ¡§I do not do the good that Iwant to do; instead I do the evil that I do not want to do.¡¨   If thatdefines your life, take heart!

When Paul says, ¡§The Spirit Himselftestifies with our spirit that we are God¡¦s children,¡¨ he uses the presenttense of the verb.

In other words, the condition of being children goes on, itis not interrupted by our immaturity, or daily faults and failures and sins.

Instead, they are covered by the blood of Jesus in whose name and under whosecare we live.

As children, Paul says we can cry out, ¡§Abba, Father.¡¨   Do you hear theabsolution in those words?