The Collect for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity
O God, whose never ending Providence orders all things both in Heaven and Earth; we humbly ask You to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things that are good for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle Romans 3:12-17
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Adoption by whom we cry out "Abba, Father." 16 The spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, That we may also be glorified together.
The Holy Gospel of Matthew 7:15-21
15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruits you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today's Epistle Reading is taken from the Epistle of St Paul to the Romans Chapter 3, Verse 12-17.
In this portion of his Epistle St Paul continues his teaching regarding the old sin dominated human nature, in which we all lived, prior to our coming to faith in the Lord Jesus.
St Paul calls us debtors, who at one time owed our allegiance to Satan and sin, and had that bondage continued full repayment would have been physical and spiritual death:
“12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
St Paul goes on to tell us that we are now recipients of the Gift of the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, our old sinful nature having been put to death with The Lord Jesus’ Redeeming Death on the Cross, and His Glorious Resurrection to Eternal Life, to which we are now forever bound to by Faith.
This binding is the brought about by the Blessing of the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The result of this new, binding Faith in the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus is not death, but Eternal Life with The Lord Jesus in God's Everlasting Kingdom:
“14 For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Adoption by whom we cry out "Abba, Father." 16 The spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”
We have not received the spirit of bondage and fear of the unknown. We have received the Gift of the Holy Spirit and have become God’s adopted sons and daughters, as we have been given the status and privileges of children of God, through being joined to the Lord Jesus, by Faith, in His Life, Death and Resurrection:
“17 and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, That we may also be glorified together.”
This is the power of the Holy Gospel. Our old nature, which led to eternal damnation, has been put to death with the Lord Jesus and in it’s place we have been given the Lord Jesus Christ’s Holy Righteousness, and Eternal Life with God. As children of God we can cry out “Abba, Father” which is very personal family greeting used by children, in the Lord Jesus’ time, to address their fathers.
As God’s children we share the inheritance promised by our Heavenly Father. This inheritance is Eternal Life in God’s Eternal Kingdom.
The Eternal Kingdom of God does not consist of floating around on a cloud, playing a harp.
This harp playing, cloud dwelling, idea of Heaven comes from the classical Greek view of spiritual life, in which the eternal spirit (intellect) is pure, and imprisoned within the body (dross) at birth. At death, the pure intellect is freed from the corrupt physical body and ascends back to the ethereal plane to commune with other disembodied spirits.
It is from the Greek view of life and death, that the portrayal of life and death seen in many movies, and children’s cartoons, originates from.
Most of us have seen Wiley Coyote floating up on a cloud, playing a harp, after blowing himself up trying to catch the Roadrunner.
This classical Greek view of the “afterlife” is the work of Satan seeking to deceive us all into believing that all will be well after death, where a cloud and harp await us for eternity.
God’s Eternal Kingdom will be a Physical place with every good thing that we enjoy in this life, rivers, mountains, valleys, green pastures with fragrant flowers and all the animals and birds that bring us great pleasure. All these things will be ours minus the bad things like greed, anger, envy and hatred, pain and sickness, anxiety, suffering, sorrow, depression and crying.
This promise of God is recorded in Chapter 21, Verses 1-5 of the Book of Revelation of St John:
"1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
The Kingdom of God will also have wonderful things that we have not seen, or heard of, and that we have never imagined. What these things will be we do not know now, however we will be astounded when we see, hear and experience them with the Lord Jesus. St Paul declares this promise of the Lord Jesus in his first letter to the Corinthians Chapter 2, Verses 6-9:
“6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him”
Let us thank our Heavenly Father for all His Wonderful Blessings and Gifts to us, but above all for His Gift of the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which we are clothed in the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus and made His adopted Children, and heirs of His Eternal Kingdom and all the Wonderful things God has prepared for us. Amen.
The Holy Gospel Reading for today is taken from the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 7, Verses 15-21.
This passage of Scripture forms part of the Lord Jesus’ Sermon (teaching) on the Mount.
The Lord Jesus is very explicit and forceful in His warning regarding false prophets (and teachers) who do not preach, and teach, God’s Holy Gospel truthfully:
“15 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."
In the Lord Jesus’ time there were many false teachers and prophets claiming to be the promised Messiah from God. These rogues sought to lead many people astray and used them to gain power, wealth and glory for themselves. These evil “messiahs” were doing the work of Satan.
Satan’s goal is to deceive as many people as he can into ignoring and rejecting the Lord Jesus, so that they are condemned on God’s Great Day of Judgement.
It is Satan’s fervent desire that all these deceived people will join him in eternal damnation.
The Lord Jesus tells us that we can discern false teachers by their fruit. The fruit that the Lord Jesus speaks of is the lifestyle and behaviour (deeds) of these teachers and their followers:
“16 By their fruits you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
The Lord Jesus uses the example of fruit trees and vines to illustrate His point. A good tree bears good fruit that is pleasant to eat and provides nourishment and sustenance to those who eat it. In a like manner a bad or diseased tree does not bring forth good fruit but rather bad (bitter and diseased) fruit.
Also the Lord Jesus asks whether we pick grapes from thorn bushes other such vines, or figs from thistle bushes. The answer is obviously “no”. The fruits and berries from thorns and thistles are often poisonous and eating them can result in severe illness and even death.
The Lord Jesus’ message is very clear, before you believe any teacher claiming to teach God’s Word, examine that teacher’s fruit. The fruit of a teacher is what his teaching brings forth in his life and the lives of his followers.
There are many false religions in the world today:
Many false religions worship false prophets and man-made idols. Other false religions worship the teachings of their “holy men.”
Also in our time there are many false messiahs, prophets and gurus claiming to be able to foretell the future by reading tarot cards and a person’s palm. Other false teachers provide astrology predictions based on the movement of the stars in the firmament.
It is a sad fact that practically all major television networks have programmes that are based on demonic themes and witchcraft. Nearly all newspapers, together with ladies' and men’s weekly magazines devote much space to their clairvoyant’s predictions, in their astrology / horoscope sections.
In the last few decades there have been a large number of movies that deal with satanic activity and “magic”. This is especially true of the “Harry Potter” saga with demonic themes wrapped up in the sugar coating of a boy wizard and his adventures.
Many young and not-so-young people know more about Harry Potter than about their own country, and God’s Holy Word, revealed in the Holy Bible.
Modern science has become a false religion for many people who seek, under Satan’s power, to explain away the creation of the world and mankind and to reduce the value of mankind to nothing but the biological entities on a tiny speck in a vast, infinite and unknown universe.
The modern “green” movement and “climate change” movements have become false religions, presenting theories as “absolute truth,” all designed to remove God from His Creation and people.
Even within what many people see as “Christianity” are many churches in which The Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is not preached, but rather the rules and teachings of “men”.
Many of these churches are led and controlled by slick preachers, who are often very wealthy and are quite zealous to separate the church members from their money, all in the cause of building the “Lord’s church,” (bigger and more opulent church complexes), not saving souls from the Great Judgement of God.
You can see some of these false churches in action on television with huge audiences hanging on every word of the charismatic preacher and loud rock-like music thundering out to dull the senses. Also false miracles of healing are a common feature in these television churches.
It is worth investigating the miracles after the show has left the town. Sadly in many cases the recipients of these “blessings” and “miracles” are to be found in the cemetery, after discontinuing life-saving medication and treatment,
The Blessing of God’s Miracles comes in, many instances, via the skill and compassion of doctors and nurses, raised up by God, to accomplish His Work, and not necessarily by dramatic “faith healers”.
Sadly there are other “Christian” churches that will stress some aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit and so elevate personal experiences above the Holy Gospel of The Lord Jesus Christ.
Satan is the father of all lies and will seek to deceive, if possible, even God’s people by putting a good activity, or teaching, in the place of the best activity and teaching.
All false and lying teachers and their poisonous trash are the work of their father Satan who uses these means to deceive people into rejecting the Lord Jesus as the Holy Son of God.
The final verse of our Reading, from the Holy Gospel, is a very startling and sobering pronouncement from the Lord Jesus:
“21 Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
We are told that on the Day of Judgement many will stand before The Lord Jesus (Who is God’s Holy Judge) and say “Lord, Lord” but will not be permitted to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only “he who does the will of My Father Who is Heaven”
What is the “Will of the Father Who is in Heaven”?
“The Will of the Father” is that we believe in the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ – The Holy Gospel.
If we truly believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son and Holy Word of God, and that He became a human being (free from all sin) to die on the Cross to pay the price of our sins, then we are doing the Will of the Father who is in Heaven.
Once we are clothed with the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus, by believing and accepting, by faith, the Lord Jesus’ Mighty Work of Redemption on the Cross (Justification by Faith), we are then accounted Righteous before God, on the Great Day of Judgement, and we will live forever as God's Adopted Children.
This does not mean that we will never sin again. St Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Romans Chapter 3, Verses 23:
“all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God”
The Greek verb for “sinning” used by St Paul, in this verse, has the meaning that all have sinned (and continually sin) and come short (and continually come short) of the Glory of God.
To understand Justification by Faith reveals why St Paul can say that we as Christians continually sin, and yet at that same time, we are regarded as Righteous before God.
We stand before God not clothed with our own worthless righteousness, but rather, we are clothed, for all time, with The Holy Righteousness of The Lord Jesus Christ Who is the Only Begotten, and Beloved Son of God.
Our grateful faith in the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is most pleasing to God.
I always find great joy in the opening two lines, and chorus, of the much loved old hymn:
“My hope is built on nothing less,
than Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness.”
********
“On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.”
Let us always thank God for the His Gift of the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus by which we are clothed in His Holy Righteousness and adopted as God's Children, and inheritors of His Eternal Kingdom.
May God Bless us and keep us all standing, by Faith, on the Solid Rock that is The Lord Jesus Christ.
Bishop Ian