The Love Genuine

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern

Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg. The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 16th chapter.

From that time, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, Far be it from You, Lord, this shall never happen to You. But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan, you are a hindrance to Me.

For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. Then Jesus told His disciples,

If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

For what will the profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?

For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done.

Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

This is the Gospel of the Lord. In the name of Jesus. Amen. All right.

I think a little bit of biography will help kind of understanding the main point of our text today. So let me explain.

When I was a first -year university student, my first university I attended was the University of California, Irvine, and my father had a lot of say in that.

He wanted me to study economics. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. So economics, sure,

I'll study economics, and I hated it, by the way. But my dad, he didn't want me to have a job. He wanted me to focus on, focus on my studies.

I didn't really focus, by the way. I wanted to be a rock and roll star. Anyway. I played in a band.

Shh. Anyway. All of that being said, my dad had arranged with me to give me an allowance, and this allowance of money really wasn't all that great.

It made it possible for me to eat such amazing cuisine, such as Top Ramen, macaroni and cheese.

Oh, and my favorite, hormel chili, and when you warm it up in the microwave and then pour it in a bag of Fritos, oh, that was a king's feast.

But what ended up happening during that time of my life, what ended up happening during that time of my life is

I would go to the ATM, because they didn't have online banking at that time, so you had to actually go to the bank to figure out how much money you didn't have.

That's kind of the way I looked at it, right? So I would go to the ATM, pop my card in, put in my code, and look at my balance, and it would always just dwindle, dwindle, dwindle, dwindle, dwindle, dwindle.

And as it got close to, well, single digits, which is always a frightening number, by the way.

Any time you have single digits in your bank account, that's bad. It's bad. I would call Dad up,

Dad, I'm running out of money, and he'd say, well, I haven't agreed to pay you your allowance yet.

So I started skipping meals and things like that, and it was just awful. But one day,

I went to the ATM, popped the card in, and there was a ginormous number there. I was back to macaroni and cheese.

Oh, man, it was going to be awesome. But the point is kind of this, is that when it comes to our sanctification,

I want you to use this metaphor to kind of help us out. Scripture is very clear that when it comes to our sanctification, that our sanctification doesn't save us.

We're saved by grace through faith alone. So how is it that we do our good works?

Well, a major metaphor that I would like to work on today is this kind of idea. We have already been given by God this ginormous account as far as good works are concerned and the power to do them by virtue of the fact that we have the

Holy Spirit. But there's another thing, and that is that as Christians, we have truly been raised from the dead.

Have you ever, and maybe some of you here, have you ever noticed that we always celebrate the birth of a child, but there's always kind of a dark, kind of a nagging thought always in the back of your head at the birth of a child because we recognize that every one of us were already born with one foot in the grave.

And then if you've ever had to monitor small toddlers, it seems like your job as a parent is to keep them from actually going into the grave.

And it's a full -time job because they are dead set on completely being oblivious to all the dangers around them.

And so your job is like, no, don't touch that. Oh, put that down. Don't run with that. It's just terrible, right?

But the idea here is that we as Christians, by virtue of the fact that we have been raised from the dead, and this is true, these are baptismal promises that we have, the old has gone, the new has come, we must always remember that we already have one foot out of the grave, one foot in the new earth.

And there are amazing things to consider in light of our text today. So these realities there are apprehended then by faith.

And the question will be, do you believe this or not, that your account has been filled to the brim and you'll never outspend it in this regard?

Let me explain. We'll use this text as our kind of beginning text. We're going to look at Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 to 11.

And you can follow along in your Bible if you like. And I'm going to point something out as a part of this.

In fact, let me kind of talk about the roadmap that we're going to do today. We're going to use Colossians 3 to set up a concept in Scripture regarding the realities of who we are in Christ.

We'll take a little bit of a look at our gospel text and consider what it is that Christ was saying, especially in regards that if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

We'll interpret that through Colossians 3 if you would. But then we're going to look at our epistle text.

We'll take a look at our epistle text and I'm going to do something I don't do very often. I'm going to give you my super rough

Greek translation on purpose because there's something going on in the Greek in this portion of Romans that causes me to disagree with the translation given to us by the

ESV, which is an odd thing to happen, but I'll explain it when we get there. And then to wrap everything up,

I'm actually going to read a portion of Luther's large catechism. The large catechism on the section from the

Lord's Prayer, Lead Us Not Into Temptation, that we'll work it all together. It'll be a little bit of a longer sermon and hopefully there will be some detectable continuity between all these pieces.

If not, just blame the pastor and say, well, I don't know why he did that, what kind of sermon was that? I'll take all the blame.

But all that being said, Colossians chapter three, starting at verse one, it says this, if then you have been raised with Christ.

You notice that Paul doesn't say if you've symbolically been raised with Christ. Have you been raised with Christ?

Yes or no? Well, yeah. What can you point to? Your baptism.

In your baptism, you're buried with Christ and you're raised with Christ. This is not symbolic talk that he's talking about.

These are realities. These things are true. You have already been raised with Christ.

Do you believe it or not? You'll note, sanctification, true Christian sanctification comes down to a matter of faith.

Do you believe what's true about you or not? If you don't believe what's true about you, then it's like having a bazillion dollars in your bank account, but never once writing a check against it because you don't think there's any money in the account, which is kind of silly.

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.

And I would note at this point, this is where we can see where Peter fell woefully short in our gospel text today.

By the way, have you ever stopped to think, I mean, how foolish is it to take God aside and rebuke

God? I mean, that's what Peter did, right? Remember, last week in our gospel text, he confessed that Jesus is the

Christ, the Son of the living God. Already at this point, he's worshiped

Jesus as God. And so knowing this, he takes Jesus aside and rebukes Jesus because Jesus is saying that we're heading to Jerusalem, and here's what's going to happen, boys.

Rather than there being this fancy coronation, forget about hiring the photographer, forget about the flowers, forget about the commemorative plates and spoons and all those things,

I'm kind of referring to the way the British do things. He says, no, I'm going to go there and I'm going to suffer many things.

The chief priests and scribes are going to kill me, and on the third day, I'm going to rise from the dead. And Peter's like, no way, that's just no, uh -uh, that ain't going to happen, far be it from you,

Lord, this shall never happen to you. And you'll note, it is a testimony to the grace and mercy of God that the text doesn't end here and say, thus perished

Peter. And the only thing left was this little black smudge mark on the ground.

Who rebukes God and lives? But you'll note, because Christ is going to the cross, that's why

Peter does not get struck down and die by rebuking God, which again,

I just think is just fascinating in and of itself. So instead, what does Jesus do? He rebukes him and says, get behind me,

Satan, you're a hindrance to me. And listen to what he says, you're not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

And you can pretty much see how this is going. I mean, Peter is thinking, all right, Jesus is the Messiah, I got that right when he asked the question, oh, and that means we're heading to Jerusalem, Jesus is going to be coronated, and since I'm the guy who got the question right,

I'm probably going to be like chief of staff, I'm going to be second in command. Of course, Jesus is going to be on the throne, but talk about a cushy government job,

I'll have some power, have some influence, might even have a vacation home on the

Sea of Galilee, padded 401k. He's thinking about all the things that, well, we think about, the things of man.

So coming back to our framing text in Colossians 3, set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things of the earth.

Everything you see here is transient, nothing here is going to last. Isn't it fascinating how people spend their days?

Spend their days pursuing wealth, influence, power, the pleasures of sin, over and again this is what people have their minds set on.

But we as Christians, because we have been raised with Christ, we are set to set our minds on the things for above, and here's the reason why, because you have died.

You are already dead. Your life is hidden with Christ and God. This is true.

This is to be believed by faith. So when Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Therefore, put to death what is earthly in you. Because of the reality of the fact that you have died and been raised with Christ and your life is hidden with Christ, then because you are a

Christian, put to death what is earthly in you. And if you need a thumbnail sketch of what is earthly, what is earthly -minded, well, scripture gives us that so we don't have to guess.

Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires and covetousness, which is idolatry.

And Paul notes, on account of these the wrath of God is coming. And in these we once walked when we were living in them.

But he continues, but now you must put them all away. Put away anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and you have already put on the new self.

Behold, the old is gone, the new has come. So you have a new self.

You have a new self in Christ. And have you ever noticed the great conflict that exists within you?

On the one hand, your new self only desires to do good things. And your old self only desires, your old

Adam only desires to do what is evil. It's kind of weird, a mix between hot and cold water all together, right?

So because you have put off the old self with its practices and you have put on the new self, and this new self which is being renewed in the knowledge and the image of its creator, this is why we do these things.

And again, this is not just merely some kind of a mindset to adopt, a philosophy, if you would, to embrace.

This is a reality to be believed by faith. So you'll note then that Peter, after being told that he was

Satan, Christ lets him know that he's a hindrance to him, and the problem is he's got his mind set on the things of man rather than the things of God.

Jesus then goes on and tells his disciples, To not have your mind set on the things that are earthly, to not have your mind set on the things of man, is to basically embrace this truth.

You and I are dead men walking. Some of you are dead women walking.

But you get the idea, right? We are dead men walking. This earth, this present creation, under the curse as it is, nothing lasts here.

Why is it that people set up monuments to themselves, build empires for themselves?

Why is it that they are focused about me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, when the one thing we know for sure, there are only two things that are guaranteed in this life, and that's death and taxes.

Don't pay your taxes, and watch, you'll end up paying them, right? Just like you'll end up paying your taxes, you're going to die too.

So these are the things that are certain. Why, if we are transient, why, if we're just passing through, do we focus on these things?

It's because of our sin. So Christ says, whoever would save his life will lose it.

Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. So note, all

Christians are given a cross. And let me say that again, all

Christians are given a cross. Think of it this way, when we talk about the promises of the new covenant, what are the promises of the new covenant?

We are promised that our sins are forgiven in total. From the sin of Adam, which is imputed to us at our conception, to the sin that we commit as we're drawing our last breath on this earth.

Every sin in between is all covered, bled for, died for. We have received full mercy and pardon from God.

This is most certainly true. We are also promised eternal life, given as a gift.

This is also most certainly true. But Christ is also here giving us kind of the sub -promises that go along with that.

The other promises that we will be given a cross. We will be made to suffer. We will be persecuted, and we will be sorely tempted by our own sinful flesh.

We will be tempted by the world, and the devil, oh don't think for a second the devil is asleep.

In fact, he's the energizer bunny. He has unlimited energy and uses that for the purpose of harassing us.

So one of the unsung promises of the new covenant is suffering and persecution and a cross.

And don't try bedazzling your cross, that's just gaudy, that's just silly, right? And so you'll note then the

Christian life is following Christ, where? Not to glory, not in this world. Following him to a terrible, torturous death.

Jesus leading the way, he's crucified, you're next. And this is the reality of this.

Whoever would save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. So what then will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

And what shall a man give in return for his soul? By the way, you can't. There's nothing you can give in return for your soul.

In fact, it took the suffering of Christ in order to redeem and save your soul. For the

Son of Man, he's going to come with his angels and the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

And you hear phrases like this from Christ. He's going to repay everyone according to what he has done. And immediately, it's almost like one of those

Darth Vader moments. You feel like your neck is being constrained. Oh no, I'm going to get repaid for what

I've done because we all know what we've done. But again,

I assure you, I assure you, the record of debt, Scripture says, that stood against you has been canceled.

It has been evacuated of all its accusing power. Christ has bled and died for all of your sins and took that entire record of debt and nailed it to the cross.

Christ took the payment that you and I earned, the repayment, if you would, for all of our sins.

That's why he was on the cross. So we do not have to worry about being repaid for our sins.

Christ already took that payment. So truly, Christ says, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the

Son of Man coming in his kingdom. And just a little bit of a note, since it's in our Gospel text, it's important to note that really there is a reference to Peter, James, and John who are going to go up to the

Mount of Transfiguration and see Christ in his glory. That's the fulfillment of what Christ says there.

So then what do we do in the midst of all of this, since I'm trying to talk about this in the context of sanctification? This is where I would like to consider what our

Epistle text says. And let me read it from the ESV here. And you can find this in your bulletin if you want to follow along.

You'll notice that the way it's phrased in this translation, these sound like commands. These sound like imperatives.

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection.

But when you read it in the Greek, it doesn't read like commands. It doesn't read as imperatives at all.

In fact, I might even show you guys this at the beginning of our Sunday School class. This section of Scripture is not written in imperatives.

It's written in participles. It's not a command. These are not commands. These are descriptions.

These are descriptions of what we already have in Christ. Allow me to give you just a rough translation of the

Greek. That first phrase that the ESV translates, let love be genuine, it just says, the love genuine.

It's not even a full sentence. It's almost like a header for what's coming next.

What Paul is describing is what we already have, what we already are in Christ.

Here's a rough translation. The love genuine. Abhorring the evil. Glued to the good.

The Greek word is glued. Glued to the good. There's a passive sense to that. In the love of the brethren to one another, loving and brotherly love.

In honor, outdoing one another. In diligence, not slothful.

In spirit fervent, serving the Lord. In hope, rejoicing.

In tribulation, enduring. In the prayers, persevering.

To the necessities of the saints, giving. Hospitality, pursuing.

You see the difference? When you just give it a rough translation using the participles, these are not commands.

This is a description of the deposit that has been put into your account. When I read it in this way, who of you could say to me, honestly,

I never want any of those things. Instead, you'll note, this is describing the yearning of our hearts as Christians.

The yearning of your heart. Wouldn't the world be an amazing place? Where people abhorred evil and were glued to the good.

Had love, brotherly love for one another. Where outdoing one another and honoring each other.

In diligence, we're not slothful. In the spirit, we're fervent. In tribulation, enduring. What a great place that would be.

But the thing is, that's describing here. Us. In fact, every true

Christian congregation. Where there are those who have been raised from the dead.

Made alive, quickened by the Holy Spirit. Through either the preaching of the gospel or the means of grace.

This is what our new person is and does. This is what your new man in Christ is and does.

And so because of that, this is a description of that rich deposit.

That God has made in each and every one of us when he's raised us from the dead. And so because of that, the text goes on to say,

Blessing those who are persecuting you. Blessing and not cursing. Rejoicing with those who rejoice.

Weeping with those who weep. Of the same mind toward one another. Not paying attention or minding the high things.

Talking about the lofty, conceited things of life. But instead, with the lowly, going along.

Hanging out with them. Being not wise in our own conceit. Giving back to no one, evil for evil.

Providing right things for all men. And if possible, so far as it depends on you.

And that's kind of the point. Have you ever noticed that, you know, sometimes you just can't get along with somebody and it's not because of you.

It's because of them. They just won't stop attacking. But as far as possible as it relates to you.

With all men, being at peace. Not avenging yourselves. And then giving place for the wrath of God.

For it has been written, vengeance is mine. I will recompense. And here's the idea.

You'll note that in this list then, we can see the themes. The more subtle colors of the painting that Christ is creating.

With the idea of taking up your cross and following Him. The idea that we are going to be suffering.

That in this parade while we are carrying our cross to our own death. There will be people who will persecute us.

And rather than avenging ourselves, we bless them. And let

God be the one who acts in vengeance. And the Lord is the one who will do that.

And so if your enemy is hungry. My enemy? You know, the one who is your enemy, not because of you, but because that person is determined to be your enemy.

If he's hungry, you feed him. If he's thirsty, you give him something to drink. This is what dead men walking do.

For by doing this coals of fire you will heap upon his head. In other words, don't be overcome by evil.

Instead, overcome evil with good. Good text, right?

So to kind of flesh this out a little bit more. I want to read out a section from Luther's large catechism.

Because I think it applies here profoundly. And this is in the section of the large catechism regarding the petition.

Lead us not into temptation. Lead us not into temptation. So here's what

Luther says. We live in the flesh. And we have the old Adam hanging around our necks.

He goes to work and he lures us daily into unchastity, laziness, gluttony, drunkenness, greed, deceit, into acts of fraud and deception against our neighbor.

In short, into all kinds of evil lusts which by nature cling to us and which we are incited by the association and example of other people and by the things we hear and see.

All this often wounds and inflames even an innocent heart.

And so you'll note then, that's describing my sinful nature, your sinful nature, my old

Adam, your old Adam. And we can all say, yep, that sounds pretty familiar.

But if that were not enough, Luther's here describing what we call the unholy trinity. The unholy trinity is our flesh, the world, and the devil.

And so Luther then continues. So next comes the world. And the world assails us by word and deed, drives us to anger and to impatience.

In short, there is in it nothing but hatred, envy, enmity, violence, and injustice, vengeance, cursing, reviling, slander, arrogance, and pride, along with a fondness for luxury, a fondness for honor, a fondness for fame and power.

I hate to say this, but I must, that once again, I did not make the final cut for the most handsome man on planet

Earth. I did not make Time Magazine's Person of the Year either. But you'll note, watch the news, pay attention to what's going on.

Is the world a happy, peaceful place? No, not at all.

And so you'll know, all of this jockeying for power and prestige and fame and money and power, this is all the temptations of the world.

But if that were not enough, Luther then gives us the third person of the unholy trinity, the devil himself.

And he says, then comes the devil. And the devil, he baits us. He badgers us on all sides.

And he especially exerts himself where the conscience and spiritual matters are at stake.

The devil's purpose is to make us scorn and to despise both the word and the works of God, to tear us away from faith, from hope, from love, and instead to draw us into unbelief, false security, into stubbornness, or on the contrary, to drive us into despair or into atheism or blasphemy and countless other abominable sins.

These are snares and nets. Indeed, they are the real flaming darts which are venomously shot into our hearts, not by flesh and blood, but by the devil himself.

These are great and grievous perils, and they are great and grievous temptations, which every Christian must bear.

He did not say, and he's right, he did not say that some Christians will bear. These are the perils and temptations that we all as Christians must bear, even if they come one by one.

And sometimes they do, and sometimes they come in groups. As long as we remain in this vile life in which we are attacked, we are hunted, we are harried on all sides, we are then constrained to cry out and to pray every single hour that God may not allow us to become faint and weary and to fall back into sin, shame, and unbelief.

Otherwise, it's impossible to overcome even the least temptation. It's always fascinating here.

People who do not understand the perils that they face, the temptations they face as a result of their own flesh, the world, and the devil, prayer seems to be a far and distant thing in their minds.

I always laugh at the church story about how a particular congregation was going through particular troubles, and what ended up happening is that they tried to solve their problems on their own, and it only got worse.

And so finally one of the church members meekly suggested, maybe we should pray, to which one of the leaders said, has it come to that?

Has it really come to that? We need to pray? But you're going to note here, taking up your cross and following Christ to His death means being harassed and harried the entire way.

In other words, prayer is not something you use as a last resort. Prayer is the only way by which you can survive the ordeal at all.

Because if you're not experiencing trouble, suffering, persecution, and trials, hang on a second here, in about two minutes you will be.

And the only way through it is that God gives you the strength through it.

Have you ever been in an ordeal where in the midst of it, as soon as it hits, it just rushes on like a tidal wave, like one of those tsunamis?

Your whole life is devastated in the midst of it, and you're thinking to yourself, how on earth am

I going to get through this? But then the trial eventually passes, and you made it through.

Was it because you were so clever? Was it because you were so strong? No. It's because God gave you the strength to get through it, to endure it.

And that's what we do. We patiently endure these trials. So then,

Luther says, So this then is what it means to lead us not into temptation.

When God gives us power, when God gives us strength in order to resist, even though the tribulation is not removed, and the tribulation never seems to end.

For no one can escape temptations, nobody can escape the allurements, as long as we live in the flesh, and we have the devil prowling about us.

We cannot help but suffer tribulations, and even be entangled in them.

So we pray here that we may not fall into them, and be overwhelmed by them. To feel temptation, therefore, is quite a different thing from consenting or yielding to it.

We must all feel temptation, though not all to the same degree. Some have more frequent and severe temptations than others.

Youths, for example, are tempted chiefly by the flesh. We all know this is true. Just watch

MTV, especially during Spring Break. You get the idea. Everything about youth is about the flesh.

Older people, though, they're tempted by the world. Others who are concerned with spiritual matters, including pastors or strong Christians, well, they're often tempted by the devil.

But we cannot be harmed by the mere feeling of temptation as long as it's contrary to our will.

And that's right. Contrary to the will that you have is the new man that you are in Christ, the old man you put to death because the new man has come and the new man has been given to you.

So as long as it's contrary to our will, and we would prefer to be rid of it. If we do not feel temptation, it could not be called a temptation.

But to consent to it is to give it free reign and neither resist it nor pray for help against it.

So accordingly, we Christians must be armed and we must be prepared for incessant, nonstop attacks.

But I'd like a little peace in my life, please. Whoever finds his life will lose it.

So then, we shall not go about securely and we do not go about heedlessly as if the devil were far from us.

Instead, we shall at all times expect his blows and be prepared to parry them.

Even at present, even if at present I am chaste, even at present if I am patient and kind and firm in the faith, the devil is likely at this very hour to send such a shaft, such an arrow into my heart that I could scarcely stand it.

For he is an enemy who never stops or becomes weary. When one attack ceases, new ones always arise.

So at such times, your only help or comfort is to take refuge in the

Lord's prayer and to appeal to God from your heart. Dear Father, You have commanded me to pray.

Let me not fall because of temptation. Then, in your prayer, you will see the temptation cease and eventually it will have to admit defeat.

Otherwise, if you attempt to help yourself by your own thoughts, by your own counsel, by your own power, you're only going to make the matter worse and give the devil a better opening.

So much for having your best life now. Isn't that the point? That is the point.

So brothers and sisters, take heart in this. Jesus did not have in mind the things of man.

He did not give in to the temptation of the devil here in the voice of Peter, but Jesus did go to Jerusalem and He did suffer many things and He did die and He did rise again so that we can be forgiven and have life.

And because you have been united with Him in His death and His resurrection, then embrace this truth.

Because you are in Him, you are now presently abhorring evil. Because of what

He has done for you, you are now glued to the good. Because of what He has done in raising you from the dead, you live in brotherly love for one another.

In honor, you are constantly outdoing one another. In diligence, you are not slothful.

In the Spirit, you are fervent in serving the Lord. In hope, you are rejoicing.

And in tribulation, you are enduring. In prayers, you are persevering.

And the necessities, the needs of each of the saints, you are gladly meeting. And hospitality, you are pursuing.

Do you believe that your bank account is full on account of Christ? It is.

Believe it. And start drawing on that account. It's there for you every time you need it.

In the name of Jesus, Amen. If you would like to support the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church, you can do so by sending a tax -free donation to Kungsvinger Lutheran Church 15950 470th

Avenue NW Oslo, MN 56744 And again, that address is

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