LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 71

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

CONVENTION BIBLE STUDIES
1. ONE People Forgiven through Christ
Brothers and sisters, one people forgiven through Christ,
God Himself is present:
Let us now adore Him
And with awe appear before Him .
God is in His temple;
All within keep silence;
Humbly kneel in deepest rev’rence .
He alone
On His throne
Is our God and Savior;
Praise His name forever!1

It’s Not Fair!
Sometimes we resist, even resent, God being placed into
the midst of our conflicts .
The pastor was on the phone in his office when he heard his
next appointment arrive in the reception area . A husband and
wife had made an appointment for marriage counseling, and
they entered the church office arguing loudly . The pastor ended
his phone call and went out to greet the couple, who didn’t stop
their fighting . He motioned for them to enter his office and
take a seat, where they continued quarreling for ten minutes .
Finally, the pastor rose from his seat and stood right in front
of the couple . They both stopped bickering, looking up at him .
He said, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit . Amen . You may now continue .”
The couple sat stunned for a moment, and then the husband
blurted out, “That’s not fair!”
He was right . It’s not fair that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us . It’s not fair that God made Him who knew
no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God . It’s not fair that the Father has shown such love
to us that we should be called the children of God, but that is
who we are . Thank God it’s not fair!
Although we may resent God being involved in our disputes, He promises to be with us . “I will never leave you nor
forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b) .2 Why? “[Because] I have loved
you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3b) .
Our text for today’s study is from Romans 5:6–11:

God Is Present to Forgive
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us . Before we
were even born and knew that we needed reconciling, God
actively involved Himself in our conflict with Him, and He
continues to be present in our conflicts with one another .
We are always in the presence of our almighty God .
He is there when we fight and quarrel, when we slander
our brother or belittle our sister, when we sinfully judge one
another and commit murder in our hearts, when we send an
attacking e-mail, or when we write unwholesome words on
a blog . Our failure to live according to His commandments
grieves our God, for He despises sin .
And yet, God Himself remains present to love us . The
Father’s love is expressed in the sacrifice of His only Son as
a ransom for those who were still His enemies . Christ Jesus
made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant in human
flesh . He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death, even death on a cross . The Holy Spirit is here to sanctify us by bringing us to faith in Christ, so that we might have
the blessings of redemption and lead a godly life .
God stays near to forgive us . He welcomes us in Holy
Baptism to claim us as His own . He comes to us in His very
body and blood, to nourish our souls and keep us close to
Him . He draws near through His spoken and written Word,
to admonish us and absolve us . We receive His forgiveness
through these means of grace .
Neither our sinful condition nor our sinful behavior moves
Him to avoid us . For while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us .

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died
for the ungodly . For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to
die—but God shows His love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us . Since, therefore, we have now been
justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him
from the wrath of God . For if while we were enemies we were
reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that
we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life . More than that,
we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have now received reconciliation .
71

2010 Convention Proceedings