LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1981, Page 89

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das, Caiaphas, and Pilate. He could have struck the
soldiers down with His little finger. He chose to come
‘down to earth for your sake and my sake, to make up for
your sins and my sins, because He knew that His
‘atonement on the cross would be our only means of
forgiveness, salvation, and heaven.

Note in the latter part of this verse a reference to
Christ’s resurrection. Jesus Christ was just as dead as
d ad could be on Good Friday. But He was just as alive
‘ap alive could be on Easter Sunday. His resurrection is
e keystone doctrine of the Christian faith. His resur-
‘yection proves His Son-of-Godship. It proves His atone-
ment on Calvary was accepted by God the Father. It
proves that we too shall rise from the dead.

Jesus Christ is the greatest thing that has ever
appened to the world! He is the greatest thing that has
ever happened to you! And the greatest thing that has
“ever happened to me! Live for Him!

* * *

Eph. 2:8-9: “For it is by God’s grace that you have
been saved through faith. Itis not the result of your own
efforts, but God’s gift, so that no onecan boast about it.”

If there is one thing which the majority of people in
the world agree on, it is this: “Tf there is such a place as
heaven, you can get there by the life you live. Do right,
live right, and youare all right.” Of the 1,200 religions in
the world, 1,199 teach this. Actually, much is to be said
in its favor: (1) It is perfectly fair and logical. (2) Many
great and renowned people in the world uphold this way
of salvation. (3) Many, many pastors and theologians
preach and teach this way of salvation. The average
person therefore says: “I must be right. So many can’t
be wrong.” What counts, however, is not what other
people assert, but what God asserts.

The man who followed Ernest Bevin as Foreign
Secretary of Great Britain was Herbert Morrison.
Morrison was a commoner who came up the hard way.
He left school at the age of 14 and at 27 got into politics.
Speaking of his career a news article said: “In 1934 he
became the dynamic leader of the London County
Council, concentrated on cleaning the Dickensian
squalor of London’s slums, and had notices put up in
schools saying: ‘The teacher may be wrong. Think for
yourself.’”

Especially from a religious standpoint this is excel-
lent advice. Beside every pulpit and beside every ros-
trum used for religious purposes (for instance, this one)
there should be an invisible sign saying: “The preacher
may be wrong. Think for yourself. Check with the
Scriptures.” ;

And that is what we want to do here in regard to the
way of salvation. We want to check with the Scriptures.
You cannot get much clearer on the way of salvation
than this passage, namely, that it is not by our goodness
but by God’s goodness that we are saved. And there are
a multitude of other passages in Scripture which sub-
stantiate this: For instance, “Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the
Law” (Rom. 3:28 KJV). And “By the deeds of the Law

ESSAYS ON STEWARDSHIP 89

there shall no flesh be justified in God’s sight” (Rom
3:20 KJV). And “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son,
cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 KJV). And Jesus
said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man
cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6 KJV).
And “Neither is there salvation in any other [that is,
any other than Christ], for there is none other name
under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be
saved” (Acts 4:12 KJV).

Alcoholics Anonymous tells us there is no hope for
the alcoholic who insists, “I can handle my problem by
myself.” It is not until he admits, “I give up. Help me!”
that there is any hope for him. Thatis the way itis with
you and me and our salvation. It is not until we admit
our helplessness and hopelessness for salvation on our
own, and then put all our faith and confidence in Jesus
Christ alone, that there is any hope for us.

Grace is the key. This is a popular word in the
Christian religion. It is used more than 160 times in the
Bible, but, unfortunately, it is not a well-understood
word. Here are two definitions: (1) Grace is undeserved
love and kindness on the part of God towards you and
me. (2) Grace is that quality in the heart of God which
leads Him to treat us better than we deserve.

Let me try to explain this further. When a man works
eight hours a day and receives eight hours pay, thatisa
wage. When aman competes with a number of peoplein
a golf or tennis tournament and receives a trophy
because he is the winner, that is a prize. When a man
serves meritoriously and sacrificially in his community
and receives a plaque in recognition of his deeds, that is
an award. But when a man has done nothing to earn a
wage or win a prize or receive an award and yet receives
a gift, that is grace.

There is one thing I hope we have put across here.
That is, it is not your goodness but Christ’s goodness
that makes you eligible for heaven.

* * *

Having looked at these five foundation passages, we
now want to look specifically at your and my steward-
ship of life and time. We want to learn how youand I are
to manage our life and time. To understand this we must
remember who Jesus Christ is and what He did for us.
He is the almighty Son of God, the Savior of the world,
the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Remember what
He did for us—how He left the majesty of heaven and
came down to humiliation on earth, how He left the
riches of heaven and came down to poverty on earth,
how He left the safety of heaven and came down to the
dangers and death of earth. Remember what He under-
went in Gethsemane, Gabbatha, Golgotha, and all that
these places entailed.

Note that He did not have to take this. It was His love
that led Him to it. A tribal chieftain had set down very
strict regulations which he demanded all obey, includ-
ing himself and his family. Anyone who disobeyed was
to be punished with a specified number of lashes from
the tribal whip. One day his elderly mother was found
guilty of a certain misdeed. Though it very much hurt