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LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 85

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

CONVENTION
SERMON • 7

Held Fast to Hold Fast
HEB. 10:23

by t he R ev. Dr . John C. Wohlra b e, Jr ., L C M S S e c o n d Vic e-Pres id en t
66th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod • July 12, 2016 • Responsive Prayer 1

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit; the text for our message is Heb. 10:23: “Let us
hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
Friends of Jesus and friends of mine, fellow shipmates on the good ship we call the Missouri Synod:
So much in life is quid pro quo, “this for that.”
If you do this, then you get that. Sadly, some twist
the Gospel into “this for that,” which is no gospel at
all. But God doesn’t work in this way. His Gospel is
truly good news for all people. It is not an “if-then”
gospel, but rather a “since-then” gospel, or even
more a “because-therefore” gospel!
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews was
addressing Jewish Christians who wanted to return
to a quid pro quo religion. As Christians, they were
facing persecution in the Roman Empire, so they
wanted to go back to their old Jewish ways. If you
follow the regulations of the Torah and trust the
sacrifices of the Jewish high priest at the temple in
Jerusalem, then you will supposedly be right with
God. There are many today who present Christianity
as an “if-then” religion. If you make a decision for
Jesus, then Jesus will come into your heart. If you
trust hard enough, then God will deliver you from
whatever trouble you are facing or give you whatever you want. If you confess the faith before others,
then you are a good Christian and can be confident
that God is happy with you.

we are from birth dead in trespasses and sin
(Eph. 2:1; Ps. 51:5), therefore there is nothing we
can do to please God.
Think of it as attempting to scale 3,000-foot El
Capitan at Yosemite National Park on your own,
without even a belaying rope. One slip—whether at
50 feet or 2,950 feet—and you fall to your death, no
“ifs,” “thens,” or “therefores” about it! If your
relationship with God depends on quid pro quo,
then you would be forever lost!
But thanks be to God that this is not the case at all.
Because God does all good things for us in Christ
Jesus, therefore those good things are ours and we
can hold fast to that confession, we can hold fast in
faith and we can boldly say the same thing before
the world. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews

There is, however, an insurmountable problem with
this type of glory gospel. Because it depends on what
we do, therefore it is in no way good news. Because

“Held Fast to Hold Fast”

U P O N T H I S R O C K • Sermon