Grace, Mercy, and Peace
be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Amen
But
[the master of the house] will say, ‘I tell you, I
do not know where you come from. Depart
from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,
when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the
kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.
In the Name of Jesus
I would like you, again this morning/evening, to exercise
your minds with me. I would like you to
think of the worst place/ worst scenario that you have ever been in. Think about what made it so bad. Was it the physical location? What it because of the reason you were
there? Was it because of the people you
were with? Was it because of what
happened while you were in that place and time?
Keep yourself in that place, in that scenario for me just a
few minutes longer. In that moment when
things were the worst, what did you want?
We know that everything here on earth, especially every bad
situation comes to an end. There is a
physical finality to it. You are able to
move past, or reconcile with those who wronged you or even those you
wronged. And what a relief that moment
is. It can feel like a weight lifted off
your shoulders, like a light shining in the darkness. Imagine there being no end to the suffering
of that moment, no end to the pain, maybe even the embarrassment. It seems unbearable doesn’t it?
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to hell. The sermon last week ended with the phrase
which we heard in our Gospel reading for today.
In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you
yourselves cast out. What a place of torture the pits of hell
will be. This, by far, isn’t the only
place that hell is mentioned. In the Old
Testament, look for the word Sheol, used 63 times and then in the New Testament
where hell is used 14 times. And each one of these mentions has a common
theme. Hell is a place of eternal death,
eternal torture. It is highlighted, if
you can use that term about hell, by, as our Lord says, eternal fire where the worm does not die and the fire
is not quenched. By lakes of fire
sulfur, by weeping and wailing and even gnashing of teeth.
But
what really is hell? A good question to
ask with that is, where is hell? Just
like it is with heaven, we can’t look at a map and find it. We have our generalization, heaven is up and
hell is down. But if you had to describe
it what would it be? We learned in our
Wednesday Morning Bible Study that hell is complete separation from God. Hell is NOT being in the presence of the
creator of the universe, of the one who saved us from our sins. It is having our God deny us, not know us,
and cast us away from his presence on the day of judgment. And this is not a temporary separation, it is
permanent. When you receive your final
judgment, that’s it! You can’t earn your
way out, you can’t sweet talk your way out, you can’t even sneak your way out. It is said of Satan, his army, and all cast
into hell the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever.
So,
how do we avoid such misery, pain, and torture?
We know that because of our sin this is what we truly and rightfully
deserve. Still, what can we do to make
sure we do not walk down that path?
Shall we go from here today and live a life of good works in order to
please our God and therefore convince him to let us into the gates of
heaven? Shall we meet some man made
requirements in order to ease our minds into thinking we have saved
ourselves? By no mean!
The Gospel, in a sermon on hell, lies in the fact that those
who believe in Jesus Christ will be spared such torture for our Lord has
endured it for us. If true hell is
separation from God, then on the cross our Lord suffered just that. For our Lord cried out My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of
my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. What a blessing and comfort these words
truly are. He has endured EVERYTHING
known to man, down to rejection from God, so that that burden, that curse,
would not be ours to bear.
We have his promise that he will not abandon us to hell. Hear the words of the psalmist David. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are
my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the saints in the
land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my
delight. The sorrows of those who run
after another god
shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on
my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and
my cup;
you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for
me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful
inheritance. I
bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is
glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my
soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to
me the
path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, at
your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Friends, this is our joyful hope. A hope that we will not be abandoned the pits
of hell but be graciously brought into the presence of our God. I reminded a family of mourners recently with
this same hope. And this needs to be
clear. Our hope of everlasting life is
not a “well I hope I will be saved” but it is a conviction. It is a strong confidence which not based in
anything we have done, but it based solely on the merits and worthiness of
Christ alone.
Christ is the cornerstone of our hope and faith. For it was Christ to suffered and died in our
place. He bore the wrath of God in our
place so that even now we know, that because of Christ, we are counted with the
saints in the heavenly places.
If you hadn’t figured it out, the story Jesus tells in our
Gospel is a story of the last day and the kingdom of heaven. “Strive to
enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and
will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the
door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord,
open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I
do not know where you come from.’ Then
you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our
streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I
do not know where you come from. Depart
from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the
prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people
will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the
kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be
first, and some are first who will be last.”
The
bridegroom soon shall call us “come to the wedding feast”. When the day comes, when you breath your last
breath on this earth, when our Lord comes again and raises the dead and gathers
all believers to himself, which group will you be in? Rejoice that it is not because of our works
that we will be brought into the feast.
For if it was based on our works, we would be left knocking at the door
for an eternity. God has called, God
bought us with the blood of his son, God has given us the strong confidence that
because his son lives, we will live also.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What a joy it will be to live in God’s presence for
eternity. To be freed from all evil, all
adversity, all sickness for eternity.
Until that day may our fervent prayer be Create
in me a clean heart, O God, and renew
a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Amen
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