In the Service of Holy Communion, after the bread and wine are consecrated and before they are distributed, we sing the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), which is based on the words of John the Baptist pointing his disciples to Jesus and saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

We sing these words to remind us that we are about to partake of much more than mere bread and wine, for Christ gives to us in the Sacrament to partake of His very body and blood which were given and shed for us upon the cross for the remission of our sins.

As the ancient believers partook of the sacrificial lamb at the Passover, we partake of Christ, God’s Son in human flesh who was sacrificed for us to make full atonement for all our sins. This holy food Christ wills to give to baptized and confessing believers who rightly examine themselves, are penitent and trust in His name.

In the Agnus Dei, we appeal to Jesus, our Messiah and Savior, for mercy and forgiveness and to grant us the peace of sins forgiven.

O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us!
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us!
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, grant us Thy peace! Amen.

“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25; cf. 17:6

In many ways, these words are the sum of what took place in Israel during the days of the judges. Because the people had no king to rule over them and hold them accountable to one set of laws, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” and the results were not pretty. The people fell into all sorts of sin and idolatry and, again and again, God’s judgments came upon Israel.

Wait, didn’t they have God’s law? Hadn’t God given to Moses the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible)? Yes. But instead of listening to God and what He revealed and commanded them in his Word, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

But what does that have to do with us, God’s people and church members in the 21st century? A lot more than we may think because we have the same problem today in our churches and congregations — “every man [does] that which [is] right in his own eyes.”

Instead of listening to what God has revealed in His Word — the Bible — we do what we think is best. Instead of letting God speak to us in the Bible and show us His will and His ways, we apply our own opinions and our own faulty understandings to the Bible. We accept the parts of the Bible which agree with our thoughts and opinions, and we reject and ignore what does not.

In truth, this is a contradiction to God’s commandment which forbids us to serve other gods and make graven images: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Ex. 20:3-4).

We may not make a golden calf and call it by the name of the LORD as the children of Israel did at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 32), but we make a god after our own image and in our likeness — a god who thinks as we think, whose commandments reflect our own beliefs and opinions, whose doctrines conform to our views and understanding. And, sadly, when we are confronted with the true God of the Bible and His words and commandments, we reject Him in favor of the idol and image of God we have created in our own minds. “Every man [does] that which [is] right in his own eyes.”

The true God, of course, does not condone such actions on our part. Moses commanded the people in regard to their worship: “Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Deut. 12:8). Rather, they were to conform their worship and sacrifices to God’s commandments. In Proverbs 12:15, God says: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” And we would be wise to listen to the counsel of the LORD God in His Word!

We need to remember that the Church and each congregation of believers is not “our church” but “God’s church.” We have no business setting up our own church so that we can do what is right in our own eyes. Rather, we are to join together in following Christ, hearing His life-giving Word, receiving the Sacraments He instituted and continuing in all that He has commanded us.

Through Holy Baptism, we are joined to Christ as our husband and head, which means that we are to be subject unto Him in all things (cf. Eph. 5:22ff.). The words which the minister proclaims must not be his own words and opinions but those of God, as recorded in the Bible. The administration of the Sacraments is not to be according to our views and opinions but according to Christ’s institution and the commands of Holy Scripture. Our worship practices are not subject to our personal likings and preferences but are to be in accord with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures and to build up Christ’s Church. The business decisions of the congregation are not to further personal interests or opinions but to advance the kingdom of God through the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word and the right administration of the Sacraments.

If we do what is right in our own eyes, we will find we miss the blessing which God would give us by continuing in His ways and holding fast in faith to our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to redeem us from our sins and rose again to give us life through faith in His name.

O God, grant that we walk by faith in Christ Jesus and His Word and not according to what is right in our own eyes. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

“So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.” John 4:46-54

The Scriptures tell us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). What does this mean? It means standing under and taking hold of the things promised to us in God’s Word even though we can’t see them with our eyes. It means seeing with the eyes of faith what we cannot see with the eyes of our flesh. And, indeed, we as Christians live and “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7; cf. Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:16-17; Rom. 8:24-25).

God promises to all of us who trust in Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross His pardon and forgiveness for all our sins. Can you see this forgiveness? Do the heavens open, and does God’s voice sound audibly from heaven saying, “I forgive you all your sins”? No, we have only the word of the Gospel in our Bibles and preached by God’s ministers telling us it is so.

When we are sick and facing our mortality, do we see Jesus on His throne of glory and God’s angels descending from heaven to carry us home? No, we have only God’s promise that His angels will carry our souls into the bosom of Abraham because Jesus died for our sins and rose again (cf. Luke 16:22; 2 Cor. 5:1-8; Phil. 1:21-23).

Many, of course, do not believe this. Because they can’t see it with their eyes or understand it with their minds, they do not believe. Because they cannot see Jesus Himself announce to them that their sins are forgiven, they do not believe it when the Gospel is preached or Christ’s ministers absolve them. Because they do not see Jesus and His angels when they are on their deathbeds, they die in unbelief and despair.

But Jesus would have us trust Him and His Word and live our lives with faith in His promises.

Consider the nobleman who came to Jesus. While Jesus was in Cana, this nobleman from Capernaum came to Jesus because his son was deathly ill. He asked Jesus to come down to Capernaum (in the valley along the Sea of Galilee) and heal his son.

But what does Jesus say? “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” The nobleman had heard of Jesus and was, perhaps, ready to believe Jesus could help in this hour of desperate need … if Jesus came down to Capernaum and to his house. But did Jesus, the eternal Son of God who created all things by His almighty word need to go and be visibly present in this man’s home? Jesus desired that this man have faith in Jesus’ words even if he could not yet see it with his eyes. He told him, “Go thy way; thy son liveth.”

A remarkable thing happened. This man who had begged Jesus to come down before his son died now believed and returned to his house. Jesus’ words not only expressed a truth; they had power, power to create faith in this nobleman. And he believed and walked by faith all the way down to Capernaum, where his eyes saw the truthfulness of what he had believed. As a result, both he and his household came to believe and trust in Jesus as the Son of God and their Savior!

Though the world views Jesus as a great teacher and religious prophet, the Word of God tells us Jesus is none other than God Himself in human flesh, come into this world to redeem us from sin and eternal death. The world views Jesus’ crucifixion as a horrible death and perhaps a great injustice; the Word of God tells us that He died as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world — in John the Baptist’s words, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Though the world views Jesus’ resurrection as a questionable miracle; the Word of God tells us that Jesus’ resurrection on the third day is proof that His payment on the cross was sufficient payment for the sins of all mankind (Rom. 4:23-25). Though the world would tell us we need to live a godly life to please God and merit His mercy and forgiveness, the Word of God tells us that Christ lived a perfect, godly life in our stead and made full atonement for all our sins that we might be forgiven by God and counted righteous and holy in His sight through faith alone in His name (Rom. 3:21-28).

Can you see it? Does Jesus prove it before our eyes with modern-day signs and wonders? No, He tells us it is so in His Word. And that Word has power. St. Paul writes in Romans 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” In Romans 10:17, the Bible says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Thus, how do you know your sins are really forgiven when your minister announces God’s grace and mercy to you in Jesus Christ and, in the stead and by the command of Christ, absolves you of your sins for Jesus’ sake? It is by faith in Jesus’ words and faith created by Jesus’ words (cf. John 20:21-23; Luke 24:46-47; 1 John 1:7 – 2:2).

When you are sick and face the reality that your body will one day die, how do you know that to die is gain and it is far better to be with the Lord? It is because Jesus tells us so in His Word. Cf. John 14:1ff; 11:25-26; 1 Thess. 4:13ff.; Phil. 1:21-23; Job 19:25-27. And His Word is powerful and creates and preserves faith in our hearts to live our lives and face our deaths in the sure hope of forgiveness and eternal life.

How do we know that in our baptisms, we are joined to Christ in His death and resurrection and all our sins are washed away? It is through the Word of God, connected with the water, that we are assured these things are so (cf. Acts 2:38-39; 22:16; Tit. 3:3-7; Eph. 5:26; Col. 2:9-15).

As we partake of the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper, how do we know that Christ gives us “in, with and under” the bread and wine His true body and blood which were given and shed on the cross for the sins of the world that we might also receive and be assured of the forgiveness of all our sins and His gift of eternal life? Again, it is His Word that accomplishes what He says and gives to us the blessings He won for us upon the cross (1 Cor. 11:23ff.; Matt. 26:26-28).

As we live our lives in this world, Jesus would have us walk by faith and not by sight. He would have us take Him at His Word and not have to see signs and wonders before we will believe.

But, like the nobleman, when we get home, we will see with our eyes that His Word is true. When we are received into the glories of our eternal home through faith alone in the merits of Christ, we will see that indeed Christ did atone for all our sins, that God accepted His atonement as His resurrection proves, that when we have God-wrought faith in Christ all our sins are pardoned and forgiven and that, through faith in Christ, the eternal joys of heaven are indeed ours!

O God, graciously grant that we walk by faith in Your Word and not by sight, for only through faith in Christ will our eyes ever come to see the blessings which are offered and given to us in Him! Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 8:11 (cf. 6:14)

This verse is found twice in the Book of Jeremiah — at 8:11 and 6:14. What does it mean?

When the prophets and priests should have been rebuking the sins of God’s people and calling them to repentance and a return to the “old paths” (Jer. 6:16), they glossed over the people’s sins and said nothing. When they should have been warning God’s people of the judgment of God which would come upon them if they did not repent and return to the LORD God and walk in His ways, they told the people that God would send them peace and blessing instead of the judgment which was coming.

Thus, God told Jeremiah that the priests and the prophets “healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”

Sad to say, that is what so many pastors continue to do today. Instead of rebuking sin as sin and meriting the eternal judgment of God, they gloss over sin and even speak as if God approves of it. Instead of warning people of the impending judgment of God upon all who continue in their sinful and rebellious ways, they heal the hurt of God’s people slightly by saying, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”

In other words, pastors often make people feel good and comfortable in their sins rather than warning them of the “wages of sin” (Rom. 6:23) and calling upon them to repent and place their hope and faith in the redemption accomplished by Christ Jesus (Gal. 4:4-5).

And how many souls will end up in hell because their pastors said, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace”?

As your pastor, God has commanded me to warn you concerning sin. With God’s Word, I must say to you that “the wages of sin is death” — spiritual and eternal.

I must say with the Apostle Paul, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10; cf. Gal. 5:19-21). Even liars will be excluded (cf. Rev. 21:8).

As your pastor, I am called by God to call upon you to repent of all your sins and place your faith and trust solely in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfilled all the righteous demands of God’s law for us and then suffered the full and just punishment for all our sins and the sins of the entire world when He was crucified and died upon the cross. When we confess and agree with the judgment of God about our sins and place our hope and confidence in Christ Jesus, who died for our sins and rose again, God is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins because Jesus Christ, the righteous, is the propitiation for our sins and also for the sins of the whole world (cf. 1 John 1:7 – 2:2).

Therefore, I ask you before God, Do you acknowledge and confess your sins and guilt before God and do you desire His mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus and seek also His help and strength to amend your sinful ways?

Upon such confession, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I, therefore, forgive you all your sins in the name and in the stead of Christ Jesus, our Savior. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses you from all your sin (cf. 1 John 1:7). In Christ Jesus, you have peace. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]