I fear that many churches have gone astray. Instead of following Christ and seeking to build Christ’s church Christ’s way, they seek to build earthly churches the world’s way.

What do I mean? Instead of preaching the message Christ Jesus commanded His church to proclaim in this lost and dying world, so many churches proclaim themselves and seek to appeal to the masses by their entertaining programs, their contemporary music, their community service projects and their giveaways — all things which people can find outside the church as well. And though, sometimes, people flock through the doors, such churches fail to meet the greatest needs of the people: forgiveness for their sins and fellowship with their God and Maker.

What did Jesus command His disciples, His church, to proclaim? The church is to disciple the nations by going out into the world with the message of salvation in Christ Jesus, baptizing in the name of the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and teaching them all that Christ commanded and taught. Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). He said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus commanded His church to preach to all the need to repent of their sins and look to Jesus and His cross in faith for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. Jesus told His disciples that “thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47). Jesus told His disciples, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:23).

So, where is the preaching of repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name? Where are pastors and churches proclaiming God’s forgiveness to those who repent of their sins and look to Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world? Where are pastors telling those who are impenitent and continuing on in their sinful ways that their sins are not forgiven and that they will be condemned to the eternal torments of hell if they do not repent and look to Christ Jesus for mercy and pardon?

It is as Jesus said, “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24)! Those who do not repent and look in faith to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), will die in their sins and suffer the eternal consequences (cf. John 3:18,36). It won’t matter if they were church members, active in church programs or serving the earthly needs of their communities.

If churches seek to do what Christ called them to do, their first and primary work will be to call sinners to repentance, proclaim Christ Jesus as the Savior of the world, announce God’s forgiveness for Christ’s sake to penitent sinners and warn the impenitent of God’s judgment upon them unless and until they repent.

Only by doing things Christ’s way and doing what Christ commanded will churches build Christ’s church and His eternal kingdom!

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

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” Hebrews 11:17-19 (Read Genesis 22:1-19)

Why would God tell Abraham to take Isaac — his only son of promise, whom he loved — to a mountain in the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt sacrifice? How could God tell Abraham to give up his only-begotten Son of promise?

The first answer (and an often overlooked answer) is that sin demands it. The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). What Abraham deserved as a sinner, and what Isaac also deserved, was to die for his sin. It is also what we deserve for our sin.

Secondly, God’s test points ahead to what God would do for the sins of the world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). God sent His only-begotten Son, born of Mary and a descendant of Abraham, to be the perfect and holy sacrifice for the sins of the world (cf. John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18-20).

The Bible clearly tells us that none of us “can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) that he should still live for ever, and not see corruption” (Psalm 49:7-9). Therefore, God Himself had to provide the Lamb — a perfect and sinless Lamb, His only-begotten Son — to be sacrificed in our stead and to suffer and die upon the cross for our sins.

And it is certainly significant that God commanded Abraham to offer up Isaac on a specific mountain in the land of Moriah and there provided a substitute ram, caught in a thicket, to be offered up in the stead of Isaac.

First of all, the location is the later site of Jerusalem, where Christ Jesus was offered up for our sins. Consider 2 Chronicles 3:1: “Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.”

And, as God provided a substitute ram to be offered up in the place of Isaac, so God provided a Substitute for you and for me – He gave His own Son to die in our stead and make atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world (cf. 1 John 2:1,2). “Jehovah-jireh … In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen” (Genesis 22:14).

In faith, Abraham took his son Isaac and was ready to offer him up as a sacrifice, trusting that God could indeed raise him up again and fulfill His promises to Abraham to bless all nations through the Seed of Abraham and Isaac (cf. Genesis 22:18). And, in a figure, Abraham received his son back again alive from the dead.

So also Christ Jesus, who suffered and died the just punishment for the sins of the world, was raised up again on the third day. As the Bible tells us, Jesus Christ “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25). His resurrection is proof that God accepted His sacrifice as full payment for the sins of the world, and through faith in Jesus we are justified and counted righteous and acceptable in God’s eyes. Because Jesus died for our sins, in our stead, and rose again, we who trust in Him have the assurance that our sins are paid for in full and forgiven and that we too will be raised up on the last day to life eternal!

O Gracious and merciful God, we thank You for giving up Your only-begotten Son to suffer and die in our stead that we might have forgiveness and life eternal through faith in His name. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible]

What is your greatest reason and need to go to church? And should not having this need met influence your choice of a church to attend?

People go to church for a variety of reasons, and they often choose which church to attend based on those reasons.

• Some go out of a sense of obligation, and they often choose to go to a church where their parents went to church (and sometimes their grandparents too). It doesn’t matter if the church teaches false doctrine or fails to speak the truth; it’s their church and that’s where they belong.

• Some go to be entertained, and they often attend where the music and worship forms are similar to those they enjoy in the secular world. They go for the band, the singers and for the emotional experiences.

• Some go in an attempt to straighten out their lives, and they often choose a church which preaches law and offers self-help remedies.

• Some go to feel good about themselves, and they often choose a church which no longer preaches the law in all its strictness and, consequently, does not preach the gospel in all its sweetness.

But do you choose a church that meets your needs? Do you choose a church that is faithful to God’s Word, the Bible, and rightly applies that Word to your life?

Our greatest need as sinful human beings is to have God’s mercy and forgiveness, to be restored to fellowship with our Maker, and to have eternal life in harmony and fellowship with God instead of the eternal death and punishment which we rightly earn and deserve on account of our sins.

And where can we have this need met?

Going to a church simply because our parents did, or our grandparents, will not necessarily meet our needs. Going to a church which only entertains and uplifts us emotionally will likely have no lasting effect. Going to a church which preaches only laws and commandments will offer us no comfort and no hope because we cannot measure up to God’s perfect standards. Going to a church which makes us feel good about ourselves won’t help us because the truth of our sinfulness is covered up and there is no assurance of life and salvation.

Rather, we need to go to a church which uncompromisingly proclaims all that the Bible teaches because it is God’s Word to us sinners and the truth even though it may not make us comfortable to hear it. We need to go to a church which uses God’s Word to reveal our sinfulness but then also uses God’s Word to point us to Christ Jesus and the redemption He accomplished for all as the only way to receive forgiveness and life everlasting. We need to go to a church which convicts us of our sinfulness but then comforts us with God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus!

And which church so meets our needs?

When you attend a Lutheran Church which is faithful to God’s Word, you will be confronted with your sins in the opening confession of sins but comforted with the assurance that God forgives all your sins for the sake of Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross. You will hear God’s Word read, explained and applied to you in the Scripture readings and sermon. You will be assured of God’s grace given to you in Your baptism and comforted as you partake of Christ’s body and blood which were sacrificed in your stead for the remission of all your sins. And, you will have ample opportunity to offer up your prayers, praises and thanksgiving before the blessing of the Triune God is spoken over you.

While many may find Lutheran worship “outdated” and less than exciting, it certainly is not. It offers and gives to sinners God’s mercy and forgiveness and life everlasting through faith in Christ Jesus and His blood shed upon the cross. It is a service to meet our greatest needs through Word and Sacrament.

In fact, Jesus commands us to disciple the nations by going out, baptizing in the name of the Triune God and teaching all that He taught and commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). He commands that repentance and remission of sins be preached in His name (Luke 24:46-47). He commands us to forgive the sins of penitent sinners and to retain the sins of the impenitent as long as they do not repent (John 20:23). And He commands us to regularly partake of His body and blood, given and shed for us for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:26-28). And that is exactly what faithful Lutheran Churches offer in their services.

Where will you go to church to have your needs met?