BY GRACE ALONE

October 08, 2017

Pastor Bernt P. Tweit

Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 55:6-9

Gospel Lesson; Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon Text; Philippians 1:18-27

The Word of God we focus on for today is taken from Philippians, chapter one, looking at verses 18 through 27. The Apostle Paul writes, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

What does it matter? Only this, that in every way, whether for outward appearance or for the truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, because I know that this will turn out for my deliverance, through your prayer and the support of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This matches my earnest expectation and hope that I will in no way be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, so even now, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. Yes, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to go on living in the flesh, that will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet which should I prefer? I do not know. I am pulled in two directions, because I have the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. But, it is more necessary for your sake that I remain in the flesh. And since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you, for your progress and joy in the faith. And so by my coming to you again, my goal is to give you even more reason to boast in Christ Jesus. Just conduct yourselves in a way that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to see you or am absent, I may hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, contending together with one soul for the faith of the Gospel.

This is God's Word.

Grace is a gift. Grace is not something we can buy. Grace is not something we can earn. Grace is something that is received.

This morning, as we talk about God's grace, and the greatest gift we can receive, we are focusing on the gift of grace, which is eternal life in Heaven. Again, we can't buy it. We can't earn it. But it is something that is received through the life, the death, and the glorious resurrection of our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This morning as we talk about, 'by grace alone', we are focusing on the words of the Apostle Paul, as he wrote them to the young church in Philippi.

Just a few things I would like for us to understand, before we hop into this portion of God's Word. That is to understand this. First of all, the city of Philippi is in the middle of the screen.

It is in the nation known as Macedonia. The city got its name because Philip was the name of Alexander the Great's dad. As Philip was extending his kingdom throughout Macedonia, and he conquered this city, he renamed it after himself. Then, when his son, Alexander the Great, took power, and extended the Macedonian Kingdom, the name of the city remained – Philippi.

In years to come, the Roman Emperor became the world's superpower. They defeated Alexander the Great. They defeated the Macedonian Empire, but the name stuck.

The city of Philippi was a very important city in the Roman Empire. Oftentimes, Roman soldiers would go there to retire, because it was on the main route, and it was an important city to keep fortified.

When the Gospel spread, the Apostle Paul went to Philippi, (before this), and he established a Christian congregation there. The Apostle Paul wanted to go again, another time, to the city of Philippi . But, he was prevented from doing so now, because when the Apostle Paul wrote the the words of our text for today, he was in Rome, in prison. He was in chains.

And so, from Rome to Philippi was about 650 to 700 miles away. That is like going from Madison, WI to Atlanta, Georgia. You see there are some problems, because there is water between the land masses. So, whether you go by partial land in the Adriatic Sea, or the Aegean Sea, it could take you six weeks to three months, depending upon how you traveled to get from Rome to Philippi.

So, the letter he writes would have to suffice, for now. Sufficing for now, the Apostle Paul wanted the people of Philippi, the congregation in Philippi, to understand you can rejoice, even if you are going through trying circumstances. Here the Apostle Paul was in prison, and yet he can say, “Let's rejoice”.

The theme of his letter was the school theme for last year.

So this morning we too, can rejoice, even if we are going through trying circumstances in life, as we understand the great gift we have received. That is:

The gift of eternal life in Heaven,

which is by grace alone.

We live in a soundbite world, don't we? Here is what I did for today. I am going to take portions of the words I just read, and kind of look at them in 'soundbite fashion', for us to understand a little more deeply what it is the Apostle Paul is sharing with us.

The Apostle Paul began by saying,

“...Christ is being proclaimed,

There were some people who were proclaiming Christ for the wrong reasons. And there were people, like the Apostle Paul, who were proclaiming Christ for the right reasons. So, whether it was for the wrong reasons, or whether it was for the right reasons, Christ was being proclaimed. The Apostle Paul says,

“...in this I rejoice”.

But, it gets me thinking about this question, and it is one I ask myself frequently, when the day is coming to the end. I will ask myself, “Did I proclaim Christ today?”

Now, it is easy to answer, “Yes”, when I have had a baptism, or when I have distributed The Lord's Supper, or I have preached a sermon, or if I have conducted a Bible Study. It is easy to answer, “Yes, I have proclaimed Christ today”, but I don't do those things everyday.

It is an important question not only for me, but it is an important question for all of us to ask ourselves, when the day is coming to an end, “Did I proclaim Christ today? Did I proclaim Christ today, so we may rejoice?”

In verse 19, the Apostle Paul says,

through your prayer...”.

Paul knew the importance of prayer. Later on in this letter to the Philippians he says,

let your requests be made known to God.”

The Apostle Paul knew the importance of the prayers of the Philippian congregation for him, and he was asking he would be delivered. That deliverance could come about in one of two ways.

I once heard a pastor share with me, he was going to see a sick parishioner of his. He had a parishioner who was ill, and in the hospital. The pastor shared with his parishioner, “Either, God is going to make you better, or He is going to make you perfect.”

and bring you to eternal life in Heaven.

So, no matter what the outcome was, Paul knew through the prayers of the Philippian congregation he would be delivered.

In verse 20, the Apostle Paul says,

whether by life or by death.”

A good introspective question for all of us is this. In our lives, is Christ magnified? “In the way I am living my life, is Christ magnified?”

Or, even in a person's death, can we say, “Christ is magnified through my death”? It is quite frequent for me, when I conduct a member's funeral here at Holy Cross, that I can say Christ has been magnified through their death.

-As they picked out the Bible passages they wanted shared with everybody in attendance,

-as they picked out the hymns they wanted sung by everybody in attendance,

-and as they shared with me words they wanted to be conveyed with everybody who is in attendance,

even in their death, Christ was magnified.

That is what Paul is asking in this portion of his letter to the church at Philippi.

Maybe this verse is the most well known of our verses we are looking at today,

and to die is gain.”

The Apostle Paul knew the importance of living for Christ. But, he also knew in death he would be dying for Christ, as well.

Sometimes in my crazy, busy life, (and you can say the same thing, too), in your crazy busy life, you just need to stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, “What is the goal? What's the goal? Why am I doing what I am doing? Why am I living the way I am living? What is the goal?”, and to be reminded,

the goal is the gift of eternal life in Heaven.

It is that we are saved by grace alone, which is the theme of what the Apostle Paul was sharing with the congregation in Philippi. And so, whether he lives, or whether he dies, he asked that Christ would be proclaimed. He asked that Christ would be magnified.

But, Paul knows if he lives, it will mean fruitful labor for him. And by that, the Apostle Paul just means this. If he lives, he will have the opportunity to go to Philippi, and he will have the opportunity to continue to proclaim Christ, so that Christ's name would be magnified.

(Now, just a few more there.) The Apostle Paul says,

Have you ever said that before? In light of the events that are happening in the world, and you say to yourself, “I wish I could be in Heaven, right now. I desire to depart, and be with Christ.” The Apostle Paul says,

“...my goal is to give you even more reason to boast in Christ...”

He really urges the opportunity to go to Philippi, so that this young congregation may boast in Christ. Remember the church in Philippi is like a mission congregation. They are less than ten years old, and he is wanting to give them an opportunity to boast in the Lord.

He closes out this portion of his letter by saying this.

that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ...”

This is a good reminder for all of us. This last week the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton, got himself in trouble for saying something he should not have said, sexist remarks to a female reporter. This last week, Representative Tim Murphy from Pennsylvania got himself in trouble. He is a member of the Pro Life Caucus. His mistress told him she was pregnant, and he encouraged her to get an abortion. Here he is a member of the Pro Life Caucus.

“...conduct yourselves in a way that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ...”

As we hear those words, we remind ourselves, “You know, I am like the Apostle Paul. I am in chains. I am in prison, because of my sin.” You know what? We are like Cam Newton, because we say things we should not say. And you know what? We are like Tim Murphy, because we do things we should not do. We are no better than any of them, because we don't always conduct ourselves in a way that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

But today, too, we are reminded it was the Apostle Paul who asked for deliverance. He asked he would be delivered. This morning, it is wonderful to look at God's Word, and to hear once again,

we have a deliverer.

-One who has delivered us from sin.

-A deliverer who has delivered us from death.

-And, a deliverer who has delivered us from Hell.

That is our Savior, Jesus Christ.

That is what “being saved by grace alone” means. Grace alone is a gift. God's gift of grace is eternal life in Heaven. It didn't cost us anything. We could not buy it. We didn't earn it. But, it is something we have received.

Jesus has delivered you, and me, from our sin.

-He did that through His holy precious life.

-He did that through His suffering and death.

-He did that through His glorious resurrection.

So now, by grace alone, you and I have eternal life in Heaven.

This month we are celebrating the 500^th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. As we get closer, and closer, we will focus all the more. The solids of the Lutheran Reformation were that

by scripture alone.

Today's scripture readings focus on 'by grace alone'. Our Old Testament Lesson, “Seek the Lord while He may be found”. Now is our time of grace. The parable of the workers in the vineyard. No matter when you come to faith to believe in Jesus as your Savior, the gift is the same. Eternal life in Heaven.

Paul comes out loud and clear today in our text, encouraging us to rejoice even in the light of trying circumstances we are going through. We are saved by grace alone.

I close this morning with a short, little paragraph from Martin Luther. This is his book, “The Bondage of the Will”, in which he wrote this about God's grace.

God has surely promised His grace to us. That is to those who mourn over and despair of themselves. But, we cannot be thoroughly humbled until we realize our salvation is utterly beyond our own powers, councils, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the Will, council, pleasure and work of Another. That is God alone.

Amen