Dig into God's Word - 6th sunday after epiphany - Series a

4 3 2 1 Hey everyone! Welcome to another edition of "Dig into God's Word" where we look ahead to the upcoming week's readings from the lectionary. The weather has cleared up this week and I'm glad to be back at church. Although I had some tell me last week that they wouldn't have been able to tell that I wasn't actually here if I hadn't said anything. This week we have some challenging readings that make us uncomfortable. In our Old Testament reading we'll hear about walking in the ways of God and keeping his commandments. In our Epistle, Paul addresses jealousy and strife in Corinth and has to remind the church that it is God that provides for faith to grow. Finally in our gospel we'll hear Jesus take the familiar commandments and explain what they cover exactly. This explanation leaves no one without guilt. Our Old Testament reading for this week is from Deuteronomy 30. This is our first challenging text for the week. In it we hear Moses giving the people of God the choice to choose to walk in the ways of the Lord God by keeping his commandments and experience life or to turn way and worship other gods and ultimately perish. This is challenging for us for we believe, as Luther says in the explanation to the third article of the Apostle's Creed, "that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." This is true, as unregenerate people we are unable to make any sort of decision to follow or believe in Jesus. We can't do it, we're enemies of God. However, this text becomes a little less tricky when we consider who Moses was speaking to. Was he speaking to unregenerate people who didn't know God? Was he trying to convert people to faith in God, the creator? No. He was speaking to those who were a part of God's covenant promise. Moses makes the exhortation in this text toward the end of his life after he had led them for 40 years. He is simply exhorting them to do the right thing, the life that flows out of being God's children and to put away the life of death and destruction that comes from the old Adam that clings to us throughout our lives. The Epistle reading is from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. We continue our trip through 1 Corinthians this week. Paul is addressing divisions within the church as he often has to do with the churches to which he is writing. Paul begins by speaking in a way that any parent will identify with. Paul says that the Corinthains are infants in the faith because they're being guided by their flesh and by human ways. In the same way that babies can only have milk and can't eat solid food, Paul says that he is only able to feed them with spiritual milk and that they're not ready for solid food. What's the problem? Divisions had struck the church. Some claimed allegiance to Appollos and others claimed Paul. We saw this a few weeks ago in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. Paul tells them that both he and Apollos are simply servants, fellow believers in Christ. Paul goes on to using an example from agriculture. He planted the seed, Apollos watered the seed, but that isn't where the focus lies because it is ultimately God who gives the growth to what has been planted. Faith is God's gift and the church is his also. All of the growth comes from him. Paul wants them to focus on where their allegiance and praise should actually be directed -- to God, not to him or Apollo. Our gospel reading for this week is from Matthew 5:21-37. Here is another challenging reading. Maybe it isn't so challenging as it is uncomfortable for us. This is a continuation of what we have been reading in Matthew's gospel. Last week we ended with Jesus stating that he hadn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. This week, he takes the law that has been taught to them by the scribes and Pharisees and moves from their superficial understanding of God's will and expounds on it. Jesus has encountered those who believed that they can fulfill all of the law on their own and this needs to be addressed. He starts with ***. Everyone can be on board with the idea that *** is bad. But then Jesus says, "I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment." Whoa! What? Being angry is in the same category of ***? Yikes! Well it does fit in with what we hear in 1 John 4:20 where John writes, "If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen" Our vertical relationships, that is our relationships with those around us are just as important as our horizontal relationship with God. Jesus then instructs them to reconcile with anyone they're fighting with. Next, Jesus talks about adultery. Don't commit adultery. Ok, good, that's not too hard, right? Not so fast. Jesus goes on to say, "that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." He doesn't stop there, he says that if your eye causes you to sin that you should pluck it out and throw it away. And likewise for your hand, cut it off and throw it away for it is better, he says, to lose part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell. Let's not stop there, now Jesus addresses divorce. It appears as through the practice of divorce in some ways hasn't changed much since Jesus' time. He says that the common instruction of the day was that divorce was permitted as long as it was accompanied by a certificate. Jesus reminds them that marriage is supposed to be a lifelong union that is not broken and in this passage, only mentions *** immorality as grounds for a divorce. Please note that this video is not meant to be a discussion on divorce and the various ways that sin breaks our relationships. It is simply meant to provide an overview of the texts. Sin has damaged our world and we quickly see that by the perfect standards that Jesus has laid out for us that we fail miserably at keeping any part of what is expected of us. We strive to live our lives according to God's law, but find ourselves continually falling short. This is where we have great hope and assurance though, as we know that Jesus kept these and all parts of the law perfectly so that those who believe in him have forgiveness from all of their sins and everlasting life with him. Jesus concludes by speaking about oaths and swearing by things that you can't control. He says that instead, you should simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No' We made it through these challenging passages this week. I hope it gave you something to think about as we strive to live as God's children according to his Word. God's blessings on your study of his word this week.