Sermon Text: Acts
2:14a, 36-41
Title: “The
Promise.”
I. Without the
promise one is lost to Christ.
II. With the
promise one is found by Christ.
THE PROMISE IS THE
FORGIVENESS OF SINS WON FOR US BY CHRIST ON THE CROSS AND APPLIED TO US THROUGH
THE WATERS OF HOLY BAPTISM.
In the name of the Father and the Son + and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and from our
LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text for the homily this Sunday, is taken from our first
lesson – the book of Acts chapter two.. St. Luke writes…
Now when they heard
this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the
apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise
is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the
Lord our God calls to himself.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I.
What’s in a promise? A pledge or an oath to follow through
on what one has said he or she will do. We make promises all the time don’t we?
We promise to be faithful to our spouses. We promise to pay our house payment
on time. We promise to uphold the laws of the land when we get a driver’s
license. Doctors promise to do all that is in their power to care for people.
Missouri Synod pastors promise to be faithful to the Holy Scriptures.
What’s the problem with all of these promises? They are all
broken promises. Husbands and wives cheat on each other, house payments are not
paid on time, people speed in their cars, doctors perform abortions, and
pastors interpret Scripture any which way they want. All of these promises are
broken promises. The speakers of each of
these promises has failed to keep their word, their pledge, their oath.
Such is the life of a sinner. Such is the life of you and
me. We make promises all the day long and time after time we renege on those
promises. Such is the life of every human being on the face of God’s green
earth. I’ve noted all of political signs popping up lately. Is it really too
surprising that whomever is elected to these various offices, that person will
NOT keep all of their promises made?
And aren’t there times when we make promises we don’t intend
to keep - fingers crossed behind our backs? Sure there are. Think back to when you were a kid. Wouldn’t we all at
some time or another say anything to get out of trouble? Wouldn’t we promise to
never do it again? And then wouldn’t we often times find ourselves doing that
very thing once – AGAIN? The funny thing? We don’t outgrow it.
As sinners our promises always fall short. A few weeks ago
on Palm Sunday young people spoke their confirmation vows – stood in front of
the church and in front of God and promised to do certain things. All of you
who have been confirmed in the church have promised the same things. Have you
lived up to that promise? Have you done what you promised before God? Have you
kept your word, your pledge, your oath? Or have you, like all others, let the
LORD down? Have you gone the other way instead of the way of righteousness and
truth, the way you promised?
That’s us in a nutshell. We are constantly saying we will do
one thing and then doing another. For isn’t that really what our lives are – a
great big promise to do the right thing? Aren’t we expected by God and others
to follow through on what we say? Isn’t it a promise every time we commit to
doing something? Isn’t it that simple? If we say we are going to pick up some
milk at the store, or pick the kids up from school and we forget to do so,
aren’t we in essence breaking our word, breaking a promise? If not, then why do
we apologize when we forget to do something we said we would do? It’s because
of the promise. And when it comes to promises – we can’t keep them. We have failed.
And in our failure to live up to the promises we make we are
lost. We can’t live up to the promises we make to each other, and we can’t live
up to the promises we make to GOD. We break our oath – daily. We sin against
the commandments that GOD has laid down before us – to follow perfectly mind
you. We break the first table by sinning
against God and we break the second table by sinning against neighbor – and
God. This is the life we lead – saying one thing and doing another, promising
this and that, and then breaking that promise. And in the process of being
great oath breakers we are lost to our LORD.
II.
God on the other hand keeps His promises – perfectly. He promised to never to destroy the world in
a flood again and He’s kept that promise. He promised Abraham to make His descendants
like the stars and He’s kept that promise. He promised to lead His people out
of bondage and He parted a sea and kept that promise. He promised our parents,
Adam and Eve, that He would provide a way out, a Savior, and in Jesus He’s kept
that promise too.
In our text today we find St. Peter preaching the Good News
of Jesus Christ and His victory over our sinful flesh, death and the devil.
Upon hearing this sermon they turned to Peter and asked him what they should
do. St. Luke writes…
Now when they heard
this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the
apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
And Peter says to them…
“Repent and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
He tells them to repent – to turn from their wicked ways. He
says they should be baptized in the name of Jesus, for the forgiveness of their
sins.
And here today, Jesus is saying the same thing to me and all
of you. Repent. And for those who have
not been baptized, they are to be washed in the flood of Holy Baptism. Be
drowned in the waters at the font. And
be raised a new person in Christ – forgiven. And receive the promise which is
the Holy Spirit. That’s right. In the waters of Baptism we receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit, for St. Luke writes…
For the promise is for
you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord
our God calls to himself.”
Here God is keeping another promise. Jesus said he must ascend
so that the Helper could descend and take care of us – and that Helper is none
other than His Holy Spirit. This is the gift we receive from our heavenly
Father in Holy Baptism – the gift of the Holy Spirit, the grace of the giving
of faith, and the power of His Spirit in our lives to see us through, to help
us along the way.
We have left a vast trail of broken promises along the way
of our lives, but GOD has kept each and every promise He has made. And there is
one more promise. He has promised He will come again – and given His track
record, you can bet He will keep that one too. Praise be to GOD that He is
faithful and steadfast, that He keeps His promises. Amen.
The peace of the LORD - which surpasses all understanding -
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our LORD the Great Promise
Keeper. Amen.
+ Soli Deo Gloria +
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