FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT From Death to Life March 14, 2021 Before coming to faith, we were dead in trespasses and sins. But while we were dead and helpless, God made us alive! In the Epistle, Paul writes that God saved us “being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us.” We have not simply been made physically well, but we have been given eternal life. The central reason is that “by grace you have been saved through faith.” We are His workmanship and in the light of Christ, it is obvious that the credit for whatever works we do must go to our gracious God. We are together with Christ and already, as it were, “with Him in the heavenly places.” Now that is really living! “Amazing Grace” [LSB 744] 1 Amazing grace--how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, Was blind but now I see! 2 The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures. 3 Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come; His grace has brought me safe thus far, His grace will lead me home. 4 Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease, Amazing grace shall then prevail, In heaven's joy and peace. 5 When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, Than when we’d first begun. PRAYER Lord Jesus, while we were still dead in sin, You came as one of us to die for us and bring us to eternal life. Give us strength of faith to look up to You each day of our sojourn until we see You face-to-face in eternity; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. EPISTLE Ephesians 2:1–10 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. HOLY GOSPEL John 3:14–21 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” We have a problem with gifts. When we receive a gift, we tend to feel obligated to give a gift in return at some point. The idea of just being grateful for the gift is a hard one for us. The idea of being obligated to do something in return just will not go away. When it comes to God’s grace, His undeserved love in Jesus Christ our Lord, there can be only gratitude. There is nothing we can do in return for such love. We cannot repay God nor can we compel God. What have we to compare with Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross to pay for our sin? God chose to save us from a situation from which we could never save ourselves. That is why Paul’s words have such significance. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:4-5) We have no capacity to come to God and yet He comes to us and draws us to Himself. He saves us from ourselves. He bestows on us a gift that we could never repay. He gives us His Son so that we can be forgiven and have the promise of eternal life. To reinforce this Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) There can be no doubt that it is God’s actions alone that save us so that we can see our Savior clearly. We are saved by God’s grace alone. There is no other way. This is a blessing beyond measure. LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13 Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24–26 The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. Amen. |