Repent, Trust Christ, and Live

Simon Peter was called and brought to contrition and repentance, from his sinful doubts and fears to faith in the forgiveness of his sins by Jesus Christ.  His strength was not in himself, but in the weakness of the Cross.  And in his own weakness he glorified God by the grace of the Lord Jesus.

It is by that weakness of the Cross that Simon Peter would strengthen his brethren and shepherd the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ.  So are you also shepherded by the Ministry of the Gospel, fed and watered, guided and guarded from all harm and danger, by the great Good Shepherd of us all: Who has laid down His life for you — and taken it up again, in order to give you life in Himself.  Who has called you by name, and you are His — and you know His Voice, and you follow Him.

But do you love Him?  Do you value Him and love Him more than your life in this world?  Would you follow Him where you do not wish to go?  Would you follow Him even to prison or to death?

Where you are put to the test, where your security and comfort are threatened, where your safety, health, and very life are in danger and at stake, do you know the Lord Jesus there and then?  Do you love Him, and are you willing to admit it?  Do you boldly confess Him in the face of hostility?

Or do you deny Him, and deny that you know Him, because you really don’t know Him at all?

Do you pray, praise, and give thanks in His Name, in both good times and bad, in confident faith?  Or do you rather curse, swear, lie, and deceive with your words and by your actions, despite the fact that you have been given to bear His Name in your Holy Baptism?

When you are called to account for your sins and your unfaithfulness, for your sinful doubts and anxieties, for your boastful pride and arrogance, for your fears and failures, for your denials and betrayals — when you are deeply grieved on account of your sins, and you weep bitterly under the Law that exposes your sinfulness and shame — it is not that God would mock you and shame you or drive you away, but that you should despair of yourself and every righteousness of your own, and that you would also then be driven to cast yourself on Christ, to fear, love, and trust in Him.

He calls you by His Word and Spirit to repent of your sins, to be turned away from them entirely in heart and mind, in thought, word, and deed; and that you should believe in Christ and live in Him by the way of His Cross, and enter by faith through suffering and death into His Resurrection.

So that, being ashamed of yourself, you would no longer be ashamed of Christ and His Gospel, but that, as often as you have fallen in the past, and as often as you fail and fall short yet again, He would raise you up and restore you by His grace through His forgiveness of your sins.

It is for this reason and for this purpose that He has been crucified and raised again: Not to call the self-righteous but real sinners to repentance.  And thus to heal the sick.  To feed the hungry.  To quench your thirst with living water.  To forgive your sins and give you life by His Gospel.

It is likewise for this reason and this purpose that He calls and sends His servants to shepherd His sheep, to tend and feed His lambs; that you should be guarded and kept safe from the roaring lion and the howling wolf; that you should graze safely upon the green grass of His living Word; that you should dwell within His House, now and forever, and feast with Him at His Banquet Table.

Come then, little lamb of the Lord Jesus, dear sheep of the Good Shepherd.  Do not be afraid, but draw near with confidence, and be at peace in Him who remembers you in love but remembers your sins no more.  Eat from His hand, drink from His Chalice, and live by His grace and mercy.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Repentance and Faith in the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus

How you feel about Jesus may be up for grabs from time to time, but there is no doubt or question about His love for you.  He has but one desire for you and all His sheep, that you have life with Him, both now and forevermore.  To that end, He has suffered and died for you, and risen again, and, even to the close of the age, He preaches repentance for the forgiveness of all your sins.

His love for you is clear and consistent and certain.  Your love for Him, not so much; not always.  Your good intentions do not always translate into faithful loving words and actions.  When push comes to shove and you are put to the test, you sometimes deny and disown the Lord who loves you; sometimes actively, by what you do and say, and sometimes passively, by what you don’t.  Instead of taking up the Cross to follow Him, you sometimes run away and try to hide.

But now has Christ arisen, and it is high time for you to repent.

Do not get defensive or defiant, but recognize where you have done wrong, where you have fallen short and failed.  Confess your sins, believe the Gospel, and, living by such faith, do better.  Become altogether other than you have been.

Are you grieved by your sins?  It is right that you should be.  But do not simply weep and gnash your teeth about it.  Go and sin no more.  Stop repeating the same mistakes over and over again.  Stop trying to pick and choose your own way, your own life.

It is not for you to decide and determine the way in which you will serve and glorify God.  Your self-chosen pursuits and bold promises are likely to crash and burn, anyway.  But, whatever may become of you and your efforts, you are not actually your own man or woman; you are the Lord’s.

Do what you are given to do, and follow Jesus in your God-given calling and place in life.  Confess His Cross and Resurrection by your words and deeds, and care for your neighbor as you are able.

Do so for Jesus’ sake, and for your neighbor’s sake, and not as though your life and your salvation depended on it.  Worry and anxiety stem from the false assumption that your life is in your own hands, and from the lie that your righteousness and holiness are achieved by your own works.

But that is not how it is.

Your life is in the hands of Christ, who is your Righteousness and Holiness by His divine grace.  Whether you live or die, you are the Lord’s, who lived and died for you, and rose again for you.  What He calls you to do for others, He has already done for you, and He continues to do for you.  And it is Christ Jesus Himself who is at work in your vocations to serve your neighbors, as well.

I know that it can sometimes feel as though everything were out of control and falling apart.  But it’s not.  Not really.  If it is taken out of your hands, that is for the best, but it is not outside the scope of Christ and His Cross.

Life and death and everything in between have already been fulfilled and worked out in His Cross, and beautifully resolved for life everlasting in His Resurrection from the dead.  That’s where you are, too, even now, and forever and ever, by your Baptism into Him, by faith in your Baptism.

The One who calls you to repentance is the One who loves you.  He calls you through His death into His Resurrection and His Life.  He does call you to feed His sheep entrusted to your care within your own proper office and station, but He is no less determined to feed you, Himself, by His own ways and means of grace, and by the shepherds whom He gives to you in His Name.

Indeed, He governs and directs all things in heaven and on earth for the sake of serving His Church, His flock, His lambs and sheep.  And so He does for you.  If you have fallen, wherever and however it is that you have failed, rest assured that He has risen for you.  And in His rising from the dead, you also are raised up to live in Him.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.