Faith not faith [Epiphany 3; St. Matthew 8:1-13]

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

From the Gospel heard today, Jesus speaks, saying:

“And behold, a leper came to Him and worshiped him, saying, ‘Lord, if You will it, You are able to purify me.’”

Faith takes no holidays, Dr. Luther writes. Meaning, there is never a time when it is not purifying and not creating belief. There is also never a time when it is not speaking of Christ and acting Christ-like, usually in the form of your own words and actions.

Thus Jesus continues our thinking about purification from last week at the Wedding at Cana, where He used stone jars to turn water into wine. These stone jars were not food grade, but were set aside for Temple baptisms and other purifying and sanctifying rituals.

So we see that turning water into wine was not just some magic trick, but an actual sacrifice on Jesus’ part made ahead of His hour of crucifixion. Yet, it was necessary because without suffering and sacrifice, there can be no purification on earth, much less faith.

In fact, Dr. Luther makes another point and teaches that, “What is of God must be crucified in the world”. So long as it does not lead to the cross (that is, to shameful suffering), it is not recognized as a work that comes from God, inasmuch as the only-begotten Son was not protected against this experience but rather was appointed the example of it" (AE 25:177)

Faith leaves these two men from the Gospel lesson no choice but to seek Jesus out. And if everything in their lives had been prosperous, they would have been like everyone else and not sought Him out. But because they were suffering or someone they loved was suffering, they not only looked for Jesus, but found Him.

“He who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross .... These are the people whom the apostle calls "enemies of the cross of Christ," for they hate the cross and suffering and love works and the glory of works .... [By contrast] the friends of the cross say that the cross is good and works are evil, for through the cross works are dethroned and the old Adam, who is especially edified by works, is crucified. It is impossible for a person not to be puffed up by his good works unless he has first been deflated and destroyed by suffering and evil until he knows that he is worthless and that his works are not his but God's.” (AE 31:53)

  

This is faith understood within the entire context of the Bible, because faith is not understood without also understanding law, sin, grace, righteousness, flesh and spirit. Thus, St. Paul spends all his time on these subjects in his letter to the Romans.

Doing the works of the law and fulfilling the law are two very different things. The law is not simply works to be done or not done as everyone naturally understands it. Works do not fulfill the law. Fulfilling the law means doing its works with pleasure and love in a godly and good life voluntarily, without the compulsion of the law in the first place. This of course, is never accomplished without faith.

Sin is not only the outward works of the body, but also all the inward activities that move you to work. Any action takes inward planning on our part, before the work takes place. When Scripture looks on your inmost heart, it finds only unbelief in such a thing as your heart. Unbelief alone commits sin and faith alone makes a person righteous.

Grace and gift are different. We have different gifts, but the same grace. We are still sinners, yet there is no condemnation in Christ. Because we believe in Christ, God favors us and does not count sin against us. Instead He graciously deals with us according to faith in Christ until sin is slain.

Righteousness is a divine work, meaning God freely gives it and credits it to us on account of faith in Christ. In faith we are free from sin and take pleasure in God’s commands and in serving our fellow man willingly and happily, offering all we have to his aid.

Flesh and spirit does not mean outward and inward. Flesh means everything, inside and out, that is corrupted by sin. Body, soul, mind, and senses are afflicted by the flesh, since it was born from the flesh and we long to remain in the flesh. The flesh is a man who lives and works, inwardly and outwardly, in the service of the flesh’s gain and of this temporally life. The spirit is the man who lives and works, inwardly and outwardly, in the service of the Holy Spirit and of the future life in faith.

Faith seeks God. Faith seeks God in suffering. Why does God conceal himself so deeply--or conversely--why does he manifest himself so paradoxically as to only show Himself in suffering? He does so in order to crush human pride so that man, having ceased to work, might be prepared for God's work (AE 31:55).

Just as the stone jars at the Wedding in Cana were empty, so too must we be emptied. For Christ was emptied for us, in order that He be that perfect sacrifice on the cross to purchase faith for us.

Faith is not a human notion or a dream of the imagination, as some people define it. When they see no improvement of life, after belief, they say faith is not enough. Faith is a divine work which changes us, despite all outward appearances. It makes us born again. It saves us. It creates belief in us. It kills the old Adam in us and makes our hearts, spirits, minds and powers altogether different.

Bringing the Holy Spirit with it, Faith never stops. It is living, busy, active, and mighty. It doesn’t stop to ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them. It is impossible to separate works from faith, which is why Jesus can comment on the centurion and say that He has never found such a faith before.

Faith is key to salvation, but faith does not rely on faith. There is no demand from God for the sinner to have faith, you cannot. Faith doesn’t include knowing one has faith nor even requiring belief in having faith, for he who doesn’t think he believes, but is in despair over sin, has the greatest faith. Christian faith puts no faith in faith, precisely because it is faith in God’s Word alone.

The Word of Christ is sacramental. Meaning, it is completely and utterly outside of yourself; external to you. It depends on external facts for its meaning: the life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. And its truth is located in the Christ Who speaks the sure word of promise, without conditions, to sinners.

There is no internal contemplation of faith. There is no profound reflection in faith. There is only Christ, Who, through the Holy Spirit, creates faith by means of the proclamation of the Gospel. It is not personal experience, but the content of God’s Word that saves you. To believe that Christ’s Word is for you is to be uninterested in the fact that you believe and instead captivated by what Christ has to say to you.