Sermon - Trinity XXII 2019 - Matthew 18:21-35

“Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today.” John Lennon’s imagination is not only his, but in fact it’s many people’s perception of reality and it has been for a long time here in America. People suppose that hell is just a made up place pastors tell people about to get them to behave, like Santa Claus only giving you gifts if you’re nice.

But imagining that there is no heaven or hell, and thus living for today without respect for eternity, will only bring you to hell. Because contrary to what secular society and liberal Christianity tells you, heaven and hell are real. Jesus says so in His own words: “Fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell…” Again, He says, “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment… in anguish in flame.” Once again Jesus says, “He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 

So when you die there are only two options: heaven or hell. As the result of our wicked sins, we deserve only hell, as we learn from Jesus today. Yet praise be to Christ, because God’s mercy richly forgives all of our debts, but Jesus warns us in the same breath that if we don’t pour forth the fruits of faith, His mercy can be lost.

Our debts are indeed quite great, and we are like the servant who owed a debt. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.” His debt is huuuge to say the least, since one single talent was worth about 20 years’ wages. A talent wasn’t a coin but a weight, approximately 75lbs. So one talent is 75lbs of either silver or gold. This man owed 10,000 talents! It would take a man 5,000 lifetimes to pay off this insane debt. So in other words, it was a debt the man could never repay. “And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.”

The debt resulting from our sins is unimaginably great, such that you and I could never repay them. The magnitude of our evil and our debt of sin is incomprehensible. We’re not good people deep down, we’re wicked sinners, and those sins which we’ve committed are vile and worthy of punishment. 

Don’t think about other people’s sins, don’t think about how someone else really needs to hear this, but think about yourself for a moment. I’m not talking to those other people, but I’m speaking to you as one of you. All of us, each one of us, is a poor miserable sinner worthy only of eternal damnation and the flames of hell. That is the punishment which we deserve, and we can never pay off this debt on our own. 

Because of our complete lack of ability to repay the debt, we have only one option: we must drop to our knees in repentance, pray that God would be merciful and have pity on us. “So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.”

What astounding compassion! We owe such a fantastic debt and ought to be punished with hell for eternity, yet our Lord is so gracious that He forgives us. But lest we forget, God not only forgives, but He pays that penalty as well. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The Lamb of God who takes our massive pile of filthy wretched sins, bears them on the cross, and is crucified for us! With His lifeblood He alone bought us back from the punishment of eternal death. There is salvation in no one else, since you and I can’t repay the debt, only Jesus paid it, and God the Father forgives us. 

Whenever anyone tries to take away the reality of hell, the severity of our trespasses, what they’re doing is taking away the redemption that Christ paid for us with His suffering and death on the cross. They’re taking away what Jesus earned for us, they’re taking away His glory of the cross, they’re taking away your only comfort, they’re taking away Jesus. 

Because with these lovely words of the Gospel your Lord wants to comfort you in your sorrow over sin. Are you good enough to deserve eternal life? No. But God’s mercy is more than good enough to cover all of your sins and take away from you all despair and doubt. Do you keep falling into sin, even when you run away from it? Does your conscience grieve you? Are your sins ever before your eyes? Then your Lord wishes to encourage you, as He does in that beautiful hymn (434) “All sins Thou borest for us, Else had despair reigned o’er us: Have mercy on us, O Jesus!”

Dear Lutherans, don’t abandon Private confession and absolution as a Romish endeavor, but embrace it. I am your pastor and part of my job is to hear your confessions and forgive you, to absolve you of your sins and pronounce upon you God’s grace and favor. Come, kneel down and receive absolution; you need the forgiveness Christ offers, you need the certainty of hearing those words spoken specifically to you, or at least I know I do. God’s grace and forgiveness is much richer than even the worst of our sins. So be at peace dear Christians in God’s forgiveness.

Be at peace, but don’t stop fighting the good fight of faith and think that once you’ve been forgiven it’s all over and you can go on your life living as you so choose. Just as this beautiful text is a wonderful reminder of the richness of God’s abundant mercy, so is it a stark reminder that even if we’ve once been forgiven, we can still fall away and be damned. 

“Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Just because you have been saved, just because you’ve heard the Gospel once, or even if you’ve heard it your whole life, that doesn’t mean that you can’t again fall into sin and fall away from God’s mercy. This is a reminder for us, we Christians who have been forgiven an incredible debt: just as God can be moved so easily to forgive all of our sins, so can God just as easily take His mercy away and become angry with us if we fall back into the sins which we were once forgiven. 

So daily return to Christ and beg for His mercy! He’s quick to forgive! Don’t delay! Don’t suppose that you have more pressing matters or more important things to take care of. Don’t assume that you have plenty of time later to take care of the burden of your sins. Now is your chance, now is the opportunity, now is the time of God’s grace and favor. He’s quick to forgive today, so beg of His mercy now while you still have time. We Christians don’t live for today alone, but we live in the reality of a life that continues forever. So live today as if it might be your last, but also your last opportunity to repent, and the decisions you make today may very well affect the rest of your eternal life.

In conclusion, let us pray by opening our hymnals to 434, and we’ll sing the first stanza together.