Pious Lutheran

The Parable of the Prodigal Son , Frans Francken the Younger, 1633 God receives repentant sinners The lost truly are lost Sinners are found / received back through repentance We rejoice with the angels over even one sinner who repents It is claimed by our adversaries that conservative, biblical, traditional Christians, such as us, don’t care for the lost and the sinner. Because we strictly hold to the word of God and we believe the Bible is correct about what is sin and what is good, we are accused of being unloving and hateful. We are accused of being like the Pharisees who grumble about Jesus receiving sinners and eating with them. These accusations are wildly incorrect, since we rejoice that God receives sinners and eats with them. But in order to refute these accusations against us, let’s explore why we believe that God receives repentant sinners. First off, it’s important to understand that the lost truly are lost, sinners really are actually sinners. Isaiah says “ All we like she...

Parable of the Lost Drachma, Domenico Fetti, 1618 Since Roe v Wade was overturned, many Christians have very appropriately celebrated and rejoiced. There’s certainly more work to be done still, since each state has to make abortion illegal, but this is a positive step in the right direction. Nevertheless, even though Christians have been rejoicing in this momentous decision, many pro-abortion people have strongly gone on the offense against Christianity, claiming that since we’re opposed to abortion Christianity is hateful and fails to love. But that is absolutely untrue. Christians love sinners because Christ loves sinners. By grace Jesus and His church receive repentant sinners. We read: “ The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” ” Christ, nor His bride the church, hate sinners, instead Christ is He who calls sinners to repentance and welcomes them into His hom...

Parable of the Lost Sheep , by Jan Luyken. 1649-1712 “ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you. ” Humility doesn’t usually come to many of us that naturally, and so God often has to humble us with His mighty hand. A good illustration of this comes from the life of Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel.  During the time of the Babylonian exile, Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego were deported to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride was astounding! He had a ninety foot tall golden statue made of him for everyone to bow down and worship. Of course as you remember, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego refused to worship it, were tossed into a fiery furnace, and Jesus rescued them.  Nebuchadnezzar praised God for that miracle, but still he was filled with pride. A year later he stood on the roof of his palace and declared of his kingdom: “ Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power a...

In recent days there has been a lot of talk in the news and throughout our society about repentance. Everywhere you turn people are kneeling and calling others to repentance. Repentance is a good thing! A common refrain in the Bible is the call to repentance! Recognizing that you’re a sinner who has done bad things is a fundamental part of being Christian.  Still, as good as a thing repentance is, our society doesn’t have it quite right and is missing a few things. Without going into all of the controversial details about our current societal strife that we’re all tired of listening to, the biggest thing that our society has wrong about repentance is the lack of forgiveness. That’s a big deal, because repentance without forgiveness is worthless and in fact repenting without being forgiven is nothing more than self-righteousness!  Remember what the catechism says about Confession: “Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution...

How much worse are the sins of another than our own? If a man were to come into town guilty of murder, we would all avoid him as the worst of sinners, desiring him to be locked up in a prison cell! But when we hate our own neighbors, holding onto grudges and seeking revenge, we call it strength and pride, while the scriptures call it murder. If we were to see a poor man lying drunk in a gutter, we would disdain him as the scum of the earth. But when a rich man turns a blind eye to the poor and feasts sumptuously every day, stumbling into bed drunk each night, we consider him a great rich man who has worked hard for his wealth, while the scripture still calls him a drunk and a glutton. I tell you, whether one is engaged in manifest sins or hiddens sins, both are sinners. While the world may despise the one and honor the other, Christ looks upon both with mercy. Truly, Jesus doesn’t pass by either sinner, but instead both are lost, and Christ seeks the lost.  It’s just as Jesus ...

I’ve heard people complain about God before saying that He’s just a mean, wrathful, angry, hateful God because He takes sin so seriously. And while it is true that God does takes sin seriously in such a way that should cause us a bit of fear and trembling, it’s not true that He’s just a mean, angry God. “ He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. ” Our heavenly Father is gracious and is filled with steadfast love for us, His children, showing us compassion and welcoming us home when we return from our reckless lives in humble repentance. In fact the reason God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, into the world wasn’t to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him and His sacrificial death for us. Christ came into the world to redeem sinners, Christ has come to dwell with us sinners so as to rescue us from our sin and depravity. The Pharisees and scribes ...