August's Sermons

Church Period: Epiphany Sunday
Sermon Title: Proclaim God's Word Of Salvation To All!
Sermon Date: January 6, 1957
Rev. August Hauptman
Sermon Text: Romans 3:23-31

Dear Christian friends:

On the First Epiphany God called the wise men to faith in the new-born Savior. The wise man were Gentiles. So God showed that His Son, the Savior was for all people. That's one thing we easily forget. Sometimes I act as if God loves only me and not all other people.

Another thing we easily forget: God invites men to believe in His Son. If He doesn't, they can't. And the story of the wise men helps us to remember that also. God Himself called the wise men to faith in Jesus and He did this in a very wonderful way, by a strange star. God does not call men by a star anymore, but He calls them by the Gospel. This we easily forget.

Our interest in missions and our support of missions clearly shows that we are not sure about that. Our text this morning will help to sharpen our understanding and faith in these things it shows:

Why We Must Proclaim God's Word Of Salvation To All

The first reason is simple: All men need it! Our text says: "All have sinned." (Read verses 10-18, especially verse 18) And this sin is not a little wrong that we can ourselves make right. Almost everyone agrees that they sin. But they think they can make up for it or make it right in the future. Like if they get behind in paying their rent. The say, "I can catchup. I will make good later on."

So people think about sin. They think, "I will stop next year or when I am old, and then I will make right my wrongs." Some even begin when they are young and try to make themselves right by strictly following God's law, or by following their own laws, as the nuns and monks do, or the lodges.

But Paul here clearly shows that no person can make right past wrongs. True he may make good before men partly, but not before God. And usually you can't make right all the wrong you have done even before your neighbor. And surely you can't make right all the wrong you've done to God.

God demands 100% of our time and strength for His glory. He does not give us extra days in which to catch up. So Paul says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Trying to obey the Law does not make us righteous. The strict law only shows how crooked we are. It is like a carpenter's square. The square shows the carpenter how crooked his cut is. If the carpenter tried to make the cut right with the square you would say, "he is crazy." He must use another tool to make the cut straight.

So we, by trying to obey the law only measure how crooked we are as Paul says in verse 19. Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to show us how crooked we really are. Some people think they are perfect like the Good Samaritan, but they are only deceiving themselves. They are proud and self-righteous. We saw that all men are helpless in themselves to make right their wrongs. But thank God there is a way out of our hopelessness.

God has with great mercy and kindness prepared a way of salvation for us. He has a certain person who has made right all our wrongs. Paul calls Him "a propitiation." Pitiate means to make right someone else's wrongs and our Propitiation is Jesus, God's own holy Son. Listen again as Paul explains God's wonderful salvation. (Read verses 23-26)

So you see everyman can have God's righteousness. It doesn't make any difference if he has no money. Jesus' has suffered and paid. We sometimes seem to think that Jesus is only for the "respectable" people or the successful people. We try hard to get the rich, the popular and the nice deaf to join our church. And we seem to be more happy if they do. The poor, the ignorant, the dirty, and not respectable we avoid. We don't visit them and try to win them. Yes, we must confess with shame that we often think Jesus is only for the proud. But listen what Paul says about man's pride: (Read verses 27-28)

So don't despise anyone whether nice or not-nice, rich or poor, popular or unpopular. Where the sin is multiplied to that place bring God's Word of salvation, too.

Rev. Burce in New Guinea tells of the ignorance and filth of the natives to whom he brings God's precious Word. Jesus shed His precious Word. Jesus shed His precious blood for them. He loves them so I must love them. If I don't, I am proud and self-righteous and lose God's grace myself.

God is God of all people and He gave His son to die for all people not only for the deaf. The Jews thought that God loved only them and that they only could be in His Kingdom. That is church pride. They were surprised and many confused when they began to learn that God's Savior is for all both Jews and Gentiles. So Paul says to them: "Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too." (verse 29)

So we, too, like the Jews may think that Jesus loves only our people. We are glad to support our home church, but don't care about missions in other parts of the town or in other cities and states and countries. This narrow group pride we must confess shamefully. God does not love one group more than another, or one group is not better than another. True, He may show more mercy and kindness to one group than to another, but that should not make them proud or self righteous and despise others. Rather it should make them humble and kind and loving, willing to share their blessings with others who have not the same.

So God has blessed our deaf, with Gospel preaching. And He has blessed us much more than the deaf of other nations. This should humble and cause us to eagerly share our joy in Jesus with other deaf in other countries of the world.

If we don't get that right humble spirit we may quickly lose God's grace ourselves and be lost forever. Yes we should carefully search our hearts and see why we have been so indifferent about missions. Ask yourself: "Why do I not do more to help preach Jesus?" Be honest and answer honestly. There must be some reasons which are not good reasons before God.

And if our reasons are not good we must confess our shame and sin to God. And beg His mercy and forgiveness in Jesus our Savior. Ask Him to give us another year of grace to obey His Gospel humbly.

God help you to do this.

Amen.