Dear Christian friends,

Today, you have come to church and I am sure that you think that you are pleasing God. But you can do wrong and sin even when you come to church. Perhaps you are surprised to hear me say that to you. You ask, "How come?" Then you say, "If I come to church, I obey God's commandments. I do not sin when I come to church." (Quote Ecclesiastes 5:1)

Yes, you seem to obey God's commandment. But not all obedience pleases God. This we learn from our text, which is the Gospel Lesson for Sunday. In our text, Jesus shows us:

I. Sometimes, people seem, to obey God and please God, but God is not pleased with their obedience.

A. The Pharisees in our text seemed to obey God, but Jesus was very displeased with them. He called them "a bunch of hypocrites." (v.6)) Why? Because they outwardly obeyed many of God's laws and even added some extra laws, which in effect made null and void God’s laws. (v.8 and 13) Therefore, in their heart, they did not really love God or people. Jesus said about them, "They come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."(v.6) The immediate example, as our text shows, was that they taught that ceremonial washing of one's hands made a person clean or holy regardless of whether or not the heart and mind was clean and holy (vv. 1-5)

A woman said this about her husband: "My heart breaks every time he says that he loves me. I know in his heart he does not love me. He is only saying pretty words."

B. God's heart breaks, too, when you and I come to church and confess our faith in Him and sign-sing pretty songs, but in our heart we do not really love Him.

1. We perhaps go to church without love for Jesus.

a. We perhaps come to church because of habit; or because we feel forced by parents or others; or we perhaps come because we fear the pastor will scold us if we fail to come, or that God will punish us.

b. Some may come to church because they are entertained by the music and a clever charismatic pastor, such as we find in the mega churches today. Some come to impress others, or perhaps really to meet and visit friends and to enjoy the luncheon after church.

c. We even give money for the support of our church, but do we give because we love Jesus, or because of other reasons? Some give because they want to show-off and boast. Some give because they feel trapped and forced.

2. Sometimes, we say that we love God, but do not love our family and neighbors.

a. That is what these Pharisees in our text were doing. They said "sorry, I can't help you! Because I have given to given to God what I could have given to you." (vv. 10-11), Living Bible)

b. We perhaps go to church every Sunday, but never love people in need or help the poor. Such seeming obedience does not please God, but mocks Him and breaks His heart.

3. Obedience that pleases God begins in a pure heart. But we are not born with such pure hearts. In our text, Jesus describes man's heart as very very wicked and sinful: "Out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thefts, fornication, covetousness, an evil eye, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." (vv, 21-22)

4. God makes our hearts pure when He forgives our sins because of Jesus’ death on the cross; "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses us from all sins." (1 John 1:7), When we hear of God's great love and mercy for sinners and by the power of His Holy Spirit, believe in Jesus' blood shed for us, then our heart is changed and we begin to really love God and our neighbor. No more hypocrites!

II. Obedience that pleases God only a true Christian can do.

A. Such obedience is done with love for God and people and with praise and thanksgiving to God because of the Savior Jesus Christ. In Jesus, God renews our hearts. He says, "I will give you one heart and a new spirit; I will take away from you, your hearts of stone and give you tender hearts of God." (Ezekiel 11:19) How tender is God’s heart. Jesus tells us in John 3:16. (Explain) And St. Paul writes, "When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun. (2 Cor. 5:17, The Living Bible)

B. It is true that we Christians are not yet perfect in our obedience.

1. We still daily fail to perfectly obey God, although we try very hard. But we have hearts full of thanks to God and want to please Him more than anything else in the world. We will be sorry and grieve when we fail, as we all often do, but we come to God daily confessing our sins and failures and trusting in His mercy and forgiveness. This also we do when we come to church. (Explain)

2. Then, even in our failures, we give Him joy, and He is pleased with our obedience although not perfect. Christ's perfect righteousness covers all our failures and imperfections. St. Paul tells us: "For just as through the disobedience of one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous." (Rom. 5:19) As the disobedience of Adam conveyed itself by natural propagation to all offspring forever, even so the obedience of Christ is credited to those who are born again by a lively faith through Baptism and the Word. May God give us such a faith to examine our obedience's and purify them through Jesus Christ.

Amen