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“For I know nothing against myself, but I am not thereby justified.”

᛭ INI ᛭

We can have some joy this week, a joy filled up and full from the forgiveness of sins. That’s what Paul’s talking about this evening. He’s talking about the forgiveness of sins for himself and for his hearers, for minsters of the Gospel and for those who hear them, too. Paul is preaching forgiveness here because Paul is preaching, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, justification.

Justification means that sinners are declared or accounted righteous, holy, or innocent before God, not on the basis of their works, but on accounts of Christ’s merits alone. As Paul says elsewhere, “To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” (Rom 4) And God justifies the ungodly through Christ’s death: “for when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom 5:6)

Forgiveness of sins and justification go together. Because “To receive the forgiveness of sins is to be justified, according to Psalm 32:1, ‘Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven.’ [77] By faith alone in Christ—not through love, not because of love or works—we receive the forgiveness of sins, although love follows faith. [78] Therefore, by faith alone we are justified. We understand justification as the making of a righteous person out of an unrighteous one, or that a person is regenerated” (AP IV)—a sinner is forgiven.

(2. “This is how one should regard us: as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”)

Now, when the Lord comes to sinners He never comes full blast. “No one has ever seen God.” (Jn 1) In fact, “no man has seen or can see,” for “no one can see Me and live.” (Ex) He “dwells in unapproachable light.” (2 Tim) When the Lord appeared to Moses it was in the burning bush. He appeared “in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.” He appeared in the form of angelic men. Finally, the Son of God took up a human nature in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “He became man.” You see the immortal, invisible, invincible Son of God through the veil of human flesh. Yet, Christ’s humanity is not some party mask that He’ll one day take off. No, the person Son of God now exists as God and Man in one person. Humanity and divinity indivisibly united in the Son of God.

But God always interacts with His people through masks. His ministers are masks. “This is how one should regard us,” Paul says, “as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” You see Christ, you receive Christ, you hear Christ through the ministers of the Gospel as they preach His Word and deliver His Sacraments. “Whoever listens to you is listening to Me,” Christ says. (Lk 12) “The minister’s hand may be seen pouring the water, but it is God who is doing the Baptism.” (LC IV; Jn 4) “When ministers lay on their hands, Absolved by Christ the sinner stands.” (LSB 614)

But this is also how it is with other vocations as well. You and I are God’s masks. He works through us as we live as “father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker.” (SC III)

Even though we experience much good from other people, whatever we receive by God’s command or arrangement is all received from God. For our parents and all rulers and everyone else, with respect to his neighbor, have received from God the command that they should do us all kinds of good. So we receive these blessings not from them, but through them, from God. For creatures are only the hands, channels, and means by which God gives all things. So He gives to the mother breasts and milk to offer to her child, and He gives corn and all kinds of produce from the earth for nourishment [Psalm 104:27–28; 147:8–9]. None of these blessings could be produced by any creature of itself.

(Transition.)

So we have the forgiveness of sins in Christ, and He sanctifies us to be His stewards. Pastors are the stewards of God’s mysteries—the Word and Sacraments. You all are God’s stewards in all the other blessings He gives out in this life. And “it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

(1. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.)

The Lord is looking for such stewards to serve Him—faithful stewards. He calls us to faithfulness. To be faithful—fruitful!—in our dealings with the people in our lives. Christ has created anew us in Holy Baptism that “a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” No matter our station in life we are to live according to the 10 Commandments in “loving our neighbor as ourself.”

A faithful, pious, dutiful, devout husband or wife, child, or worker is to be one who isn’t seeking to get something out of someone, but to consider what they can bring to the table for their neighbor. And Christians recognize that all this comes from God. It’s not only that the person in your life is for you to serve, that you’ve been put their to serve them, that you’ve been given the resources to serve them, but that also God is in fact the one serving them through you.

“God is a veritable fountain of blessing,” and we are, as it were, are the hoses, the aqueducts bring that to our neighbors. And how often we fail the people in our lives! We let them down, not doing what’s needed. Maybe we don’t want to, so we don’t. Maybe we mess up when we do, maybe don’t do enough. Whatever it is we get in the way of God using us.

And even if we are faithful, or really, even if God the Holy Spirit has worked faithfulness in us, so what? “I know of nothing against myself, but I’m not thereby justified.” Besides that, faithfulness is the Spirit’s fruit in you: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Christ works a life in His ministers and all His Christians that is humble. For Christ says, “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ” (Lk 17)

(Conclusion.)

“For I know nothing against myself, but I am not thereby justified.”

That is the good news—joyful news!—for us this evening. We can have some joy this week, a joy filled up and full from the forgiveness of sins. That’s what Paul’s talking about this evening. He’s talking about the forgiveness of sins for himself and for his hearers, for minsters of the Gospel and for those who hear them, too. Paul is preaching forgiveness here because Paul is preaching, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, justification.

Forgiveness of sins and justification go together. Because “To receive the forgiveness of sins is to be justified, according to Psalm 32:1, ‘Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven.’ [77] By faith alone in Christ—not through love, not because of love or works—we receive the forgiveness of sins, although love follows faith. [78] Therefore, by faith alone we are justified. We understand justification as the making of a righteous person out of an unrighteous one, or that a person is regenerated” (AP IV)—a sinner is forgiven.

You are forgiven and set free to serve, being the Lord’s faithful steward in your life. When you fail, there is forgiveness. Christ died for you. When you are faithful, Christ died for you! His faithfulness has freed you, His forgiveness, has freed you not to fail in your faithfulness, but to be faithful in your faithfulness. He uses you. If you don’t know how you’ve failed, there is forgiveness. “Who can discern his errors?” (Ps 19) You are not thereby justified. You are forgiven, justified for Chirst’s sake alone. All the more again this evening—“My body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

᛭ INI ᛭