Theme: Dear Confirmands and Christians: A better
rest is coming
1) One worth fighting for
2) One worth confessing with boldness
Every Sunday is a good time to think
about your faith and why you believe what you do. In fact, every day is a good
time to do that. But today is also significant in that regard because it is Confirmation
Sunday. Today marks the completion of years of study and training in the word
of God for Martin and Fiona, and it’s a good reminder for those of us who also
made the same vows to the Lord in the past.
Anyone who’s familiar with Confirmation
has heard the same statements that go along with it. Things like: this is only
the beginning of your faith. This is not graduation from the church, and so on.
Those are important things to think about on Confirmation Sunday and they’re
certainly true. Our confirmands today can attest that I have said those things
in the past many times. But anytime we examine our faith we are called to dig
deeper. Are those warnings really the lasting message and impression we want to
give through Confirmation? I think not.
If we had to simplify all Biblical study
and knowledge down to one thing, it would certainly be Jesus Christ as our
Savior. That’s the most important fact to know, understand, and believe. But,
yet again, an examination of our hearts digs deeper. We don’t just share bare
facts without reason. We don’t just learn information without also asking why,
as certainly every good Lutheran asks, “What does this mean?” Every part of
Catechism instruction asks that question, which essentially points to the
application of these truths. But we don’t typically ask this about
Confirmation. So, what does this all mean? What is the proper practice of all
of these facts of God’s Word that we learn as young people?
This is asking a lot more than just a
basic summation of the most important Bible teachings. And I think that
sometimes in our attempt to understand the purpose and application of
instruction we offer reasons like: This is only the beginning and this is not a
graduation from the faith. Again, those things are true, but they don’t fully
explain the reason we’re here today. And they’re not going to leave a good
impression in the minds of confirmands because they imply further work and
obligation.
The simplest way to answer, “What does
Confirmation mean?” is that it’s a transition. The goal is to for our young
members to understand their transition from an education of obligation to
education of enjoyment. That is what confirmation is about. All of the facts about
your faith are the same today as they were when you were baptized. The
teachings have not changed. The truth is the same. This is not graduation. But
your relationship to those truths has changed. This is transition from and for
the gospel. It is about rest, not obligation.
Heed the Words of God before you today:
Hebrews
4:11-16 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall
according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from
His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must
give account. 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but
was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come
boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need.
Now it might surprise us that in a
section that speaks about many of the themes of Confirmation, such as: power of
the word, boldness, staying strong in confession, we also see the topic of rest
talked about. But, didn’t we just say that we shouldn’t “rest” on our faith? We
should always grow stronger and dig deeper in all phases of life. So, why rest?
Well, we need to remember what kind of rest is being spoken about
here. The writer very clearly says in v.
11 “be diligent to enter that rest.”
He has something very specific in mind, and it’s not the rest of laziness or
complacency.
We can track the meaning of this “rest”
since it’s used throughout the book of Hebrews. So far, up to this point in our
text, the word rest has been used 7 times already. And v.11 of our section mark
the last time it’s used in the entire book. Clearly, whatever this rest is, it
has been a major theme developing in the beginning chapters of Hebrews. And in
each verse it speaks about the same thing. The type of rest referred to here is
defined in the verses immediately before our text: There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has
entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His
(Hebrews 4:9-10)
This “rest” is the kingdom of heaven.
When Jesus finished His work of redemption, He entered this rest. Christians,
although members of the kingdom today, look forward to that ultimate, eternal
rest where no sin or sorrow exists. In fact, although the word rest isn’t used
after v.11, the remainder of our text really describes the same thing. We look
to what Jesus, our High Priest, has done for us for our assurance of rest, both
in our hearts now and in our bodies for eternity in heaven. It is through God’s
grace and mercy that we have confidence in this fact.
And so, we use that blessing today to
strengthen and encourage one another. So, in a way, confirmation is indeed all
about rest, and not about rest at all. It just depends on which kind of rest
you’re thinking about. We are not to give up, to become indifferent, or to stop
strengthening one another in God’s grace. From a human perspective it seems
that the Christian faith is anything but rest. We’re persecuted. We have our
own baggage to carry around. We are called to live a more difficult lifestyle
than others, shunning sin and temptation. And yet, it’s all about rest. True,
spiritual rest in the heart of one who has been forgiven and one who lives with
the hope of heaven.
Part 1
Therefore, the Holy Spirit reminds us
that since our rest is in heaven, we are still under attack today. That’s why
we tell one another that this is not our graduation day from the faith. This is
only the beginning because we are transitioning to the frontlines of the fight.
And to build upon that analogy, the Spirit tells us what we use for the fight. For the word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and
spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
We have a faith worth fighting for,
therefore God gives us a weapon that is up to the challenge. The double-edged
sword of Law and Gospel in the Bible is the only weapon the Christian needs. We’re
familiar with the famous chapter of Ephesians 6, where Paul lists other pieces
of armor God gives us such as: truth, salvation, righteousness, and faith.
Though we have these additional gifts, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of
God, is the only weapon we have. It can cut to the immaterial parts of who we
are just as a normal blade could cut through flesh.
The Word of God is an awesome tool to
wield. It is more powerful than any other force in the world. That is why our
confirmands have spent the better part of 3 years to learn about God’s
teachings. That is why we implore them, as we do ourselves, to continue
learning from it. But with great power also comes the potential for great harm.
Like all weapons, the Word of God can also be used incorrectly. This is where
we make that leap from basic instruction to mature application. This is
the transition we want our confirmands to come to. Paul instructed young
Timothy similarly: Be diligent to
present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Continuing on, he said, Preach the word! Be ready in season and out
of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to
their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for
themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and
be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure
afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy
4:2-5).
Here we have the same instruction in
Hebrews. “Be diligent…” Be diligent
to pursue your heavenly rest but do so in the appropriate way. Use the Word of
God correctly. Divide properly between Law and Gospel. The battle is worth
fighting, but we must also strive for victory according to God’s will.
Part 2
Our second aspect of our heavenly rest
comes in here too. Our faith is worth confessing with boldness. Paul told
Timothy to “preach the word.” The
battle is not waged in secret or behind the scenes. The times of church and
fellowship are for strengthening and training. The battle itself is during the
week and at home, work, and school. Let us take the time to train appropriately
in using the Word of God but let us not also neglect to take that precious
truth out into world. Learning about God’s Word and sharing it with one another
means very little if we are not also ready to confess it in our lives – both by
what we say and the manner in which we live.
The urgent need to boldly confess God’s
Word is clear. Hebrews tells us that “no
creature is hidden from the power of the Word,” eventually all must give an
account of their lives before God. Paul told Timothy that the time was
approaching when people would choose to ignore God’s Word and listen only to
themselves. We can well attest that we are living in the fulfillment of that
prediction. The time is upon us now. God calls us to wage battle against the foes
of our faith. We cannot do that if we shrink back from confessing the truth.
It’s often been asked, when someone
looks at your life; what you say and how you say it; what you do and how you do
it, can they tell you’re a Christian? What a striking thought. Each time we
measure ourselves in its balance we are left wanting. None of us can stand
before God on our own merits, let alone stand before Him confident of our
witness of His grace and truth. We are failures in every sense of the word.
Given that thought the idea of confirmation, literally “making firm” seems
futile. As soon as we make our vows before God it’s only a matter of time
before we put those promises to the test and we fail in upholding them. Asking
ourselves if others can see our faith is revealing and discouraging. But that’s
why it only part of the solution.
Instead of pointing others only to their
works of service to God and how ashamed we should be at the results, we can
point them to someone else. Seeing then
that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High
Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted
as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
That’s the key. Let us fix our eyes of
Jesus and what He has done for us. Let that be our boast and our guide. Let
that be our strength for service. Let that be the basis of our bold confession.
Let us ask, when people look at me, do they see Jesus? Not just the results.
The fruits. But the source; the Vine. Do they see their Savior, not just
another disciple?
You all, confirmand and Christian alike,
have the necessary tools to make that happen. You have the most powerful weapon
to wield in the most important battle. You have the ability to speak the truth
in love as you fight with the gospel in your heart. Don’t let the true purpose
of this day and the end goal of your faith get obscured in all the details that
got you to this point. After today, not much will seem different. You’ll still
learn the same Bible and worship in the same church. Today is your transition
from doing it because you were told to and doing it because you were bought at
a price. Don’t forget that, and that goes for those of you in the healthier
years of your confirmation.
And when the battle seems too fierce and
when you are tired of the fight; remember that a better rest is coming. “That
rest” of verse 11. The rest of heaven. The rest your Savior bled and died for.
The rest that the world so desperately seeks. The rest that can only come
through knowing and believing you are forgiven. Today is not graduation. It is
heavenly rest as the rest of your days will be. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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