Category: Pre-Lent

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, You manifested Yourself, with the Holy Spirit, in the fullness of grace at the baptism of Your dear Son, and with Your voice directed us to Him who has borne our sins, that we might receive grace and the remission of sins: Keep us, we beseech You, in the true faith; and inasmuch as we have been baptized in accordance with Your command, and the example of Your dear Son, we pray You to strengthen our faith by Your Holy Spirit, and lead us to everlasting life and salvation; through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

 ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

 ¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

 ¹⁶ When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.

 ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed,

“A fool says in his heart there is no God.” These are the words of David in the Psalms. God exists. We can see from nature with all its ordered complexities that it cannot come about by random chance, but that it must have been created by an intelligent and omnipotent being. Furthermore, the natural law written on our hearts and our consciences bear witness to the fact that there is a Law-giving God who created us. There are many more arguments for the existence of God, but those are unnecessary. His existence is simply a matter of fact.

Though there are an increasing number of atheists in our country, the large majority of people believe in a personal divine being. And with the majority of people coming to this correct conclusion, we can arrive at another easy conclusion, I am not God, and you are not God.

But too few seriously consider the next logical questions. Who is God? And what does He think of me? How do I stand before Him? Those are vitally important questions, aren’t they?

We have, by God’s grace, come to know the answers to these questions. But we must always be reminded of these things, that we may more firmly be established in the truth, that we may be refreshed in God’s love and forgiveness, and strengthened to boldly live as God’s children in the world. The gospel reading today is a great meditation on these questions.

First, we’ll just briefly consider who God is, but then we’ll focus more on what are His thoughts toward us and how we stand before Him?

In our Gospel reading, we have a vivid picture of who God is. He reveals Himself as three distinct Persons. The Father speaks from heaven. The Son is coming up from the water after having been baptized. The Holy Spirit comes down in the form of a dove. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. As the three Persons are present at Jesus’ baptism, they were also present in your baptism. For Jesus, before His ascension, commanded His Church to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

But we do not worship three God’s, but one God as He says about Himself in Scripture, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is One.” And as Jesus said about Himself and the Father, “I and the Father are One.” Certainly, the Holy Spirit is One with the Father and the Son as well. Nothing expresses this more clearly that the Athanasian Creed.

This is the mystery of the Trinity, our one true God. The very nature of God is beyond our comprehension. And this is fittingly so. He is Creator, we are His creation. He is infinite. We are finite. He is boundless in His might, in His wisdom, in His immensity, in His majesty, and in His glory. And we are severely limited…

…especially, since we have become alienated from God on account of our sin. The perfection we had is lost. The image of God, which we had, is gone. We have been corrupted. We have become mortal. We have fallen under God’s judgment. Consider our selfishness, our lust, our worldliness, our pride, our sinful anger, our impatience, our lack of love for our neighbor, and so on.

How would we stand before our righteous Creator? Well, the Psalmist says, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquity, who could stand?” We all fall under the righteous judgment of God.  John recognizes his own sinfulness. He had been preaching repentance. And He had been baptizing with a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He knew that he himself was a sinner as all the rest of the people whom he was baptizing. And so he thought that it was completely backwards that Jesus, the Son of God made flesh, who is perfect and righteous, would come to him to be baptized. This was a baptism for sinners.

But then we see what God’s attitude toward us is when we consider the purpose of Jesus’ baptism. Jesus insists on being baptized, because they must fulfill all righteousness. John must perform his part as being the one called by God to baptize. And Jesus fulfills His part by submitting Himself to the baptism. And by submitting Himself to be baptized, He takes up the work by which He becomes our righteousness so that we may stand before God.

In Jesus’ baptism, we see the will of the Triune God. It’s mindboggling that God would be mindful of us. He who is all glorious and mighty and just, could easily and rightfully judged us have wiped out us rebellious, mortal sinners in His just wrath. Such love and mercy from almighty God, the Creator, that could reach down to us sinners is beyond comprehension.

The Father doesn’t just kindly wish us well, but gives His own Son to be the world’s redeemer. It is the Father’s will that His Son not only assume a human nature, but that He, being perfect in Himself, also take upon Himself all the sins and guilt of the world, including all of your sins and mine. He takes them in order that He take accountability for them all, and that He would be the one to fall under the Father’s judgment for those sins, suffering and dying for them. And He also sent His Son to live under the Law, keeping it perfectly, so that His righteousness would justify the world in His sight.

The Father sent His Son to accomplish this. And the Son obeyed, subjecting Himself to baptism, taking on the work of fulfilling all righteousness. He steps onto the path to the cross to be our sacrificial Lamb and to fall under the punishment of the Father’s righteous judgment that you and I may be saved from our sins, from death, and from the devil. In love for you, He does this, and in obedience to His Father He does this. And because of His obedience, the Father expresses His pleasure towards His Son at the Jordan River.

And then the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ. The Holy Spirit anointed Christ into His saving office, that He may be our Great Prophet, Priest, and King. Thus what Isaiah spoke 700 years earlier is fulfilled, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…” (Is 61:1). Jesus already had the fullness of the Holy Spirit according to His divine nature, being One with Him. But here the Holy Spirit comes to Christ, according to His human nature, to lead Him throughout His ministry, and endow Him with the strength needed for the work ahead of Him.

Look at what takes place at the Jordan River! And there see what the God of heaven and earth, the one true God’s will is towards you. At Jesus’ baptism, we see God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, fully invested in the work of your salvation.

But then look at your own baptism, and how personal that love of God is for you

At your baptism, that saving mercy and love of God came to bear upon you in your life. There the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was present in your baptism. There the Father adopted you as His dear child, for He says in Scripture, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal 3:26-27).

How could this be since we daily offend Him with our sins? Baptism connects you to the saving work of Christ. Christ, in His baptism, took your sins, and took upon Himself the Father’s wrath. Through your baptism, your sins are taken away, and you are able to stand before God, sinless in His sight, clothed in the righteousness of Christ. This forgiveness and righteousness of Christ given you in baptism remains yours through faith in Christ.

And through baptism, you are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. He creates and preserves in you faith. He dwells in you, and guides and leads you through life as a child of God, and endows you in your weakness with the strength to live as God’s people in this wilderness.

God exists! And how blessed it is to know Him, and to know His grace and mercy toward us! What a joy it is to say, “I am baptized into Christ.” God keep us in this baptismal grace always. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.

Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank You that through Your Son Jesus Christ You have sown Your holy Word among us: We pray that You will prepare our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that we may diligently and reverently hear Your Word, keep it in good hearts, and bring forth fruit with patience; and that we may not incline to sin, but subdue it by Your power, and in all persecutions comfort ourselves with Your grace and continual help; through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

⁴ And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:

 ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.

 ⁶ “Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.

 ⁷ “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

 ⁸ “But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

 ⁹ Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

 ¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that`Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

 ¹¹ “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

 ¹² “Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

 ¹³ “But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

 ¹⁴ “Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

 ¹⁵ “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

These are Your Words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed,

Last week I talked about God working out His gracious election from eternity through the ministry of the Word.

We know words are powerful. You can think of books or speeches where words inspire or deceive. Words rile people up and they calm them down. Words encourage, and words can really hurt. It’s not the sound of the words that do this, but rather the meaning those words carry.

Yet, what man’s word is able to do pales in comparison to what God’s Word is capable of doing. God’s Word has the power to create all things out of nothing. All creation, what we see and what we don’t see, God made out of nothing through the might of His Word. God’s Word has the power to turn the packed and impenetrable soil of unbelieving hearts into good soil, that is, hearts that repents, believes in the gospel of Christ with a faith that is active in works, as Ezekiel wrote, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ez 36:26). God accomplishes this with the power of His Word.

The Word of God gives eternal salvation, as Paul says in Romans, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for all who believe.” His Word is not powerful because of a specific string of vowels and consonants, but it is powerful because of the truths that those words carry. The words of Law carry the judgment of God, and the words of gospel carry all the heavenly gifts that Christ has won by His perfect life and innocent death on the cross.

All the works of the world put together cannot justify a single person on earth. But the Word of God carries with it the justifying forgiveness and righteousness of Christ. The Word declares you justified, righteous before God!

And so God, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, sows His Word, casting it all throughout the world. His Word goes out to powerfully accomplish His will as our Old Testament reading says, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

And so all glory goes to God working out His gracious election through the Word, as the Word accomplishes His will. Glory be to God for conversions to the Christian faith and the perseverance in the faith, for the justification of sinners, for the good works that flow from faith, and for the blessed end, by which the believer is brought into heavenly glory.

Yet, we know that not all are converted. Many fall from the faith. And this is not on account of God at all, but because of the sin and unbelief.

Through the Word, God has given us to hear His Word. He has made us good soil to receive His mighty word with repentance and faith. And thus, we have all the spiritual blessings the Word carries with it. Yet, the sinful flesh remains with us, and it must continually be dealt with, lest we be overcome by hardness of heart, rocks, or thorns. So you who have ears to hear, hear.

Some of the seed has fallen on the wayside, the path. This depicts those who never come to faith in the first place. Like the soil of a path that is packed down, and hard, the seed cannot penetrate the soil. So also, there are those who hear the word, but because of the hardness of their heart, the Word does not penetrate into the heart of the hearer. They hear it and they think that it is enough for them just for the Word to enter their ears, but they do not heed the words. They do not repent, they do not take hold of Christ, their Savior. They do not follow Him as their Lord.

Is there not that same tendency in our sinful flesh? The Word enters our ears, but the sinful flesh would rather remain indifferent to it. Sure, I’ll go to church, I’ll listen to the word from time to time, but it will enter my ears, but it will stop there. I would rather not be moved to repent of my sins. I would rather not have Jesus as my Savior or as my Lord, but I will do both. God grant us ears to hear this warning, that we be moved to repent of our indifference to the Word.

Some of the seeds fall on rocky soil. The Word is sowed and received into the ears and also into the heart of the person. The gospel of Christ is received with joy. But when the heat of the sun beats down on the plant, that when the trials and temptations of life bear down on the person, his faith withers and dies. The trials and temptations are not to blame for their fall from faith. For many God uses the temptations and trials help strengthen and purify faith. What, then, is the cause of the loss of faith? It is the shallow soil. It is the shallow faith, perhaps a faith that rests more upon the good feelings of being saved, rather than the promises of God’s salvation whether felt or not.

May God crush the rocks in our hearts, for we have the rocky weakness of the flesh, that would flee when being a Christian becomes difficult. We live according to the will of God, but then we suffer because of it. The denial of self and following Christ is not easy. The godless culture presses harder upon us. It would be easier to deny Christ. And so let this warning convict your hearts, and repent of your weakness. And trust the promises of Christ, including the promises of forgiveness, for these promises will not fail! Know that the sufferings of this present time are worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in you in the day of Jesus Christ! May God plant our roots firmly and deeply in these promises.

Finally, some of the seeds fall on thorny soil. The Word enters the ears and hearts of a person. It looks promising, the faith begins to flourish, but the thorns and weeds eventually grow, that is the cares, pleasures and riches of life. These choke out faith.

Like the trials and temptations, it’s not the cares, riches and pleasures that are to blame for the loss of faith, but rather the thorny soil is to blame. It is the heart that loves the world, with all its riches and pleasures. This is a description of our hearts isn’t it? Where do we place our source of happiness? Do we look for it in the things, riches and pleasures of the world? Is it in having a good home, a stable life, a good name in the community? Is it in enjoying the pleasures the world has to offer? Is it in being healthy? These are good things. But the threat is that our thorny hearts make these things our gods, so that our worldly hearts choke out faith in God.

And so, may this warning enter your ears and pierce your hearts that you repent of the worldliness of your hearts, that every weed may be killed, and so that faith in God may not be smothered by the love for the world, as it did to Demas, who was a co-worker with Paul in the ministry, and of whom Paul said, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world.”

But then receive that Word of Gospel, which powerfully forgives you your sins, saves you, strengthens your faith, and implants itself in your hearts more firmly, so that it may produce in you the fruits of heavenly joy, peace with God, a godly life, a bold confidence resting in God’s promises, and a heart that clings firmly to Christ your Lord and Savior.

It is not just a string of letters, but it is the truth of God’s Word which not only carries meaning and information, but carries with it the very forgiveness and salvation for which Christ gave up His life.

And therefore, rejoice in the Word cast upon you! For it is God’s good and gracious will for you that it enter into your ears, and be received into your hearts for your eternal salvation. You are forgiven all of your sins for the sake of Jesus’ death on the cross for you. Every hardness, rock, and thorn in your heart is removed for His sake. He will guard and keep you through the heat of every trial and temptation, for you are God’s dear redeemed people. You live each day under His love, and every heavenly blessing is yours. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.

Lord God, heavenly Father, through Your holy Word You have called us into Your vineyard: Send, we beseech You, Your Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may labor faithfully in Your vineyard, shun sin and all offense, obediently keep Your Word and do Your will, and put our whole and only trust in Your grace, which You have bestowed upon us so abundantly; through Your Son Jesus Christ, that we might obtain eternal salvation through Him; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

 ² “Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

 ³ “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

 ⁴ “and said to them,`You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.

 ⁵ “Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.

 ⁶ “And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them,`Why have you been standing here idle all day?’

 ⁷ “They said to him,`Because no one hired us.’ He said to them,`You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

 ⁸ “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward,`Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’

 ⁹ “And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.

 ¹⁰ “But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.

 ¹¹ “And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner,

 ¹² “saying,`These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’

 ¹³ “But he answered one of them and said,`Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

 ¹⁴ `Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

 ¹⁵ `Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’

 ¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”

These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed,

Things that are good in one context is bad in another. A fire in a fire pit gives warmth and enjoyment, but a grease fire in your home is dangerous and frightening. Shooting someone is a good and patriotic thing if that person is an enemy soldier in war. Shooting a random stranger on the street is a wicked and criminal activity. Sex is a good work within a marriage relationship. It is a sinful and harmful act outside of marriage.

Jesus’ in our reading is making a point about the place of good works. Where do they belong? Good works necessarily follow faith. They are part and parcel of the life of sanctification, that is the new life of believers baptized into Christ. Works are necessary for our neighbor and we do them out of love for our neighbor. And we do them out of thankfulness to God’s love, and to His glory. But then, do good works belong in the equation of our salvation? The answer is clearly “no”! Just ask those workers in the parable. They’re leaving that vineyard at the end of the day. Ask them if their work for the day figured into the amount of reward they received at the end of the day. Well, no, not at all. Regardless of how much they worked, all the workers received the same amount.

And to help make this point, Jesus said, “Many are called and few are chosen.” He is bringing up the doctrine of election, which we’ll discuss today.

But here’s another place where something butts in where it doesn’t belong, and that is our reason. In fact our human reason often tries to go places where it doesn’t belong, whether it’s examining the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, or pondering the Trinity or the two natures in the one person of Christ. We must use reason to understand what God reveals to us about Himself and His workings in His Word. Yet reason must only be a servant submitting to the Word of God. Reason goes beyond its bounds when it stops being a servant and begins to act as a judge and authority over Scripture.

And so we submit our minds to God’s Word, and consider God’s election, and how it confirms to us that we are saved by grace alone.

Jesus says, “few are chosen.” Few are chosen to receive the heavenly reward. These few are undeserving fallen and rebellious people that had been graciously elected by God in eternity before the foundation of the world to be saved. So the eternal salvation of these few have already been decided from before the foundation of the world.

But then reason takes this truth to false conclusions that contradict Scripture. There are church bodies that reason this way: If God has not elected all men to salvation, He must have elected the rest to damnation. He must not have desired their salvation. But what does Scripture say, “God desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Christ’s suffering and death on the cross for the entire world shows that God desires the salvation of all mankind. Even the verse that serves as our focus today shows that God desires the salvation of more than the elect. He says, “Many are called.” What are they called to other than the salvation that God has prepared for them by the sacrifice of His Son? God, in His grace, desires the salvation of all mankind.

But then our prideful reason intrudes again, and thinks this way: so if God is the cause of the salvation of the elect, He must then be the cause of the damnation of the damned. Again, this is contrary to Scripture. Where does Scripture put the blame for those who are lost eternally? Listen to what Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Mt. 23:37-39). And hear the words of Stephen which he speaks to his accusers, “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51). The lost are to be blamed for their

And then reason argues, “Then if it is the resistance of the unbelievers that is the cause of their salvation, then it is the lack of resistance and rebellion that is the cause of the salvation of those who are saved.” But this, too, is contrary to Scripture, for all people are under the power of sin. All are completely fallen, and at enmity with God as Paul explains in Romans, “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God… There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:10,11, 18). And furthermore, the fact remains that God’s election of grace in eternity is the cause of the salvation of the saved.

And so, either we obey our fallen human reason, and contradict Scripture. Or we simply admit that God is wiser than we are, submit our reason to Scripture, and learn from and find comfort in this doctrine of election of grace, that “few are chosen.”

Those workers of the vineyard that are there at the end of the day receiving their reward. Why are they there receiving a reward? They are there because the landowner is good. They are receiving their reward, not because of works, or anything that they have done. By grace they have been brought into the vineyard, whether it was at the beginning of the day and they persevered throughout the day, or whether they arrived at the last hour of the day. They are there for the same reason, because the vineyard owner brought them in. And they all receive the same gift of grace from the landowner.

So also, it is by the grace of your heavenly Father that you dwell in the kingdom of heaven. “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.” This doctrine of election isn’t just a theoretical doctrine. It is practical. God elected those who would be saved from eternity, and He works out this election in time. He has established His kingdom by the sacrifice of His Son. For no sinner could dwell with God without the forgiveness of sins. And without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. But Christ shed His blood so that sins may be forgiven, and so that there is then reconciliation with God, and life with Him in His kingdom. Like those who were called into the vineyard, you were called into this kingdom. The Holy Spirit has come to you and called you by His gospel. By Holy Baptism He has brought you into the kingdom of heaven through faith, where you have sins forgiven, peace with God, and the reward of eternal life! All this is given you by God’s grace, for we do not deserve any part in His kingdom.

As you live in the kingdom, you must bear the heat of the day. The devil seeks to destroy your faith and steal you away from the kingdom. The world presses against you, for the world is ungodly, you are people of God. We live against the stream of the world. And it is difficult. We must also deal with our fallen reason, the pride of our flesh, and self-righteousness.

And so God gives us the preaching of the Word, both Law and Gospel, to preserve us in the faith. And heed the law: Repent of your prideful reason. Repent of your rebellion against God, and your resistance to the Holy Spirit. As Scripture says, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Heb 3:15). Do not think of yourself first, thinking that the gift of eternal life is something that you have earned, or something that you deserve more of than the next guy, even the criminal who comes to faith at the last hour. For the gift of eternal life is a gift of God’s grace.

But then God works out His election for you by giving you the gospel. You are forgiven all your sins for the sake of Christ’s suffering and death for you. You are preserved as God’s own people in the kingdom by His grace.

And so that we may find comfort from this we need to ask the right question. Don’t ask whether or not you are one of the elect. Rather, ask the practical question: Is God working out my election in my life.

Has Christ died to establish a kingdom that I may dwell Him.

Am I baptized and through baptism brought into the kingdom of heaven?

Does the law convict me, threaten me from abandoning the vineyard, and lead me to acknowledge my sins before the Lord?

Is the gospel proclaimed to me, the gospel that is the power of salvation for all who believe, that forgives me my sins and gives me eternal life? Does it draw me near to Him by faith that I may dwell in Him as my refuge, who sustains and keeps me through troubles and trials and through the heat and burden of the day.

See, the Lord is working out His gracious election in your life. He will continue this work in you, keeping you in the palm of His hand, from which no one can snatch you away.

God will do this so that when the end of your day comes, you may receive the reward of God’s grace, the reward He elected you to have from before the foundation of the world: eternal life with Him. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.