Dr. Martin Luther, of blessed and holy memory, writes concerning the joy of the Church saying, “Grace and peace-these two words embrace the whole of Christianity. Grace forgives sin, and peace stills the conscience. The two devils who plague us are sin and the conscience, the power of the Law and the sting of sin (1^st Cor. 15:56). But Christ has conquered these two monsters and trodden them underfoot, both in this age and in the ago to come. The world does not know this; therefore, it cannot teach anything sure about how to overcome sin, conscience, and death. Only Christians have this kind of teaching and are equipped and armed with it, so that that can overcome sin, despair, and eternal death. It is a teaching that is given only by God; it does not proceed from free will, nor was it invented by human reasons or wisdom” (LW 26.26).

The Church alone is given the gift of grace and peace, of the gift of forgiving sins and in that granting the saints a clean and good conscience. The world offers placebo peace that comes and goes. The devil would offer peace that is temporal and fades upon death. The Old Adam would have you believe that you have peace, when really what you have is ignorance of your sin. No, the world, devil, sin, and death don’t offer anything except fear and despair. The Church, because she is the haven in which the Gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered in accordance with the Gospel, is the only place where sinners, those who despair, can have joy in the forgiveness of their sins and a good conscience. Because this is who the church is, the giver of grace and peace, the church is a haven of joy for all who despair and are lost in their transgressions.

Think about this. When you sin, you carry that sin with you. Let’s say it’s coveting to the point where you’ve lost all your money because you tried to keep up with the Jones. Or maybe you fight with your wife every Saturday night, and last night it got out of control. Maybe you’ve been addicted to pills, porn, whiskey, or gambling. Whatever sin you have, the world, devil, sin, and death don’t care. The world scoffs at the free forgiveness that is given in the Bride of Christ. The world will always remember your sins, the devil’s sermon of your transgressions never ceases, and the Old Adam never stops sinning, but daily picks up new bad habits. However, in the church, there is grace and peace. There is absolute forgiveness, acquittal, of all your sins. This means that church is about forgiving each other and comforting one another in the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. Church is about bringing all your junk, all your sin, all failure, all your bad habits, all your embarrassing last nights and shameful weeks and, in Jesus, having them forgiven and forgotten by the assembly of the believers. Church is about fellow sinners forgiving one another in Jesus Name, and then moving on in bearing the burden of sin with each other.

It is a good thing to have joy in your church family because they are the ones looking for ways in which to comfort you in the grace of Jesus in order that you may have peace in your life. What a blessing to have a church family in which joy abounds in the forgiveness of sins.  Let us cover one another in the blood of Jesus then and seek opportunities to forgive each other. Let us always be mindful of the one who does all this in us, Jesus the Christ, for it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives within us. Take comfort then my friends, and rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus has given you your church family to bring joy into your life through the forgiveness of your sins.

Peace be with you. May the devil be silenced, the world be hushed, and the Old Adam drowned anew so that you hear only the voice of your Savior Jesus who says, “I forgive you. I love you. I claim you as My own forever,” Amen.

 Jesus' Sheepdog,

Pastor Hull