Mark 13:5-13 - Stand Firm in God's Word - October 31, 2021

Standing firm in God’s Word – and facing the consequences for it – has a long and storied history. In fact, that’s exactly what many of the best-known Bible stories are about. Think of Elijah taking his stand against the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18-19:3). Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego choosing to be roasted alive rather than bend the knee to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol (Daniel 3:16-28). Daniel choosing to face hungry lions rather than pray to King Darius (Daniel 6). Skip ahead to the New Testament and you see Stephen taking his stand against the Sanhedrin and being stoned to death for it (Acts 6:8-7:60). Or Paul, one of the men who approved of Stephen’s death, later facing trial before numerous officials and kings and finally losing his life for his testimony. And this theme transcends even Bible history. Fast forward 1500 years and you will hear another Christian give his own testimony, not in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek – but in German: Heir stehe ich; ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir.” [1] These were Martin Luther’s final words at his trial in the German town of Worms 500 years ago as he refused to deny or recant the three core truths of Christianity: faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone. He said: “Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me.”

As Lutheran Christians, its easy to take these stories of bold and fearless confession for granted. But in view of the culture in which we live, it’s kind of shocking, isn’t it? That these men would give themselves over to torture and death rather than give up their faith and confession? I’m sure we can all think of famous people – especially famous politicians – who have reversed their supposedly strongly held principles the moment their principles became unpopular or politically incorrect. But perhaps we don’t even have to look out there for example of breaking under pressure. We all know people who stood before an altar like this and swore to endure all things, even death, rather than fall away from the Gospel – and yet now have no regard for the means of grace. And yet, for all those who have denied the faith – thousands more have stood firm in spite of public and private pressure and even threats to their wealth, families and life. The question is: how will we react when we are put on the spot, when we are pressured to either deny Christ or confess him and face the consequences – whatever the consequences may be? First, we need to know what to look for and second, we need to have a firm foundation on which to stand. Jesus gives us both in the words before us this morning.   

It’s Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus has made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-11). In a matter of days he would be betrayed, put on trial, tortured, and crucified. And yet, even knowing all this, Jesus’ concern was for his disciples who would very soon be questioned, put on trial, tortured and put to death themselves. It’s out of this compassionate concern for his disciples – and for us – that Jesus says: be careful that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. It may seem like detecting false teaching and false teachers is a big, complicated task – best left to trained theologians – but it’s really not complicated at all. Both Old and New Testaments identify exactly what false teachers will do: they will either add to, subtract from, or twist the Word of God (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19). If you know your Bible, then you are equipped to detect false teaching. And there always have been and always will be false teachers. In Jesus’ day, there were already false prophets trying to deceive many – in the form of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Experts in the Law – by adding their own manmade rules to God’s Law and telling people that their works could save them. In Luther’s day, the Roman Catholic church had added the purchase of indulgences and prescribed “satisfactions” to Christ’s all-atoning sacrifice. In our day, there are still false prophets trying to deceive many – in churches that proclaim a gospel other than “Christ crucified for sinners;” that give in to public pressure to support movements and morals which trample all over God’s will and natural law; in those that teach that all roads, all religions lead to heaven. Confronted by these threats, we stand firm on God’s Word – like those of the Apostle Paul: even if we or an angel from heaven would preach any gospel other than the one we preached to you – a curse on him (Galatians 1:8).

Jesus also warns that there will be signs in society which we must be on guard for: whenever you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but the end is not yet. In fact, nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. Jesus could be reading off the news ticker at the bottom of the TV screen, couldn’t he? Wars and rumors of wars? While America’s longest war in Afghanistan is over, it seems like the real wars are taking place on our own soil. The gang and drug wars of Chicago and Milwaukee have been migrating here to Madison. Nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom doesn’t just mean the United States versus China or Russia or Iran – it’s school boards against parents; prolife against pro-abortion; supposed LGBTQ rights versus freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Earthquakes and famines? I’m not aware of any recent earthquakes – but famines: is there any practical difference today between having a farm on which nothing will grow or grocery stores in which shelves are empty? And yet, we stand firm in two of God’s promises: first, never will I leave you and never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5); and, second, such things must happen, but the end is not yet…these are the beginning of birth pains.

Finally, Jesus warns us that we will be persecuted and prosecuted, in public and in private, for his name. People will hand you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand in the presence of rulers and kings for my sake as a witness to them…brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and put them to death. Elijah, Shadrak, Meshak and Abednego, Daniel, Stephen and Paul all stood trial before rulers and kings for Jesus’ sake. So did Luther. And still today Christians around the world are persecuted and prosecuted for Jesus’ sake. So be on your guard Jesus says. How? Remember that Jesus was originally speaking to Peter, James, John and Andrew (Mark 13:3-4). Was he telling them to arm themselves, to run for the hills or lock the doors and hide? No, while Jesus did tell the disciples to bring their swords to Gethsemane, he told Peter to sheathe it, not use it (John 18:11). After his resurrection, Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to hide in their homes but to take the Gospel to all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). He was telling them to guard the faith – to closely guard what he had taught them over the previous three years and to closely guard the suffering, death and resurrection they would soon witness.

So too today, we don’t remain on guard by arming ourselves or by hiding from the world – we remain on guard by guarding our faith – by going again and again to our Baptisms in which God has claimed us as his own, by hearing again and again that our sins are forgiven in the Absolution, by receiving our Lord’s body and blood in Holy Communion, and by becoming ever more deeply rooted in God’s Word. I don’t know where you’re going to face persecution in your life – it may be at home or at work; it may be on social media; your confession of Christ may cut you off from a friend or family member; it may be that someday your church or pastor are prosecuted for alleged “hate speech” – but whatever form the persecution takes, remember that you remain on guard not by arming yourself or hiding your faith but by carrying the saving truths of the Gospel in your heart and mind and having them always on your lips.  

“But that seems so trite, so ineffective, so weak – in the face of such strong opposition and persecution. That doesn’t seem to be standing firm; that seems to be cowering in a corner.” I know that’s the way it seems, but that’s not the way it is. Jesus arms us with several more promises which provide the foundation on which we will stand. First, in the midst of his warnings, Jesus said the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. What a promise to make knowing that in just days he will be lying in a tomb, stone-cold dead! The Gospel must, the Gospel will be preached to all nations. And yet, Jesus has kept his promise, hasn’t he? The Christian Church has survived 2000 years of persecution by the devil and his earthly minions. The Lutheran church has thrived for over 500 years. Our own Wisconsin Synod has been proclaiming the Gospel in our country and around the world for more than 170 years. The Gospel has been preached, Absolution has been proclaimed, and the Sacraments have been administered right here at Risen Savior for 22 years. Previous generations have preached the Gospel to you and now you are preaching it to the next generation. Yes, it may happen that you will be slandered or attacked as being bigoted or closeminded or intolerant for confessing the faith – but the Gospel will be preached to all nations. And when you face opposition, here is Jesus’ promise to you: whenever they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what you should say. Say whatever is given to you in that hour, because you will not be the ones speaking; instead it will be the Holy Spirit.

How could Elijah, Shadrak, Meshak and Abednego, Stephen, Paul and Luther stand so firm in the face of such fierce opposition? It wasn’t because they were especially bold or courageous – if you read through Luther’s Works, you will hear about the spiritual, mental and emotional anguish he went through as God used him to reform his church. In fact, when he stood before the imperial court at Worms, and was commanded to recant, Luther initially wavered and asked for time to think about it (not exactly the bold, fearless picture of the reformer we often have). No, these men stood firm only because the Holy Spirit held them firm in his unchanging Word and unshakeable promises and gave them the words to speak. Standing firm today – at home, at work, on social media – isn’t about us either – it’s about God and his promises to us.

Which brings us to two final promises on which we can take our stand; promises that may just have been on Luther’s mind as he wrote A Mighty Fortress is Our God. Jesus said: You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who endures to the end will be saved; and Luther wrote “and do what they will – hate, steal, hurt, or kill – though all may be gone, our victory is won; the kingdom’s ours forever!” (CW 200:4) Here are the two promises on which we can stand firm in life and in death. First, everyone hates Christians. Don’t be surprised by it, expect it – even embrace it for it puts you the good company of the faithful saints who have gone before you. Second, the word endures here doesn’t mean that our salvation depends on our unfailing, fearless, bold confession of Christ – if that were true then all of the men we’ve mentioned would be lost. No, it means that even when we fail to boldly stand firm in Christ, we are forgiven and salvation is ours – because we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Scripture alone. Clinging to those truths – especially in times of weakness, even in times of denial – is what it means to endure to the end – because even if you and I waver, they never will.  

I’d like to end this Reformation sermon with one more word. Tetelestai, it is finished (John 19:30) In the end, if this is the only Word you had, you would have enough to stand firm. This word assures you that there is nothing more you need to do for your salvation. You are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, found in Scripture alone. That’s where Elijah, Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego, Daniel, Stephen, Paul and Martin Luther stood. That’s where we stand. God help us. Amen.

[1] Kittelson, Luther the Reformer 161