In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

What does it take to be considered a good pastor today? Some would say that a pastor needs to be friendly, compassionate, and caring. Others will insist that a pastor must be open-minded and tolerant. Others claim that a good pastor casts a vision for his church, and leads them to grow in numbers. Still others say that a good pastor preaches God's Word. But what does God say? That is what really matters. The inspired apostle Paul urged Pastor Timothy to strive to be the kind of pastor that God approves, "a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." It isn't enough to just use the Bible and quote Bible passages. God wants us to correctly handle his Word!

The Greek word for "correctly handle" comes from roots that mean "cutting straight" or "rightly dividing." The King James Version followed Luther's German translation when it said, "rightly dividing the word of truth." Luther often used this passage to explain how important it is to properly distinguish between Law and Gospel. Luther said that whoever can properly distinguish between Law and Gospel in doctrine and practice should be considered a doctor of Holy Scripture, because this cannot be done without the Holy Spirit (cf. Kretzmann, 406). The Lutheran Confessions state: "We believe, teach, and confess that the distinction between the Law and the Gospel is to be maintained in the Church with great diligence as an especially brilliant light, by which... the Word of God is rightly divided" (Ep. FC, V, 1). Those words are talking about this passage. In every way we read, use and apply God's Word, may God enable us to:

First, we must proclaim the Law of God in all of its sharpness and severity. God has given us many commands in Scripture, but our Savior summarized all of these commands in only a few words. Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt 22:37?39). The Small Catechism summarizes God's Law under the Ten Commandments. We should never soften God's Law or change it.

Now, there are some commands that no longer apply to us, such as the Old Testament Ceremonial and Civil Laws. God issued those commands for the Old Testament people of that time. The New Testament makes it very clear that we no longer need to sacrifice animals in Jerusalem or rest from work on Saturday. Yet, God's unchanging Moral Law does apply to us. And it has this main purpose: "Through the law we become conscious of sin." The primary purpose of the law is to show us our sin and our need for a Savior.

God did not give us the Law so that we would try to earn heaven by works. Our Savior showed in the Sermon on the Mount and in the case of the Rich Young Ruler that if the Law is rightly applied, it shows us all that we fall short of God's standard of perfection. Sometimes people fool themselves into thinking that they are keeping the Law, if they don't know much about the Law, soften it, or fail to apply it to themselves. If you do that, it will lead to sinful pride. That's what the Pharisees did. But if you really apply it to yourself rightly, it will lead to despair, because none of us can keep the law perfectly. The Law tells us what God expects. "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." But we aren't!

Do we always love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength? Do we always love our neighbors as ourselves? We most certainly do not. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's standard of perfection. We think thoughts that we should not think. We say things that we should not say. We fail to speak up and say what we should. We do things we should not do. We don't do good things that we should do. We fail, day in and day out. No matter how hard we try, we keep falling into sin. None of us is perfect. We are all sinners! The law says, "You are a sinner. You deserve to be punished! You deserve to perish!" That is as far as the Law can take us. It scolds us, frightens us, threatens us and condemns us. But that is the main purpose of the Law: to show us how desperately we need a Savior.

Once the Law has done its work, we need to hear the Gospel. The gospel is the good news that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior. As true God and true man in one person, Jesus lived a perfect life for us, as our Substitute. He obeyed God's commands perfectly, in our place. Then, he carried our sins to the cross and suffered and died there to pay the full penalty for all of our sins. On that cross of Calvary, Jesus did not merely die for some people, he died for all people. He died for you and for me too! And when Jesus died on the cross, he didn't merely pay for some of our sins, or most of our sins, he paid for all of them. He rose from death because he had satisfied God's justice. Jesus won forgiveness for all the whole world. So, hear the Gospel: You are forgiven through Christ. God no longer counts your sins against you, because of the redeeming work of Christ! Whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish, but have eternal life. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved in the judgment.

That is the Gospel. It doesn't tell us what to do. It tells us what God has done for us. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." The Gospel is the gift of God. It doesn't cost us anything! It cost Jesus his life, but it doesn't cost us anything. We didn't deserve it. He did it out of grace and mercy and love. For it is by grace you have been saved.

This message is great news to sinners who have suffered with a guilty conscience. This is comforting news to people who are troubled about their sins. This message is valued greatly by believers who are facing death, and want to be reassured that they are going to heaven.

Some believers might begin to think that everyone would value the Gospel and regard it highly, but that is certainly not the case. Not all regard this message as important. The Universalist doesn't like the idea that only believers in Jesus go to heaven, so he doesn't like the true Gospel. The liberal who thinks that this life is all there is would rather talk about politics and social justice. He preaches a social gospel, but that is no gospel at all. The rationalist thinks the gospel is unworthy of God, because it seems like God demanded his pound of flesh. The self-righteous have no use for the Gospel; after all, they think they are good enough already. The politically correct do not like this Gospel, because it is too exclusive. They say that all roads lead to heaven, but Jesus said that he is the only Way. We could go on and on to show that worldly people do not value the Gospel, in fact, they don't even like it! Scripture explains that "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18). The inspired apostle Paul boldly wrote, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).

The Gospel is what God uses to create and strengthen faith. It is not just another message! It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes... So, genuine confessional Lutherans will insist on hearing the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ in every sermon. Shame on us pastors if we fail to deliver the goods! Sermons might come from the Bible and be well liked, but if they do not proclaim the specific Gospel of Jesus Christ, they miss the mark. There is no excuse for missing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a sermon! Pastors should never miss it or skip it! It is not enough to talk about Creation or Bible characters. That won't save anybody. It is not enough to be clever, entertaining, and popular. That won't save anybody. Good pastors will strive to "rightly divide the word of truth," by proclaiming the Law and the Gospel. Listen for that in every sermon! Insist on it! Don't expect anyone to ever be converted through a sermon or an outreach visit, unless we apply God's Law and the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all sinners, but Jesus lived our life and died our death and rose with our forgiveness. This is what the Lord says, "Take heart, your sins are forgiven." Amen.