God is Faithful

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Third Sunday in Lent

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.  The sermon text for the third Sunday in Lent is the epistle reading 1 Corinthians 10.  God is faithful.  That is what Paul states in our reading from 1 Corinthians.  His statement is very true.  The Lord is indeed faithful.  He is faithful and trustworthy when it comes to His promises of judgment.  He is faithful and trustworthy when it comes to His promises of grace.  Of course there is the temptation for us to question God’s faithfulness when it comes to His judgment and when it comes to His grace.  We sometimes question the Lord’s judgment of sin when we see people around us living godless lives.  In some cases they seem to be happy and secure in their sins.  We might start to ask the question, “Does God’s judgment against sin really happen?”  We sometimes question the Lord’s promise of Grace.  We see all the problems in the world and the suffering that people have to endure.  We might start to ask the question, “Is God really being gracious to us?”  Because we live in a fallen world and because we have a sinful nature we will at times question the faithfulness of God.  We might start to question God’s words about judgment and His promises about grace.  But as we look at our reading for today we are reminded of something very important. God always keeps His promises. God always speaks the truth.  We are reminded that God is faithful.

Our Lord is faithful and true in His pronouncements of judgment.  He tells us that living a life of impenitence, that is willfully sinning and refusing to repent, will bring eternal judgment.  He tells us quite clearly that His judgment will come to those who turn away from Him.  Yet because of our sinful nature we sometimes question God’s judgment against sin. Does God really mean what He says? We see people rebelling against God all the time.  People around us willfully sin and yet it does not appear that anything actually happens to them.  In some cases it seems like the dishonest people are rewarded in this world while those who are living according to God’s Word suffer.  We sometimes question God’s judgment against sin in our own life.  We see things that our obviously sinful and contrary to God’s Word and yet we still do them.  We justify our actions and minimize our sins.  We don’t always take God very seriously. 

But Paul reminds us in our reading that God is faithful and true when it comes to His judgment about sin. He uses what happened to the Israelites in the Old Testament to demonstrate this.  The Lord blessed the Israelites by freeing them from slavery in Egypt and taking them to the Promised Land and yet many of the people turned away from the Lord. Paul reminds us that God’s judgment came down upon them.  Let me read a portion of the text.  “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer.  Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come”. 

The Israelites turned away from God and did what was evil in His site and so they were judged.  It is a reminder to us that the Lord does indeed judge sin.  The Lord does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked and so He calls them to repentance.  But if the person rejects Christ and refuses to repent, they will be judged.  Satan wants us to think that those who live an impenitent life have it easy.  This is lie. Those who have turned away from Christ Jesus live without hope or comfort.  Those who have turned away from Christ Jesus will be judged and condemned. God is always faithful and true when it comes to His pronouncements of Judgment.

God is always faithful and true when it comes to His promises of grace.  In our reading today Paul tells us that God is always faithful.  Of course there are those times when we doubt the grace of God.  We see the pain and suffering in the world and wonder why God allows bad things to happen. We experience problems in our own life. Things are not always rosy. Things are not always easy.  In our Gospel reading the people wondered about a group of Galileans who Pilate killed, and they wondered about a group of people who were killed when a tower fell on them.  Jesus responded by calling all to repent of their sins and turn to Him. Bad things happen because this is a fallen world.  Sin is the cause of what is wrong in this world.  But why does God allow certain things to happen?  He does so bring us closer to Him.  When we see all the problems in the world and when we struggle in our own lives it is a reminder to us that we need God.  It is a reminder to us that true joy, peace and comfort cannot come from this world.  It is a reminder to us that true joy, peace and comfort comes only from the Lord.  So through the power of the Holy Spirit we turn away from what is evil and wrong and we turn to God.  We turn to the Lord who is gracious and merciful.  Our trust is in Him.  We turn to the Lord who is always faithful.

God is always faithful and true when it comes to His promises of grace.  We see God’s love and grace through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus faithfully lived a perfect life in our place. He resisted temptation and lived a sinless life.  He always did what was right and good.  Jesus faithfully lived a perfect life for us and He faithfully went to the cross so that we could live eternally.  When Jesus was crucified our sins were crucified with Him.  Jesus died on the cross in our place so that we could receive salvation.  Jesus rose from the dead to give to us a new life with God.  Jesus demonstrated His faithfulness in His life, death and resurrection.  It is the faithfulness of Jesus that saves us from sin, death and hell.

God is always faithful when it comes to His promises of grace.  It is the Lord who has redeemed us and it is the Lord who continues to sustain us.  Let me read another portion of our text.  “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”  God saves His people, and he preserves His people.  The Lord stands with us as we face temptations in this life.  He stands with us and gives to us a way to escape. He directs our attention to Him and His all- powerful Word.  He stands with us, and He is the source of our strength to the very end.  God is faithful.  He is faithful and trustworthy when it comes to His promises of grace. 

Through Jesus Christ our eyes have been opened up so that we can see that our true home is in heaven with the Lord.  God has revealed to us the life that He has planned for us. He has promised to give to us a perfect life with Him.  It is a life that does not end.   

God is faithful.  That is what Paul states in our reading for today. His statement is true.  The Lord is indeed faithful.  God is faithful and trustworthy when it comes to His promises about judging sin.  God is faithful and trustworthy when it comes to His promises of Grace.  In a world of uncertainly the Lord comes to us very clearly. He calls us to repent of our sins and turn to Him.  Amen.