Now Is the Favorable Time

Click here to listen to this sermon.

“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we journey through the Pentecost season, the lessons for today resonate with our current spiritual state. Just like the early Christians after Pentecost, we, too, believe in the resurrection of Christ, even though we cannot see Him. Our faith is not based on what we see but on our trust in Jesus as our Savior.

Our Old Testament lesson gives us one example: Job. At the start of the book, Job is a wealthy man with everything going for him. That is quickly stripped away as he loses his goods, home, family, and health. He’s surrounded by friends who say, “We know what we see, and we see clearly that your life has become a trainwreck. The evidence is irrefutable: clearly, you’ve done something to turn God against you. Your life is evidence that the Lord is out to get you.”

In our Old Testament lesson, we have part of the Lord’s rebuttal: He’s the One who created all things, and it’s arrogant for us to think that we know all His will. To contradict His Word with other evidence is to offer dark counsel because these are “words without knowledge.” In other words, God says to Job: “You don’t know My will for you from events in your life or the advice from your ‘friends;’ you know what I think about you because of what I say about you in My Word.”

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. Faith is trusting in what you do not see, often despite what you do.

The Gospel lesson gives us another fine illustration: the disciples are about to drown; at least, that’s what they believe. They’re in the middle of the lake, caught in a horrifying storm. The boat is filling with water, and Jesus is asleep on a cushion. The disciples do some quick visual math: big waves + sleeping Savior must mean God is oblivious to their plight. Forget the Scriptures, which promise that “He who keeps watch over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” According to His human nature, Jesus is sleeping; according to His divine nature, He holds all things in His hand. But the disciples go with what they see, not the Word, and they awaken Jesus in a panic. He rebukes the storm with a word. Then He rebukes the disciples with a Word: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. Faith is trusting in what you do not see, often despite what you do see.

Then there’s St. Paul in the epistle for the day. He is preaching the Gospel entrusted to him by Jesus. He is declaring that Christ has died for the sins of the world and that Christ is risen again. He is proclaiming forgiveness, healing, and life. He is preaching to all that the promise is fulfilled, that Jesus has conquered sin, death, and the devil. Thus, his proclamation in our text: “Now is the favorable time” for when you hear the Word of God, God is proclaiming salvation to you. As He rebuked the storm while in that boat, by His Gospel, Jesus is rebuking sin, death, and the devil, and He is giving you peace, forgiveness, and faith. That is the message. That is the Gospel. That is the Word of the Lord, which St. Paul is preaching—and a wonderful, life-giving Word it is.

Now, how does it look? One would expect a message of salvation to be surrounded with joy, glory, and a ton of good vibes. But this is how Paul describes it: “As servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger….”

That’s hardly a glamorous description, but it is certainly true of Paul’s life as an apostle. In the course of his ministry, he is beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and snakebit. He is imprisoned. He is blamed for riots when his opponents stir up crowds against him. Elsewhere in 2 Corinthians, he says that his enemies’ great criticism of him is that he isn’t an effective speaker: Paul does not speak in a dynamic, engaging way.

So, I pose this question: given the word on the street, how many congregations today would call St. Paul the Apostle to be a pastor? I know of more than one congregation where the call committee has interviewed pastors all about program and personality but spent little time on the doctrine that he believes and teaches. So, could St. Paul receive a call today? “Sure, he might say the right stuff, but he’s not eloquent. Furthermore, he’s got a criminal record—he’s been in and out of jail several times. Trouble follows him wherever he goes, and fights have been known to break out. Have you seen the scars on his back? You’ve got to admit that he’s not the safest choice out there.”

By nature, we judge people by what we see. Thus, people are tempted to judge a pastor by outward qualities. This is wrong and harmful to the Church. Sooner or later, this congregation will need to call a pastor, or you’ll move somewhere else and have to evaluate a pastor. The temptation is to make decisions based on external appearances, but you are to judge the messenger by the message. After beatings, stonings, imprisonments, and more, I’m willing to bet Paul didn’t look any better than he sounded. But he spoke the Word of the Lord. He proclaimed the day of salvation. That’s what makes a pastor a good pastor. That’s what makes him a faithful pastor.

We walk by faith and not by sight—often, despite what we see. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ; if your pastor is not preaching Christ’s Word—His Law and Gospel, then the Spirit isn’t at work in that proclamation, and faith isn’t coming.

Like pastors, the same holds for congregations: the consistent drumbeat of the day is that a congregation is to be judged on its friendliness, appearance, and the number of programs it offers. Indeed, a congregation should be friendly, and good stewardship leads us to maintain the things we have. Programs can be beneficial or not. However, none of this measures a congregation's life because the Church derives its life from Jesus, her Savior.

When you seek a place to worship, the first question you should ask is this: do I hear the Word taught in its truth and purity? Are the Sacraments administered according to the Lord’s Word? Do I leave the service with the comfort that my sins are forgiven? If the answer to each of these is yes, then the Lord is at work there to give forgiveness and faith. If the answer is no, then all the friendliness, excellent facilities, exciting music, and programs won’t save a soul.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. We walk by faith, not by sight. That is why we emphasize faithfulness to the Word in doctrine, practice, preaching, and worship. Once again, I am thankful for the broad support of this congregation for the proclamation of the Gospel. However—and I speak out of love—I am sometimes fearful that we do not always truly understand how much life is here, how alive this congregation is, no matter how many empty pews you see on a given Sunday. Christ is here to give life; thus, you are very much alive. Now is the favorable time.

What is true for pastors and congregations is also true for individuals. As a Christian, you walk by faith and not by sight. You trust that you are God’s beloved child, for Jesus’ sake, no matter what anyone else says—outside of you or inside of you. Consider these words from our text: “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not yet killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”

The devil, the world, and your sinful flesh will launch all sorts of accusations at you, but rather than believe those lies, you cling to God’s Word. You walk by faith, not by sight. You know that God's testimony is greater than men's.

You will be treated as an impostor: the world will launch all sorts of accusations that your faith is a damaging thing. Satan will call you a fake and tell you that you’re just pretending to be a Christian when you’re a miserable sinner. You’ll be treated as an impostor, but the Lord says you are true. He speaks His truth to you and says, “You are true. You are genuinely a Christian and in accord with Me because My Son died for you. The devil is a deceiver—he will try to persuade you with lies that you are a false Christian—despite your repentance and faith, but I tell you in My Word that you are Mine.”

You’ll be treated as an unknown, a nobody, a “doesn’t matter,” a “God can’t possibly care about you.” But you are well known—well known by the One who matters. The Lord declares, “I know you. I formed you in the womb. I washed your sins away and put My name on you. The world says you’re an unknown nobody, but the world is in denial: on the Last Day, I will say to them, “Depart from Me—I never knew you.” But for Jesus’ sake, I will tell you, "I know you. You’re Mine. Heaven is yours. Enter into your rest!’”

You’ll be treated as dying, and your body will eventually testify to you that death is your end, that the Gospel is of no help. But your Savior declares, “I have died for you, and I am risen from the dead. I bring life through death, and after the death of your body, I will raise you to everlasting life with Me.”

You’ll be treated as punished. More and more, believing that you’re sinful is considered to be damaging. Why would you kick yourself for what everybody else is freely, supposedly happily doing? Why do you suffer the loss of friends, fun, promotion, whatever, for holding fast to God’s Word? But the Lord says, “The world may say that you punish yourself by depriving yourself of sin or confessing your sin when you don’t. I tell you the wages of sin—that sin the world glorifies—is death. While the world may regard you as punished, I call you not killed—not dead in sin. I declare that you are alive in Christ and alive in Him, you have not the punishment of sin but the reward of life forever.

You’ll be treated as sorrowful: in fact, there will be times when you know only sorrow and cannot find joy. But even when it is given to you to grieve a significant loss, your faith still clings to Christ, and He declares, “For the joy set before Me, I endured the cross and scorned its shame. Now, I set that joy before you. You have life in My name.” Your sorrows will pass. Your joy in Christ will last forever.

You’ll be treated as poor: sure, you will not have all the things that your sinful nature covets, wants, or craves. But the Lord declares, “For the sake of Jesus, you do not lack what is most needed: forgiveness and life in My name. I will give you the daily bread you need, though probably not everything you want. But rest assured of this: whoever you are, you are not in poverty. You have an abundance of grace. You have all the treasures of heaven: you are rich in Me because in Me heaven is yours. Thus, while it may seem that you have nothing, in Christ, you possess everything.

You don’t see this with your eyes. You hear it, for God proclaims it to you in His Word. Daily, you repent of interpreting His love for you by what you see and experience. Remembering the cross, you say, “I know that God loves me and works all things to my good.” It is not easy to say, especially when enduring affliction and trial: that is why, whether it brings affliction or joy, you repent of your sin each day and rejoice in God’s faithfulness to you.

He is faithful. He tells you repeatedly in His Word; by His Word, He is present to fulfill His promises of grace. This is your cause for rejoicing because now is the favorable time, and now is the day of salvation for you because you are forgiven for all your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen