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

In our Epistle Reading, St. Paul is addressing those of us who’ve been called by the Gospel to a true and living faith by the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. He exhorts us to: “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self”. That’s something that can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit working within you through the Word of God.

Are you Baptized? Have you rejoiced in the absolving Word of the Gospel?

If so, then you have the Holy Spirit working withing you to lay aside your old self and put on the new man. You don’t create that new man. That renewal is God’s work. But Paul exhorts us – by divine inspiration – to be renewed, that is, to live in that renewal, and safeguard ourselves against the desires of the flesh. We are God’s holy people who’ve been “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” What fellowship should such light have with the darkness of this world?

Let’s be clear. Christ has done all the work of redeeming us and creating that new self in us. But we’re still called to walk in the holiness, righteousness, and truth of the new man that He’s created in us. It’s just that we’re not always so good at that to say the least! Even St. Paul said: “the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom 7:19). That’s exactly why he’s encouraging and exhorting us. He knows that sin is still natural to our flesh on this side of heaven, so He tells us straight out to lay aside the old self and put on the new self.

That happens when, by God’s grace, we don’t let our old selves get in the way of the Holy Spirit, but instead let the Word of God shape our thoughts, words, and deeds. Our Lutheran Confessions put it this way:
“as soon as the Holy Spirit has begun his work of rebirth and renewal in us through the Word and the holy sacraments, it is certain that on the basis of his power we can and should be cooperating with him, though still in great weakness … This should be understood in no other way than that the converted do good to the extent that God rules, leads, and guides them with his Holy Spirit. If God would withdraw his gracious hand from such people, they could not for one moment remain obedient to God.” (FC SD II, 65-66)

St. Paul specifically addresses three things in today’s Epistle that our old selves struggle with in this regard. There are many more – some may even be coming to mind for you already – but Paul only mentions three. “Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another”. The new man in Christ should embrace truth, just as Christ who is the Truth has chosen us and made us members of His own family.

As Christians, we’re members of one another in the body of Christ. So, we put on the new self when we speak the truth in love, bear with each other’s burdens, forgive those who ask for our forgiveness, seek out the forgiveness of those that we have wronged, and help to support the temporal needs of the body of Christ.

St. Paul also writes, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil”. As the children of God, we should deal with everything honestly, including our anger. We should confront our anger, and deal with the cause or source of our anger in a God-pleasing way. Sometimes that means recognizing that our anger is unjustified. Other times it means addressing the cause of our anger and seeking out a Godly solution which almost always involves confession and repentance by someone, and forgiveness from someone else.

“Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” Don’t let your anger grow worse and worse, but lovingly speak to your brother or sister in Christ about what’s troubling you.

And have the humility to listen to your fellow Christian’s perspective. And on the other side, show Christian compassion to one who comes to you with what’s troubling them. The old self can’t do this: only the man who’s been made new by God’s Word and Spirit can do this.

And St. Paul also addresses stealing by giving the example of a thief who’s been converted. The converted thief stops taking from others and starts working so that he has something to give to others. That’s all part of being the people of God, and the result of being the people of God. But ultimately, it’s a change that God alone works by His Word and Spirit. By God’s grace, we agree with it and do our best to live in it … but only in great weakness … guided by the Holy Spirit. God has to come to us.

So, consider our Old Testament Reading: the familiar account of Jacob’s ladder. In Jacob’s dream, there’s a ladder between earth and heaven. It’s not a ladder we can climb up because sin prevents us from approaching God. Jacob, for example, was running from his brother Esau because of his own lies and deceptions. Dreams and visions like this in Holy Scripture are filled with symbols and imagery. Here’s what Martin Luther had to say about Jacob’s ladder: “this dream signified that infinite, inexpressible, and wondrous mystery of the incarnation of Christ” (Lectures on Genesis AE: 5:217).

In other words, that ladder in Jacob’s dream is Christ who, by His incarnation, came down from heaven to be our only access to the Father. Christ Himself is the ladder that unites heaven and earth because He’s the only one who is fully God and fully man.

And He brings God and man back together by bearing our sins … satisfying the Law’s demand that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23).

Forgiveness of our sins … reconciliation with the Father … and access to eternal life in heaven is found only in Christ.

In our Gospel reading, we heard Christ give this access to one such sinner who was suffering from paralysis and who couldn’t do anything for himself – either physically or spiritually.

“Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven‘.” By the life-giving Word of Christ, the sins of the paralytic man were taken away. At Christ’s Word, he was declared to be innocent before God: absolved by the Son of God Himself. And in that absolution, the man received comfort and peace.

Hold on to that most glorious detail. Only Jesus has the authority to free sinners like us from the weight of our sins – having borne our sins and the judgment we deserved: covering our sins with His atoning, life-giving blood … earning the right to free people like us who are spiritually paralyzed by our sin through His suffering and death on the cross.

The eyewitnesses saw Him do it. By the power of His life-giving Word He forgave this man’s sins and proved the power of His Word by restoring him to health. And Jesus still forgives sins today through the ministry of the Word that He Himself instituted and authorized.

Jesus forgives sins in the preaching of the Gospel: which is why He called men to preach the Gospel. He forgives sins and gives newness of life in Holy Baptism: which is why He called men to Baptize.

He forgives sins and comforts our troubled consciences in Absolution: which is why He gave His apostolic ministry the authority to Absolve in His name. And He forgives sins and strengthens faith in Holy Communion which is why He gave it to His Church as His last will and testament.

We all struggle to put off our old selves – selves that are painfully weak when the opportunity to sin is right there in front of us and so easily indulged. But take heart, Christ has given us the Office of the Holy Ministry to give out what Christ has won for us. And when we receive these Means of Grace by faith, we are restored from the paralysis of our sin to “the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness”. So, rejoice and be glad, dear Christian, because Christ our Ladder has “opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers” (Te Deum).

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

Pr. Jon Holst