God’s Yes and No
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
A man named Jim Kevin was traveling around the countryside one year. And at one point in his journey he was in a rural part of the nation, and he was looking for a bank, so he stopped to ask for directions. The man he asked replied, “Just drive down this road about five miles and then turn left at the Stop ‘n’ Go.” He drove five miles, then six, then seven, but he never saw a Stop ‘n’ Go. At about 10 miles down, he stopped for directions again. The man he asked replied, “Just go back down this road about five miles and turn right at the Stop ‘n’ Go.” He headed out again, but still had no luck. When he got back to where he had started he stopped again. When he asked for directions, the answer was exactly the same. This time, Jim asked, “Could you describe the Stop ‘n’ Go for me?” The man gave him a funny look and said, “It’s on a pole. It’s got a red light on the top, a green light on the bottom.”
In a funny way, that story reminds us that unless you have the proper understanding of the directions, the right answer to your question, you can wind up hopelessly lost. That’s particularly true, when it comes to our spiritual lives. Because of our inborn and inherited sinful nature, you and I are hopelessly lost and separated from God. And without the right answer to that problem of sin, we would wind up lost forever in death and hell. But thankfully God in His mercy has given us the right answer in His Holy Word. The saving answer to our problem with sin, death and hell, the answer to forgiveness, life and salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone.
That’s what the apostle Paul was talking about in our text for today, when he said: “BUT AS SURELY AS GOD IS FAITHFUL, OUR MESSAGE TO YOU IS NOT ‘YES’ AND ‘NO.’ FOR THE SON OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST, WHO WAS PREACHED AMONG YOU BY ME AND SILAS AND TIMOTHY, WAS NOT ‘YES’ AND ‘NO,’ BUT IN HIM IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ‘YES.’ FOR NO MATTER HOW MANY PROMISES GOD HAS MADE, THEY ARE ALL ‘YES’ IN CHRIST. AND SO THROUGH HIM THE ‘AMEN’ IS SPOKEN BY US TO THE GLORY OF GOD!” In other words, Jesus our Savior is the only right answer to the question of sin.
Back in 1973, Concordia Publishing House published a little orange booklet, entitled: “God’s No and God’s Yes.” It’s a condensation of C. F. W. Walther’s book “Law and Gospel.” The idea was that the Law is God’s no and the Gospel is God’s Yes. With that thought in mind, there is certainly a lot to say ‘no’ to in our world today. God’s Law says ‘no’ to sexual immorality, people living together outside of marriage, people cheating on their spouse, people having so-called casual sex without the commitment of marriage. God’s Law says ‘no’ to that. It also says ‘no’ to abortion and euthanasia, to the idea that we can take matters of life and death into our own hands. Likewise it says ‘no’ to physical and verbal abuse, husbands and wives, parents and children mistreating each other. Similarly, it says ‘no’ to prejudice, looking down on others because of race or skin color or political preference or ideology. God’s Law even says ‘no’ to common, ordinary, every-day kind of things like losing your temper or bad-mouthing someone, showing disrespect or dishonesty.
Indeed, God’s Law says ‘no’ to every thought, word and deed we commit against His Word. And it says the strongest ‘no’ possible. It not only says ‘No, we shouldn’t do those things.’ It also says that because we have done those things, “No, we don’t deserve to go to heaven. No, we don’t deserve God’s love. No, we don’t deserve to live.” But, take heart, my friends, for that is not God’s only answer to sin. In fact, it’s not even His primary answer. Instead, it’s His preparatory answer. You see, God’s Law, His ‘no’ is only there to bring us to sorrow and repentance over our sin, so that we are ready for the Gospel, which is His ‘Yes.’ And thankfully, the Gospel is stronger than the Law, for it is God’s final answer. It is His right answer to sin. It says: “Yes, I do love you. Yes, you are forgiven. Yes, you do have a place in heaven.” And the reason the Gospel is God’s ‘yes’ is because of Jesus Christ. He’s the One who said: “Yes, I will die in our your place. Yes, I will take all your guilt and shame and punishment upon myself and take it all away. Yes, I will shed my own blood on the cross to wash away your sin.”
That’s what St. Paul was talking about in our text, when he said: “NO MATTER HOW MANY PROMISES GOD HAS MADE, THEY ARE ALL ‘YES’ IN CHRIST.” Now, that word promise is the Greek word epagellia. Literally, it means an announcement. For instance, it was used for the announcement of the original Olympic Games. In particular, it was the announcement of something free, some gift or blessing that you could receive free of charge. In our case, it’s the announcement of God’s pardon and absolution free of charge. Unfortunately, it came to have a negative connotation. For it also referred to the political promises that a candidate running for public office would offer to sway people’s votes.
Well, you know what that means. Politicians make all kinds of promises, offering free benefits to all, but they rarely carry through on those promises. Fortunately for us, our God is not like that. He is always true to His Word. That’s what Paul meant, when he said: “BUT AS SURELY AS GOD IS FAITHFUL, OUR MESSAGE TO YOU IS NOT ‘YES’ AND ‘NO.’ FOR THE SON OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST, WHO WAS PREACHED AMONG YOU BY ME AND SILAS AND TIMOTHY, WAS NOT ‘YES’ AND ‘NO,’ BUT IN HIM IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ‘YES.’ FOR NO MATTER HOW MANY PROMISES GOD HAS MADE, THEY ARE ALL ‘YES’ IN CHRIST.” He meant that God is not wishy-washy like a politician. He does not waffle back and forth between two opposing positions. Instead, He is faithful to love and to save us. For although, in the Law, He does say ‘no’ to our sin, that’s only so that He can come back with the resounding ‘yes’ of the Gospel – the Good News that in Jesus Christ He always keeps His promises to us and they really are free. He offers us forgiveness for all our wrongs, free of charge. He offers us salvation from death and hell, free of charge. He offers us eternal life in heaven and new life right here and now, free of charge. Those are His promises, which He has said ‘yes’ to in Jesus Christ. And that is His final answer.
So, if you are feeling overwhelmed with guilt, because of some terrible sinful mistake in your life, remember that God’s answer to you is: “Yes, I forgive you.” Or if you are weighed down with burdens and trials that threaten to crush you, remember that God’s answer to you is: “Yes, I love you and I will help you.” Or if you are anxious about tomorrow and worried about your future, remember that God’s answer to you is: “Yes, you are my child, I will take care of you and I have a place prepared for You in heaven.” That is His gracious ‘yes’ of the Gospel in Jesus Christ.
And the reason we know that is true is because, as Paul concluded in our text: “HE ANOINTED US, SET HIS SEAL OF OWNERSHIP ON US, AND PUT HIS SPIRIT IN OUR HEARTS AS A DEPOSIT, GUARANTEEING WHAT IS TO COME.” In other words, at our Baptism God anointed us with the Holy Spirit, as the sign and seal of our covenant of salvation with Him. Paul calls it a ‘deposit,’ which guarantees that God will keep the rest of His promise – namely, He will bring us to eternal life in heaven.
As a matter of fact, in Greek it’s the word αρραβων, which can also be translated as ‘a pledge.’ It was the first installment of a payment, paid as a guarantee that the rest would follow — similar to a down payment or earnest money today, which in ancient times was a sizable portion of the whole. It is a common word in Greek legal documents. For example, a woman who sold a cow received 1,000 drachmas as αρραβων that the rest of the purchase price would be paid. A certain man paid the mouse-catcher 8 drachmas so he would start right away and catch mice before they grew bigger, with the promise that he would pay the rest when the job was done. So, when Paul says that the Holy Spirit is an αρραβων or a down-payment to us, he means that all the blessings we receive in this life from the Spirit, such as forgiveness and comfort, peace and joy, guidance and strength, all the blessings we receive every time we study His Word and come to His table – all of that is a token and pledge of still greater things to come in heaven. And that’s why we can be confident about our salvation!
Ben Logan of Bristol Rhode Island is a rather tall young man. As a result, he frequently gets comments about his height. One of his favorite came on a road trip with his uncle. They had stopped at a convenience store, and as Ben paid the cashier she kept gawking at him. Finally, she asked: “How tall are you?” “About six-ten,” he replied. “Wow,” she said. “I’m only four-eleven. You’re twice as tall as me.” So, when they got back to the car, his uncle said to him: “You better count your change.”
Dear friends, how good it is to know that God never short-changes us. Quite the opposite! He pays us what we don’t deserve. He’s not only given us forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ. But in our Baptism He also poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit as a deposit, to strengthen our faith and guarantee the eternal life that is ours to come in heaven. And that is God’s final answer, His final solution to all our problems and needs, all our worries and cares. May God help us, not to keep that answer to ourselves, but to freely share it with others, so that they too may know that Jesus is the only answer. Amen.
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03/06/2006