The Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Sunday, July 13 (Trinity 4)
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When mine enemies and my foes came upon me,
They stumbled and fell.
Though an host should encamp against me:
My heart shall not fear.
—Psalm 27:1, 2b, 3a
A writing for the Holy Gospel, Luke 6:36–42:
“Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
Luke 6:42b
Concupiscence necessitates correction and reproof. Brothers and sisters in the faith must hold one another accountable for their sins of thought, word, and deed. Christian love requires integrity in body, mind, and spirit—and it requires humility and grace. A lack of humility and grace leads to hypocrisy, against which our Lord strictly and expressly warns in Luke 6:42, as He commands us to remove the plank in our own eye before removing the speck in another’s.
The modern world contorts our Lord’s statement in Luke 6:42 to interdict correction and reproof. The world takes offense when Christians expose the sins of others. Christians are labelled “hypocritical” and “self-righteous.” Our dutiful submission to God’s Word is, in the eyes of the world, an act devoid of humility and grace—indeed, it is the pinnacle of hypocrisy. Christians stand firm, however, as God’s Word is infallible. That which our Lord condemns, we must also condemn.
The world has normalized and encouraged the many sins against which Scripture warns. Abortion is a fundamental human right. Homosexuality is a beautiful form of self-expression. Usury is the standard practice of “good business.” Thus, when Christians speak according to the biblical mandates our Lord has handed down to us, the world laughs and scorns. The oppressive mandates of our Lord have fallen by the wayside; our enduring commitment to uphold them is an object of worldly derision.
Lest the world be correct in its slander, we are exhorted by our Lord to examine our consciences before scrutinizing the consciences of others. We must first confess the sins which we have done before bringing to light the sins others have done, for if we do not first confess our own sins, we cannot truly exhort others to the same faith we emptily profess. The heart must fear, love, and trust in God above all things if its confession is to be true. True Christian love—the same love which exhorts others to repent of their sins—must first be rooted in God’s forgiveness, which is freely given to all who repent of their sins and have faith in His promises.
Thus, our Lord’s statement in Luke 6:42 is not merely prohibitive, but conditional. Concupiscence does not prohibit one from correcting another; instead, it requires self-correction before correcting others. It is not the plank itself that prohibits us from removing the speck in another’s eye. Rather, the refusal to remove the plank in one’s own eye prohibits him from removing the speck in another’s. We cannot correct in others what we refuse to correct in ourselves.
If one sins, let him ask for forgiveness. If one is to exhort others, let him first examine himself. If one is to love Christ, let him confess his sins and seek God’s forgiveness. Thanks be to God for His limitless grace and boundless mercy, which we profess to the world by our thoughts, words, and deeds. In all things, may we glorify Him whose death and resurrection atones for the sins of the world and brings justification to those who trust in Him.
Luther on Luke 6:36–42:
“Therefore it is senseless for the Papists to cry: We of course teach others not to judge, nor condemn, but we ourselves do the contrary, punish, judge and condemn everyone. For as I said, what we do in this, we do by virtue of our office. Therefore our judging and punishing is of such a nature, that it only makes one better and harms no one. And we are obliged to do it on account of the command of Christ our Lord, Luke 24:47, that repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached in his name among all nations on earth; and John 16:8: “The Holy Spirit will reprove the world of sin.”
“According to this command all the Apostles have first judged and reproved the world, and proclaimed God’s wrath against it; afterwards they preached forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name, as St. Paul does, Romans 1:3, and St. Peter, Acts 2:3-10, and Christ himself when he says, John 9:39: “For judgment came I into this world.” Those who have accepted this preaching and permit themselves to be judged and reproved by it, have received the comfort of the Gospel, that without merit, by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus they are justified and saved, Romans 3:24.
“This judgment and reproof of Christ and the Apostles is not harmful, but beneficial, comfortable and wholesome. Moreover, those who have not allowed themselves to be reproved by these have remained in their sins, and have died and perished forever; and also, in time, have their cities, lands and kingdoms in which they have lived, been most woefully devastated and destroyed.
“As therefore the Apostles have preached according to the command of Christ, so too must we do, and say that all men are conceived and born in sin and are by nature children of wrath, and on this account condemned, and can neither by their own or any other creature’s help, advice, work or merit, receive forgiveness of sins and be saved. This is to reprove, judge and condemn everybody, and yet we do this, not out of our own wantonness, or that we take pleasure in crying down men as sinners and godless; but out of Christ’s order and command. With this however we do not cease, but we again encourage and comfort those whom we have rebuked, and say that Jesus Christ has come into the world to save sinners, so that all who believe in him, should not perish, but receive everlasting life.”—from Martin Luther's Second Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 6:36-42.
Hymn of the Day for Trinity 4:
1 That man a godly life might live,
God did these Ten Commandments give
By His true servant Moses, high
Upon the Mount Sinai.
Have mercy, Lord!2 I am thy God and Lord alone,
No other God before Me own;
Put thy whole confidence in Me
And love Me e’er cordially.
Have mercy, Lord!3 By idle word and speech profane
Take not My holy name in vain
And praise but that as good and true
Which I Myself say and do.
Have mercy, Lord!4 Hallow the day which God hath blest
That thou and all thy house may rest;
Keep hand and heart from labor free
That God may so work in thee.
Have mercy, Lord!5 Give to thy parents honor due,
Be dutiful, and loving, too,
And help them when their strength decays;
So shalt thou have length of days.
Have mercy, Lord!6 In sinful wrath thou shalt not kill
Nor hate nor render ill for ill;
Be patient and of gentle mood,
And to thy foe do thou good.
Have mercy, Lord!7 Be faithful to thy marriage vows,
Thy heart give only to thy spouse;
Thy life keep pure, and lest thou sin,
Use temperance and discipline.
Have mercy, Lord!8 Steal not; all usury abhor
Nor wring their life-blood from the poor,
But open wide thy loving hand
To all the poor in the land.
Have mercy, Lord!9 Bear not false witness nor belie
Thy neighbor by foul calumny.
Defend his innocence from blame;
With charity hide his shame.
Have mercy, Lord!10 Thy neighbor’s house desire thou not,
His wife, nor aught that he hath got,
But wish that his such good may be
As thy heart doth wish for thee.
Have mercy, Lord!11 God these commandments gave therein
To show thee, child of man, thy sin
And make thee also well perceive
How man unto God should live.
Have mercy, Lord!12 Help us, Lord Jesus Christ, for we
A mediator have in Thee.
Our works cannot salvation gain;
They merit but endless pain.
Have mercy, Lord!Amen.
Source: The Lutheran Hymnal #287
Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546, tr. Richard Massie, 1800-87.
Collect of the Day for Trinity 4:
Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Who can and when can he reach the point where it is possible to say "I am rid of this or that sin" except it be a very concrete sin like adultery or murder or stealing