Title: Laws or Gospel

This certainly is a beloved Gospel verse, where the Lord encourages us to come to Him, recognizing that we labor and have heavy burdens, with the promise of giving us rest.

This is why the Son of God took on the flesh of man, so that we would have someone to whom we could go for rest—rest from the labors of life, the burdens of sins, being heavy laden with every trial, trouble, and turmoil.

This is what the Gospel is, the good news that you have a Savior, that Jesus is that Savior, that He is strong to carry your burdens on your behalf. He takes the beasts which are your burdens, yoking you to Him, and then He carries the heavy load. On you, His yoke is easy. For you, His burden is light.

That’s the Gospel, the good news. The Gospel is always about what God the Father does for you through His Son, Jesus. The Gospel is that Jesus carries the burdens of your sins upon His back, suffering them and dying with them.

The Gospel is that Jesus fulfilled the Law of God, the Ten Commandments, with His perfect obedience, thus making His suffering and death a work of atonement, and thus putting power in His promise to give you rest from your labors.

The Gospel is gift. The Gospel is what Jesus does and what you receive. The Gospel shows you your Savior, your salvation. The Gospel forgives you in the present day and gives you sure and certain hope for the future of Paradise.

The Gospel is the Word of God in written form, in the Bible, and it is the proclamation by the Christian Church, and it is the particular work of Christ’s called ministers, so that when you hear your pastor forgive your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, it is just as sure and certain in heaven as if Jesus descended to earth to forgive you in person.

The Gospel is John 3:16. God the Father gives the Son. Through the Word and Sacraments you receive the Son and believe in Him. You are saved from perishing to hell, and now have eternal life.

It’s exactly the opposite of the Law. The Law shows you what you are to do, to please the Lord. The Law shows you your sins. The Law kills you, because you don’t keep it holy.

The Law is your duty to God. The Law makes demands on you. The Law is the Ten Commandants, which require your obedience.

The Law and the Gospel are complete opposites. The Law is what the Lord expects of you; the Gospel is what the Lord does for you. Keep this in mind as I move to part two, where we consider the idea that the United States of America, whose two-hundred-thirty-fifth birthday we are celebrating, this weekend, is said by so many to have been founded on Christian principles.

On what Christian principles is the USA founded? The answer which is normally heard is that the USA is founded on the Ten Commandments. One can argue how much any of our laws are based on the Ten Commandments, or if our laws are simply based on the moral law which God wrote on the hearts of all people, so that, simply by being humans, everyone knows the difference between right and wrong.

Regardless, here’s the thing about the Ten Commandments: they are far from the being what define the Christian faith. We Christians don’t have a corner on the Commandments. Remember, the Commandments were given to Moses, for the nation of Israel. We share the Commandments with the Jewish religion.

Add to them the Muslims. The religion of Islam also has the Ten Commandments. We would never say that the Muslim faith is based on Christian principles, and neither is the Jewish faith, and we would never say that the USA is founded on Muslim principles.

So, if the Ten Commandments are not the defining Christian principle, what is? The answer should smack you on the forehead. The defining Christian principle is the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the entire first page of this sermon—the good news that, for the sake of Jesus’ righteous death and resurrection, God the Father is pleased to count the sins of the world paid in full, and the sins of individuals, who believe in Christ, completely forgiven.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Christian principle. Is the USA founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Of course it is not. Indeed, you are well aware that the USA is founded on the principle that the government shall makes no laws promoting one religion over another.

With this sermon, I don’t intend to whack away at the erroneous, popular notion that this is a Christian country. What I have set up is for you to note the difference between church and state, which is the difference between the Gospel and the Law.

Nations are governed by laws, the Church is governed by the Gospel. There is no salvation from government, just as there is no salvation from any laws. Abiding by laws promotes peace; if you have folks breaking laws all over the place, there is chaos. Thus, laws are vital, not only to enjoying peace, but also to prospering and enjoying life. No one prospers or enjoys life when there is chaos and everything out of control.

This is why the Lord set us up so that we form ourselves into nations and local governments, so that we will have peace, which fosters prosperity. This is why the Lord wrote the moral law on our hearts—so that, by our human nature, we know that it is wrong to murder, and steal, and take another’s spouse, and lie, and disobey our parents and other authorities.

But, the Lord did not set up governments to save us. By the many government programs, one often gets the idea that citizens find, in the government, their savior—that, if they have an entitlement to this, and one to that, and their health care is paid for, and you name it, then their life will be taken care of. Of course, the government does none of that without the tax dollars of the people. Thus, if the government is the savior, then you are your own savior.

And, you’re a lousy savior, because you cannot save yourself from any of the things which attack this life, which cannot be fixed by a new tax or a nifty government program. No government can forgive sins. No legislative act can outlaw death. No obedience to one’s government can get anyone anything other than a grave.

We thank the Lord that He has put us in this country, which, despite its troubles, still is the greatest place on earth to live in peace and prosperity. But, this country is only a temporal gift. For eternal gifts, we don’t turn to the government, we turn to Jesus Christ.

In Jesus’ Church, He is the One who keeps the Law so that you, the lawbreakers, might possess forgiveness. And, so you do, by virtue of His blood and righteousness, and by virtue of His having called you by His Gospel, baptizing you into the family of His Father, and keeping you fed upon His saving body and blood.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Amen.