Date : Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 2, 2010
Text : Revelation 21:1-7
Title : Out with the old, in with the new
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away . . ." Christ is risen! . . . Alleluia! . . .
The Bible is made up of two main parts—the part that came before Jesus, and the part that came after Jesus: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament set the scene for God delivering His promises in Jesus, which the New Testament proclaims. But, does anything come after the New Testament? Yes, it does. Preparing this sermon, I came up with this: I’m going to call it the Eternal Testament. That’s where the lesson from Revelation comes in but, before that, a look at the first lesson, from Acts.
In this lesson, Peter has been given a vision. Peter was a Jew, so Peter lived by God’s Old Testament rules. That meant that Pete had never enjoyed a ham sandwich, shrimp cocktail, or the potato soup that my dad made, loaded with bacon and hot dogs in a rich milk broth.
Back in the days of Moses, God had given Israel a host of rules to follow in order to know how to worship Him, how to stay healthy, and how to keep themselves separate from the idol-worshiping pagans who surrounded them. These rules included a number of foods they could not eat.
In the coming of Jesus, life was a great big series of "out with the old and in with the new." Among a number of things, no longer were the Jews to make animal sacrifices to atone for their sins, and no longer did they have to set aside Saturday for complete rest and the worship of the Lord, and no longer did they have to refrain from the eating of certain foods.
But, you know how it is with changing the way we do things. Just think about how we Lutherans went from having Communion once a month, to twice a month, to every Sunday and a host of holy days. It has taken time for folks to get used to it and to accept it. Some still prefer the old way.
Well, Peter was one of those who was very used to the old way of how the Jews did things, so the Lord provided Pete with a vision. Pete was going to be involved with proclaiming to the Gentiles the death and resurrection of Christ, and Gentiles were famous for pig roasts and shrimp on the barbie, so God had to get Pete over his old way of thinking. Even more, God had to let Pete know that no longer were there any unclean foods for the Jews.
This was a huge change for Peter, and for every Jew whom the Holy Spirit brought to faith in Jesus. That God had now made all foods acceptable for the Jews was just one aspect of what Christ fulfilled in His perfect keeping of God’s laws, His atoning sacrifice on the cross, and His spectacular resurrection from the grave. After Jesus ascended to heaven, Christian life is one great big "out with the Old Testament and in with the New Testament."
Now, you wouldn’t think that we modern Christians would have a problem with any of this. I’ve never known a Christian who hesitates to eat a pork chop, unless he simply doesn’t care for pork chops. However, we modern Christians do, at times, get hung up in the Old Testament. And, when we do, we resurrect rules that Jesus fulfilled and has set aside.
Here are only a few examples of rules that Christians have either resurrected from the Old Testament, or have created out of whole cloth:
The Seventh Day Adventists insist that worship must take place on the Sabbath—on Saturday—and that the commandment be kept to a tee, despite how the New Testament teaches that the apostles worshiped on Sunday and that we are free to worship any day of the week.
Some Christians, who worship on Sunday, insist that no work be done on Sunday—that it is sinful to work on Sunday because we are supposed to rest. Yet, the New Testament says nothing about this. And, here’s the kicker: these Christians, who insist on not working, will go out to restaurants where people have to work to feed them, and a bunch of other ways in which their self-imposed rule winds up being broken.
The Amish got the idea stuck in their head that God was opposed to electricity, and motorized vehicles, and telephones, and so forth. Of course, when they are in a bind, the Amish will make use of all of these things. I always wonder which one God is more amused with: that they have made rules that God hasn’t made, or that they pick and choose how to enforce them.
I could go on and on; you get the point. A marvelous aspect of living in the light of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension is the freedom of the Gospel: we mostly worship on Sunday because this is the day on which Christ defeated death with His resurrection; and we can do as we please after we worship, so long as what we do is pleasing to the Lord; and we can set up our Sunday afternoon with a phone call, then drive to that place in a motorized vehicle.
In the New Testament, God actually teaches that all things are permissible for us. Thus, we do not make rules that God has not made: women can wear pants and work outside of the home; men can stay home with the kids. Even some things that many of us are not fond of, and have genuine concern that a person might be prone to sinning if the thing is not kept in check—things like smoking, gambling, getting tattoos, Internet games—God has not made a rule about them, so we don’t make rules about them.
God has made everything new. While we still have the Ten Commandments by which to live, and we are still duty-bound to honor God’s Law with our every thought, word, and deed, God’s Old Testament rules were buried with Jesus. Now, as God makes all things permissible for us, His only rule is that we not allow ourselves to be mastered by anything, lest we become a slave to it and sin. This could include smoking, and its addictive nature. But, it could also be food, and overeating. It could also be the use of anything—alcohol, sex, too much playing, too much working—generally, too much of anything.
This is the blessed life that you live, right now, dear New Testament Christians. You live in the ongoing celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, and the fabulous freedom which His fulfillment of God’s laws has provided for you.
But, even this is only for a little while. You still grow old. You still die. Thus, even the New Testament is not enough. That’s why God has provided you with the promises of the Paradise to come, when you will experience the "out with the New and in with the Eternal." This takes us to the lesson from Revelation.
Here, God has given the Apostle John a vision of the world to come, after Jesus returns for the final judgment and sends to hell the devil, all of the demons, and every unbeliever.
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . . And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." The Husband, of course, is Jesus Christ, who has wed Himself to His Church, of which you are members. Thus, you will be citizens of the new Jerusalem—the holy city of God—which will descend to the new earth, which God will be recreating while the judgment is taking place up in the air.
In the Eternal Testament, God will dwell with man. Jesus will be with you, as you enjoy resurrected bodies which will be just like Jesus’ resurrected body. And, every tear that you have experienced in this life, He will have wiped away. And, death will be wiped out. And, mourning, crying, and pain will be wiped off the face of the new earth.
For you, and all of the saints, whom Christ bought with His blood, forgave with His Word, washed clean in His Baptism, and kept fed on the body and blood of His Communion, He will give of the eternal spring of the water of life in Paradise, without payment.
Without payment. That sums up your entire life in Christ: without payment. Jesus has done it all, and He did it all to pay your way to Paradise. He fulfilled every law of the Old Testament, for your benefit. He forgives every sin of you New Testament Christians, free of charge. He keeps you strong in the faith so that you will make it to the Eternal Testament. That’s why you rejoice in the Easter good news: Christ is risen! . . . Alleluia! . . . Amen.