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Luther for the Busy Man
Hosted by Martin Luther · EN
Luther for the Busy Man is a new project brought to you by the Free Lutheran Bible College and Seminary, in cooperation with Ambassador Publications, the publishing arm of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations. Listen to daily meditations by Martin Luther himself, following the church calendar and read to you by Dave Ryerson.
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Week of Trinity VII - Sunday
3w ago00:03:35Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - SUNDAYLESSON: MARK 8:1-9The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17Scripture holds up a twofold picture before us: a picture of fear, that is, a picture of the boundless and strict wrath of God before which no one can stand the test, a picture which would mean utter despair for every one of us if we did not have faith. Over against this, the picture of grace is held up before us, so that faith should regard it very closely and draw from it a friendly, comforting confidence, with the hope that we can never overestimate God’s goodness towards us. There is always still much more with Him.You have often heard that there are two kinds of blessings: spiritual and bodily. This Gospel (Mark 8:1-9) deals with temporal and bodily blessings. It teaches us children’s faith; it is a Gospel for the weak.In this Gospel, we are taught to look to God as the source of all good and to learn to trust Him. From our experience of God’s blessings in the temporal sphere we should also learn to trust Him in regard to spiritual blessings. This Gospel reminds us of the fact that Christ does look after our bodily needs. From this we may well infer that He also wants to nourish our soul with spiritual blessings.If I am not prepared to entrust the sustenance of my body to Him, I will be much less disposed to entrust the eternal welfare of my soul to Him. If I cannot trust a man to give me one florin, how can I trust him to give me ten? If I cannot look to someone for a piece of bread, much less can I entertain any hope that he will give me house and home and a whole estate.SL 11:1367 (2-3)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, source of everything that is good for our bodies and souls, continue to pour Your good blessings upon us in accordance with the promises and assurances You have given us in and through Christ, our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:202-210.
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Week of Trinity VI - Saturday
3w ago00:03:44Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - SATURDAYLESSON: ROMANS 8:1-9“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17What are we to learn from Christ’s interpretation of the Law in His Sermon on the Mount? First, you should learn that if you were to be judged by your obedience to the Law, you would have to be condemned as a child of sin and the devil. From this lost condition you cannot possibly rescue yourself by your own resources. You have no alternative but to seek refuge in God and beseech Him to change you. Otherwise, all is lost, and you are ruined.Therefore, take hold of God’s Word and promises that He is willing to change you, and this will prove itself a source of great help to you. Say to God, “See here, my God, you have set up Christ, your beloved Son, as an example for me. You want me to live as He did. I cannot do this. Change me, dear God, and grant me your peace.”God comes to our assistance and says, “Because you acknowledge your need of help and seek grace from Me, I will change you and make a new man of you. And though you are not perfect like Christ, as you should be, My Son’s life and perfection shall come to your assistance.” There must always be something to humble us and inspire us with healthy fear.This is real comfort—depending not on our own ability but on the fact that we have a gracious God who forgives us and on our faith in Christ, not on our own “worthiness.” This also purifies us from day to day, and, wherever there is something still lacking, we trust in Christ to provide us with adequate consolation. This is also the chief thrust of this particular Gospel (Matthew 5:20-26).SL 11:1350 (11-12)PRAYER: Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus Christ, for the hope of salvation which You have provided in the perfect fulfillment of Your heavenly Father’s Law for us, which you offer us in Your Gospel of salvation, for Your mercy and truth’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:179-187.
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Week of Trinity VI - Friday
3w ago00:03:02Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - FRIDAYLESSON: LUKE 12:57-59“Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:25-26We do injury to our neighbor in many ways. When I do not protect his good name to the best of my ability and when I am unfriendly to him and refuse to help him, I am already his enemy. If I want to be acceptable to God, I must first become reconciled to my neighbor. If I do not do this, I cannot be acceptable to Him. God rejects any service I may render Him if I have previously failed in service to my neighbor. Our lives hitherto have left much to be desired. In our insane rush to secure personal benefits for ourselves from the saints, we have almost completely neglected our neighbor. The lord reminds us here that, instead of doing such wonderful things for departed saints, we should be doing things for our living neighbors. We should pay the closest attention to the services we render our neighbor. God attaches no importance to a church we build for Him if it means that we have neglected the needs of our neighbor. We have been taught the very opposite of this. We have been taught to put everything into pretentious foundations and institutions at the expense of our needy neighbor. It is God’s will that we serve our neighbor, render him his due, put all matters right with him, and become reconciled to him; otherwise, He does not want to see us or hear us. Moreover, if my adversary makes an approach to me, I should willingly forgive him. SL 11:1341 (15-18)PRAYER: You have shown us, O Lord, that there is never any gain in putting off reconciliation and even great danger to our faith and piety in postponing it. Give us an open heart and spirit that is ever ready to forgive and forget, after Your own example and for Your name’s sake. Amen. Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:167-178.
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Week of Trinity VI - Thursday
3w ago00:03:50Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - THURSDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 18:21-35“If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24There are two parties here. One has committed a wrong against another man; he must ask forgiveness. The other man has been wronged; he must offer forgiveness in a friendly and ready manner, even if he has not been requested to do this.This is very hard for human nature. It is true, of course, that it does come along once in a while with a plea, saying, “Dear friend, forgive me!” But if it were not compelled to do so in fear of hell and God’s wrath, it would never do so. In any case, the old resentment still continues in the heart. On the other hand, the man who suffers the injury also finds it very difficult to forgive it in his heart. And just as the former man comes with a hypocritical plea, so he also offers a hypocritical forgiveness.All this means nothing at all before God. “If you are offering your gift at the altar,” He says, “and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”Reconciliation must come from the heart; forgiveness must come from the heart. Therefore, mark this text very well.SL 11:1340 (13)PRAYER: Awaken in us a loving spirit, O Lord, which is always ready to forgive and bring about reconciliation where hostility and strife have caused discord and grief. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:167-178.
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Week of Trinity VI - Wednesday
4w ago00:03:04Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - WEDNESDAYLESSON: 1 PETER 1:22-25Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 3:15It is quite clear from Christ’s interpretation in this Gospel that we are all guilty of breaking the commandment, “You shall not kill.”He who is not born again from God cannot possibly ever throw off the charge of murder. Even though a man refrains from the act of murder, he cannot get rid of his murderous thoughts and his acquiescence in a murder. How often do we not say when someone is murdered, “He got his deserts! It served him right!” All such reactions are clearly contrary to this commandment. God does not merely consider external works; He looks into the heart. And so, this commandment, “You shall not kill,” is a very wide-reaching commandment with a very wide application.Without spiritual rebirth, it is beyond us. Here, too, it is necessary to become a new creature. Christ has fulfilled the whole Law for us by His perfect obedience to His heavenly Father in life and in death. He has “redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13).By faith in Christ, all our sins against God’s law are fully and freely forgiven. For our sakes, God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness which avails before God in Him. By faith in Christ, we become new creatures, we are born again, and we love to run the way of God’s commandment. But even as new creatures we are still far from perfection. We must always remain linked with Christ or else we must surely fail.SL 11:1339 (10-11)PRAYER: Renew us by Your Holy Spirit, O God, that we may begin to love Your holy Law and observe it in our relations with our neighbor as new creatures in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:167-178.
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Week of Trinity VI - Tuesday
4w ago00:03:31Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - TUESDAYLESSON: ROMANS 10:5-13“Whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.” Matthew 5:21Christ here interprets the law of Moses and pronounces a judgment which applies all over the world. What man on this earth is not guilty of breaking this commandment? What will we do now in the face of the necessity of keeping this commandment while not being able to do so? We cannot sweep away the mire. We are faced with despair and must judge ourselves accordingly. Hence, God’s laws are only a mirror in which we see our filth and wickedness; they shut all of us up under sin so that we cannot work our way out of this situation by our own strength and free will. Something else has to come to our assistance.Christ continues and says, “Whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca’ [‘you fool’], shall be liable to the hell of fire.” “Raca” is an abusive name manifesting anger or hatred. Anger or hatred, of course, is no excuse for breaking one of God’s commandments. Even though I am obliged to regard someone with whom I am at enmity in a friendly manner, signs of hatred and anger like abusive names will make it clear that my heart is not really behind my friendly exterior.Dig into your own experience. Take a close look at others as well as yourself, and you will find that no one can help himself out of the dilemma into which his wicked disposition continually drags him and which is deeply implanted by human nature. You may adopt a friendly attitude to your brother, but you cannot give him your heart, even if you were to tear yourself apart in the effort. In this matter, we are beyond human help. Only God and His Holy Spirit can bring about the necessary change here which can spell success for us.SL 11:1338 (7-8)PRAYER: Change our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, heavenly Father, that we may receive the necessary strength to run the way of Your commandments in the service we render to our neighbor in faith and love, through Jesus our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:167-178.
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Week of Trinity VI - Monday
4w ago00:03:16Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - MONDAYLESSON: PSALM 1“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgement.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.” Matthew 5:21-22This word is so lofty and deep at one and the same time that it defies all and any efforts to render it perfect obedience. This I not only attested here by the Lord; it is also proved in every man’s experience and feelings. Christ here touches on four areas: thoughts, gestures or signs, words, and deeds. No one can wriggle his way out here; we must acknowledge a verdict of “Guilty!”It makes little difference what pious man or woman you take here as an example. They are normally quite friendly with people who do not get too close to them. But if they suffer some kind of abuse, if someone gets a little too close to them, they can become very angry on the slightest provocation. They can become incensed almost at the drop of a hat. Reason can never see its way clear to be well-disposed to those who do us an injury. Secular literature is full of instructive examples of all this, and there is also our own experience to teach us.This, of course, is not satisfactory as far as God is concerned, but flesh and blood cannot do anything for us here. We must carefully note what God’s Word actually says to us in the commandment, “You shall not kill.” Who is meant by “you”? The hand? No! The tongue? No! He means “you,” with all that you are and all that is in you. Your hand, your heart, your thoughts shall not kill.SL 11:1337 (5-6)PRAYER: Dear Father in heaven, even our best efforts to render Your Law the obedience it deserves fall far short of the mark of perfection. Help us in our efforts to improve our obedience to Your holy will, and forgive us our many shortcomings in this connection, in the name of our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:167-178.
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Week of Trinity VI - Sunday
4w ago00:03:26Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - SUNDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 5:20-26“I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20The scribes and Pharisees led a life of such a kind that both they themselves as well as other people were of the opinion that they would gain the kingdom of heaven as a result. But they were very wide of the mark. Christ censures them and tells His disciples that, unless their righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, they will never even enter the kingdom of heaven.This naturally prompts the question, “What then shall we do to become righteous?” Here all works that any man can perform are given up and abrogated, and the most pious exponents of work-righteousness are struck down. No work can ever be performed whereby any man can save himself and rescue himself from sin. To make this statement today invites the charge of heresy.There were certainly also those who would have been inclined to say to Christ here: “You are a heretic; do you really want to reject good works?” Christ is not disturbed by the possibility of such a charge. He openly concludes that the works of the scribes and Pharisees are worthless and nothing in God’s sight. These men, too, may have felt like answering Christ here with a counterargument, “If works do not make a man righteous before God, why do we have the Law through which we have good reason to trust that we will save ourselves, provided that we obey it in our lives?” This gives Christ a reason for introducing a discussion on the commandments in His Sermon on the Mount.SL 11:1336 (3-4)PRAYER: In Your revelation of the Gospel, heavenly Father, You have shown us with the utmost clarity that all reliance on our own efforts to gain righteousness in Your sight are vain and hopeless. May we always trust Your promises and assurances in firm faith and reliance, and thereby experience the full joy of salvation, in and through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:167-178.
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Week of Trinity V - Saturday
4w ago00:03:31Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY V - SATURDAYLESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:11-15“Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” Luke 5:10This is an evangelical word by which weak hearts may obtain consolation. We have seen in this Gospel how God looks after our bodily needs. He provided Peter with so many fish when he would have probably had enough with two or so. God also fills Peter so richly spiritually that he should have enough also in this respect to share it with others. He makes Peter a fisherman both bodily and spiritually. In a bodily manner, Peter catches so many fish that he can sell them; spiritually, however, he is to become a fisher of men, for he has the Gospel with which he is to bring in others and extend the kingdom of Christ.When men come to faith, God gives them so much that they are in a position to help all men, outwardly with their property and goods, and from their spiritual resources they are equipped to teach others and make them rich inwardly. When men come to faith, they must proclaim it to others and tell other of their experiences.The psalmist knew all about this when he wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will return to thee” (Psalm 51:10-13).When I believe, I come to know God. Then I also see what others are lacking and proceed to proclaim the Gospel to them. I am in a position as a believer to feed the hungry both bodily and spiritually.SL 11:1312 (21-23)PRAYER: Thanks and praise be Yours, heavenly Father, for the riches of both bodily and spiritual blessings which You continue to shower upon us. Grant us the insights to use all these blessings to relieve the needs of our neighbors and for the glory of Your kingdom, in Jesus’ name. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.
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Week of Trinity V - Friday
Jul 1000:03:41Tap to summarizeTHE WEEK OF TRINITY V - FRIDAYLESSON: PSALM 143If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Psalm 130:3-4When you feel your sins and become like Peter with a desire to run away from God, you must turn around and get closer and closer to Him. For if God were disposed to flee from you and were not willing to take away your sins, He would never have come to you or pursued you. Therefore, the more you feel that you are a sinner, and the more you want to run away from God, the more importunately you should seek Him.Mark this well! For as St. Peter reacted here, so all consciences react in fear because of their sins, trying to escape from God and seeking some false god. Do not end your struggle like this. You cannot possibly end it like this. Present a bold front and cling to God. Otherwise, when you run off in search of works to seek help with another god, and then later want to come back to the true God, you may well have the same experience that the foolish virgins had after going off to buy oil for their lamps, returning only to find the doors locked (Matthew 25:10).But what did Jesus do after Peter had humbled himself to such an extent that, in great fear and terror, he requested the Lord to depart from him? Did He allow Peter to remain in his despondency? By no means! He proceeded to comfort Peter with the words, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10).SL 11:1311 (18-20)PRAYER: It is Your assurance, heavenly Father, that the more we feel our sins, the nearer we always are to the forgiveness of sins. Keep us ever steadfast in our faith and hope that You will help and save us, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.
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