“For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”

Dear assembled brothers of the Denver Southeast Circuit, these words of Paul to our predecessor in office, St. Titus, should ring as words of encouragement and warning to us. I say this not in a “sign-of-the-times” way, for these words ring true, no matter the era we have found ourselves in, no matter the season, no matter the circumstances that present themselves to us. Today’s text is not merely appropriate for the us-versus-them mentality we find our Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod in these days, for we have found the us-versus-them mentality no matter the days the synod has found itself in.

These are words of the Apostle of God to a pastor; these are words of God to pastors. These are words to you and to me, dear assembled brothers, fellow stewards of God. Ours is a joyfully noble and nobly joyful task, (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1) given us by God, to preach the Word to His people, forgive their sins, and yes, retain their sins when retention is called for.

Therefore, the exhortation and warning comes from the pen of St. Paul, “[Hold] fast [to] the faithful word as [you have] been taught.” Then, you may be able, by sound doctrine, “both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” And then, you will be blameless.

You are a steward of God. God has charged you with carrying Him to His people...of giving Him to His people. And, if we hold fast to what we have been taught, not simply as we have sat in an uncomfortable desk in a seminary classroom, but in our continual studying of God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions, we know that the chief place that God’s Word is given to His people is right here, or in your “right here.” From our chancels and pulpits, God gives Himself through us to His people by means of water and Word, bread and Word, wine and Word, and spoken Word. “Faith comes by hearing,” God continually reminds us, “and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Therefore, the encouragement to you is to be God’s hands and mouth to His people. “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching,” St. Paul wrote to another pastor and confessor. (2 Timothy 4:2) Exhort the charges you have been given by sound doctrine.

Sound doctrine...I suppose that brings us back to what was said at our ordinations and subsequent installations. Though the language may be different, as you knelt before the chancel you sought to enter by God’s call and command, you were asked, “Do you believe and confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice?” And you answered, “Yes, I believe...” Again, you were asked,

Do you confess the Unaltered Augsburg Confession to be a true exposition of Holy Scripture and a correct exhibition of the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church? And do you confess that the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Small and Large Catechisms of Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, and the Formula of Concord—as these are contained in the Book of Concord—are also in agreement with this one scriptural faith?

And you answered, “Yes, I make these Confessions my own because they are in accord with the Word of God.”

So, now, I ask, what went wrong? Yes, I ask this, in light of today’s exhortation, to convict you here who contradict, whether you know it or not, but also in regards to the contradictions which have plagued Christ’s church since His ascent to the right hand of God. What went wrong, so that there were many councils in the church which sought to define what is to believe as a Christian? What went wrong, so that we have these documents that are contained in the Book of Concord? What went wrong, so that there are others out there, Calvinists, Zwinglians, and countless others who are descendants from these and other protestants, each with their own confessions? What went wrong, so that even we who collect ourselves under the same banner are so divided?

St. Paul answers, as he spoke to pastors in Ephesus in today’s first reading:

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. (Acts 20:28-30)

And, there are these prophetic words from the Apostle: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3) Dear brothers in office, these are the people of God. There will come a time, and it is now come, and has been with us for ages, when the people of God will not endure sound doctrine—the very doctrine the Apostle tells Titus and us to hold fast to—but will follow after every wind of doctrine, false doctrine, that blows by, yet feels so good. They will follow the wolves—wolves in sheeps’ clothing, mind you—straight to their peril and deaths.

The thing is, we are also the people of God. How easy is it for us to succumb to wanting our itching ears scratched. For one, these unsound doctrines sound appealing, even to us, to our Old Adam. They are ego-stroking, seeking to confirm in you and your listeners that you’re alright to God, that you’re doing a good job, that God is pleased with your attempts to be holy as He is holy—that feels good, doesn’t it? And as much as these false doctrines are often proclaimed by wolves in sheep’s clothing, so their doctrines are easily dressed in appearance that seems good, right, and salutary. Is it any wonder, then, given the Apostle’s prophetic words and the feel-good, seems-right nature of false doctrine, that the largest following of “Christians” are gathered around these false teachers?

So, fellow stewards of God, what of you? What are you doing? What are you telling and giving to your people? Do you speak the Word of God to them, or do you speak the words of man as if they were the Word of God? Do you convict those who contradict of their sin, seeking confession, and proclaiming forgiveness through the Son of God, crucified for their sin, or do you simply encourage them to do better, providing tips and steps to guide them in their working toward righteousness and holiness. Do you lead your people in the Word of God, in both worship and study, or do your worship services make use of things that sound like Scripture but have none and your studies cover topics such as purpose and contagiousness and the like? Scratching itching ears, indeed.

So, let me encourage you to hold fast to the doctrine you have been taught, to which you have confessed a subscription. Keep your noses in the Scriptures, that your mouths may continue to proclaim Christ and Him crucified, and in those Confessions, that you may be able to identify false doctrine and speak against it—that you may “exhort and convict those who contradict.” Make these your guide, as you steward God to His people; give these to His people, and in so doing, you will give Him to His people.

“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:5-6) Be determined, therefore, to know nothing among your people except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:2) Give Jesus to His people, proclaim God’s Law, and God’s Son as the fulfillment of that Law, the perfect keeping of that Law, by whom, into whom being baptized, into whose crucifixion and resurrection being baptized (cf. Romans 6:3-9), they have His perfection by way of the forgiveness of their sins. It is He who became sin for us and for them, that we and they would be the righteousness of God. (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Preach the Word...preach this Word, as one who must give an account of his stewardship. (cf. Hebrews 13:17) This is your joyfully noble and nobly joyful task. May the Word of God continually echo from your lips in your “right heres,” you mouths of the Lord. May the Word of God continually be given from your fingers in your “right heres,” you hands of the Lord. For by this very same Word of God, proclaimed and given from your chancels and altars, and only by the Word of God, the righteousness of God is continually imputed to them.

And not just to them, fellow stewards of God, but also to you. While in your “right heres,” your mouths and hands being used by God, He still grants you the use of your ears, that you will also hear and receive the very same Word of God your mouth proclaims. Yes, He even grants you the use of your mouth, that you may receive the very same Word of God, incarnate in bread and wine, that your hands give.

While still there are times where it would do well to hear this Word of God from another mouth, to receive this Word of God from another set of hands (and I would encourage you to seek this, as does today’s study) it still comes to you from your own mouths and hands and you speak and give Him in your “right heres.” And this Word of God is powerful to do what it says in your “right heres” as much as it is right here and now, as this mouth and these hands proclaim and give to you this Word of God: you are forgiven for all of your sins.