Eighth Sunday after Trinity, July 26th,
A+D 2026
Our Savior’s and Our Redeemer
Lutheran Churches
Hill City and Custer, South Dakota
Wielding the Hammer of God
Jeremiah
23:16-29, Acts 20:25-38, Matthew
7:15 – 23
Audio of the Sermon available HERE.
1. Preach you the Word and
plant it home
To
men who like or like it not,
The Word that
shall endure and stand
When
flow'rs and men shall be forgot.
Your
servant bade us undertake:
To preach Your
Word and never ask
What
prideful profit it may make.
All of our readings this morning say something about God’s expectation
for His preachers, for His prophets and pastors, and God’s expectation of His
people, too. “Beware of false
prophets,” warns Jesus, “who come to you in sheep's clothing but
inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Paul
instructs the Ephesian elders, “Pay
careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of
God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
Near the end of our Jeremiah reading we hear God’s simple instruction: “Let
him who has my word speak my word faithfully.”
A failure to faithfully teach and maintain what God has said is the
original source of evil entering God’s good creation, (Did God really say,
hissed the serpent). All the
problems God’s people have suffered down through the millennia can be traced to
a failure to receive, believe, proclaim and follow the Word of the LORD. From Moses, Elijah and Elisha, down to John
the Baptist and the Apostles Peter, Paul and John, the LORD’s expectation for
His preachers has always been the same: Hear my Word, and speak it, faithfully,
to men who, as the second line of our hymn instructs, may like it, or like it
not. You be faithful.
Simple enough, this shape of the preaching task. Simple, but not easy. Not easy, in large part, because of the very
last line we heard from Jeremiah: “Is not my word like fire, declares
the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” Now, I suppose from time to time some men
become so enamored of the power implicit in the call to proclaim God’s Word
that they embrace the task with a proud and excessive zeal, not concerned with the
final result their message might produce, knocking sinners down, with no
thought of also raising them up. Such
bold, fire and sledgehammer alone preaching might even prove profitable to the
speaker, for a time.
But the truth is, as every prophet and preacher, except One, is only
human and also a sinner, the hearers’ reaction does matter to most
men called to proclaim God’s Word. This
can lead to a number of imperfections in proclamation, not least being the
softening of hard edges, the padding of the hammer, the shading of the truth,
so as not to offend. This also is a
serious problem, for treading lightly over the uncomfortable words of God can
leave sinners comfortable in their sin, not knowing the dangerous risk they are
taking. This is not God’s will. God’s Word is a burning fire and a
rock-breaking hammer for a merciful reason, to break sin’s hold
on us, that we might be set free in the love of God. More on this after our next hymn stanza.
But first, a bit about “The Hammer of God.” The primary way that preachers and hearers
can learn to recognize and appreciate faithful proclaimers is to read and hear
and study the Biblical greats, like Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and the
rest. But it can be helpful to have more
recent examples, from contexts closer to ours than the Biblical setting. And one came to mind as I was preparing this
week: the Swedish pastor and theologian Bo Giertz. I know many of us are of German or Norwegian
heritage, but are there any Swedes in the house today? (Filipinos probably outnumber Swedes here,
actually.)
Well, regardless, Bo Giertz was a 20th century Swedish
preacher, Church historian, Bishop and author who I believe was very faithful, a
great example of how to live out the call for faithfulness which we have heard
from Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus this morning.
Decades after his death, Bo Giertz continues to serve the cause of
faithful Lutheran proclamation, through his many writings, the most famous of
which is a novel named “The Hammer of God.”
This one work has had an outsized influence on the Church, motivating
and showing the way for countless Christians, clergy and people alike, both
Lutheran and from other church bodies.
Giertz lived from 1905 to 1998. He
served the Swedish state church, which is historically Lutheran, as is the case
in all of Scandinavia. Giertz’s ministry
saw the Great Depression, the second World War, and tremendous social, economic
and theological upheaval. He was an
actively serving pastor from 1934 to 1970, the last 21 years serving as the
Bishop of the diocese of Gothenburg, Sweden.
In retirement, largely rejected and discredited within his church body,
Giertz continued to speak and write, calling the Church and her pastors to
faithfulness.
In one sense, you could call Giertz a failure. He was a consistent and tireless advocate for
faithfulness to God’s Word, but his Church went hard down the path of
unfaithfulness. Despite Giertz’s
efforts, the Swedish state church abandoned Scripture and conformed itself to
the world. As Paul warned the Ephesian pastors,
“fierce wolves will come in among
you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from
among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the
disciples after them.” The
worst threats to the Church always come from within, it seems, when the devil
draws preachers away from God’s Word, to spread his cancerous lies throughout
the Body.
The state church of Sweden is today very much a “LINO” church, that is
“Lutheran In Name Only.” Like happens in
all church bodies that abandon God’s true Word, the state church is increasingly
irrelevant in Sweden, and Giertz witnessed much of her decline. Like so many faithful Biblical prophets,
Giertz seemed to be fighting a losing battle his whole life. That is a real downer, and yet, there is a
lesson and an encouragement for us in this difficult reality. But first, we should return to our hymn and
be reminded of the Who and the Why behind the call for faithfulness.
3. The Sower sows his reckless
love
Scatters abroad the goodly seed,
Intent alone that
all may have
The wholesome loaves that all men need.
My Word is like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer
that breaks the rock in pieces, but only because it must be, in order to
save sinners like you and me. God is
laser focused on having a huge congregation of souls with Him in paradise,
forever. For this He created us, for
this He sustains us, for this purpose, the Father sent the Son to redeem us,
and the Holy Spirit works through the Word to create and sustain saving faith
in us sinners. Nothing is more important
to God than this task.
There is that occasional man who takes delight in burning and breaking
souls with God’s Word, not for the sake of saving them, but only to delight in
stolen power. His is the worst sort of
demonic voice, masquerading as God’s servant.
It is true, God’s hammer must break us in pieces, like Humpty Dumpty fallen
from the wall. But this is always so
that the healing word of God’s grace
can build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who
are sanctified, that is,
those who are made holy, righteous, beloved in God’s sight, living members of the
church of God, which he obtained with His own blood.
More common than sadistic preachers are
people-pleasers, of course, men who fail to simply state the whole truth of
God’s Word. Through Jeremiah, the LORD accuses
them of proclaiming their own dreams, prophets who refuse to say that the sins
of God’s people are not acceptable, prophets who proclaim peace, peace on earth
and peace with God, when the true state of affairs, because of our sin and our
failure to flee to Christ, is that there is no peace, and souls are in danger
of receiving God’s rejection. This also
is a demonic message.
And so Paul admonishes the Ephesian pastors
to mimic him and always proclaim the whole counsel of God, both the
rock-breaking hammer and the life-giving comfort. The Good News of the Cross makes no sense
apart from the truth of our sin and our need.
And the condemnation of God’s Law can only destroy sinners, if it is not
joined to the forgiving word of the blood-bought salvation earned by Christ
Jesus. And so faithful prophets and
preachers listen closely to all that God
has said, and then apply all of it to
their hearers. And by this powerful whole
counsel, we are saved, and we are made wise for Christian living, and useful
for God’s ongoing Mission.
4. Though some be snatched and
some be scorched, And some be choked and matted flat,
The Sower sows;
his heart cries out, "Oh, what of that, and what of that?"
5. Of all his scattered plenteousness, One-fourth waves ripe on hill and flat,
And bears a harvest hundredfold: "Ah,
what of that, Lord, what of that!"
The most shameful defeat, the death of God’s Son on the Cross, is in
truth God’s greatest victory, the executioner’s tool becoming the glorious
throne of our Savior. Life comes from
death. An unjust punishment results in eternal
justice, peace between God and man, and so wins righteousness for unworthy
sinners. The greatest possible horror
for Jesus’ followers becomes the central message of His Church, and the hope of
sinners everywhere. The Gospel is very
upside down, inside out and unexpected.
So, it should not surprise God’s proclaimers that God’s powerful Word,
like Jesus Himself, often seems defeated.
The whole counsel of God is life itself, but so often it is ignored,
rejected, or accepted for a moment, then discarded when more entertaining words
come along. And yet, God’s prophets and
pastors are not to worry about that, at all.
Do we desire to see all men come to repentance and be saved? Of course, for this is God’s will.
And yet, in a mystery too deep for us to fathom, this blessed result is all
too often not achieved. The Good seed is
trampled, the new shoots of faith are choked out. “Oh, what of that?” the sower cries, because
his call is not to success, his call is not to achieve a certain numbers of
conversions, a certain grandiosity of ministry.
No. While we pray for great
results, the call is to be faithful, period, and leave the results to the Holy
Spirit.
So also when the harvest is visibly great. Are God’s spokesmen or His people to pat
themselves on the back when many come to the Church? Are they to find their self-worth in the
numbers, or are they to find their worth in the gift of Christ’s
self-sacrifice? You know the
answer. God forbid that we boast in
anything other than Christ Jesus, our crucified and resurrected Lord, in whom
alone we have hope.
What goes for the preachers goes for the people also. For God calls some men to public ministry, to
be ordained for public proclamation. But
all of God’s children will have calls to proclaim the truth of Christ from time
to time. Most obviously, faithful
fathers and mothers are pastors, shepherds and preachers in the home, using
God’s Word to raise up their children in the faith. The world will from time to time ask us the
reason for the hope that we have, and then we are called to proclaim. And the same expectations and promises and
pitfalls pertain. Within our various
callings in life, each one of us is called to maintain God’s true Word, simply
because God is good, and His Word is His tool to save, when and where He
wills.
6. Preach you the Word and
plant it home, And never faint; the Harvest Lord
Who gave the Sower seed to sow, Will
watch and tend His planted Word.
I do not know what dark nights of the soul Bo Giertz may have suffered
through. Seeing the church body you
served for decades abandon God’s Truth in pursuit of worldly gain had to have
been very painful. But Giertz’s faithful
prophecy and proclamation were not in vain.
We know this because God’s Word never goes out in vain, but always
achieves the purpose for which the LORD spoke it. This is God’s promise, even, no, especially
when we cannot see the results.
And we do see some results, some fruit, from the faithfulness of Bo
Giertz. Today, in every Nordic country,
Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, there are new fellowships, new
faithful Lutheran church bodies and movements, in large part inspired by Bo
Giertz’s faithful proclamation of Scriptural truth. Are they small? Yes. But
they are also very great, a vibrant part of the innumerable congregation of
souls in heaven and all around the earth which makes up the Body of
Christ.
This is the promise of Jesus: His Church will not, cannot fail, because
He, the Resurrected God-Man, the one with forgiveness and eternal life for all
people, is her Head. As Christ goes, and
He has gone into heaven to reign at His Father’s right hand, so also will go
all who belong to Him, all who trust in Him, because of the working of His
faithful Word.
Let us pray: Holy Father, we live in an age of
unfaithfulness. It seems that Your
Church is beaten back and nearly defeated.
And yet, because of Your faithful Word, because of the work of the Word
made flesh, Your Son Jesus Christ, we know that Your Church will endure to all the
ages. Grant to all your Preachers and to
all Your people faithful, wise, and dauntless
hearts, that we believe in the fiery, rock-shattering power of Your Word, in
good days and bad, so that we, along with all Your faithful saints, may endure
unto the end, and rejoice in Your heavenly glory, through the only Savior,
Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns over all things, with You and the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.
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