First Sunday after Trinity—Faith and Love: The One Commandment for Christians
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
"This commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God must love his brother also" (1 John 4:21).
These are the final words from our epistle this morning. St. John, in this first letter, doesn't leave us guessing as to what the Christian life looks like. He says, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God" (1 John 3:21).
"And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment" (1 John 3:22–23). That sounds like two commandments.
First, believe in the Triune God, because that's what it means to believe on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because the name is that name that you're baptized into at the end of Matthew: "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). That is the name of Jesus Christ.
So, first commandment: believe in the name of the Triune God. Second: love one another. But John says, "this is His commandment," singular.
It is one. The two tables of the Ten Commandments are joined together. They sum up the law of God.
The first and second table of the commandments, the entirety of the Christian faith. When asked, which is the great commandment in the law? Our Lord says, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37–40).
The commandment to trust in Christ fulfills the first three commandments: "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:3,7,8). Believing on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: that is fulfilled in those.
Loving one another fulfills the second table: "Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house... or anything that is your neighbor's" (Exodus 20:12–17).
We pray that the Lord’s Supper would increase the keeping of this great commandment: that we believe on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and love one another. We pray that this is increased in us at the end of the Lord’s Supper in the post-communion collect that’s prayed most Sundays, where we say: "We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another" (Lutheran Service Book, Post-Communion Collect; see also Apology of the Augsburg Confession IV, 72–73).
Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus and love one another. Faith in God and fervent love for our neighbor is the sum of the Christian life.
Faith and love go together. To believe and love are one. "You cannot believe without loving. You cannot love without believing." Our Lutheran Confessions say, "Love is a fruit that surely and necessarily also follows true faith. The fact that a person does not love is a sure sign that he is not justified. He is still in death or has lost the righteousness of faith again" (Formula of Concord, SD IV, 10–11).
As John says, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death" (1 John 3:14). This fruit of love does not make us righteous.
It is not something that avails before God, the love that we perform. Only Christ’s perfect righteousness can be there in front of God, in between us and the wrath of God, and that’s the only thing that does us any good before His judgment seat, is Christ’s perfect love (Philippians 3:9; Apology of the Augsburg Confession IV, 56–57).
But true and living faith, the faith by which we are counted righteous—just like you heard in the Old Testament, that "Abram believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6)—that true faith does show itself in love.
It doesn’t exist apart from that. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). That’s what that means.
Love naturally and necessarily flows from true faith. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:8–10).
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2:11–14).
This truth, the inseparable nature of faith and love in the Christian, must be kept in the forefront of our minds when we hear the story of the rich man and Lazarus. We’ve got to keep it there, lest we take the wrong lesson away from our Gospel.
When you hear the rich man’s situation in life, you may think of the words of Psalm 52: "Here is the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness" (Psalm 52:7).
Maybe that was put on his gravestone. You might think of that.
You may think of the wealthy in this world, some bad actors who profit off war, use their money to influence politicians, buy up land and homes so that it becomes more and more difficult for the average person to own anything. You might think of wealthy people in congregations or organizations who use their money to get what they want, holding donations over the pastors or leaders, threatening to leave or cease their contributions unless the congregation gives in to their demands. You might think of all that when you think of the rich in this world.
I’m sure you could think of a great many examples of wealthy people behaving badly. I’m sure you can find so many reasons for why you fit the part of Lazarus in the story much better. You, after all, have student loans, maybe.
You’re still paying off. Consumer debt. A fixed income.
You barely have enough left over to put a little in the offering plate at church. The last thing you do every day is feast sumptuously. The rich and wealthy around you, they are the ones who trust in the abundance of their riches and strengthen themselves in wickedness (Psalm 52:7).
They are the ones who "lay up treasure for themselves and are not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21). You are like a green olive tree in the house of God (Psalm 52:8). You, like Lazarus—whose name means "God has helped"—are the one who trusts in the mercy of God forever and ever rather than the abundance and pleasure of this life, right?
But being rich in this life is a lot more than having an abundance of possessions.
Although, looking out at you, I’d say, I doubt any of you could really say that you don’t have an abundance. You all got here and didn’t have to walk. None of you, as far as I know, are at risk of dying from starvation.
And we were living in abundance yesterday at the pool party. There were leftovers. But anyway, that’s just an aside.
It’s not just about the abundance of possessions. There are rich and poor saints, and there are rich and poor unbelievers. Being rich in this life is to fear, love, and trust in anyone or anything else more than you fear, love, and trust in God (Large Catechism I, 1–3).
It is to boast in yourself compared to others, no matter how evil you think they may be. To revel in the fact that you think there are other people out there who are so much less righteous than you. You cast out faith and love, the sum of the Christian life.
When you hear Jesus tell this story of the rich man and Lazarus and find yourself incapable of placing certain people in the place of Lazarus, covered in sores and in need of mercy, and perfectly satisfied with quickly placing people other than yourself in the place of the rich man.
But Scripture tells us, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself" (Galatians 6:1–3).
Do we have such faith, wrought by the Holy Spirit, that we can receive that word of God? Or have we set limits? I’ll bear with certain brothers and sisters overtaken in a trespass, but if it is bad enough, or they hurt me, or someone I care about, bad enough, then I’m done.
If you cannot see those caught in trespasses, even destructive trespasses, as a beggar full of sores, begging for crumbs, only managing to have disgusting stray dogs licking their sores, then you need to really recognize your part in this story....
How often have you reclined at your table, clothed in your excess, your self-righteousness, and self-obsession, and withheld that poor beggar, laying there, some crumbs, refusing crumbs to the beggars at your feet, failing to give crumbs of seeking to make reconciliation with enemies, the crumbs of admonishing them and calling them to repentance, in a spirit of gentleness, of prayer and forgiveness from the heart, of guarding their reputation, and only mentioning them in conversation when you can truly speak well of them—not tell nice lies, but just keep your mouth shut unless you can say something good about them—the crumbs of asking others to avoid speaking poorly of them, even defending the reputation of your enemies as best you can without lying.
Can’t you dip your finger in the water of Christ’s love and mercy that He has poured out on you in abundance to cool their tongue before there really is a chasm between you and them that we cannot cross? (Luke 16:24–26).
Can you turn away from the good things of this life, the abundance in your own life, these things that distract you from your vocations, and give crumbs of mercy—God’s word, prayer, your time and energy, and whatever else you owe those who are entrusted to you? Can you give those crumbs to your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, and the rest of those neighbors that God has placed in your path to serve? Can you give those crumbs in service here, in contributions to the mission of our congregation? Can you give crumbs to those who have authority over you, praying for them and showing honor to them according to their office, even when what they do and the decisions they make seem to you to be very bad ones? (Romans 13:1–7; 1 Timothy 2:1–2).
Can you do that? Will you hear Moses, the prophets, the Psalms, the apostles, and Christ Himself speaking to you in the word? Or are you one of those poor, unfortunate souls who would refuse to bless, pray for, forgive, and show mercy to your neighbor, even if one should rise from the dead and tell you himself to do it? (Luke 16:31; Matthew 5:44).
We are all beggars. Whether we are the wealthiest man or woman in the world, or the most poor and destitute homeless person, there is no distinction.
Each of us has more than we need, and in some way or other, in subtle or obvious ways, we hunger and thirst for more. We are born with an inborn inclination to feast sumptuously every day on the good things of this life, this constant craving for comfort, for security, for being seen as right, for being justified in our own eyes and in the eyes of others.
Jesus’ words before our Gospel, spoken to the Pharisees, could easily be applied to us in our worst moments, those times when we let our flesh gain the upper hand. He said this, just a few verses before this parable, to the Pharisees: "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
So what is the main point of this parable for us? It is not a warning to the earthly rich or comfort to the earthly poor, merely; it is a mirror held up to each of us, because you could be either person in the parable.
We are all beggars, spiritually impoverished, desperately in need of God’s mercy, like Lazarus the poor beggar. But we are also all inclined to feast sumptuously on the things of this world, to seek comfort and justification in things that cannot save, to put our trust in things that cannot save, like the rich man saying, "No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent" (Luke 16:30). And we are all prone to neglect the Lazarus at our gate, whether that is our neighbor in need, our own children, a brother or sister who has wronged us, or an enemy.
But the story does not end with condemnation, not for us Christians, when we struggle in these things; it ends with a promise. The commandment is one: to believe in Christ and to love one another. Faith in Christ justifies us before God.
Love for our neighbor is the fruit of that faith. And if we find ourselves lacking in love, we are not meant to despair, but to come to Christ’s table, begging for what He has to give. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
What the Lord has to give us is that one thing needful that Abraham told the rich man about, that could keep his living brothers from going to hell in unbelief. The only thing that could: Moses and the prophets, the Old Testament Scriptures, the word of God, the means of grace, the implanted word which is able to save your souls (James 1:21).
It is there that we will find the word of Moses, the prophets, Christ, and His apostles, through which the Holy Spirit will work true and living faith that will cast out our doubts, unbelief, and idolatry, that will comfort our conscience when we are burdened with sins, that will give us consolation when we are weighed down with the concerns and cares of this world.
Through these powerful gifts, the Holy Spirit will cause you to bear much fruit in true, genuine, God-pleasing love, for "faith is bound to bring forth good fruit" (Augsburg Confession VI, 1).
The end of the Gospel, depending on who is hearing it, could be a condemnation or it could be a comfort. You are a Christian.
You’re baptized in the Triune God’s name. You’re washed in His blood. And so when Abraham tells these words to the rich man, that Jesus is really speaking to those Pharisees who are going to crucify Him and they’re not going to believe after He’s risen from the dead, those words are a condemnation to them for their unbelief.
But for us, it is a comfort in doubt, in affliction, in trial, in uncertainty. You have the word of the prophets and apostles. Hear them.
Keep them and treasure them. And you will be saved in body and soul. And you will be able to withstand the darts of the devil, the violence and unbelief of this sinful world.
And you will be able to war against your sinful flesh. It’s a promise for us Christians what Jesus says at the end, even while it is a condemnation of those who would plug their ears to it.
Let us pray. Lord God, heavenly Father, rule and govern our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that we may not, like the rich man, hear Your Word in vain and become so devoted to worldly things that we forget eternal things, but that we serve those who are in need and not defile ourselves with carousing and pride. Keep us from despair when we experience trials and misfortunes and move us to trust wholly in your fatherly help and grace, so that in faith and Christian patience we may overcome all things; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
For more about who we are and what we believe, visit the St. Thomas homepage.
