Authentic Salvation

 Authentic Salvation

Isaiah 60: 1-6

Matthew 2: 1-12

            I recently watched the DVD series entitled “Left Behind” starring Kirk Cameron based on the book series of the same name.  This series, which is based on various prophetic passages of the Bible, is about the Rapture and the rise to power of the Anti-Christ.  The Rapture is the belief that before the end of the world and coming of the Anti-Christ, all who profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be taken to heaven to be with God, including all children.  Those who do not believe are left behind, hence the title. 

The Anti-Christ rises to power in the midst of the chaos of the Rapture and takes control of the entire world.  The Anti-Christ is suave and smooth talker who is always speaking of world peace.  He tells the people of the world that there is no God, no heaven or hell, only the here and now.  Part of the new motto for the world is, “God is us.”  The Anti-Christ is seen as a god.  And even though he speaks of peace and unity to the world, behind the scenes he is an angry, violent killer, manipulating those all around him. 

There are some who were left behind, but came to know Christ because of it.  They are working hard to reveal the truth about the Anti-Christ.  They want to show the world who the real God is and where authentic salvation comes from.  They want to reveal to the world in whom they should put their trust – Jesus Christ.  In whom do you trust?  In whom do you find the truth?

            The Wise Men of our text trust that Jesus Christ is the long awaited King of the Jews.  The whole world at this time in history waited expectantly for God to act in some way to transform and redeem the world.  The wise men know this in their head as well as their heart.  They are priestly sages from the Median tribe in Persia, men of holiness and wisdom, skilled in the areas of philosophy, medicine and natural science.  They were teachers and instructors of the Persian kings as well as experts in astrology and the interpretation of dreams.  They trusted that Jesus is the King of the Jews and the King of all creation.

The Wise Men, the Magi, seek the truth.  Guided by God, they are outsiders, representing non-Jews, the Gentiles, who seek the true King of the Jews, not Herod but Jesus Christ.  These outsiders do not stumble onto the Messiah as if by accident.  They search with purpose and are directed each step of the way by a divine hand.  In whom do you trust?  In whom do you find the truth?

            I believe if we asked King Herod this question he probably couldn’t give you a straight answer because, based on what we know of him, he doesn’t trust anybody.  He was a bitter, savage, warped man who was so paranoid that he had his own wife and her mother killed.  He later had his three sons assassinated.  He didn’t trust anybody.  And the report of the birth of the Jesus, the King of the Jews, caused him great anxiety.  He was worried and greatly concerned because he thought everyone was out to get him and take his power away.  Herod is the kind of king who only looks out for himself and his own interest.  His plot to have the wise men search out and identify this “rival king” for him backfires when the wise men are directed through a dream to take an alternate route home.  Herod represents the imperial earthly powers, always imposing and conspiring, but threatened and ultimately frustrated by the true king, King Jesus.  In your daily lives, in whom do you trust?  In whom do you find the truth?

            Trust is a rare commodity these days.  It seems like you can not put your trust in anyone or anything.  Trust is essential for us in all areas of our lives: personal and professional. 

            The parent of a teenager, for the sake of their child, must put their trust in their son or daughter, especially when they go out on a Friday or Saturday night, trusting that they will return home safely later that evening.  When you travel by plane, you must trust in the pilots of the plane, the mechanical workings of the plane, and the air traffic controllers across the country to fly you safely to your desired destination.  When you travel in your car, you must trust in your own driving ability and trust the other drivers on the road to pay attention, be aware of their surroundings, and obey the traffic laws.  Otherwise, you can have a serious accident.

In fact, one could argue that trust is a crucial part of capitalism in general and specifically our financial system.  A man named Sam Clarke of Poulsbo, Washington, in a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal this week stated that trust is necessary for capitalism to function properly.  He says trust leads to collaboration between all sectors of the economy, “but collaboration is impossible without trust, which in turn is based on legitimate trustworthiness.”  For example, an employer must trust his employees will not steal from them.  An employee must trust their employer will pay them what was promised in their agreed upon terms of employment.  Mr. Clarke concludes by saying, “No amount of information can protect a business if his subordinates, or partners, or investors are determined to break their trust.”  Do you completely trust in your employer and in your employees?  Do you trust in your bank, your financial advisor, your accountant? 

In whom do you trust?  In whom do you find the truth?

This past year, 2008, was the 3rd worst year for the stock market since 1931.  There were a lot of companies, individuals and government agencies who contributed to the financial meltdown this past year.  The biggest story to come out of this mess involved Mr. Bernard Madoff.  For decades, as an investor, he gained the trust of thousands of clients that included individuals, educational institutions, banks and more from around the world to invest their money with him and his firm.  They put their trust in Mr. Madoff to invest and manage their financial investments.  These investments involved millions and billions of dollars.  It turns out, for all these many years, Mr. Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme.  A Ponzi scheme is “a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors out of the money paid by subsequent investors rather than from the profit earned.”  This has Mr. Madoff in a heap of trouble with the government and is now under house arrest.  The level of trust Mr. Madoff had attained came crashing down.  Those investors, even those who six days before he was arrested invested ten million dollars with Mr. Madoff, put their trust in Mr. Madoff’s firm.  Now they are out millions and billions of dollars.  Endowments of major institutions who invested with Mr. Madoff have diminished dramatically.  One client in France lost so much money that he committed suicide because of it.  In whom do you trust?  In whom do you find the truth?

Any trust we put in human beings and human endeavors are not risk-free.  They always have the potential to turn on us and hurt us.  Even the best doctor makes the occasional medical error; even airplanes occasionally don’t make it to their original destination; even the best driver has the occasional accident; even the best financial expert makes the occasional bad decision.  They aren’t always right or what they seem to be.  They’re not one hundred percent reliable. 

I profess to you today that when we put our trust in Jesus Christ we get our life straightened out.  The Bible says in the Gospel of John that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He is worthy of our trust and attention.  When we put our trust in Christ, we receive the gift of eternal salvation, authenticated by the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus himself.  The Bible says that “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”. (John 3:17) 

We need to fully put our trust in Christ.  I believe that with God in Christ all things are possible.  When the world lets you down, when you lose money on your investments, when your trust is broken by someone you trusted, God in Christ is always there.  We trust in God in Christ for the truth, the real deal, the true master and ruler of all.  We trust in God in Christ because Christ loves us without question or doubt.  Jesus Christ is always with us and wants to act in our lives.  I believe Christ wants the best for us and wants you and me to give our very best in all that we do to Him.  We do this through our relationships with family and friends, with our jobs, our school work, and when we are home alone surfing the internet. 

God is always with us; fully reliable in times of need and sorrow; fully reliable in times of joy and celebration.  No matter how inadequate we may feel, God is the God of all, revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, the one in whom we can place our trust and find the truth.

May you discover the authentic salvation Christ came to offer.  Amen.