The Word is Profitable

. . . for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23

The Two Words of God: Law and Gospel

God’s Word is Profitable

NAB 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

Thus states St. Paul to a young pastor named Timothy. God has given to us the Scriptures for the purpose of creating, sustaining, and prospering our faith and our Christian lives. God’s Word is not just a book that conveys information, rather it imparts to us spiritual blessings of faith while it conveys to us the forgiveness of our sins which was earned through Jesus Christ. As the passage states in the corner, we have been born of God’s Word. It is not a dead word. It is a powerful life changing, life creating Word.

All of God’s Word is profitable. It is not merely a guide or manual for life or even for spirituality, but is actual a life giving Word. God works through His Word to bring us to rebirth, to forgive our sins, and grant us eternal life. God’s Word is an instrument He uses to bring us to Himself, to faith, to forgiveness, and to eternal life.

NAB James 1:18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Faith itself is created and born by hearing God’s Word.

NAB Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

God’s Word is powerful and able to create faith because God uses it to point us to the one who gave His life to save us. All of Scripture points to Jesus. The Old Testament promised He would come and promised the salvation of our sins. The New Testament reveals the fulfillment of these promises and points us forward to the great promise of eternal life.

NAB John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;

God works through His Word to create, sustain, and prosper faith through two kinds of words. We call them law and Gospel. Sometimes our God speaks to us in such a way that we see ourselves as we truly are: sinful, without righteousness, and under judgment. At other times God speaks to us as forgiven, cleansed, and renewed by the grace of Christ. Sometimes God commands and we see that we fail. At other times God focuses on what He has done for us who have failed. These are not contradictory words, but two sides of the same coin. We need to hear words of truth about ourselves. We need to know we are without righteousness. We need to understand how sinful and corrupt we are so that we do not delude ourselves by thinking we can please God and earn His forgiveness. God wants us to know we cannot rely upon anything in ourselves so that we are saved. But God most certainly wants us to know we can rely upon Him. That despite of our inability to be holy, despite of our sin, God has made a way to forgive us.

The Law

God first of all brings us to a deep and often painful truth about ourselves. God’s Word alone is able to penetrate our lives and show us the truth even about ourselves.

NAB Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

God has given us commandments for life. They are clear and understandable. But no matter how hard we try we cannot keep them. If we truly examine ourselves we see just how often we do fail, how often we do not love others, how often we are selfish. Not one of us is exempt. God’s Word forces us to face the painful truth.

NAB Romans 3:10 as it is written, "there is none righteous, not even one;

Many people think that we must try harder to follow God’s commands, because going to heaven depends on it. But God’s Word reveals to us a frightening truth. We cannot keep them no matter how hard we try. There is no hope of heaven, only dreadful judgment if we try to earn our way to heaven by improving our human nature.

NAB Romans 3:20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

One main purpose God gave the Law to us was so that we would see just how sinful we are and recognize the truth. In ourselves we have no hope of heaven. Human beings deserve nothing but to be separated from God forever. There is not argument against this truth: it is the declaration of God’s Word.

NAB Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;

The Gospel

We exist and live human lives that have nothing in them to redeem them. But God does not stop with words of Law. He speaks the Law to make us see the truth about ourselves so that then He may speak the truth about Himself. He is a gracious God. He is a God who loves us. He is a God who wants us with Himself. He is a God who makes it possible. The Gospel is that Word of God which shows us His love and mercy.

NAB John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16 is perhaps the most famous word of Gospel. It is all there. God loved us all and made a way for us to be with Him, through the death of His only Son on the cross. So now all who trust in this gift will receive it in full.

The Scripture is full of God’s declaration of mercy. He does not say that what we do does not matter, nor does He say sin will not be punished. Rather God punishes sin upon the cross as Jesus bears our sin for us. He does not overlook sin; He forgives sin. It is God’s gift to us. It is a gift that is declared and delivered to us through the good news, the Gospel, that Jesus Christ has died for our sins so that they are forgiven.

NAB Romans 3:24 -25 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

Rev. David D. Reedy 2002

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

Dayton Tennessee

423.775.4253

Prince of Peace is a LCMS congregation located in Rhea County Tennessee, serving the entire county of some 32,000 people.