The Burden of Man Forgiven

A sermon written by Theodore Thompson

Brought to you by Theodore Nance, his Grandson

Todays date: June 12, 2022

I write this entry in a place my Grandfather visited on many occasions and loved to be. I write it from his home state of Minnesota, from the shore of Tenmile Lake, at the cottage my Great Grandfather began to build in 1953, on the land God gave us. It feels special being here not because of the beauty and peacefulness, not because of the sounds of the loons and the ducks or because of the dozens of fish we all caught nor the never ending green landscapes. It special to me because this is a place where my ancestors came to find peace and happiness together. It is as though I can feel their presence when I am here. As though My Grandpa Ted is standing behind me, hand on my shoulder writing this with me.

The core of Biblical theology holds that all is not right with man. A fatal flaw has happened to man, man somewhere in the course of his existence has become alienated from God. You can read from Genesis to Revelation, and you will find that the Bible is shot through with emotions which deal with man’s alienation from God.

In the opening chapters of the Bible, you find Adam rebelling against God. And then Cain the first killer comes on the scene. The age of Noah had so many adult delinquents that God has to cause a universal flood. Later even such towering figures as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prove to be men capable of sin. In the wilderness journey we meet Moses constantly troubled because the chosen people of Israel prove to be idolators and lovers of pleasure. David and Solomon found the Hebrew dynasty and establish a true nation of Israel, but this holy commonwealth constantly proves to be a nation of Baal worshipers. Later, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel loom as somber prophets of doom to the Jewish nation living in iniquity and rebellion against God.

In all points in the Old Testament history of the Jews we notice sin, a fatal flaw, a continued rebellion at the Jews for I believe in Old Testament simply illustrates the history of all men.

Turning to the New Testament we read “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” In the New Testament we find a warning of wars and rumors of wars until the end of time. In the New Testament we find Christ speaking of proud Pharisees, ungenerous rich men, wicked servants, and of a way which is narrow which few men shall enter. Both the Old and New Testaments portray very graphically the rebellion of man; they portray a fatal flaw in the nature of man which alienates a man for God. The basic story of the Bible is that man sins and that the loving and holy heavenly Father has provided his son, Jesus Christ to take away the sin of the world.

Today in our text Christ says: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” In the setting of this text Christ is speaking to any who are heavy laden with the many Jewish religious laws. But I also think he is speaking to any man who are heavy laden because of the yoke of sin and its results.

A few years ago, it was rather naively stated that man is getting better all the time. Man has no fatal flaw; man simply makes mistakes. It was maintained that science and materialistic progress would so improve man that he would no longer be heavy laden under the yoke of sin. It was and even is today maintained by some, that man has simply to think right and he will be right.

Much of this type of thinking has been dispelled because of such names as Okinawa, Midway, Dachau and Buchenwald. Ann Frank and 5 million other exterminated Jews served to remind men that perhaps all is not right with man; perhaps man does have a fatal flaw. And Poland, Hungary, Korea, and the events of the last ten years have seared into the consciousness of men that there is no easy solution to the problems of man.

Some will say, “Yes, the international state of man is bad, but just plain Joe is okay. Just plain Joe is a great guy. Just plain Joe pays his bills, feeds his kids, stays home at night, and doesn’t beat his wife. Just plain Joe is a great guy. Just plain Joe is an average guy, and all average guys are going to inherit eternal life,” according to the thinking of some. But the truth of the matter is that average man U.S.A. also has the fatal flaw. Just plain Joe if he will confess his sins would admit that he seeks popularity, is envious of others and has the usual sins of pride, greed, lust, and self-seeking that all men have always had.

And lest any suppose man isn’t too God. Let us say a man, any of us, were able to be perfect on any one day. We would then just meet the requirements of God for that day. 100% is passing in God’s law for life, and even if we were perfect for one year or one day, we would still not have earned any credits for any of the other years of our life. In any direction man turns without Christ, man is an unprofitable servant. This is the message of the Bible.

But we know about the nature of man, all men. We know that we sin, and we know that others like us sin. But God is not only displeased with us because we sin, God sent Christ because God has plans for man. Christ said, “Come unto me all you that are heaven laden” because Christ wanted man to take his yoke. You see God is out to do more with his children than provide them with food, clothing, and the toys and gadgets that science and industry can supply. I feel that whether man rides a donkey or flies an airplane is of little interest to God. God is not primarily concerned in producing generations of well stuffed, gadget happy, materialistic people. The real aim of God is that just plain Joe, all men heed the words: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” God is far more interested that we learn from Christ and grow in the image of Christ, than He is interested that we ever make any scientific progress.

And what is the yoke of Christ? The yoke of Christ is that man serves God, carries out the plans of God in history. In 1 Peter 1:5 we read that Christens are “To be a holy priesthood” and later on we read “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” You see we Christians are called to by a holy nation a royal priesthood. We are in the words of Romans 1:5 “to bring obedience to the faith for the sake of this name among all nations.” To bring all men to the place where they will accept Christ as Savior. Man is destined to live as a Son of God who takes himself upon the yoke of Christ which is declaring Christ to the world. This is the high calling of all men, regardless of their race or station in life.

I think we would all be thrilled and honored if President Eisenhower would come to us and say: “I want you to be my special ambassador to Afghanistan. I want you to go there and help them with their economic problems. I want to try to improve the lot of the Afghanistan people.” Well, this is what God, the mighty sovereign of the Universe says to us.

We have thus far dealt with the nature of men from an objective viewpoint. We have said that internationally we can note a fatal flaw in man that causes wars and worldwide suffering. We also noted that even on the local individual level each man has a fatal flaw that causes him to fall far short of the will of God.

But what about the subjective nature of man? Where do the words “come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden,” fit into the subjective nature of man. It is said by the psychologists that in order to hold his head up high and face the world with confidence, man needs self-acceptance. Whether we wish to believe it or not, man forever finds himself comparing himself by the commandments of God/ The fact that God is automatically means that unsaved man is going to have a quilt problem. Guilt can be defined as the gap between the ought and the is. We find that we ought to serve God completely, we ought to love our neighbor, we ought to harbor no resentments, but we cannot do these things in our own strength, so we rationalize. We rationalize because we cannot manage a feeling of guilt.

Rationalizations take many forms in society. The gap between the ‘ought’ and the ‘is’ often bridged by words which remind us of the Pharisees in the temple. I mend my fences; I pay my taxes. I don’t talk religion or butt into other people’s affairs. I give to the United Fund and I’m as good as the next man, but who doesn’t?

Such rationalizations may satisfy a man for a while, but the commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your strength and with all you mind” constantly stands before man.

Each of us, when we begin reliving the biography of our lives find that each day we get angry at our wife, boss, or neighbor. Each day we find that we say unkind or slanderous words. Each day we harbor ill will or resentment. As we further review our lives and explore our past, we find that there are wrong acts which reoccur to our mins years after they have been committed. Perhaps we let down some friend in need; perhaps there are sins in some lives of theft, or sex, or conscious slander of some friend. In the last few weeks, we have heard much of Charles Van Doren and his fraud on T.V. Van Doren is now a man with a ruined reputation which no amount of money will buy back. Van Doren will always have to go through life with a guilty conscience knowing that everyone knows he cheated society. We may point our fingers at Van Doren, but in reality, we all are Van Doren’s in one way or another. We have all committed deeds which we should not wish to be exposed for all to see; and we do so each day.

Modern psychology talks much of the unconscious mind and repression and guilt. And our own experiences bear this out. We find as I have said that some of these sins which have been talking about bother us years after the commitment of the deed. Some chance reward on a TV show or a passage in a book brings the event to our minds as vividly as if the event were done that day. Rationalizations don’t work. Man is always haunted by his past and present. At the end of every rationalization stands the commandments of God. Those festering sins in the subconscious never heal. They may have become dulled but years later some event recalls them vividly.

Because sin never heals, activities and events are used as a cover up. Ma tries to laugh, look at T.V., drink, fight, get two jobs, and take tranquilizers to escape himself. But it can’t be done. God constantly confronts every man. The words of St. Augustine ever remain true; “Man is not at rest until he is at rest in thee.” Martin Luther said: “If a man could comprehend the great excellency of this matter, that he is the son and heir of God, this man would esteem all the power and riches of the Kingdoms of the world, but as filthy dung in comparison to his eternal inheritance.” Luther realized fully that to be a forgiven Son of God is a pearl of great price, the answer for the troubled soul of man. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The great news, the hallelujah of the gospel is that our guilt can be removed. Van Doren would be very happy if everyone in this country would forgive and forget his error. But man cannot perfectly forget. The message of the Bible is, however, that for Christian sins are not only forgiven, but completely forgotten in the eyes of God. Those festering sins deep in the subconscious mind can be forgiven, if only man will come to God and repent. Repentance is the key. Any one of us without Christ must be conscious of our guilt. We must admit guilt and come to Christ for the soothing words of forgiveness that Christ offers the repentant man.

There are four positive and practical results that forgiveness brings upon man. The forgiven man no longer needs to rationalize to try to cover up his sins, to say I’m as good as the next guy. The forgiven man no longer needs to rationalize because God has forgiven him. Secondly, the Christian, the forgiven man can accept himself; he can stand up and face the Wednesday with confidence; he can have peace because he is accepted by God. Thirdly, the Christian, the forgiven man has joy because he no longer has to brood over the dark shadow which haunts all men. This is the how of death that haunts man from his birth, to the grave. The Christian knows that at the end of life’s way stands a heavenly home prepared by his heavenly Father. And finally, the Christian has a sense of gratitude for who cannot but feel gratitude for the forgiveness God offers man.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for my yoke, glory and my “Christian weight”.

St. Paul who took upon himself the yoke of service for Christ was beaten, so=toned, and shipwrecked and yet he continually praised God. I am certain that Paul would have called the yoke of Christ easy. Why? Because of forgiveness. No matter how much work we o in service of Christ, we too will find the yoke of Christ easy because of our thankfulness for forgiveness because of the removal of our guilt. The objective sins of man on a worldwide and individual scale such as war, greed, lust, and selfishness show that man needs a redeemer who can forgive.

The fatal flaw can be forgiven. To those who labor and are heavy laden under sin and guilt, the message of Christ today is: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Come and you will find that “he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” If you wish to hear the heavenly chorus of forgiveness, come. IF you wish to fulfill your destiny and become a Son of God, come. If you wish to be numbered among the forgiven saints of all ages, come. The gentle Galilean, the Lord of creation, Jesus Christ stands to all who will come and forgiving as the redeeming Lamb of God.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.