Therefore

Here at St. Peter this weekend, we had the opportunity to bid farewell and Godspeed to a faithful pastor of this congregation for over 18 years, Pastor Rob Kasper. In his final sermon to us, Pastor Kasper urged us to understand our identity as the people of God and to live in the proper "therefore."

"Therefore" is a significant word in the Scriptures, setting us up to understand a present reality made possible by a truth that is already established and accomplished. Because we are simultaneously saints and sinners, we live in a couple "therefores" at the same time:

We live in the "therefore" of death. That is the message of God's just law. Sinners do not go unpunished. Perhaps in this life there is a measure that people get away with, but that will not be the reality forever. Paul says clearly in Romans 6, "The wages of sin is death." We are sinners - therefore, we have a justly given death sentence for our rebellion against the Creator of all life. But the grave is not the only place where this condition of ours makes itself known. Sin doesn't always kill us all at once - sometimes it takes its time, because in taking its time, it has a better chance to infect and destroy the relationships we have with those around us.

However, we live in a better, more glorious "therefore" because we are God's saints, His chosen holy ones because of Jesus: we live in the "therefore" of life. This was the "therefore" that Pastor Kasper had us dwell in and consider this weekend. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:58, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." This "therefore" is an admonition to confident trust in the Lord and to diligent service in His name, but it is true for us only because we have a Lord who has proven Himself forever faithful and trustworthy by means of His resurrection from the dead (the context of 1 Corinthians 15).

As you read and consider the "therefores" of Scripture, remember the promises of God for you made sure in Christ - He is the Truth who ushers you into a better "therefore."