Cross of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church

Cross of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church We believe that salvation can not be earned, but is freely given to those who believe that Jesus, true God and true man, is their Savior.

We are a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. We are led by God's servant Pastor Scott Schultz. We worship every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

09/06/2026

Here is the message for Sunday, September 6. God bless!

Galatians 2:11-16

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our sermon reading for today is from Galatians 2:11-16. Since we read this earlier, I am just going to read verse 14 for us to focus on in our sermon. We read. This is God’s Word.
When danger strikes, such as a house fire, violence in the streets, or a violent storm, most people instinctively run away from it to go to a safe place. However, first responders, such as firefighters, police officers, and paramedics do the exact opposite. They run towards the danger that everyone else is fleeing from. They put their lives on the line by entering burning buildings, going near the violence in the streets, and standing out in a violent storm to protect others. Just think about all the first responders who served and lost their lives on 9/11 25 years ago.
Today we will learn how our Savior Jesus calls us Christians to be spiritual first responders when we see a fellow Christian caught in a sin. We’ll learn how by first turning to our sermon series entitled, “Unexpected Truths.” In this sermon series we are learning when we put our human reason and personally feelings aside and look at what the Bible, which is God’s Word, says about Who God really is and what He is really like, it reveals truths that are truly unexpected because they are far better than anyone could have ever reasoned or even imagined. Today, we will learn the unexpected truth about what we Christians are to do when we see a fellow Christian caught in a sin by answering this question, “Why are Christians to be their brother’s keepers?”
We’ll answer this question by first turning to our sermon reading from the book of Galatians. The author of this book is the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote this book to Christian churches in Galatia, which is in modern day Turkey. In our reading, Paul tells the Galatians and us today when he was in the city of Antioch in Syria, the Apostle Peter came for a visit. When he first arrived, Peter ate the same food the Gentile Christians, which is people who aren’t Jews, ate even though it was against the Mosaic Law because he knew people were saved through faith in Jesus as their Savior and not by obeying the Mosaic Law. However, when Jews came from Jerusalem, Peter started eating only food that was allowed by the Mosaic Law. When other Jewish Christians saw Peter do this, they did the same thing because Peter’s actions led them to believe people were saved by believing in Jesus as their Savior AND by obeying the Mosaic Law. Since people’s salvations were in danger, Paul did something unexpected. He confronted Peter in front of everyone. He said to him in verse 14, “If you, a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, why do you compel the Gentiles to live like the Jews?” Paul said this to Peter, so he repented of his sins and would still go to heaven, and also so the Jewish Christians believed they were saved through faith in Jesus as their Savior and not by obeying the Mosaic law so they would as well.
What Paul did to Peter was certainly unexpected. After all, Peter was one of the leaders of the Christian Church. But Paul acted as his brother’s keeper because Jesus commands all Christians, including you and me, to confront any Christian who is unrepentant. Listen to what Jesus says in our gospel reading from Matthew 18:15. He says, “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his sin just between the two of you.” Here Jesus tells us when we see a brother, that is a fellow Christian, skipping church all the time, getting drunk, living with their boyfriend or girlfriend, getting divorced for unbiblical reasons, or committing other sins, we must confront them about it. I must clarify Jesus is not telling us to be Bible thumpers and point out every single sin people commit. Instead, we must confront Christians who have made it clear by their words and actions they are unrepentant or not sorry for their sins. The reason Jesus commands us to be our brother’s keeper is Key Point #1: because anyone who is unrepentant of their sins will not go to heaven. Even though these people may say they believe in Jesus, they are unbelievers because by their refusal to live their faith and obey God’s commands they are saying they don’t want Jesus to forgive their sins.
Now if you remember back to Confirmation Class, this is called the Ministry of the Keys. In our gospel reading, Jesus explains in more detail how we are to carry this out. First, Jesus tells us when we see a Christian family member, friend, or church member who is clearly unrepentant of their sins we should go and talk to them one on one. We should tell them they need to repent of their sins and ask God to forgive them. If they refuse, we must use the locking or binding key on them by saying, “As long as you refuse to repent of your sins, you are an unbeliever. Your sins are not forgiven, and you are locked out of heaven.” But, if they repent, we must use the unlocking or loosing key on them by saying, “Since you have repented of your sins, you are a believer. Your sins are forgiven, and heaven is open to you.” Sadly, people aren’t always going to repent the first time we confront them. That is why Jesus tells us the next step is we must bring 1 or more people along with us, so they realize just how serious their unrepentance is. If they still refuse to repent, then we must tell our church’s pastor and Elders about it. If they refuse to repent even after the pastor and Elders talks to them, then the church must use the Public Use of the Keys by using the locking key to excommunicate them from the church. Though this may seem like an unloving action, it is very loving. When the church excommunicates someone, they are telling that person as long as they refuse to repent, they are an unbeliever and will go to hell. The hope is they see how serious this is and they repent. When they do, the church welcomes them back with open arms and uses the unlocking key to assure them they are a believer. Their sins are forgiven and will go to heaven. As Christians we serve as our brother’s keepers Key Point #2: because only repentant believers, that is people who are sorry for their sins, will go to heaven.
However, even though Jesus commands us to be our brother’s keepers, this is a very unexpected thing to do, especially in today’s society where people who commit serious crimes are at times declared innocent. As sinful human beings, our human reason and personal feelings convince us we have no right to be our brothers’ keepers and tell someone what they are doing is wrong. And so, naturally when we do confront an unrepentant Christian, they naturally make excuses to justify what they are doing is ok. Sometimes they get mad at us and attack us by saying things like we have no right to tell them how they should live their lives, or we are being unloving and judgmental, or we just want to kick them out of the church. Naturally, as sinful human beings ourselves, we Christians are very reluctant to confront an unrepentant Christian about their sins because we don’t to deal with these things. And so, our human reason and personal feelings come up with excuses to make ourselves feel better like, “I’m not my brother’s keeper, or I have no right to talk to that person about their sins because I am just as big of a sinner as they are, I don’t know what to say, or I don’t want to hurt my relationship with them.” But here is another unexpected truth. When we refuse to obey Jesus’ command to confront an unrepentant Christian, not only will that person remain unrepentant and be declared “guilty” by Jesus on Judgment Day and not go to heaven, but so will we.
It is certainly not easy being our brother’s keepers. Doing Elders work is by far the thing I like doing the least as a pastor. But like we learned last week, we must all take up our cross and follow Jesus and be our brother’s keeper even when it is hard. The only way we will find the courage and strength to do this is by remembering what Jesus did for us. Look at what Paul says in verse 16, “We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” It certainly was not easy for Jesus to live a sinless life and suffer and die on the cross. But Jesus’ love compelled Him to do it so that as Paul said in verse 16 Key Point #3: we, and all who have faith in Jesus as our Savior, are justified, that is we are declared not guilty of our sins, and we are certain we will go to heaven. However, God doesn’t just want us to believe in Him and go to heaven. Key Point #4: God loves all people and wants all people to go to heaven. And so out of love for all people, Jesus sends us repentant Christians to be our brother’s keepers and confront the unrepentant Christians we know so they repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus as their Savior and join us in heaven one day.
Now many people in our society will argue that it is very unloving for us to tell anyone, including an unrepentant Christian, what they are doing is wrong. Well, think about this for a moment. Imagine you are enjoying a nice summer day in your boat on Swan Lake. As you are driving along, you see someone who swims too far from the shore and is drowning. Which is the more loving thing to do? To tell that person everything will be alright, and then drive away and let them drown, or to help them into your boat and save their life. Obviously, it is more loving to save the person from drowning. In a similar way, Christian love compels us to do the unexpected. When we see a fellow Christian who is clearly unrepentant of their sins, we must be our brothers’ keeper and confront them about their sins to try and lead them to repentance. So they are a believer and Jesus and join us in heaven. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

09/06/2026

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost 9/6/26

08/30/2026

Here is the message for Sunday, August 30. God bless!

Romans 8:18-25

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our sermon reading for today is from Romans 8:18-25. Since we read this earlier, I am just going to read verse 18 for us to focus our attention on in our sermon. We read. This is God’s Word.
There are many Christian churches these days that preach a feelgood message. They say if you put your in faith in Jesus as your Savior and follow His instructions then God will reward you for following Him by giving you a happy earthly life. He will help you overcome your addictions. He will give peace in your homes. He will allow you to live a life with very little stress. He will make you successful and protect you from suffering and pain. That certainly sounds great, doesn’t it? It is easy to see why some of these churches are mega churches with thousands of members. But is this feelgood message that they preach the truth?
Well, let’s find out by first turning to our sermon series entitled, “Unexpected Truths.” In this sermon series we are learning when we put our human reason and personally feelings aside and look at what the Bible, which is God’s Word, says about Who God really is and what He is really like, it reveals truths that are truly unexpected because they are far better than anyone could have ever reasoned or even imagined. Today, we will learn what the unexpected truth about Christian suffering is by answering this question, “Why do Christians willingly carry their crosses?”
We’ll answer this question by first turning to our sermon reading from the book of Romans. The author of this book is the Apostle Paul who is considered to be the greatest Christian missionary of all time. Paul wrote this book to Christians living in the city of Rome, Italy. In our reading Paul tells us whether or not Christians will face suffering in their lives. Look at what he says in verses 18,20. He says, “18 For I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us…20 For creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it.” Here is the unexpected truth that Paul makes clear in our reading. We, Christians, will not always live peaceful happy lives. In fact, we often face many kinds of sufferings or troubles. The reason we, like all people, face sufferings in our lives is because we are sinful human beings who live with other sinful human beings in a fallen sinful world. This is why the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh daily tempt us to sin against God by skipping church, lying to our spouse to avoid getting into trouble, gossiping to make ourselves feel good, and so on. This is why we deal with bad weather, pets that don’t listen to us, and cars and homes that break down. This is why we get sick and people we love die. This is why we Christians are ridiculed for our beliefs and even put to death in some countries around the world.
Yes, contrary to what some Christian churches teach, the unexpected truth is, we Christians do face sufferings in our lives. But now look at what Jesus says in our gospel reading we Christians are to do when we face them. He says in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Here Jesus tells us when we, Christians, face sufferings in our lives Key Point #1: we must carry our crosses and follow him. But what does Jesus mean by this? Should we carry around a huge wooden cross like the one above our altar wherever we go? Obviously not! Instead, as Christians we need to remember we are part of the Church Militant. The Church Militant is all believers here on earth. We are called the Church Militant because just as soldiers in the military fight against a nation’s enemies, so also we Christians daily pick up our crosses by fighting against the temptations we face, and by fighting against the desire to give up our faith in Jesus in the face of suffering and follow Him our entire lives.
The truth is this is by no means easy for us to do. As sinful human beings, we are very reluctant to take up our crosses because we want to live happy and peaceful lives now. The devil, the world, and our sinful flesh know this. This is why day after day, they use our human reason and personal feelings to convince us to think we deserve to live happy and peaceful earthly lives because we are Christians, and we should do whatever it takes to achieve it. And so, we daily lay down our crosses and follow ourselves instead of following Jesus. For example, we willingly give into temptation to skip church so we can make extra money, lie to our spouse to avoid getting into trouble, gossip about others to make ourselves feel good, and commit whatever other sin we want that makes us happy. When we get sick, a loved one dies, our car breaks down, and we face other troubles we grumble and complain to God because we don’t think we should have to suffer for being Christians. When unbelievers ridicule us for what we believe, we remain silent and at times even agree with them to avoid being persecuted. Now here is the unexpected truth. Doing these things may make our earthly lives happier. But if we refuse to follow Jesus even when life is difficult, then we will live an absolutely miserable eternal life in hell.
Since it is very difficult for us Christians to carry our cross and follow Jseus, we need to always be reminded of the cross Jesus bore for us. As our all-knowing God, Jesus knew the suffering and pain He was going to endure on the cross. In our gospel reading this morning, Jesus told His disciples He was going to Jerusalem to suffer at the hands of the religious leaders and be killed. Yet, Jesus didn’t avoid His cross. His love for us compelled Him to walk step by step to it. There He willingly endured the cross’s shame and agony, and there He willingly gave His life into death. Key Point #2: Jesus willingly took up His cross to save us from our sins. His resurrection from the dead proves all the shame and agony Jesus endured on the cross was worth it for us.
In our reading Paul explains why. He says in verse 24, “ Indeed, it was for this hope we were saved.” Here Paul tells us that because of Jesus, we have the hope of being saved. Now typically when we use the word hope we say things like, “I hope the weather will be nice tomorrow, or I hope the Packers win their first game.” We don’t know if these things will happen. But the hope God gives us because of Jesus is different. It is a sure or certain hope. In verse 23 Paul tells us what we can be certain of because of Jesus. He says in verse 23, “And not only creation, but also we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we eagerly await our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” Here Paul is using an analogy from the Old Testament. Paul’s point is just as the Old Testament Israelites gave the very first produce gathered at the harvest as an offering to God to show they trusted God would bless the rest of their harvest, so also since God the Holy Spirit brought us to faith in Jesus as our Savior through the gospel and made us God’s adopted sons, we now have the certain hope God will give us the full rights of adoption when Jesus returns on Judgment Day. On that day, Jesus will destroy this fallen sinful world with fire and create for us a new heaven and a new earth to live in. Key Point #3: As Christians we have the certain hope that on that day we enjoy the crown of glory in heaven. There we will be part of the Church Triumphant, which is all believers in heaven who have triumphed over all the pain and suffering in this live. There Jesus will redeem us or set us free from sin and all the consequences we face because of it. There He will redeem our sinful bodies and change them into glorified bodes that never get sick, tired, or die. There He will redeem us or set us free from all sufferings forever.
While we wait for that day to come, Jesus could deliver us from all our sufferings, like some churches claim He does. But Paul tells why He doesn’t in verse 24 where he says, “But if we hope for something we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patient endurance.” The reason God allows us Christians to face sufferings in our lives is so we always hold onto the hope of the crown of glory that will one day be ours, and we never let it go. Think about this for a moment. If God gave us a perfect happy life now, we wouldn’t care if we believed in Him, served Him, or went to heaven because we have everything we want now. And so, God allows us Christians to suffer in this world Key Point #4: Because through it He gives us patient endurance. He makes us realize that the crosses we face now are only temporary, while the crown of glory we will enjoy will last forever. Confident of this, we pick up our cross and follow Jesus all throughout our lives. We put our faith in Him even in the face of suffering, and we struggle against the temptations we face to serve Jesus. We patiently endure whatever sufferings we face in our lives for Jesus because we know one day we will never suffer again.
Anyone who is a mother knows having a baby is not an easy task. Even with today’s modern medicine, the pregnancy can be very difficult, the labor is extremely painful, and the mental and physical recovery afterwards can take a long time. Yet, once a mother holds her newborn child in her arms, she knows all her pain and suffering were worth it. In a similar way, we Christians willingly pick up our crosses and follow Jesus, even when we must suffer for it because we know in the end it will all be worth it. We know the unexpected truth is first we must endure the cross, and then we will enjoy the crown of life. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

08/30/2026

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost August 30 2026

08/23/2026

Here is the message for Sunday, August 23. God bless!

Romans 10:5-13

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our sermon reading for today is from Romans 10:5-13. Since we read this earlier, I am just going to read verse 13 for us to focus our attention on in our sermon. We read. This is God’s Word.
In our gospel reading today, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” On the surface this seemed like a pretty easy straight forward question. But the reality is, it is the most important question ever asked. It is a question all people need to know the answer to because it determines where people will spend their eternity. Over the years many people have used their human reason and personal feelings to come up with answers that are expected. Many of the people of Jesus’ time believed He was either John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another prophet raised from the dead. Today many people believe Jesus was a prophet sent from God, a wise teacher Who taught us how to live so we have happier lives, a normal human being like you and me, or a made-up character in a book. But are any of these people, right?
To help us figure out what the truth about Jesus is, let’s turn to our sermon series entitled, “Unexpected Truths.” In this sermon series we are learning when we put our human reason and personally feelings aside and look at what the Bible, which is God’s Word, says about Who God really is and what He is really like, it reveals truths that are truly unexpected because they are far better than anyone could have ever reasoned or even imagined. Today we will learn what the unexpected truth about Jesus is by answering this question, “Why do we need to believe Jesus, the Son of Man, is our God and Savior?”
We’ll answer this question by first turning to our sermon reading from the book of Romans. The author of this book is the Apostle Paul who is considered to be the greatest Christian missionary of all time. Paul wrote this book to Christians living in the city of Rome, Italy. In our reading, Paul points out why many people used their human reason and personal feelings to conclude that Jesus was just a man who was a prophet, or a wise teacher, or a normal human being and not our God and Savior. Quoting Leviticus 18:5 Paul says in verse 5, “The one who does these things will live by them.” Here Paul reminds us, one of the reasons people believe Jesus is just a man and not our God and Savior is because they do not believe they need a Savior to save themselves from their sins. They believe if they try really hard to obey God’s Law then they can become righteous or holy in God’s sight and earn their way into heaven on their own. This belief is called “work righteousness”. It is the fundamental belief of all non-Christian religions like modern Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, as well as the Roman Catholic Church. However, when we look at what God says in the Bible, He reveals an unexpected truth. Paul tells us what it is in Romans 3:23 where he says, “because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Here Paul tells us the unexpected truth is Key Point #1: We and all other people cannot save ourselves by obeying the Law because we are not righteous. We have all disobeyed God’s law and sinned. We disobeyed God’s law when we refused to believe Jesus is our God and Savior, when we cursed, disobeyed our parents, skipped going to church, hated someone, lusted after someone, was greedy, gossiped about someone, and the list goes on. Since we have done this, look at what Paul says we and all people have actually earned. Paul says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.” Here Paul tells since we and all people have disobeyed God’s law and sinned, that instead of earning eternal salvation in heaven, we have earned eternal death in hell.
Now last week, we learned that one of the unexpected truths the Bible reveals to us about God is He loves all people and He wants all people to live with Him in heaven. In our reading, Paul tells us the unexpected truth about how God made this happen. He says in verse 9, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” In this verse Paul tells us the unexpected truth that contrary to popular belief Jesus is not just a man who was a prophet, or a wise teacher, or a normal human being. Key Point #2: Jesus really is our Lord God and Savior. To be clear, Jesus really is the Son of Man as well. Jesus is a human being like you and me. Jesus was born to human mother. Her name was Mary. Jesus has a body and soul. He grew. He ate. He slept. He bled, and He died. However, the Bible clearly teaches Jesus is also the second person of the Triune God. We can be certain of this because He is called God in verse 9, in our gospel reading, and in many other places in the Bible. The Bible also tells us He performed miracles, like walk on water. Now the reason Jesus needed to be both the Son of Man and the Son of God was so He could obey God’s law perfectly and live a righteous or holy life in our place. Then on the cross, Jesus suffered the punishment of hell that we and all people deserved for our sins, and there He died to pay for them. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves He is our God and Savior, and we are righteous or holy in God’s sight.
Now out of love, God the Father offers Jesus’ righteousness to all people as a free gift of His grace so all people can live with Him in heaven. Sadly, not everyone receives it. Paul explains who does in verse 6 where he says, “But the righteousness that comes by faith.” To help us understand what Paul means in this verse, I want you to think about Christmas. On Christmas, parents give all their children gifts, not because they deserve them, but because they love them. Some gifts children don’t like, while others love. In a similar way, God gives Jesus’ righteousness to all people, not because they deserve it, but as a free gift of His grace. Those who reject Jesus as their God and Savior and believe He was just a human being, or just a prophet, or just a made-up character in a book, are still considered to be sinners by God whom He will have no choice but to condemn to hell. While Key Point #3: those who have faith in Jesus as their God and Savior receive Jesus’ righteousness and will receive eternal salvation in heaven.
By God’s grace most, if not all of us here today, are righteous in God’s sight because God the Holy Spirit brought us to faith in Jesus as our God and Savior when we were baptized. Unfortunately, there is a big misconception among Christians today. Many Christians think just because they believe Jesus is their God and Savior that they can commit whatever sins they want because Jesus will just forgive them. But look at Paul says in verse 9. He says, “Certainly, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Here Paul tells us that in order to have saving faith we must not just believe in our hearts that Jesus is our God and Savior, but we must also live our faith. Think of saving faith like 2 sides of a coin. On the one side is heads which is our faith in Jesus, and on the other side is tails which is how we live our faith day after day by obeying God’s law. As Christians we don’t obey God’s law to earn our way into heaven because as we learned earlier that is impossible to do. Instead, we obey God’s law because we love Jesus and we want to show Him our thanks for making us righteous in God’s sight. Now there are certainly many ways we can obey God’s law. In our reading, Paul tells us one way we do this is by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is our God and Savior to others. As we learned last week, Key Point #4: God sends us to confess our faith to all people on earth, regardless of who they are or what they look like because God the Holy Spirit uses the gospel message we share to bring more people to faith in Jesus as their Savior and make them righteous in God’s sight. This is what God wants all people on earth to do. Paul tells us why in verse 13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Here Paul tells us the ultimate reason God wants all people to believe that Jesus, the Son of Man, is their God and Savior because Key Point #5: It is through faith in Jesus, we are saved from our sins and we will go to live with Jesus in heaven.
Before I close this sermon, I would like to issue everyone here a challenge to do this week. Pick one of these 2 things to do. Either, examine your heart to see if you really believe that Jesus, the Son of Man, is your God and Savior. If you don’t, pray that God opens your heart to believe He is. The other option is, pick one person you know whom you aren’t sure if they believe in Jesus as their God and Savior or not and ask them what they think about Jesus. Then listen to what they have to say. If they say they believe in Jesus as their Savior, great! If they don’t, tell them the unexpected truth that Jesus, the Son of Man is our God and Savior. Then let the Holy Spirit take over from there. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

08/23/2026

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost 08-23-26

08/16/2026

Here is the message for Sunday, August 16. God bless!

Ephesians 2:13-22

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our sermon reading for today is from Ephesians 2:13-22. Since we read this earlier, I am just going to read verse 19 for us to focus our attention on in our sermon. We read. This is God’s Word.
Many people in our society, and maybe some of us here today, are searching for the truth about Who God really is and what He is really like. Many use their own reason, intellect, and personal feelings to try and figure out why God allows suffering to occur in the world, whether or not God loves sinners, if Jesus is really God, and answers to other questions they have. So often when people use their own reason and feelings to answer their questions, they concluded God isn’t a loving God after all because He allows suffering to occur. We need to earn our way into heaven by our own good works, and Jesus can’t possibly be God because He was a human being Who was a convicted criminal. However, when people put their reason and feelings aside and look at what the Bible says, it reveals truths that are truly unexpected because they are far better than anyone could have ever reasoned or even imagined.
Now today we begin a new sermon series entitled, “Unexpected Truths.” In this sermon series we will learn about important truths the Bible teaches that are not what we would expect from our natural way of thinking. These truths are truly unexpected because they are far better than we could ever imagine. Today we will learn what one of these truths is by answering this question, “Why can we be certain God wants all people to belong to the Holy Christian Church?”
In order to answer this question, we first need to know what the Holy Christian Church is. A simple definition of the Holy Christian Church is, it is all who believe in Jesus as their Savior who live in heaven and on earth. Now using our human intellect and reason, we can’t help but conclude that God should only want certain people who are worthy to belong to the Holy Christian Church. And so, many Jews believe God considers them worthy to belong to the Holy Christian Church because they are His chosen people. He gave them the Mosaic Law and the promised land of Israel. Others believe God considers all good people like themselves to be worthy to belong to the Holy Christian Church because they are kind and loving to others, and they never did anything really bad like become addicted to drugs or spend time in jail. And others believe God considers people who look like them worthy to belong to the Holy Christian Church because they are Caucasian, straight, clean shaven, and nicely dressed. But here is the reality. God does not consider anyone worthy to belong to the Holy Christian Church because of who they are or what they have done. We and all people are by nature hostile to God. By nature, we hate God and do not want to obey His law, that is the Ten Commandments. Every day, we break God’s law such as when we arrogantly look down upon someone who is a different race, or who talks with an accent, or who has piercings and tattoos all over their bodies, or who is a homosexual, or who committed a horrible crime, or who is a Republican or Democrat. Since we and all people have sinned and broken God’s laws, God considers us not just foreigners and strangers to Him, but His enemies. As a holy and just God, God should want nothing to do with us. He should cast us from His presence into hell.
But here is the unexpected truth. Even though God should not want us or anyone else to belong to the Holy Christian Church, He still does. Look at what Paul says in verse 2. He says, “He made the two groups one by destroying the wall of hostility that divided them.” Here Paul tells us God wants 2 types of people to belong to the Holy Christian Church. They are Jews and Gentiles, that is people who are not Jewish. To put it another way, God wants all people to belong to the Holy Christian Church. We can be certain of this because in God’s Word, that is the Bible, Key Point #1: God says he wants all people to belong to the Church. Now think about who this includes. This includes Caucasians, Africans, Asians, and everyone else in between. It includes people who are straight and homosexuals. It includes people who are clean cut, and people with long hair, tattoos, and piercings all over their bodies. It includes people who are married, single, divorced, and who are living with their boyfriends and girlfriends, and both Republicans and Democrats. God wants all people to belong to the Holy Christian Church.
Here is what makes this truth even more unexpected. God doesn’t just say He wants all people to belong to the Holy Christian Church, He made it possible so all can. Paul tells us how in verse 16 where he says, “And he did this to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by putting the hostility to death on it.” Here Paul tells us the reason all people can belong to the Holy Christian Church is because Key Point #2: Jesus reconciled all people to God. The word reconcile means to restore someone to peace with another. This is what Jesus has done for us and all people. As I mentioned before, since we and all people have sinned against God, we are His enemies. But God the Father sent His Son Jesus into this world to shed His holy precious blood and give His own body into death on the cross to forgive all people of all their sins. We are now reconciled to God and have peace with Him.
However, just because Jesus has reconciled all people to God, this does not automatically mean all people belong to the Holy Christian Church. As I mentioned before the Holy Christian Church is all believers in heaven and on earth. Sadly, many people reject Jesus as their Savior and remain in unbelief. But this is not what God wants. Look at what Paul says in verses 17, “He also came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” Here Paul tells us God sent Jesus, as well as Paul, and the Apostles, to preach the gospel to all people on earth. Now Key Point #3: God sends all Christians, including you and me, to preach the gospel to all people on earth. Paul explains why God sends us and all Christians to do this in verses 20-22 where he says, “20 You have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the Cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” In these verses Paul is comparing the Holy Christian Church to an actual church building. He says Jesus is the Holy Christian Church’s Cornerstone. In ancient times the cornerstone was the most important piece in a building. It had to be perfectly cubed, so the rest of the walls lined up perfectly. In a similar way, Jesus is the most important piece of the Holy Christian Church because people must put their faith in Him as the Savior to belong it. Next Paul says the foundation of the Holy Christian Church is the teachings of the apostles and prophets. Another way to put it, it is God’s Word which tells us about how Jesus is the Savior. Finally, Paul says that all believers in heaven and on earth are like blocks or different pieces of the church. But notice this building isn’t complete. The reason God sends us and all Christians to preach the gospel to all people on earth is because it is through the gospel message we share that God the Holy Spirit brings people to faith in Jesus and makes them members of the Holy Christian Church. As members of the Holy Christian Church, they are saints who are holy in God’s sight and members of God’s family. And so, as Christians, we preach the gospel to all people on earth regardless of a person’s race or gender, if the person is straight or a homosexual, if the person is clean cut or have piercings and tattoos, regardless of what past sins the person committed, or if the person is a Republican or Democrat. God sends us to preach the gospel to all people on because Key Point #4: God wants the Holy Christian Church to continue to be built until the day Jesus comes and takes all who believe in Him to heaven. That is the ultimate reason why God wants all people to belong to the Holy Christian Church.
This past July, we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in which the United States declared itself free from England’s rule. One important thing the Declaration of Independence says is that certain truths are “self-evident” that is they are obvious based on human reason. These truths include that all people are created equal and possess unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Even though these truths are self-evident, there are many truths about God that are not self-evident because our human reason can’t understand it. One of these unexpected truth is God truly wants all people to belong to the Holy Christian Church. This is why He sent Jesus to save all people from their sins. This is why He now sends you and me and all Christians to preach the gospel to all people, so all people have a chance to come to faith in Jesus and become members of the Holy Christian Church, and one day live with Jesus in heaven. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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