Sept. 9, 2018 – Christian Education Sunday Text 1 Kings 21:3
Dear Friends in Christ,
“The Lord Forbid That I Should Give You The Inheritance Of My Fathers.” There are plenty of people who would like us to eliminate from our possession the inheritance of our fathers. If we would just loosen our grip on the conviction taught by our fathers to “thank and praise, serve and obey” our God. Their sales talk is so attractive that we are inclined to think the price is right. Will we be a Naboth or turn our back?
“PRESERVING THE INHERITANCE”
This is a day and age when “under God” is a passing remark about the goodness of “Someone Up There” that qualifies you for a tax exemption. A deity who sits on the balcony of heaven making the sign of the cross over whatever self-centered activities we should like to carry on in the name of the Church. The idea behind it all is that God should approve of the things we do in his name instead of our doing, in his name, the things of which God approves.
Give up this God who demands you bow to His will, or we will brand you as bigoted and narrow and call you “peculiar people.” “Give up the inheritance of your fathers.”
I love the inspired Word of God for stories like Naboth. Here was a man who refused to give up the inheritance of his fathers for no other reason than this; he wanted to do what was right. He had a vineyard that King Ahab wanted. The deal was fair, a dream offer. But it wasn’t right to Naboth. He remembered the Lord’s directive in Numbers 36:7: “Every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.” Naboth was answering the king in this way, “No, because the Lord forbids it.”
We could use a little spirit of the old Naboth. A spirit that is willing to turn down the attractive offer of modern, popular, politically correct religiousness by which they hope we will sell out the strong Christian conviction we have inherited from our fathers, a spirit willing to say no because it is the will of God.
Care to sell? The offer comes. Just once admit that as “long as its religion, it is good for you.” Let children wait until the age of discretion, whenever in life that might be, to choose their own faith; broaden your mind at least this far, we are all religious folks heading for the same place. That’s all. What about it? Are you ready to say no like Naboth? Is it, “The Lord forbid”? Will you tell a man, “There is no God but one.” (1 Cor. 8:4) “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn. 14:6) “The Lord forbid that I should give up the inheritance of my fathers.”
You don’t have to give up your conviction, says the old evil vineyard buyer. Just tone it down. Don’t get rid of Jesus. Just leave him at home when you go to college or the office party or the polls. Pray to him at church and home but omit him at political rallies and commencement exercises. What do you say? No. “The Lord forbid,” says Naboth.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works,” says one of our fathers, the Apostle Paul. (Eph. 2:8-9) You have no vineyard that Satan would rather get his hands on than this, your trust “that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Rom. 3:28) This conviction, so much a part of the inheritance from our fathers, has been deeded away by large portions of the Christian Church, until the Naboths, who boldly say no, are a distinct minority today.
I get concerned about the cracks in the dike. The Great Wall of China was a gigantic, expensive means of security. Within its first few years after completion it was breached three times by the enemy, not by breaking down the wall, but by bribing the gatekeepers. The convictions we have inherited from our fathers, the worship of the one true God, the life that lives and moves and has its being 24-hours-a-day in Jesus, the faith that centers in what Christ has done for us and not what we have done for Him or men, these are to be tomorrow’s inheritance from us. We are the keepers of those gates through which these prized convictions pass from yesterday into tomorrow. What if the gatekeepers sell? What happens if you give up the inheritance? Never you say. The Lord forbids. I know he does. But are you certain you are a Naboth? Doing the will of the Father and preserving the inheritance for your family.
Today is Christian Education Sunday. On the basis of this sermon, I lay it on your heart. Will you keep the inheritance and pass it on to the next generation? Only by diligent study and Christian conviction are you prepared to stand with Naboth. Through the Holy Spirit the study of the Word of God helps you to preserve the inheritance. I should point out that this Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation will remain strong and not sell out to the prince of this world as we train ourselves and our young in the faith.
How many Naboths are among us to say, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” Amen.