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Sermon Text: Hebrews 11:32-40
(Heb.11:32-40) 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Today is All Saints Day. Traditionally through the ages the Christian church has gathered on this day to remember the saints of the church and to give thanks to God for their sacrifice. God called us together today to reveal that this celebration of past saints is more personal than we might at first realize. Listen to the words God inspired the apostle Paul spoke in his letter to the Romans. Rom.1:7 “To all who are in Rome who are … called to be saints.” On this All-Saints weekend, God speaks those same words to each of us: “To all who are in Mt. Olive Lutheran church who are … called to be saints.”
Since the people in this room by God’s grace know what Jesus did for us as our substitute, we might conclude that God is simply saying he has credited us with Jesus perfect life through faith. It is a fact that in God’s eyes we are saints, sinless people, because Jesus earned a perfect life for us. That is true. But on this day, as God holds the lives of past saints before our eyes in Hebrews 11, God intends to deepen our understanding of the call he has issued to us when he brought us to faith. But in choosing us to be his own, God wants us to see today that he has called us to be saints for a purpose.
Consider this example. In 1803 West Point Military Academy was formed. Its purpose was to train military leaders for the armies of the United States. For 223 years West Point has been graduating young men and women to join a long line of military leaders who stand on the ramparts of our country guarding us against America’s enemies. They form a long grey line demonstrating courage and duty as they answered every call. But while that long grey line over these 223 years is impressive, the Lord God has formed a line of defense in his church that is much longer. Today we celebrate that long line of saints robed in white whom God called to defend his truth in a world filled with lies.
God has called us as his modern-day saints to take our place in that long line. We are saints with a purpose. “You shall be my witnesses.” When God brought us to faith, he opened our eyes to his truth, a truth the world cannot see. We know that faith in Jesus is the only road to heaven. We know that the world was created by God. We know that God is the one who knits a baby together in the womb. We know that God created humans in two genders, “male and female he created them.” And we know that we live in a world filled with lies about all these things and so much more. That is why God called us to be his saints. We are in this world to defend his truth, to take our place in the long line of saints. As our faith prompts us to witness to what we know, all that is required is to demonstrate the courage to speak God’s truth to a world that opposes it. Nowhere is that courage more evident than in the lives of the saints identified in our text in Hebrews 11.
Time and again they stood up for God’s truth. 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. We all know the Bible stories of their ancient valor. Consider the stories of the book of Acts. Pentecost happened and the disciples with tongues of fire on their heads spoke God’s truth to the crowds the sent the Lord to the cross. What courage! And on that day, calling the people to repent of killing the Lord of glory, 3000 people were added to God’s kingdom. Afterword, in the face of the Sanhedrin ordering them not to speak in Jesus’ name anymore, they responded that “they can’t help but speak about what they have seen and heard.” 5000 joined the church through their message. Then with the assassination of Steven, a persecution broke out and scattered the saints throughout the world as they ran for their lives. They went to Antioch and spoke God’s truth, and the disciples were “first called Christian” in that place. What courage. In a world full of lies, these saints with great courage spoke God’s truth to a world that did not want to hear it.
Now it is our turn to take our place in that line of saints and defend God’s truth. The world has not changed in our day. Satan is still opposing God’s truth and filling the world with lies, and our world is still embracing them. In the face of such lies, the world needs God’s saints more than ever to speak his truth. But as we consider that challenge, God wants us to keep in mind that as we witness to what God has revealed, we do so as God’s saints who by God’s command speak the “truth in love.”
Example: Suppose someone comes up to you at work or school or across the backyard fence, and they tell you that they think there are 57 different genders. They quote noted psychologists and politicians and medical professionals to support their beliefs. You calmly listen to their viewpoint. They have a right to think what they want. When they finish explaining their position, you take the opportunity to tell them that you have a very different view. You believe there are only two genders. You point out that God in Genesis says he created humans as male and female. You also note that in your backyard, the birds at your bird feeder every day come as male or female. In your whole conversation, you are witnessing to the truth God reveals in his word. You are not telling them to change their beliefs. You are not condemning their opinion. You are speaking God’s truth. What they do with that is their responsibility.
Now you would think it would be simple to have such conversations in this world, just two people sharing their personal opinions. But everyone in this room knows that such an approach is fraught with danger. To witness to God’s truth in this world will always come with a cost as the world responds with condemnation, rejection, and rage. That is why saints need courage to defend God’s truth and courage to face the world’s opposition. Hebrews shows us that was clearly true for the saints in the ancient world.
Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. Saints faced the opposition of the world from day one. John the Baptist was beheaded by King Herod. The apostle James was murdered by Herod as well. The disciples were beaten by the Jewish leaders because they dared to talk about Jesus. The apostle Paul recounted being stoned and left for dead, being beaten and jailed, facing danger every day so severe that at times he was certain death was near. Jesus said, “all men will hate you because of me.”
And things have not changed today. Since 2010 the Muslims in Nigeria have been killing Christians and destroying churches. Over 100k Christians have been killed and 18k churches have been burned. In our modern world, Christians are being slaughtered for their faith and not one word is spoken in opposition.
And then we have the widely reported events surrounding the murder of Charlie Kirk. He dared to engage people in conversations about the lies the world tells. He said things like there are only two genders, because that is what God says. Or he encouraged young women to marry and have children, implying that they would find no satisfaction as great as that in any other pursuit. Many in the world opposed his points of view and they branded his views as “hate speech.” In the end they killed him for this.
This is the opposition we face everywhere in our world today. So it has always been. That is why taking our place in this long line of saints will require us to exhibit courage. But that brings up one more point needs to be understood here, perhaps the most unexpected point God has made so far today. We might think that we have a choice here. We can either with great courage defend God’s truth in this world and face the cost that comes with that action, or we think we can just keep silent. If you think that is the situation for you as one of God’s saints, pay careful attention to the last verse of our text. There God says the most surprising truth about his called saints.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. As the verse begins, we think we know what it is going to say before it ends. The saints stood with courage their whole lives. They faced the world’s fierce opposition and suffered much for it. During their lives on earth, they did not receive the fulfillment God has promised. That is not surprising to us. We assume that God is about to tell us about the joy these saints now experience in heaven. But look what God says next.
40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Notice the pronouns in this verse. This verse seems to say that the ancient saints are still waiting to receive the fulfillment God promised. The work of the long line of saints clothed in white is not finished yet. That will not happen until the last saint takes his or her place in the long white line in this world and with great courage defends God’s truth in a world filled with Satan’s lies. Once that final place in the line is filled, the job of the saints will be complete. Then in heaven the Lord will stand before that line of saints and proclaim, “Well done my good and faithful servants. The work they did then and the work we do now are joined together. It is one long task. Each of us has been assigned a place in that line with a duty to perform. God has called us to be his saints. He has equipped us with faith and through that revealed his truth to us. Now he calls us to defend his truth in this world at every opportunity. May God grant us courage to take our place in that important work, the work of all God’s saints.