“And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11 (Read 1-11).

This Word of God, which was spoken by angels to the disciples who had just witnessed Jesus’ ascension into heaven, teaches us that Jesus Christ will return visibly in the clouds of glory on the Last Day.

The Bible says: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Rev. 1:7).

As Jesus ascended into heaven, so He shall also return on the Last Day, the Day of Judgment. Those who do not trust in Him for salvation will wail in sorrow at His return because they stand condemned for not trusting in the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). But those who do trust in Him as their Savior – believing that they have pardon for their sins and peace with God for the sake of Christ’s innocent sufferings and death in their stead – will rejoice at His return because He comes to take them to be with Him forever in the mansions of heaven (cf. Luke 21:27-28; Heb. 9:27-28; John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

What about you? Do you repent of your sinful ways and look in faith to Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for mercy and forgiveness? Or do you refuse to repent and look to Jesus for pardon and forgiveness?

The Bible tells us: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, as You have ascended up into heaven to the right hand of God the Father, so come again and take us to be with You forever. Graciously keep us in the true faith so that, on that Day, we may greet You with joy and not with sorrow. Grant this to us for the sake of Your holy life and bitter sufferings and death on the cross in our stead. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

Before ascending into heaven, Jesus said to His disciples (and to us too since His promise is to be with us unto the end of this world): “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus suffered and died for the sins of the world and is risen again and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. He has all power and authority in heaven and earth. As the risen and exalted Christ, He is over all things and works to build His Church through the preaching of His Word and the right administration of His Sacraments (cf. Eph. 1:20-23)!

Having all power and authority, He commands us (with one active verb and three participles in the Greek): “Going, therefore, teach (or disciple) all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (literal translation of the Greek text).

What Jesus commands us to do is to disciple, or make disciples of, all the nations and peoples of this world. (The word translated “teach” in verse 19, μαθητευσατε, is different than the participle translated “teaching” in verse 20, διδασκοντες, the first meaning to disciple and the second to teach and instruct.) The way that we are to do this is by going out to the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Triune God, and teaching them to observe all that Christ taught and commanded.

This great commission of Jesus is not complete when a child or adult is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or even when confirmed by publicly professing his or her faith; those who are baptized into Christ Jesus are also to be taught Jesus’ doctrine – all that He taught and commanded – that they might observe it and continue in the true and saving faith until death or Christ’s return.

Thus, the work of parents, sponsors, and the entire church continues far past the day of Baptism. We carry out Christ’s commission as we continue to teach and explain the truths of God’s Holy Word that the Spirit of God, through the Word, might preserve and strengthen faith in Christ Jesus. We continue this work as we celebrate together Christ’s Supper and partake of His atoning sacrifice so that we and our fellow believers might be assured of forgiveness and life through faith in Christ Jesus and His death and resurrection in our stead.

And, as Jesus said, we are not left to ourselves with this task. Jesus gives us the added assurance that He is present with us always, “even unto the end of the world.”

O Jesus, our Savior, grant that we be Your disciples through Baptism and continuing in Your Word, and grant that we too disciple the nations by going out, by baptizing, and by teaching Your life-giving Word. Amen.

[Except as otherwise noted, Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12

St. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11 cf. Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22). And yet many would set aside Jesus and His redemptive work and build upon another foundation – whether that be the foundation of good works, human will, sovereign election, or manmade traditions.

The religious leaders of the Jews sought to build on their system of temple worship and obedience to the laws of Moses and to the traditions of the elders. Thus, when Jesus came preaching repentance and faith in Him and His redemptive work for pardon and life everlasting, the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus and even had Him crucified.

Strangely enough, even today in so-called “Christian” churches, Jesus and salvation through faith alone in his shed blood are often set aside and replaced with other foundations for faith. It may be our obedience to certain commandments, our decision to follow Christ, our level of devotion to Him, or observing certain church rites and ceremonies.

Simply preaching Jesus and salvation for the sake of His innocent sufferings and death on the cross for the sins of the world often gets in the way of man-made doctrines and traditions. So, rather than preaching Christ alone and salvation through faith in His name, religious leaders often hold up human traditions, specific prayers or forms of worship, and good works as a means to obtain salvation. They reject the Jesus of the Bible and His exclusive claims to be the only way to the Father and seek to be acceptable to God in other ways.

But the truth is that there is only one way of salvation. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

To set aside this foundation is to reject the only way of salvation and forfeit the eternal life God offers and gives to those who place their faith in His Son. To trust in Christ Jesus and His sacrifice for sins is to have forgiveness and life everlasting; to reject Him or trust in anything else besides Him results in condemnation for sin and eternal death and damnation (cf. John 3:18,36; 8:24).

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). And the apostle John writes: “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12).

It’s really that simple. We can be justified and acceptable to God in only one way: through faith in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world!

O precious Savior Jesus, graciously keep us trusting in You alone for the forgiveness of all our sins and for life everlasting, for in You we have eternal salvation and apart from You we are lost forever and under the wrath of God. We ask this for the sake of Your innocent sufferings and death in our stead. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.” 1 John 2:24-26 (Read v. 18-29)

False teachers and erring churches and organizations are all around us in this world that would lead us to reject all or parts of the Bible, God’s unerring Word, and weaken or destroy our faith in Christ Jesus.

Many would lead us to believe that Jesus is not the LORD God in human flesh come into this world to redeem fallen mankind. They deny the deity or sometimes the humanity of Christ and cast doubt upon the sufficiency of His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all.

St. Paul wrote and encouraged Timothy, in the face of persecution and suffering, and with false teachers at work to turn people away from Christ and the true doctrine, to continue in that doctrine which he had learned from the Holy Scriptures.

He wrote in 2 Timothy 3:13-17: “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

So also the Apostle John writes to his hearers: “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.”

John urged his hearers to continue in that truth they were taught by him and by the other apostles, in the beginning. They were to let what they heard, in the beginning, remain in them. They were not to turn aside and accept the doctrines of those who denied the deity or the humanity of Christ Jesus but to hold fast to the truth that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son” (John 3:16), born of the Virgin Mary and made true man, that He might take our place under the law and fulfill all righteousness for us and that He might bear on the cross the just condemnation for our sins and the sins of the whole world and rise again on the third day. Cf. Gal. 4:4-5.

John urged his hearers to hear God’s Word, confess their sins and hold fast in faith to Him whose blood cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7-9). He urged them to continue to trust in Christ Jesus, who shed His blood on the cross as the propitiating sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2).

And, indeed, if they continued in the truth of God’s Word, taught and revealed to them by the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures, if they held fast in faith to Christ Jesus, they would also be abiding in the Father. Apart from Jesus, no one can know the Father or come to Him. In Jesus, we also have and abide in fellowship with the Father. Cf. 1 John 1:5ff.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him” (John 14:6-7).

And what has God promised to all who trust in the Son? Life everlasting!

Again, Jesus said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24); and “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life … He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16,18).

And so, in the face of false doctrine and erring beliefs, ridicule and persecution, remember the truths you learned from the Holy Scriptures and continue to trust and believe them. God’s Word is “a lamp unto [our] feet, and a light unto [our] path” (Psalm 119:105).

Hold fast to the Christ Jesus of the Bible and take comfort in His atoning sacrifice and the forgiveness He has won for you. Abide in Him, for God has promised us eternal life in Jesus’ name!

John wrote toward the close of this letter: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:11-12).

The Apostle Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, also testified, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

O Comforter and Anointing from above, keep us in the true faith, that truth we learned from the Holy Scriptures, that we may continue to trust in the Son, Jesus Christ, and His blood shed for us on the cross, unto life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

And hereby we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments. He that saith, “I know Him,” and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith that he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. 1 John 2:3-6

Many claim to be Christians and followers of Jesus Christ – to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7) – but not all who make such claims really know and trust in Jesus. Some are hypocrites, and some deceive themselves into thinking they are Christians when, in fact, they are impenitent and do not really look in faith to Jesus and His blood, shed on the cross, for cleansing and everlasting life.

God’s Word teaches us that we can see whether we truly know and trust in Christ Jesus as our Savior from sin by our attitude toward Jesus’ Word and commandments.

John writes in 1 John 2:3-5: “And hereby we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments. He that saith, ‘I know Him,’ and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.”

The one who knows and trusts in Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins and life everlasting will, as a fruit of genuine repentance and faith in Christ, gladly and willingly obey His commandments. This desire to obey God’s Word is evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit and of the new nature created in believers, a nature that loves God and desires to serve Him.

Of course, as John wrote in the first chapter (1 John 1:5-10), believers are not without sin in this world and cannot claim to be sinless and holy of themselves, for they still have their old sinful nature inherited from Adam which balks at and resists living in accord with the Word of God.

Nevertheless, believers can see evidence of their regeneration in their new-found love for God and their fellow believers and in their desire to keep the words and commandments of Jesus. Those who come to know the great love of God in sending His Son to suffer and die for our sins and the sins of the world are moved to love Him in return for providing salvation for us lost sinners. Cf. 1 John 4:9-10; James 2:14ff.

If we continue to trust in Jesus as our Savior – if we acknowledge our sinfulness and look to Jesus’ shed blood for pardon and life everlasting (1 John 1:8 – 2:2) – we will, as a fruit of that faith seek to conform our lives to His. We will seek to live and conduct ourselves as Jesus did in this world – in obedience to God the Father, with the utmost respect for God’s Word, and with love toward lost sinners.

Our catechism teaches this same truth in regard to examining one’s self before partaking of the Lord’s Supper: “How should he who would eat this bread and drink this cup examine himself? He should examine: 1. whether he truly repent of his sins; 2. whether he believe in Jesus Christ; 3. whether he have the good and earnest purpose with the aid of God the Holy Ghost henceforth to mend his sinful life” (A Short Exposition of Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, CPH, 1912, Q. 348).

St. John writes in 1 John 2:6: “He that saith that he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” Cf. Rom. 8:29; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Cor. 5:15.

So, walking “in the light as He is in the light” is not to pretend to be without sin or to try and merit God’s grace and favor by our own life and works. Rather, it is to acknowledge and confess our sins (agreeing with God about our sinfulness and the judgment we justly deserve) and to look in faith to Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all that we might receive God’s pardon and forgiveness and be counted righteous and holy in His sight. And, where there is genuine repentance and faith in Christ Jesus, there will follow the sincere purpose and desire to conform all our thoughts, desires, words and actions to His Word and His commandments.

God, grant to us such repentance and true faith in Christ Jesus – that we “walk in the light as He is in the light”!

Jesus, our Savior, You have redeemed me and all mankind from sin by Your atoning sacrifice on the cross, and You have graciously brought me to know Your great love and mercy toward me through the preaching of the Gospel. Grant that I grow ever deeper in the knowledge of You and of Your love for me and all believers, and so move me to love You in return and gladly obey Your commandments. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the 21st Century King James Version (KJ21), copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.]