2026 09 13 - Am I My Brother's Keeper? - Popp

Grace, peace and mercy from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. I thought a lot about what divides us. I kind of shared already in the intro talking about Romans 14, the things that have the ability to divide. I thought about politics, sports, food, car brands, whether you're a cat or dog person, religion and even worship, worship styles.

So many things can divide us into two camps. One of my favorite things to do as a warm up activity is to throw a question out there and if you believe this way, go to this room and go to that side and fight it out. Who's right. Can you draw somebody from the other side with your arguments?

But I never thought about all the times I did that. Was I unknowingly teaching people to fight for what they feel is right at the cost Relationships. We're going to get into that today. Am I my brother's keeper? He is risen indeed.

Alleluia. Absolutely. We are a people divided by so many earthly things that sometimes unintentionally, we find their way into our church families. What about the church things that divide church families? Now, first things first.

Right? Let's look at Romans 14. Who is stronger and weaker? The way they write this, and we know that we're really talking about Old Testament traditions, things that happened, Jesus coming to change them. Who is Paul referring to as stronger and weaker? Right.

It's that idea of how do they see those things? Well, number one, it talks about our eating divides us. You know, right in here it says, the one who believes he may eat everything while the weak person only eats vegetables. You know, I want to read that and say steak for everybody. Right?

Nobody wants to be weak. That's certainly not his intention here. What he's talking about is those who are still talking about this idea of not eating pork or bacon. The unclean. Right.

We certainly know in Acts 10, Peter was trying to do that when God said to him, don't let anything I created be called unclean. We certainly know how that changed. Right? And the second one, the Sabbath or Passover, how we celebrate those things. Right.

Luke 6 is when the apostles are going through the field on the Sabbath, plucking grain, and they're called out. Jesus reminds him it's the Sabbath for man or man for the Sabbath. And of course, we look at John 5, when Jesus healed on the Sabbath, the Pharisees and Sadducees tried to come after him. Things that they allowed to divide. Now, looking at the point of view aside, both must live at peace.

This is true for most things that divide us. Right? We don't want Hatfield and McCoys to come down. I realize that is a really old term. Kids don't understand that anymore.

We have to teach. But the division that comes in having two sides, number one, we need to recognize that most of what we're talking about is not a salvation issue.

What Paul's talking about certainly isn't. And I think if you looked at 99% of the things that divide us today, divide us in here, divide us out there, they are not salvation issues.

And number two, nor does it contribute to our righteousness.

Whatever you do in Jesus name, we do to thank him and love him, but not because we're trying to become righteous. Right? We've learned that grace by faith, not by works. And yet what do our actions show?

Does our attendance, how we dress and what we give? All those things, are they as a thank you to the Lord or as us trying to gain righteousness? Now, I saw the video the other day where a guy was trying to complain that good people should go to heaven and I loved it. The pastor said, you're absolutely right, good people should go to heaven. But there was only one good person and he did it.

The rest of us are not good. Great way to put it. We are not able without Jesus doing it for us. Finally, nor should it be mandatory for membership. So many things, and I see this unfortunately in our own church body across our synod.

What do we have to do to be members?

How do we deny somebody hearing God's word because they won't do the things the way I want them done. In case you didn't know, we're a renegade church. What we do here at early and what we do at late is not very popular with some of the leaders in synod. We're left off certain websites because of our late service. You're all forgiven.

I guess you're good lay service. People are going to hell. We laugh and yet there are pastors out there who believe it.

Boy, this Romans 14. I hope across synod right now it is opening some hearts to the love of Jesus and not the adiaphora of ways in which we try to pin people down and force them to know Jesus. Third, avoiding internal strife in God's family. I wanted to look at two verses in addition to today's epistle. The first one, Galatians 5, 13, 15.

For you were called to freedom, brothers only. Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

How do we love? We've talked about that a little bit. Second one I want to talk about was a real simple one. Mark 3. 24, 25.

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided amongst itself against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

I really enjoyed Friday, the 25th anniversary. If you read my minute in the newsletter, you saw what I remember. The way we all came together as Americans, as one. People miss it.

I just have to look at an election day and see the division we see nowadays or a college football Saturday or NFL Sunday. We allow such simple things to divide. And I. I am. But the worst of it. I do the same thing.

I realize I have to quit making fun of John Baumgart for being a Packers fan. It's just not right. I love you, John.

How do we quit the division? Well, what about believers and non believers? Notice I said note. It's not versus it's not. What about believers versus non believers?

This should not be two sides. When I said at the beginning, we are all created by God. He desires relationship with all. We have to get rid of that split and division.

What are the things that divide? What is that real lie? I've said it many times. When kids who go to other churches or don't go to church come up and they're like, you know, pastor Pop, am I okay? I'm not going to your church.

I don't even joke anymore. Do you believe Jesus died and rose again? The Trinity, we stand up and we say the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed. Do you believe Jesus came, died for us and rose again? If you don't now, I worry about you.

I don't want to fight you. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to. I don't want to push you away. I want to love you.

But you're on a path to hell. How do we help people understand that? Right? We. We certainly have that trouble, right?

We. We pass judgment. Verse 10 said, why do you pass judgment on your brother or you who do not despise your brother? For we all stand before the judgment seat of God. I struggle with this, certainly with the Office of the Keys, where I'm supposed to forgive as God forgave and withhold forgiveness as God would withhold.

And I know some of you are looking like, what about yourself, Pastor? Right. How do I get do that? Well, God makes it very clear the reason I came to grips with that and decided I could be a pastor is because I don't have to make a decision. Holy Spirit makes it very clear.

But we do pass judgment. The question is, what is our purpose? Is out of love because we see somebody doing something? How do we pass judgment in love? How do we allow it?

It can't be like we divide in worldly things. Do you despise your brother?

Do you desire anyone to go to hell?

I want you to think about that as God's people, knowing he created all people. When we hear somebody say go to hell, is there anything worse in the world you could say to somebody? They won't bleep it out in a TV show or a movie because it's not that bad. And yet it's Christians who believe Christ died and rose again, forgave us, loves us, wants to spend eternity in heaven to damn someone to hell. Is there anything worse than in the world we can say?

And yet it's used so flippantly.

We all stand before the judgment, seat of God. That's what verse 10 ended with, right? No one is righteous enough to stand alone. It can't be about us. That's what I loved.

When this guy who. Who didn't believe in the Bible, he's like, I'm a good person. I'm a good person. God should want me.

I loved it. Yep, good people should all go to heaven, but Jesus was the only good one. The rest of us are failures. We have to trust in Jesus, who paid the price for us to believe in him, to love him, to trust in his grace and mercy for our spot in heaven.

Remember what we are being judged on. We hear about that idea that all of us will become judged in the last day. If you're baptized and clothed in the robe of Christ, righteousness, our judgment is going to be. Do you believe there's not going to be any scenes from your life? It's not going to be about you other than, do you believe in Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior?

That's what we're going to be judged on. Believers go to heaven, non believers don't. How do we help them?

What is my responsibility to my neighbor?

I got to give Joe Johnson credit for this one today. He just sent me this meme. I thought it was perfect. Love your neighbor as yourself. Who's my neighbor?

Whoever you were hoping, I wouldn't say that's true. We've heard over and over as we've gone through this catechism, we've gone through this idea of who is my neighbor. And the idea that it's all people, it is scary. Who is that? The second law, right?

What were the two new laws? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbors yourself. That second law, which sure is a beautiful law. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Is any one of us more worthy of heaven than others?

When I asked you if there's anybody that you actually wanted to damn to hell, you probably said, no, no, no. But do our actions say the same thing? How we treat somebody, how we view somebody?

I know there are people that we don't think are worthy in our own sinful minds. People we see do the most gruesome, awful things. And we think, man, they deserve hell awful.

I'm so glad Christ didn't say it about me and my sin.

How do we turn our thinking on that? Right. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That's what I want you to think. Before we get to our final questions, who led you to where you are?

We're trying to update and change the way we do confirmation because what we decided is we need to spend more time with the 8th graders on how to answer the tough questions in this world. When somebody asks them about God, somebody questions their faith, and somebody does something to make them think twice. How do we prepare them to answer those questions? And the first thing I said is, when somebody questions you, especially if they're angry, just remember, the only difference between you and them is your parents, your upbringing. If you were raised by their parents and they were raised by yours, you would be the one questioning or angry at God.

Praise be to God. We had parents that raised you in the faith that have you here, that are in confirmation. Now. How do we help those who didn't have the same kind of parents? How do we in love answer those questions?

That's where I want to get to this last part, right? Making sure we are first Peter 3:15, ready. But in your hearts, honor Christ is Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason, for the hope that you have yet do it with gentleness and respect. I think we forget that last part sometimes. We're ready to defend our Lord.

What'd you say about my God? I'll show you.

What does God really need from us? That last part, Peter, said, hey, do it with gentleness and respect. Next time somebody says something nasty about our Lord and Savior or nasty about you for being a believer before you try to get righteous and Defend him and say something smart back. I want you to stop for a second and ask you what would Jesus want me to do in this moment to defend him?

To soften my stance and see why this person is saying that. I'm so sorry you feel that way. I'd love to share with you why you must have been hurt really bad. I don't know what you've been taught. I'd love to share with you what I grew up with, because there's lots of different people.

The one who actually asked sincerely, that's easy, right? Let's sit down and talk. Let me show you how great this is. Let me show you about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the one who is clueless.

Maybe they're an open campus. They've got no preconceived notions. They haven't been taught anything negative necessarily. I think we'd all be comfortable sharing Christ with these two, correct? Especially if they came to us, we didn't have to go to them.

What about these next two? The one who is skeptical or been hurt.

The one who's been living a life of sin and struggling with it. The one who sees the people they love doing things that the Bible clearly says, this is wrong.

What does that mean?

I gotta be honest with you. Here's the hard one. For the one who is angry. You ever been attacked for your faith? Never had your God attacked?

I bet the Gideons have some great stories about people who are just nasty. How do we in love share that word of God with them? Well, we got a Gideon coming up soon to talk about that, right?

Are we as God's people ready to do the same thing? How do we love the unlovable? How do we reach the lost? How do we approach it from a place of I'm good, I'm saved, I know who my Lord and Savior is. This person is lost.

Now I need to love them as much as I want to punch them in the face right now.

Righteous anger, right? Not acceptable. This last part. I just want to remind you, if you ever answer any of these people with I will or you should stop. Let's start with what he did.

Let's start with what Jesus is willing to do. Any of these situations. Whether they're sincerely asking about God, they're clueless or skeptical, or they're angry. They let's make sure our focus is on what Jesus did for them, what he did for us, what he did for us sinners because we continue to sin.

Am I my brother's keeper and Christ the answer is yes, we may not always agree, see things the same way, or even understand one another. But we are not called to judge, despise or tear one another down. We're called to love our neighbor and be ready to point them to Jesus. In the end. Our hope isn't found in what I will do or what you should do.

Our hope is found in what he did. Jesus took our sin to the cross, gave us his righteousness and made us his own. We are clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness, our baptism. And that is the hope we have been given to share our brothers and our sisters and with our neighbors. Whether they're clueless, whether angry, whether skeptical.

They're a child of God who needs our love. Pray about it, be ready for it. Let us be united as one people in Christ. To God be the glory. Amen.

And being that united group.