Sermon on Hebrews 4:1-16, for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, "The Living Word of God"
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today’s reading from Hebrews speaks of the power and authority of God’s Word, and also how it is received in faith, or not received, in unbelief and rebellion. The power of God’s Word and the centrality of faith were two of the driving forces behind the Reformation of the Christian church, begun by Martin Luther. 500 years ago, the Word of God had largely fallen into obscurity. Despite the fact that almost everyone considered themselves Christians, knowledge of what the Bible taught was abysmally poor. For the average person, obstacles to hearing and understanding God’s Word included illiteracy, because few could read; a poorly educated clergy, who were to teach God’s Word; and a language barrier, because the few available copies of the Bible were not written in their native language. For all these reasons, the Word of God and it’s living power was hindered from working on people’s hearts. Faith was a dimly b...