A Book of Remembrance Malachi 3:16 and Luke 23:42

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, from God our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, who always remembers us.

 

Today is the last Sunday for awhile, until mid-January, that our vestments are green. Starting next Sunday the color will be blue for Advent.

 

After last Sunday’s Vikings game, I’m tempted to wear my purple stole today. What a wild win. The lesson is, never give up!

 

Today we’re going to talk about a far greater victory for those who are remembered by the Lord, based on Malachi 3:16: And a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the Lord, and esteemed His Name.

 

And our Gospel, Luke 23:42, Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.

 

Today we celebrate our future, that promised day when Christ will return, this world of woe will end, and a new and glorious life will begin for those in Him, but a sad and sorry life for those who are without Him.

 

Those He remembers, He saves. So, will Christ remember you, and me, or will we be forgotten?

 

There’s a song from the 1990s. It goes: I will remember you, will you remember me? Don’t let life pass you by, and weep not for the memories.

 

There’s actually some pretty good theology in that song, when translated into the language of the Gospel.

 

When Jesus returns, of all who have ever lived, who will He remember, forever? 

There’s a clue in who He will return with: the holy ones -- all His holy angels, and all the souls of the saints from Heaven.

 

Angels, we will never be, but saints, we are, by faith in Christ. 

 

So, who will Christ remember? His saints, who have been forgiven in the Gospel and justified by faith.

 

Even the thief was a saint; the repentant criminal, who, as he hung dying on the cross beside Jesus, said to Him, “Jesus, remember me in Your Kingdom.” 

 

And Jesus replied, This very day you will be with me in paradise.

 

The former criminal repented, and believed; his sins were washed away, and his soul was saved, kept in Heaven for the future resurrection of his body.

 

In our sermon text, Malachi calls the saints, those who fear the Lord, and esteem His name.

 

On Calvary, three men hung on three crosses: one man divine, one man a saint, saved and forgiven, and one man a sinner, lost and condemned. 

 

On one side of Jesus, was a man who esteemed Him, and repented and called on Him for salvation.

 

On the other side hung a man who died bitter and angry; he mocked God and sneered at Jesus.

 

But the repentant thief, honored Jesus; even while hanging on a cross, he stood up for Jesus. 

 

He corrected his former partner in crime; he called out his hypocrisy: What’s the matter with you? Do you not fear God, since we are under the same sentence of condemnation?

 

One thief died bitter, and the other died better, redeemed and forgiven. 

And because he died redeemed, he lives!

 

You and I will meet that better, redeemed man someday, who spoke those inspired words for us to never forget, to always have in our heart: Jesus, remember me in Your Kingdom.

 

That’s our prayer, not just on our last day, but every day.

 

We will see the man who uttered those words because when Jesus returns to raise and restore the faithful, He will remember him, and us; Christ will remember all who fear Him by faith, all who revere Him as their God, and love Him as their Savior.

 

So by faith, we will see Christ and all the angels in all their splendor, and we’ll see all our fellow saints, robed with glory.

 

There’s no doubt that Jesus would remember us, He died to remember us. How could He forget us?

 

The question is: will we remember Him, or will we get caught up in the world and forget Him?

 

Living in a world and a culture that has forgotten God, and disregards Him in so many ways… in this messed up, misguided, mistaken world, will forget Him too, or will we remember?

 

With His help, and His Spirit’s power, with His Gospel to hold on to, His Word to hear and believe, our Baptism to be washed by, His family to belong to, His Holy Supper to do in remembrance of Him, with His body and blood for our forgiveness and comfort and strength, living in these good gifts, God will keep us faithful, and we will be remembered in Paradise.

 

Some names go down in history, and their deeds are remembered for generations, centuries even, millennia in some cases.

As for us, our names likely won’t be included in any history books. 

 

Our children, friends, nieces and nephews, grandchildren, and maybe great-grandchildren, will remember us, but after that, our names will likely be forgotten.

 

If that’s all we have, if the closest thing we have to salvation is to be remembered by future generations, then, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:19, we are most to be pitied.        

 

But thanks be to God, we have far more. 

 

For His faithful people, there is a book their names are written in, inscribed in stone, recorded for eternity, and destined for glory: And a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the Lord, and esteemed His Name. They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts.

 

The one who matters most is the One who will never forget us, and so we are not most to be pitied, but most to be happy and thankful. 

 

As I look back on my life, there are things I’d like to forget, and things I’m happy to remember.

 

There are things I’d like to be remembered for, and things I’m embarrassed to be remembered for.

 

In Isaiah 43:25, we’re promised that God remembers those foolish things, those sins, no more.

 

Remembering that helps us to forget the things that should be forgotten, the things God has forgotten, and forgiven.

 

And it reminds us to remember better things, the things God has done for us through His Son, our redemption; and through His Spirit, our faith and love.

 

And to remember the multitude of our Father’s blessings upon us; and the even greater blessings and joys that will rain down on us in eternity. 

 

Let us remember our Redeemer and serve Him always, as He helps and remembers and blesses us.

 

Even when the world forgets or denies Him, let us never forsake Him.

 

About all who forget or reject Him, all who exclude Him from their lives, Jeremiah 17:13 says their names will be written in the dust, for they have forsaken the Lord.   

 

But those who repent and believe, their names are recorded in Heaven; written in what Malachi 3:16 calls a book of remembrance, and Revelation 20:15 calls the book of life.

 

They, all the faithful in Christ, we will be raised from the dust, and lifted to glory, not because of our righteousness, but because of Christ’s perfect righteousness for us, which is ours by faith.

 

May all the world, all of us, hear God’s law, His words of warning, and take them to heart, and repent, that our names would not be written in the dust, 

and that at the coming judgment, we would not be sentenced to eternal suffering and sorrow.

 

And may all the world hear His Gospel, these words of love and promise, and believe, and rejoice to be remembered in Heaven forever, even if we might be forgotten by others on earth; our God will never forget us.

 

Knowing that our names are recorded in Heaven, and remembered in God’s heart; knowing that He will raise our bodies in righteousness for everlasting glory; believing these promises, we have His peace, which passes our understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, who has not forgotten us, but will return to take us home, to where we truly belong, with Him in glory forever. Amen.