Audio recording Sermon text: Knowing what is wrong in any given situation is usually more than half the battle. If you know what is wrong you can efficiently go about fixing it. For example, ever since we moved into our house we would occasionally hear mice running around in the attic. We’ve dealt with it over the years by throwing some mice poison up there. Usually after a day or two we wouldn’t hear the mice anymore. But then, after some time passed, they’d come back again. Obviously they were getting in somewhere. Over the years I’ve tried to think about where they might be getting in, but all the holes I plugged weren’t it. This summer I’m replacing the siding on my house. This past week when I pulled some of the old siding off, I could plainly see where they were getting in. Without pulling off the old siding, I never would have been able to find the route they were using to get into the attic. Now that I know what is wrong, it is easy to fix. In another week or so, the mice won’t be able to get in anymore. A lot more had to be done in order to find the problem, than it is to fix it. This same thing is true in all the different facets of our lives. Oftentimes, medically, it is crucial to find out exactly what is wrong so that it can be healed if possible. Or consider the state our society has been in ever since this virus showed up last year. A great deal of our fear and consternation has been caused by not knowing exactly what is wrong. How bad is the virus? What should be done to prevent its spread? Who is telling the truth? Who is trying to sell ads? Who is buying the ads? Who is buying the politicians? How should this whole situation be interpreted? We are not all on the same page. We’re not very tolerant of those who do not think the same thing as we do. Deep down we all think, “I’m right, and they are wrong.” What a contentious mess this has created! If we could all know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth of what is going on, we’d be a lot closer to addressing the situation efficiently. This is also completely applicable to our situation religiously. Knowing what is wrong is more than half the battle. In my office I have a copy of a painting of the final judgment. It shows the resurrection of the dead. The individuals are being weighed, that is to say, judged, and some are going to the right, escorted by angels into heaven. Others are going to the left, being dragged into hell by demons. If people are able to acknowledge this as being true we are well on our way to faith in Christ. If people acknowledge that they will be judged by their Maker, they will know that things can’t go on like they have been. They will know what’s wrong. But as you know full well, this is not the only interpretation of what our life will come to. Some say that there is no God. Some say that there is a God, but he doesn’t judge anyone. Some say that there is a judgment, but we decide what’s right and what’s wrong instead of the Ten Commandments. There is no agreement about our predicament, thus there is no agreement about the Savior. This is true about this great and final judgment. It is also true of God’s judgments leading up to that time. In our confession of sin in the divine service we confess that we have sinned against God and therefore deserve his temporal and eternal punishment. God punishes eternally in hell. He also punishes temporally, in time, now in this life. Anyone who reads even a small portion of the Bible knows that this is true. God threatens to punish all who break his commandments. Therefore we should fear his wrath and not do anything against them. There are countless examples of God punishing people for their sins. Obviously this continues into the present time. Floods, fires, diseases and disasters of every kind are wrought by God, for nothing happens apart from his will. These scourges most certainly are his punishment for sin. But how do these things get interpreted? Most people think the