The Weekly Word: The Gospel is a lifesaver!

By Rev. Daniel Larson, Cross Lutheran Church

“Superior, they said, never gives up her dead, when the gales of November come early.”

So goes the story of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” This is probably the most recognized ship disaster on the Great Lakes, due in some part to Gordon Lightfoot’s song by the same name.

Forty-five years ago this November, the Edmund Fitzgerald, along with its 29 crew members, sank into the freezing waters of Lake Superior.

Unfortunately, life is filled with tragedies, despite the fact that God never intended for disasters of any kind to be a part of His creation. God originally gave mankind a perfect world, body and soul. But with Adam’s disobedience long ago in the Garden of Eden came the destruction of His perfect paradise.

Sin entered the picture, a sinful nature corrupted mankind’s heart, and death came as a result. Sin brought trouble, tragedy and death to all of us — “The whole world is a prisoner of sin,” (Galatians 3:22), the Bible tells us.

Left to ourselves, drowning in this curse of sin, there is no escape; no rescue. Like the doomed crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald, all of us would be lost forever if God had not given us His Word of Law and Gospel.

The Law of God (His Commandments) crushes us by exposing our utter sinfulness and need for a Savior. But the Gospel is quite the opposite. In fact, the Gospel is a lifesaver to us, for it rescues us from the deadly waters of our sin which surround us.

It reveals to us the Good News that God has forgiven us all our sins through the perfect life, innocent death, and victorious resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Gospel is a lifesaver because it assures us: “Whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Everyone who believes in Jesus shall receive forgiveness, a new heart and the assurance of eternal life with God in heaven. This is the message that fills our hearts with thankfulness to God, for the Gospel is a lifesaver!

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You are always invited to worship with us at Cross Lutheran Church each Sunday as we grow in the faith that Jesus is our one and only Savior.