All God’s People Say--Amen
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and power, and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matt. 6:9-13)
Introduction: No doubt you have heard the old story of the circuit riding preaching who sold his horse. When a prospective buyer came to look at the horse, the preacher explained that his horse was not like most horses. It didn’t respond to the normal commands of “Whoa”, “Giddyup”, “Gee”, “Haw”, and similar verbal commands. Being a preacher’s horse, it would only obey biblical commands! It wouldn’t pay any attention to the regular orders. He explained to stop the horse, the rider needed simply say, “Amen.” A full gallop would follow a hearty “Praise the Lord.” A right turn would follow, “Hallelujah” and “Glory! Glory!” meant a left turn.
Before the buyer took the horse out for a ride, he reviewed the commands until he was sure he had them mastered. Horse and rider took out down the dusty road and took a sharp “Hallelujah” into an open field. He put the horse through it paces. Finally, he decided to see how fast the horse really was. He gave the appropriate command and the horse took off at a full gallop. As the ground became rougher and rougher, the rider decided he had enough. He pulled on the reigns and instinctively yelled “Whoa!” Nothing happened. He tugged harder. Still nothing! Then he remembered that he was to use the special commands. By now, he was hanging on for dear life as the horse bounded down a gully and up the other side, across fallen trees, and through thick brush. He looked up! The horse was heading straight for the edge of a huge cliff! It would be certain death for both horse and rider.
He yelled and tugged and screamed, but nothing happened. Finally, fearing for his life, he prayed, “Lord, help me! Save me. Amen!” No sooner had he uttered the last word than the horse came to a screeching halt not six inches from the edge of the precipice. Shaken but relieved, the rider wiped his brow, leaned back in saddle, and let out a grateful and hearty, “Praise the Lord.”
That is one of those time release stories. If you don’t get it right now, you may start giggling in about fifteen minutes!
For several weeks, we have been studying the Lord’s Prayer—with a short excursion off course every once in a while. We started at the beginning “Our Father which art in heaven” and have looked most recently at the closing benediction “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.” We have one more piece left. Tonight, I want to examine the final word of the traditional ending—“Amen.” If you have never heard a sermon on the single word “Amen,” this is your lucky night!
The term “amen” is often used as if it were a punctuation mark. It just marks the end of a prayer like a period marks the end of a sentence. It is actually word with a real definition. It is used to end prayers because of that meaning. It is actually a Hebrew word that is seldom translated into English. I must be honest here. I know very little Hebrew. I studied it about a hundred years ago, but have long sense forgotten more than I ever learned. I am almost as bad as the wag who said, "I know a little Greek and a little Hebrew. The Greek runs a restaurant and the Hebrew operates a tailor’s shop.”
There are two very common Hebrew words that every one of you knows because, for whatever reason, they are almost never translated. The two words are simply carried over into whatever new language is being used. They tend to be exactly the same in Hebrew, English, Spanish, French, Swahili, or Cantonese. So now you can tell your friends and neighbors you know two Hebrew words. The first word is hallelujah. When translated it means in English, “Praise ye the Lord.” Amen is from a Hebrew root meaning “to be firm or sure.” When translated, it is sometimes rendered as “so be it,” “Verily, verily,” “indeed,” or even “truth.”
In the New Testament Amen is used in three different ways. Amen was apparently used in Christian gatherings to signal agreement or approval. Paul speaks of this in 1 Corinthians 14:16, “If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?” In such contexts it meant “That’s right!” Or “I agree.” Or in a sense, “Lord, bless that word or use that word.” It is also used to end prayers and doxologies just like we do. After a prayer, amen not only signals the end of the prayer, but serves as a final appeal to the Lord sort of like saying “This is it. I really mean it.” It not much different than the ending of the oath in courtroom, “so help me God!” Amen could also be used in normal conversation to signal the importance of something or truth of something. Jesus often used it in his teachings and is sometimes translated as “verily” or “indeed.” The NIV sometimes renders it “I tell you the truth” as in this sentence from John 3:3, “In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” The Greek text begins, “Amen, Amen—[no one can see . . .]
Since Amen is a Hebrew word, it is frequently used in the Old Testament in the same ways, especially as a group response in worship. For example, just before the Hebrew pilgrims crossed into the Promised Land, Moses reviewed the commands of God. In Deuteronomy 27, he asks them to pledge their loyalty to God’s covenant, "Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol--a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman’s hands--and sets it up in secret." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" "Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or his mother." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" "Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" "Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" "Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (Deut 27:15-26 NIV). 1 Chronicles 16 contains David’s song of thanksgiving when the Ark of the Covenant was finally brought to Jerusalem. His song ends with “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said "Amen" and "Praise the LORD" (36). In Jeremiah 28:6 provides a good example of why Christians have often used “Amen” as a response to a song a sermon. “He said, "Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.”
The response of “Amen” was much more common years ago. It is still practiced widely in Black churches or Pentecostal churches. But it is neither uniquely Black or Pentecostal. It is biblical. Of course, cultures and traditions change over time. In the Hebrew culture, this practice would not have been limited to religious services. In our non-religious culture, amen would seldom be used. The secular use of “bravo” in high-society or applause in more normal settings has much the same cultural meaning.
Let me say a word about “applause” or “hand clapping” in church. Some folk talk as if “amen” is proper and hand clapping is not. Of course, both are biblical. One just happens to be less common in our culture outside of religious settings. Psalm 47:1 says, “Clap your hands, all you nations shout to God with cries of joy.” In our setting, both can mean the same thing. Is one better or more proper than the other is? I don’t think so! Both can mean exactly the same thing. Sometimes applause or hand clapping is an expression of appreciation to a performance or speech. That’s ok because showing honor and appreciation to whom honor is due is a Christian character trait.
In church, occasionally some one will try to prevent expressions of appreciation by asking folk not to applaud or attempting to divert personal “thank you’s” with something like “Oh, don’t thank me, thank the Lord.” At best, such attempts exhibit a bit too much self-consciousness. At worst, it can be a false humility that is saying beneath the surface, “Who do you think I am? Someone who needs YOUR appreciation? I am too important for that. Or I am too spiritual for that.” More often, it is a simple misunderstanding. The person doesn’t understand that a part of ministering to people is to be small and humble enough to allow others to say “Thank-you.” I may not need to hear it, but they need to say it.
It is possible for preachers, singers, and other up-front participants to miss the point of applause and amens. Neither amens or applause necessarily have anything to do with us. It may not be our performance at all that is being applauded. It can be—and I think, often is—for the message and not the messenger! When we are full of ourselves, it seldom occurs to us that we are not really as much the center of everyone else’s attention as we think we are. For example, in a secular setting when a speaker—say, the president during his State of the Union address—is interrupted by a standing ovation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the audience is saying they liked his performance of that last sentence and are therefore applauding him. More often than not, a standing ovation in the middle of a speech indicates agreement with the message. It means, “You said it there! That’s exactly right! I fully agree with what you said and want everybody to know it.” In a non-theater setting, that is what applause often means. In church, that is exactly what “amen” or applause means.
Is Amen better than applause? No! It is just more traditional in a church setting. Culturally it means exactly the same thing. Do I expect applause and standing ovations when I say something in a sermon you agree with? No! In fact, I would say, Absolutely not! Are Amens OK? I can probably handle that in small doses without loosing my train of thought or having a coronary right on the spot. In fact, a few Amens would be nice. Is applause OK after a song as signal of appreciation and/or agreement? Certainly! To those who would want to get contentions and insist, “I just don’t like hand clapping in church,” I would say “get over it.” We have bigger fish to fry!
Consider for a moment the use of the word Amen in the text I read: “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No. "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Cor 1:18-22 NIV).
The passage asserts that Paul’s message and lifestyle were based on truth, therefore, they possessed integrity. Integrity is the characteristic of consistency or “what you see is what you get.” The opposite of integrity is something that is phony or two faced. A person without integrity is not the same thing at church as he is on Monday at work. The apostle insists that the Gospel is not two faced, trying to be yes and no at the same time. The truth about Jesus doesn’t change with every shift of the breeze. Why? Because it is based on the faithfulness of God’s promises that are always affirmed and fulfilled in Jesus! So we who are believers can take our stand with security. We say AMEN to God’s message knowing that it won’t change on us. The work of the Holy Spirit is his gurantee!
Amen then is a statement of confidence in God. When we hear the truth of God’s word declared and we agree with it, we can say Amen with bold assurance knowing that the Word won’t change. When we pray, we can conclude with a firm AMEN because we are confident our prayer has been heard, our God is at work, and the best response to our petition is already in the making. When we say Amen to one another, we are pledging our loyalty. We will be there in time of need. When we speak an Amen in a church gathering, we are demonstrating that we believe that Christianity is not a spectator event. We may only be listening at that moment, but we are none the less involved. When we speak an Amen of appreciation to the ministry of another, we are acknowledging their faithfulness and God’s faithfulness through them and declaring our faithfulness in our ministry in return.
Amen is not an empty word. AMEN says we believe that there is truth. God’s Word is true and that it is the foundation of our faith. Amen says—it is true. We believe it. And we pledge our obedience to it. When we hear a promise of God’s Word and we say Amen, we are laying claim to that promise. It is ours. We are going to live as if it were already real. Because if it is the promise of God, it is! Amen is a statement of faith and hope! That is AMEN!
Finally: A person is not really ready to live until he is ready to die. It was a dark night in Marshfield, October 24, 1852. Daniel Webster, the American statesman and committed Christian, was dying. He was ready. His physician, a very sensitive man named Dr. Jeffries had ministered as much medicine as he could and as was practically possible. He realized that death was near and he chose to be a friend rather than a physician at that moment and he picked up an old rather well worn hymn book that Webster had often sung from and he chose to read the words of one of his favorite hymns:
There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Immanuel’s veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
He read every stanza, when he got to the last, Webster’s lips were moving, though no sound came:
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave,
then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing thy power to save.
I’ll sing thy power to save,
I’ll sing thy power to save.
And he looked at Webster, their eyes met, and Webster uttered 3 final words: Amen, Amen, Amen!
There is no fitting word with which to conclude a well-lived life! Amen? Amen!
Let’s practice: WILL YOU SAY AMEN TO THIS!
A Word of Faith and Life From Each Book of the New Testament--
(Mat 6:33 NIV) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
(Mark 8:35-36 NIV) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. {36} What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
(Luke 11:9-10 NIV) "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. {10} For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
(John 11:25 NIV) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
(Acts 17:30-31 NIV) In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. {31} For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
(Rom 3:23 NIV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(1 Cor 1:18 NIV) For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(2 Cor 5:10 NIV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
(Gal 2:20 NIV) I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Eph 2:13 NIV) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
(Phil 3:8 NIV) What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
(Col 3:13 NIV) Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
(1 Th 4:16-17 NIV) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. {17} After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
(2 Th 1:6-7 NIV) God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you {7} and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
(1 Tim 1:15 NIV) Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.
(2 Tim 1:12 NIV) That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
(Titus 3:4-5 NIV) But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, {5} he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
(Phile 1:6 NIV) I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.
(Heb 13:15-16 NIV) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
(James 1:26 NIV) If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
(1 Pet 3:7 NIV) Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
(2 Pet 3:9 NIV) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
(1 John 1:8-10 NIV) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. {9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. {10} If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
(2 John 1:6 NIV) And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
(3 John 1:11 NIV) Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
(Jude 1:22-23 NIV) Be merciful to those who doubt; {23} snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
(Rev 14:13 NIV) Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
And finally, the very last passage from the Bible: (Rev 22:18-21 NIV) I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. {19} And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. {20} He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. {21} The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
