This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Amen.

Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank and praise you for your great goodness in bringing Nicky, Jacob, Caitlin, Jacob, Sara, and Cody, your sons and daughters to the knowledge of your Son, Jesus Christ, and in giving them both hearts to believe and mouths to confess his saving name. Enable them to bring forth the fruits of faith and to continue steadfast and victorious until the day comes when all who have fought the good fight of faith will receive the crown of righteousness as a reward for your faithfulness. Amen.

Do you remember your examination day? You sat in front of the church that was filled with parents, grandparents, friends and relatives. That’s when the cruel, sadistic ogre (otherwise known as the pastor) grilled all those poor young Lutherans. You had to recite – from memory – Bible passages and catechism sections. Examination strikes fear in the heart of every young Lutheran.

My first few years in the ministry, I didn’t have a public examination of the confirmands. We had small classes in our mission congregation and so their examinations were written and in private. But one year I had two moms that grew up WELS and now their daughters were being confirmed. They asked me why we didn’t have examinations. They had to suffer through them so their daughters should be made to suffer through them. They said it was a time-honored tradition. I told them that people used to think throwing Christians to the lions was a good thing and a time-honored tradition, too. That didn’t necessarily make it a good thing.

Today our six confirmands were thrown to the lions. Actually, it wasn’t that bad. We don’t have examination to torture our young Lutherans. It is meant to give them the opportunity to publicly display their knowledge and express their faith. Really, no matter how poorly someone may have done today, he or she would still be confirmed. They know their stuff. Their faith is there. The knowledge is there.

They spent hours memorizing. They spent weeks poring over their Bibles, catechisms, and confirmation workbooks. Today was a really big test for them. Now comes the easy part – the confirmation ceremony. The hard work is done. Now they are ready for confirmation day.

In our sermon text, Paul talks about getting ready for a confirmation day. But Paul isn’t speaking only to young adults. He is addressing every Christian. And Paul isn’t telling us to get ready by memorizing passages and catechism sections. No, he is telling us to look to Christ alone to get us ready for the ultimate confirmation examination — Judgment Day.

Confirmation day gives all of us, not the just the confirmands — it gives all us the opportunity to ask, "Am I ready to stand before Jesus Christ on Judgment Day? Will I pass Christ’s test of faith? Will I know enough that God will let me get into his heaven?"

Thankfully, all of us have the right answers because Jesus is our Savior. With faith in Christ we listen to Paul urge us: Get ready for confirmation day. We will be ready for our eternal confirmation day because Jesus has made us clean and because God has called us.

Paul tells us why we can face every day with confidence. Whether it’s a confirmation day or Judgment Day we don’t have to fear. "He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Christ will keep us strong. That’s what "confirmation" means. It means, "being made strong." God worked strength and faith in us and these confirmands in our baptism so many years ago. The Holy Spirit strengthens and increases that faith through the thorough study and memorization of God’s Word. The Holy Spirit also builds up the muscles of our faith with the spiritual food of the Lord’s Supper – the Lord’s Supper that our confirmands are taking for the first time today. Confirmation is the public celebration of the confirmand’s appreciation for the gifts of God’s grace given in baptism. It is a confession of faith that he or she will receive the Lord’s Supper often for the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith. It is a promise that he or she will continue in the life-long process of regular worship and Bible study.

God’s Word and sacraments – his Means of Grace – are so important because Jesus works through them to make us blameless on Judgment Day – that great day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word blameless means, "not being brought in for accusation." Picture a classroom full of students. The school secretary says over the PA, "Could Johnny Schmidt come to the principal’s office." Of course, Johnny is nervous. It’s usually not good to be called into the principal’s office. (Although it’s probably better than going to the pastor’s office.) As Johnny slowly plods toward the principal’s office he thinks, "What trouble did I get into this time? Is a demerit form going to be sent to my parents and pastor again? Am I going to get a detention in school? Am I going to get grounded – or worse – at home?"

Students should fear going to the principal’s office because it usually means trouble. But Paul tells us that Jesus makes us blameless. That means we will never get called into God’s disciplinary office. We never have to worry, "What sin did God discover now? Was it my lust or my laziness? Was it my poor attitude or bad language? Was it a lack of respect or my arguing? Was it my ingratitude or greed? Was it my gossiping or lying? And what trouble will I get into with God because of those sins? Will God take away my health or my popularity? Will I lose my family? Worst of all, will God punish me and take away my faith? Will he expel me from his kingdom? Will I be sent to the everlasting detention hall of hell?

Fellow believers, we don’t have to worry about any of that. God will never accuse of our sins. God will never punish us for those sins. He already punished Jesus for them. That means no demerits. No fines. No punishment. No eternal detention. No expulsion from heaven. Through God-given faith Jesus makes us blameless because he took away all our sins when he died for us on the cross.

The Bible tells us: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12) And again: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

This is why we are ready for the ultimate confirmation day. That’s why we don’t have to worry about our eternal fate on Judgment Day. Jesus loves us and gave himself for us. He lived the perfect life we couldn’t live. He died the death we deserved. He suffered the hell that we earned. He has given us the heaven we could never receive on our own. Jesus has made us clean of all sin by his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death.

Since we are clean, pure and holy by the blood of Christ, God loves us. Paul says, "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." Paul says that God is faithful.

On Confirmation Day, we hear a lot about faithfulness. The Psalm we sung for today mentioned that God is faithful in all he does. (Psalm 33:4) Jesus commends us for remaining faithful to him by saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21) Our young confirmands promise to be faithful to Jesus even to the point of death.

That’s why Confirmation Day is also a good day for the entire congregation. It gives each of us the opportunity to ask, "Have I been loyal to Jesus like I promised I would be on my confirmation day? Have I faithfully praised his name? Have I seized every occasion for sharing my faith? Have I refused Satan’s temptations? Have I been pure and holy in every thought, word and deed?"

If you are honest with yourself, you know haven’t been as loyal to Jesus as you promised to be. So confirmation is a good day for all of us to confess, "Lord, have mercy on me. I have been a spiritual deserter. I have been a no-show. I have been a religious couch-potato. I have often loved the pillow god more than the God of heaven and earth. I have let you down. I have not been as faithful to you as I promised I would be."

Confirmation day is a good day for repentance and confession. It’s also a good day for rejoicing and celebration. Yes, confirmation day is about faithfulness. We make a big deal about these young Lutherans promising to remain faithful. But their faithfulness is based on God’s faithfulness to us. Our text tells us, "God is faithful." In 2 Timothy, Paul puts it this way: "Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with [Jesus], we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown [Jesus], he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his grandchildren. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They were not wealthy but they could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door keys to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you for your many years as a faithful employee."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in a home he had not built very well.

This is a warning to all of us – confirmands and adults. We often build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to accept less than the best. At important points we don’t give the job our best effort. We don’t pour our heart and soul into God’s kingdom work. We go through the motions. Then with a shock, we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in a spiritual house that we have not built very well. If we had only realized, we could and would have done it so differently.

Now is the time to do it differently. There is time to change. Think of yourself as a carpenter. Think of life as a house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one more day, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. Without doubt, life is a do-it-yourself project.

Your life today is the result of the attitudes you formed and choices you made in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of the attitudes you form and the choices you make today. Choose wisely, build carefully, and live a great life!

As you build, know that God is your employer-contractor. He will assist you in any way you let him. His sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper give you the strength every morning to keep hammering and sawing and building. His building materials are his love, his sacrifice, your faith, and your effort. His Word is your blueprint for life. It is important that you study God’s plan and follow it carefully. Only then can you build something that is beautiful – and something that will last.

God is faithful and he has called you to be one of his builders. No matter our age, we are working towards the same heavenly goal. We are working together as builders for Christ’s kingdom. We are building up young Christians into mature Christians.

God is faithful. God has called you. Jesus has made you blameless. By God’s grace and by the blood of Christ, you are ready for every confirmation day. You are even ready to enjoy perfect church membership when Jesus calls you home on that ultimate confirmation day that we call Judgment Day. Until then, may God keep you strong and blameless in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

To God be the glory, great things he has done. Amen.