5th Sunday after Pentecost Date:06/19/05 Text:Romans 5:12-19 Title: Much More
5th Sunday after Pentecost
06/19/05
Text: Romans 5:12-19
Title:
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
I want to share with you this morning a story from the book, Like a Breath of Fresh Air, written by Larry Goodpaster. It is about Chrysostom. (Kris es-tem) For those of you that might not know of him, he was a Bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople in the fourth century. He was well known for his eloquent sermons, from which he got his name, Chrysostom, which means, “Golden Mouthed”.
He was a thorn in the side to the emperor because he preached against the widespread corruption in the government. The particular story that I want to share with you took place after the Roman emperor had Chrysostom arrested and charged with being a Christian which was illegal at the time.
The emperor told Chrysostom that if he did not renounce Christ, he would have him banished from the kingdom. Chrysostom replied that he could not do that, “because the whole world is my Father’s kingdom.”
“Then,” replied the emperor, “I will take away your life.” To which Chrysostom replied, “You cannot, for my life is with Christ in God.”
I am sure that by this time the emperor was rather peeved, for he then threatened him with the loss of his cherished possessions, Chrysostom replied, “You cannot, for my treasure is in heaven where my heart is.”
You can just imagine how frustrated the emperor was by that time. He was not use to people standing up to him. He had to come up with something that would be so bad that Chrysostom would recant his faith.
Since it was apparent that Chrysostom was not bothered by the loss of life or possessions, he told Chrysostom, “Then I will drive you away from here and you shall have no friend left.” But again Chrysostom calmly responded, “You cannot, for I have one Friend (meaning Jesus) from whom you can never separate me. I defy you, for you can do me no harm.” Needless to say he and the emperor did not become friends. Some time later the emperor ordered Chrysostom to be executed because he would not deny his faith in God.
Living as we do in our Western, religiously-tolerant society, I am sure that none of us have ever faced or will face a crucial moment like Chrysostom did 16 centuries ago.
We do, however, face similar temptations to renounce our faith, ignore our commitments, or compromise our loyalties to God. We are tempted to deny we ever heard of the one called Jesus Christ. We are enticed to deny his power over our lives with phrases like: “Come on, everyone else is!” or “It will be fun”, and “no one will ever know.” Daily we are forced to choose between the easy way, the quick fix, or the way of Christ.
You see, when you say you are a follower of Christ there is more to the Christian faith than just coming together on Sunday morning to hear his Word, confessing your faith, and partaking of his supper. There are also actions and the possible resulting consequences of following Christ with your heart and mind.
I was at a convention one time where Bobby Knight, the famous or infamous, depending on how you viewed his behavior on the basketball court, was the keynote speaker. Bobby was telling us about his experiences with a fishing buddy that just died. What he said impressed him the most about his friend was that it was not until his funeral that he found out that his fishing buddy was a pastor. All of those years they had fished together he never had a clue that he was a pastor. Bobby closed his remarks with, what I think were some of the saddest words I have ever heard, “That is the kind of pastor I would want to have.”
How sad, that that pastor or for that matter anyone who professes to be a Christian would live their life in such a way that those that they come into contact with cannot tell if they are a Christian. I think that too many times we all act like we are not Christians. We all have much to learn about our faith and the impact it should have on our lives and the lives of others.
That is why I picked the Epistle reading for my sermon text this morning. I am not going to be able to go into any real depth because of time restraints, but it is my prayer that if you do not know of the grace of God yet, maybe because you still believe that there must be something that you have to do for God now that you are saved, you will by the time I am through this morning, know of God’s grace and the freedom he gives you through that grace.
For when you really understand God’s grace in your life, you will never be the same. You will be able to turn loose of all that binds you. You do not have to have all those possessions or that perfect job to prove your worth. You will finally be able to forgive that person that hurt you so long ago. You will start seeing yourself and others as forgiven sinners, who forgive each other. I know that this one might come as a shocker, but you will also be able to witness for God when he gives you the occasion to. And, last but not least you will find contentment as you join your fellow brothers and sisters in working together as we do the mission that God has given our congregation.
Okay, let’s take a look at the text starting with verse 12, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” What Paul is saying is listen up! I am going to tell you the cause of your sin and death problem. Adam, when he and Eve sinned, brought into the world what you could call a genetically transmitted disease. That disease is called sin and unlike other diseases, the disease of sin cannot be cut out of us, or cured by anything we do. We are all infected, and if we have children we have passed it on to them.
In verse 13 and 14 we read, “For before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.” Paul is telling us that it does not make any difference if the Law, which is the 10 Commandments, had not been given. People still died, that is proof in itself that sin existed even without the Law.
In verse 15 through 19 Paul states five more times that sin came into the world by Adam and righteousness by Christ. This makes a total of 7 times, the number that symbolizes completion. It is the truth, there is nothing to add or take away, it is a done deal. We as sinners are doomed because of sin, but with Christ there is forgiveness and life.
For the sake of time I will not read each verse, but Paul wants to make point. What he is saying is that if it is true, and it is, that Adam, being one man, brought sin and thus death into the world. Then why is it not possible for Jesus, the perfect man, the Son of God, to bring righteousness and life into the world?
Jesus through his death is the vaccine for our incurable inherited disease of sin. You no longer have to be afraid of life-threatening diseases or death itself. You know longer have to wonder about the purpose of your life. Jesus changed all that. You now belong to him.
Your purpose is to live your life as a Christian witness wherever you are in your life. It does not make any difference if you are a child, a teenager, a young adult, middle-aged, or retired. It does not make any difference if you are wealthy or poor, educated or uneducated, healthy or sick. It does not make any difference for your purpose is to live your life as a follower of Christ, right where God has put you.
Let me assure you that when problems come your way, and they will, you no longer have to feel pressured to fix everything yourself. You no longer have to feel despair or that life is hopeless and that you are helpless. You no longer have to feel like you have been left swinging in the wind. You can feel peace and confidence, because you know that the God who died in your place, who rose from the grave for you, will always be there to strengthen you and guide you in your time of need.
I ask you; what could be better than that? You don’t have search for who you really are, for God has found you and claimed you as his own. That is Good News. Amen
06/19/05
Text: Romans 5:12-19
Title:
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
I want to share with you this morning a story from the book, Like a Breath of Fresh Air, written by Larry Goodpaster. It is about Chrysostom. (Kris es-tem) For those of you that might not know of him, he was a Bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople in the fourth century. He was well known for his eloquent sermons, from which he got his name, Chrysostom, which means, “Golden Mouthed”.
He was a thorn in the side to the emperor because he preached against the widespread corruption in the government. The particular story that I want to share with you took place after the Roman emperor had Chrysostom arrested and charged with being a Christian which was illegal at the time.
The emperor told Chrysostom that if he did not renounce Christ, he would have him banished from the kingdom. Chrysostom replied that he could not do that, “because the whole world is my Father’s kingdom.”
“Then,” replied the emperor, “I will take away your life.” To which Chrysostom replied, “You cannot, for my life is with Christ in God.”
I am sure that by this time the emperor was rather peeved, for he then threatened him with the loss of his cherished possessions, Chrysostom replied, “You cannot, for my treasure is in heaven where my heart is.”
You can just imagine how frustrated the emperor was by that time. He was not use to people standing up to him. He had to come up with something that would be so bad that Chrysostom would recant his faith.
Since it was apparent that Chrysostom was not bothered by the loss of life or possessions, he told Chrysostom, “Then I will drive you away from here and you shall have no friend left.” But again Chrysostom calmly responded, “You cannot, for I have one Friend (meaning Jesus) from whom you can never separate me. I defy you, for you can do me no harm.” Needless to say he and the emperor did not become friends. Some time later the emperor ordered Chrysostom to be executed because he would not deny his faith in God.
Living as we do in our Western, religiously-tolerant society, I am sure that none of us have ever faced or will face a crucial moment like Chrysostom did 16 centuries ago.
We do, however, face similar temptations to renounce our faith, ignore our commitments, or compromise our loyalties to God. We are tempted to deny we ever heard of the one called Jesus Christ. We are enticed to deny his power over our lives with phrases like: “Come on, everyone else is!” or “It will be fun”, and “no one will ever know.” Daily we are forced to choose between the easy way, the quick fix, or the way of Christ.
You see, when you say you are a follower of Christ there is more to the Christian faith than just coming together on Sunday morning to hear his Word, confessing your faith, and partaking of his supper. There are also actions and the possible resulting consequences of following Christ with your heart and mind.
I was at a convention one time where Bobby Knight, the famous or infamous, depending on how you viewed his behavior on the basketball court, was the keynote speaker. Bobby was telling us about his experiences with a fishing buddy that just died. What he said impressed him the most about his friend was that it was not until his funeral that he found out that his fishing buddy was a pastor. All of those years they had fished together he never had a clue that he was a pastor. Bobby closed his remarks with, what I think were some of the saddest words I have ever heard, “That is the kind of pastor I would want to have.”
How sad, that that pastor or for that matter anyone who professes to be a Christian would live their life in such a way that those that they come into contact with cannot tell if they are a Christian. I think that too many times we all act like we are not Christians. We all have much to learn about our faith and the impact it should have on our lives and the lives of others.
That is why I picked the Epistle reading for my sermon text this morning. I am not going to be able to go into any real depth because of time restraints, but it is my prayer that if you do not know of the grace of God yet, maybe because you still believe that there must be something that you have to do for God now that you are saved, you will by the time I am through this morning, know of God’s grace and the freedom he gives you through that grace.
For when you really understand God’s grace in your life, you will never be the same. You will be able to turn loose of all that binds you. You do not have to have all those possessions or that perfect job to prove your worth. You will finally be able to forgive that person that hurt you so long ago. You will start seeing yourself and others as forgiven sinners, who forgive each other. I know that this one might come as a shocker, but you will also be able to witness for God when he gives you the occasion to. And, last but not least you will find contentment as you join your fellow brothers and sisters in working together as we do the mission that God has given our congregation.
Okay, let’s take a look at the text starting with verse 12, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” What Paul is saying is listen up! I am going to tell you the cause of your sin and death problem. Adam, when he and Eve sinned, brought into the world what you could call a genetically transmitted disease. That disease is called sin and unlike other diseases, the disease of sin cannot be cut out of us, or cured by anything we do. We are all infected, and if we have children we have passed it on to them.
In verse 13 and 14 we read, “For before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.” Paul is telling us that it does not make any difference if the Law, which is the 10 Commandments, had not been given. People still died, that is proof in itself that sin existed even without the Law.
In verse 15 through 19 Paul states five more times that sin came into the world by Adam and righteousness by Christ. This makes a total of 7 times, the number that symbolizes completion. It is the truth, there is nothing to add or take away, it is a done deal. We as sinners are doomed because of sin, but with Christ there is forgiveness and life.
For the sake of time I will not read each verse, but Paul wants to make point. What he is saying is that if it is true, and it is, that Adam, being one man, brought sin and thus death into the world. Then why is it not possible for Jesus, the perfect man, the Son of God, to bring righteousness and life into the world?
Jesus through his death is the vaccine for our incurable inherited disease of sin. You no longer have to be afraid of life-threatening diseases or death itself. You know longer have to wonder about the purpose of your life. Jesus changed all that. You now belong to him.
Your purpose is to live your life as a Christian witness wherever you are in your life. It does not make any difference if you are a child, a teenager, a young adult, middle-aged, or retired. It does not make any difference if you are wealthy or poor, educated or uneducated, healthy or sick. It does not make any difference for your purpose is to live your life as a follower of Christ, right where God has put you.
Let me assure you that when problems come your way, and they will, you no longer have to feel pressured to fix everything yourself. You no longer have to feel despair or that life is hopeless and that you are helpless. You no longer have to feel like you have been left swinging in the wind. You can feel peace and confidence, because you know that the God who died in your place, who rose from the grave for you, will always be there to strengthen you and guide you in your time of need.
I ask you; what could be better than that? You don’t have search for who you really are, for God has found you and claimed you as his own. That is Good News. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 11:33 AM
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