6th Sunday after Pentecost 06/33/08 Text: Romans 6:12-23 Title: The power of the Gospel
6th Sunday after Pentecost
06/22/08
Text: Romans 6:12-23
Title: The Power of the Gospel
This morning’s Epistle reading is wonderful. Paul is writing the Christians in Rome, most who were not Jews. He longs to be there and tells them in the first chapter, verse 16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
Paul knows where salvation comes from. It is not human wisdom or human decision. It comes from the Word acting on the hearts of those who hear it. It is, as I like to say, “all about Jesus.” He goes on for several chapters, actually 5 telling his readers that all humans are condemned by the Law, for no one can perfectly keep the Law God commands us to keep. Now that might sound like a really hardnosed God, and he is in our view, but let us see if he is.
Without getting too technical, God is perfect in all things and because he is perfect he cannot have anything around him that is not perfect. I say that because if he allowed something to be less than perfect he would be less than perfect and then he could not be God
God created his earth and all that is in it, on it, and above it perfect. God wanted his human creation to love him and the only way that could happen is he had to let them have free will. You see, you cannot force someone to love you. The fly in the ointment so to speak, is that that free will got his human creation into trouble.
They were not satisfied having God be God. They wanted to be like God, to know as much as God knew and got into trouble for it. And because of that we live in a fallen world full of sin, evil, and because God cannot live with anything less than perfection; death. Death, the dread of all human beings, yet as Paul writes in chapter 6 death is the salvation of all human beings.
Several weeks back I talked to you about Jesus’ baptism and the need for Jesus to be baptized. John did not want to baptize him, but Jesus commands John to baptize Him so that Jesus would fulfill all righteousness. In other words meet the requirements of the law.
Jesus got baptized to die. His Baptism led Him to be crucified. Jesus calls his crucifixion a baptism so that you and I might call our baptism a crucifixion. That is what Paul is explaining in our Epistle reading for today, as he tells us that our Baptism is also a crucifixion, death and burial, and last, but not least a resurrection.
Anyone who tells you that Baptism is only symbolic directly contradicts the inspired word of the Apostle Paul. Such a person understands neither Jesus’ baptism nor his own. We, since we cannot know the mind of God, except for what he reveals, we have to do the best we can in using our language to explain the mysteries of God. It is what we have to do to explain what we cannot touch or see. And to do that we have to have faith, for it really does not make any difference whether we can see the things of God or not, for after all you can’t see the wind or gravity, but you know they exist. All of you who have been baptized into Christ have died with Christ. That is a reality because it is about what Jesus did and not what you do.
Paul tells us that we who are baptized are "dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus!" So we are dead as far as sin is concerned but alive as far as God and righteousness are concerned. Confusing is it not ?
Let me see if I can explain it better. Death is the punishment for sin, for we are told, "The wages of sin is death." Here is the critical part. In some mysterious way, according to God’s Holy Word, when you are baptized everything the Law demands as punishment for your sin is fulfilled in your Baptism. The Law requires death for sin and in baptism you die with Christ. It is finished. There is nothing left to punish, nothing left to condemn, nothing left to accuse, for no matter how sinful a person is while living when they are dead they cannot be accused, condemned or punished any more.
Since you are dead to sin even as you live, it means much more than the fact that God no longer counts your sins against you. It also means that insofar as you are a believer in Christ, sin no longer has any attraction for you. Oh, sin still attracts, tempts your old self which is an inescapable part of you, but being baptized into Christ, you are now more than just a sinner; you are also a saint.
And in you now lives a new man, that is Christ who has no attraction to sin. Think about the scene depicted by Paul. What can sin get a dead man to do? Does a dead man sit up and take notice of sin's attractions? Can a dead man be tempted? Can a dead man sin? Paul says in verse 6, “We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."
We may still be sinners by birth, but through our Baptism into Christ's death, the old sinful self no longer runs the show. The urge to sin is still in us, but in Baptism we have died to sin, so now we continue to die to sin daily by turning our backs on sin's desires and temptations. We do that by repenting every day of everything in us that is contrary to God's Commands.
Paul goes on to tell us how we should live out our baptismal gifts. Starting in verse 12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness. For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace."
So the way to not let sin dominate you, is to present yourself to God as a person who has died and been raised to life. As one brought out of death into life you no longer belong to sin. You have a new master. The hours of your day now belong to God. Your body and all its abilities belong to God. When you recognize that fact and quit fighting against it you will live a holier life. Sin will no longer be able to use you to satisfy the desires of your sinful self. Sin can and will no longer dominate you because Jesus and his righteousness will will dominate you.
And when Jesus’ will dominates you your life will not be the same. That is what bothers people. They think that if they turn their life over to God all the fun they are presently having will be gone. They believe that they will have to go around with sour faces and downcast eyes.
I would put forth that just the opposite happens when you live under the will of God. I would put forth that when you live outside the will of God that is when you live with sour faces and downcast eyes.
Think about it for a moment. What happens when you give into purposeful sin? You feel good don’t you? Sure you do, that is why you do it. You drink too much, you do drugs, watch porn, steal, gossip, and do all the other countless things to make you feel good.
But after you have done those things did you truly get peace, happiness and contentment from them? (A few seconds of silence, so they can think about it.) Every one of us would have to say no, but we continue too many times to fall into the trap of sin. There is an old proverb, “If you want to destroy your enemy, grant him his desires." That is Satan’s motto.
On the other hand, when you live under the holy will of God, under his dominion you have peace, contentment, and joy. You will always be a sinner, that is just the way it is, but sin no longer dominates your life. Due to the weakness of the flesh you will still fall into temptation and sin but in Christ you are always forgiven. Christ now lives in you. Sin doesn't dominate you, because, and it is a good thing, Jesus dominates you by his love.
So how would you like to live your life? The choice is yours; live the life of the world that ends up in guilt and unhappiness or live the life of Christ ending up in peace and joy? Amen.
06/22/08
Text: Romans 6:12-23
Title: The Power of the Gospel
This morning’s Epistle reading is wonderful. Paul is writing the Christians in Rome, most who were not Jews. He longs to be there and tells them in the first chapter, verse 16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
Paul knows where salvation comes from. It is not human wisdom or human decision. It comes from the Word acting on the hearts of those who hear it. It is, as I like to say, “all about Jesus.” He goes on for several chapters, actually 5 telling his readers that all humans are condemned by the Law, for no one can perfectly keep the Law God commands us to keep. Now that might sound like a really hardnosed God, and he is in our view, but let us see if he is.
Without getting too technical, God is perfect in all things and because he is perfect he cannot have anything around him that is not perfect. I say that because if he allowed something to be less than perfect he would be less than perfect and then he could not be God
God created his earth and all that is in it, on it, and above it perfect. God wanted his human creation to love him and the only way that could happen is he had to let them have free will. You see, you cannot force someone to love you. The fly in the ointment so to speak, is that that free will got his human creation into trouble.
They were not satisfied having God be God. They wanted to be like God, to know as much as God knew and got into trouble for it. And because of that we live in a fallen world full of sin, evil, and because God cannot live with anything less than perfection; death. Death, the dread of all human beings, yet as Paul writes in chapter 6 death is the salvation of all human beings.
Several weeks back I talked to you about Jesus’ baptism and the need for Jesus to be baptized. John did not want to baptize him, but Jesus commands John to baptize Him so that Jesus would fulfill all righteousness. In other words meet the requirements of the law.
Jesus got baptized to die. His Baptism led Him to be crucified. Jesus calls his crucifixion a baptism so that you and I might call our baptism a crucifixion. That is what Paul is explaining in our Epistle reading for today, as he tells us that our Baptism is also a crucifixion, death and burial, and last, but not least a resurrection.
Anyone who tells you that Baptism is only symbolic directly contradicts the inspired word of the Apostle Paul. Such a person understands neither Jesus’ baptism nor his own. We, since we cannot know the mind of God, except for what he reveals, we have to do the best we can in using our language to explain the mysteries of God. It is what we have to do to explain what we cannot touch or see. And to do that we have to have faith, for it really does not make any difference whether we can see the things of God or not, for after all you can’t see the wind or gravity, but you know they exist. All of you who have been baptized into Christ have died with Christ. That is a reality because it is about what Jesus did and not what you do.
Paul tells us that we who are baptized are "dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus!" So we are dead as far as sin is concerned but alive as far as God and righteousness are concerned. Confusing is it not ?
Let me see if I can explain it better. Death is the punishment for sin, for we are told, "The wages of sin is death." Here is the critical part. In some mysterious way, according to God’s Holy Word, when you are baptized everything the Law demands as punishment for your sin is fulfilled in your Baptism. The Law requires death for sin and in baptism you die with Christ. It is finished. There is nothing left to punish, nothing left to condemn, nothing left to accuse, for no matter how sinful a person is while living when they are dead they cannot be accused, condemned or punished any more.
Since you are dead to sin even as you live, it means much more than the fact that God no longer counts your sins against you. It also means that insofar as you are a believer in Christ, sin no longer has any attraction for you. Oh, sin still attracts, tempts your old self which is an inescapable part of you, but being baptized into Christ, you are now more than just a sinner; you are also a saint.
And in you now lives a new man, that is Christ who has no attraction to sin. Think about the scene depicted by Paul. What can sin get a dead man to do? Does a dead man sit up and take notice of sin's attractions? Can a dead man be tempted? Can a dead man sin? Paul says in verse 6, “We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."
We may still be sinners by birth, but through our Baptism into Christ's death, the old sinful self no longer runs the show. The urge to sin is still in us, but in Baptism we have died to sin, so now we continue to die to sin daily by turning our backs on sin's desires and temptations. We do that by repenting every day of everything in us that is contrary to God's Commands.
Paul goes on to tell us how we should live out our baptismal gifts. Starting in verse 12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness. For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace."
So the way to not let sin dominate you, is to present yourself to God as a person who has died and been raised to life. As one brought out of death into life you no longer belong to sin. You have a new master. The hours of your day now belong to God. Your body and all its abilities belong to God. When you recognize that fact and quit fighting against it you will live a holier life. Sin will no longer be able to use you to satisfy the desires of your sinful self. Sin can and will no longer dominate you because Jesus and his righteousness will will dominate you.
And when Jesus’ will dominates you your life will not be the same. That is what bothers people. They think that if they turn their life over to God all the fun they are presently having will be gone. They believe that they will have to go around with sour faces and downcast eyes.
I would put forth that just the opposite happens when you live under the will of God. I would put forth that when you live outside the will of God that is when you live with sour faces and downcast eyes.
Think about it for a moment. What happens when you give into purposeful sin? You feel good don’t you? Sure you do, that is why you do it. You drink too much, you do drugs, watch porn, steal, gossip, and do all the other countless things to make you feel good.
But after you have done those things did you truly get peace, happiness and contentment from them? (A few seconds of silence, so they can think about it.) Every one of us would have to say no, but we continue too many times to fall into the trap of sin. There is an old proverb, “If you want to destroy your enemy, grant him his desires." That is Satan’s motto.
On the other hand, when you live under the holy will of God, under his dominion you have peace, contentment, and joy. You will always be a sinner, that is just the way it is, but sin no longer dominates your life. Due to the weakness of the flesh you will still fall into temptation and sin but in Christ you are always forgiven. Christ now lives in you. Sin doesn't dominate you, because, and it is a good thing, Jesus dominates you by his love.
So how would you like to live your life? The choice is yours; live the life of the world that ends up in guilt and unhappiness or live the life of Christ ending up in peace and joy? Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 12:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home