Pentecost 5 6/23/13

Pentecost 5 6/23/13 Galatians 3:23-4:7 Abba! Father. This morning before I get into the Bible text I want to talk to you about I would like to read a short portion of a book titled: The Hammer of God by Bo Giertz. He is the Lutheran Swedish theologian that wrote the wonderful daily devotion titled To Live With Christ. It is required reading in Seminary and I read it every year along with Walther’s Law and Gospel. The reason I want to read it is that it deals exactly with the problem the Christian church deals with today; the putting of human wisdom and traditions above God’s Word. The part I am going to read is a conversation between an older pastor who has a correct understanding of God’s Word and a new pastor who has gotten caught up in popular belief that one’s salvation not only rests on Jesus’ saving act but on a person’s own piety. This thinking is widespread in the Christian church today and has caused many to struggle with their faith and some to even walk away from the Christian faith. “’I just wanted you to know from the beginning, sir, that I am a believer.’ [the young Pastor Fridfeldt] said to the [older pastor] “So you are a believer, I am glad to hear that. What do you believe in?” Fridfeldt stared dumfounded at his superior. “But, sir, I am simply saying that I am a believer.” “Yes, I hear that, my boy. But what is that you believe in?” Fridfeldt was almost speechless. “But don’t you know, sir, what it means to be a believer?” “That is a word which can stand for things that differ greatly, my boy. I ask only what is that you believe in.” “In Jesus, of course,” answered Fridfeldt, raising his voice. “I mean; that I have given him my heart.” “Do you consider that something to give him?” By this time, Fridfeldt was almost in tears. “But sir, if you do not give your heart to Jesus, you cannot be saved.” You are right, my boy. And it is just as true that, if you think you are saved because you give your Jesus your heart, you will not be saved. “You see, my boy.” He continued reassuringly, as he continued to look at the young pastor’s face, in which uncertainty and resentment were shown in a struggle for the upper hand, “It is one thing to choose Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior, to give him one’s heart and commit oneself to him, and that he now accepts one into his little flock; it is a very different thing to believe on him as a Redeemer of sinners, of whom one is chief. One does not choose a Redeemer for oneself, you understand, nor give one’s heart to him. The heart is a rusty old can on a junk heap. A fine birthday gift, indeed! But a wonderful Lord passes by, and has mercy on the wretched tin can, sticks his walking cane through it, and rescues it from the junk pile and takes it home with him. That is how it is.” The old pastor is correct, for that is how it is. Each one of us, spiritually speaking are rusty cans, not fit for God’s use, if it were not for God’s favor toward us on account of Jesus’ death. Jesus in his death took us off of the spiritual junk heap and made us before God into shiny new cans fit to be filled with God’s love and mercy toward others. That is who we are in Christ, but quite often we don’t act like it do we? We don’t act like it because, if we were honest with ourselves we really do prefer to be in the junk heap with all the other rusty cans trying to convince each other that we really are nice and shiny cans which deserve better in life. The problem though is that even as we try to convince ourselves and others that we are nice and shiny cans deserving better in life and that we really are not on a junk heap, we know, deep down that we are truly not nice and shiny cans. We know that and yet we keep on polishing up the outside of our can while the inside rusts away threating to expose our true self to those around us and we are terrified. That is us, hiding our fears, our uncertainties, our sorrows, our loneliness, our pain; afraid that that those who know us will discover our true self. Scared to death so we go through life trying to control everything around us; making new rules, even rules about how we are to worship and receive blessings from God so that we can find comfort and security within our self. The problem is though, and every one of us knows it, living our lives that way just does not work; at least in the long run. We are rusting away from the inside out, even as keep slapping on new shiny material on the outside, so that no one can see the rust and decay. We must acknowledge our insecurities, our sorrow, our fears; all sins before God, so that he can heal us with the blood of Jesus. Jesus alone provides the security, joy, and peace in our lives that we so desperately need. Jesus alone is the only one that can pick you up off of the junk heap of life and make you whole, whole not as the world sees wholeness, but as God sees wholeness; wholeness in Christ. Last week I talked to you about Paul’s statement of faith as God has had recorded for us. Paul writes in chapter 2, verse 20 of his letter to the Galatian Christians, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” “Crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” are some of the most compelling of humbling words that have ever been written. Paul is not saying that he is sin free in that verse. Paul knows who he is without Christ, a doomed sinner, a rusty, decaying can, but in and with Christ, he is a shiny whole new can ready to be used for God’s glory. That is why Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit continues in our Epistle reading for today to tell us that we too are made new in Christ. It is not our doing, for at our best we can only try to obey the commands of the law. We must be made new from someone outside of ourselves In today’s Epistle verse six, Paul tells us who that someone is. “6And because you are sons, (and I would add daughters. Paul uses sons because only sons at the time could inherit property. This morning I read in the newspaper that England still has that law in their country) God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” We are all spiritually dead and just as dead bodies cannot bring themselves to life we cannot bring our spiritual self to life. Thank goodness we have someone outside of us to change us, to give us life. We have the Holy Spirit our helper who cries out to God “Abba Father” on our behalf, raising us to new life in Christ. Thus we are children of God, assured of his love and forgiveness. Amen.