The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of June 21, 2020
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Message from Romans
6:12-23
This summer we will be spending time in the book of Romans. As we
heard last week, Martin Luther said, “This
epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest
gospel. It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word
for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day,
as the daily bread of the soul. We can never read it or ponder over it
too much; for the more we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the
better it tastes.”
This Summer we pray that you will occupy yourself with this book, not just
in worship, but in study, that you will ponder over it and deal with the truths
found in it.
Last week, as we looked at Romans chapter five, Pastor Kritzer gave us a
big $2 word—Justification. He said that Justification is “A legal
declaration, and it declares our new status before God because of the decision
and action of God, in and through Jesus Christ.”
In the first five chapters of Romans, Paul has argued the case of
humanity. His main points include:
·
The depravity of the flesh- we are fallen
creatures who’s inherent nature is sinful, we crave our own desires.
·
The reality of sin- our imperfection is
fatal… we deserve death!
·
The centrality of grace- we did nothing
to earn or merit the love of God. We do not deserve to be in relationship
with the God of heaven, but Jesus takes the punishment meant for us.
In exchange for the death we deserved and the guilt we have earned,
through faith, He has granted us His own holiness and perfection. Now God
sees us as the righteousness of Christ. But even in the midst of this
good news our sinful minds start asking questions, “What now?” “How do we
respond to this good news?” “If God has done it all, where do I fit
in?” “What is my part in all of this?”
Today we ponder the words in Romans 6 where Paul starts to answer these
questions. Paul gives us a good, before and after picture of our
lives. Before- our lives in sin… after- our lives in Christ.
Let's start at verse 16, “16 Don’t
you know that if you offer to be someone’s slave, you must obey that
master? Either your master is sin, or your master is obedience.
Letting sin be your master leads to death. Letting obedience be your
master leads to God’s approval. 17 You were slaves to
sin. But I thank God that you have become wholeheartedly obedient to the
teachings which you were given. 18 Freed from sin, you
were made slaves who do what God approves of.” (Romans 6:16-18)
I know that the word “slave” holds a lot of cultural baggage. Some
of this is bubbling up in our society and culture today.
Let me be perfectly clear, slavery and discrimination are abhorrent
sinful acts. The practice of superiority and inferiority in humanity
is not in line with God’s love. Remember what we heard last week, there
is no one whom God does not love and no one for whom God has not died
for.
The effects of centuries of slavery in our own country has created vast
divides and still effects our culture. But I believe we are embarking on
a time of deep introspection as a country and as citizens of the world as we
ponder and deal with systemic sin. I pray that the greater understanding
of all lives matter to God will become the norm.
I also pray that we can come to an understanding that repentance and
reconciliation are powerful ways to heal the deep divisions we see and that
God’s justification is freely given to everyone, even those whom you may disagree
with.
That same deep introspection is also needed because Paul rightly describes
all humanity as slaves to sin. When sin is in control, there is only
death.
You see, there is a deep divide between a holy God and sinful
humanity. That’s why Jesus came. That is what Paul has building to
in the first five chapters of Romans.
While it might be grating to our ears to hear the language Paul uses, he
does so to make a point. He uses the status of a slave to describe our
connection to sin, and as you read more of Paul’s letters you will find him
describe himself as a slave of the gospel as well.
This radical change comes as Christ dies and rises again to defeat the
power of sin and to show the radical change that has been made in us. Notice
the tense Paul uses in verse 17. “17 You were slaves to sin.” (Romans
6:17)
Our slavery to sin is in the past! In Christ we are made new!
It is the most amazing before and after story the world has ever known.
I am sure you have all read or heard before and after stories. You
know the ones where an event has changed someone’s life, a diet, a surgery, a
major life event. In many ways we are living in the middle of a massive
before and after event.
It’s almost hard to remember time before Corona virus. Those days
almost seem like another lifetime. Before the pandemic I wouldn’t think
twice about attending a sporting event, walking down the street, going to the
store or even grabbing the door handle. But it seems that everything has
changed. I see images of large crowds and I get a little butterfly in my
stomach, I find myself crossing to the other side of the street when I go
for a walk and someone is coming the other way. I think twice before I
grab that door handle or use the buttons at the ATM or grocery store or in an
elevator. I’m not sure we truly know all of the ramifications that will
be a result of all of this. While we are able to gather in socially
distanced groups, it’s not what it once was and I’m not sure it will ever
be. Part of me pines for the good old days, pre-pandemic, but the other
part of me knows that things will forever be different.
We are also in the middle of a cultural before and after in regards to how
we has humans treat each other. The sin of racism and discrimination
based on culture or language or political views has held a tight grip on some
and is deplorable. What will be the result of all of this? I’m
not sure, but I do hope that the emerging normal will be one filled with love
and not divisiveness and hate. Something needs to change.
There is another before and after experience that is a part of the human
experience. Those who are in Christ have been brought from death to life,
from slavery to sin to slavery of obedience. Because of our depraved
flesh, because sin is a reality, we know full well our “before” status.
In fact, many of us like our “before” status.
·
But in our sin we are enemies of God.
·
In our sin we cannot please God.
·
And if we ever have a hope of a continued
relationship with Him, something needs to change.
We are in need of a before and after story or our
own. The results of such a story cannot come from our own actions, for we
are incapable of making the necessary changes.
You see it was one
day, many years ago God decided to do something different. Up to that
point God had been struggling with the weight of sin, a definite problem.
For his creation had been yo-yoing between doing the right thing and sin,
eventually tipping the scales in the way of sin.
But God’s love
never fluctuated. His creation had tried everything, including doing good
works and just about every fad program that had guaranteed success, and they
all failed miserably. Ultimately humanity became more and more
sinful.
Nothing seemed to
work right. Many tried to say that humanity was not that bad and we don’t
need to do anything about the evil in the world. Sin and loneliness
became humanities best friends. During stressful times humanity seemed
forget God and many strove to become perfect in all aspects in life except
where sin was concerned. That was the one thing that could be
controlled.
But eventually the
weight of sin came crashing down. Humanity suffered attacks from the
devil himself. It was subtle at first but became intense. Humanity
refused to see that anything was wrong, but the pain and suffering
continued.
But one day
everything changed. In a stable, in a small village God came to earth in
Jesus Christ, who went to the cross where the weight of sin came crashing down
on him so that we can look into the mirror and not hate what we see.
It was a change
that we could not make for everything we had done up to that point was
wrong. Our way of living would only lead to death. Our course had
to be reversed and Jesus flip-flopped with us to change our lives.
And this is not simply a feel good story, it is the truth that is founded
on the centrality of grace and the action of a loving father. On this
Father’s Day, we see the ultimate love of our Heavenly Father For in Him we
have been changed. He moves us from before to after.
Most before and after stories revolve around health,
and this one is no different. Before we were sick, we had a fatal disease
that we were slaves to. Our sin has captured us, but those who are in
Christ have been healed. We now are healthy and can as Paul tells us to
produce fruit. And that is the “after” part of the story. We are
called to bear fruit.
From Romans 6 starting in the second half of verse 19,
“Clearly, you once offered all the parts of your
body as slaves to sexual perversion and disobedience. This led you to
live disobedient lives. Now, in the same way, offer all the parts of your body
as slaves that do what God approves of. This leads you to live holy lives.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from doing
what God approves of.
21 What did you gain by doing those things? You’re
ashamed of what you used to do because it ended in death. 22 Now
you have been freed from sin and have become God’s slaves. This results
in a holy life and, finally, in everlasting life. 23 The
payment for sin is death, but the gift that God freely gives is everlasting
life found in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:19-23)
Last week the big two dollar word
was Justification. Today the big two dollar word is,
“sanctification.” This is the what’s next part of what Paul has been
leading to.
This is our daily “after”
reality. After repentance, contrition and forgiveness, we seek to
live, freed from sin and slaves to doing what God approves. It is
time for the rubber to meet the road so to speak. And I want to share
three things from the text today:
#1- We are all slaves. We are no longer slaves to
sin, but because of Jesus we are now slaves to righteousness. We can live
righteous lives because of the grace freely given to us. We still feel
the effects of sin because of our fallen nature but one day this will all pass
away and we won’t have to worry anymore.
#2- Slaves inherit reward. Slaves to sin inherit death
but slaves to righteousness inherit eternal life. It is not the type of
thinking we are used to. One who is in slavery often is mistreated, they
do not receive many benefits but because we are now slaves to righteousness we
are given the ultimate reward, eternal life!
#3- We are called to bear fruit. As we live our lives in
Christ, as we live out our faith and produce fruits that bring blessings to our
neighbors. Jesus himself tells us of this calling when he said, “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree
bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke. 6:43-44).
The fruit that we
should be known by is the fruit of grace. The fruit that has the power to
change, the fruit of forgiveness, compassion, mercy and love. This
is what can change our world and make our new emerging reality a place of
acceptance for all.
Paul was getting to
this in the first part of Chapter 6 where he writes, “12 Therefore, never let sin rule your
physical body so that you obey its desires. 13 Never
offer any part of your body to sin’s power. No part of your body should
ever be used to do any ungodly thing. Instead, offer yourselves to God as
people who have come back from death and are now alive. Offer all the
parts of your body to God. Use them to do everything that God approves
of. 14 Certainly, sin shouldn’t have power over you
because you’re not controlled by God’s laws, but by God’s favor.” (Romans 6:12:14)
As we conclude let me pose some
questions for us to occupy our minds with this week to ponder and to deal with
our text from Romans and to let it become sweet to us. I ask you to
occupy your thoughts and ponder the following:
1. How does our sinful past still find
ways of impacting our current and future reality?
2. When this happens what can be done?
3. What are some of the things that
need to be confessed from your past as you move into the reality of bearing
fruit?
As you ponder this remember what
Jesus has already done for you. He has moved you from before to after and
has placed you to make today and tomorrow a better place until he brings you to
his place in heaven.
- Pr. Seth Moorman
posted by Aimee Coleman @ 2:22 PM
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