Grace, Mercy, and
Peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Amen
Now
we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding
this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and
disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those
who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the
sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers,
and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in
accordance with the gospel of the glory of the
blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
In the Name of Jesus
Ever wonder why certain products that you can buy have such
ridiculously obvious warnings on them?
Like a box of matches with the warning: contents may catch fire! Or a bottle of pepper spray that warns: Never
aim at your own eyes! How about a rain
gauge letting you know that it is suitable for outdoor use? Perhaps my favorite is the side effect of a
sleeping aid: may cause drowsiness.
Why? Why would one
need to be warned of these things?
Aren’t they just stating the obvious?
After all how often do you buy matches without the intent to light its
contents on fire or a rain gauge to measure the amount of rain that falls
inside your house? It seems so ridiculous
that it is funny to read.
Why do we need those reminders of what not to do? Why do we need rules and regulations? It would seem that all we need is a little
common sense and these issues would just go away. Why do we need civil laws? Who are these laws for? It’s for those who do not know how to behave
on their own. It is a way to keep peace
and order in society. Sometimes it is
for our own good. Other times it seems
to be a bit ridiculous. It is easy for
us to make the case that these laws aren’t for us. We know how to act in public. We know how to act towards each other. But we can also say that there are definitely
those who need theses instructions.
What then can we say about God’s Law? Why do we need it? Why do we need to have the pastor seemingly
shove it down our throats each week reminding us about how bad of a person we
are? Why do I need to be reminded of God’s
Law, the 10 commandments, when I have never killed anyone, I haven’t cheated on
my wife, and I am in church every Sunday.
Pastor, why don’t you just save those words for people who really need
to hear about it. Go visit so and so who
needs to be reminded of how horrible they are and that they have sinned against
God. Just please let me live my
life.
Now we know that the
law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding
this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and
disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners.
It is a good thing
we all fall in the just category isn’t it.
How much worse would life be if we had to be reminded of our evilness
and be read the Law of God and be told how horrible we are. Praise God we are good Christians who aren’t
in need of that.
If
we indeed are so well behaved, why do we even need the law? Could we live without the Law? Of course!
Some might even argue that life without the Law would be a happy
one. How many of you are willing to
admit that you are a sinner? Clearly
Paul was in touch with reality in our Epistle reading. He says of himself and his actions concerning
Christ and the church, . It is a hard thing to come to grips with. But then we are reminded of the words we just
spoke already this service: If we say we have no sin we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us. Of course we are sinners. Deep down we know that even if we don’t
really want to believe it. We know it
because of the second use of the Law, using the Law as a mirror. When we place our lives up to the Law we can
see how we have sinned against it. How
we have not loved God with our whole heart or our neighbor as ourselves. We need the obvious warnings to call us away
from this life. We are all those for
whom the law was written. We are just as
much as Paul, the chief of sinners.
Warnings,
like those talked about at the beginning of this sermon, are for those who
can’t help themselves. It is for those
who, even though it’s all spelled out for them, are still susceptible to being
enticed into danger. Jesus is the
warning for the Law. He is the one who
teaches us of the effects of the Law. He
teaches us through his word about the consequences, namely hell. He teaches us also by his actions, by
enduring the punishment for sin. Here is
your thought for the week. When Jesus
went to the cross he did so bearing the sins of the whole world. Paul thought he was the chief of
sinners? No, that title belonged to our
Lord. He became sin for us. He bore every single sin of the whole
world. That means became, for us, the
worst murder, the worst adulterer, the worst gossiper, the worst criminal so
that he would bear the death, pay the price reserved for us.
Watch
any movie or TV show and you know, the good guy always wins. The cop always catches the killer. So it is in life. The Gospel always prevails. The Gospel overpowers the Law. It was good versus evil on the hill that was
called, the place of the skull. The evil
seemed to be gaining the upper hand. But
with each strike of Christ’s body, with each hit of the nails that entered his
body, evil was only killing itself. IT
was through those marks that evil was ultimately and eternally defeated.
When
Paul wanted to make his point clear, when he wants to really emphasis it, he
starts with the saying words that mark is special, Paul’s version of hear ye
hear ye. So we have that in our epistle.
Jesus
came to save sinners. That was his sole
purpose. He saves us first by pointing
out our errors, our sins, and showing us how we have failed miserably at
keeping God’s Law and then he swoops in and becomes the sacrifice. Friends in Christ, see yourselves in Paul and
in our Old Testament and Gospel readings.
We are the lost sheep that the shepherd goes after. We are the coin which the widow turns up the
entire house to find. We were lost in
our sin. But Christ rescued us. He sought us out to be his prized possession. It is over each one of us that Christ and the
angels have rejoiced when we repented, when we were baptized, when, after being
lost, were found and brought home.
So
why did Christ show such mercy and concern of us? Paul says I received mercy for this reason, that in
me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an
example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
There
are plans for you. Christ didn’t come to
save you and not use you. We are living,
walking, breathing, examples of his mercy nearly 2,000 years after he
lived. We are to share the great news
and the great joy we have in life because of the mercies of Christ. We are to show that you don’t need to be
lawless to enjoy life. All you need is Christ. And then, even in the midst of the suffering
of the cross we face today, take joy in the fact that even though earthy things
pass away, even though the world will pass away, even though we become lock and
lost in sin we belong to Christ and he will take us to himself. He daily gives us that joy that lifts our
souls to heaven in the words of the absolution.
Show that joy, that confidence you have because of Christ each day. Paul did not deserve to be saved, in his
words. You and I do not deserve to be
saved, but Christ gave you glorious hope in the cross. But Christ saved us so
that he could work through us. Therefore
bear his love, his forgiveness, and promises always on your lips.
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the
only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Soli
Deo Gloria
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