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Prayer: Thank you for your gift of grace, O God. We pray that our hearts might
be open to your life giving presence this day. In Jesus name, AMEN.
We come into the presence of an awesome God this morning. A God who has the
power to save. A God who wants to save all people. That means that whatever
your background or baggage, whatever your achievements or losses, God is here
for you with a word of hope and an offering of salvation. God has the power
to save. We sometimes forget that. There is not a hopeless situation in this
sanctuary that is beyond God’s power to save. Not only that, God desires
to save.
Paul says to us, “I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of
God for salvation to everyone who has faith. . .” This faith is simply
a willingness to turn to God and in the name of Jesus Christ have a relationship
with God that is full of love, hope and grace. Across the pages of this bible,
book after book reveals a God who reaches out to us. As a God who has the
power to save and the desire to save, he only asks that we turn to him and
invite him to come.
In this letter to the Romans, Paul starts right at the basis of our need.
He says, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
Let’s just pause at that statement for a moment. The word of God says
we have all sinned. This is not always easy for us to embrace. We are all
tempted to compare ourselves with the axe murderer in the newspaper. When
we do so, we look pretty good. We all can be tempted to embrace a “good
enough” theology. That means that if I am just good enough then I will
be all right with God.
We often have some sort of cosmic scale in our heads that says if we keep
the weight on the good side heavier than the bad side then when we die Peter
opens the pearly gates for us. And yet the scriptures tell us that just isn’t
how it works. When we understand God to be God, that is a God who is holy,
majestic Creator, full of perfect love – when we understand ourselves
to be people of rebellion, people who make ourselves gods and who are not
holy, then we begin to see we are lost. And yet this is not the final word.
The word is not “go out and do better.” The word is not “you
are forever damned to hell.” The word is found when we finish this verse.
Let’s look at it again: “...for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through
faith in his blood” (Romans 3: 23-25).
Illustration: If you have taken some time to read the brochure in today’s
bulletin you would hear a story of grace. In it is the wonderful testimony
of how “Sue” in the midst of being a good wife, good mom, good worker
still had a sense of not being good enough. She shares how there was no direction
to her life and no sense of purpose. We celebrate her encounter with God’s
saving grace that turned that all around. She is such a gift to this church.
This brochure is for you to read and enjoy as well as share with someone you
think might be interested in “Sue’s” story.
God saves, we receive, therefore let us rejoice. God’s answer to all
of our striving is to offer us salvation. God’s answer to all of our
rebellion is to open the way for reconciliation. God’s answer for all
our sin is mercy. Just as God offered “Sue” a better way, God offers
a better way to all those gathered here this morning.
The crazy thing is that some of us who have known and received the mercies
of God can lose sight of God’s grace. We began well. We asked for forgiveness
of sins and have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, giving witness to
redemption in Jesus Christ. We may even grow as disciples of Christ. And yet
if we were to have a conversation with one of us now, you might hear a lot
of “I’s”. “I did this. . . I’m doing that . . . I’m
about to be part of this”. For all that “I” language there
is a sense of isolation from God and others. Without even being aware, we
can get so busy in the church we forget that it is by God’s grace that
we are saved. It is God’s grace that continues to save us. It is God’s
grace from which our lives are to be lived. Despite all that grace we get
back into striving and to pointless effort to be “good enough” once
again.
Sometimes we begin to believe our own boasting. We can become harsh judges
of those who do not seem to live up to our standards. We run ourselves ragged
and get angry if others aren’t running with us. We begin to see ourselves
as indispensable to the work of God and to the local church. We forget through
whom the work of God is done and who’s church we serve.
Sometimes I imagine God with his hands in the air in disbelief. “Why,
once you have known grace do you return to this bondage?” We have a hard
time resting in grace. Our Psalm this morning calls us to “Be still and
know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). This is the place from which our lives
are to be lived. So that any gift we share with the church community is grounded
in grace. Anybody who preaches, teaches, or sings in this place is a person
who is saved by grace. Any good work that springs from our lives is not for
the purpose of securing our place in heaven. This good work is an expression
of thanks to a God who saves, a God who redeems.
Illustration
I heard of an elderly woman who was in her last days on this earth. She was
one of the saints of the local church. As death became imminent she began
to fret. She would tell visitors that she hadn’t done enough for God.
She wasn’t ready to die. The people visiting with her would try to assure
her that she had done enough. They reminded her that she had taught Sunday
school for all those years. That she gave sacrificially to the work of the
church. That she was in church whenever the doors were open. This went on
for quite some time. She was unsettled in her heart and those visiting could
not seem to find the words to calm her. Finally a visitor came in who heard
this woman’s fretful ruminations. The visitors response was, “Of
course you haven’t done enough“. There were some surprised gasps
in the room. She went on, “That’s why Christ died for you. Through
Christ you are saved“. The women responded, “Oh yes, that’s
right”, and she was able to know peace again.
God saves, we receive, therefore let us rejoice. God’s answer to all
of our striving is to offer us salvation. God’s answer to all of our
rebellion is to open the way for reconciliation. God’s answer for all
our sin is mercy. Just as God offered this saint of God a better way, God
offers a better way to all of us gathered here this morning. Hear this good
news: God’s heart desire is to bring salvation to all people. For every
time we have called upon God to draw near he has called our name a thousand
times. For every time we have fallen or strayed he has in his mercy and grace
offered us a way home. “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded”
(Romans 3:27).
We are all busy people. This church is filled with those who work hard and
are trying hard to do the right thing. The word of God this morning seems
to be a call to be still and receive the gift of grace. Be still and know
the presence of a God who seeks you out. Be still and allow the good news
of God’s mercy to settle upon your soul. You do not have to be perfect
this morning. You do not have to come all cleaned up to be accepted. You do
not have to have everything figured out. God simply invites you to come. He’s
been seeking you for a long time. His desire to save you is greater than you
can imagine. Are you tired of trying to do it alone? Are you tired of feeling
like you’re never going to be good enough? Are you tired of being angry
at yourself and others? Let us turn to God and receive his abundant gift of
mercy.
Bruce, F. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Revised Edition:
Romans. Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1998.
Dawn, M. Truly the Community: Romans 12 and How to be the Church.
Grand Rapids, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992.
Fitzmyer, J. Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary. New York, Doubleday, 1992.
Harrisville, R. Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Romans.
Minneapolis, Augsburg Publishing House, 1980.
Soards, M., Dozeman, T., McCabe, K. Preaching the Revised Common
Lectionary. “Year A: After Pentecost 1”. Nashville, Abingdon
Press, 1992.
Moo, D. The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The
Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996.
