Sermon for 7/31/22: Seventh Sunday After Trinity

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No video link this week. My apologies.

Wages and Gift

Romans 6:19-23

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

In terms of how the world works, St. Paul’s time was probably not that different from ours. Things may change, but people don’t. This world has difficulty even acknowledging the reality of sin and those far-reaching fingers of the consequences of sin. We see the evils in our world: the unabated slaughter of the unborn; the starvation of millions because of large-scale political corruption; masses of people, even entire nations, subjected to terror by a few who seem to be operating without conscience. We know that sin is active and destructive. Satan isn’t even hiding his methods anymore. But even we, who should be sensitive to the ugly reality of sin, insulate ourselves against it, thinking sin resides elsewhere; it’s in those people in those places, and we don’t have anything to do with that. But can we see what sin is doing to us?

Throughout this text, and in pretty much the entire Epistle to the Romans, Paul uses the word “sin” in the singular sense. He does not see sin as a series of wrong words or deeds. Now, the world, when it allows itself to consider such a concept as sin, views sin as bad thoughts, words, and deeds, and these add up to something that might be considered bad, sinful, or even evil. That’s because the world believes that all people are basically good. The world denies that we are conceived and born sinful. The apostle teaches us otherwise; he teaches a true definition of sin. Sin is an enslaving power. It is a condition, a sickness—and a desperate one at that.

Simply put, sin is alienation from God. Sin is our determination to be independent of Him. And that determination paints a false picture of freedom. Think of it like this. You have the freedom to jump out of a ten-story window. You can do that if you like, and no one is going to stop you. But that freedom does not free you from the laws of gravity. In the same way, life is meant to be geared toward God, toward His purpose and His promise. But sin gets dramatically in the way of that. And so, it is not simply a matter of what might be going on somewhere else. But do you really understand that the ill feelings you have toward your spouse are actually sin against God? Do you realize that hatred of your neighbor is really hatred of God? The title “chief of sinners” is not about somebody else; it belongs to you.

It’s not a pretty picture. But thanks be to God, for it’s not the only picture available. Yes, the wages of sin is death; that is truly the payment we have earned for ourselves. Our bodies will die; they will crumble and decay. But that is not the end. Christ will call us out of our graves on the Last Day, when we will rise to live forever. For “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The Son of God entered this broken world to change this tragic picture. He came to restore and to heal, to draw together everything that was torn apart by sin. Through His death He destroyed our sin and the death we have earned. In that one decisive event at the cross, Jesus overcame the world and all that leads to death. By that one supreme act, He shattered those bonds against which we struggle in vain.

And now, you see, there is that “newness of life” about which Paul had spoken earlier in this same chapter. The whole thrust of this Epistle to the Romans is that the one whom God justifies in Jesus Christ lives! Sin is forgiven; the awful strain it puts on life has been lifted! Striving for righteousness and goodness is no longer a burden because the righteousness of Christ is a gift that accompanies forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. Just as marriage is the beginning of a life together, so this restoration marks the beginning of a life with God that is completely and forever new!

Paul says that we are “slaves” of God, but this is a slavery like no other. We are slaves who actually know a freedom that passes human understanding. Slavery to sin has been cut off once and for all, so that we might take on a higher service to God—slavery in a way that spells freedom and the breath of life that could never before be imagined! We are God’s; we belong to Him, and He and all that He is and has becomes ours. This is how it will be forever and forever!

How different that is from the world around us, with all its striving and struggling for life. This world fears the end it knows is coming, that moment when all that has been success will be exhausted, when the beauty of the past becomes today’s decay. This remains the wages for those who have lived life for self, without God. But it is not so for you! Here is the gift of eternal life to all who are in Christ Jesus: life and salvation—“the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Receive it this day in the words that enter your ears. Receive it upon your lips as the Savior’s very body and blood fill you with life and joy. It is the medicine of immortality, and it is yours, a free gift purchased and won by the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.