Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Alive and Free! (A sermon based on Romans 6:19b-23)

​What a blessing to have the freedoms that we enjoy in our nation! But sadly, we sometimes use our freedom to act like we're free from God. Our sinful nature enjoys a freedom from righteousness. But that "freedom" leads to real slavery and ultimately to death and hell. Thank God that he set us free -- truly free! -- from sin and satan, from death and hell. And he gives us a real life of freedom as we live to serve him! Read or listen to (download) this sermon based on Romans 6:19b-23 and rejoice that in Christ we are alive and free!​

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Alive and Free!

A sermon based on Romans 6:19b-23

Sunday, April 22, 2018 – Easter 4B

 

Crack! The whip snapped and hit hard across his back. It felt like a dagger stabbed between his shoulder blades. In fact, he did have a deep cut where the whip struck. He could feel the blood start to flow down his back, mixed with the sweat. The master screamed, "Pick up that shovel, boy! You get back to work!" And so, he picked up the shovel and got back to work, feeling a blister on his hand pop, he knew that that pain was less than another crack of the whip.

At the end of a long, hard day, he was shoved into a cage with chain and lock preventing his escape. He was given a small blanket and a dish of some food that was hard to identify and a container of dirty water. Nearly starved he devoured the gruel in seconds and gulped the water to chase it down. This was a tough life—the life of a slave.

Thank God that slavery is now outlawed in our nation and that the idea of one man owning another as if he were only a possession and less than human now seems barbaric. Of course, that wasn't always the case, in this nation or in other countries. In fact, slavery is still alive and well in some parts of the world. Sex slaves are sold and trafficked in an underground market that leaves people feeling trapped and helpless in the abuse they daily endure.

And it is this picture of slavery—one perhaps more familiar to the Romans of his day than it is to us in the land of the free—that the apostle uses to describe the new life we have in Christ. Though we were once slaves to sin, we've been set free! And now, as counter-intuitive as it may sound, we gladly offer ourselves to be slaves again!—not to sin, but to God. Our text for consideration this morning is found in Romans 6:19-23…

 

19 Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

If a slave were able to escape, to run away from the abuse and the pain, the humility and shame, if he could take his family with him and flee to the north on the Underground Railroad… well, as long as there was a reasonable chance of success, who wouldn't want to be free?

But sadly, many view God as an abusive master, chaining us to boredom and cruelly punishing us whenever we disobey his arbitrary will. And so they try to run away from him. But the "freedom" they gain is no freedom at all. It's more like the teen who runs away from home to get the freedom she so longs for – the freedom from the rules that mom and dad so strictly impose. But once she's made it a few miles from home, she sees how great that freedom really is. No shelter, no warmth, no food, friends.

That's how it is with each of us and God, isn't it? We act like spoiled brats! "God, don't tell me what to do! Don't impose your strict laws and commands on me! Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?!" And so, we run away from home. "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way…" (Isaiah 53:6) We choose our own morals, our own lifestyle, our own way. And we end up alone… and worse…

Imagine that that teen that ran away from home was then picked up by a gang of so-called friends, eager to help her out. But in reality they were eager to imprison her, to sell her body, to gain from her pain. What a terrible fate—to trade the benevolent "captivity" of mom and dad, for the malevolent captivity of such evil men.

In such a way the supposed freedom from God always ends in genuine slavery. "When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness." But that freedom didn't end well. It ended in slavery to sin, death, hell. The whip of the law cracks! It cuts us open! "Do this! Do it perfectly! Work harder! Become better! Be more kind! Be more loving! And if you don't… well… there's hell to pay!" Freedom from righteousness means slavery to sin. And, as Paul so bluntly put it, "Those things result in death!"

What we deserve for running away from God is death—that is to be separated from him forever for separating ourselves from him in rebellion. We, who run away from God, deserve to be enslaved to satan and hell for all of eternity for offering ourselves, "as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness…" That's what we earn. That's what we deserve. That's what our compensation should be. "For the wages of sin is death…"

 

One night, after a long hard day of work, the slave shivered curled up under the thin blanket of his cell. But hearing a noise at the door of his cage he bolted upright. "Who's there?" he demanded. The stranger replied, "Shhhh! We don't want to get caught!" And with a crack as loud as the whip that struck his back, the lock broke in two. The stranger opened the door of the cage and helped the slave to his feet. "Come on! Follow me! We're getting you out of here! You're going to be a free man!"

When we were enslaved to sin and satan, to death and hell, God sent his Son on a rescue mission. He took our place as he lived chained to the law for us. And try as it might, the whip of the law couldn't reach Jesus as he kept every one of its demands perfectly. But then, he who was totally free from sin and death, took our sin on himself and submitted to death. The Master of all, humbly became a slave. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

And by his death, he broke chains of sin that held us captive. By his resurrection, he shattered the doors of death! "Now… you have been set free from sin… and the result is eternal life." And we did nothing to aid in our emancipation! God did it all and gave it to us as gift! Though we earn hell as the wages of our sin, eternal life is free gift from God! "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:23 is a verse well worth memorizing because it so succinctly captures the message of the entire Bible! We earn death—separation not just of the soul from the body, but separation from God—for all the times we've wanted to be free from him. But we don't get the death we've earned. Instead we get eternal life!

Romans 6:23 is a verse well worth memorizing because of the sweet comfort it offers. Salvation, emancipation, freedom, and ultimately eternal life is given to us as a gift from God. Now, if I tell you that I will give you a gift if you help me clean my garage first… well, that's no gift anymore, is it? If you have to do something (anything!) to get a gift it's a wage, not a gift. A gift has no strings attached. Ponder that for a moment and take joy in this truth: Eternal life is a gift. You don't have to clean up your act. You don't have work yourself up to the proper level of repentance. You don't have to have a "strong enough" faith. You don't have to do anything! It's all been done by Jesus. And eternal life is given to you as a gift, free of charge, no strings attached.

But, because we are recipients of such an awesome gift, we want to clean up our act, practice daily repentance, and strengthen our faith. Because we are recipients of such an awesome everlasting gift, because we've been forgiven, because we've been set free, we willingly make ourselves slaves to God. And we will be blessed as we do.

Think of it this way: Who here has a pet at home? A dog? A cat? Where's the best place for that pet to be? Free? In the wild, scrounging for food, trying to keep warm in the winter, avoiding predators, and struggling to survive? Or in the confinement of your home where that pet is well-fed, warm, and loved? At the end of a leash that keeps it from running into traffic or going after the bear? Real freedom for a dog or cat is found in being a pet, enslaved, if you will, by a loving master who cares for it, feeds it, loves it, and yes, even puts it on a leash to protect it from getting lost or hit by a car.

And real freedom for a human is found in being God's slave, cared for by him, fed by him, loved by him, and yes, even curbed by his law to protect us from losing our faith and falling away. So we gladly submit to God and to his law. And if we don't understand a law it's not because the law is arbitrary, the fault is in our understanding, not God's commanding. So trusting the one who set us free from slavery to sin and satan, to death and hell, we gladly submit to him and to his loving will. "Now that [we] have been set free from sin," we willingly and gladly, "become slaves of God." And, "the benefit [we] reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."

And God needs no whip to compel us, no chains to keep us in line, because the Gospel compels us, we gladly get in line to live for him who set us free. So, rejoice, dear friends, that you have been set free—from sin that controls, from satan who would forever lock us up, from death and its final effects, from the hell that we've earned as our wages of sin. Thank God that you are alive and free, that eternal life is your gift from God with no strings attached. And now, in thanks to him, become his slave, strive to be more holy until that awesome day that you fully realize the perfect life of freedom that is ours in heaven. In the name of Jesus, our Master, amen.


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

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Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Alive through Baptism! (A sermon based on Romans 6:1-4)

"It's just a little water. How can it possibly do anything?!" But it isn't just water. It's water connected to God's Word. And that Word makes all the difference! Because of God's promise connected to the water, it connects you and me to Jesus and his work for us. Through our baptisms we are dead to sin. We are alive in Christ, ready to weed our pet sins from our lives and to live for him in thanks! Read or listen to (download) this sermon based on Romans 6:1-4 and rejoice that we are alive through baptism! 

Alive through Baptism!

A sermon based on Romans 6:1-4

Sunday, April 15th, 2018 – Easter 3

 

Can it really work, something so simple? If you think about it, it's nothing but vibrations in the air caused by air passing over my throat, tongue, and lips and caught by your eardrum. Can something so simple as spoken words change lives! Of course the power of words, the thoughts and ideas they carry, changes lives! You know they can and have! But can they really save souls? The Word and the message its words contain can and do.

It seems so simple. Such a small little wafer. And only an ounce of wine. It's not enough to satisfy any physical hunger or quench physical thirst. Nevertheless, something so simple, connected to God's Word, actually gives Christ's very body and blood for us to eat and to drink. And it gives forgiveness of sins.

It seems so simple. It only takes a few seconds and a few drops of water. There are only a few, simple lines spoken. How could it be so powerful? But today we see how baptism, as simple as it is, connects us to Christ and his work in much the same way the Word and the Lord's Supper do.

It doesn't have to be elaborate or difficult. It doesn't have to be expensive or impressive. That's what Naaman thought. "Just water? That's it?" "Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" (2 Kings 5:12). But it doesn't have to be fancy. All has to be is connected to God's promise. And that's what we have in baptism. Here's God's promise about baptism recorded for us in Romans 6:1-4…

 

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

 

I.        Rat Poison

 

Imagine that you went to your fridge to get a snack, and when you open the door, much to your horror, you find an open bottle of rat poison. How would you respond? Would casually say, "Boy, that doesn't belong there! I'll have to remember to take that out sometime. Now… where are the pickles?"

More likely, you would take it seriously and forget about the snack for a more pressing matter at hand: get rid of the rat poison. You would likely not only take it out of the fridge, but would toss it in the garbage, you might even take the garbage out of the kitchen to the bin, or maybe even immediately drive it to the landfill. You would wisely want the deadly poison out of your house before it accidentally caused harm to you or your family.

That's the way Paul was encouraging the Romans to view sin. Last week we heard in the last verses of Romans 5, "where sin increased, grace increased all the more." (Romans 5:20) But Paul was worried that some might hear that and say, "Great! So sin is no big deal! The more I sin, the more God will forgive. So I might as well sin all I want." "By no means!" Paul cries. Or literally, "May that never be!" "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

What a terrible abuse of God's grace to keep sinning since, "God will forgive me for this anyway."! Such an attitude really reveals a lack of genuine faith that trusts in the forgiveness Jesus won and wants to live for him in thanks.

But do you have rat poison in your fridge? Do you have pet sins that you know are harmful to your faith, but you keep them around anyway, because… well… you like 'em? "I'm a believer, but I don't really need to go to church that often. I need my sleep." "I'm a believer, but I don't really need to give offerings. Others are already supporting the church I love just fine." "I'm a believer, but the grudge I'm holding on to… well, God will forgive me for refusing to forgive, right?"

"I'm a believer. So the coarse jokes, the lewd sites, the overindulgence, the disrespectful talk, the impatience with the kids, the laziness…" insert your own pet sin here, "Isn't really that big of a deal. God will forgive me later. So I might as well keep doing it."

May that never be, friends! Get rid of the rat poison in your soul! Never use God's grace as an excuse to sin! Never justify your sinful behavior with "Grace will increase the more I sin, so I might as well sin." No! "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

And for the pet sins we feed and nourish instead of starve and remove and take to the dump, we deserve to be disposed of by God. We deserve to be starved and removed and sent to the dump of hell.

Thank God, then for his gift of baptism…

 

II.      Water

 

Water saves. That's no surprise to you. That's true in so many ways.

The draught was long and the famer thought he would go under if he had no crop this year. He owed too much. And with nothing to sell, he would be bankrupt soon. But then came the rains. And a bumper crop followed. Water saved him.

The forest fire was blazing and growing ever closer to the cabin. If it reached them, all they had would be lost. They prayed for a miracle. Then the rain came. It fell in torrents and put out the fire. Water saved them.

The man was severely dehydrated. Lost in the desert for days, he'd had very little to drink. When he finally staggered onto a highway, some kind soul picked him up, gave him a drink, and took him to the hospital, where he got the hydration he needed. Water saved him.

Noah and his family were surrounded by a corrupt people. The ridicule and persecution intensified year after year. He didn't know how much longer he could take it. Then the rains fell. And they picked up Noah and his family above the evil that was scrubbed clean below. Water saved them.

And water saves you. Well, not just water. But water connected to the Word, connects you to Jesus.

It seems so simple. It only takes a few seconds and a few drops of water. There are only a few, simple lines spoken. So how could something as simple as Baptism be so powerful? How could it accomplish such great things? Because, by the power of the Word, it connects you to Jesus' work: his perfect life, his innocent death, his glorious resurrection. Paul says, "All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death… We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

Naamam thought, "What a waste of time! I traveled all this way to find some miraculous cure for my leprosy and I'm just told to go wash in water? That's it?! Just water from the Jordan River?!" But it wasn't just water, was it? It was water connected to the promise God had made. And that water connected to the Word of God had the power to cleanse his skin, to heal his disease, to make him healthy and whole again.

Likewise, in Baptism, "It is certainly not the water that does such things, but God's Word which is in and with the water and faith which trusts this Word used with the water. For without God's Word the water is just plain water and not Baptism.  But with this Word it is Baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of rebirth by the Holy Spirit."

It connects us to Jesus work: his life, his death, his resurrection. Our sin is buried with him. The rat poison is at the bottom of the landfill. We are forgiven. We are sinless. We are pure. We are holy. It seems so simple: a little water and a few recited lines. But it's such a powerful thing because our gracious God promises it. Baptism forgives sin, washing us clean. It makes us children of God. It makes us alive in Christ…

 

III.    Seeds

 

Yesterday the thermometer read 51. The sun was out. The snow was melting. Jude and Joel reckoned it was warm enough for shorts even as they spent most of the day outside. Spring is in the air. Break up is here. Even if we get more snow, it won't last long now. And that means it's time to start planting seeds in the green house. Of course, you know that seeds need to get buried before they sprout.

Well, that's true with us too. "We were… buried with [Jesus] through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Buried with Jesus, a new life springs up! A life of faith that grows and produces fruit. A life that looks for ways to live for Jesus. A life that full of as much energy and zeal and growth that Spring brings to the soil!

So take a personal inventory, friends, look deep into the "fridge" of your souls for the rat poison of sin that still lingers there. And weed it out that the new life of faith might grow stronger and healthier than ever before. Evaluate your time and look for ways to work Jesus into the schedule more and more. Evaluate your budget and look for ways to express your thanks to him with your generous gifts. Evaluate your relationships and your interactions and look for ways to show love and kindness to those around you in little ways and in big. In short, live the new life that is yours through the baptism that connects you to Jesus' life, death, and resurrection!

And of course, you know that you aren't done with the seeds that you plant in the greenhouse this Spring after you put them in the dirt. They need to be regularly watered. Likewise, your baptism isn't just some historic event that happened to you once upon a time, long, long ago. But as you daily remember your baptism and drown the sinful nature with daily sorrow and repentance, you'll be watering your faith that you might "daily arise to live a before God in righteousness and purity forever."

It seems so simple. It only takes a few seconds and a few drops of water. There are only a few, simple lines spoken. And yet, it is so powerful! Your baptism connects you Christ and his work for you: his perfect life, his innocent death, and his glorious resurrection! It makes you dead to sin, but alive to Christ! Now go live your new life for him! In Jesus' name, dear friends, amen.



In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
Watch services online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Webcast

Have you been blessed by our ministry at Grace? Consider supporting us with your generous gifts. Give securely online with a check or credit or debit card here: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Give

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Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Alive by Grace! (A sermon based on Romans 5:18-21)

One man changed the world forever. Because of Adam's one act of rebellion, we have been infected with sin and nothing in this life has remained unaffected by it. But... One man changed the world forever. Because of Jesus' work for us our sin is forgiven. We will have eternal life with him. And this grace is for all people. Read or listen to (download) this sermon based on Romans 5:18-21 and rejoice that we are alive by grace!  


Alive by Grace!
A sermon based on Romans 5:18-21
Sunday, April 8th, 2018 – Easter 2

One man changed the world forever. I'm not talking about Alexander the Great, though the world has never been the same since his conquest. I'm not talking about Julius Caesar and his campaigns. I'm not talking about Muhammed and the rise of Islam. I'm not talking about Adolph Hitler or Winston Churchill. I'm not talking about Al Gore and his invention of the internet. J I'm not talking about Steve Jobs and the invention of the iPhone.
While all of these men changed the world in their own way, I'm talking about one man who has had an incredible impact on every aspect of every life that has ever been on this planet. And I'm not talking about Jesus (at least not yet). I'm talking about Adam. One man changed the world forever.
Just think of how his one sin has impacted everything in the world! It's brought pain, toil, tears, and death. But thank God that this one man who forever changed the world doesn't have the last word. Another one man changed the world forever. And now I am talking about Jesus. By his work for us, sin and death are undone. We have eternal life. By grace, we are alive in Christ! Our text for consideration this morning is found in Romans 5:18-21…

18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I.        One Man Changed the World Forever: Adam

It was just a rubber gasket, really. But the O-rings hadn't been tested in extreme cold. So, on the morning of January 28th, 1986 those O-rings became stiff, failing to fully seal the joints in the rocket boosters of the Challenger Space Shuttle. The boosters exploded sending the shuttle another 3 miles into the air before it began its 12.3 mile freefall into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 7 passengers. I was only 8 at the time, but I vividly remember watching the explosion on live TV in my mom's classroom. One little mistake—a faulty O-ring design—had huge, disastrous consequences.  
Of course, that's nothing compared to Adam. It was just one piece of fruit, but it had huge, disastrous consequences. Adam sat by and watched, saying nothing, doing nothing, abdicating his position of leadership, as he let his wife be the guinea pig in a deadly experiment. And when he saw that she didn't immediately keel over dead, he chose to side with her over and against God, and he too committed an act of open rebellion against God.
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." (Genesis 3:6) And so, rightly Adam, not Eve, gets the blame for the first sin. Paul says it was "the disobedience of the one man" that brought about the ruin of the world.
And the consequences weren't pretty: 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
And it immediately impacted the relationship between Adam and Eve. "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." (Genesis 3:7) What had changed? They'd always been naked! Prior to these fig leaf clothes, they knew nothing but naked. What changed was the way they now looked at each other. They now saw each other as objects to be used instead of people to be loved. And they must have seen that look in each other's' eyes because the first thing they both wanted was to hide their bodies from each other. One man changed the world forever.
And, worse still, it immediately impacted the relationship between God and mankind. "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3:8) What happened?! They, who once enjoyed such an intimate relationship with God that they walked with him in the garden, now run away from him. And how dumb can you get—trying to hide from an omnipotent God?! And mankind hasn't gotten any better or wiser since. Yes, one man changed the world forever.
If you have ever experienced pain, frustration, heartache, toil, embarrassment, shame, or the death of a loved one, you have Adam to thank for it. He brought that all about in the garden that day. And he passed the infection of sin on to you. Just like a baby born to a heroin addict will himself be addicted to heroin, you and I, born to sinful parents, are born sinners. There is no question: One man changed the world forever.
"The result of one trespass was condemnation for all men… through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners…"
Well, you have Adam to blame, sort of… To be honest, if Adam hadn't rebelled against God and neither did Eve… even if Cain and Abel and Seth and all of their descendants until now had resisted the temptation to eat from the one tree that God banned… I'm pretty sure I would have done it. Or maybe you would have beat me to it. And even though Adam brought all of the suffering and misery we see into the world, you and I aren't free from blame.
Paul hold us accountable too when he says, "The law was added so that the trespass might increase." Of course, the law doesn't make sin more sinful and it certainly doesn't encourage it. But it does expose sin for the sin that it is. Do you think you're any better than Adam? Then let's take a quick stroll, not in the Garden of Eden, but at the foot of Mount Sinai:
1)      Have you always loved God with all of heart, soul, strength, and mind? Have you feared, loved, and trusted in him above everything else (your wisdom, your money, your friends, and your family) putting him first in your life? Me either.
2)      Have you always loved God's name (that is, his reputation and all he's revealed about himself)? Have you always prayed to him, shared his name, used his name to praise him and give thanks? Me neither.
3)      Have you always loved his Word giving it a place of top priority in your life? Me neither.
4)      Have you always shown respect to those God has put in a position of authority over you—parents, teachers, pastors, police, governors, senators, congressmen, and presidents? Me neither.
5)      - 10) Have you always respected God's gift of life (including your own, taking care of your body), his gift of marriage and sexuality (keeping even your thoughts pure), his gifts of possession and reputation (managing your own well and protecting that of others)? Have you always remained content in every circumstance of life? Me either.
So you see, we too have been just as rebellious as Adam. We too are just as deserving of damnation as he was. And we too will suffer the same death that Adam suffered unless Jesus returns first. But… thank God that we will never realize the eternal death that we deserve to suffer because… One man changed the world forever…

II.      One Man Changed the World Forever: Jesus

Thank God that the story doesn't end with Adam. If it did, how hopeless would life be? But there's another man in our story. This one man changed eternity forever. And now, of course, I am talking about Jesus.
Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men… just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov is a Russian man with a pretty cool nickname: "The man who saved the world." On September 26, 1983 Petrov was at work monitoring a nuclear early-warning system when the alarm sounded indicating that the United States had launched a nuclear missile toward Russia. He was supposed to alert the Soviet military so they could launch counter measures and fire a missile of their own. But Petrov disobeyed his orders. He knew his report could launch a large scale nuclear war that would take thousands, even millions of lives. So he kept quiet. Later, it was discovered that Soviet satellite warning system had malfunctioned causing a false alarm. And Petrov became a hero who, by his disobedience, single-handedly saved the world from nuclear war.
Of course, Petrov has nothing on Jesus. Petrov saved lived by his disobedience. But Jesus saved lives by his obedience. "…through the obedience of the one man…" We could go back through the list of the Ten Commandments again to see how well Jesus kept them and we'd find that he never broke a single one. He loved the Word. He obeyed his parents. He always respected authority (even when they were trying to kill him). He always helped and healed people and never hurt them. He never lusted, but cared for people. He never lied, but taught the truth. He always remained content even though he owned little more than the clothes on his back. And he did it all because he always loved God and his name more than anything else. Jesus, and Jesus alone, had perfect obedience to all of God's laws. And what's more, as Paul says in Philippians 2(:8), "He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!"
So Petrov saved lives by doing nothing (literally). Jesus saved lives by doing something terrible. "…one act of righteousness…" Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to him. He knew the torture of the cross. He knew the pain he would endure. He knew that far worse would be the torment of having God the Father forsake him on the cross as he endure the punishment and pain of hell that our sin brought about. But he also knew the wonderful results of his work. So he endured it all anyway. And those results?
Well, Petrov saved lives by preventing something terrible: nuclear war. But Jesus saved lives by undoing all of the terrible things we've done: every sin! It's all gone! "The result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men… through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." That could be translated, "the result of one justifying act was justification that brings life for all men." By his death on the cross, by that one obedient act, Jesus undid what Adam did by his one act of rebellion. Every sin is gone! The law still exposes and magnifies our sin, "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more!" Thank God! And thank God it's for you!
Petrov saved many lives to be sure. But Jesus work was for all people! "The result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men…" Or as Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 5:19, "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them." So if it's for all men, for the whole world, you can be sure it's for you too! No one is left out.
And finally, Petrov saved lives… for a while. But the people he saved from nuclear war will still eventually die. But Jesus saves lives for eternity. "…Grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Yes, you will still die physically (unless Jesus returns first). But you will live on (after death!) in heaven forever with the Lord! And how awesome that will be!
So… nothing against Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov, but I think Jesus deserves the nickname "The man who saved the world" a whole lot more. One man changed the world forever. This one man changed eternity forever. This one man changed eternity for us. And it's all by grace! We do nothing to earn or deserve it. Jesus did it all. We are alive by grace! And grace will continue to reign until Jesus brings us home to eternal life.
Yes, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Muhammed, Hitler and Churchill, Al Gore and Steve Jobs have all changed the world in their own way. But no two men have had a bigger impact on your life than these two men: Adam—who brought sin, suffering, pain and death into the world—and Jesus—who brought forgiveness, grace, peace and life, who will take you out of this world into eternal life with him. In his name, dear friends, amen.

In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611
pastorguenther@gmail.com
(907) 690-1660

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Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Alive in Christ! (A sermon based on Romans 1:1-7)

Happy Easter! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! This Easter season we're staring a new series taking a look at the resurrection theme the Apostle Paul wove throughout his letter to the Romans. In this sermon, introducing the series, we rejoice that "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!" Christ is alive! And as a result, we are alive in Christ! Read or listen to (download) this sermon based on Romans 1:1-7 and rejoice in the resurrection! 

Alive in Christ!

A sermon based on Romans 1:1-7

Sunday, April 1st, 2018 – Easter Day

 

"How come atheists don't get an annual holiday when Christians get so many?" an atheist asked his Christian friend.

"You do get an annual holiday!" his friend replied. "Every April 1st! You get April fool's day!" And he quoted Psalm 14:1, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'"

It doesn't happen too often that Easter coincides with April fool's day. And today, the unbelievers of the world would have us think that we're fools for believing that a man died and came back to life nearly 2,000 years ago and that it means anything at all for us today.

And if Jesus is still dead, they're right. The apostle Paul admits as much in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14: "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."

"But," Paul continues, "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!" And Paul would echo Psalm 14 and tell us that the real fool is the one who denies God and what he's done.

This Easter season we're going to be looking at the resurrection theme that the apostle wove into his letter to the Romans. We'll see that, "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!" and we'll see what that means for eternity someday and for each day of our lives right now. Today, we begin with the introduction to the letter found in Romans 1:1-7 and we rejoice that Christ is alive! And we rejoice that we are alive in Christ. Romans 1:1-7…

 

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

I.        Christ Is Alive!

 

A.     The Prophecies Predicted It

 

Christ is alive! And there are lots of proofs of that fact. Two big ones show up in our text this morning. The first Paul highlights in verse two: "…the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures…" thousands of years before they took place, the events that we've celebrated this weekend, even the resurrection itself, were predicted.

The prophets described with 100% accuracy where Jesus would be born (and to a virgin!), where he would do most of his ministry, the miracles that he would perform, the unconventional way that he would die, that no bones would be broken, and countless other details of Jesus' life and death.

Psalm 22 describes how Jesus would be forsaken by God, insulted by men (almost quoting how the rulers taunted Jesus on the cross), how his tongue would stick to his mouth and he would thirst, how his hands and feet would be pierced, and how his clothes gambled over.

Isaiah 53 describes the way that Jesus would remain silent when on trial, how he would be pierced (not stoned), how he would somehow be assigned a grave with the wicked and the rich.

But the prophecies go on. They predict the resurrection too! Isaiah 53 goes how to explain that "though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days." (v. 10)  Psalm 16 predicted that God would not "abandon [the Messiah] to the grave nor… let [his] Holy One see decay." (V.10)

And even Jesus himself predicted his own resurrection!

In Mark 8(:31), "He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again." He told the Pharisees that if they wanted a sign proving his divinity, he'd give them the sign of Jonah: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40) And to prove his authority, he told the Jews, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." (John 2:19)

And guess what? Surprise, surprise! Every prophecy written by the Old Testament prophets, every prediction spoken by our Savior, Jesus… they all came true! Every one of them! John 2:21-22 say, "But the temple [Jesus] had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken."

Prophecy and fulfillment leave a mountain of evidence for the authenticity of Jesus' resurrection from the dead and the authority of the Scriptures. But that's not the only proof we find in Romans 1.

 

B.      The Apostles Confirmed It

 

The next proof of Jesus' resurrection is found in the very existence of the book of Romans itself. That Paul, once called Saul, once persecuting Christians, doing all he could to eradicate this sect—now writes to defend the faith is nothing short of a miracle. Nothing can explain his conversion better than an appearance of the risen Savior to Saul on the Road to Damascus.

Saul was an important guy from an important family in an important city. He studied at the feet of one of the most highly-regarded rabbis in the history of Judaism, on his way to becoming a prominent religious leader who enjoyed Sabbath, walks on the beach, and overseeing the detainment, imprisonment, and occasional killing of the pesky new Jesus-people for their awful blasphemies. Saul had everything a guy at that time and place could've wanted.

Then, suddenly, he decided to change his name to Paul, join his enemies, throw away his reputation, authority, wealth, social standing, and every other thing he had worked for his entire life, in favor of traveling thousands of brutal miles and willingly subjecting himself to lashings, beatings to the brink of death, to stonings, shipwrecks, starvation, dehydration, and years of imprisonment… all so he could tell people that Jesus is the risen Son of God and Savior of the world.

And he did all this because he was bored with his super-nice life. OR… He did it because, as he told everyone who would listen to him until the moment that his head was lopped off for doing so, that he met the resurrected Jesus.

Paul and all the other apostles were willing to die for this truth. With the exception of one (John), all of the other disciples had similar fates (according to tradition): James: Executed by Sword; Thomas: Speared to Death; Matthew: Speared to Death; Philip: Tortured, Crucified Upside-Down; Bartholomew: Skinned Alive, Crucified Upside-Down; Andrew: Crucified; James: Crucified; Thaddeus: Crucified; Simon: Crucified; Paul: Beheaded in Rome.

All of these men claimed to have interacted with the bodily-risen Jesus, after his death. Would all of these men (without one, single exception!) fearlessly proclaim this, all the way to their unimaginable deaths, knowing it was actually just something they made up as some fun April Fool's joke?!

No way! There was no motive for lying. They didn't get rich for this. They didn't get powerful for this. What they got was tortured to death for this. And who dies for a lie?

No, the proof is there. It's undeniable! "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!"

 

C.      Thank God for It

 

And thank God that it is true! Because, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." And Jesus didn't really rise from the dead, there is no Christianity.

But if he really did rise from the dead, the implications for you and me are mind-blowing and more important than anything else in this life! If he really did rise from the dead, the resurrection is a proof in and of itself. If he really did rise from the dead, then it's proof that Jesus is who he claimed to be: God.

Paul says, "Through the Spirit of holiness [Jesus] was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead." One commentary puts it this way: "Of the many miracles the God-man did while here on earth, the crowning miracle was his resurrection after he had died as our substitute." (The People's Bible, Romans 1)

You see, if Jesus is true God which all the miracles prove, and his resurrection proves best, then he can pay for our sins. As true man ("who as to his human nature was a descendant of David") he could die. But that death on the cross could only pay for mankind's sin as true God.

And make no mistake: That's what our sin demands: Death. Fools that we are, we rebel against God time and time again. We think we're wiser than God and choose to do things our way instead of his. We gossip and lie. We're lazy and unambitious. We're lustful and proud and arrogant. We do things we know are wrong and think we can get away with them. "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 14:1) But isn't it a bigger fool who says there is a God, but thinks, "He can't see what I'm doing. He doesn't care. I'll get away with my sin."?!

Fools that we are, we deserve death. And not just physical death—the separation of body and soul—but spiritual, eternal death—the separation from God and his love (that is, hell) for all of eternity. "But… Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!" And this is the proof that our sins are forgiven and that we have received grace…

 

II.                  We Are Alive in Christ!

 

After touching on some of the proofs of Jesus' bodily resurrection, the apostle Paul goes on to explain what this means for us: "Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ."

We're going to explore what Jesus' resurrection means for our daily lives in more detail over the next 6 weeks. But for now, let's just touch on a few of them mentioned here:

First, we have received grace. That is we have God's unconditional love in spite of our foolish rebellion and sin because Jesus' sacrifice—his perfect life, his innocent death, his powerful resurrection—has removed our every sin. We are forgiven. It's all forgotten. And you and I are called to be saints: sinless and holy in God's sight.

Second, as a result of that grace and forgiveness, we have peace. We have peace with God, knowing that we are restored in our relationship to him. Or as Paul puts it, "we belong." "You also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." And so, in the very next verse he calls God, "our Father." God is our Father. Jesus is our brother. We are a part of God's family, "loved by God" and cared for by him. No matter what we go though in life, we know he is there by our side, keeping us in his care.

And finally, we have a job to do. Paul called himself, "a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle," but he also said of the Romans (and, really, of every Christian), "we received… apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." An apostle is literally one who is sent out on a task on behalf of someone else, an ambassador, here, namely, God is the one who sent Paul out. And God sends us out too. To do what? "To call people… to the obedience [of] faith." That is, to share our faith in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection from the dead with others that they too might see the evidence, come to faith, and find grace and peace in Jesus, that they too might live lives of obedience to him in thanks for what he's done for them.

Join us over the next couple of weeks as we explore some of these themes further and see what Jesus' resurrection means for us every day of our lives. And in the meantime, rejoice that we're not the fools. We are incredibly blessed to know the truth that, "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!" Christ is alive! We've seen the proofs. We've seen the importance. We are alive in Christ! We've received grace. We've been forgiven. We're loved by God. We belong. And we have a job to do that we're eager to do in thanks to him. For, "Christ is risen!" ["He is risen indeed!"] In his name, dear friends, amen.


In Him,
Pastor Rob Guenther

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
47585 Ciechanski Road, Kenai, AK 99611

Listen to sermons online: www.GraceLutheranKenai.com/Podcast
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