Jesus the Way?

I is for Intentional Atonement

Romans 5.1-11

This past Thursday I had my regular book club meeting with the other CRC pastors in the area. Our discussion floated here and there, but in the end we settled on the main topic. Why is spirituality on the rise, but not church attendance? Why are people looking so hard for heroes and why is it that most of our heroes die young? Why is it that more and more people brought up in the church saying that there is more than one way to get to heaven? Why is it for so many that faith has become a strictly private thing and community seems so unimportant?

We don’t just sit, eat pizza and talk about the weather. It was a great discussion and these are questions I think about often. And I know that others are thinking the same things too. Our world is in rough shape, but it always has been. People are becoming more isolated and lonely; that’s a new thing helped along by technology and economics. People are losing their ability to help those who suffer. Compassion, the way of suffering along with, has been replaced with popular psychology and discomfort.  Someone loses a spouse or friend and frequently they hear, move on. That’s life. Aren’t you better yet? Come on, get over it? We’ve become a culture that can’t stand the pain in others let alone our own pain. What about grieving properly and sitting together in the mess like Job’s friends did?

We’re in a series at Sonrise in the book of Romans. We’re also working through what the word FAITH means letter by letter. F stands for fallen – every human is in the same place starting out. Aware of, but resistant to God, wisdom and life. A stands for adoption. God’s gift through Jesus to bestow his name transforming the person from spiritually dead to spiritually alive able to embrace God, God’s love, life itself and to grow in wisdom.

In today’s text in we find the third letter: I. ‘I’ stands for intentional atonement. Let’s explore what that means.

What God the Son did in coming, living dying and rising was on purpose. The truth is Jesus came to us willingly. At just the right time. When conditions in God’s wisdom, when conditions in the world were just as they had to be. And Jesus went to the cross willingly. He allowed politics and religious schemes to run their course – on his time table, at his pace for his purposes. Jesus was always in control of the situation even though others thought they were.

Jesus actions were intentional. He can at just the right time. Jesus came and fulfilled the ancient promises of God and began the process of releasing the benefits of those promises into everyday lives. Jesus’ ministry was guided and directed and purposeful from beginning to last.

And what exactly does atonement mean? In the Old Testament, the Day of Atonement looked like this. Two goats were and the High Priest would choose by lot one for the Lord and one to be a scapegoat. On both he would lay hands and confess the sins of the people. First goat would then be sacrificed for the sins of the people and the second would bear the sins of the people away into the wilderness. The scapegoat, suffered unjustly so that others get off scot free.  Why?

At the end of the ritual, in that moment the people of Israel were for that split second completely without sin. Fully justified and acquitted. The problem was that half a second later their sin would start piling up again. Such that in a year’s time the whole procedure was acted out again.

The ancient ritual had power, but at just the right time Jesus fulfilled the ritual once forever. On the cross, Jesus became the last scapegoat. And the sins of the world past, present and future were settled once and for all. 

Hebrews 7, “Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. . . . He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”

Atonement removes sin guilt and Jesus did it on purpose. It was not by accident that your sins or mine stand forgiven. It was intentional.

So it seems a puzzle doesn’t it that so many teach and so many others believe other paths – religions – are equal to the way of Jesus. All faiths lead to heaven they say. But is that true? Not according to our text today.

Let’s be clear on three points.

First:, ⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  

The truth is that no amount of good behaviour or religious effort will save anyone. Christian faith is the only religion that teaches this. And no other religion on the planet teaches how their leader died for unworthy people.

Zeus of the Greek gods or Jupiter of the Romans never died for anyone. Those were the god’s of Paul’s time. And Osiris of the Egyptians had to die every year making him little better than the high priests of Israel. Some say Jesus is just a rehash of these false gods. Impossible Jesus did what no other would or could do. Jesus died for the powerless and unrighteous. Jesus died for nice people and wicked people, for the poor and the wealthy. Intentionally. Jesus is and always has been the exclusive way to the Father, to Heaven to salvation.

1 John 4.9-10. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Second point. Being justified - able to stand before a holy God with confidence– truly, authentically and powerfully results in a clean slate and a living relationship with God and his people.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved? That’s a question demanding a response. Jesus’s atonement removes sin guilt, but what is the response? To say thanks and carry on expecting that God isn’t interested in us anymore. That greed and lust and corruption are just fine as life choices? Or is it something else?

2 Corinthians 5 On the cross, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” Seek God, seek to live for God, seek to walk with God.  How?

John helps us,

¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. ¹³ We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

I don’t like causing anxiety, but this matters. The Church of Jesus Christ in all time and places has contained those who accept forgiveness and seek reconciliation as a life work and those who only seem to accept forgiveness and do not honestly seek reconciliation with God or others. And that is a hard thing to say, but we live in a day of deception that faith is private and living isolated from other believers is ok. Those ideas are of Satan and it destroys the fellowship God desires with us and for us.

Scripture is blunt, 1 John 4.19-20, ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

Receiving the benefits of Christ’s death demands a response: be reconciled to God and his people.

Third point. There is a fundamental comfort in this passage and teaching. Look at it. Paul is not sad or scared. Paul is joyful. The word boast in this case means joyful talk. Attitudes of gratitude, thankfulness and wonder. We boast in the Lord - could be said – we laugh and share about what God has done for we who do not deserve it. There is no self-pity, not false piety. You know, Jesus died for me, but I’d better watch it or he’ll take it back. No worm theology here. This is gladness, appreciation and freedom as a result of seeing the truth about life.

It’s no wonder then that Paul talks about painful suffering in a positive optimistic way. What he’s saying is that for those who believe, suffering will no destroy what God has done. Instead the suffering Jesus’ followers experience actually helps them grow and become even more grateful, thankful and hope filled looking to God for life, wisdom and peace. Peace – the well-being, contentment, peace of heart, satisfaction, joy and restfulness – that only comes through Christ. The peace that passes understanding. The peace that shows up in a willingness to forgive, and be reconciled to God and to one another. Peace to know that at the end when we stand before our maker there is strength to stand and see the love God has for us eye to eye. Last week I said that adoption by God grants confidence. This is how big that confidence is.

People are looking for heroes today. Superman or Dirty Harry: lawmen who will set the world right. People are looking for heroes who will give them hope through beauty, art or music. The terrible truth is that people cannot bear the weight of being worshipped. It destroyed Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. it seems to have destroyed Tiger Woods.

We live in a world that wants everything immediately; that has no stability of character, just hollow media images. That is no safe place to place our hope. Instead a lowly carpenter who refused to be an earthly king. A man who chose non-violence and simplicity. A God who chose to die to restore all that had been lost through no fault of his own. That man/God invites you to enter his rest and become whole.

Adopted!?

Promises, promises – our world works on the basis of promises.

Think for a moment about a promise that was made to you and kept. Think of one made to you that wasn’t kept.

Today we are continuing our exploration of faith through Paul’s letter to the Romans. Last week we saw that F is for fallen. Today we have the letter A; A is for adopted.

And being adopted is based on a promise. Let’s talk about promises for a few minutes. We all know that:

Politicians make promises.

Nations make promises.

People in business make promises.

Children make promises to each other on the playground.

What happens when promises are kept? When they are broken?

Promises make or break relationships on every level. In the presence of trust and goodwill promises are made eye to eye. My word is my bond. Or “let’s shake on it.’ But in the absence of trust or in the presence of evil promises are made on paper. And still, even then, promises can keep our world from unravelling. People do not have to friends to make a promise to each other. In fact as with war treaties they may well remain enemies forever.

The point is that promises made and kept bring life; broken promises bring suffering, pain and death. On that basis it is no wonder that God chose the language of promise making and keeping – covenant - to describe how to live well in the world. And to drive the point home, God set’s promise keeping as the foundation of all human relations – family. This is no accident. Family is basic to everyone. Whether a good experience or bad, whether large or small, whether parents are known or strangers, everyone has a mother and father, most have a spouse and children. And all depend on promises being kept so that there is a place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear. We depend on kept promises to give and sustain life.

Now, as I’ve been speaking and you’ve been thinking: what was the result of the promises I kept and broke. Think on that for a moment.

We live or die on the basis of promises, don’t we?

So, is it any wonder then that God speaks the language of promises within the family setting so that we get how important this topic is and how seriously God takes the promises he’s made?

Last week we talked about how every last human being is in the same mess. All sin and fall short of keeping their promises; all are on a level playing field; all are in dire need of help. Humanity is fallen; no one can get up without help. And the help we get is not just being forgiven; it is being adopted. Adopted by God, for God and into the life God has intended for us.

We read the entire passage a moment ago, here is our text:

“¹⁶ Therefore, the promise (of adoption) comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”

The issue Paul is working through is that the Jewish disciples of Jesus felt they were first class believers while the gentile disciples were second class. Not true says the Spirit through Paul, we are on the same level. With God there is no favouritism.

More than that however, is the reminder that trying to create classes of believers just confuses everyone, and deceives many. There may well be degrees of holiness among Christ’s family. There may well be those who are further on the journey and have grown closer to having the mind of Christ than others have. But that’s not the point Paul is making. The text is calling us back to the essential issue.

The point in verses 16-17 is grace. By grace God decrees that by faith Abraham is Father of all who believe. Or, that everyone who has the same faith as Abraham, are spiritual brothers and sisters and therefore sons and Daughters of the most high. Just as in any family the children born into it have no say in the matter. Parents build their family through birth or adoption. And bestow on their children a name that says they belong. Something to hold onto. I for example am a Delleman, that comes with a history and traits. It helps me understand my identity. But what if you never knew your parents? What if someone adopts you and suddenly you have a name, an identity, a family where you see your traits in others. A family where you know you belong.

God does that; all who are in his family get the name faith.

Faith, a name a gift that comes to people apart from their efforts, obedience to the Law, circumcision or water baptism or by first seeing before believing. Being worthy of adoption by God; being worthy of salvation, being worthy of life transforming mercy or love is not now and never has been the point. God in his wisdom and compassion declares people worthy. People who without exception – are not deserving - based on hard work or a nice smile. Make no mistake no one deserves adoption into God’s family. No one is owed a spot and yet God gives faith.

The point in verses 16+17 is grace giving faith because “God gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” Our God delights in giving life. So God calls out of the nothingness of people’s empty, sinful spiritual life a new, vibrant spiritual life. God raised the dead every time someone accepts the Spirit and new life.

Last Sunday evening we shared about this life in and with the Spirit. Our conclusion: without God’s Spirit we can do nothing to bring lasting good to our world; and even with God’s Spirit, it is possible to resist the good that God would do through us. But then we receive the Name, the gift. The response?

Profession of faith is all about acknowledging God’s gifts and new life. AND it’s about choosing to live toward God’s purposes in the world. It’s about saying with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in the heart that God raised him from the dead. Because it’s bring the dead to life that God does best.

And this is why God’s promise of adoption is trustworthy, it’s never broken. Those who are alive in Christ by the Spirit stay alive forever because God’s gifts, God’s promise is always yes in Jesus. Whoever receives the promise is a new person whose life is marked by a word.

⁷     “Blessed are they

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

⁸     Blessed is the man

whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” ^{Psalm 32.1-2}

In response to sin God forgives and calls you his child – what is your response to that? The response in Psalm 32, the response of Paul and all who believe is gratitude.

Gratitude: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. That’s what it’s all about, thankfulness and readiness to share the story of God’s goodness.

Let’s close it out with a few suggestions on how to embrace gratitude. Let’s call them the ABC’s for adopted kids so they can explore the life of gratitude:

A - Adoption is based on God’s love and mercy

Not on some mental exercise like the possibility that God knew who’d receive faith ahead of time. Not on good behaviour or good looks or race or gender. No, adoption is a wonderful mystery beyond understanding. The maker of the universe chose you, me to be a part of the family. Why? A reality to reflect on with the heart of a child.

B - Believe in God not faith

It’s God who guides our faith and channels its expectations. Yes, doing God’s will is a result of faith. But believe in the God who loves us for what we are, not for what we do. Otherwise we might think faith is just one more ability we control. It’s not. Faith is out there it’s believing without seeing. It’s is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  It’s being sure of what we hope for and our hope is Jesus, nothing more or less.

C – Is for confidence. Paul says in a different letter, all God’s promises are yes in Jesus. God’s promise to call you his daughter, you his son. The promise to never leave or forsake, the promise to transform your life, clear the confusion. The promise to help each one to taste and see the Lord is good. And confidence in a future that is epic.

            

Fallen?

So, how do we handle a text like this? The opening verses of chapter one were filled with grace, acceptance and gentle encouragement. And then the blunt, hard words we just read. Bait and switch or is something important going on?

Romans one is a perfect example of speaking the truth in love. Inspired by the God who gives grace first and then when hearts are soft and open – reassured of love – in that space – truth can be heard.

So, how do we handle this text? As it is. We accept it, lean from it and allow it to increase our gratitude for the one who loves unconditionally.

The flow of the passage is simple.

Verses 18-20 state that

God makes himself known to all through the natural world.

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

This happens through the wonder of the created order. The incredibly intricate design of all nature, its inter-relationships and underlying logic. We see it in the genome. While we and mice share 99% of the same genes – we couldn’t be further apart in size, shape, ability and intelligence. Why because that one percent makes all the difference.

That and the fact we have the breath of life causing humanity to be made in the image of God. Producing in every human the drive to worship, in this we are unique. Some worship science, some the god of wealth, fame or pleasure. Some worship the One who created the heavens and the earth. The desire, the drive to worship is in everyone. It’s God given; no one has an excuse; everyone worships something or someone.

Moving on, verses 21-23 tells us how this happened.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

This is a reference to the Fall. Our first parents rejected God and everyone born since follows in their footsteps – save one. Every human save Jesus of Nazareth is in the same place. Futile thinking, darkened thoughts, the Biblical word is ‘fool’ one who is not wise and who does not pursue the right or the good.

Instead humanity designs god that are less than human and worship them. Gods that cannot save, guide or love. In the end these false gods and all forms of ‘idol worship’ are human inventions made worse by demonic advice designed to separate the worshipper from God, wisdom and sanity.

A recent TV ad. Had a man marrying the gum he loves. That’s not sane, is it? And what does that say about the sacred nature of marriage?

Or take Howard Hughes the wealthiest man in the last generation who lost his mind pursuing wealth. All that money bought him anything but happiness.

How many others walk that path trying to find fulfillment in money, land, sexual pleasure, fame or some other false god? Giving away the gift of life for what?

Do we ever wonder why the world is the way it is? Why pedophiles make and distribute child porn, why serial killers run loose, why our government is drafting a law allowing torture. Why are there more wars going on today than ever before in human history? Could it be that war is profitable for the so called developed nations like England, France and the US?

Could it be that what happens in our world is a direct result of broken human beings lashing out at each other in confusion, futility and foolishness?

Isn’t this the evidence that rejecting God results in futility pain and suffering.

Why is the world the way it is? Has God really given humanity a chance? Here’s one more ‘proof.’

Matthew 7.12  “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Did you know that just about every religious or humanist tradition has a version of this, the Golden Rule?

• Ancient Egyptian: 1800 BC

• Hinduism
• This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you.
• Roman Pagan Religion:
• "The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves."
• Native American Spirituality:
• "Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself."
• Shinto: 800 AD
• "Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God."
• Islam
• None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself."

There is universal truth – God’s truth in this “rule” it’s part of what we call God’s righteous decree - to love God and our neighbour as ourselves - and yet why is the world still the way it is? God doesn’t play favourites God has tried.

Last section: Verse: 24-32 and God’s response.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

So “God hands them over” – this repeated twice more. God’s decision to release sinful humanity into our own willfulness. This is clear from both Testaments - a withdrawal of divine influence. Like a parent saying, I’ve tried to intervene, I guess they’ll just have to sort it out on their own. Ever experienced that? Two of your children who can’t get along, you’re at your wits end and finally you just let them go at it? My mom used to threaten us with buying a set of boxing gloves so we could settle things openly and directly.

God gave them over. Like a judge, God hands the sinner over to an ever-increasing cycle of sin, but this is not God’s final word. The push is for redemption. Never doubt it. God always punishes with the goal of redemption, healing and restoration into the fullness of being a man or woman made in his image.

Do not despise the disciple on the Lord, says Hebrews 12, because God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

People misunderstand this and so many suffer the escalating degrading reality of sin. Look how it goes and grows. The false worship starts in sexual identity. Verse 24 describes forms of non-marital sex – broken sexuality. Be it heterosexual promiscuity, homosexuality or bestiality – all break the seventh commandment and are equally sinful practices.

Then, once basic human identity is distorted, everything else follows: Greed breaks commandment #8, envy - #10, murder, strife and malice - #6. Disobeying parents or being rebellious to authority breaks - #5. Rejecting God and becoming faithless, heartless, ruthless breaks commandments 1-3. Pride destroys commandment 4. And what’s left? Deceit and gossip – deadly tongues wagging break commandment #9 and as James says destroys lives like a fire.

We come to the end of the passage. The escalating downward spiral demonstrates that humanity is helpless to stop the madness without outside help.  The ‘fallenness’ of humanity is total. No one can help themselves get up. Some think that some sin is worse than others. Homosexuals are somehow worse than gossips. Not true, only the consequences differ and the homosexual person who is monogamous causes less harm by far than the average gossip.

So here sits humanity. Stuck and trapped, God’s righteous decree hardwired into human nature and convicts all.

People of God, humanity has a problem. God gives his decree to everyone in their native language. No one has an excuse for their behaviour. All sin and fall short of God’s glory.

Only an act of God can reverse the curse.

I spoke to a group last week and said: we’re all mucking along together doing the best we can in the mess that is. I believe that. I also said that I am hopeful and trusting of God’s grace to heal, restore and renew.

Why? You see at just the right time God acted definitively and removed the curse. We no longer HAVE to act and live in a downward spiral. God has brought salvation: options for living today that is marked by joy, contentment and rich satisfaction.

In Jesus life, death and resurrection forgiveness is true, real and beautiful.

All God wants is for his children to embrace it for themselves and for those who sin against us. To embrace gratitude as the guiding way to be in the world. Grateful for grace to make it through each day. Grateful for those who love us and for the love given to others. Grateful for all that is good. Grateful to be acquitted and become a child of the Most High. To take hold of the one who has taken hold of you.

This passage is hard. We had to go there this morning. It levels the playing field. All people need God. All people are dying for grace. Christ offers it to us now and always. Will you receive it and know life?

Forgiveness a Priority?

F.A.I.T.H - Seeing The World As it Is

Read Romans 1.1-17

1    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 Gentile 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.

⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹ God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰ in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

¹¹ I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— ¹² that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

¹⁴ I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵ That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.

¹⁶ I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Today we’re embarking on a voyage of discovery. We are about to tackle the book of Romans. And if you don’t know much about it let me give you a few background notes and then the way things will go this morning.

Romans was written by the Apostle Paul. It his longest and most complete letter describing God’s plan for humanity from beginning to end. Paul touches on creation, God’s great promise to Abraham and how God fulfills his promise  first to the Jews and then to all the nations of the world. Paul’s main concern is to preach Jesus the Messiah and how everything is different because of his coming, his death and resurrection.

Romans is also a very practical book teaching us about grace, forgiveness and how to live well together in the world we have.

The Christian movement in Rome was probably started by believers who had been at the Pentecost celebration the year Jesus rose and the Spirit was given. They went back to their home synagogues and we know from history these new disciples of Jesus cause quite a stir. Claudius the Roman emperor at the time got tired of the public unrest causes by “arguments about this Christ” and expelled all Jews – Christian or not in AD 49. Some years later, they returned and it’s to these people that Paul writes.

Paul’s goal is to give them a spiritual blessing, to unify them in their understanding of Old Testament teaching and fulfillment in Christ. Their faith was strong already – world famous even. They had the Spirit and practiced profession of faith publically. They baptised new believers and probably their children as well declaring Jesus is Lord in a city where you could do anything religious except that. In Rome Caesar was Lord and Saviour. Each profession of faith brought danger of jail time or death. Christians were traitors and blasphemers in the eyes of Rome. So Paul offers Biblical understandings to structure and strengthen their faith communities.

The people who first heard the letter were a mix of Jews and non-Jews. They came from a variety of social backgrounds. Some wealthy and some poor.  They had a good knowledge of the Old Testament and we know that because Paul writes no really new material. He, like Jesus simply re states what God had already said in light of Jesus’ coming. In fact, Romans is one of the major bridges that connect our two testaments describing God’s work of reconciling the world to himself first to the Jews and then to all other people.

The central theme is therefore the gospel and not simply justification. The gospel as we shall see later on is much more than having our sins forgiven and being declared not guilty. That’s one way to describe justification. And as we will see it is part of the gospel but not all of it.

Here is a quick outline of the letter:

1.1-17 - The introduction of grace

1.18-3.320 - The explanation of guilt and misery common to all people

3.21-4.25 – God desire to enact justification by faith

5.1-11.36 – God’s actions to accomplish the solution to guilt and misery

12.1 - 16.27 – The believer’s response - living in gratitude

As you can see there is lots of material to cover and I’m not sure how long this will take. But what you can expect each week is a careful and thorough study. We’re determined to leave nothing out. I say this because there are hard issues in the Letter. Things like homosexuality, self-control, moral and sexual purity and what exactly does God have in mind for the Jewish people.

Okay, that’s enough background for now. Here’s what we’ll do next.

First I’d like us to pray and let what we’ve heard so far sink in.

Second, I’ll tackle the text for today verses 16-17. There is one point to make and I want to make it clearly.

Third, as this is the week of preparation for Lord’s Supper, be aware right now that the message on verses 16 & 17 will also serve as the encouragement – God’s call - to come next week to the table in a worthy manner.

Theme verses:

¹⁶ I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”(Hab. 2.4, Gen 15.9)

I will keep to my promise and make a single point, I’m just not ready to tell you what it is right now. We need to be ready for it first. So, let’s do that by unpacking the two verses.

Verse 16 could be arranged like this:

¹⁶ I am not ashamed of the gospel,  - (the main thought)

             because it is the power of God  (What it is)

                        for the salvation of everyone (why it is or its purpose)

                                    who believes: (who it affects)

                                                first for the Jew,

                                                then for the Gentile.

You can see that the gospel is BIG.

The gospel is THE POWER OF GOD – what God invests the most energy in. God invests different amounts of attention - power in different things. Creation was big, but salvation is an even bigger act – a more powerful act.

Salvation: the best translation from either the Greek or Hebrew is rescue. Rescue from sin, misery, evil and spiritual death. Salvation is life now – options, confidence, fullness, freedom. In Christ, because of Christ, forever.

And the gospel is for all who believe. No one has any idea for sure how many have or how many will ultimately believe because salvation is the goal of God. This is beyond human understanding.  God’s ways are beyond us - the size, scope, the extent of the gospel’s power. As Paul says, we see through the lens of our broken humanity. Easily confused and mistaken to judge and condemn based on opinions and tradition. God alone knows the heart.

Verse 17 says:

¹⁷ For a righteousness from God

                        is revealed in the gospel

            a righteousness that is by faith

            from first to last,

                        just as it is written:

                                    “The righteous will live by faith.”

The first phrase controls the sentence, the key word is righteousness or righteous. It’s connected to the gospel, maybe the heart of the gospel. So what does “A righteousness from God” mean?

The Old Testament explains it this way. Because God is Creator and owner of heaven, earth, the sea and all of us. Because God is perfectly Good and perfectly just. Because God is completely wise and loving.

God and God alone has the knowledge, power and accuracy to declare truth. And the truth God declares in this passage is this: Because of Christ’s living, dying and living again God has changed humanity’s status from being guilty to being innocent by way of acquittal. God separates us from our sin – as far as the east is from the west (psalm 103). But and this is important – God does not forget our sin. God chooses to not hold it against us anymore (Isaiah 43, Jeremiah 34, Hebrews 8, 10 and Romans 3 25).

Think of a law court. You’ve just gotten a ticket for speeding or being a distracted driver chatting away on the phone. The police pull you over, they’ve given you a fine and tell you to show up in court. The judge hears the case. The officer speaks, you confess your guilt – or not – it doesn’t matter. The officer has video – your guilt is there for all to see. The judge hears and then pronounces sentence. He says: my decision on the matter is as follows. On such and such a day you were on the phone, broke the law and are guilty of the crime. Therefore I have decided to grant you a pardon. You are free to go.

Wow.

Notice – the guilt is valid and deserved. The fine is right and just. The truth is plain to see. You walk away feeling what? Relief, smugness, giddiness, joy?

What just happened there?

This may be why God makes little sense to so many. God set’s the guilty free; God rescues the guilty from prison. It’s not fair, and that is the point.

God has bigger motives than most realize. God’s activity of pardoning or acquitting or making right – is the power of salvation – and it happens so that humanity can rejoin God’s community.

God’s righteousness is relational. God’s goal is relational. The result of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is to be declared right with God, reunited with God into fellowship. And this is and has been God’s desire from day 1.

Paul quotes Habakkuk 2.4  “The righteous will live by faith.” Which is itself a reference to Genesis 15.6. “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Which is the formal beginning of God’s plan to reunite humanity to himself after the disastrous events in Genesis 3.

To sum up:

“A righteousness from God,” gives produces two things. 1 - the status of being in right relationship with God and 2 – a faith that never fails.

This is what is revealed in Christ through the power of the Gospel.

So, anyone here who has received these gifts has a relationship with God, and that can be experienced in many ways. Emotionally – rationally – physical and in any combination. You’ll know that you know because God makes it clear.

And anyone here who has received these gifts has a living faith. Ultimately, an absolute reliance on God and his word rather than human means or ability or will.  Doubts may remain, faith must grow through testing and refining. But the key is that these two gifts are given without condition.

God does not require anyone to get their act together before giving. God does not wait for a clean moral record before giving. God does not give the gifts only if they are asked for first. God does not take his gifts back when sins are committed after the fact either.

God makes no sense in this – at least from a human point of view. God does not operate as the average person does.

^{Isaiah 1.18}“Come now, let us reason together,”

says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.

“Come now, let’s be serious,” says our God. “You’re a mess of sin, lust and mixed motives” and in the quiet place we all know it. “But as for me,” says the Lord, “I declare you right in your relationship with me. I declare you pure regardless of what you’ve done. Now, walk with me and learn to sin no more.”

People of God, the point is God forgives freely, completely and proactively so that grace may transform lives, communities and ultimately all of creation. For God, forgiveness is not conditional. And so he urges all those who has received freely to freely give.

2 Cor 5.16-6.1

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

            As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

Regard no one from a worldly point of view, do not receive grace and fail to embrace it. Live into a new God-given point of view.

You see, Jesus tells us to pray for those who have wronged us or others, to forgive them as a response to the forgiveness we have first received. And if we don’t, then we’ve misunderstood or rejected God’s grace. And that is a dangerous place which leads to isolation, and bitterness, holding onto hurts and grudges or self-righteousness and that place is death. There is no way out save through confession, repentance and opening to God so that a true rescue takes place. Satan deceives whom he may. And those who refuse to forgive as God has forgiven are in serious spiritual danger. Small wonder words such as these are spoken before we come to the Table of the Lord.

Forgive as Christ forgave. Read the gospels. Jesus never approved of the sin. Jesus always spoke grace first so that the sinner can find strength to walk in a different way. Jesus always forgave before he was asked. Jesus never withdrew his loving kindness from those who walked in rebellion. Jesus asks us to do the same.

This is how we know God is real, different and much more than an exercise in good morals. This is how we know that scripture is God breathed and good. This is how we know that there is hope and there is nothing between any two people that cannot be forgiven.

Forgiving as Christ forgives is not about being friends again or business partners or marriage partners. That may come, but it’s not the point. Forgiveness is all about releasing grace into the world so that the future – your future - is formed by grace: by hope, peace and love, not anger, hatred, fear or bitterness.

Who has wronged you or someone you care about? Who has acted and brought hurt or harm into the world? Have you forgiven that person? Have you forgiven yourself? God already has. What are you waiting for? What possible reason to wait can there be that is godly, what possible reason to wait and allow the devil a foothold? The time to decide is now. As Christ’s ambassador, in his name release grace that we may be healed.