In Christ: no condemnation

Fifth Sunday in Lent

March 9, 2008

Romans 8:1-11

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

After last weekend’s sermon, I felt like we all got off, way too easily. My opening question asked: for what purpose did God make us? To remind you, God made us to love Him with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

I suggested that we would be a blazing behemoth of a congregation if we only loved the Lord as passionately as we love our basketball teams.

I love dropping bombs like that, because I love seeing the look on your faces, when I register a direct hit, and that was a full-court shot that swished the center of the net. Our kids’ basketball ranks before the Lord. If a weekday Lenten service goes up against a basketball game, how many would skip the game and go to church?

When we are honest with ourselves, we know, full well, that our life is our central focus. Anything that serves our personal interest is the thing that takes priority. We are blowing more and more money on gambling. We are tattooing ourselves silly. We complain about the price of gas, but it is the rare person who is trading in his pick-up or SUV for a high-mileage compact.

We don’t have a whole lot of interest in giving priority to the Lord’s twin laws of love—love for Him and love for neighbor—and, like the young child who will only learn through punishment and discipline, we need to be constantly reminded of our propensity to watch out for our personal interests. Yet, in the Christian Church, you don’t get left hanging in your sin.

Did you notice how last week’s sermon ended? It ended the same way every sermon ends. You are never left to hang for your sins. You are always told that Jesus Christ hung for your sins. You always get Gospel tonic to soothe your sinful pains, as in today’s marvelous verse from Romans: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

In other words, you are let off the hook because of Jesus, and because He has made you people who are in Him—under His protection. He took your condemnation; you get off, scot-free. And, that’s the thing that left me frustrated after last week’s sermon. I’ve just begun my eighth year in Port Hope, and nothing seems to change, and the same goes for Harbor Beach.

Those Christians who are faithful, remain faithful. Those Christians who are irregular in worshiping the Lord, remain irregular. Those Christians who pretty much only come when duty calls them, only come when duty calls them. Those Christians who completely neglect the Lord, continue to neglect Him.

A pastor would love to see some spiritual growth, both in worship and in people’s daily lives. When he sees what seems to be very little, he wonders. No, he doesn’t question the power of God. The pastor knows that love is the most powerful force there is, and that God is love, and that God is faithful to His promises to give His love, in Jesus Christ, through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and through the washing in Baptism and the nourishing in the Lord’s Supper.

No, the pastor doesn’t concern himself with God’s part of the equation. The pastor questions his part of it, and the pastor questions your part of it.

But, see, here’s the thing. The pastor’s part, and your part, are nothing. God does the heavy lifting in this salvation business. He takes on our flesh and blood. He gets nailed for the sins of the world. He freely gives His grace—His forgiveness, life, and salvation—through His Word and Sacraments. All we do is receive. We are kids at Christmas—we don’t deserve the mound of gifts that we open, but our parents give them to us, anyway. Why? Because of their love for their kids, no matter how bratty they might act.

God works the same way. His love doesn’t depend on how well we act or on our character. His love depends on His character. His character determines how He acts. And, because He is a God of love, no matter how bratty you act—how badly you fail at loving Him and loving your fellow man—here is the good news, once again: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

But now, the pastor wants to ask the question: are you in Christ Jesus? Then, act like it!

I’ve been in this community for seven years, and what I see is a bunch of people who . . . well, let’s have God’s Word tells us, as we heard Paul: "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot."

Paul continues: "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you." That leads me to those ministers who do not preach the Gospel, but use the sermon to rake the sinners over the coals, and leaves them hanging for their sins, because they don’t act like people who have the Spirit of God living in them.

This always reminds of the sermon that I heard, when I was at seminary. It was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. The pastor preached a powerful sermon about abortion, and how we Christians need to be more involved in protecting innocent lives. And, from the lips of one very angry Missouri Synod pastor, here are the very last words of his sermon: "What are you going to do about it?" and he walked out of the pulpit. And, I was so mad, I wanted to walk out of church, because I knew that I would never do enough.

Pastors are tempted to preach sermons that make the people see their sin so vividly, and make the last thing they hear be something to make them feel so guilty, so that they will be moved to finally do something to stop thinking about the next way they will give themselves a good time, so that they think about what they can do to love their neighbor and, in loving their neighbor, show love for their God.

But, it doesn’t work. Making someone feel guilty, and leaving him to stew in his sins, never makes him love anyone more. It either makes him angry, or it makes him despair. If he gets angry, he winds up hating the one who demands his love. If he falls into despair, he winds up hating himself because he isn’t the person that God expects him to be.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is wonderful. It gives you the ability to sit back and go, "Aahhh," because, once again, you are reminded that Jesus has completely paid for your sins of not doing anything about innocent lives that are being lost, while you are busy filling your life with more pleasure. But, the Gospel of Jesus Christ also is dangerous.

When a pastor properly preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he leaves nothing in the hands of those hearing the sermon. He cannot even tell his hearers to repent of their sins more earnestly, because that puts the focus back onto the shoulders of sinners, and sinners cannot save themselves, no matter how hard they try. Telling people that God will forgive them if they just repent more, or try harder, or be more faithful in worship, and go to Communion more often, is like telling them to heal themselves of a terminal disease by trying harder not to have the disease. It’s nonsense.

But, the Gospel is dangerous, because it lets you off the hook. If Jesus has, indeed, done all of the hard work—if He has been nailed for the sins for which you deserve to hang—what’s left for you to do? Nothing. So, you might as well go out and have a good time, right?

Yet, won’t the person, who truly realizes what love is—it really sinks into his head and soaks into his heart—won’t the person who receives love, show love? If God so loves you that He requires nothing from you, doesn’t that so swell your heart with love for Him that you simply can do nothing less than be faithful to Him and faithful to your neighbor?

Well, we find ourselves right back at the beginning. What are you going to do?

As we now stand one week from Palm Sunday, and two weeks from Good Friday and Easter, fix your eyes where your salvation is worked, in Jesus Christ, who was nailed for the sins for which you deserve to hang.

And, once again, do not leave this church, today, with a guilt trip. This sermon will not end with the pastor ranting, "What are you going to do about it?"

Rather, be reminded, one more blessed time: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

You are God’s dear people, for whom Christ died. You are baptized into Jesus’ blood, washed clean of your sins. You are fed upon Jesus’ living body and blood. You are holy.

You are sinners—there’s no doubt about that. But, because the heavenly Father has adopted you to belong to Him, and has placed you under the protection of His Son, Jesus, He will never condemn you. He will always forgive you. He will always love you. Amen.