Sermon for Oct.. 30, 2016

Reformation- Oct. 30

Romans 3:19-28

            I have a few actual responses from police officers who’ve pulled a driver over for speeding: "Warning?” said the officer. You want a warning? O.K., I’m warning you not to do that again or I’ll give you another ticket." Or this one for you ladies: "You didn’t think we give pretty women tickets? Well, you’re right, we don’t. Sign here." Or this one—from right here in Ehrhardt, I think, "I’m glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."
            The law can be tough for us sometimes. We don’t mind it when someone else (who deserves to be pulled over) is stopped by the police; but we’re really not all that happy when an officer pulls us over! But the law is the law; & if we’re caught breaking it, we pay a penalty.

            That’s a pretty consistent message in the Bible. The Law of God is the Law of God; & if you break it there is a penalty. In fact, Paul tells us in Rom. 6:23 that “…the wages of sin is death…”
            Now, how many of you have been given a ticket for speeding? Me too. And do you remember thinking to yourself: “I really didn’t think I was speeding. I was just driving along at a what I thought was a safe speed.” And no one was more surprised than you were when those red & blue lights went off in your rearview mirror. You didn’t really think you broke the law. But you did.
            And that’s what Paul is telling the Jewish believers in Rome in our 2^nd lesson today. Apparently some of them had the misunderstanding that all they had to do was obey the OT laws & they’d be OK with God. They didn’t think they ever really broke the law. Oh, they might have pushed the limit a little bit. But break it? Nah.
            So Paul spends a great deal of time in his letter explaining that God’s law was pulling them over to the side of the road. The law found them guilty of sin. And if they depended upon obeying the law to make them acceptable to God, they were in for a rude surprise: Paul explained that NONE of them had ever kept the law perfectly & so “All have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God.”
            Paul also explains that the real purpose of the Law, though, is not to condemn us, but to point out to us that we are in need of help. J. Vernon McGee puts it this way: You have a mirror in your bathroom, which is a picture of the law. & there is a basin underneath the mirror. You don’t wash yourself in the mirror, do you? No, it’s only there to reveal the dirt. Just so, the law is the mirror that reveals our sin. Beneath that mirror there is a wash basin where that dirt is removed from our lives.
            So, what is that “washbasin” that I can use to remove the filth of my sin? What is it that can save me if obedience to the Law can’t?  Can faith cleanse me of my sin? Repentance? Baptism? Do those things take away my sins? Well yes… and no.
            If you were to do a study in Scripture and look for the passages that told how we were saved you would find that the bulk of them would tell us we were saved “By the grace of God.” Faith, repentance, & baptism are all wonderful; but all of these involve my RESPONDING to God. Accepting His gift of salvation… being cleansed of the filth of sin.

            Indeed, God expects me to believe in Jesus, to repent, to confess, to be buried in the waters of baptism & rise up to a new life. But all of these are part of my response to God’s offer.
None of those things actually saved me!

            It is God’s grace that saves us. It was what God did on the cross that worked our salvation; everything else is just our way of signing up. We can’t do anything to buy  or earn our salvation… because it’s a free gift.
            Many of you are likely familiar with the story of King Arthur & Camelot. Arthur established Camelot as a land based upon the rule of law rather than the force of arms. He was very proud that he based his law upon total impartiality. The law applied to everyone no matter who they were.
            Camelot is also the story of Arthur’s love for Guinevere, his wife & his queen.  Tragically, Guinevere fell into an adulterous affair Arthur’s most trusted knight, Lancelot. Their affair was discovered by Arthur’s illegitimate son Mordred, who hated his father. This discovery gave Mordred the opportunity to destroy the very things Arthur held dear.
            Well, Lancelot escapes; but Guinevere is not so fortunate. The just & impartial law that King Arthur created for his people, condemns his wife with death. As the day of execution nears, people come from miles around with one question in their minds: “Would the king let her die?”

            On the day of the execution, Arthur & Mordred are watching from a castle window as Gunivere is led to the stake for burning. What will Arthur do? If he carries out the sentence, he upholds the law & validates himself to be a just a& impartial king. Yet, in doing so, he calls into question his love. Would the king burn Guinevere?
            Finally, Arthur’s love for Jenny spills from his broken heart: “I can’t! I can’t! I can’t let her die!” Seeing Arthur crumble, Mordred relishes the moment: “Well, you’re human after all, aren’t you, Arthur? Human & helpless.” Being only human, (the embodiment of the ideal human righteous king) Arthur is indeed helpless.
            But where that story ends, the greatest story ever told just begins. Because God did what no mortal could ever hope to do. God stepped down from heaven & took our place at the stake. He died so that we might have life. That is grace. It is a gift—something only God can do…and did! Receive that gift. Cherish it. And use it—use your new life in God’s grace—to help others to experience His grace as well. Amen.