Sermon
for Trinity 6, July 28, 2019
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Romans 6:3–11 3Or don’t you know that
all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were
therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he
was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also
walk in a new life. 5For
if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly
also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. 6We know that our old self was
crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not
continue to serve sin. 7For
the person who has died has been declared free from sin. 8And since
we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that since Christ has
been raised from the dead, he will never die again. Death no longer has control over him. 10For the
death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives
to God. 11In the same way
also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
We bow our heads in prayer: Almighty and everlasting God,
through whose mercy we are saved by the washing of regeneration, and renewing
of the Holy Spirit, we humbly pray You, let this grace reign in us, as the
power of a new holy life, whereby, denying ungodliness and worldliness, we may
live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for the glorious
reappearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might
redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous
for all good works; to Whom, with You and the Holy Spirit be glory and honor
forever. Amen.
Live to God Who gives
you life in Christ.
Dear
brothers and sisters in Christ,
It is said that the measure of a man is found in how he
behaves when no one is watching. When
temptation comes alluring, will he still do right, even if no one is there to
keep him honest? Our sermon text
presents just such a challenge: will man, when he hears of God’s free grace, gladly
live a more holy life, or will he be tempted into bold sinfulness?
Throughout
the course of history, many church leaders have assumed that people would sin
more boldly if they knew they are freely forgiven, which led those who thought
that way to try to restrain sin by increasing the law, but the law has no power
to help us live holy lives. Recognizing
our weakness in this regard, the Holy Spirit had St. Paul answer that fear by
pointing out that it would be ludicrous for anyone to think that sin was
acceptable so that grace would increase.
He therefore encouraged us to Live
to God Who gives you life in Christ.
We first
must recognize that our human nature doesn’t need any encouragement to
sin. That was our natural state before
we were brought to faith in Christ. From
our conception, every thought, word, deed, interest, or desire we had was
corrupted with sin. The Holy Spirit declares that, “The sinful mind is hostile to God.
It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot
please God.” (Romans 8:7-8) St. Paul
It all sounds pretty hopeless, doesn’t it? However, God who created us wants us to have
hope—in other words, He intends to give you true and certain confidence in the
salvation He brings. Thus, Paul asked, “Or don’t you know
that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” Of course, you might ask, “What does being
baptized into Jesus’ death do to give us hope?”
So, we read on: “We were therefore buried with him by this
baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the
glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.”
Now, some
might take this as a command—as something we must do for God. But, the reality is that God, through our
Baptisms, has done something for us. In
the blessed washing of Baptism, God connected us to Christ Jesus; first, into
His death by which all our sins were transferred to the innocent Son of God who
had paid the due penalty of death for our sins, and then also connecting us to Jesus
in His resurrection. “For
[Paul wrote] if we have been united with him in the likeness of
his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his
resurrection.” Through
Baptism, we, who once were dead in sin, are united with Christ and lifted up
from the tomb of eternal death which Jesus conquered so that we may receive
life.
When we were
under the curse of sin, we had no truth in us.
We lusted after people and things that were not ours. By nature, we were selfish and self-absorbed,
for as the Lord long ago observed, “every inclination of the human heart is
evil from childhood.” (Genesis 8:21 NIV)
However,
being united with Christ is life just as He said, (John 14:6) so in Christ, we
again desire to walk with God as did Adam and Eve before their fall into
sin. And, with our new connection to
Christ, His holiness inspires in us the desire to put others’ needs before our
own, to sacrifice our pleasure for the good of our neighbor, to concentrate not
on the cares and temptations of this world, but on the love of God who gives
all things for our good, and gave Himself for our salvation. The new life we are given in Christ isn’t
corrupted with the sinful nature that wants to fight against God in
everything. Thus now, we can Live to God Who gives you life in Christ.
As long
as we walk on this planet earth, we will always struggle, because we still dwell
in our old body of death. At the same
time, we are now equipped with a holy, spiritual life that is everlasting for Paul
wrote, “We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful
body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin. For the person who has died has been declared
free from sin.” The One who
through death was set free from sin is Christ Jesus.
Now, someone
might argue, “But Christ was not subject to death for He never sinned.” And it’s true that Jesus never sinned, but He
made Himself to be sin for us by taking the sins of the world on Himself at His
baptism. Our sins condemned Jesus. Our sins nailed Jesus to the cross and put
Him in the grave. However, by
sacrificing Himself for us, the Son of God crushed the devil’s head, killed
death, and broke open the gates of the grave.
Victorious over all our enemies, Jesus rose from the grave, alive, never
to die again, and in Baptism, you and I are connected to His life, giving us
eternal life also. Therefore, Paul could
write with all confidence, “And since we died with Christ, we believe
that we will also live with him. We know
that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he will never die again. Death no longer has control over him.”
By God’s
grace, through Baptism, we too have been set free from death. Thus, our new spiritual life in Jesus has no
connection to sin. At the same time, the
struggle between our old sinful flesh and our new spiritual life continues as
long as we are physically alive.
Therefore, Paul wrote, “For the death he died, he died to sin once
and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way also consider yourselves dead
to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
For the
rest of our days here on earth, we will consciously decide whom we will
serve. Will we go back to serving the
desires of our sinful flesh and the devil who had stolen our souls from God, or
will we, rather, gladly serve only the Savior who has rescued us from Satan,
sin, and death to give us new, everlasting life? The answer should be obvious; we Live to God Who gives us life in Christ.
We admit
that every day of our physical lives will be a struggle. Satan still roams this earth seeking whom he
may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Our old flesh
remains weak and often tempts us with all kinds of wicked desires and
accusations, trying to turn us away from our Savior. However, my friends, we are not alone in this
battle. We have a Savior who has rescued
us from sin, and He is with us every step of the way. (Matthew 28:20) Furthermore, as long as we remain connected
to Christ in our baptismal faith, we are blessed by the certainty that “the
life that He lives, He lives to God.”
Jesus
lives, now and forever, holy to God the Father.
We live with Him through faith.
Through faith and through the Means of Grace, the Gospel in Word and
Sacrament, Christ continues to strengthen us for the battles of this troubled life
on earth. When we are tempted, we turn
to our Savior for help and strength. As
guilt troubles us, we return to the promises of Baptism, in which our sinful
nature was crucified with Christ, and we were given new life. Each day we can return to our baptisms confessing
all the sins that have afflicted us. And
each day, we will hear the absolution of our Lord and Savior, proclaiming to us
that because He lives, we also live—forgiven—forever.
Dear
friends, the devil likes to taunt Christians with the temptation to sin so that
God’s grace might be made greater, but that’s the devil’s lie. The amount of God’s grace isn’t dependent
upon our sin. God’s grace flows overabundantly
to us solely from His love for the human race, as demonstrated by the blood
that flowed from Jesus’ side on the cross.
On the cross, Jesus took the sins of the whole world upon Himself, and
the judgment our sins had earned. But on the third day, Jesus destroyed death and
the devil’s claim over us, when He rose triumphant to life again. With His life, death, and resurrection, Christ
set us free from sin and death. They no
longer enslave us.
Therefore,
trusting in Jesus as our one and only Savior, trusting that He has redeemed us
from sin and death, believing that God the Father has declared us innocent of
all charges because of Christ, and partaking often of His means of grace
through which we are renewed in the Lord’s salvation and strengthened for our
walk in this world, we turn away from sin and Live to God Who gives us life.
Amen.
The peace
of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus unto everlasting life. Amen.
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