Sunday
06/14/20 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Justified by Faith”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
New Testament
Scripture: Romans 5:1-8
Gospel Lesson: Matthew
9:35-10:23
Today, once again, is the Second Sunday after Pentecost. Two Sundays after
the Holy Spirit moved on the day of Pentecost, nearly two-thousand years ago.
On that day, the Christian Church was born, and nearly two-thousand years later
we are worshipping God here this morning.
It is hard for me to believe, for
those of us safely here in person this morning, that we did not have any in
person church options for three months. It seems to me, like it was forever ago
that we had church in person. Some are not here this morning, as they are just
not ready, and this is ok. How good it is though to be here on a Sunday
morning, with those of us that are safely here.
With this said, I remember when I was
a little kid that if I had a toy in the toy box that was not being played with,
generally my siblings would not care. Yet, if I picked up that toy, then suddenly
that toy became irresistibly desirable for my brothers and sisters.
For most of my 38-years on this earth, other than
the last three months, the Christian Church has always been opened. Sure, we
may have been closed for a snowstorm, a flood, or another natural disaster, but
never like this. It is true that the church is the followers of Christ, as well
as the mission of the church that we live out, but it is nice to worship in God’s
house. Other than floods, storms, and situations like this, the church has generally
always been open. As a result, if we were tired on a given Sunday, then we
could just play “hooky” if we wanted to.
In the last three months though,
someone took our toy from our toy chest. Maybe the toy, the church in this
case, was something many of us took for granted. We might have said, “the
church is always there, so what if I miss a Sunday or two, or miss other
elements of the life of the church? It is not like anyone else will take that
toy out of the toy box and play with it”. For the past three months, a brother
or sister did not take our toy, or our church, but Covid-19 did.
When suddenly attending church in
person was no longer an option, many of us said, “Hey, who is playing with my
toy!” Maybe some of us took the church for granted, not the people, not the mission
of the church, but the blessing of being able to worship here.
During these last few months, some of you
have told me that you have had a strong desire to be here, to worship, to
connect with God. Three months ago, suddenly that opportunity was taken from us
all. Even when church floods happened here, someone could have driven far
enough to find another open and functioning church if they wanted to. This time
however, it was not flooding in some places that closed some churches, for churches
were shut down in much of the world.
Friends we are not through the woods with
this Covid-19 Pandemic, but with us being here this morning, to me, it is a sign
that maybe we will reach the edge of this forest sooner or later. We will overcome
this!
In a similar way to fighting over a
toy, I want to talk this morning about “Justification,” or being justified.
There are times in our lives when we would say that our actions, or our decisions
were “justifiable.” What we did, what we decided was ok and was good.
Some people go through life seeking to
be affirmed or justified. I think that this Covid-19 pandemic, along with doing
great damage to the US and the world’s economies, as well as showing us the
struggles of racism and other struggles in this country, has also shown us some
other things.
Some people have told me and have remarked
to me how much they were doing before this pandemic started. Some people told
me what they were buying, spending, etc. We seem to have a culture that says we
can purchase justification. If we buy that car, that bigger house, that new
suit, then we will finally feel the way we deserve to feel. People will finally
affirm us and show us the respect and the honor that we deserve.
This Covid-19 Pandemic was a wrecking
ball to our vast consumption. I have heard the term “Retail Therapy.” You have a
bad day at work or in general, so you go and buy a new pair of shoes, or a new outfit.
So many people in this culture struggle to feel good enough, affirmed, and
justified.
What would it be like though to know
that you are good enough right now? What if you knew in every fiber of your
being that you were indeed good enough? What if your desire to buy things, to purchase
more, to go bigger, to go larger, just disappeared or began to diminish? What If
you began to no longer desire those things? What if we realized on some level that
the things that we were striving after might be connected to our sense of
self-worth? Our culture says you need to get more, to get bigger, to get
larger, because in doing so you feel affirmed or justified. You need to chase
the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, because that is how you feel like you
are somebody.
I have read research before about high
powered businessmen and women who retire. Some of them cut the cord and they
are done. Some of them though, they get right back into the race. They need it,
it makes them feel whole. They need it to affirm themselves, they need it to give
them value, and to justify their existence.
I have heard so many people say, “I
will be happy when…” They will be happy when they get a better job, a new
house, a new car, married, etc. I think that this Covid-19 Pandemic put a real
monkey wrench in our system of buying and trying to obtain happiness.
In our reading for this morning from
the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul tells us how to be truly affirmed
or justified. Paul tells us how to truly feel whole and complete. Once again,
the Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:1-2:
“Therefore, since we
are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in
which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God”
(Rom. 5:1-2, NRSV).
Now I am guessing that over these last
three months that we had times that we did not have peace. Instead, we had
worry and maybe anxiety. I had a couple of moments where I was wondering if were
living in the Book of Revelation.
Through all of this though, if we have
repented of our sins, come to Christ, accepted him, been filled with the Holy
Spirit, then in that moment of acceptance we were justified. Through the blood
that Christ shed on the cross, every single one of us in that moment of Justification
were made clean and blameless through Jesus Christ. In that moment, we were good
enough right where we were. We did not need to do anything more. We did not
need to earn it, to buy it, or to take it. It was given freely for us.
For those of us that know Christ, we
are justified, we don’t have to prove ourselves, we don’t have to be perfect,
because through Christ’s blood we have been redeemed and restored. Since this
is true, our value to God, comes not from things, possessions, wealth, and power.
Our value comes because we are forgiven people made in the image of almighty God.
Every single person that walks this earth was created in God’s image, is loved
by God, and can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
As much as we try to make the world
better, and we should, only Jesus can justify us, as we will never be able to
obtain full justification here on earth. I believe that we should work to make
the earth better, that we should love and affirm all people, but the truest affirmation
and hope comes through Jesus Christ.
Is
this always easy to do? No, as the Apostle Paul continues saying this morning:
“And not only that, but
we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and
hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still
weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone
die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might
actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still
were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:3-8, NRSV).
In this hurting, broken, and sinful
world, Jesus Christ died for us, and through him and through him alone we are
justified. Jesus is enough, and we never need to try to buy or earn this
affirmation or justification. If you feel like you are not good enough, if you
feel unloved, unaffirmed, or unjustified, you can be justified through Jesus
Christ.
In our gospel of Matthew reading for
this morning, Jesus goes all over preaching the good news of God’s kingdom, and
he healed many (Mt. 9:35, NRSV). Jesus had compassion for the people and
challenged his disciples and us to be about the work of the gospel (Mt.
9:36-38, NRSV).
Jesus then empowers his twelve disciples
and gives them spiritual authority (Mt. 10:1-4, NRSV). Jesus sends out his
twelve disciples to preach the gospel, to love, to heal, and to forgive. They then
went out with little to nothing and they were told to preach where people would
listen and welcome, but to be on their way if people didn’t hear or listen. (Mt.
10:5-15, NRSV).
Jesus then says:
“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the
midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them,
for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and
you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to
them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are
to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you
at that time;” (Mt. 10:16-20, NRSV).
Friends
so many us try to find happiness in this world. We try to buy it, to seek it, to
obtain it, to chase after it, or to earn it. If the past three months have
taught us anything it is that the things of this world are not always as
reliable as we would like to think they are. While we might try to obtain affirmation
or justification in this world, we can only fully and unconditionally obtain
this from God through Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Unlike
fighting over the toy in the toybox then, there is enough Jesus to go around
for us all. In him, we are fully and completely justified through his blood, if
we repent and come to him as Lord. Friends we have Jesus, we have justification,
because we have faith in God through Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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