Sunday 06/18/23 - 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
So, I vividly remember the visit that I
made to Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown. It was about 3-years ago, if memory
serves. A good friend of mine who had long been steeped in the Christian faith
was dying. Despite him telling me before all of this happened that he thought
faith in Christ was all he needed for salvation and eternity, this is not what
I experienced when I visited him.
He knew that he was dying, and in these
final hours, I saw not peace, but fear in his eyes. He was mumbling, and so I
put my ear down near his mouth to hear what he was saying. I heard him say over
and over, “I’ve committed to many sins, and have made to many mistakes, and I
will never see heaven”. I was unbelievably heartbroken for my dear friend and
brother in Christ. I was deeply saddened at his sorrow, his fear, and his distress.
I reminded him, as my sermon title for this morning is titled that we are “Justified
By Faith!” Or to put it another way, our faith in Christ is enough. There is
nothing we can do to achieve perfection on our own, as we are all imperfect.
Through Christ, and Christ alone we are justified. I told this person that his
faith was enough, and that it is all any of us really have.
Despite me telling this man this
however, this man’s fear, sorrow, and worry did not dissipate. You see this person
grew up in a Christian tradition that told him that faith was not enough. He
was taught more of a rank and file, and according to him he could not get to heaven
if he did not do things well enough, or right, or at least this is what he told
me. When I talked with him prior to him getting really sick, I remember asking
him if people in the tradition of Christianity that he grew up in felt true
fear and worry? He told me that some of them do. I can’t imagine the fear of
not knowing your eternal fate. How harmful, how hurtful, and how damaging.
I remember sharing with this same person
long before he got really sick, scriptures like the one we have from Romans
5:1-8 for this morning. As it says in Romans 5:1-2 at the top of our worship
bulletin, once again:
5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 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).
Whether I leave this earth one day, or Christ returns
before this, all I have to defend myself with is Christ. If I were asked why I
should go to heaven, to eternity, there is nothing I can argue to make me
worthy. All I have is Jesus. Through Christ and Christ alone, I am justified. I
am now freed from guilt and shame so that I may love and serve my neighbor as
myself. Praise be God!
We do not need to fear what lies beyond on the curtain of
this world, or this life. We have a promise from Christ, that we will be with
him always. I am always honored to read at funerals, memorial services, and
celebrations of life John 14:1-4, where Jesus tells us:
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going” (Jn. 14:1-4, NRSV).
We can stand tall, free, and confident in Jesus Christ, for
we are “Justified By Faith!” Every
person here can turn to Christ, and shed guilt, shame, and fear. What an
amazing thing!
The
Apostle Paul continues on in our reading from Romans 5:1-8, picking up on 5:3 talking
about our faith in Christ, saying:
3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us (Rom. 5:3-8, NRSV).
To follow Jesus, to be a Christian
means that sometimes we will suffer. We suffer sometimes because the love that
we bare and the love that we share is not always excepted by some. In our
attempt to strengthen the community and bring people closer to Christ, sometimes
we suffer from those opposed to the gospel. I know I have. Even so, Jesus loves
me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Faith is enough, but with this
faith, this freedom on Christ, we are called to live it out.
The way that we live out our faith in
Christ can be varied. We are not all called to be pastors or preachers. We are
not called to be in the church choir, or on the church trustees. We are not all
called to children’s and youth ministries, and we are not all called to senior
ministries. We are not all called to specific issues plaguing the world, even
though we are concerned about them. To love Christ and to love others, and to
prayerfully use our gifts and graces to transform Sidney and the world is our “Justified
Faith” in action.
Beyond just our belief, we also have what
we can do for each other, and the world. I don’t know about all of you, but on
this Father’s Day, I can think of various men in my life that have and still
have a great influence on my faith, my beliefs, and who I am in general. I am a
better person, a better husband, and a better pastor because of these men. When
I first excepted Christ as my Lord and Savior in the United Methodist Church at
around 13-years old, I knew that Jesus loved me.
This being said though, some naysayers
that I knew told me that “religion is a crutch,” or that “Christians are wimpy
and weak.” This notion was blown out of the water for me when my step-father
Michael Therio, who is a retired Air Force Master Sergeant, and was a Chaplain’s
Assistant, took me to the base he was stationed at Newburgh, NY. Try telling
tough soldiers, both enlisted and officers that their faith is wimpy! You see,
because of the various men that were and still are mentors in my life I have gotten
to see various perspectives of our Christian faith. On this Father’s Day, I can
say with the greatest of confidence that there are many strong, successful, and
highly influential men and women who bend the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am grateful for the faith of my
step-father Mike, my mother Susan, and to the many that did and continue to develop
my faith and my character. Some people in Christ are seen as strong, and some
people are seen as weak. In Christ though, those who are weak are strong, because
Christ uses them in their weakness. Further, in Christ, those who are strong,
are strong because Christ has made them strong.
I also know that not everyone had a
great father. Some people I have met have also never met their father. Maybe
your father was abusive, and this could extend to a step-father, an uncle, etc.
If you can relate to this, then on this Father’s Day think of those men that were
or are still in your life that were like Father’s. Think of those men that
mentored you, that loved you, and that cared for you like a friend, a mentor, and
or a father. Father’s Day is about honoring the men who have shaped us and
cared for us, not men that have harmed and abused us.
I am blessed with a great biological
father, and a great step-father. I am also blessed with multiple great men that
have and are still great mentors and role models for me. At its very core, this
is what I think Father’s Day is all about. Some of the men in our lives also
taught us about Jesus, and how to live and love like him.
In fact, when looking at our gospel
according Matthew 9:35-10:23 reading for this morning, we hear of Jesus
healing, loving, and forgiving. Starting in Matthew 9:35 it says:
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and
villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the
kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the
crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send
out laborers into his harvest” (Mt. 9:35-38, NRSV).
Jesus
restores us, and he healed, loved, and forgave. Some of the men in my life
taught me this, and about the importance of living this out every day.
As
our gospel Matthew reading continues in Matthew 10, Jesus summons his twelve
disciples and give them spiritual authority. Matthew 10 lists the names of Jesus
twelve disciples. Jesus tells these twelve disciples this starting in Matthew
10:8 to:
8 Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse
those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give
without payment. 9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your
belts, 10 no
bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for laborers
deserve their food. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out
who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter
the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come
upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you (Mt. 10:8-13, NRSV).
Go forth and proclaim Christ, go forth
and love, heal, and forgive like Jesus, for Jesus Christ is the hope of the
world. Jesus then instructs us picking up in Matthew 10:16:
16 “I am sending you out like sheep into the
midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them,
for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be
dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and
the gentiles. 19 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, 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of
your Father speaking through you. 21 Sibling will betray sibling to death and a
father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to
death, 22 and
you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end
will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this town, flee to
the next, for truly I tell you, you will not have finished going through all
the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes (Mt. 10:16-23, NRSV).
What
we believe and how we live matters. I am blessed that I have had many men in my
life that taught me and shared with me their faith in Jesus Christ. There love,
their influence, and their support are part of the reason that I am standing
here today. Father’s Day is not just about getting a card and tie, it is more than
that. It is instead thanking and appreciating the men in our lives that have
and continue to sacrifice, work hard, and do all that they do to make us
better.
I am better because of many of the men
that have and continue to be strong forces for good in my life. My faith in
Christ is deeper because I know that Christians can be anyone from a person who
is bed ridden to general in the United States Air Force. Father’s Day then
matters, because all of us in some way, shape, or form, we were all loved, encouraged,
and shaped the various positive men that we had and or have in our lives.
Luckily for me, I was told by some of these men to have no fear, for I am “Justified
By Faith” in our Lord Jesus Christ. Take to remember and honor all those great
men today, and always. Happy Father’s Day. Amen.
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