Sidney UMC - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost - 07/16/23 - Sermon - “No Condemnation For Those Who Are In Christ Jesus!”

Sunday 07/16/23 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title: “No Condemnation For Those Who Are In Christ Jesus!”  

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 119:105-112                                      

New Testament Scripture: Romans 8:1-11

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

          We have all have had those moments or times in our lives, I am sure, where we did not feel good enough, or that we have felt lesser than. We might have even had moments or times of despair, where we thought all was lost, etc. Does God love us no matter what though? The answer is yes! For some of us though, we have had moments or times in our lives that were so hard that we might have felt God didn’t love us. It is not that God did not love us, but in those moments, it was hard to feel anything.

          I have talked to people that have told me that at different points in their lives that they were mad a God for something, or that at different points in their lives, God seemed much more distant from them than at other times in their lives.

          We have various scriptures that discuss wrestling with God. For example, Genesis 32:22-32 is about Jacob wrestling with God. Jacob wrestled with God all night, and Jacob would not let God go until God blessed him. Wrestling with God, struggling to understand God’s will for our lives, and drawing closer to Christ is part of the journey of all Christians.

          In fact, when I was going through the process of becoming an Ordained Elder in our UNYUMC we were asked to pick a scripture that spoke to us and helped to guide us. I chose one of my favorite scriptures Philippians 2:12-13 that says:

¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13, NRSV).

          Why is this one of my favorite scriptures? It is because while God always loves us, and while the love and goodness of God is constant and infinite, sometimes in our lives we are figuring some things out. Sometimes in our lives, we wrestle with God, like Jacob did in Genesis 32:22-32. In fact, I have talked to various people and even pastors that have told me that in their lives, sometimes God seems nearer to them, than during other times. Sometimes they are on the mountain top and on fire for Jesus Christ. Yet there are other times, where I have talked to people and pastors that tell me that they are “waiting on Lord”. You see, they have been praying and praying and waiting for an answer from God. God is truly Good all the time, and all the time God is good! Yet, in our lives sometimes we are working some things out, and this can make our walks with Christ ones that cause us to struggle sometimes.

          In our lives we have times where our faith shines bright, and we have times where we might be in the valley. The hope of the church and the community of faith though, is that we minister to and love each other. We might have walked into church today with our faith burning bright, and some of us might be in spiritual valleys, or anywhere in between. Wherever we are today though, God is with us, God loves us, and God never fails! There have been Sundays in my ministry where my spiritual gas tank was almost empty, and then there have been some Sundays in my ministry where my spiritual gas tank was overflowing. Wherever we are today, God is with us, and we are here to love and to serve each other.

          Last week, the Apostle Paul told us in our reading from Romans 7, in 7:15:

¹⁵ I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (Rom. 7:15, NRSV).

          Our journeys of faith in Christ are ones that hopefully lead us closer and closer to Christ, but many of us go through peaks and valleys. Where are you at today in your walk with Christ? Are you on the mountain top? Are you in valley? Or are somewhere in between?

          We are given in God’s word throughout the Bible, the idea that God’s love and faithfulness is constant and never ending. We need to follow God, and God will never abandon us or forsake us. Sometimes though we struggle, we all wrestle with God, because we are human. The Apostle Paul last Sunday said he is struggling with sin and brokenness, and was asking God to help him through that. We all struggle at times, and we as the church are here to serve and to love one another.

          Further, as we read the Bible, not only do we read about Jacob wrestling with God in the book of Genesis, but we have the struggles of Job in the Book of Job. We have men and women that are on top of the world, and then everything falls apart. We have the Apostle Peter promising to serve Jesus, and then denying him three times on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. As Christians we are all people forgiven by the grace of God, in Jesus Christ. We are all on a journey to be more and more like Jesus Christ. If you struggle sometimes, many struggle with you. This world can be a tough place, but God is good.

          We hear this morning in our reading from Psalm 119:105-112, in 105 speaking of the Bible that:

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps. 119:105, NRSV).

          God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. Even so, sometimes we struggle, and sometimes we suffer. We read this of various characters throughout the Bible, and we encounter this sometimes in our own lives.

          All of this leads me to my sermon title for this morning that comes from our New Testament reading from Romans 8:1-11. In Romans 8:1, it says, once again:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus     (Rom. 8:1, NRSV). 

          This is an amazing verse of scripture. Last Sunday in Romans 7, the Apostle Paul was saying that he cannot help himself and does things he should not do. We are all guilty of this in different way, yet this morning the Apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus is enough. We should not seek to do bad things and harm other people, but Jesus always forgives us. The damage we do on earth can sometimes not be undone, but Jesus always forgives us if we turn to him. So, if we are a new creation in Christ Jesus, we are not condemned, and can stand confident in his love, mercy, grace, and salvation.

           Continuing on in our Romans 8:1-11 reading, we pick up with the Apostle Paul saying in Romans 8:2, once again saying:

² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit  (Rom. 8:2-4, NRSV).

          So, in and through Jesus Christ, we are set free and not condemned. Maybe some of us have been condemned by others, or maybe we have condemned others. Maybe there have been times where we have been judged, mistreated, and made to feel lesser than. In Christ, we not condemned. In Christ we are worthy, loved, and we are enough. All I bring to Christ is my broken self, and he makes me whole. Daily I pursue him, and I strive to be made more and more whole through him. In doing this I grow in sanctifying grace and become more like Jesus.

          The Apostle Paul continues in Romans 8:5, saying once again:

⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Rom. 8:5-9, NRSV).

          It is tough to be connected to the Spirit of God all the time, as we are in the flesh. The Apostle Paul, once again, even admitted his struggle with this last Sunday in Romans 7. This I know though, when I am connected to Christ, things are much better, and worldly things seem to fade away. It is a constant struggle for many of us. To buy things, pursue things, eat and drink things, etc. We want happiness, we want joy, and we want contentment. The Apostle Paul is saying though that deep and true contentment comes from Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

          This does not mean that we should have nothing, but we should realize that things cannot bring eternal happiness. As we live in this world, realize that God is greater, and that the love of Christ is deeper than anything else.

          Even though we all struggle at times, and even though the Apostle Paul himself struggled, the Apostle Paul tell us once again in Romans 8:10-11 this:

¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you (Rom. 8:10-11, NRSV).

          Until the day we die and go to be with Jesus, or if he comes here first, we will have all sorts of temptations, struggles, and various things that compete for our time, our talent, our resources, and our hearts. The Apostle Paul tells us this morning however, once again:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus     (Rom. 8:1, NRSV).

          There are days in my walk with Christ that I feel like a superhero, and there are days where I felt like I did not move forward one inch. As we sow the love, hope, and peace of Christ though, we should remind ourselves that some of the seeds we sow in others will take root and grow. This idea of sowing seeds of faith is what Jesus is talking about this morning in his parable or story of “The Sower”. When I worked in social work between teaching and being a pastor, I had a framed picture of Christ’s arm. There was of course the nail hole, and in his Christ’s half-opened hand, and seeds were falling out of Jesus’ hand. The title of this beautiful poster of this painting is called “The Sower”.

          Sharing our faith in Christ and loving others is like sowing seeds. What will happen to those whom we share our faith with and love, however? Let’s hear what it says in gospel reading starting in Matthew 13:1 for this morning, once again:

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. ² Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ Let anyone with ears listen!’ (Mt. 13:1-8, NRSV).

          When we share our faith in Christ, when we serve and love others, some of these seeds of faith, hope, and love will grow in people. Some may never grow. Also, whether we are on the mountain top with our faith, in the valley with our faith, and anywhere in between, God can and still does use us. If you are on a spiritual mountain top this morning or in a valley of struggle and wrestling, God still uses us to sow seeds of love, hope, and faith. Don’t underestimate how God might be using us all this morning. For whether we are flying high in our faith this morning, or struggling, the Apostle Paul once again reminds this morning in Romans 8:1:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus     (Rom. 8:1, NRSV).

          Our gospel of Matthew 13 reading ends with 13:18-23 for this morning, explaining the parable or the story of “The Sower”. “The Sower” sews or spreads seeds that will hopefully take root and grow into grain that can be eaten to sustain our bodies. In fact, Matthew 13:18-23 tells this morning, once again:

¹⁸ ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. ²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³ But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty’ (Mt. 13:18-23, NRSV).

 

          Jesus says to us to let the seeds of his gospel, his love, and his hope, fill us and guide us. Even though we will have times of struggle and times of wrestling, God is good all the time, and all the time God is God. Further, as the Apostle Paul reminds us once again in Romans 8:1 for this morning:

8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus     (Rom. 8:1, NRSV).

          So, wherever you are spiritually this morning and in general, God loves you, and you are never condemned or lesser than in Jesus Christ. May it be so. Amen.