romans sermon series

7/28/2019 Romans Sermon Series

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WHEN IN ROMANS07/18/2010Doug Diehl

Scripture Reading: Romans 3:21-31

This week, in our One Year Bible, we left the Book of Acts and entered the Letter

to the Romans. As we read Romans for the next several weeks I will besupplementing our reading with a series of four sermons. I encourage you, whetheryou are reading through the One Year Bible or not, to read through the Book ofRomans and I would recommend that if you struggle with the language you start outwith one of the more modern, easier to read versions. Give it some time and give itsome thought.

(An aside - last week Pastor Sharla shared how Paul stood trial, defended hisfaith, and eventually was sent to Rome to appear before in the Emperor's court. Thelast section of the Book of Acts records that trip to Rome and although we never read

about the end to Paul's life we know he was martyred in Rome. What is mostinteresting is in Paul's letter to the Romans he expresses his strong wish to come seethe believers in Rome. Little did he know as he wrote the letter that his wish wouldcome true but as a prisoner instead of a free man.)

In my preparation, and in particular as I tried to come up with a sermon title,the clich "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" came to mind. I did a search on theInternet. Of course the meaning of the phrase came up. If you didn't already know, itgenerally means: When visiting a foreign place follow the customs of that area ratherthan insisting on your own. The phrase finds itself in books and songs and movies

throughout the years, most recently in a movie entitled, When in Rome, starring KristenBell and Josh Duhamel. Believe it or not, the clich actually comes out of theChristian Church. It is first quoted in a letter sent from one church leader to another inabout 390 A.D. St. Jerome writes, "When I go to Rome, I fast on Saturday, but here[referring to Milan] I do not. Do you also follow the custom of whatever church youattend, if you do not want to give or receive scandal."

I don't want to talk about what we might do when we are in Rome. I want us toconsider what to expect when we are in Romans.

When in Rome do as the Romans do. When in Romans ... we will be

challenged, maybe even confused. First of all, Paul is not always easy to understand.His writing style, his method of debate and his vocabulary are not common to us. Wehave taken the Christian faith so for granted we can't even begin to understand thedepth of the transition and the relationship between early Christianity and the Jewishfaith. We are far removed from the environment of that day - Jewish in faith, Greek inculture and Roman in politics.

When in Rome do as the Romans do. When in Romans ... we will come face toface with the portion of the Bible that has influenced the development of the ChristianChurch in these past 2000 years more than any other. F.F. Bruce, a distinguished 20th


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century scholar on the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul writes, "Time and again inthe course of Christian history [the letter to the Romans] has liberated the minds ofmen, brought them back to an understanding of the essential Gospel of Christ, andstarted spiritual revolutions." Who are some of those men whose minds have beenliberated? The great Augustine of the 4th and 5th centuries was converted to theChristian faith and lifestyle after reading from the Letter to the Romans. In the 16thcentury Martin Luther, as he delivered a series of sermons on Romans, for the first

time in his life understood the place of God's grace and mercy in his own salvation.The result? - the Protestant Reformation. John Wesley, our own Methodist forefather,was transformed one evening at a Bible Study as the preface to Martin Luther'scommentary on Romans was being read. As he records, he felt his heart "strangelywarmed." He realized the futility of performing for God and the power of knowingGod's love through faith in Christ.

When in Rome do as the Romans do. When in Romans ... we will hear thegospel message, the good news of Jesus, in all of its depth and glory.

How many of you have heard of the Four Spiritual Laws? This "gospel in anutshell" was coined in 1952 by Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christand used in various ways as a tool for personal evangelism: (Law 1) God loves youand offers a wonderful plan for your life; (Law 2) Man is sinful and separated from God;(Law 3) Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin; and, (Law 4) We mustindividually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experienceGod's love and plan for our lives.

How many of you have heard of "The Romans Road to Salvation?" It is muchlike the Four Spiritual Laws. Because the entirety of the gospel is explored andexplained in Paul's letter to the Romans it is easy to take verses from the Book of

Romans, not necessarily in order of appearance and put them together to sum up thebasic tenants of the Christian faith as well as the process by which an individual comesto a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

This "Romans Road" will be the pathway for our four week journey throughRomans. Today we look at the first stone in the road. It is found in our reading fromRomans this week - Romans 3:23: "... all have sinned and fall short of the glory ofGod."

As we look at the context of this verse and the first few chapters of Romans werealize the emphasis of Romans 3:23 is not on the fact that everyone has sinned andfallen short of God's glory, even though that is true. Rather, the emphasis is on theword "all."

Paul is speaking to three groups of people in his letter: (1) his fellow Jews whobelieve because of their history they have special favor with God; (2) the non-Jewswho have become followers of Jesus but are viewed as second class believersbecause they have no connection to what God has already done in the Old Testament;and (3) all of the readers of the Bible throughout the ages including us today. In this


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letter he states that the message he has been preaching - that for which he is willing tolay down his life - is for all - for everyone.

That message carries with it good news and bad news. The good news is that increation God has shown himself to everyone. The bad news is no one has an excusefor saying they don't know God. The good news is God loves all of the people he hasmade. The bad news is the people God has created - created in his own image no

less - have chosen to worship the creation instead of the Creator. The good news isthat God has never given up on the human race. The bad news is because of thestubbornness of the people God has given them up to do what they want to do and tosuffer or be blessed by the consequences of those choices. (Do you hear thedistinction - God has never given up on the people but God has given the people up todo what they want.) The good news is God has provided a solution for all peoplethrough what God has done through Jesus. The bad news is some people havechosen to hedge their bets with God by following laws rather than establishing apersonal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

The major theme in these opening chapters of Paul's letter is very simple - weare all in the same boat. It will do us no good to judge ourselves better or worse thanothers. We all are loved by God. We have all been given the same opportunities andthe same choices. We all have turned aside from God. A day will come when all of uswill be judged. All of us are all invited to know the grace and forgiveness offered to usthrough Jesus.

I came across a joke that sums this up well.

The Dogs Diary:8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!1:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!3:00 pm - Took a nap! My favorite thing!5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cats Diary:Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little

dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am fed dry nuggets. Theonly thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, Ionce again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headlessbody at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearlydemonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending commentsabout what a good little hunter I am.


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There was some sort of assembly tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement. Ioverheard that my confinement was due to the power of allergies. I must learn whatthis means, and how to use it to my advantage. Today I was almost successful in anattempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he waswalking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog

receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willingto return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe himcommunicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. Mycaptors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. Fornow.

In God's house there are no dogs and there are no cats. We are all God'schildren. We all have the choice to enjoy God's love and blessing by allowing our livesto revolve around God or we can be miserable and hopeless by revolving life aroundourselves.

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ALIVE TO GOD07/25/2010Doug Diehl


I knew a little boy who liked to play with pencils. He drew with pencils. He sharpenedpencils. He stacked them up to build little forts and houses. He had long, short, skinny andfat pencils. He had mechanical pencils, carpenter pencils and coloring pencils. He hadpencils painted with different colors, designs, funny sayings and business names. His favoritepencils were the pencils with the erasers. He liked the feeling of the erasers. He enjoyederasing whether he had something to erase or not. He especially liked the rubbings thaaccumulated as he erased.

His parents didnt mind him playing with pencils but once in awhile they found himdoing things that might cause harm to himself or to others. So they decided to make somerules about what their boy could do and not do with the pencils. One of those rules was

expressed to him like this: Son, dont ever, ever, EVER remove an eraser from the end of thepencil and stick it up your nose.

Actually, the boy had never before thought about doing that. He wondered, I wonderwhy my mom and dad would tell me not to do that? Are they trying to protect me? Are theytrying to keep me from doing something that is fun?"

He paid much more attention to the pencils with erasers than ever before even to theexclusion of the others. He quit drawing. He quit sharpening. He spent most of his timelooking - staring - at those erasers ... wondering.

It didn't happen all at once. He didn't want to disappoint his parents. Then again


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maybe it wasn't that big of a deal. Just once couldn't hurt. He started out by pulling theerasers from the end of the pencils. Just one at first but then more and more. He stackedthem in a little pile. He thought to himself, "Why in the world did my parents tell me not to dothis? These little erasers aren't hurting me. The aren't hurting anyone else. Besides, I'm notbreaking the whole rule. I haven't stuck any up my nose.

After a few days he found himself bored. While it had been exciting at first to kind of dosomething his parents didn't want him to do, it was no longer enough. He wanted to go all the

way. He wanted to experience what it felt like with an eraser up his nose. He started bygetting the erasers close enough to his nose to smell them. Then it progressed. He stuckone up a nostril just a little bit, then a little further. Finally he shoved one completely in. Hewas a little surprised. Well actually more than a little surprised. He was so surprised hegasped - kind of snorted. Up and in went the eraser. He panicked. He didn't know what todo. Everything he tried made it worse. He told his parents. Off they went to the emergencyroom. An unpleasant extraction took place. An even more unpleasant hospital bill appearedin the mailbox. All because of a little eraser.

It's a silly story but it is story with some good theology. In fact, if Paul would haveknown about pencils with erasers, and had experienced the nasal stories of his nephews andnieces, he probably would have used it in a few of his letters - in particular his letter to theRomans. And, I would have let him.

In the pencil story we hear what goes on when we toy with the idea of doing somethingwe know we aren't supposed to do. It's the progression of sin - the temptation, thewondering, the obsession, the experimenting, the commission and the consequences.

The pencil story is reminiscent of a story from the Bible all the way at the verybeginning. In Genesis we read: 15The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden totend and watch over it. 16But the LORD God warned him, You may freely eat the fruit of everytree in the garden 17except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you

are sure to die. Sometime later we read this: 1The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wildanimals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, Did God really say youmust not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden? 2Of course we may eat fruit fromthe trees in the garden, the woman replied. 3Its only the fruit from the tree in the middle ofthe garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, You must not eat it or even touch it; ifyou do, you will die. 4You wont die! the serpent replied to the woman. 5God knows thayour eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both goodand evil. 6The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit lookeddelicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ateit. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7At that moment

their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed figleaves together to cover themselves. 8When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the manand his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORDGod among the trees. 9Then the LORD God called to the man, Where are you? 10He replied,I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked. 11Who toldyou that you were naked? the LORD God asked. Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit Icommanded you not to eat?(Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-11 NLT)

We know the rest of the story. Adam and Eve were found out and they were judgedWithout getting into all of the details the worst came as God pronounced what he had warned"Because you have disobeyed me, someday you will die."


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In his letter to the Romans, Paul explains the significance of that moment in the historyof the human race. He includes all of us in that moment. In referring to Adam, Paul says, "..sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spreadto all because all have sinned ..."(Romans 5:12 NRSV)

We have to remember that a primary purpose of Paul's letter is to explain the place ofthe law given through Moses both to the Jewish people who grew up with the law and, also, tothe new Christians who came into the fold knowing nothing about the Jewish law.

This is where the pencil story comes in. The little boy broke a rule - a law - set by hisparents. Did that law change the consequences of sticking the eraser up his nose? Ofcourse not. The trip to the emergency room could have happened to the little boy just aseasily before his parents set the rule as it happened after. However, the parent's rulepointed out the problem, it defined the warning as to why it was bad, and the really weird thingabout it, in some way it actually contributed to the little boy finally trying it. Along with all ofthat, hopefully, it also led the boy to draw the conclusion that mom and dad knew best.

This is the place of the law. The law did not create sin. Sin was already there - fromthe very beginning with Adam. The consequence of sin was the same before the law and

after the law - ultimately sin led to death. Paul says that the purpose of the law given by Godthrough Moses many, many generations later was this: it defined what was sin; it delineatedwhy the sins were bad; it reiterated the consequences of the sin, and finally, it actuallycontributed to the sin. Because of human nature, the law heightened men and women'sinterest in what was wrong and the temptation to try it out. The law was to show us howmuch we needed God's grace and mercy.

You will notice that one of the things I did not say, and Paul was very firm about, is Godnever - in any way - intended that the law would save people. Paul was very clear that thelaw was not to be disqualified - that the law had a good purpose - but he was very, very clearthat the law was never intended to take away the consequences of sin.

I mentioned last week that one of Paul's main purposes in the first chapters of Romansis to let his readers, then and now, know that we are all in the same boat. I introduced us tothe first stone in the Romans Road to Salvation - Romans 3:23 - "all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God." Today we move to the second stone which defines theconsequences of that sin. It is found in Romans 6:23 where we read, "... the wages of sin isdeath."

The Romans Road to Salvation was developed to be an evangelistic tool to bringothers to faith in Jesus Christ. I would suggest you not use it. While the words are true it wilprobably not be effective. Can you imagine what someone would think if you came up to

them and said, "Did you know we are all sinners and because you are a sinner you aresentenced to death?" I would guess that would be a turn off. There is much more to thestory. Paul did not share what he shared to let everyone know they were going to hell. Paushared what he shared to bring hope - good news - to every single man and woman.

For now, I want to leave us with this thought. Laws and rules will not save us. Theconstitution of the United States, the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, theTen Commandments will not save us or anyone else. - maybe guide us, maybe protect us, butnever to save us. There is only one who can save us from that power which has lead thehuman race, ourselves included, to death and destruction.


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Romans 6:23 says a whole lot more than simply "the wages of sin is death." This is thewhole verse: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in ChristJesus or Lord."It is to Jesus we will turn our attention next week.

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HERE COMES THE JUDGE

08/01/2010

Doug Diehl


Here come da judge? Remember that phrase? Do you remember where it was made famousand who made it famous? It was on the old TV classic Laugh-In, where Flip Wilson came on thescreen in a robe and powdered wig as the judge with the gavel in hand.

The Bible is very clear throughout the Old and New Testaments that the day will come, at theend of human history as we know it, when God will intervene as the Judge in a final judgment.

In Pauls letter to the Romans, he speaks quite a bit about judging and judgment. Paul refersseveral times to that moment of final judgment. 5But by your hard and impenitent heart you arestoring up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when Gods righteous judgment will berevealed.(Romans 2:5 NRSV) 16on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through JesusChrist,will judge the secret thoughts of all.(Romans 2:16 NRSV) For we will all stand beforethe judgment seat of God.(Romans 14:10 NRSV)

Did you know there is a significant difference between the way the Jews of the Old Testamentand we as Christians today view God as judge? In his commentary on the Psalms, C.S. Lewis

explains it. The Jewish people saw God as a vindicator before whom they would plead their caseagainst those who had mistreated them. We tend to think of God as a judge sentencing us to heavenor hell. Generally speaking, we tend to dread the final judgment. The Jews of the Old Testamentlooked forward to it.

Both views of God the Judge lead to the same results the tendency to judge others. Thosewho see the Judge as the great vindicator will come to believe they are in better stead than anyoneelse. They deserve Gods special favor. They are Gods chosen people.

Those of us who view God as the sentencer have a tendency towards fear. Even though wemight not admit it outwardly, down deep we know we have done wrong and we feel guilty over it. Inorder to make ourselves feel better we take on the place of judge. We judge ourselves against others

and of all things, we judge God.One of the most profound scenes in The Shack by William P. Young comes when the main

character Mac meets wisdom in the flesh, a woman by the name of Sophia. Sophia places a chair infront of Mac, tells him to sit down and prepare himself for judgment. Macs first response was one offear, anticipating Gods judgment on himself. However, Sophia informs Mac that he will be the judge.

Heres how the conversation goes: What? Me? Id rather not, he paused. I dont have theability to judge. Oh that is not true, returned the quick reply, tinged now with a hint of sarcasm.You have already proven yourself very capable, even in our short time together. And besides, youhave judged many throughout your life. You have judged the actions and even the motivations ofothers, as if you somehow knew what those were in truth. You have judged the color of skin and


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body language and body odor. You have judged history and relationships By all accounts, you arequite well-practiced in the activity.

We dont have time to get into it, but Paul, in his letter to the Romans, spends quite a bit oftime being critical of people judging one another. After all, as we have talked about before, hereminds his readers that everyone is in the same boat. All have sinned. All need Gods mercy.

As I said, we Christians tend to see the Judgment as something to fear. I grew up without adecent understanding of grace. I went to bed many nights fearful of the moment I would meet the

Judge maybe even that very night. I prayed before bedtime now I lay me down to sleep, I praythe Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take. I was pretty sure ifthat night was to be the night I was in trouble.

Unfortunately, that is not just a childish worry. That is the view held by many adults as well.What is most unfortunate is such a fear is very, very unchristian. We who live on this side of Jesustime on earth who live on this side of Paul and his writings we should know better. In fact, if wetruly read and studied Pauls letter to the Romans, we would know better.

Paul speaks of this judgment as a reality but he tells us that instead of focusing on thejudgment we need to focus on the Judge. Paul also says that while the final judgment might still be athand, the Judge has already come. He says that even though we should stand in fear and awe of the

Judge of the Universe, with the coming of Jesus we should be excited and relieved. The Judge isJesus, and he has not come to lay judgment on us but rather, he has come to lay the judgment onhimself.

We have been using as the foundation to our short series on Romans the Romans Road toSalvation. So far we have looked at the first two stones. The first: For all have sinned and fall shortof the glory of God. (Romans 3:23 NRSV) The second: for the wages of sin is death. (Romans6:23 NRSV)

We back up in Romans for the third: But God proves his love for us in that while we still weresinners Christ died for us.(Romans 5:8 NRSV) This is the full context starting at verse 6: 6For whilewe were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a

righteous personthough perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8But Godproves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us10For if while we wereenemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having beenreconciled, will we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:6-8,10 NRSV)

Can you imagine? The Judge has not come to pronounce the death sentence even thoughthat might be the sentence deserved. The Judge, who has never sinned, has come to release usfrom the death sentence by stepping down from the bench and taking upon himself the verdict.

Here comes the Judge. And what is the Judge like? Is it a Judge who hates us law-breakers?Is it a Judge who cant wait to zap us? No! It is a Judge who loves us so much that he is willing toaccept death for us.

Is God a judge who separates Himself from us because of our sinfulness? No God is a judgewho has come to us in the flesh to close the separation. While sin separated us from God, nowthrough Jesus, the separation has been bridged and nothing can ever separate us again.

Paul writes, 38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor thingspresent, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, willbe able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NRSV)

I take that back. Something can separate us from the love of God. Our own foolish choice tostay disconnected.

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ASAVINGCONFESSION

08/08/2010

DougDiehl

ScriptureReading:Romans10:1-13

Ontheverysamedaythispastweek,twodifferentpeopleapproachedmewithcomments

comparingtheOldandNewTestamentsoftheBible.Oneindividualtoldmetheyhadgrownupwiththe

OldTestamentastheirgrandmasharedtheOldTestamentstorieswithhimtimeandagain.He

rememberedasayoungboybeingfascinatedreadingthroughtheOldTestamentandaboredomwiththe

NewTestamentbecauseofitslackofQightingandracyscenes.

LaterthatdayanotherindividualtoldmehehadneverreadtheOldTestamentmuchuntilour

endeavorwiththeOneYearBible.HewasstrugglingsomewiththeOldTestamentwithallofthe

violenceandwhatseemedtobedivineinitiativeoratleastdivinesupportofsomeofthatviolence.They

concludedtheylikedtheNewTestamentmuchbetter.

ItseemsmostChristianswouldmuchratherreadtheNewTestamentthantheOld.IhavetalkedwithChristianswhohavevirtuallyspentnotimeintheOldTestamentandhavenointentiontodoso.

Thefactofthematteris,weneedboththeOldandtheNewTestaments.TheNewTestament

completestheOldandtheOldTestamenthelpsmakesenseoftheNew.

Forexample,injusttheonechapterwereadfromtoday,Paulmakesreferencetotwelvedifferent

passagesintheOldTestament.Whereasthatgoesrightpastushislisteners,totheJewishlistenersin

particular,PaulswordsimmediatelyandeasilytriggeredOldTestamentwordsandimagery.Thatsaid,

themorefamiliarwebecomewiththeOldTestamenttheeasieritwouldbetounderstandtheNew

Testament.AgreatexampleistheBookofRevelation.InleadingastudyofRevelationsafewyearsago,

oneofthethingsIlearned(whichwasnthardsinceIprettymuchavoidedRevelationinmymanyyears

asapastor)washowthatlastbookofourBiblewaspackedwithOldTestamentimagery.TodaywelaythefourthandQinalstoneintheRomansRoadtoSalvation,thegospelinanutshell.

1. Romans3:23forallhavesinnedandfallshortofthegloryofGod

2. Romans6:23forthewagesofsinisdeath

3. Romans5:8ButGodproveshisloveforusinthatwhilewestillweresinnersChristdiedforus

4. Now,theQinalstone,Romans10:9ifyouconfesswithyourlipsthatJesusisLordandbelievein

yourheartthatGodraisedhimfromthedead,youwillbesaved.

ItisimpossibletodelveintoalloftheissuesandthoughtsraisedinRomansinfoursermonsbut

usingthisRomansRoadofSalvation,wehavecoveredthemajorthemes.Threeweeksago:weareallinthesameboateverysingleoneofushassinnedagainstGodandareinneedofGodsmercy.Twoweeks

ago:thesentenceforsinisdeathandfollowinglawscannotsaveusfromthatsentence.Weneeda

Savior.Lastweek:thejudgeoftheuniverseandtheSaviorhavealreadycome.Theyareoneinthesame.

ItisJesus.Insteadofissuingthedeathsentenceuponussinfulperpetrators,Jesuscametotakethe

sentenceuponhimself.

TodayslessonfromRomansasksaquestionaverysimplequestion.Nowthatweknowwehave

sinned;nowthatwerealizetheconsequencesforthatsin;and,nowthatweknowthejudgehascometo

takecareofthesentencebydyingforuswhatarewegoingtodoaboutit?


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Itisaverysimplequestionandtheanswertothequestionshouldbeobvious.Paulsays,Ifyou

confesswithyourlipsthatJesusisLordandbelieveinyourheartthatGodraisedhimfromthedead,youwill

besaved.(Romans10:9NRSV)

PauldrawsfromJewishhistoryinleadinguptothisverse.Hisreaderswouldhaveinstantlymade

theconnectionsPaulintended.However,forus,withoutfamiliaritywiththeOldTestament,itcould

easilyblowrightpastusandwewouldchalkitupasjustanotherhardtounderstandpassage.

PaulreachesbacktothemomentwhenMoseswasneartheendofhislife.MosesissharingQinal

adviceashepassesleadershiptoJoshua.KeepinginmindwhatwereadinthetenthchapterofRomans,listentohisspeech:

Surely,thiscommandmentthatIamcommandingyoutodayisnottoohardforyou,norisittoofar

away.Itisnotinheaven,thatyoushouldsay,Whowillgouptoheavenforus,andgetitforussothatwe

mayhearitandobserveit?Neitherisitbeyondthesea,thatyoushouldsay,Whowillcrosstotheotherside

oftheseaforus,andgetitforussothatwemayhearitandobserveit?No,thewordisveryneartoyou;itis

inyourmouthandinyourheartforyoutoobserve.See,Ihavesetbeforeyoutodaylifeandprosperity,death

andadversity.IfyouobeythecommandmentsoftheLORDyourGodthatIamcommandingyoutoday,by

lovingtheLORDyourGod,walkinginhisways,andobservinghiscommandments,decrees,andordinances,

thenyoushallliveandbecomenumerous,andtheLORDyourGodwillblessyouinthelandthatyouare

enteringtopossess.(Deuteronomy30:11-16)

Mosessaystohispeople:Folks,youhavebeenveryblessed.BecauseGodhaschosenyoutobe

hisspecialpeople,hehasgivenyousomeinsideinformation.Hehassharedwithyouhowyoushould

liveinordertohaveagoodlife.Godhasntkeptitasecret.Youdonthavetosearchforit.Godhas

handedittoyouonasilverplatter,ashepassedonHislawsthroughmetoyou.

EventhoughMosesremindsthepeoplethatGodhasmadeitveryeasytoknowhowtheyareto

liveandthepeopleatthatmomentpromisetoliveinsuchaway,theyfounditveryhardtokeeptheir

word.Theyknewtherightpathbuttheycouldntstayonit.Forthoseofuswhohavebeenreading

throughtheOldTestamentweknowhowquicklytheymessedupandhowoftentheymessedupand

whatkindofmesstheygotthemselvesinbecausetheymessedup.

Itwasanditisthehumancondition.Paulwaswellawareofit.DoyourememberwhatwereadintheseventhchapterofRomans?Paulsays,Idonotunderstandmyownactions.ForIdonotdowhatI

want,butIdotheverythingIhateIcanwillwhatisright,butIcannotdoit.ForIdonotdothegoodI

want,buttheevilIdonotwantiswhatIdo.(Romans7:15,18-19NRSV)

PaulsharedthesamestrugglesasthoseHebrewpeoplethestrugglesofallpeople.Weallhavea

propensitytosin.EventhoughweknowGodswordGodslawsasGodhasrevealedthemtous

eventhoughweknowwewillQindlifeifwecankeepthemweseemtohavenopowertokeepthem.

Paulsaysthatourfailuretokeepthelawsclearlyindicatestheywerenevergiventosaveus.

Rather,wecanonlybesavedbytheLawgiver.

Mosessays,Thereisnoexcuse.Godswordisveryneartoyou.Youalreadyknowit.

Paulsays,Youhavenoexcuse.Jesus,GodsLivingWord,isveryneartous.Wedonthavetogo

uptoheavenandbringJesusdown.EventhoughJesushasreturnedtoheaven,hisSpiritiswithus.And,

wedonthavetotravelintothegravetogetJesus.Jesusrosefromthegrave.Jesusisnolongerdead.

TheMessageparaphraseoftheBibledoesagreatjobingraspingPaulsconclusion,8Sowhat

exactlywasMosessaying?Thewordthatsavesisrighthere,asnearasthetongueinyourmouth,ascloseas

theheartinyourchest.ItsthewordoffaiththatwelcomesGodtogotoworkandsetthingsrightforus.

Thisisthecoreofourpreaching.9SaythewelcomingwordtoGodJesusismyMasterembracing,body

andsoul,GodsworkofdoinginuswhathedidinraisingJesusfromthedead.Thatsit.Yourenotdoing

anything;youresimplycallingouttoGod,trustinghimtodoitforyou.Thatssalvation.10Withyourwhole


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beingyouembraceGodsettingthingsright,andthenyousayit,rightoutloud:Godhasseteverythingright

betweenhimandme!11Scripturereassuresus,NoonewhotrustsGodlikethisheartandsoulwillever

regretit.12Itsexactlythesamenomatterwhatapersonsreligiousbackgroundmaybe:thesameGodfor

allofus,actingthesameincrediblygenerouswaytoeveryonewhocallsoutforhelp.13Everyonewhocalls,

Help,God!getshelp.(Romans10:8-13TMSG)

PastorSharlaandIwereinadiscussionafewdaysagoinwhichwediscussedtheconversations

wehavehadwithfolkswhohavebeenapartofthechurchforyearswho,astheycometotheendoftheir

livesarelookingforassurancethateverythingwillbeallright.Thisisourassurance.IthasnothingtodowithwhatwedoordontdoforGod.Ithaseverything

todowithwhatGodhasdoneforus,throughJesus.Wesimplybelieve.Wedontneedtounderstandit

all.Webelieveinfaith.Webelievewehavemessedup.Webelievewecantsaveourselves.Webelieve

thatGodhascomeintothisworldinJesusChristandhasmadethewayforusbydyingforusandthen

beingraisedfromthedead-forus.

Todayisthedayofsalvation.HavewesaidyestowhatGodhasdoneforus?Willwesayyes

towhatGodhasdoneforus?

~~~~~~~~~

A WALKING SACRIFICE

August 22, 2010

Doug Diehl


Last Sunday Dawn and I were in Estes Park, Colorado, preparing to conduct the wedding of anindividual who was in my youth group when I was here in the early 80s. As we headed down fromthe mountains Tuesday morning, it happened again. I was behind a car not taking advantage of the

fullness of the speed limit. With very few passing areas between Estes Park and Loveland, it wasfrustrating for me, because I had to go slower than allowed and for Dawn, because of her non-appreciation for my impatience behind the wheel. But why - why would anyone not want to take fulladvantage of the speed limit allowed?

I have always wanted an air compressor. Not that I need one but its kind of a guy thing. Ibought one recently with my birthday money. As I shopped, I was stricken with the Tim the Tool ManSyndrome. I seriously considered throwing in some extra money to buy a really big and a reallypowerful air compressor. However, common sense got the best of me. I settled for a rather smallcompressor that the salesman told me would be more than sufficient for what I needed. Of course, Ineeded to use it right away. I filled every basketball, soccer ball and football stored in the garage. I

filled every inflatable water toy. Then I moved to the motorcycle. To my delight, the tires were a bit lowin pressure. It is not easy to get to the tire stems on my motorcycle tire especially the rear tire somy impatience grew as time after time I checked the pressure, put the compressor nozzle to the tire,rechecked the tire pressure and found no change. I became convinced I should have bought a biggercompressor. I was about to package it all up and take it back to the store when I came upon thesolution.

My last four sermons have covered Pauls letter to the Romans, at least the first elevenchapters. As a foundation we used what is known as The Romans Road to Salvation.

Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God


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Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death

Romans 5:8 God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died forus

Romans 10:9 If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heartthat God raised him from the dead, you will be saved

It would be a great waste of time and energy to build a road that serves no purpose a roadthat leads nowhere in particular. Although Paul probably did not have the image of a road in mind ashe wrote his letter to the Roman church, if he had, it would be in chapter 12 that he begins to explainthe purpose of the road. The key word is therefore.

We have all read, maybe even wrote, legal documents in which each opening paragraphbegins with the word whereas. Somewhere down in the document, after a whole lot of hard tounderstand language, appears the word, therefore. We anticipate the word therefore. Thereforebrings the conclusion, the ruling, the purpose for all that lies before it.

In our Declaration of Independence, after 1168 words declaring the rights of the Americanpeople and the wrongs of the king of England, we come to the word therefore. Abridging the finalwords just a bit therefore these united Colonies ought to be Free and Independent States

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, wemutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

After eleven chapters of laying out the theology of the gospel and the place of the human racein that gospel, he says therefore. With that word, Paul begins to explain how this magnificent goodnews should impact our daily living.

We heard only a portion of it in our scripture reading. It is well worth reading all of the waythrough, but most important even critical would be to commit to memory and understanding thewords that immediately follow the therefore i.e. the first two verses of chapter 12 I appeal to youtherefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but betransformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of Godwhat is

good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2 NRSV)

We need to remember that the great majority of those who first read Pauls letter were Jewishor very aware of the ins and outs of the Jewish faith. A huge part of the outward expression of theJewish faith was the sacrificial system. Actually, it was a huge part of most religions from thebeginning on as men and women gave sacrifices food sacrifices, animal sacrifices even humansacrifices to gain the attention of, or to appease, or to honor their respective gods.

As we read through the opening books of the Old Testament earlier this year we were amazedat the complexity and pervasiveness of the sacrifice. As those hearers heard the word sacrificethey more than likely thought of something in the process of being offered.

Paul explained in the opening chapters of Romans the significance of Jesus death God inthe flesh, allowing himself to be killed, allowing his blood to be poured out as a once and for allsacrifice for the sins of every single human being. He explained that the day was over whensomething had to be brought and killed to restore ones relationship with God. The ultimate sacrificehad been made.

You can begin to imagine what a turn in direction and understanding it was as Paul sharesthese words, Therefore, because of Gods great mercy shown in Jesus, present your body notsome animal body present your body as a living sacrifice not a dead sacrifice a living sacrifice toGod.

Actually this was not new information for the Jewish people. The Prophets of the Old


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Testament spoke of it as well. As the people brought their animal sacrifices to the temple, theythought to themselves, Weve done enough. The Prophets said, You have missed the point. AsHosea speaks for God he says, I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of Godrather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6 NRSV) Micah preaches, With what shall I come before theLORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calvesa year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil?Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has toldyou, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love

kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8 NRSV)

As we put our offering into the plates on Sunday morning or notice the EFT on our bankstatement we say to ourselves, It is enough. Paul says, It is not enough. Present your bodies yourwhole being as a living sacrifice. Dont stop at lifeless currency and coin. God wants you.Considering all that God has done for you, considering all that God has for you, this is the reasonablesacrifice. This is the offering that makes sense. When we give ourselves as a living gift to God, thenwe will find ourselves in the middle of Gods good, acceptable and perfect will.

Any guesses why my new air compressor could not fill my motorcycle tires? I had not turnedup the internal pressure of the compressor high enough. The pressure working against thecompressor from the outside, i.e. the pressure in the tire, was greater. Once I figured that out and

turned up the pressure in the compressor so it was greater than that in the tire I was fine.

Paul not only tells us we need to give ourselves as living sacrifices to God, he tells us how. Heuses two words based on the root form conformation and transformation. Do not be conformed tothis world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds (Romans 12:2 NRSV) Conformationcomes from the outside. Transformation comes from the inside. Conformation leads to captivity.Transformation leads to freedom. From the outside, the world wants to squeeze us into its mold. Fromthe inside, Jesus wants to transform us into his image.

It is a matter of pressure. With our personal will, on which side we allow the greatest pressure?It is a critical question. The transforming power of the Holy Spirit is much, much greater than theconforming power of our secular world but how can we expect transformation to win over

conformation when we spend hours absorbing the world through secular television, secular music,secular news and books while spending no time or very little time with Bible reading, Bible study orGod-centered and God focused media? How can we expect transformation to win over conformationwhen we spend far more time in conversations having nothing to do with God than we do in prayer orsharing our faith with one another? It is a matter of choosing in which pressure system we will placeourselves.

Why would anyone not want to take full advantage of the speed limit allowed? Why wouldanyone not want to experience the fullness of what God has for him or her?

I want us to share a self-reflection exercise tjo help us keep on the right side of the equation.Whenever possible we as a staff have devotions together in the mornings at 9:30. We have been

using a liturgy that starts in unison with these words, One thing I have asked of the Lord and this iswhat I seek, that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Then the leader asks aseries of question based on what Jesus referred to as The Greatest Commandment. As you answerwith the words, Amen, Lord have mercy I want you to translate it in your mind, I want to, but Lordyou need to help me. Lets share in that now:

L: Who is it that you seek? P: We seek the Lord our God.

L: Do you seek him with all your heart? P: Amen, Lord have mercy.

L: Do you seek him with all your soul? P: Amen, Lord have mercy.

L: Do you seek him with all your mind? P: Amen, Lord have mercy.


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L: Do you seek him with all your strength? P: Amen, Christ have mercy.

May we be a living offering given wholeheartedly to God a walking sacrifice - walking in thefootsteps of Jesus, the one we have claimed to be our Savior and our Lord.

romans sermon series

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