June
29- In welcoming new members,
we welcome Christ
Remember the opening prayer, “We have sinned by
what we have done and by what we have left undone.”
In the reading from Romans, Paul extends the
definition of sin when he says Do not let
sin exercise dominion over you – Don’t let sin control the way you
live. (6:12)
Paul isn’t speaking of some individual mistake –
some moral slip. Rather he describes sin
as a power that is opposed to God’s will -- An almost super-natural power that
is capable of ensnaring an individual – and even enslaving them.
In the picture Paul paints, there are two competing
forces pulling us in opposite directions – the power of sin and the power of
the God. His point is that the problem
of sin is more serious than you think.
It as a powerful force that seeks dominion over you – that would take
control of your life one step at a time.
Let me try to explain that with an example. Someone goes out one night and has a few
drinks – then a few more – and gets drunk.
The Bible says drunkenness is a sin.
Not that drinking is a sin, but getting wasted is a sin.
That’s just one sin – a mistake – a lapse. But most of you have known someone for whom that kind of sin is a habit. They’re on the road to being an
alcoholic. One definition of an
alcoholic is someone who is powerless over alcohol - whose life has become
unmanageable.
In other words, they have an addiction to
alcohol. And their addiction has taken
control of their life. To use Paul’s
language, it exercises dominion over them and the alcoholic is a slave to
alcohol. Then he adds, When you were
slaves to sin, you thought you were free from the obligation to do
right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to
do, things that end in eternal doom.
6:20
A pastor had preached his first sermon at his new
congregation and was talking to some members.
They were telling him what a nice sermon it was, when one guy
interjected “Preacher that was the worst sermon I ever heard.”
The pastor was surprised, but went on talking with
other parishioners. The same guy
interrupted again, “That sermon had nothing to do with the text.”
The pastor tried to ignore him, so the guy said “If
all your sermons are that bad, I’m never coming back.”
At that point the president of the congregation
took the pastor aside. “Don’t worry
about him. He’s just a little
crazy. His problem is he just repeats
what he hears everyone else saying.”
I’m preaching on sin – and no one wants to hear
about sin. But I hope your comments are
kinder than his.
The power of sin is more than some occasional
mistakes. Rather, it would become an
addiction and control the way you live.
So don’t under estimate its power – or think that you can beat it on
your own. As we pray, we are in
bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.
Only a power greater than ourselves could
restore us.
Let me try another example. Those of you who have gone swimming in the
ocean probably know about the danger of an “undertow”. At certain times of day, maybe when the tide
is going out, just below the surface there is a powerful movement of the
water. You can’t see it, and may not
realize it’s there.
One day I was swimming and I noticed that I seemed
to be getting further from shore, so I decide to swim back in. I headed toward the beach – and ended up a
little further out. So I swam with all
my strength – still further out. No
matter what I did, I just kept be dragged further way from shore. Fortunately,
some people on shore noticed me – and realized I wasn’t going to make it. They found a life guard who swam out with a
rope. He was a very strong swimmer, but
there was no way he could have brought me in.
So some folks on the beach pulled on the rope, dragging me to safety –
the biggest fish they caught all day.
The undertow of sin is very strong. We can’t resist it on our own. We need a Savior. We need to turn our will and our lives
over to the care of God.
Give yourself completely to God,
for you were dead (in
your sin), but now you have new life. 6:13
There is no neutral position in which a person can
stand in isolation from the battle between good and evil that rages around us,
and within our hearts and minds. It’s
not whether we will be controlled by something outside ourselves, but rather by
whom. It’s not whether you’ll devote
yourself to a master, but rather which one.
You can be a slave to sin, which
leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to right living.
6:16
You can either be subject to sin or God.
Paul emphasizes the seriousness of our
situation. Sin is like an
addiction. And for those who recognize
their addiction, there are groups – AA, NA, Over-eaters anonymous, credit card abusers anonymous. Haven’t heard of that last one? It’s for folks who can’t stop buying on their
credit cards –and max-out several of them so that their monthly bills become
unmanageable. That group is usually
called Dave Ramsey’s
The point is that in each case there is a support
group. After acknowledging we need God’s
help, we then find that this is an on-going process. We need to keep studying together – to
support and encourage one another – to hold each other accountable.
So you might refer to the church as SA – Sinner
Anonymous. We’re a group of sinners and
co-dependents.
Paul speaks of being freed from the power of sin –
of being liberated. How does that
happen? By being obedient from the
heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 6:17
Being obedient to the teaching – being a part of a
group, the church, that studies and applies the teachings of the Jesus to daily
life.
Jesus sets us free by calling us to deny self, take up the cross of obedience, following in His way,
so that we can be born again to God, who is the true center of life.
The church is a new family bound together by a
common commitment to Christ and his will.
The key to that supportive and encouraging community is hospitality –
welcoming others as Christ has welcomed us.
So Jesus says:
Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me Matt. 10:40
His words Whoever
welcomes you, welcomes me imply that we welcome God into our midst every
time we extend ourselves in hospitality to someone. Jesus wants both host and guest to understand
that what seems like a hospitable exchange between two actually involves
three. For it is
Christ who guides us to extend hospitality and it is Christ who led the guest. And thus Christ is present in that act of
hospitality, and we are also welcoming him.
Jesus also speaks of rewards:
If you welcome a prophet because
he is a prophet, you will receive a prophet’s reward;
If you welcome a righteous person
because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs… 10:41
What is the reward of a righteous person?
They will receive the kingdom of heaven and eternal
life.
Whoever gives even a cup of cold
water to one of these little ones – the least of my followers – will surely be
rewarded. 10:42
Simple acts of kindness and compassion are good
ways to represent Jesus in our daily lives.
None of those acts goes un-noticed – and they will be rewarded.
A guy was driving home when he saw a hand scrawled
sign: "Kool-Aid, 10 cents." He pulled over. A boy approached and
asked if he would like strawberry or grape Kool-Aid. He placed his order and handed the boy a
quarter. After much deliberation, the children determined he had some change
coming and rifled through the cigar box until they finally came up with the
correct amount.
The boy returned with the change and the lemonade. Then stood by the side of
the car. He asked “Are you finished drinking.”
"Just about. Why?"
"That's the only cup we have, and we need it to stay in business."
Giving a cup of water is easy, and yet it reaps a
heavenly reward, but use a clean cup.
Today, with joy we receive new members into our
fellowship of faith. In welcoming them,
we welcome Christ, for He is in our midst in the gracious giving and receiving
of hospitality.
Whether we are new or old members,
we are all still learning to be
followers of Christ…
“This life is not godliness,
but the process of becoming godly.
This life is not health, but getting well –
- not
rest but exercise.
We are not yet what we shall become,
but we are on the way.
The process is not finished, but is actively going
on.
This is not the goal, but it is the road.
At present everything does not
gleam and sparkle, but everything is being cleansed.”
Martin Luther