The 2^nd Sunday in Lent

SERMON

INI

TEXT: Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

In Christ Jesus, who provides us with a salvation that is truly beyond human reasoning, dear fellow-redeemed:

We called it the "Hot Prairie." It was a large expanse of desert wasteland without any shade and upon which the sun would beat vehemently creating a very hot and dry place in which to be. My friends and I would mount our horses and we would ride back and forth across the Hot Prairie and then down into the valley where there was water and shade and relief. At times, riding across the Hot Prairie we wondered if we would "make it" because we were out of water and were nearly dying from thirst. Would we ever make it back to the lush green valley that seemed now so distant?

Then there were the raiders. In addition to the sun and vast emptiness of the Hot Prairie we were often hindered in our travels by these groups of trouble-makers who would interfere with our journey and cause all sorts of disarray to our plans.

The Hot Prairie was a small abandoned parking lot overgrown with weeds and brush, about the size of a baseball infield. The horse were not really there at all. My friends and I, ranging in age from first to third grade, just pretended that we were mounted on mighty steeds as we went hopping across the prairie. And those bands of raiders? They were the girls in our classes.

Imagination can do wonderful things. Imagination can take us places we could never go. Imagination can make up places that could never exist. The imaginations that contrived the Hot Prairie went on to bigger and better things in the form of all sorts of daydreaming and future plans, some of which have come true, some of which have not, and some of which never could. Our imaginations seldom know any limit.

Oftentimes, we might reserve the term "unimaginable" for great evil or wickedness or anything we might imagine that would have a negative impact—unimaginable atrocities and unimaginable sorrow; but things can be unimaginable in a positive context as well—unimaginable joy!

The problem with our imaginations is that although they allow us to escape and dream of great things (like being the heroes of the West while living in the Midwest), but sooner or later we must come crashing back to reality. This morning I encourage you to IMAGINE THE UNIMAGINABLE but it will be an imagining that doesn’t have a drop-back to reality. The unimaginable gift and love of God is real. It doesn’t go away when we come out of our imagination back into reality. It is here as our reality. IMAGINE THE UNIMAGINABLE and then BELIEVE IT! I. Imagine! A love for those who hate! II. Imagine! Salvation without works! III. Imagine! Rejoicing in times of trouble!

I.

Imagine a dispute being played out in the media. You could read the latest details every morning in the paper. You would hear what had happened throughout the day by tuning in to the evening news. It is a dispute between a well-respected citizen of your town who has done great things for the community, and a man who is always bothering him, always harassing him, trying to block anything he tries to do. Sure, the police and courts get involved, they do what they can but are unsuccessful in stopping the man for long. So we in the community would sit and shake our heads every time a new chapter of this saga would unfold. Day by day we learn more about this man who so hates our well respected citizen and does so much against him. The story plays out and our disgust begins to show.

Now, imagine, that one day the man who is harassing the well respected citizen falls into deadly danger and would have lost his life, except that the well respected citizen saves him! Not only did the well respected citizen save his enemy’s life, He lost his own life in the process. Now, imagine the headlines the next morning! Imagine what people would say about this wonderful man who had been so mistreated and yet gave his life to save the one who had mistreated him! Can you imagine! Mankato news would become world news because of such an unimaginable thing!

Hear what the Apostle Paul writes, “When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” [vv.6-8]

God did not send Jesus nor did Jesus die for us when we were redeemed, reconciled, and beloved children of God. No, it was very much the opposite. Jesus died for the UNGODLY. While we were still sinners, God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to be our Savior. There was nothing in us whatsoever that would lead God to so love us! It is unimaginable that such a great gift, such a sacrifice of God’s one and only Son could be made for people who HATE Him, for people who are opposed to Him and to His Word, for people who in their lives do all sorts of things that contradict what He says and openly disobey every command that He gives. What an amazing unimaginable love that could love people who hate.

We all do, by nature, hate God. God says, “The carnal (natural, sinful) mind is enmity (hatred) against God”(Romans 8:7) and this is whom God loves. Think of someone in your own lives with whom you have had trouble associating. Perhaps they have been hurtful to you, or harmful to you, or maybe you just don’t get along very well because your personalities clash. Now imagine loving that person and the more you loved him and the more you did for him, the more he rebelled against you, treating you harshly. How long would your love and compassion for that person survive? As human beings, I fear we would all have to acknowledge that any love and compassion would quickly disappear which makes God’s love all the more unimaginable.

The love of God loves the unlovable. The grace of God is completely undeserved. He sent Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners with nothing to our credit but sin and hatred for Him. Imagine the unimaginable love God demonstrates toward us!

II.

God provides salvation out of unimaginable love. Our imaginations limits are stretched still further to consider that He also does so freely—without cost to us. Let’s just say we could imagine of our own that God could love us even when we hated Him, even when we were opposed to Him. Even so, surely He would expect something in return. There must be some sort of payment required from those for whom He gave so much. Surely, He would put conditions on that salvation so that if something didn’t work out right He would get a return—somewhat like collateral for a loan. Surely, God would say, "Even though you hate me, I will do this for you, but because you hate me, here’s what YOU HAVE TO DO FOR ME!!"

This kind of conditional reward is offered all the time in our daily lives. You hear the advertisements promising all of the money and prosperity that the lottery can give you; but what isn’t so often advertised is how many dollars upon dollars upon dollars you have to spend even to have an infinitesimal chance of winning the reward. They don’t tell you what’s in it for the sponsors of the lottery. They don’t tell you that you are going to throw away all sorts of resources that God has given you, foolishly wasting them for the slim – almost zero – hope of getting this great reward. Other money making schemes or "deals too good to pass up" are much the same. There is always a trade-off in the fine print—We’ll send you a free gift as long as you send in the $9.95 for postage and handling. It is a matter of you will get this, as long as you give that.

Thus, we naturally expect that there is something we must do to have salvation. In addition to what seems natural, our flesh wants to be able to do something out of a sense of pride. "I don’t want anything for free. I want something that I myself can accomplish so that I can take some credit for it. What? Give all glory to God? No, it was partly me. I want to do something!"

IMAGINE! We have a full and free salvation that does not involve our works at all! —God doesn’t expect payment for our salvation, God doesn’t command payment, God doesn’t put conditions on our salvation. Rather, He offers it as a FREE gift from the undeserved love, His grace. God freely gives this salvation to us—the full payment for our sins. Free of charge, Free of condition, Free of expectation, FreeLY to those who hate Him! Imagine!

Paul says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” [v.1] We have the peace of knowing that our sins are forgiven, washed away, through Christ Jesus not through what we do—not through works, not through keeping 5 out of 10 conditions, we have it through faith in Jesus Christ who did the work for us.

In another letter, Paul writes to the Ephesians, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love (a love which loves those who hate) with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved…For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9).

Our salvation is a gift that expects nothing in return. Imagine the love! Imagine the gift! Still at times we have a hard time resisting the urge to add in "a little bit" of what WE can do. "No, you don’t have to do anything for salvation, all you have to do is believe…all you have to do is have faith." … all you have TO DO is believe. If the burden of believing is put upon our hearts as something we are going to do, it is still "doing something" for our salvation, that is works and no longer grace, but we are saved by grace through faith.

Yes, only those who believe in Jesus as their Savior will inherit eternal life. Jesus died on the cross to give salvation freely to all . Jesus came to save the whole world and did indeed redeem every sinner, but that redemption and forgiveness comes to us individually through faith in our hearts. That faith is also a gift of God’s grace, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Faith is nothing WE DO, it is what God creates in our hearts.

So there is NOTHING we do, NOTHING we contribute to our salvation. Yes, God does desire and expect that with thankful hearts we will gladly follow His Word and seek to do His will in our lives and bear fruits of faith living our lives in accordance with His law; however, we are never earning salvation by those works. Our Christian lives are simply the response to having already received salvation through the work of Christ and the faith God has created in our hearts.

If salvation were by works, Jacob would never have heard God’s promise repeated to him on the night he saw the ladder reach to heaven (cf. the Old Testament lesson). By works, Jacob, Abraham, Isaac, David, every believer of all time would have been lost. Imagine! Salvation for them and for us, FREE without works!

III.

Paul writes then, if that is true, if when we were still hating God He sent Jesus to be our Savior, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” [vv.9-11]

That gift of salvation, free from our works, was accomplished for us and given to us while we were still enemies of God. NOW, by God’s grace, we have been made His children. NOW, we are reconciled, we’re back together with Him. If God did all of this for us when we were still His enemies, now that we are His beloved children, can you imagine what He is going to do for us!! It is unimaginable to consider what God will do for us now, when He did such unimaginable things for us when we hated Him! How can we even begin to express what grace, mercy, and blessing He will show us?! Much more having been reconciled, God gives us grace upon grace upon grace (cf. John 1:16). Day by day God forgives our sins. Day by day God leads us through this life by the light of His Word. Day by day God provides for our earthly needs—taking and giving according to His wisdom.

God forgave us our sins when we were still enemies. In that truth we now find our comfort when we in weakness fall into sin. I as a child of God, you as children of God do fall into sin. We do not keep God’s law perfectly. When we sin we have the comfort of knowing that He forgave us when we were not His children, so certainly also now as His children when we come with repentance seeking His forgiveness, He will surely and freely give it.

Knowing this and standing in God’s grace makes it possible, though unimaginable, to rejoice even in trouble. “Through [Jesus Christ] also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”[vv.2-5]

We stand in grace. We don’t simply pass through getting a little bit here and there. By faith we are firmly planted in the grace of God which means that every dealing He has with us comes through His grace. God does everything by virtue of that unimaginable love through the salvation that is unimaginable. Since this is true we can rejoice even in troubles. THAT is unimaginable!

If you were to tell someone who is not a child of God that you are able to rejoice even in trouble—not that you enjoy the trouble, but that you rejoice in the Lord and find comfort even in the face of trouble—such a person would undoubtedly think you unstable and laugh at you. Such an approach to misery and sorrow is unthinkable, unimaginable, but it’s real—believe it!

When we are standing in God’s grace, we can glory in tribulation knowing that God will build our endurance. As we face trials and sorrows we are strengthened in faith and grow in endurance to walk in the way of the Lord. From that endurance we grow in character, no longer being tossed to and fro or easily swayed as someone new to faith, but a "well seasoned veteran" – well seasoned and built up through the Gospel of God and God’s gracious dealings in our lives. It is "character" that reflects the Savior in what we say and do, a character which seeks what the Savior desires, and is led by His Word.

Through this process of tribulation to endurance and endurance to character ultimately we find hope; and it is a hope that does not disappoint. Why does this hope never disappoint? We come back full-circle to the amazing love that is so great that it loves even those who hate.

Imagine the unimaginable! Imagine a love so great, a love that guides the God who controls all things so that we can even rejoice in sorrow knowing that this God of great love is the one who has allowed us to come to this trial and who will safely see us through it to the other side. We have an unfailing hope because we are standing in God’s grace.

Imagine! Believe it! for it is true! Amen.

—Pastor Wayne C. Eichstadt