The 6^th Sunday After Easter

SERMON

In Nomine Jesu!

Text: Psalm 51:10

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

In Christ Jesus, who promises to guide, strengthen, comfort, and accompany us as we make our way through this life, dear fellow redeemed:

Have you ever told yourself you will not get upset again when dealing with a particular person, only to find yourself screaming at him or her? Have you ever promised God with tears streaming from your eyes that you will never commit a particular sin again, only to find yourself sometime later on your knees confessing that same sin? Have you felt relief that people cannot read your mind, for if they could and if they did they probably would not like you? Have you ever done something so bad, that you feel you embarrassed your entire family and really do not belong anymore? Have you ever questioned your own faith, seeing that your sins are many and great—wondering how God could ever love someone like you? If you have experienced any of these things, you are not alone, even though at times you may feel that way. These are common human experiences in this fallen world filled with sin.

My dear friends, as Christians we want to live godly lives—lives pleasing to our Savior and filled with His blessings. Yet so often our lives are littered with sins that leave us frustrated, depressed, and feeling like spiritual failures. Satan at times seems so powerful and this world so seductive, that we may be tempted to question whether living godly lives is even possible for us. Let me assure you that living such a life certainly is possible, if only we embrace Scriptural truth and dismiss certain rather common myths.

What are those myths? There are many, but here are a few of the more common ones. Myth #1—Successful men and women are self-made, achieving their goals solely through personal development and shear force of will. This myth fails to recognize God’s role in creating each of us with great potential. It likewise ignores all of the enabling relationships with other people that are a part of every individual’s life. In addition, it also ignores that fact that success can never be properly viewed and assessed, if this life alone is considered. After all, Jesus once properly asked, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

Myth #2—You cannot change others; you can only change yourself. This myth fails to recognize that God does use us as agents through whom He effectively brings about change in the lives of others. After all, part of our roles as Christians is to support others and build them up in their faith and life. At times this involves a change of attitude or lifestyle. More critical, however, is the second assertion, that you and I can only change ourselves. Effective change within our minds, hearts, and lives is brought about not by ourselves, but through the work of God.

Myth #3—My sins are so unique, and so great, and have caused so much damage in my life and others, that there really is no hope of ever correcting the situation. Such thinking fails to recognize the truth of Solomon’s observation, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Our sins, our troubles, the disasters we create in our lives are not unique, but rather all too common in our sin-filled world. Such thinking also fails to take into account Jesus observation, “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). No matter where we find ourselves, God is by our side (cf. Psalm 139:7-10). He is able to lift us up, strengthen, and enable us! If God can take an adulterer and murderer like David and create out of him a “man after His own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), He can certainly work within our hearts and lives. Let us not become discouraged, therefore, when confronted by personal pain and failure. Rather let us recognize that it is possible TO LIVE THE LIFE, if first we DISMISS THE MYTHS and recognize the two spiritual truths contained in our text: God alone can change our hearts and make them clean! God alone can renew our spirits and make them steadfast!

I.

David prays in our text, “Create in me a clean heart, O God!” We human beings have a problem with our hearts. Oh, there are many who deny it, but those problems are all too evident all around us in the caustic words we speak and the cruel actions we undertake. There is a reason for the lying, the cheating, the lusting, the stealing, and the killing that goes on in our world today. Jesus minced no words when He observed, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19).

What lies at the root of the problem? It is the natural rebellion of man against the will of God. Paul informed the Romans, “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (8:7-8).

How did this come about? Why does this problem still plague us today? The origin of the problem, of course, came about in the Garden of Eden as described in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God, after which they lost that perfect image of God in which they had been created. David himself speaks of how this rebellion is perpetuated earlier in this Psalm. He writes, “Surely I was sinful from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5 NIV). We unfortunately pass on our natural sinfulness to our children, and they in turn to theirs. Children sin, not primarily because of their environment, but rather because of their nature. This cycle of sin, which began when Adam and Eve conceived and brought into this world their very first child, cannot be broken without the direct intervention of God! It has affected and will continue to infect every human being born into this world! This is a serious matter, for sin introduced death into this world, and every human being has been made subject to death in view of his or her sin!

This past Monday approximately 150 of us gathered at Pilgrim’s Rest Cemetery for a Memorial Day service. We were there because sin leads to death, but our service did not center on a morbid meditation of the mortality of men. No, we acknowledged the truth that we human beings sin and that death is the result, but we then turned to the hope that we have of everlasting life in and through Jesus Christ. God, in view of His grace and His grace alone, determined to intervene on our behalf. He determined to rescue mankind from sin and its consequence—death. He determined to send a champion to defeat Satan on our behalf—His own dear Son, who would fight the battle and pay the price to ransom our souls. That price included offering Himself as our substitute on Calvary’s cross—paying the penalty for our sins, suffering the pain of hell in order to appease the righteous wrath of God over sin. It was the work of that Savior that lays the basis for our reconciliation with God. It is through that message, which condemns our sins, but conveys God’s mercy and forgiveness for the sake of Jesus Christ, that God the Holy Spirit can and does cleanse our hearts. He leads us to a genuine sorrow over sin, to an acknowledgment of our own inability and our need for His grace and strength. He thereby creates loving and willingly obedient hearts, out of what were perverse and rebellious ones.

This then is the first truth, which will enable us TO LIVE THE LIFE! Having DISMISSED THE MYTHS, let us recognize that we do not have the knowledge, the strength, or the ability to create hearts that are acceptable to God, but that He can and will. Yes, God alone can change our hearts and make them clean!

II.

The second truth, however, is just as important, for living a godly life is not a one-time creation, but rather a process involving time and effort. From David’s words we can know that God alone can renew our spirits and make them steadfast! David prayed, “O God,…renew a steadfast spirit within me!”

There are entire industries in our world today dedicated to the personal development of individual human beings. There is an entire genre of books dedicated to self-help, in which self-discipline is praised and individuals are urged to exert their personal will power. God created us human beings with a will, and we ought all strive to develop our self-discipline, but let no one fool themselves into thinking that self-discipline and will-power will overcome all of the issues complicating our lives in view of sin. The problems we have run much deeper, and the solutions are much more complicated.

The apostle Paul pointed out the depth of the problem in today’s Epistle Lesson. We have a sinful flesh that is at war with our godly spirit. Even when we want to do what is right, we do not always do it, because “sin dwells” within us (cf. Romans 7:20). The situation got so bad for the apostle that he cried out in desperation, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24) Thankfully, the apostle Paul was not without an answer, and his answer is also our answer—“I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 7:25-8:1).

My dear friends, TO LIVE THE LIFE does not mean that you and I will be perfect, for that is impossible given the human condition. Until our dying day, we will have to contend with our sinful flesh and at times, it will get the best of us. However, let us DISMISS THE MYTHS, which always suggest we look to, develop, and then depend upon our own inner strength. The Psalmist David and the apostle Paul both point us in the right direction. Jesus Christ has provided the solution for sin, and it is He who can and does renew us day by day, as we repent of our sins and rejoice in God’s mercy and love. What was true for the apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), is true for us.

Are you struggling to overcome sin in your life? Then do not simply promise God that you will never do it again, for without God’s help you surely will. Rather, confess your weakness and sin to your Father in heaven. Then pray with David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Would God…could God fail to hear and respond to such a prayer? Hardly, for God has indeed commanded us so to pray and has promised to respond with the wisdom and strength necessary for you to live that godly life you so desire to live.

My dear friends, the apostle Paul calls upon us to live our lives as believers in such a way that we “work out your (our) salvation with fear and trembling,” but he promptly reminds us, “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12b-13). What Paul is saying is essentially the truths David also revealed. Take heart, therefore, “God is our refuge and strength” (Psalm 46:1). With His help and guidance it is possible for us TO LIVE THE LIFE so pleasing to God and satisfying for us. Just DISMISS THE MYTHS, which distract us from the truths that God alone can change our hearts and make them clean, and that He alone can renew our spirits and make them steadfast! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting