The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost (Proper 6) Rev. Darrell Debowey Immanuel Lutheran Church, Springfield, IL June 16, 2013 Galatians 2:15-21; 3:10-14: 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for The righteous shall live by faith. 12 But the law is not of faith, rather The one who does them shall live by them. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. This Is a Good Death Grace to you and peace The Text for today s message is our Epistle reading: Introduction: Today, I would like to talk about the D word. It s a word people mention less and less these days. We used to say, He s gone or He passed away. Now we drop the away and simply say, He passed. So and so passed today. Can you imagine someone new to our culture who hears, He passed? He passed what? The bar exam? A kidney stone? Gas? The D word we don t like to mention is death. There s something about saying, He died, that makes us uncomfortable. Perhaps by avoiding the word, we can avoid the reality of Page 1
death. Yet, the Bible isn t afraid to talk about death. The wages of sin is death. Adam died, Noah died, Abraham died, Isaac died, Jacob died, Moses died all the kings died and were laid to rest with their fathers. The words for death, died and dead are mentioned more than a thousand times in the Bible. But we re talking about physical death here the tearing asunder of body and soul. The Greeks called this kind of death, Our friend, but there s nothing friendly about it. The Bible calls physical death, our enemy, not our friend. Euthanasia comes from the Greek word for good death, but the Bible never calls death something good it is the wages of sin. Death robs us of the people we love it puts an end to our hopes and dreams it s one of the harshest realities every human being must face. So we use euphemisms words that mean death but don t mention that awful word. Yet, death is something we need to talk about. Death isn t passing from one realm of existence to another nor is death passing into oblivion. Without Christ, physical death leads to eternal death eternal separation from God in hell. People need to know that death has met its match in Jesus Christ. It took God to defeat death, and that s what Jesus did on the cross. As our Savior, Jesus took on the last enemy death and won. His resurrection proves He has the power over death. The death of Christ was a good death for every human being but the benefits of the cross only come to us if we believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Paul writes, 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Page 2
IN ORDER FOR HUMAN BEINGS TO BENEFIT FROM THE DEATH OF CHRIST, WE TOO MUST DIE WE MUST DIE TO ANY NOTION THAT SALVATION IS THROUGH OUR WORKS OR THROUGH THE WORTHINESS OF WHAT WE DO BEFORE GOD WE MUST DIE BEFORE GOD CAN GIVE US LIFE IN CHRIST. I. The Purpose of Law and Gospel. No one is justified before God by the Law, right? We all know that as Lutherans, right? We know what the Bible teaches that God s grace isn t earned, it s freely given through faith in Jesus Christ, that Jesus has done everything necessary to accomplish our salvation; that God s grace extends to all people; that we re all the same before God sinners deserving His wrath and judgment, yet justified declared righteous before God by faith in Jesus Christ. We all know this because the Holy Spirit has rightly used Law and Gospel in our lives the Law to kill and the Gospel to give life. Paul writes in our text, 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. St. Paul teaches us in Romans that the primary purpose of the Law is to show us our sin to show us that we re all transgressors. In other words, the primary use of the Law is to show us that we can t be saved by what we do. This dying to the Law is the death of any notion that God s grace is earned, that our works open heaven s gates, that we can live without Jesus. This kind of death is a good death for it lays the groundwork for the Gospel. By showing us that we re already dead dead in our trespasses and sins the Law shows us we we need a Savior. And the purpose of the Gospel, is to show us our Savior and give us life in His name. That s what Paul means when he says, That I might live to God. By dying this way, Paul writes, we live: 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Page 3
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. II. The Law Kills Yet this notion that we need to justify ourselves before God never goes away as long as we have breath it s as much a part of us as our flesh and bones. This notion that the Law gives us life before God can sneak back into our lives in many ways: When we compare ourselves to other people and conclude that we re somehow better, more deserving of God s grace than other sinners that s life lived under the Law, not the Gospel. This was the attitude of Simon the Pharisee in our Gospel reading, who thought to himself: If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. When we withhold forgiveness or hold grudges, especially against fellow Christians that s life lived under the Law, and not the Gospel. When we insist on our own way or get angry at people who don t agree with us that s life lived under the Law, and not the Gospel. When we go to church only now and then because we really don t need Jesus all that much that s life lived under the Law not the Gospel. This isn t the grace of God at work, but our sinful nature s attempts to be justified before God by what we do. If righteousness before God comes by what we do, then Christ died for no purpose. To Paul, that s not LIVING under the Gospel of God s grace and forgiveness, that s DYING under the Law. You see, the Law doesn t give life the purpose of the Law is to kill. Page 4
If you think you re better than other persons the Law kills your sinful pride. If you withhold forgiveness or hold grudges the Law kills your self-righteousness. If you insist on your way or get angry with people who don t agree with you the Law kills your self-centeredness. And if you think you re just fine without Jesus in your life if you think you re a good person the Law kills your self-delusions. III. The Gospel gives life. Rescuers often have to wait until a drowning swimmer is nearly dead before they can rescue that person, otherwise the swimmer s panicked flailings may cause the rescuer to drown, as well. To save us, God must allow the Law to kill us before He can give us life in the Gospel. We can t be rescued until we die to any notion that we are able to rescue ourselves before God by what we do, as Paul writes in our text: 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for The righteous shall live by faith. 12 But the law is not of faith, rather The one who does them shall live by them. It s a curse to believe that we can justifiy ourselve before God even in the slightest way for when we try to use the Law to justify ourselves before God, we fail miserably the Law is impossible for sinners to keep! Living under the Law only shows God how much we love ourselves more than we love others or Him because we are trying to live without Christ. Dying to this way of thinking is a gift God s grace, for such a spiritual death doesn t come naturally to us it only comes by the power of the Holy Spirit working through God s Word. The Holy Spirit uses the Law to humbles us in our sins He tears us down in spiritual death so Page 5
He can use the Gospel of Jesus Christ to give us life and rebuild us into His new creation, as Paul concludes in our text: 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Conclusion The baptismal font is a place of death and life. It s the place where we die with Christ and rise again to newness of life. It s the place where we die to self-righteousness and are forgiven of any notion that we re better than other people. It s the place where we die to our grudges and disputes and receive the power to love and forgive. It s the place where we die to the Law s condemnation and live to God by His grace alone through faith in Christ Jesus. God bless all who live and die in Christ Jesus. In His Name. Amen. Page 6