Today we again celebrate a social holiday, that of Father’s Day. Indeed, it is well that we celebrate Father’s Day as we celebrated Mother’s Day because it is specifically through the vocation and gift of fatherhood and motherhood God gives us the core of our families and as He instructs parents to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So, we welcome especially our Father’s and wish you a blessed and happy Father’s Day.
This is America, or more for us, this is Texas. We have our own ways here in America. Yet, I believe one thing stands out about most Americans and that is we believe there really is nothing free in life. Everything that is declared to be free, we believe, has strings attached. We are raised to believe and be proud of the fact that we have to raise ourselves up by our bootstraps and make our own way in life.
At the same time, here in church we are constantly being reminded the price for sin is death and that price had to be paid and it was paid, by Jesus on the cross. So, although there is a cost for sin, the cost was paid for by Jesus so heaven really is free for us. Unfortunately, because our culture has so worked its way into our churches and into our faith life we still have a difficult time understanding and believing heaven is free. We still want to get our hands in the mix and, even if only subtly, we still want to earn or deserve, at least some of heaven. We hear this desire whenever we hear statements where we are doing anything to make heaven ours.
In our text we are given the possibility that “free” is a reality. We are told that someone might die for someone else, depending on the circumstances, in other words, someone might give their life, freely, for someone else. Paul says, “6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (v. 6-10)
There is a possibility of someone dying for someone deemed deserving to die for, in other words, we see the secret service placing themselves in harms way in order to protect the President of the United States. We see parents do many things in order to protect their children. We see people give blood, body parts, organs and the like in order to help, even to save others. So, yes, there are times when one person might be prepared to give for someone they believe is worthy.
But what about the possibility of dying for someone undeserving or unworthy? Certainly this possibility would be the rare exception. Would anyone, unless forced or unknowingly, give anything to save, say, a hardened criminal? Would anyone give anything to save someone like Adolph Hitler, Saddam Huesaen, Osama Ben Lauden? Probably not, at least not unless they were forced to do so.
Yet, in our own case, Paul reminds us that while we were sinners, he says in verse eight, and he explains in verse ten by saying, while we were enemies of God, Christ died for us. Yes, we are the ones who are undeserving. We are unworthy. We are worse than the worse. It is our sin which separates us from God. It is our sin which makes us enemies of God. And yet, while we were enemies, while we were in the middle of fighting and struggling against Jesus, He came and gave His life for ours. And He did it without cost to us. Yes, this gift is free. There is no earning or deserving what Jesus has done for us.
But Paul is not done. He says, in verse eleven, “11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (v. 11). Paul is here using financial terms. I have to admit, it was not until I started doing my checkbook on computer that I even heard the term “reconcile.” I always “balanced” my checkbook, but now I reconcile my checkbook. Here Paul reminds us there is a balance. We have a debt which we owe. The debt of sin is death, eternal death and hell. Financially speaking, the price, the cost of sin is eternal death and hell. And that debt and price is what we owe.
And yet, Paul reminds us that Jesus reconciles our account. He brings our account to a zero balance. And even more, He gives us eternal life in heaven, which we might say is God owing us. How can this be? How can it be that not only do we not owe, but in essence God owes us. This owing is because Jesus pays the debt we owe and even more. Our debt is eternal death and hell and that is exactly what Jesus paid, on the cross, for each one of us. And He paid our debt freely. He was not coerced, He was not forced, but He freely paid our debt, because of His great love for us. And this payment is a gift. It is free for us, there is no cost but the cost Jesus paid.
How does this happen? Paul explains picking up at verse twelve, “12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—13for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come” (v. 12-14). Adam’s sin brought death. Notice, Adam’s sin, not Eve’s sin. Adam was created by God and from Adam God gave Eve. Adam was the one in charge in the Garden of Eden, and thus the responsible party. When Adam abdicated his responsibility, sin entered the world.
When Adam and Eve sinned, there was no written law, however, the law was written on their hearts. Their consciences told them what was right and what was wrong. Yet, even though they knew what was right, they disobeyed and did what was wrong. And now that sin entered the world Paul now tells us that death reigned. Sin brought death. Sin brought physical death and sin brought eternal death and hell.
When God instituted the ceremonial laws along with the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai He required that sacrifices had to be made. Depending on the sin, certain animals or grains must be sacrificed. Unfortunately, these sacrifices did nothing, at least as far as paying any price for sin. Instead these sacrifices were intended to remind the people that the price for sin was death. Blood had to be shed. All the sacrifices merely pointed to the one sacrifice to come.
There is a difference between the demands of the law, the price for our sins and the free gift which God gives, the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Paul goes on in verse fifteen to say, “15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many” (v. 15). The demand of sin is life. Sin cost life, human life for human sin. The price for sin, any sin, any small sin, any seeming small sin and we know how we like to discount our sins as small sins is death, our life, blood must be shed. “It was only a white lie,” we like to tell ourselves. We “had to do it for their own good,” we justify ourselves. And as we have seen throughout history, people have died. From the moment of conception we are sinful and accountable for our sins and thus from the moment of conception we will die. Everyone, except Enoch and Elijah, have all died physical deaths, the result of sin.
The gift of God is different. The gift of God is His own Son, even Himself. It is Jesus’ righteousness that brings life. It is Jesus’ perfection as true God which balances the account of our sinfulness. It is Jesus’ substitution of Himself for us as true man which makes heaven a reality for us. Through one person, Adam, all people have been infected with sin. All people are born to die. And yet, how much greater is Jesus. Through one person, Jesus, the price for all sins has been paid.
paid the complete price for all sins of all people, of all places, of all times. Even Hitler’s sins were paid for. Even Osama ben Lauden’s sins have been paid for. Their condemnation comes from their refusal to confess their sins and their rejection of forgiveness. But most importantly for you and me is the fact that our sins, your sins and my sins have all been paid for. Jesus paid the price for all sins of all times of all people. There is not one sin for which Jesus did not die to pay. He paid the complete price.
What does this mean? Basically, this means that we owe. We owe everything. We owe our very lives. We are conceived and born in sin. We daily sin much, adding to our sinfulness. We sin in thought, word and action. We sin sins of omission, failing to do what we should be doing and sins of commission, doing those things we should not be doing. We sin and sin and sin and we are in need of forgiveness. We cannot help but sin, because that is our very nature. Our nature is to do everything we can to fight against God. Our nature is that we are sinners, we are enemies of God. Our nature is that there is nothing in us that would be deserving of anyone to die for us.
And yet, that is exactly what Jesus did for us. We owe and Jesus pays what we owe. Because of His great love for us, a Father’s love for His children, a Creator’s love for His creation, because of His great love for us, Jesus pays what we owe. We owe blood, Jesus shed His blood. We owe life, Jesus paid with His life. And He offers His all for us, freely. It costs us nothing. As a matter of fact, when we impose ourselves, even slightly, thinking there is something we must do or not do to merit or earn forgiveness or eternal life, we commit idolatry and sin against God. Whenever we try to justify our sins; whenever we try to offer anything of what we might believe to be good works for our salvation; whenever we suggest that we have to do something or not do something, accept something or not reject something; whenever we put ourselves in the position to “run the verbs” we are committing idolatry and sinning against God. Certainly that may be difficult for us here in America, but what God gives as free, is free, no strings attached for us. Jesus paid for it and He gives it to us with no strings attached, so we do not have to do anything, as if there were anything we could do. And He even forgives us when we make claims of our own earning, meriting or deserving.
Being the good Lutheran that he is, Paul once again helps us to get it right. We get it right when we admit and confess our complete depravity, our complete sinfulness, and our complete reliance on Jesus. We get it right when admit God is doing the doing and we recognize ourselves as being done to. We get it right when we recognize God is the one doing the giving and we are the ones being given to. We get it right when we point to Jesus, just Jesus. We get it right when we “rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (v. 11). What a great God we have, what a loving God we have, what a gift giving God we have. God has done it all and gives it all to us because of His great love for us. And He stirs in us to rejoice and say, to Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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