Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon Genesis 12:1-9 and Romans 4:13-15 – Called by God
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
This morning, immediately after worship, we will be having a congregational meeting to call members of the church to ministries of Elder, Deacon and Nominating Committee. As a church we are discerning who God has called to these ministries. We need to know what biblical criteria to use in evaluating the candidates. So this morning let us reflect on what it means to be called by God to ministry in the church.
Please pray with me. Lord Jesus while on this earth you chose disciples and apostles to follow you and lead your people. We know that you have called people in this church to roles of leadership and service. Help us to discern those among those who have the necessary gifts and faith to lead this church in months and years to come. We put our trust in you, amen.
Romans 4:13-25 13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")-- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be." 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 Therefore his faith "was reckoned to him as righteousness." 23 Now the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
The first book of the Bible is Genesis. “Genesis” literally means “beginning”. The first eleven chapters deal with the beginnings of the whole world with stories about creation, fall and flood. But in chapter 12 the entire focus changes from cosmological beginnings to the beginning of God’s calling his people to faith and service. We are told about all of this in the story of Abram.
According to Genesis 12 God appeared directly to Abram and spoke to him. “Get walking” God said because she wanted Abram to go somewhere new and start something big. Abram was to leave his land and his family and go off into the great unknown with only his faith as a guide and an uncertain promise that God would somehow let him know when he had arrived. God was calling Abram to ministry, but Abram had very little notion what all of this meant.
God also made a promise, a contract, with Abram. Its terms were very simple and yet very profound. God promised to bless Abram’s life by giving him land and descendants and all Abram had to do was to be a blessing for others. This is the great covenant that God still has with his people. We are blessed with rich lives so that we will be a blessing to those around us. As followers of Jesus Christ we are all blessed to be a blessing to others. As with all covenants in the ancient world this one had blessings if it was observed and curses if it was violated. All blessings will be blessed by God, but God will curse all curses. And if Abram truly blesses others just as he has already been blessed by God then the promise is that God will multiply the blessings to Abram into blessings for the whole world.
The question that has perplexed scholars for thousands of years is: why was Abram chosen? What was there about Abram’s character or behavior that attracted God’s attention? One answer was that Abram must have been righteous. He must have followed the law that God had given to Moses. Under this theory Abram must have lived a virtuous life free from sin and thus able to approach God as a holy and righteous person. But as the Apostle Paul pointed out this explanation is just not possible. Moses lived 500 years after Abram. The Law of Moses did not exist in his lifetime. So obeying the law was not the reason God called Abram and promised to bless him.
Maybe Abram was simply a virtuous person who in the absence of the Law just happened to please God. Maybe Abram was so good God chose him for a great blessing. But this can’t be because in the very next verses of the twelfth chapter of Genesis Abram sells his wife to Pharaoh in Egypt. How could someone who pimps his wife for money have earned God’s blessing?
Paul’s conclusion was that God called Abram not because of what Abram did or because of the kind of person Abram was but because of Abram’s faith. You see Abram was a sinner who was chosen, and blessed by a gracious God because he believed in a creator God who took the dead dust of the earth, formed it into the form of a human being and breathed the spirit of life into it. This faith was all that was needed for Abram to be richly blessed by God.
So faith is what is needed to be called by God into a ministry of receiving God’s blessing and pouring those blessing out to others. Jesus exemplified all of this when he called Matthew to be a disciple. Matthew was tax collector. Tax collectors were essentially extortionists who lined their own pockets with gold. They were universally hated but tolerated by the Romans who shared in the wealth. We would expect that Jesus would condemn the tax collector Matthew as a sinner. But we would be wrong. What Jesus did was to call Matthew to follow him as a disciple. And Matthew followed Jesus and led other tax collectors and sinners to Jesus’ table for dinner. The message was clear for anyone to see. Just as God had called a sinner named Abram to follow him so too did Jesus call a sinner named Matthew as a disciple. Both Abram and Matthew were blessed not because of their character or their behavior but because of their great faith (Matthew 9:9-13).
This gives us great hope because all of us are sinners too. None of us have the behavior or character to deserve to be called and blessed by God to be a blessing for others. But we are all called to our own ministries because of our faith that the God of Abram breathed the spirit of life into the dead body of Jesus resurrecting him to new life. Because of our faith in Christ we too are blessed by God and called to be a blessing to others.
So what does all of this mean for us today as we gather to discern who God is calling to lead this church? We could look for sinless people, people who always obey God’s law. We could select as elders and deacons people with exemplary lives, who always do what they are supposed to do. We could select those who are righteous before God because of their great character and works.
The Presbyterian Church tells us that we should select people who have demonstrated that God has given them gifts to lead the church. They should be “persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior” (G-60106a). And we are told that the persons we select should demonstrate with the lives the good news of Jesus Christ. All of these characteristics clearly describe both Abram and Matthew. So rather than imposing an ethical test on candidate for church office we look for the evidence that God has blessed them so that they can be a blessing to others.
So as you prayerfully discern who God is calling to serve this church as leaders expect that people you choose will be sinners who fall short of what we expect of leaders and what God expects of everyone. Rather expect that God will send someone like Abram or Matthew. Your job is not to judge their behavior or even criticize their character. Rather you are to discern whether or not they are people of faith, who are gifted by God and believe that Jesus loves us so much he died for us. Find leaders for this church who are willing to follow Jesus wherever he may lead. And if you do this the promise is that Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church will be blessed by God so that we may be a blessing to people in our community.
Lord God Most High, help us to discern your desire for leaders of this church. We are entering an uncertain time of change and growth and need leaders with the gifts of bringing this church to new life. We are confident Lord that you will raise our leaders up from among us who love you and will follow your son Jesus. We pray this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.
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