Sermon – Romans 4: 13-25 - Jesus' Cross was Raised for our Justification

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – Romans 4: 13-25 - Jesus' Cross was Raised for our Justification

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Lent 2

March 4, 2012

This is the second Sunday of Lent and we are continuing to join with the early church in wondering why Jesus suffered and died such a horrible death. This was not expected for a messiah and descendant of David. And it was totally senseless for the Son of God. Last week we heard the Apostle Peter tell us that the reason Christ suffered was to bring us to God. Christ entered the sin swamp where we live in order to save us in our baptism and so he suffered the same way we do. Today we will turn to the Apostle Paul as he struggled to explain why Jesus was raised up on a cross. But first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Romans 4:13 - 25 ¹³ It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴ For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵ because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. ¹⁶ Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring-- not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷ As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed-- the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. ¹⁸ Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." ¹⁹ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-- since he was about a hundred years old-- and that Sarah's womb was also dead. ²⁰ Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²² This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." ²³ The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, ²⁴ but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-- for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

It was the winter of 57-58 AD. The Apostle Paul was writing an important letter to the church in Rome. He did not establish this church and as far as we know had never been in Rome. He was planning to travel there, but was not yet ready for that journey. Paul was familiar with the church because he knew two of its members, Priscilla and Aquila who had worked with him as a tent maker in Corinth. Presumably they had told Paul about their church.

We don't know how the Roman church got started. But what we do know is that people from Rome were present in Jerusalem on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon Peter and the other apostles. The were part of the crowd of 3000 who were baptized that day. And presumably they returned to Rome and started a new church. This church would have been made up primarily of Jewish converts who believed that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. But there also would have been some Gentiles who believed in God and accepted Christ as their Lord.

A crises hit this church in 49AD when it was only about 15 years old. By imperial decree all Jews were expelled from Rome. The Jewish members of the church had to leave. We know that two of these Jewish Christians Priscilla and Aquila left Rome went to Corinth. They left behind the Gentile converts to Christianity who continued the church in their absense. A few years later the imperial decree was lifted and Jews could return back to Rome. Many did including Priscilla and Aquila. But that's when the real problems in the Roman church started. The Roman church had become a Gentile church. Circumcision was no longer required. Other Jewish customs had been dropped. And when the the former Jewish leaders returned to the church there were conflicts between these two ethnic groups. Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians fought over religious practices and control of the church. It's possible the Priscilla and Aquila contacted their friend Paul to help with this situation. And that's probably why Paul was writing this letter.

Paul realized that sin was keeping the Gentiles and Jews apart. It was like having two pieces of wood that are so warped and jagged that when you are trying to join them together they just don't fit. They need to be straightened, planed and sanded smooth first before they can be joined. The two pieces of wood need to be justified before they can fit together. And just as blocks of wood need to be straightened, planed and sanded smooth so too did the Gentiles and Jews in Rome before they could fit together.

But how does this happen? How can people be planed and sanded smooth so they fit with each other? As Paul was thinking of these questions he remember a story in the Book of Genesis about Abraham. Abraham was by any definition pretty rough. He had plenty of blemishes. On two occasions he pretended that his wife was his sister in order to pimp her as a prostitute for money. Abraham was not a real good example of Christian living. In order to have a right relationship with God he needed a lot of straightening, planing and sanding. So how could Abraham be justified, straightened, planed and sanded smooth, to fit properly with God? Well, according to Genesis, from God's perspective, faith looks just like straightening, planing and sanding. Abraham's faith was “credited to him as righteousness”. So faith is kinda like makeup covering over blemishes so that we appear OK when God looks at us. When we have faith we don't need straightening, planing and sanding.

This was the answer for the Roman church. The faith of the Gentile Christians made them look to God straight and smooth. The faith of the Jewish Christians made them straight and smooth from God's perspective as well. And so Jews and Gentiles can fit together, unified in the church because they are both straightened, planed and sanded smooth by their faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And so this is why Jesus was lifted up on a cross. His suffering and death led to his resurrection which, if we believe it, is the faith that straightens, planes and sands us smooth so that we can fit together with God. Jesus was lifted up on the cross so that we would be justified.

This was Paul's message to the Roman church. The Jewish Christians had argued that believers had to obey the law of Moses. But Paul pointed out that Moses lived generations after Abraham. So Abraham could not have been justified by the law. He was justified by his faith. His faith had straightened, planed and sanded him. And the Gentile Christians thought that the Law of Moses did not apply to them. But Paul said no. The Gentile Christians knew what God required of them too. They had no excuse. But obeying God's law was still not enough to be justified. They had to have faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ to be seen by God as already straightened, planed and sanded.

So too with us. We can never get ourselves right with God by following the law of Moses or by trying do what is right. We are just too warped by sin. We need to be straightened, planed and sanded smooth. And it is our faith in Jesus Christ that God sees as straightening, planing and sanding. It is our faith that justifies us with God.

Of course the church today suffers from division. We are divided into denominations by differences in practices and beliefs. We are divided by ethnicity into Black, White, Korean and Hispanic churches. We are divided by worship style into churches for different generations. The only way we can be united is if we are all justified with each other by our common belief in the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so this is why Jesus was lifted up on the cross. Christ died for us so that our faith would justify us with God and with each other.

And this brings us to the table that is set before us today. This is a table that welcomes everyone whose faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has made them straight, planed and sanded smooth, justified in the sight of God. At this table we, who have been justified into a right relationship with God, join with all Christians of all time and in all places who also are justified by their faith in Christ. This is where we are joined together, united into one church of Jesus Christ.

Father in heaven, we ask today for the gift of faith that you consider as righteousness. We ask that you straighten, plane and sand us smooth by our faith so that we are justified with you. We also ask for that faith that justifies with all Christians around the world. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, whom we believe died on a cross and was resurrected from the dead to new life. Amen.