Sermon Index
Good Timing!
June 15, 2008
SECOND LESSON: Romans 5:6?15
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person?though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die? but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For 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. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned? for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet 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.
But 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.
L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Good Timing!
There are two expressions in this passage from Romans 5 that I really like: "at the right time" and "much more."
How great is God's love? John 3:16 says it is great enough to save the world. And that means that his love is great enough to save you and me, too. St. Paul says that God loved us even before we were saved. He loved us even when we were enemies of God. “Being enemies” means that we were not just agnostics or atheists or people who don’t care about religious things. “Enemies of God” means that we knew about God and hated him. We did not want God in our lives. We felt his law was a chain that took away our freedom. We didn’t like the Holy Spirit reminding us that we were sinners. We were rebellious sheep that did not want Jesus to be our Good Shepherd. But God still loved us. While we were still sinners and lost in our rebellion and hatred, God sent his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus died for sinners, for those who hated him. That takes a lot of love.
So if God loved us while were still sinful enemies, think how “much more” God must love us now since we have become his friends and sons and daughters. People might love children, but they love their own children more. All little children are cute, but your own kids are the cutest of all. People are concerned about the welfare of others, but they love and worry over their own family even more. So if God loved us before, just think how much more he must love us now! It is incomparable! It is off the scale!
St. Paul talks about Adam. Adam and Eve might have done the first sin when they ate the forbidden fruit, but we all repeat it. Sin and death came into the world. It was like a virus, a disease, like a genetic deformity. All humans have sinned, all die. It all started by one man, that Old Adam. But there is a New Man, Jesus Christ. “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.” Sin and death are powerful, but the grace of God is much more powerful. Grace is more powerful because it is the free gift of God. Love and grace are much more powerful than sin.
We have to understand this. We have to believe this. We have to take it into our hearts. Sin, death, the devil, and this world are always trying to make us believe that they are more powerful than the love of God. We know that we are unworthy of God’s love. We know that we are habitual sinners. We know that we cannot escape sinning. We know that we are helpless. And if we really think about it, we start blaming God for our problems in life. It is God’s fault that we are dumb, that we are disabled, that we are dysfunctional. We blame God and call natural disasters like cyclones and earthquakes and tornadoes and floods as being “acts of God.” We may think that God is the enemy and we are powerless. And yet, God’s love and grace are all more powerful than these things. The death and resurrection of Jesus has made us friends of God, we are reconciled to God. And now that we are reconciled to God, we are saved by Jesus. We are given grace to believe, grace to hope, and grace to rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God's timing is great! Paul wrote, "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” When was the right time? You could date it to the birth of Christ at Bethlehem, or you can date it when he died on the cross at Mt. Calvary. Or you can date it to when it is just the right time for you. When do you need salvation? When are you a sinner that needs forgiveness? When are you an enemy or God and need reconciliation? Just at the right time the Holy Spirit has called you and spoken your name in baptism and faith and brought the free gift of God’s grace to you. This can happen at different times for different people. Or for many people, it happens many times. When my conscience has bothered me because of my sin, at just the right time, Christ died for me, that is, I again took the power his death by faith to forgive my sin. When I have been worried, at just the right time, God spoke words of comfort and hope to me. When I have been sick, at just the right time, God healed me. I am not very patient, so I may have wanted the healing to come quicker, but God knew when the right time was. The right time for God to act is when we are weak. The right time for God to act is when we are strong. In all times we see God’s love and grace.
There are some beautiful verse in the Psalms.
We may not always understand God's timing, but we can trust it. If he saved us from sin and despair at just the right time, how much more will he bless us with the free gift of grace in all of our lives?
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church