The Lutheran Hour
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"Done!"
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Text: Romans 3:19-28
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Have you ever gone to a funeral service where the people thought that the person who had passed away was not going to heaven? I went to a funeral one time for a person who never went to church, he had no relationship with God, the only time he referred to God was when he used God’s name in vain. He lived a completely immoral lifestyle, was cruel to everyone, yet when people talked about this person they said things like, “He finally is at peace with God.” One person said, “He’s looking down upon us now from heaven.” Still another said, “He was a good person and has found his eternal rest.” It is almost as if most people think that everyone goes to heaven and that all people do just enough good things to earn their way in. The question I have for today is who really goes to heaven? How good is good enough to earn God’s favor? Is salvation something that we do, or something that has been “done” for us?
Listen carefully to this reading from Romans chapter three, verses 19 through 28: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law, rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”
From the time we are born we begin to hear some strange things. We hear nursery rhymes like, “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.” Another one: “Rock a bye baby, on the treetop, when the wind blows the cradle will rock. When the bow breaks the cradle will fall, and down will come baby cradle and all.” Another favorite, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the kings horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again.”
The reality is that we are born into a messed up world. All three of the rhymes talk about taking a fall. Our text as well talks about taking a fall. It says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It does not say, “some of us have sinned,” or “some of us will sin,” but that “all of us have sinned and fall short.” Right now you may be thinking, “My life isn’t that bad and I am a pretty good person. How dare you say that I fall short of the glory of God.”
Our text says, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God” (Romans 3:19). What is this law that we are accountable to?
If you are out driving your car at 70 mph in a 40 mph zone and the officer pulls you over, will it be enough to say, “I make up my own rules. To me 40 mph means 70 mph.” Is the officer going to buy that line? Even in life we are held accountable to certain laws that are in effect. God also has His own laws. This may sound strange to you, but God’s law is summarized in one word, and that word is “love.” In Romans 13:10 it states, “Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” So as I talk about God’s law I am talking about love. God gives us His law because He loves us and wants the best for each of us. Let’s take a couple moments to understand what this law is. We know it as the Ten Commandments. These commandments teach us how to love God and each other.
The First Commandment says, “You shall have no other gods.” This commandment tells us that we are to love God more than anything or anyone else. He is to be number one in our lives in all areas.
The Second Commandment: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” This teaches us that love is honoring and respecting God in all that we do and all that we say.
The Third Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” This commandment lets us know that loving God means living a life of worship not only in a congregational setting, but in our lives as a whole.
The next seven commandments talk about how to love our neighbor.
The Fourth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.” This teaches us to love and respect our parents always.
The Fifth Commandment: “You shall not murder,” lets us know that loving God and others means loving and respecting the lives of others at all stages of life. Now if you have been thinking, “I finally found a commandment that I have fulfilled,” you know I hate to burst your bubble, but did I mention that we can break these commandments not only in what we say or do, but also in what we think? So if you ever thought, “I wish so-and-so would fall off the face of the Earth,” you have broken this commandment.
The Sixth Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery,” lets us know that love is living a sexually pure life in thought and action realizing that sex is intended by God to be used in the context of marriage between a man and a woman only.
The Seventh Commandment: “You shall not steal.” This teaches us that love is respecting and protecting the property and the possessions of others.
The Eighth Commandment: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” This commandment tells us that love is being truthful, speaking well of and defending the reputation of others.
The Ninth and Tenth Commandments focus on coveting. What this means is that love is being content with what God has provided and not lusting and desiring after things that we do not have.
Now as we consider these commandments and take inventory of our lives in comparison to them, how do we do? It says in our text, “through the law we become conscious of sin.” I don’t know about you, but when I look at God’s law I become very conscious of the fact that I have sinned often and that I definitely have fallen short of the glory of God. This means that if it is my desire to go to heaven, I have messed up my opportunity to do it with my own ability. I feel like Humpty Dumpty. I have fallen, my life is broken, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put me back together again. Is the same thing true for you? Is there anything in life that can fix our brokenness? If we are totally honest with ourselves we may try to pretend like our lives are all put together well on the outside, but on the inside we are broken to pieces. Our thoughts are so often messed up, relationships are falling apart, insecurities weigh us down, harmful addictive behaviors pollute us, fear of life and even death itself burden us. What hope is there for the Humpty Dumpties in the world like us?
Did you notice that the king’s horses and the king’s men couldn’t save Humpty, but what about the king himself? We have the King of kings on our side and He loves us even in spite of our brokenness. In Mark 10 a rich young man runs up to Jesus and asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus reminds him of the Ten Commandments and the man replies that he has kept all of them since he was a kid, which in itself is a lie. The Scripture says that Jesus loved the man dearly and tried to get the man’s attention by telling him to go and sell his possessions and follow Him, to which the man walks away unwilling to do that. The disciples then ask, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “With man this is impossible, but not with God: all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). The point is that when it comes to putting our lives back together again the power is not in us, but comes from God Himself. The King can fix us. He has the answer for our brokenness.
Our text tells us, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Christ Jesus to all who believe.” The term righteousness means to have a right standing with God. Notice that this right standing has nothing to do with us, but that it comes completely and totally from God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Years ago, my father, who lives in Northern Minnesota, had a heart attack. He was 50 miles away from the nearest hospital. He called a friend who lived nearby, and the friend came over and as quickly as possible got him the 50 miles to that hospital. Upon arrival, there would not have been much hope for my dad, but they had just received a new drug called the “clot buster.” Almost as soon as the “clot buster” was administered to my father the heart attack stopped. And my dad is convinced that that “clot buster” saved his life. There are three things that happened here. First, my dad realized he was in trouble and that if he didn’t get help, he would die. Secondly, his friend got him to the place where he could get the help he needed. And third, the “clot buster” saved his life.
When it comes to clearing up the sinful condition of our heart, it is the law that shows us we have a problem. The first thing that has to happen is we must be honest about our sin. Secondly, there most likely have been people in our lives who have shared with us the solution to our problem, which is Jesus Christ. He lived the perfect life without sin, died in brokenness on the cross, and rose victoriously from the dead. In other words Jesus is the “sin buster” who can fix our broken lives and take away our sin so that we do not fall short of God’s glory.
Our text goes on to say, that through Christ we “are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” and in verse 26 “He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” These verses imply that God demands justice. In itself that should be scary to us because we are the law breakers. What is amazing is that God is just and He is the justifier. What that means is that He is perfect and that He is willing to share His perfection with us. If you want to go to heaven on your own accord you have to be perfect. We are not perfect, but Jesus is and through faith in Jesus Christ, God declares us as perfect. We are not perfect in ourselves, but we are made sinless in Jesus who covers us with His perfection. This is a gift that God offers to all people by His grace.
Our salvation has not been determined by what we do, but by what has been done through Jesus. There is no greater news for me to share with you than this truth. If you believe in Jesus you are forgiven and on the road to heaven. The past is covered over, the present is in His control and the future is fantastic. Can the news get any better than that?
Nearly 500 years ago, a man by the name of Martin Luther was struggling in life trying to figure out how he could please God. He would fast, he would pray for hours on end, he would do all kinds of things trying to earn God’s favor, but nothing seemed to work. One day a good friend of his said: You know, Martin, read more of the Scriptures. While reading sections of Scripture, like we just read in Romans, the Holy Spirit opened up his mind to realize that salvation is not determined by what we do, but by what has been done for us in Jesus Christ. And it has completely changed his life.
When it comes to your belief, are you a “do” believer or a “done” believer? The unfortunate thing is that the vast majority of people in the world think their salvation is something they have to earn. Even though there seem to be thousands of religions in the world, I believe there are only two. One says you are saved by what you do; the other, Christianity, says we are saved by what has been done. Salvation has been done for us by a Savior who loves us. We do not have to go through life wondering if we have done enough. Through faith in Christ we can proclaim, “My salvation has been done for me by Jesus Christ.” This is not just a faith that points ahead, but one that can be embraced in our lives, because it is a truth that transforms. Because we have a God who loves, we can learn to love. Since we have a God who forgives, we can learn forgiveness; a God who accepts, we can learn acceptance.
Maybe today as you have been listening, the reality of what God has done for you is coming alive in your heart. God is calling you to be a part of His eternal family. For those of you who already believe, let this be a day for you to recommit your life to God and desire to respond with a life of deeper worship, of prayer, of studying His Word, of service to God, and boldly sharing this truth. If there is any word in particular that I want you to remember from what you have heard today, it is this word: Done!
Let’s boldly go forth and proclaim this truth: Through Jesus Christ our salvation has been done! Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for October 29, 2006
TOPIC: Do certain people get sick or die because of something they’ve done?ANNOUNCER: Do certain people get sick or even die because of something they’ve done? That’ll be today’s question for Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer, and we are continuing our series of questions that come to us from a congregational workshop called Equipping to Share.
KLAUS: These are common questions that people often encounter when they talk with others about their Christian faith. What’s today’s question again, Mark?
ANNOUNCER: The question is: Do certain people get sick, or even die, because of something they have done?
KLAUS: That’s a question I’ve heard from Christians and non-Christians alike. Yes, sometimes people do get sick and die because of something they’ve done. For example, you might hear of a college student who’s told he has to drink a whole quart of whiskey as part of a college hazing. He does – and he dies. In that case, you could say he died because of something he did. That sort of thing is not limited to alcohol abuse. People can damage their lungs from smoking or their heart from overeating. So, yes, some illnesses can be directly traced to an action or activity on the part of the individual. Cause and effect.
ANNOUNCER: But, from a Spiritual standpoint, there’s more we should be saying.
KLAUS: Absolutely. In the Bible, you will find that sometimes people are punished for something they did – or didn’t – do. King David is punished for his adultery with Bathsheba. Most of the Israelites died in the wilderness because of their unbelief and disobedience. The entire book of Judges reveals a pattern of God’s people worshiping idols, which leads to them being conquered by an enemy, which leads to them repenting, which leads to them being rescued by God. Then the whole process starts all over again. The one thing that should be noted: when God punishes His people in this way, He is very direct and deliberate in telling them that their sins have caused a certain difficulty.
ANNOUNCER: So there would be no doubt.
KLAUS: Absolutely. Sometimes things that look like punishments from God are not. In the New Testament, the entire ninth chapter of John is devoted to the story of a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples wanted to know: who has sinned, this man or his parents, that caused his blindness? Do you remember what Jesus said that day?
ANNOUNCER: He said, neither this man nor his parents had sinned, but so that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
KLAUS: Excellent. In that case, the man was blind so that God’s glory could be shown in the miraculous work Jesus did when He healed him. The man’s blindness helped others to see Jesus as their Savior..
ANNOUNCER: So when trouble comes, is that a direct result of a specific sin?
KLAUS: That’s what I’ve heard people ask in the hospital. They wonder, “Why is God doing this to me? I’ve tried to lead a good life. I don’t deserve this.”
ANNOUNCER: And, when you heard that, how did you respond?
KLAUS: This way. It’s true that all sickness, sadness, sorrow, and pain is the direct result of sin in a generic way – a general way. But that doesn’t mean that a direct correlation can always be established between a specific sin and a specific illness. You can’t look at someone else’s problem and say, “This is happening to you because you did this or that.”
Not so long ago, I heard of a mother who had two children afflicted with autism. She wondered what she had done to make God so angry that He would take it out on her children. That idea is just wrong. God sometimes uses our pain to get our attention, but He is first and always a God of love. He wants what is best for us. Jesus tells us exactly that in the seventh chapter of Matthew. He said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”
ANNOUNCER: How would you sum this up for us today?
KLAUS: Sickness and death exist because of sin. Sin has consequences. But we need to be careful not to make direct correlations between every sickness and specific sins. Nor should we consider our suffering as a way of appeasing God. Jesus carried the cross for us, and He paid the full price our sins demanded. His resurrection is the guarantee that we will be raised someday, as part of God’s new creation, free from sickness and death. Finally, remember: God is good. He will help us get through our problems, and He will always do what is best for us.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” by Martin Luther. From Hymns for All Saints (© 2004 Concordia Publishing House) SESAC
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” by David Cherwien. From Hymn Interpretations, vol. 1 by David Cherwien (© 1992 Summa Productions)
“Es ist das Heil” by J.S. Bach. From Orgelbüchlein & More Works by J.S. Bach by Robert Clark and John David Peterson (© 1997 Calcante Recordings, Ltd.)