God of our Past, God of our Future

March 8, 2020 Romans 4:1-17 2nd Sunday of Lent Year A Children’s Sermon Object: a "get out of jail free" card from a Monopoly game. Good morning, boys and girls. Have any of you ever played Monopoly? It can be a lot of fun building a lot of houses and hotels on your property and collecting a lot of money, can't it! But something terrible can happen to you while you're playing Monopoly. Can anybody think of what it is? (Let them tell you.) Right. You can end up going to jail. And if you are in jail, you can't buy and sell any more property or houses or hotels. You can't move around the board and collect money at the "Go" square. And you can't have any fun just sitting there, watching everybody else keep moving around the board. How do you get out of jail? (Let them tell you.) Exactly right. You can use one of these. (Hold up the "get out of jail free" card.) How do you get a card like this? Right. You can pick it up if you are lucky. Or you can buy it from somebody else, if you have enough money. If you get a "get out of jail free" card and you don't need it right away, you can always save it. Or you can sell it to somebody else. Sometimes it feels as though you and I need a "get out of jail free" card when we live our lives. We get into lots of trouble doing the wrong things. We know God is not happy with us. We wonder if God will punish us. We even worry sometimes that God might stop loving us if we are bad. But God has good news for us. God has given us a "get out of jail free" card. When Jesus came to live in our world he promised us that God would love us even when we were so bad that we should go to jail. He promised that God would rescue us from all the trouble we get into, if we will let him do it. Jesus showed us how much love God has for us by dying on the cross. That was a very powerful thing for Jesus to do. Jesus is stronger than all the evil that we do. So when he died he took all the power out of our sins and gave us a chance to "get out of jail free." Whenever we look at a picture of the cross, or when we see a cross in church, we can thing of how God loves us and frees us from our sins. CSS Publishing Co., , by CSS Stewardship Moment At a recent pastor’s meeting we talked about the difference between a transactional faith and a transformational faith. In a transactional faith, we come to church expecting a service, expecting an answer, expecting something to happen and we get what we want, we give our money, and we go on about our lives, nothing really changes. We give and we get in return. A transformational faith is a faith where we actually have a relationship with God, we give not because of what we are expecting, we give because we love God. But we are changed by what we give, our relationship changes, and we witness the miracles of life all around us. Our giving is not a transaction, it is a response to love. We are changed, but we also have to power to change our church, our community and our world – by giving in love. Scripture Romans 4:1-17 Common English Bible (CEB) Abraham’s faith was credited as righteousness 4 So what are we going to say? Are we going to find that Abraham is our ancestor on the basis of genealogy? 2 Because if Abraham was made righteous because of his actions, he would have had a reason to brag, but not in front of God. 3 What does the scripture say? Abraham had faith in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.[a] 4 Workers’ salaries aren’t credited to them on the basis of an employer’s grace but rather on the basis of what they deserve. 5 But faith is credited as righteousness to those who don’t work, because they have faith in God who makes the ungodly righteous. 6 In the same way, David also pronounces a blessing on the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from actions: 7 Happy are those whose actions outside the Law are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Happy are those whose sin isn’t counted against them by the Lord.[b] 9 Is this state of happiness only for the circumcised or is it also for those who aren’t circumcised? We say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 So how was it credited? When he was circumcised, or when he wasn’t circumcised? In fact, it was credited while he still wasn’t circumcised, not after he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that comes from the faith he had while he still wasn’t circumcised. It happened this way so that Abraham could be the ancestor of all those people who aren’t circumcised, who have faith in God, and so are counted as righteous. 12 He could also be the ancestor of those circumcised people, who aren’t only circumcised but who also walk in the path of faith, like our ancestor Abraham did while he wasn’t circumcised. Abraham’s promise is received through faith 13 The promise to Abraham and to his descendants, that he would inherit the world, didn’t come through the Law but through the righteousness that comes from faith. 14 If they inherit because of the Law, then faith has no effect and the promise has been canceled. 15 The Law brings about wrath. But when there isn’t any law, there isn’t any violation of the law. 16 That’s why the inheritance comes through faith, so that it will be on the basis of God’s grace. In that way, the promise is secure for all of Abraham’s descendants, not just for those who are related by Law but also for those who are related by the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. 17 As it is written: I have appointed you to be the father of many nations.[c] So Abraham is our father in the eyes of God in whom he had faith, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that don’t exist into existence. Footnotes: a. Romans 4:3 Gen 15:6 b. Romans 4:8 Ps 32:1-2 c. Romans 4:17 Gen 17:5 Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon So what is the difference between a Christian and any other random good person? We struggled with that question this week at the Lenten study – the walk. Everyone was given a key chain – on the back it gives us the five key practices that differentiate the Christians and just any good person – worship, study, giving, serving and ……. Last week we talked about worship – both public and personal – we come together to say thank you, but we also pray personally to develop out working relationship with God. What is the difference between a Christian and any random good person. Martin Luther says that there are three things that tell the difference. Hearing God’s call, listening, and trusting. According to Dr. Martin Luther there are three steps to saving faith. They are like the three rungs of a child’s ladder. The first two will not save, but the third will. However, you cannot take the third step until you have taken the first two. I. Hear: The first step he designates by the simple word "hear." "Faith comes by hearing ..." "How shall they believe except they hear?" (Romans 10) A knowledge of God’s salvation is necessary before it is possible to believe. That is why we send missionaries to Africa and Asia. Non-Christians must first hear before they can believe. But I am sure that I need not dwell on this first step now. I am quite certain that everyone present has again and again heard the message of God’s salvation in church and Sunday school. Therefore, you have already taken the first step. You have heard. II. Believe: I designate the second step by using the simple word "Believe." Now what is the meaning of "believe"? The dictionary says, "to consent with the mind." When you, therefore, have given "intellectual assent to the truth," you have believed. You have taken the second step. But you are not saved. In this sense you can believe all you want to believe about Jesus Christ, and still not be saved. You can believe everything about the Bible, and yet perish eternally. This is the fate of demons. James 2:19 states: "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble." Satan and his hosts were among the first to acclaim Jesus as the Son of God, but they did not submit to him. They believe as much or more than you do about Christ. They do not for a moment doubt his deity, but their faith is purely intellectual. It does not change their lives, and their doom is certain; therefore, they tremble. The second step will save no one, and yet that is where multitudes stop. They take the second step, but not the third. Hence they are not yet saved. III. Trust: The third step and the only step that saves, Luther designated by the simple word "trust." The correct and most explicit translation of Acts 16:31 - the response to the Philippian jailer who asks, "What must I do to be saved?" - is in the New English Bible: "Put your trust in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." Again and again, instead of the King James Version "believe," it is more accurately stated in the newer translation, "Put your faith in." "Put your trust in the Lord Jesus." Now what is the meaning of the word "trust"? All of us hear, all of us believe, but when we hear, believe and trust that makes all of the difference. In Romans 4, Paul retells the story of Abraham – or Abram who was just that random good person who was walking down the street one day minding his business. There was nothing that would have stood out about him. He was happy with his life, he was happy with his family, like most of us – he didn’t have everything that he wanted in life, but he also couldn’t find a good reason to complain. So why would God choose him? Why would he hear God say walk away from your good life and just follow me, don’t ask where we are going, or why, just come on. Okay and he does that, he goes into the desert with his wife and family, but God keeps meddling. He has lived a good life, no complaints, but God tells his that he is going to have a baby – after 100 years. And he does, with his servant, but God keeps meddling and says he will have a baby with his 90 year old wife, and once the baby is born – God says you will be father to many nations. If he wanted to be a father, he would have worried about that way before 100. And yet with God all things are possible. I can see why this story would captivate Paul – Abraham was not only the father of his ancestors, but Paul says he is the father of faith. – he was just a random good person walking down the street – but he heard God, he believed God, he trusted God. Now he is the father of many nations, and as Christians we are children of Abraham. Not by birth but by grace. What is the difference between a Christian and a random good person? In Gods eyes – nothing – they are both worthy of God’s grace. God loves them the same, God treats them the same, God even blesses them the same. If that were not true, then we would have no relation to Abraham. Abraham is our father through the grace of God. So what is the difference between the Christian and the random good person? The difference is not in God grace, the difference is in how we respond. As people of faith, we not only hear God, and believe God, and even learn to trust God, we obey God. We choose to live the life that God speaks for us. Every time I read scripture something new occurs to me. This time as I was reading this scripture the last part spoke to me. God speaks life to the dead and calls into existence that which does not exist. Hmm what does that mean. In the Abraham story – God took a man who had lived a full and complete life without being a father, and just told him that he would be a father – and he became a father many times over , just because God spoke it into existence. What is the difference between a Christian and a random good person? – God spoke and the random good person listened and obeyed – and became a Christian – one who follows God many times over. Each of us have a Christian story – on some levels I was born into a Christian family and inherited the faith, but along my faith journey – God’s grace has changed my life and my soul. I was that random good person, until God said things would be different. My life went from being transactional – a give and a take, to transformational – living into the life God spoke for me. What is the difference between a Christian and a random good person – the random good person expects to get what they deserve – the Christian – gets so much more – a life they never dreamed of – and life eternal. This season – let us all hear God’s voice, believe God’s word, trust God’s leading – and respond to God’s grace. Let us pray…. Additional Illustrations It's like old Abraham. Remember him? According to the book of Genesis, he was an amazing man. When Abraham was 75 years old, God said, "Go!" Abraham didn't ask where; he just went. You might think that God loved him because he was obedient to God. The truth is, for some reason, God said, "Abraham, I'm going to make you somebody special," before Abraham could even respond. When Abraham was 99 years old, God sneaked up on him and said, "Abraham, I'm going to make you the father of a huge multitude. I'm going to change your name to mean 'Grand Exalted Father of an Exceedingly Large Family,' or in short, I'm going to call you 'Big Daddy.' " And Abraham laughed, and said, "O God, get serious." And God said, "I am serious; in fact, I'm so serious, I want you to get circumcised at the age of 99, after which you're going to become a father." Abraham did as he was told, even though it felt like his body was as good as dead. Maybe you might think God loved him because he did what God wanted him to do. The truth is, God had already said, "I'm going to make you the father of a huge multitude." Then came that day, that very dark day, when God sneaked up on him one more time, "Abraham! Take your son, your only son Isaac, the son whom you love, and offer him on the mountain as a burnt offering." Abraham didn't say a word. He saddled the donkey, stacked the wood, and took his son up the mountain. He built the altar, put Isaac upon it, and raised the stone knife. There was a great silence, and God said, "Stop! Now I know that you fear me." You might think, "What a test that was!" Abraham passed the test, and therefore that's why God loved him. But all these events came long after the moment when God had already reckoned him righteous. That happened late one night, many years before. God said, "Abraham! Go out and count the stars. That's how many children you're going to have." I picture the old man squinting toward the sky, and beginning to count: "One, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, one hundred, two hundred, ten thousand and one, ten thousand and two...." As he counted, for some miraculous, inexplicable reason, he believed the promise of the Lord. That is all it took. Abraham believed that God was going to keep the promise. For the first time in all the Bible, God said, "Here is a child who is made right with me." Abraham believed, and said, "Yes," to God. That's all it took.