ALIVE IN CHRIST

Alive in Christ - Romans 6 verses 1-14

What makes you feel really alive? Maybe you have had experiences in your life where you have felt so alive and been thankful for being alive. We read quite a lot in the NT about being 'alive in Christ.' But what does that mean? What does it mean to you this morning to be 'alive in Christ?' Does it actually make a difference in your life? Should it actually make a difference in your life? T

Romans is Paul's great letter of explanation about the significance of Christ. If you like you could actually say that in this letter we encounter the gospel according to Paul. Paul wrote this letter in Rome around AD 57. In chapter 1 verses 16-17 he announces the purpose of the letter - the gospel is God's power for salvation.

Chapter 6 actually begins in chapter 5 verses 20-21 - read. If you look at these verses you see that Paul shows how the grace of God has overcome all sin - the more sin abounded grace super abounded. However, if you look at verses 1-3 of chapter 6 you will see how this has been abused by some within the church - read verse 1. Their argument went something along these lines - the more we sin the more grace abounds. Sin does not really matter because God will forgive anyway. Sin allows God's grace to operate. In verses 1 and 2 Paul refutes such an understanding of the gospel and states quite clearly that this is no way for Christians to live. In verse 3 he asks them to consider what has happened to them since they came to faith in Christ and were baptised. In essence he is saying "God forbid that you should continue to live a life of sin after you have come to Christ and been baptised." Paul is horrified by the thought that anyone who has been born again would continue, or wish to continue, in the old way of life. He makes it very clear in verses 3-10 that they have died to sin because they, the believers, have been united with Christ in his death and resurrection by faith. Christ's death was a death to sin and a death for the penalty of sin. Paul deliberately uses the picture of baptism here as a metaphor for what has happened to the believers spiritually. Please remember that Paul is here speaking of adult baptism and that he is writing to a people who came mainly from a pagan background or Judaic background. I believe more and more we will see adult baptism becoming the norm in all congregations - not because I don't believe in infant baptism but because those who come to faith in Christ will most likely not have been brought for baptism by their parents. In this 21st century we are more and more in a 1st century context for mission and evangelism, but that is an aside.

Let me explain Paul's argument in verses 3-10. If you picture the believers of Rome gathered at the rivers edge. The elders of the church are in the water and the newly converted believer steps down into the water and is plunged down under the water and brought up out of the water again. Paul says that the physical action of going down under the water and coming back up again is akin to dying spiritually to sin and being raised to new life in Christ Jesus. You go down into the water, as Christ went down into the grave, and die - you come back up out of the water, as Christ rose from the dead, to new life. Paul does not say this new life, this resurrection from the dead, is achieved by the act of baptism but that baptism is an illustration, a metaphor for, of this spiritual change that has come about in the life of the believer. The significance for Paul is that the old man, the old Adam, the old way of life has died and been buried and the new man, the new Adam, the new life in Christ has been raised to life. By coming to faith in Christ they have identified with Christ in his death and in his resurrection by faith and Christ, by the Holy Spirit, has identified with them in his death (for them) and in his resurrection (for them). That is the teaching of verse 4 - if we have identified with Christ in his death how will we not also be joined with Christ in his resurrection?

Verses 5-6 - Therefore, Paul says, having been identified with Christ in his death and resurrection - having been raised to new life the Christian believer walks in newness of life. The old life has gone. The old Adam has died. The old Adam was crucified on the cross with Christ. The old life of sin was buried in the tomb with Christ. The result of this in the life of the Christian is that they are no longer under the mastery of sin. The new life is a life alive in Christ and dead to sin. Before Christ the believer was dead in his sin, dead to Christ but when Christ came into his life by grace through faith, symbolised by baptism, then the believer died to sin and rose to new life in Christ. The result is that the body of sin is brought to nothing. The word 'For' or 'Because' in verse 7 leads is to the reason - nothing that is dead can live. To those who have come alive in Christ they have been set free from sin. Our sin deserved death and we have died (been crucified with Christ). Sin has no claim over the justified person.

They died to sin because they were buried with Christ and rose with Christ and are alive in Christ - verse 8. Do you notice verse 8 starts with an emphatic 'Now'? 'Now' carries the argument along. You see for a brief period of time, 3 days, death, as the executor of sin, held the saviour. Yet because he was without sin and was not guilty of any sin death could not hold him. Likewise it could not call him to experience death again (verse 9). Hence, he is alive forever more - Revelation 1.18. Since we have died with him we rise with him and our death in Christ is not the end in itself; by faith we go on to be alive in Christ. Paul tells us that death is now a defeated foe and no longer has dominion over Christ and because we are alive in Christ it no longer has dominion over us. At one time death ruled and held man in fear and captivity but no longer. Christ is supreme and reigns in glory.

Verse 10 once again we meet the word 'For' or 'because'. Again the chain of reasoning is being carried along. Jesus' death to sin was once for all - it was a unique death. In 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21 Paul tells us that Christ was made sin for us. He paid the penalty for sin and removed its sting from our lives. The resurrection marks the victory over sin and death and the life that follows resurrection is devoted to God. Therefore Paul begins verse 11 with the little word 'So'... in light of all that he has told the believers in Rome this is how they are now to think and live. Basically he is telling them 'Be what you are...in Christ.' Christ's death and resurrection has altered, changed forever, your status and position before God and therefore you should live in accordance with that new status and standing. Verse 11 is the first exhortation in the book of Romans. Up till this point Paul has been teaching doctrine in the letter to the believers at Rome. He has laid the foundations for their belief in Christ and now they are called to take seriously what he has taught them by living accordingly. It is not just to be an intellectual understanding, nor simply an emotional response to Christ but one which brings together the heart, the mind and their way of life - total commitment. Because Christ is dead to sin and risen to life again - that is how they are to understand themselves, see themselves and that is how to they are to live each day. They are to live lives that are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. That is the challenge isn't it?

Verse 12 - Paul ties what has gone before with the word 'Therefore...' in light of the truth of verses 1-11 certain things are to follow in the life of those who are alive to God in Christ. It is the duty of those who know the redeeming power of Christ to live as Paul instructs here. Godly, holy living is a necessity and not an option. They are no longer slaves to sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. In Christ they died to sin and sin's dominion over them died. In Christ we died to sin and its dominion over us died. They must not let sin reign. We must not let sin reign. Note will you that this verse assumes that sin is still with the believers in Rome, and consequently still with us. Sin is still a force in their daily life, just as it is in our daily lives. Yet Paul's point is that sin is no longer their master, nor our master. Sin is no longer supreme. Do not deny that you are alive in Christ by allowing sin to reign in your life. It is stupid to allow that which is defeated and dead to reign and rule in your life - this is Paul's argument to the Christians in Rome. Verse 13 - here is the practical instruction for the Christians. Another negative - 'do not offer' or 'do not present' yourself to sin but to God. The division is clear and the options are clear. You can present yourself to sin and be under its reign or, having come to faith in Christ, you can live accordingly. Namely, giving yourself to God, because you are dead to sin. Since you, the believer, belong to God your body is to be used for righteous purposes and not for unrighteousness. Paul is very clear here - it is with their bodies that they commit sin. Sin is personal. Sin is never impersonal and it is never harmless. Please note also that sin is not something out there floating around that comes and attaches itself to us.

Having stated the negative Paul then states the positive - 'present yourselves to God.' God is to reign where sin once reigned because in Christ he has taken the penalty for sin from our lives. Let God reign in your life. The energy, the time, etc that you once put into your sinful life is now to be put in to service for God.

In verse 14 we read some wonderfully liberating words. We are now under grace and not under law. The Roman Christians knew all about being under the law. They knew all about being under the Judaic law and also under Roman law. They knew about the penalties for breaking either law but having come to Christ they are no longer under law but under grace. Their standing before God is entirely dependent on grace and not on the keeping of the law - that is such a freeing experience for them. When they tried to be right with God by the law they only became aware of their failures. The law only increased their awareness of their sinfulness and their shortcomings. The law could not stop sin - it was too late and it could not save them from sin because it was too weak. Now things have changed because of Christ. As the writer to the Hebrews says 'at just the right time...Christ came ...' As Paul has argued here in Romans when Christ came he defeated sin and overcame death and so he is the victor, he is the man of strength and he alone can, by grace through faith, bring these people from the death of sin to resurrection life. When they, when we, come to Christ and by faith accept the grace of God we move from death to life and from a life of sin to a life of righteousness - see Titus 2.11-12. Christ removes the yoke of the law and puts on his yoke. A yoke is there to guide and direct an animal so that it keeps on the desired path. It is there to correct a straying animal when necessary. When we put on the yoke of grace it is not so we can go any direction we please but we are yoked to Christ and he guides, he directs and he corrects us along the path of new life.

So, are you alive in Christ? Do you believe you are alive in Christ? I am not asking: Do you feel alive in Christ? But do you believe what the bible teaches here: that you are alive in Christ this morning? If you believe it in your head then live it in your life - even if you don't feel it in your heart at this precise moment. You see feelings are fickle and changeable, with some people as changeable as the wind. If you base your Christian life on your feelings alone then you are in for a very difficult life. You may not feel alive in Christ because your feelings don't feel alive this morning - but the Word of God says you are alive in Christ. So who are you going to believe? The Word of God tells me I am alive in Christ and it calls me to live accordingly - dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. So what are you going to do? What are you going to believe? How are you going to live? Alive in Christ = dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.

Freedom In Christ

Freedom in Christ - Galatians 5 v 1-15

In 1941 President Roosevelt famously said that there were four freedoms: 'Freedom of speech everywhere, freedom of worship everywhere, freedom from want everywhere and freedom from fear everywhere.' I don't think any of us would disagree with those four freedoms as being good things. What is involved in Christian freedom? What do we mean when we say that we have freedom in Christ?

The letter to the Galatians, modern day Turkey, was written by the apostle Paul somewhere between AD48-55. Paul wrote to the Galatian church, which was mainly made up of gentile believers, to counter the false teaching of what came to be known as the Judaizers. These men, we presume, taught that in order for the gentile believers of Galatia to be accepted by God they needed to be circumcised. Paul in response, in chapters 1-2, begins by defending his apostolic authority, which these men had questioned and sought to undermine. In chapters 2-4 Paul teaches the believers that salvation is complete in Christ Jesus. Then in chapters 5-6 he shows how the gospel of grace in Christ leads to true freedom and holy living in the life of the believer.

Verse 1 is a transition verse in the letter. It connects chapters 1-4 with the outworking of the teaching in chapters 5-6. This verse is in fact a summary of all that has gone before and transition to what follows. Some commentators argue that this is the key verse in the whole letter.

The verse has two parts: 1. A declaration of Christ's purpose in salvation - it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. 2. An appeal based on that purpose - stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened with the yoke of slavery.

Point 1 sums up chapters 3 and 4, and point 2 leads to the ethical part of chapter 5. Point 1 also alludes to our former state - that of slavery to sin, from which Christ has rescued us and freed us. Jesus is the liberator of their captive Galatians. Their conversion was an act of emancipation and the Christian life is a life of freedom. Christ has set their consciences free from guilt of sin.

Christian freedom is a freedom of conscience, a freedom from the tyranny of the law and a freedom from the struggle to keep the law with a view to winning favour with God. Their freedom is one of acceptance with God and of access to God through Christ. Point 2 is a command to stand firm and not to submit themselves again to the yoke of slavery. They are not to lapse again into the idea, and way of life, that you have to win acceptance with God by your own obedience. When Paul writes 'do not submit' he is telling them not to be loaded down again with the burden that Christ has just lifted from them. In 3.13 Paul has told them that Christ has met all the demands of the Law, therefore why would they go back and take that burden on themselves again? Verses 2-12 speaks of the danger of falling from grace. Within this section Paul deals with those who fall into legalism thinking it is the higher good (verses 2-6) and makes reference to those who teach such false doctrines (verses 7-12).

In verses 2-4 the precise issue being dealt with is circumcision. Paul wants them to understand that this is no trivial ceremonial matter but of theological significance. The matter of circumcision has doctrinal implications for them as believers and for the church. The theological symbolism of circumcision in Galatia is that it teaches salvation by works and denies salvation by grace. Verse 2 begins with a call 'Behold.' Paul is saying to them that they are to stop here and look at this. Linger here. Do not race past as this is important for you to understand. If the Galatians allow themselves to be circumcised the result will be that Christ will of no consequence to them. There is a choice between the Galatians - Circumcision and no Christ at all or Christ and no circumcision at all. They cannot have both because in Galatia the theological teaching behind each is mutually exclusive. There is no 'Christ and...' in Christianity. It is not circumcision itself which is the issue, see verse 6 and in fact on one occasion Paul had Timothy circumcised. Paul is in fact condemning the theology of circumcision which teaches that works are necessary for salvation and that conforming to an external standard of behaviour is a mark of spirituality. The implication of the verse is that the Galatians have not yet taken the step of being circumcised but are in danger of doing so - which would be a denial of the gospel of Christ. Please note as well that Paul is not condemning Jewish Christians who had been circumcised before coming to faith in Christ - 1 Cor. 7.17-20 deals with this issue. The issue is a salvation issue of works versus grace.

Verse 3 - Paul needs them to see that if they choose circumcision they are choosing legalism and all that goes with it. To be circumcised means that they must take on the burden of the Law. Had the Judaizers warned the Galatians as to what is involved if they get circumcised? Throughout the letter we can see a pattern of steps towards legalism - 4.10 the acceptance of feasts, chapter 5 the acceptance and adherence to circumcision and the consequence will be the acceptance of the law as the means of salvation.

Verse 4 Paul spells out quite bluntly the end result of taking on the yoke of the law as the means of salvation and justification - severed from Christ. To fall from grace is to fall into legalism. To choose circumcision, and the law, is to relinquish grace as the principle by which one desires to be related to God.

Verse 5 -Paul now brings justification by faith to the fore in his argument. Note that Paul in this verse now speaks of 'we' and not 'you.' Paul tells them 'we Christians do not choose legalism'; rather, we wait in faith though the Spirit for the full realisation of God's righteousness. 'through the Spirit' - it is the electing grace of God in salvation. 'by faith' - stands in stark contrast to the works of the flesh - and entirely different approach to salvation. 'wait eagerly' - not working for salvation but waiting. There is no imagining that we have earned salvation by our works. 'the righteousness for which we hope' - actual righteousness the believer is to grow into and which he is to be perfectly conformed to in glory. Remember hope in the Bible is something certain but not yet realised.

Verse 6 - Paul's concern is theological and not ceremonial. True faith works out through love. This is what matters in Galatia. Paul wants them to understand that faith is no mere intellectual assent to doctrine. Faith is not just intellectual conviction. I wish more Christians in Northern Ireland would understand that. The Galatians were in danger of believing that you could come to faith in Christ and then live as you pleased. As if correct belief was the only thing that mattered. Paul says - correct belief is important but it is of no consequence if it is not seen in correct behaviour/lifestyle. For Paul his creed is expressed through his conduct and his conduct is derived from his creed. We need to take that fully on board this morning in our lives. This verse puts to death any idea that Paul and James are in conflict with one another when James says that works demonstrates faith. Verse 7 - Paul now moves the contrast between false teacher (or teachers) and himself. The Galatians had begun the race well - 'obeying the truth' - creed and conduct together. They applied the truth of the gospel to their behaviour. Yet something had obviously gone wrong. Someone had hindered them in this race. Paul uses a military term to speak of an obstacle being placed in their path. The Greek term 'enkopto' means setting up and obstacle or breaking up a road to hinder the journey of an army. There has been illegal interference of them - someone has cut in on them and put them at a disadvantage. It would appear that some of the Galatians had already begun to walk astray and to cease to obey the plain truth of the gospel. Has anything changed in 2000 odd years? Do we not still witness people who begin well on the journey with Christ but somewhere down the road they are hindered in their walk with Christ?

Verse 8 - Paul traces the origin, the results and the end of such doctrine that is being taught to the Galatians. Its origin is not of God and therefore the only conclusion left is that it is of satan. A startling assertion by Paul and one we are sometimes uncomfortable with but we should realise that any teaching that deems salvation is possible other than through faith in Christ, is of satan. Verse 9 - the result of this teaching is like yeast in dough - a little of it spreads through the whole batch. The teaching in Galatia is spreading and it is insidious and dangerous. This teaching is growing and affects everything it touches. Here is the reason for Paul's alarm - this teaching is not harmless but is a grave spiritual danger to your church and to the salvation of its members. There are no harmless doctrines that are contrary to the gospel of Christ.

Verse 10 well the end result is that the false teacher(s) will face the judgment of God. Yet Paul has confidence in the Galatians that they will not be deceived by such false teaching and that they will follow the gospel of Christ as taught by the apostle. His optimism is that the Galatians will return to their right mind. I find it interesting how often in scripture we read that those who believe the Word of God and follow the Word of God are those who are in their right minds. Those whose thoughts are clear, in the light and not in the dark.

Verses 11-12 Paul concludes with two remarks. In verse 11 we encounter the false claim of the Judaisers - that Paul himself was teaching the need for circumcision. Paul denies such a claim pointing to the fact that these Judaisers persecute him and if he taught as they taught they would not. He points out that he preaches Christ crucified and that the cross is in fact offensive to these people because the cross speaks of man's need of grace and the impossibility of salvation through the law. Paul's words in verse 12 come to us as a bit of a shock - I wish they would castrate themselves. These words would have come as a bigger shock, and insult, to those who were teaching the need for circumcision. Sacral castration was known to citizens in Galatia - the priests of the goddess Cybele did such a thing. Added to this the law as clear - Deut. 23.1 to carry out such a procedure resulted in the person being disbarred from the people of God. This is quite an insult that Paul is aiming at the false teacher(s). He is showing how contemptible their teaching actually is. Our problem is that we do not have the same desire and passion for the truth of the gospel, or concern for the spiritual safety of the people of God as Paul does here.

Verses 13-15 Conclusion - Liberty is not licence. This is an important section in Paul's argument because the danger is that the false teacher(s) could claim that Paul was saying a believer could then live as they pleased. Paul wants to restate the freedom the believer has in Christ but to warn them of not using that freedom for licentious behaviour.

Verse 13 like verse 1 is a transitional verse. It takes us from the teaching against works salvation to working out your salvation. The warning is clear - in your freedom in Christ do not fall into a new kind of slavery - the slavery of sinful self-indulgence. Once again Paul uses a military word 'aphorme' - which is a place to establish a beach head to launch attacks, a base for operations. Paul warns the Galatian believers that their freedom in Christ is not to be a pretext for self-indulgence. They have freedom from sin not freedom to sin. Their freedom is to be expressed in a life of service to their fellow man.

Verse 14 Paul also tells them that their freedom in Christ is not a freedom to disregard the law of God. Our Christian freedom from the law deals with our relationship to God - our acceptance before God. It does not mean we are free to disregard the law but we keep the law out of love for God. This is an important point because it is often one which is cast up to Christians today. Paul has argued here, and elsewhere in the NT, that Christ fulfilled the requirements of the law but that obedience to the moral teaching of the Law shows our love for God and for our fellowman. Paul here has a play on the greek word 'peptrotai' which can mean 'summed up' or 'fulfilled.'

Verse 15 the end result of the teaching of legalism as a means of salvation is strife, bitterness and warfare amongst the believers in Galatia. Simple when you think about it. Those who live by legalism spend their entire lives making sure that everyone keeps the rules and there is often a clear lack of love in pointing out the failures of others. However, those who live lives of licentiousness, claiming that they have freedom in Christ to live as they please, also cause division and strife within the body of Christ. Paul points this danger, which must have been apparent in Galatia, as a consequence of such false teaching.

so are you free? I often meet Christians who are trying to work their way to heaven. If you ask them they will tell you that they are saved by grace alone but their lives deny that completely because they spend their days in endless effort trying to work their way to heaven. Please, please hear God - your salvation, acceptance by God, is all of grace. You do not deserve it and you cannot earn it, you must accept it. Stop the frenetic work and accept what is already yours in Christ. Stop playing the 'balancing game' where you weigh up what you have done and not done to see if you qualify for a blessing. If only I prayed more, longer, harder then God would answer - is that grace or works? If I attend church each week, keep the 'rules' etc then ... is that works or grace?

We have freedom in Christ - freedom from sin, from the eternal consequences of sin and from the way of sin in our lives. Do not go back into the slavery of sin by abusing that freedom in Christ by living a life of sinful self-indulgence. Some of you reading this have abused the freedom you have in Christ. If the truth be told you have used Christ a little like a slot machine - lived a life of licence and come back, periodically (usually when caught out), and asked his forgiveness - like putting your penny in the machine and pulling the handle down hoping for three bars for forgiveness - only after a while to walk away down the road of sin again. This morning your freedom in Christ is not a licence for sin or self-indulgence.

Take up the yoke of Christ - live in the freedom he has won for you by the cross and live that life in freedom - out of love for him in obedience to his Word and in service of others.

Amen.

FAITHFUL TO CHRIST

Faithful to Christ Matthew 6 verses 19-24

If I were to suggest erecting a statue at the entrance to your church many, if not all, of you would object, and rightly so. I am sure you would quote to me the second commandment about not making graven images or bowing down to idols. Yet I cannot but wonder how many people, including professing Christians, have graven images in their lives which they bow down to each day.

Look at Matthew chapter 6 and verses 19-24. Matthew's gospel is the most Jewish of all the gospels. Matthew brings his blocks of teaching together in units of 5 or 7, a very typically Jewish way of teaching. The reading that we are looking at forms part of a larger body of teaching which is known as the Sermon on the Mount. I want specifically to concentrate on verse 24.

Verse 24 - in this verse Jesus explains that behind the choice between two treasures (verses 19-21) and two visions (verses 20-23) there lies the still more basic choice between two masters - whom are you going to serve (verse 24). To ask 'what is your treasure?' or 'What is your vision?' or 'Who is your master?' is in the mind of Christ to ask the same question. Our treasure, vision and master are one and the same. When you have chosen your treasure and your goals (vision) then these become your master. From that time on your choices are governed by your master. Remember that. None of us are truly free beyond the choice of our master.

Verses 19-21 - choice between two treasures. In verse 19 the present tense is used - stop storing up treasures - rather than do not store up. Jesus is saying that the time for a decisive break has come. In 1 Timothy 6 verse 10 Paul makes it clear that the love of wealth is a great evil. James (5 verses 2-3) tells us that for those who belong to Christ and are heirs of the eternal kingdom of God it is utter foolishness to hoard riches in the last days. However, it would be wrong to say that wealth in and of itself is evil. 1 Timothy 5 verse 8 requires for a man to provide for his family, in proverbs we are told to work and provide for the future (Prov. 6 vs 6-8) and we are encouraged to enjoy the good things that God the Creator has provided for us - 1 Timothy 4 vs 3-4). The focus here is on selfishness. Do you notice what the verse actually says - read verse 19 - lay up treasure for yourselves.

The emphasis in verses 20-21 is on where their heart is. Where is the treasure of your heart? The warning given to those who are following Christ is clear - do not put your treasure in clothing that can wear out, or in precious metals that will rust nor in treasure that can be stolen. Whatever controls your heart is your treasure. Whatever controls your heart is what you will be faithful to - Romans 6.16. Do you notice the clear distinction Christ makes here? Treasures on earth are temporary, corruptible and insecure but treasures in heaven are eternal, incorruptible and therefore secure. So where would the wise man place his treasure (heart)? Throughout the Sermon on the Mount Christ has spoken about the heart of man and here again he makes it plain that where your treasure is your heart will follow. So where is your heart this morning?

Eternal or heavenly treasure - it is not a system of gaining or storing up merit by good deeds. Heavenly treasure is a Christlike character, the fruit of the Spirit, evangelism, knowledge of God and His Word. No moth or rust can corrupt such things and no thief can steal them away.

Verses 22-23 Christ now raises the question of vision. The contrast here is between a blind person and a sighted person and between light and darkness in which they live. This speaks of the human condition before God. Christ points out that the man who can see walks in the light but the man who is blind walks around in darkness. The metaphor is simple enough to understand - both men walk around but only one is guided by the light. Christ wants his hearers, and us, to understand that just as the condition of your physical eye affects your whole body so your ambition, your goals, your treasure affects your whole life. Physical blindness leads to darkness - spiritual blindness leads to darkness. An ignoble and selfish ambition (through laying up treasure for yourself or self-centred vision) leads to spiritual darkness and plunges you into moral darkness. As surely as night follows day so does moral darkness follow and flow from spiritual darkness. It is all a question of vision.

If your spiritual vision is clouded by the false gods of materialism, ambition, sensuality and we lose our heart and vision for God, our values change, then our whole life is plunged into darkness and we cannot see where we are walking.

Verse 24 Christ then leads his hearers, and us, to the conclusion in verse 24. There is no other option available to mankind. Please note here that the imagery behind this verse is that of a slave owner, not an employer. A man could work for two employers, but since 'single ownership and fulltime service are of the essence of slavery' - only one man can a slave truly serve. Please understand that imagery this morning because it is of central and key importance if you are going to live faithfully to Christ. Christ says a man cannot serve two slave masters because a slave only truly belongs to one master. Now you might be uncomfortable with the imagery of slavery but it is actually the only true imagery of man - a man is a slave to the treasures of his heart and the vision (or goals) of his eyes. You don't believe me? Look around you in the world in which we live? Greed, ambition, lust, covetousness, anger, hate, and immorality of all kinds - would you say freedom of choice or slaves to the choices made, the masters chosen, the treasures stored and visions followed? The really sad thing is that often there is no difference between those claiming to follow Christ and those who make no such claims. You see too many Christians think of employer/employee relationship and not slave/master relationship when they hear such teaching of Jesus. You see attempts at divided loyalty betray, not partial commitment to discipleship, but deep-seated commitment to idolatry. Anyone who has divided his loyalty between God and mammon has already given his allegiance to mammon - remember that.

Jesus makes it clear in this verse - read the verse again. Notice 'no man can...you cannot' - there is no half-way house in these words. There is no room for compromise in these words of Christ. It is a straight forward choice for a man - God or mammon/idolatry. read from Isaiah 42 v 8 and 48 verse 11. Pretty clear isn't it? God will not share his glory with anyone or anything - hence the first commandment to have no other gods before God.

The choice is not just between comparative durability and comparative benefit but between comparative worth: the intrinsic worth of the One and the intrinsic worthlessness of the other.

we all need to examine our lives and ask ourselves: Where is my treasure stored? To what is my heart truly devoted? Where are my eyes fixed? What are the goals of my life? Verse 24 is a stark challenge to us in 2010 - you cannot belong to God and serve this world's riches and idols. Listen to what Paul says in Romans 6 verses 16 following. Building on this teaching of Christ Paul challenges every Christian believer to live out this truth - to be faithful to Christ in how we live because we are owned by him - bought with his blood. There is a decision to be made by you - who will be your master? Who will own your heart this morning? Who will direct your vision? Who ultimately will you follow?

I want to say that it is pretty clear from this verse that you cannot serve God on a Sunday and mammon from Monday morning. I want to say to you that 'mammon' is not just a financial thing in your life - it is whatever directs your eyes, grabs your heart, demands your attention and rules your life. You know this morning what that is. Let me say to you also that whatever it is, in and of itself, may not be a bad thing but if it comes before God in your life then it is a sinful idol and you need to repent of it because you cannot serve two masters. As Christ says you will love one and hate the other. You may be aware of the thing, the person, the ambition, the habit or hobby, whatever it is, that comes between you and Christ - bring it before Him and lay it before Him and commit your life afresh to serving Him faithfully.

Psalm 119:25-32

Psalm 119:25-32

My soul clings to the dust;
give me life according to your word!
When I told of my ways, you answered me;
teach me your statutes!
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word!
Put false ways far from me
and graciously teach me your law!
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your rules before me.
I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;
let me not be put to shame!
I will run in the way of your commandments
when you enlarge my heart!

selective sinning

As Christian which of the 5 below would we consider to be the worst sin?

1. stealing a sweet
2. stealing a purse from an O.A.P
3. having a gay relationship
4. breaking into a house
5. murdering someone

As human beings we may consider murder as the worst but in the eyes of God sin is sin but even as Christians we seem to look on some sins as not as bad as other sins. Do we HATE sin in the same way that God does or do we pick and choose which sins we wish to target more than the others?

I had a conversation with my girlfriends 14 year old daughter and we started looking at sin. At first glance the idea of murder was worse than stealing a sweet because it had a direct effect on the person and their family but stealing a 60 pence mars bar had no real effect on anyone.
We also looked at someone having a gay relationship and that can be said has no effect on anyone as well. We came round to the idea that it could effect the parents etc as they have lost the chance of grandchildren but for all intents and purposes it has no major effect.
The real question on her mind was why are we selective when it comes to sin?

As Christians we tend to say "I believe it is a sin because the Bible says it is" and sometimes we do tend to compromise and say "well stealing the sweet is not as bad but its still a sin"

If we are ready to HATE SIN in the same way as God does, then can we really pick and choose which sin we are comfortable with?

Trust

TRUST IN GOD

Trust in God - 2 Corinthians 1 verses 3-11

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Some of you may remember that poem from the film 'Four Weddings and a Funeral.' It was penned by W H Auden. It captures the pain of grief in a very powerful way. I am sure many of you can identify with those words. It may not have been a death but at some moment in life you literally wanted 'to stop all the clocks.' Quite literally you did not know how you were going to face, no mind live through, another minute. I am sure many of you can identify with such sentiments. What happens at the moment the devastating news arrives? To whom do you turn when the storms of life literally overflow the bows of your little boat? Where do you find the strength to get up off the floor and put one step in front of another?

Let me say to you I am not speaking from some theoretical point of view. I am speaking as someone who has known deep loss personally. In my time I have known times of so much pain, loss, grief and betrayal that I truly wondered how I would survive as a Christian. It was to passages such as this that I turned to find again the comfort of God as a Father and strength from His Word to continue to walk with Him and trust Him. So I am not speaking to you from a theological ivory tower but as someone who has experienced this for himself.

Let me give you a word of warning as I begin. This blog may be easy to accept in your mind but it will be harder to accept in your heart and in your life's experience. You may listen and agree with all I say from God's Word but do not be surprised when suffering comes that you ask, as many of you have in the past: What have I done wrong? What is God trying to tell me? Some of you may even doubt your relationship with God because of the suffering you are going through. Look to 2 Corinthians 1 verses 3-11.

2 Corinthians was written in the autumn of AD56. Titus has arrived as a pastoral assistant to Paul and brought news of how the Corinthian church had positively received Paul's first 'severe letter' (7.6-16). Titus also brings disturbing fresh news about the Corinthian church. Paul exhorts them in this letter to complete their promised collection for the church in Jerusalem before he arrives. He also wants them to examine and judge themselves before he arrives so that they would be able to distinguish true apostles from false apostles and to spare Paul the need to exercise discipline in the church. The passage before us falls into two main thoughts:

Verses 3-7 Gratitude for Divine Comfort.

Verses 8-11 Deliverance from Death.

Verses 3-7 Gratitude for Divine Comfort

Paul would normally begin his letter with an introduction (which he does here) and follow it with thanks for the divine grace evident in the lives of the believers in the church to which the letter is addressed. This would be followed by a summary prayer request for them. However, in verses 3 and 4 Paul praises God for consoling and encouraging him. This is very unlike Paul. He rarely is concerned with his own sufferings and distress for the sake of the gospel. Ten times in verses 3-7 Paul mentions comfort/consolation or encouragement - which all come from the same root word 'parakelsis' - which is 'praclete' which is the name that Christ calls the Holy Spirit in John 14.16 - the Comforter, the one who walks alongside you and helps you. Verses 3 and 4 are part of the liturgical formula of a Jewish blessing. This blessing began the Shema prayer in the synagogue. Paul offers this prayer of blessing for the comfort, consolation and encouragement that he has recently received. If you look at verse 3 you can see that Paul says God is revealed and known as 'God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' He goes on to state that God is the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort. God is the all merciful Father as the BCP collect said: "whose nature is always to have mercy ..." He is the God of all comfort - that is He is the source of comfort, consolation and encouragement to the believers in all circumstances. If you look at verses 8-10 for a brief moment you will see that Paul is speaking here from personal experience. This is a theology of suffering and consolation birthed in personal experience of suffering, almost to the point of death. Through trial and tribulation Paul has known God's comfort, consolation and strengthening. God's comfort not only enabled him to endure the suffering but to find blessing in the suffering and from that to comfort others. Here is the ultimate purpose of God's comfort in Paul's life - to enable him to bring comfort to others. There is almost a cyclical process created here by God - God comforts the one in distress and suffering so that they might learn from that situation to be able to bring God's comfort and blessing to others who are suffering distress.

read verses from Lamentations 3, verses 22-24. God's compassion or comfort is new every morning and it never fails. I could have taken you to Psalms 102, 135, 143 or 146 and asked you to read similar verses about God's encouragement to those in distress and suffering.

Verse 5 - What is the purpose of all this suffering and comfort? Is that not the question we always ask ourselves and we hear others asking in times of suffering? Why? Why me? Why now? Etc. Paul begins verse 5 with the little word 'For.' 'For' supplies the reason why suffering equips the Christian to mediate God's comfort. Whenever Christ's suffering were multiplied in Paul's life; God's comfort was also multiplied through the ministry of Christ. 'The sufferings of Christ' - are those which befall every Christian disciple (12.2). If you turn to Acts 14.22 and Colossians 1.24 you will see that these sufferings contribute to the fulfilment of the suffering destined for the body of Christ. Added to which if you turn to Acts 9.4-5 you will see that Christ continues to identify Himself with the suffering of His church. Then if we turn to Matthew 20.23 - these words of Jesus are true in Paul's experience, and no doubt in the experience of many of you here this morning. Paul, and the Corinthians, would not have had to suffer if they were not 'in Christ' but also because they are in Christ they receive divine comfort.

You see, Paul wants them to realise and to understand that the measure of comfort, consolation and encouragement they receive from God is far more than they need or require but is an abundance to be shared with those in need of comfort, consolation and encouragement. They are blessed by God in and through their sufferings so that they might be a blessing to others. They are blessed not in order to store it away for their own future benefit but for the benefits of those in the body of Christ, around them, who are suffering as they are.

Verses 6-7 - can be summarised in the following sentence: Whether we be afflicted, it is for your good: or whether we be comforted, it is for your good. In verse 6 Paul restates verse 4 - that in suffering he becomes a better pastor to the believers at Corinth. Because he has endured, received consolation and encouragement from God he will be able to comfort them and encourage them to keep going in and through their suffering. He makes explicit what he has assumed up to this point in the letter - he argues from his experience of suffering to their experience of comfort and deliverance. Then in verse 7 he explicitly states his unshaken hope (and remember in the NT hope is not some vague wish but something of which the speaker is certain) - namely that they would triumph over suffering because of the comfort brought to them by the experience of Paul, and others, who have been comforted by God through suffering.

Verses 8-11 Deliverance from Death.

Paul now shares with them his own heart and experience of suffering. In verse 8 we have a description of the affliction that Paul had come through. I want you to note that Paul does not go into any great detail as to the nature of the suffering or affliction. He simply but profoundly states that it was overwhelming, leaving him with a feeling that he was going to die under this affliction. This has led many commentators to conclude that it must have been some sort of illness that Paul thought he would not recover from. The affliction, whatever it was, was so heavy on Paul that he despaired of life itself. I am sure many of you can identify with that. I am sure many of you have sat down in a chair and thought 'stop all the clocks...' Here is Paul expressing what Elijah expressed back in 1 Kings 19 when he asks God to let him die. Here is Paul expressing what Jonah expressed as he sat down under the vine - let me die. Can you identify with such feelings? I am sure you can because I know there have been times in my life when I thought it would be a joy if Christ was to come back that night and I did not have to face another day of what I had experienced that day. Yet do not stop at verse 8, read verse 9. What a verse. What a lesson to learn. What a hard lesson to learn. You know I can imagine Paul laying down his pen at this point and pushing his chair back from his desk and sitting back and thinking - do I really mean those words? Is that what I learned in this affliction? Then with confidence borne only from experience of going through the fire of suffering and affliction he lifts up his pen and writes with confidence verses 9-11. Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego - would never know the strength of God that surpassed their strength if they had not stepped into the fiery furnace. Noah would never have known the strength of God if he had not built the ark and brought his family inside. Abraham would never have known the faithful consolation of God if he had never raised his hand to strike Isaac lying on the altar. I could go on in Scripture with countless examples of men and women who trusted God in the midst of suffering and learned that God's strength was sufficient to meet the moment. A man in a garden prays to His Father in heaven - and receives the strength to literally pick up His cross and carry it to a hill called Calvary and there to stretch out His arms in love for the whole world and die for the sins of those who nailed Him and lifted Him between heaven and earth. The Father's comfort, consolation, encouragement and strength was all that the Son needed to go to the cross for you and me.

Paul wanted them to know that the trial he faced had brought him to a point where he despaired of his life. The affliction that he endured had brought him to a point where he was forced to renounce all hope of survival. Paul uses a rare word here - exaporethenai - which implies the total unavailability of an exit from oppressive circumstances. Humanly speaking there was no exit but death for Paul. That is what he writes in verse 9. There then follows what Paul can only call a 'resurrection.' Only divine intervention enabled him to retreat from the portals of death tot he realm of the living. Paul makes it clear there was no human hope in his affliction. He wants the Corinthians to know that he had no strength and had abandoned himself totally to God in this situation - which was part of the purpose of the affliction. Paul had many reasons for self-confidence - you can read them in Romans - but this affliction brought him to the brink of death and he knew that in God alone were comfort, consolation, encouragement, strength and resurrection from the dead. Paul knew that in the providence of God he had been allowed to go through this affliction that he might be brought to a full realisation and recognition of his own utter helplessness and abandoning all self-confidence, learn to trust God...who raises the dead. Verses 10-11 - from this experience Paul can pen these words. In verse 10 he wants the Corinthians to know that God is pre-eminently the God of resurrection. He had raised Christ from the dead and he raises men from the death of sin to the life of righteousness. He will raise mankind on the last day - at the general resurrection. Nothing but the hand of God could have effected such a deliverance from affliction, death, for Paul. Then in verse 11 Paul wants them to understand the power of intercessory prayer. Their prayers for Paul were effective because the God, to whom they prayed, was the God of all mercies and consolation. He alone is the God who raises the dead. When God answers prayer in such dire circumstances all know that it is the work of God and to Him alone belongs the glory and to Him alone should the praise be given.

Application.

As I said at the beginning - you may well find you can agree intellectually with what has been said but in your heart and experience you may, or will, struggle to agree and live by this teaching. Why is that? Well part of it to put it simply is because so many, even Christians, fail to think with a biblical mind and understanding. Partly because we live in a fallen world and sin has affected every area of our lives. Also, and i suspect this is actually the dominant reason, many Christians have unconsciously accepted that God is there to make them healthy, wealthy and happy. So many people, including Christians, see suffering as a bad thing. Dr Paul Brand, who discovered the cause of leprosy, once said that he wished he could give his leprosy sufferers the gift of pain. Not all pain or suffering is bad - it is actually for our benefit and for our good. Paul here clearly teaches that when we suffer we should know that God is there to bring comfort, consolation and encouragement that we might learn to trust totally on Him and from that experience be a source of comfort, consolation and encouragement to others.

There is no greater challenge to trust in God than suffering in our lives. C S Lewis in his book: The Problem of Pain - addresses that issue and I recommend it to you. Our trust in God is not just for when times are good and all is well. Trust in God is most evident in the afflictions of life. It is when all human strength and hope is gone that the pure gold of faith rises to the surface and we know, in a way that we could not without the affliction, the comfort, consolation and encouragement of almighty God. From that experience our trust in God deepens and our ability to comfort others is enabled. Amen.