Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God through which the Holy Spirit touches our hearts are the words he breathed into the Apostle Paul to write, recorded in Romans 5:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates hi own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him. For if when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more , having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
This is the the word of our Lord.
Dear friends of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Thoughts jostled in his mind as the windshield wipers threw the raindrops to the side. It had been so long since he had seen his father. He still heard the echo of the angry words they had spoken. They had not parted on good terms, each of them vowing never to speak to the other again. Each of them stubbornly kept that promise. But everything changed last night.
Mother had called. Father had had a heart attack, and the prognosis wasn’t good. He quickly made airplane reservations and was now driving to the hospital. Instead of anger, regret and worry filled his mind. All those years wasted because of a grudge!
When he arrived at the hospital, he found out that his father had regained consciousness. But even better news was that his father wanted to see him. They both realized the wrong they had done each other. They no longer wanted to be enemies. They wanted to be father and son again.
That is a picture of reconciliation. Although that might be a big word, it is an important word. Reconciliation marks a complete change of status from enemies to friends. The Bible uses that word to describe what God has done for us through his Son, Jesus Christ. He has completely changed our relationship with him. Because of what Jesus has done for us, God no longer calls us enemies but friends. He reconciled us to himself through the death of his Son.
Can you think of any greater reason to rejoice? So our theme today is we rejoice in the reconciliation that comes only through Jesus. As the Word of God written by the Apostle guides our hearts and minds, we want to see that this reconciliation is unique. It is different in some very important ways from the reconciliation that the father and son had in the opening story. For you see our reconciliation to God was 1) secured in a very different way, and it 2) brings a very different peace.
1) Secured in a very different way
Often for two people to be reconciled, both sides have to battle their own pride and ego. Both sides have to learn to trust each other and live up to that trust. Both sides need to forgive each other and learn to compromise. For you see, both sides are usually at fault for causing the division. This is how the father and son in the story were reconciled. They secured reconciliation through compromise.
The reconciliation that God worked for us in Christ Jesus was secured in a very different way. God did not reconcile us to himself through compromise. God had done nothing wrong. He is totally good. Any compromise on his part, would be sacrificing good. That would be wrong.
What is more, we were completely unable to compromise on our part. God’s Word for today says that we were powerless . We had no strength to do what was good, no ability to take a step toward God, no inclination to trust him. In fact, as Paul reminds us, we were completely ungodly. No love for God, no respect for God’s will, no desire to worship God in truth. Why? Because, as Paul points out, we were sinners. We were filled with evil desires. Our words and actions were all corrupt. We always missed the mark of holiness. No type of compromise could bring reconciliation.
And the more you look at our natural selves the more hopeless reconciliation to God appears to be. True reconciliation requires trust. Our sinful nature refuses to trust God. We know that he is a just God and will call us to account. Instead of trust, terror and hate are our natural response to God. We were his born enemies.
And what did we do when God entrusted us with his commandments? We betrayed that trust. We break those commandments in our hearts and lives again and again. Saddam Hussein does a better job of following UN resolutions than we do in following the commandments. There is more hope that President Bush and Saddam will become good buddies rather than reconciliation between us and God, at least from the human point of view.
God in his love and wisdom planned a very different way to reconcile us to himself. It wasn’t through compromise but through sacrifice. It wasn’t through building up mutual trust, but through his giving his Son out of pure grace while we were still his godless enemies.
Just think of that, very rarely will someone sacrifice his or her live for a good person or for someone who has been a great help to them. Some of our soldiers may sacrifice their lives to protect their families and country from terrorist attacks. Who of you would sacrifice your life to protect a terrorist?
That’s what Jesus did for you. While you were still his ungodly, sinful enemy, Jesus died for you. God offered his Son as the bloody sacrifice in your place. The Son of God died instead of you and me. What “amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree!” (Christian Worship 129:2 – “Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed”)
Listen again to how Paul underlines this mind-boggling contrast of what Jesus did to reconcile us even though we deserved the opposite: “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly . . .While we were still sinners, Christ died for us . . . when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.”
Remember this as we survey the wondrous cross this Lenten season. That cross shows you how God reconciled you to himself. Our reconciliation was secured in a very different way – not through compromise, but through the death of Jesus his Son. That’s why we rejoice even during Lent. That’s why the day Jesus died is called Good Friday. We know and believe that Jesus’ sacrifice changes our relationship with God. He freely gives us the status of friends instead of enemies. Rejoice in the reconciliation that comes only through Jesus.
2) Bringing a very different peace
But you and I have even more reason to rejoice in the reconciliation that comes only through Jesus. For that reconciliation brings a very different peace.
When human beings are reconciled, there is always doubt. Will this peace last? Will old arguments reignite? Can I really trust this person now? God’s reconciliation is quite different.
Instead of a doubtful peace, God’s reconciliation brings a sure salvation, which is peace that never ends. This is our unfailing hope that will not disappoint. Why can you be so sure that you will be saved? Listen to what Paul says, “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” The judge has already declared you not guilty because Jesus’ blood paid for your sins. If the judge declares you not guilty, do you need to fear his anger or think that he will sentence you to death? Of course not.
Paul puts it another way, “For if, when were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! When we were his godless enemies, God sacrificed his Son for us. Now that we are his friends, even his sons and daughters, through faith in him, won’t we be saved since Jesus lives?
Those who do not trust in Jesus’ sacrifice for them, don’t have this peace or salvation. But you, be confident that through faith in Jesus you will be saved for all eternity. Therefore, rejoice in the reconciliation that comes only through Jesus and brings salvation.
This reconciliation brings us a different kind of peace so that we can rejoice right now, even in the midst of suffering or pressure . We suffer pressures in many ways. We suffer physical pressures as we struggle with pain and illness. We suffer emotional pressures when we feel alone, unloved, or down. We suffer social pressures when others ridicule our faith. We suffer spiritual pressures as we struggle against the temptations we face.
At as we struggle in all these ways, we can rejoice. Why? Paul’s words remind us of several reasons. First, even when our life feels chaotic, you have peace with God through Jesus because you are justified by faith. In other words faith in Jesus holds on to God’s verdict that he declares you not guilty and so you have peace with God because your sins are forgiven. Second, by faith in Jesus you have access to God’s grace. You can go to him with any problem and know that because of Jesus he will richly give you the best answer. Third, you have a sure hope of living in the glory of God. Our sufferings only make us more eager in that hope. Fourth and finally, God keeps on pouring out his love for you as he gives you his Holy Spirit through Baptism, through his Word,and through the Lord’s Supper. As the Spirit comes to you in these three ways he points you to God’s love in Christ Jesus, God’s love that sacrificed his Son to reconcile us to himself.
And so we are back where we started. We’re back at Christ’s sacrifice for us. It is a wonderful thing when two people, like a father and son are reconciled. How much more wonderful is the reconciliation we have in Christ Jesus! But what a unique reconciliation that is! It was secured in a very different way – not by compromise, but by sacrifice. It was secured through the death of God’s Son for us his enemies. And it brings a very different peace – the peace of salvation that will not fail, even in the midst of suffering. Rejoice in this reconciliation that comes only through Jesus.
