“SAVED TO SERVE”
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 11, 2018
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)
I doubt that anyone would argue with the statement that there are more religions in the world than any of us can count. In fact, a pretty good argument could be made that no matter how diverse and strange a person's beliefs may be, chances are that there's an official religion somewhere in the world that teaches those beliefs. In this kind of context it seems only fair to ask: Where does the Christian religion fit into all of this? What is it that makes Christianity unique in the smorgasbord of world religions? What is it that sets Christianity apart from Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and the rest of the so-called "world's great religions"? What makes Christianity different is that it's the only religion whose essence is divine grace rather than human works. I know that it sounds simplistic, but it's true. Every other religion in the world teaches that man has to do something (pray, fast, give, make pilgrimages, or perform various kind deeds) in order to overcome the barrier that exists between the perfect God and sinful man. The Christian religion stands alone in proclaiming to all the world that that barrier between God and man has been overcome by God Himself in the life and ministry of the God-Man Jesus Christ.
It is good and proper that we should proclaim God's acceptance of sinners by grace, because that is, after all, the central point of the Christian faith. But there is also a downside to it. Because people are by nature self-centered and lazy, very often their reaction to the Good News that God has forgiven them of their sins and offered them heaven as a free gift for the sake of Christ goes something like this: "That's great! I can just go on living it up and indulging in whatever sins I choose--He's gonna forgive me anyway!" The theologians have a special term for that kind of attitude. They call it "cheap grace." The truth of the matter is that while the grace of God is free, it's certainly not cheap, and while we are saved through faith alone, faith is never alone. Our redemption cost Jesus His very life. And He laid down His life for us for a purpose. This morning let's take a look at both the cause and the effect of our salvation.
The passage before us this morning tells us in no uncertain terms that the ultimate cause of our salvation is the grace of God. Grace is a foreign concept to us--a very difficult thing for most of us to understand, let alone accept for ourselves or display in our treatment of others. We simply don't deal with people on the basis of grace. Do you know what grace is? It's undeserved favor. It's dealing with someone in a favorable way, not because that person deserves it or is likely to make it worth your while, but simply because you are gracious. You see, the problem is that you and I by nature are not gracious. We treat people the way in which we feel they deserve to be treated. God, on the other hand, deals with sinners on the basis of His grace. And it's a good thing for us that He does! Face it: If He were to treat us in the way that we deserve to be treated, we would have to live out our days in misery and then face death without any hope for salvation. But because of His grace (and for no other reason) you and I are spared from what deserve for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Savior who God sent to take our place and to endure everything that we deserve because of our sin.
The means through which this grace of God becomes ours is faith. This is something else that most people don't quite understand. Faith is not, as so many people suppose, an act of man; it is a gift of God. We don't believe in Jesus Christ because we've chosen to; we believe in Him because we have no other options. Like doomed passengers on a sinking ship, we cling to whatever is there that might keep us afloat. It doesn't take a great act of decision to hold onto the only thing that can save you. We cling to Jesus Christ to make us acceptable before God only because the Holy Spirit, working through God's Word of Law and Gospel, has shown us that we are in great danger and that Christ is the only One who can and will rescue us from that danger.
So the cause of our salvation is God alone as He is revealed in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. But now that we have been saved by God's grace in Christ, so what? What is the effect of our salvation? The text before us states that because God has saved us by His grace in Christ, "we are His workmanship." That means that we have been created anew (or "born again," if you prefer) or, as Paul describes it in the text, "created in Christ Jesus." This also is solely the work of God. The Holy Spirit uses Word and Sacrament to give us New Life in Jesus Christ, so that we no longer need to be afraid of judgment, since God judges us not on the basis of our works but on the basis of His grace in Christ. What's more, no longer are we held captive to selfishness and sin, which is the way of the world.
But that's still not the whole story. God has done all this for us and in us for a reason. And what is this reason? We have been saved and made new "for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." It's a great fallacy to say that Christians in general and Lutherans in particular believe that good works are unnecessary. It is certainly true that they have no influence as far as God's acceptance of us is concerned, but if we say that we are Christians and fail to do good works, we are in fact denying the salvation and the New Life that we have received as God's free gifts of grace. We are saying to the whole world: "God's love for me means nothing at all to me, and everything that Jesus has done for me makes absolutely no difference in my life." Good works, on the other hand, are a testimony to all that God's grace in Christ is powerful--that it makes a difference in the lives of those who have received it in faith.
What sets Christianity apart from every other religion in the world is that instead of becoming frustrated over what we are supposed to be doing, Christianity keeps its focus on what God has done and continues to do for us in His Son Jesus Christ. In particular we focus on the cross of Christ, for it is here that the Son of God made complete atonement for human sin and thereby justified us in the sight of God and made our works, imperfect though they may be, acceptable as if they were perfect in the sight of God. For all of this we praise Him and make it our business to show the whole world that His redeeming grace has not been wasted on us. The Good News is that He accomplishes this Himself in and through us, making each of us a living testimony to the power of His grace so that each of us be can say with the apostle: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Amen.
May the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, making us kings and priests before His God and Father, lead you to a life of repentance and trust. May He also be glorified in the lives of you, His people. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.