Father, I confess before you that Romans 3, 21 to 31
is a deep and profound verse that speaks of mysteries
that I cannot get my mind completely around.
And I, Father, we confess before you that no human being can fully grasp
the mystery of what your Son accomplished for us on the cross.
So, Father, we thank you that it is not up to our minds
to completely and utterly grasp what you have taught us through your word.
You call us, Father, to use the best that is within us,
but our best, Father, always depends upon your Holy Spirit,
not only helping us to do the best, but to go beyond what our minds can do.
And so, Father, we ask that you would bless us this morning
by pouring out your Holy Spirit upon us
so that we might hear your word about your Son
addressed to your people in your city, in your world,
and that we might hear it all to your glory.
Father, do that wonderful work within us
and pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Please be seated.
So, when this church, the pastor moved away to Toronto
and they were going to seek a new minister
to replace the minister who'd left, Kent Doe,
the bishop asked me if I would apply to this parish.
And so, as part of the application process,
I had to send in a resume.
And as part of the resume, you know,
I had to put down my experience and all that type of thing.
And I can't remember, but there were a couple of questions
that I had to answer that talked a little bit about
my view of ministry and other things
and sort of my aspirations and my plans and my hopes.
And I submitted it.
And after I submitted it, the parish decided
they didn't even want to interview me.
I'm not making that up.
They didn't even want to interview me.
And so that was that.
They thought my resume, my experience,
my aspirations didn't measure up to what they wanted.
They wanted something different.
And I'll tell you, maybe over coffee for some of you,
but you might wonder how on earth it is
that I ended up becoming the rector of the church
if they didn't even want to interview me for the position.
And there's lots of scars all over the place
as part of that process.
But at the end of the day,
after about a year or so of them continuing to search,
the bishop, with the permission of the wardens,
now I'm talking, for those of you who aren't Anglican,
and that's a little bit of Anglicanese.
But basically, wardens are the people,
two of the three people in the older Anglican structure
that are the legal trustees of the church.
And the bishop with the two legal trustees,
I was imposed on the congregation
against the congregation's will.
And that's how I became the rector of this parish.
And I mention that
because it's actually a really helpful way
for us to understand how the world views Christianity
and how most people understand religion and spirituality.
Because, in fact,
how most of us understand,
the natural way for us to understand religion and spirituality
is something like us preparing a resume
for whatever the higher power or whatever God is.
We prepare some type of,
you know, we're living our lives preparing a resume.
And just as in resumes that we submit for jobs that we want,
we leave out all of the naughty stuff that we've done.
We put down,
I mean, most people do,
they leave out the naughty stuff,
and they put down the things
that they think they're particularly good
and that meet the expectations.
And usually there's a section for your aspirations.
I mean, you haven't actually accomplished this yet,
but you hope you accomplish it.
And, you know,
religions and spiritualities differ
on what should be on the resume.
And so part of the criticism of the world
about the Christian resume
is that the Christian resume is boring.
Who on earth would want to have the Christian resume?
Like, what's all of these hang-ups about sex?
And why is it that, you know,
the Christians are hung up about abortion
and other types of things like that?
And so,
and then, of course,
Muslims,
they have their own list of resume
that has to be accomplished,
connected to the Quran,
and other traditional religions
have their own particular things
that need to be on the resume
for them to get the approval of their God.
And those of us
who are putting together
their own spiritualities
or what would be common in the world,
they would just say
that the content of the resume
has to be completely different
from everything
that other traditional religions say,
that maybe it should be
that you don't go to Tim Hortons,
but that you go to Bridgehead
and you vote green.
I mean, I don't know what it is,
but you'll have your own particular
different resume.
But basically,
every human normal,
the natural tendency
of the human mind,
whether you're a pagan,
a Muslim,
those brought up in Christendom,
Jews,
postmodern people
wandering around Ottawa,
they basically conceive of,
we basically conceive of religion
and or spirituality
as being composed of
forming a resume
for that time when we need it.
And that's one of the reasons
why that there are many people
in the world
who've completely and utterly
given up on religion.
They completely turn their back on it.
They say,
the whole idea
that I have to provide
some type of a resume
to make it into,
in God's favor
is just completely abhorrent to them.
They say,
George, that's,
you know,
they might not say it to me directly,
but internally they'll say,
like,
why in earth should anybody even bother?
I'm just going to fail
at any type of resume,
you know,
performance.
And so,
you know what?
Sleep in on a Sunday,
get up when you feel like getting up,
there's football games
on a Sunday afternoon,
get out the chips,
get out the beer,
get out the hard stuff,
get together with a few friends,
and there's really not much more to life
than having fun
and having friends.
And I,
and I sense,
you know,
a plague
on people who are spiritual,
a plague on people
who are religious,
really the meaning of life
is to completely ignore
any attempt to make a resume,
but just to have fun
and,
if possible,
to have friends
at the same time.
And,
and,
and the Christian,
and so often
when Christians
try to share the gospel
in a context
where we basically
are looking at resume
performance
and many of our friends
and coworkers
have given up
on the entire resume procedure
completely and utterly,
the Christian view
actually seems to be
a bad option
because not only
do we have to have
the resume
that involves things
like sex
and money
and time
and going to boring
church services
and all of that type of stuff,
but at the end of the day,
God just lets you in.
And it's sort of
a little bit like,
George,
the church didn't want
to even interview you
after they saw
your resume,
but the bishop
just imposed you
on the congregation.
That's what it sounds like,
all this stuff about Jesus
and everything like that,
is that God just picks
a few people in the world
and he says,
okay,
these guys,
I'm going to impose
these guys,
I'm going to just
pull them into heaven,
doesn't matter what
the resume says,
I just want them
and all these other
poor suckers
who are trying
to build their resumes
and it doesn't seem
to make sense to people
when we understand,
if we come to the Bible
and if we come to life
from the perception
of trying to build
our resume,
the Bible
sort of makes sense
sometimes when it
talks about goodness,
but then when it
talks about the cross,
and what Nora
just read today,
it just seems
as if it's just
God being unfair
and picking some people
and that's why
many people choose
to not be religious
or spiritual at all
because they said,
I went all the way
through life
that when they picked teams,
I was never picked first,
I don't even want to get
into this game with God.
So,
is that what the Bible
teaches?
There's many people
who understand Christianity
in terms of resume
performance
and writing.
Is that what the Bible
actually teaches?
Is that what real
Christianity is?
The text today
that Nora read
is a very,
very powerful
alternative
to all understandings
of spirituality
and religion
as involving
creating a resume.
And so,
it would be very helpful
if you could
have your Bibles,
and I have to confess
it in the sermon,
I'm not going to use
the King James Version,
I want it to try to be
as clear as possible,
and in fact,
in a moment,
we're going to have
a text up on a screen,
but the Bible text
speaks directly
into this natural
human tendency
to understand
that God wants us
to create a resume
so that we will be
accepted for the position
of being one of
his favorites
in heaven.
And it's Romans
chapter 3,
verses 21 and following,
and here's how
the text goes.
Now,
that is really,
really,
really complicated language,
and it's not the way
we usually speak,
but we'll just go back
and I'll just explain
a few things,
just very simple.
When it says
that the righteousness
of God
has been manifested
apart from the law,
what the righteousness
of God
is saying here
is that just
that God is right,
and it's saying
something deeper
about God
than that God is good.
It's saying
that God is right,
and it's just,
there's a rightness
about God,
and there's a rightness
about God
connected to morals,
but there's a rightness
to God
connected to beauty,
and there's a rightness
to God
connected to justice,
and there's a rightness
to God
connected to mercy,
and there's a rightness
and a fittedness
to God
when it comes to truth,
that there's just,
that God,
that God is right,
and it far goes beyond
just a moral code.
There's just
a rightness of God,
the God
who really does exist,
a rightness to him,
and the God
who has always been,
there's a rightness
about God,
and it's been like that
from all eternity,
but he manifested,
he made clear
his rightness
in a very,
very public way
when he sent his son
to earth
to die upon the cross,
and it's in his son
dying upon the cross
that we really see
revealed to the world
what God has always been,
that there's something
right about God,
but now the rightness
of God
has been manifested,
and when it says
apart from the law,
although the law
and prophets
bear witness to it,
the righteousness
of God
through faith
in Jesus Christ
for all who believe,
here it's saying
that there's two
different ways
that people
can read the Bible,
and one way
to read the Bible
is to read the Bible
from the perspective
that I have to
write a resume
for God
to approve of me,
and that's one way
to read the Bible.
I come to the Bible
with my natural
human perspective,
and I'm looking
all the way through
in the Bible
for the things
I need to have
in my resume.
Okay, I've got to be baptized.
Okay, I haven't got
that done yet.
Okay, I'm going to have
to speak to the pastor
after church
so we can get that
crossed off the list,
and I have to honor
my parents.
Gosh, that's going to be
really hard for me.
I'm going to really have
to talk to the pastor
about what I have to do
about that so I can
cross that off my list.
So there's one way
of reading the Bible
which is all about
resume writing,
and he's saying
that what he's going
to do to manifest
the rightness of God
is going to be
completely and utterly
separate from the
resume writing project.
It's going to have
nothing to do with it,
but that if you read
the Bible the way
that God had always
intended,
you'd understand
that what he's going
to do to manifest
that he's right
is what he,
that all the way
along the Bible
was being written
in such a way
for us to understand
that there's something
about us human beings,
and God's going to
try to make clear to us
the mystery of what
it means to be a human being,
to put us on the path
of understanding
the mystery of what
it means to be a human being,
and that when we start
to understand that,
we'd realize that only God
can make us right
with himself.
And that's why it says here,
it goes on to say
in verse 23,
for all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
Actually, at this point,
Andrew, could you put
the text up?
Some of you are used
to the fact that I do
this sometimes.
In some ways,
I only have a one-point
sermon today,
and my one-point sermon
is verses 23 to 25a,
and all I'm going to do
is try to really help you
to understand
verses 23 to 25a,
and so I'm going to have
a few other little things
for you to remember,
but could you say
this text of Scripture
with me right now?
For all have sinned
and lack the glory of God
and are justified
by his grace as a gift
through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward
as a propitiation
by his blood
to be received by faith.
That's my one point.
I was trying,
I spent a long time
trying to write that
in my own words,
and I realized,
you know what,
I just want to try to,
if all you get out
of today's sermon
is a bit of an understanding
of that
and a bit of a memory
of that,
then I have done
what God requires of me,
because it's always
far better for you
to remember what God says
than what George says.
In fact,
the great danger
always in preaching
is that people
leave churches
wondering,
spectacular preacher,
they tell you all about
the stories
that the preacher said,
and then if you ask them
what was the Bible text on,
they go,
I don't know,
that's a good question.
I don't know,
what was the Bible text?
Was there a Bible text?
And every time
you come to a church
and you go away
remembering the stories
but don't have any idea
about the Bible text,
I or any other minister
have failed.
So one of the things
you can do
is just pray for me
that you'll remember
the Bible
after coming to church
and you'll have met
with Jesus
and you won't
remember George.
Please pray for that
for our church
into the future.
Please pray for me
for that.
So anyway,
so here's this thing
and it looks very odd.
It has odd language.
So here's the first way,
first thing we're going to say
to help you to understand
what he says here
when it says,
for all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
Andrew,
if you could put up
the first point,
Paul begins
with a very odd thing.
He begins by saying
in a sense,
I am human
and I lack
the glory of God.
In fact,
he says,
we're all human beings
and we all lack
the glory of God.
Lacking the glory of God
is a literal way
of translating
fall short
of the glory of God.
It's how you translate
the Greek literally.
And it's a very,
very odd thing actually
that Paul's going
to get to the heart
of the proper way
to read the Bible
and how the rightness
of God is manifested
that he begins
by reminding us
that we're human.
and it's hidden
in the imagery there
which is not always
easily achieved by us
when we see it
but that's exactly
the very first step
that he takes.
I am human
and I lack
the glory of God.
Imagine if every morning
when we woke up
we said that.
Imagine that
in every conflict
we have
with our spouse
or our parent
or our friends
or our boss
we were to pause
and say
I am human
and I lack
the glory of God.
I am human
and I lack
the glory of God.
You know
if you ask
most people in Canada
what heaven is like
or what happens
after you die
they will tell you
we will maybe
tell each other
that we go
to a better place.
And if we don't say
that we go
to a better place
we'll say
that we will remember
that person
always in our hearts.
And heaven
is a mental place
an emotional place
a spiritual place
but it has nothing
to do with our bodies
and it has nothing
to do with
how we live our lives
because most Canadians
would say
that as long as
there's one or two
or three people
who like you
then you go
to a better place
and we remember you
in our hearts.
But Paul
doesn't talk about us
being just minds
or just emotions
or just spiritual.
He goes
and he reminds us
that we are human
and we lack
the glory of God.
He touches
on the grand
narrative of the Bible
because ultimately
the Bible
has one ultimate author
and because
there is one
ultimate author
it tells a story
and it's a story
in six parts.
It tells us
the story
in the words
of Genesis 1
in the beginning
God created the heavens
and the earth
or in the words
of John chapter 1
in the beginning
was the word
and the word
was with God
and the word
was God.
He was with God
in the beginning.
All things
were made by him
and without him
nothing was made
that was made.
And the beginning
of the story
is that God
makes all things
and he makes
all things good
and the second act
of the story
is that human beings
decided that they
did not want
to just be creatures
living in God's
created order
but that our
spiritual ancestors
Adam and Eve
representing us
because we're entailed
in them
and every human being
has replicated
that decision
that we decided
that we would be
as gods
that we would not
wake up and say
I am human
but we would wake up
and say I am God
I am like God
and in fact
that's still
the human problem
isn't it
that most of us
in our anger
in our impatience
in our irritation
in our dreams
in our boasting
our boasting
is that we are a god
that it's hard
for us to say
to ourselves
I am human
and the bible
in this overarching story
describes that human beings
are not only made good
but that human beings
are made
in the image of God
they bear the image
of God
and because they are made
in the image of God
who is right
and who is glorious
that every human being
was made
glorious
and not only
was there in a sense
something glorious
about every human being
because they are made
in the image of God
ultimately the true glory
of human beings
came in that
every human being
was a reflection
of the glory of God
think more
of a perfect mirror
perfectly pointed
to the light
rather than being
a flashlight
and that when human beings
turned
so this is one of those moments
where it's good
to have spotlights
and when every human being
turned
from the glory of God
made in the image
of God
to reflect the glory
of God
and when human beings
turned from that
and decided
that they would rather
be like gods
and therefore
look down
on the created order
the mirror
turned its back
on the light
and there is now darkness
we lack
the glory
of God
I am human
lack the glory
of God
for all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory
of God
for all have sinned
and lack
the glory
of God
and this Bible text
then
this is
I don't think
that there is
any sociology
political ideology
religion
or spirituality
which is as true
to human experience
as this
even though we don't like it
but I don't think
there is anything
as wise
and insightful
as this
that explains
on one hand
why
you see this text
is not saying
that we are as bad
as we can possibly be
but it is telling us
that the damaged image
within us
touches everything
that we are
which is why
on one hand
we still do some good things
but every good thing
we do
there is always this
touch of sin
in it
and we human beings
we know that
even when good times
are going on
in our life
we know that
there is a cloud
that will come
that they will come
to an end
that evil
that having turned
our back on God
to be as gods
ourselves
that that touches
everything
in some small way
or sometimes
in a huge way
Stalin
and the killing
of tens of millions
of Ukrainians
and China
and Mao Zedong
killing maybe up to
50 million Chinese
and the Armenian genocide
and the Rwandan genocide
and Cambodia
and one third
of the population
killed
and sometimes
the evil isn't
just a tiny little bit
but it's
it's
godlike
with a small g
demon like
in its immensity
but the Bible
here isn't saying
that human beings
are as bad
as they can
possibly be
but that
it
the lack
of the glory
of God
touches
everything
that we are
and on one hand
it means that
there is
in every human
breast
some longing
and yearning
for heaven
some longing
or yearning
for that time
when we
bore the image
of God
unbroken
and were pointed
towards the glory
of God
and therefore
reflected the glory
of God
yet at the same time
we lack
the glory
of God
and here is
the huge
problem
we cannot
leave ourselves
to fix
ourselves
have an out of body
experience
it's still you
and your out of body
experience
think that politics
can solve it
listen
I lack the glory
of God
it doesn't mean
we lack the glory
of God
any better
if we have a million
people making
the decision
if a million
people lacking
the glory
of God
make the decision
it's still going
to be a decision
lacking the glory
of God
and we cannot
leave ourselves
to fix ourselves
and Paul is here
talking now
about human beings
embodied
and with minds
and hearts
and wills
and depths
and because human
beings aren't just
isolated
autonomous individuals
but we come in
families
and in societies
and cultures
it's talking about
us being social
and because we
human beings
don't just float
around in the clouds
with no environment
it means how we
relate to the environment
and how we relate
to the planet
and it means how we
relate to those
who are before us
and it means how we
relate to those
who are going to
come after us
and I am human
I lack the glory
of God
and so do you
and I think
there are a few
things more
empirically true
or more wise
than for all
have sinned
and fall short
of the glory
of God
no matter
how unpopular
it is
when you think
about it
and look at it
it is only
an entrance
into wisdom
could you
Andrew
put the scripture
text up again
want to say
this text
with me
again
my one point
for all
have sinned
and lack
the glory
of God
and are justified
by his grace
as a gift
through the
redemption
that is in
Christ Jesus
whom God
put forward
as a propitiation
by his blood
to be received
by faith
so
the proper way
of reading the Bible
that shows
the rightness
of God
first wants us
to be able to say
I am human
and I lack
the glory of God
and then it wants us
to say
Andrew if you could
put up
the second point
only God's
just grace
can save me
all of me
only God's
just grace
can save me
all of me
just for a moment
I you know
you don't
if those of you
have your Bibles
if just beyond
that quote
listen to how
it continues
this was to show
God's rightness
because in his
divine forbearance
he had passed
over former sins
it was to show
his rightness
at the present
time
so that he
might be
just
and the
justifier
of the one
who has faith
in Jesus
you see
we tend to
understand grace
as cutting
giving us slack
but giving
one person
slack
is unjust
to other people
you know
one moment
God
you're saying
that
George
could be the
rector of this
parish
even though
they reject
his resume
are you saying
God
that you're
just going
to reject
some people's
resumes
but not
everybody's
resume
like what
is it
are these
the people
who are
like the
teacher's
pet
and they've
sucked up
to you
somehow
like how
do we
react to
teacher's
pets
some of
us say
dang it
how come
they became
the teacher's
pet
and I
didn't
how come
they're
better at
you know
snuggling up
to the teacher
you know
in a metaphorical
way
than I am
and the rest
of us
loathe
teacher's
pets
and so
grace
can't just
be God
cutting some
people's
slack
because we
all know
that's not
fair
I remember
there's been
different times
I've asked
my kids
you know
after I
go to
these
I've gone
to lots
of graduation
ceremonies
and you
know
here's where
I get to
sound like
an old
man
when I
was in
school
I think
when you
graduated
you just
graduated
but now
the ceremony
there's a
they give
like they give
about 273
awards
and you
know
but anyway
when it comes
to the more
academic ones
I sense
sometimes my
kids
how come
they won
that award
and they'll
say teacher's
pet
teacher's pet
that's why
they got it
and it's
not fair
right
so
if
on one
hand
if it is
the fact
that I am
human
I lack
the glory
of God
and I
can never
leave
myself
to fix
myself
and I
come to
the point
that only
God
can do
it
but God
is not
worthy
of being
God
if he's
not
just
as
we don't
think
highly
of
teachers
who
show
favoritism
because
certain
kids
suck up
to them
and we
don't
think of
them as
exemplary
teachers
and in
fact if
we were
parents
and had
some
choice
we would
avoid
having
our
kids
have
that
teacher
as
their
teacher
or maybe
I'm
just
really
old
fashioned
and anal
but I
think it
would be
common
and so
how is it
that God
can
be just
and at
the same
time
save us
that's what
the rest
of the
verse is
going to
tell us
Andrew
if you
could put
up our
one
point
again
that would
be
very
helpful
and could
you all
say it
with me
again
for all
have
sinned
and lack
the glory
of God
and are
justified
by his
grace
as a
gift
through
the redemption
that is
in Christ
Jesus
whom God
put forward
as a
propitiation
by his
blood
to be
received
by faith
I just
came
Andrew if you
could put up
the next
point which
is justified
made right
with God
by Jesus
so in that
long sentence
and you want
to try to
figure out
what it
means
justified
means
made right
with God
by Jesus
and there's
sort of a
bit of a
declaration
I just
came from
my
synod
which is
Anglican
speak for
like my
denominational
meetings
and Dick
and Daniel
were there
representing
the lady
and I was
there as
the clergy
and it was
in Vancouver
and I remember
after I think
it was one of
the first
lunches
I heard
a couple
of people
talking about
how they
find it
really hard
when they
go to
things like
this
it was
put on
by a
Chinese
parish
the food
was
wonderful
like the
first day
of synod
we had
this really
good
Chinese
food
the second
day
I like
sushi
just
we
sushi
for lunch
like it
was
spectacular
yeah
some of you
are saying
yes
next time
synods
in Vancouver
we might
get a lot
of volunteers
to go
there
hoping to
get
basically
as much
sushi
as you
could
eat
and so
one of
the people
said
there's
all sort
of fruit
and desserts
and all
that stuff
you know
that
it was a
Chinese
congregation
Chinese
people
were very
very
servant
hearted
and hospitable
and anyway
so I heard
at the end
of the lunch
I heard
a couple
of clergy
I think
talking about
how they
were going
like this
it's so hard
coming to
these times
when there's
as much
free food
as you can
possibly eat
like this
it's a hard
thing to come
to
and instantly
it flashed
through my
mind
I used to
have a
multi
million
we used to
have a
multi
millionaire
who come
to this
church
and I
mentioned
his name
it's nothing
embarrassing
about
his name
was Tom
and he
would
occasionally
treat me
by taking
me out
to eat
and we
would go
to this
like at the
time the
most expensive
restaurant in
Ottawa
and he was
well known
there
and the
first time
I went
I didn't
want to
choose the
cheapest
thing on
the menu
but I
chose the
second
cheapest
thing in
the menu
he asked
me beforehand
what I was
going to order
and he said
George you're not
allowed to order
that
you're not
allowed to
order that
I want you to
order the
most expensive
thing on
the menu
trust me
I can
cover this
okay
just order
whatever you
want
he was the
same guy
I've never
seen anybody
else like it
he was well
known
he has the
menu
and the
waitress
comes and
she says
hi Tom
he says
hi
he said
you know
I don't
like anything
on this
menu
here's what
I'd like
the cook
to make
me
here's what
I'd like
the cook
to make
me
and she
wrote it
down
and they
brought it
to him
okay
now here's
the thing
if I came
home and
told my wife
and you
that I had a
free lunch
I did not
have a
free lunch
somebody
has to
pay
there's
no free
lunch
ever
somebody
has to
pay
a few
years ago
in the
congregation
we had
a fellow
a priest
who'd come
here from
Africa
to do a
master's
degree
at St.
Paul
University
and through
no fault
of his
own
all of
his funding
fell out
from underneath
his feet
and so
the university
they were
on one hand
very gracious
to him
they allowed
him
like at
most places
if you
don't pay
up your
bills at
the end
of one
term
you can't
take other
courses
but they
allowed him
to keep
taking courses
but he
couldn't get
any credit
for them
until he
until it
was made
right
it had to
be made
right
and in
that particular
case
it had to
it means
the money
had to be
paid
and penalties
had to be
paid
and until
it was
made right
he wouldn't
get the
master's
degree
and until
it was
made right
his bishop
back home
wouldn't be
happy
it had to
be made
right
and this
African
fellow
he just
through no
fault of his
own
he couldn't
make it
right
and so
we as a
congregation
not patting
ourselves on
the back
we talked
and it
was like
fifteen thousand
dollars or
something
it was like
more than that
it was a lot
of money
and we
made it
right
we collected
the money
no income
tax receipts
and we
made it
right
so that he
could be
declared
to be
having it
made right
that all
of the bills
were paid
all of the
credits were
properly
accounted
and he
could graduate
and it
made it
right with
the bishop
with the
university
we made
it right
and that's
what justified
means
it's telling
us that
when we look
at Jesus'
death upon
the cross
that what
we see
God doing
the God
who is
right
that on
the cross
God is
providing a
way to
make it
right
for us
human beings
to be
right with
himself
and he
is making
it right
he's
paying
the penalties
and all
of the
other things
that have
to go
on
and it's
a mystery
but that's
how we're
to understand
the cross
that we
can't make
it right
ourselves
but God
makes it
right
and he
declares
that it's
made right
just as
the fellow
from Africa
he needed
the university
to declare
that it
was made
right
so that
whoever it
was the
other part
of the
university
could grant
him the
degree
he needed
that to be
made right
with a
declaration
and that's
what the
Bible is
saying here
is that
when you
see the
word
justified
here
is that
it's
Jesus
making it
right
not for
himself
but for
us
on our
behalf
as a bit
of a
declaration
Andrew
could you
put that
text up
again
for us
please
could you
all say
it with
me
again
for all
have
sinned
and lack
the glory
of God
and are
justified
by his
grace
as a
gift
through the
redemption
that is
in Christ
Jesus
whom God
put forward
as a
propitiation
by his
blood
to be
received
by faith
justified
made right
with God
by Christ
as a
result of
God's
grace
as a
gift
and then
it goes
on and
talks about
redemption
which is a
very very
funny type
of an
image
one of
the things
about
resume
writing
is that
resume
writing
is really
boasting
isn't it
in fact
if you
go to
a
resume
writing
helper
and they
look at
your
resume
they
would
actually
I mean
they don't
use this
language
right
especially
here in
Canada
because we
have our
own
peculiar
Canadian
way of
boasting
but they
say there
must be
other
things you
can boast
about
that you
haven't
included
in here
I mean
they don't
use the
word boast
but isn't
that what
it is
there must
be other
things you
can boast
about
and
you know
so you
can boast
in the
fact that
you have
a degree
or multiple
degrees
and you can
boast about
this experience
and this
connection
and in
some ways
even your
aspirations
are a
type of
boasting
and
actually
one of the
things
if you
just read
down
a little
bit
further
in
verse
27
after
this
section
that
we
just
kept
quoting
the
Bible
is
going
to
say
that
remember
I
said
that
the
gospel
is
a
complete
and
utter
rejection
of
the
resume
writing
approach
to
understanding
the
religious
life
or
the
spiritual
life
and
in
fact
it
makes
it
very
clear
verse
27
then
what
becomes
of our
boasting
it
is
excluded
that
whatever
it is
that
God
is
doing
to
make
us
right
has
nothing
to
do
with
boasting
but
here's
the
problem
with
boasting
when
we
boast
about
things
it
shows
what
we
put
our
hope
and
our
trust
and
our
confidence
in
I
can
handle
this
you know
we say
we're
going
into
a
hard
situation
I
can
handle
this
because
I'm
strong
that's
what
I
say
to
myself
maybe
right
we
I
can
handle
this
it
doesn't
matter
if
I
forget
certain
things
I
can
handle
this
because
I
have
a
credit
card
and
I
have
a
credit
limit
I
can
handle
this
job
because
I
got
the
education
it
shows
what
we
put
our
trust
and
our
faith
in
but
the
problem
is
that
the
very
same
things
that
we
put
our
trust
and
our
faith
in
often
let
us
down
my
resume
they
didn't
get
me
hired
here
and
so
the
very
same
things
that
we
boast
in
are
often
the
exact
same
things
that
cause
us
anxiety
in
our
lives
is
it
enough
is
it
enough
and
so
many
of us
especially
in a
culture
like
ours
which
is
so
geared
towards
boasting
in a
properly
humble
low-key
Canadian
way
that's
so
organized
around
resume
writing
and
qualifications
and
ultimately
boasting
it's
also
we are
in a
culture
which
is
profoundly
anxious
and
the
other
thing
that
makes
us
profoundly
anxious
is
that
most
of
us
when
we
wake
up
in
the
morning
do
not
say
I
am
human
and
I
lack
the
glory
of
God
we
go
through
our
day
thinking
that
we
are
like
God
a
couple
of
weeks
ago
I
shared
with
you
that
I
was
behind
a
car
that
said
why
it
had
a
bumper
sticker
on
it
that
said
why
am
I
the
only
good
driver
on
the
planet
or
no
why
am
I
the
only
one
on
the
planet
who
knows
how
to
drive
that's
what
it
said
why
am
I
the
only
one
on
the
planet
who
knows
how
to
drive
and
probably
80%
of the
men
here
in
the
room
are
thinking
one
moment
I
can't
speak
for
the
women
you
can
talk
about
that
at
coffee
hour
so
I
don't
know
if
women
laugh
at
it
because
they
realize
that's
how
their
husbands
or
their
fathers
would
act
or
if
that's
something
they
think
but
it
could
be
whether
it's
driving
or
something
else
when we
used
to have
a
building
about
every
three
or
four
years
there'd
be
a
fight
usually
amongst
the
women
about
how
to
organize
the
kitchen
some
new
whippersnapper
and whether
that
whippersnapper
was
22
or
62
some
new
whippersnapper
would
come in
and say
this
isn't
the
right
way
to
organize
a
kitchen
the
pot
shouldn't
be
here
and
the
cup
shouldn't
be
there
and
this
shouldn't
be
there
and
the
food
shouldn't
be
there
and
this
fridge
is
filthy
and
the
how
dare
you
say
that
this
fridge
is
filthy
I
think
if you
had a
bumper
sticker
why
I'm
the
only
one
on
the
planet
who
can
keep
an
order
well
keeping
house
the
guys
would
say
yeah
I
don't
know
maybe
that
person
is
but
you
know
it's
whatever
the
thing
is
okay
I've
probably
gotten
some
people
mad
at
me
with
my
analogies
but
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
that
we
are
deeply
seated
this
idea
that
we
are
God
and
not
only
then
is
this
idea
of
resume
writing
the
things
we
put
our
confidence
is
that
causes
anxiety
but
at
the
same
time
our
basic
desire
to
be
God
causes
us
a
type
of
fundamental
anxiety
and
so
one
of
the
things
about
this
text
Andrew
if
you
could
put
up
the
point
redemption
means
made
free
in
God
by
Jesus
God
by
Jesus
that
what
we
see
when
we
see
Jesus
dying
upon
the
cross
God
manifesting
his
rightness
and
that
he's
going
to
act
to
make
us
right
with
himself
that
one
of
the
things
he
makes
right
for
ourselves
is
that
as
the
gospel
grips
us
we
are
made
free
made
free
from
idols
made
free
from
the
things
that
we
put
our
confidence
in
all
of
the
things
which
cause
that
there's
a
basic
type
of
bondage
that
we
have
to
being
like
a
God
ourselves
that
there's
a
type
of
bondage
we
have
when
we
the
things
that
we
put
our
trust
in
to
give
us
confidence
and
they
cause
us
anxiety
that
the
gospel
Jesus
is
going
to
try
to
dethrone
all
of
those
things
and
he
dethrones
all
of
those
things
in
his
death
upon
the
cross
for
us
some
of
the
things
that
we
put
our
confidence
in
actually
creates
a
type
of
addiction
the
young
man
who
says
I'm
so
worried
about
this
math
test
I'm
so
worried
about
my
stress
and
they
have
this
idea
that
if
they
can
just
look
at
some
pornography
and
maybe
some
sexual
stimulation
that
it
reduces
their
anxiety
to
help
them
focus
they
think
so
they
can
do
better
in
their
math
test
or
they
can
do
better
in
this
conversation
or
whatever
it
is
that
they
have
to
do
not
realizing
that
they're
setting
in
stage
something
that
can
make
them
an
addict
the
man
or
woman
who
says
I
and
so
they
know
of
what
they
know
can
see
if
you
might
wonder
how
do
these
things
fit
together
how
does
justified
fit
with
redeemed
and
propitiation
and
forgiveness
which
we're
going
to
talk
about
in
a
moment
And sometimes, I know for many years I had a problem with this,
because I was trying to think, okay, so I'm made right with God because he pays the penalty,
and that sort of makes me free, and then it sort of deals with propitiation,
which then sort of deals, and I try to, here's the thing,
if you just remember this, is that the Bible uses a variety of images
to try to let us know what it is that Jesus accomplishes on the cross for us.
And so, we don't have to go, how does redeemed connect to justified,
or justified connect to propitiation, or forgiveness connect to being redeemed.
Every one of them are different images to help us understand what Jesus does on the cross.
Don't try to link them apart from the cross.
And as you go on, you see images of adoption, and images of Jesus being the victor,
and images of Jesus as the mighty warrior.
All of these things, we only understand them as that the mystery of the cross,
and what Jesus accomplishes for us, it's so deep,
that many images are needed to bring it home to us.
And some of the images make a difference to us at different times in our lives.
For those of us who struggle with addictions,
the idea that in Jesus, I can be free might be very, very powerful.
For those of us who struggle with failure,
and how we're going to deal with the creditor,
and how we're going to deal with this, and all the demands upon us,
the idea that we are justified might be very, very powerful.
And the very, very next image,
for those of us who've maybe grown up with a very, very angry father,
or a very, very angry child, or angry co-worker, angry neighbor,
this whole idea that somehow or another Jesus deals with anger,
that as that grips us, it helps us to understand God's love for us.
And so these different words aren't to be understood as separate from the cross of Jesus.
They're all understood as words to help us enter into the mystery of the cross,
and the mystery of the cross helps us to understand each word.
Andrew, could you put up our one point today, this scripture text?
Could you say this with me, please?
For all have sinned and lack the glory of God,
and are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God has put forward as a propitiation by his blood,
to be received by faith.
Could you put up the point about propitiation, please?
Propitiation means the penalty paid and forgiven in Jesus.
I just finished reading a novel about a group of a war
between two different biker gangs,
and one biker gang kills the delivery guy bringing in,
you know, seven or eight million dollars of meth and a whole pile of cash.
But in the way that he dies, the drugs get lost,
it gets discovered by a 12-year-old boy,
and I won't say anything more in case you end up reading the book.
But at the heart of it,
at the heart of it is that there starts to be lots of death,
because the drug, the outlaw, the biker gang,
they want satisfaction.
They're angry.
They want satisfaction.
They want the people who've stolen,
that killed their drug runner,
they want him dead.
And the people who stole their drugs and have their drugs,
even though it's just a 12,
they don't know that it's a 12-year-old boy,
that's part of what drives the whole story.
But whoever it is,
they want him to pay for what he's done.
And they want it,
they're angry,
and their anger won't be stopped
until things have been made right,
and that the kid has,
whoever it is,
has paid for what they've done,
and something else,
and they get things back,
and things are restored to the way that it properly should be.
And so some of you know that the word propitiation
talks about God's anger and his need for satisfaction,
and it's very hard in our culture
because when we hear this,
we're very worried in the back of our mind
about anger-driven individuals,
and even this cultural narrative,
where often it's the drug lords or the mafia
that want satisfaction.
But we have to understand this image in a different way.
Quite a few years ago,
so in elementary school,
for one of our kids,
we had to go,
you know,
you go to meet the teachers,
and you see the report cards,
and my wife and I were curious
about why there was this thing
said about one of our kids,
and it was when they were,
I think,
in grade one or something like that,
and it talked about them,
sort of a little bit about their social,
not being socially adapted,
and a few other things,
and Louise and I were really puzzled about it.
We don't think our kids are perfect,
but we were just really puzzled about this comment
because it sounded really out of character
about our child,
and if it was true,
we'd like to know about it,
but we were curious,
and so the teacher said,
oh,
that's because there was an older kid
bullying another kid,
and your child told the teacher about it,
and I'm getting angry,
and I said,
and that's why he got a bad report?
This is before bullying was a big thing.
Hard to believe now,
right?
Yes,
he didn't handle it right.
It sows his lack of social adaption
and people skills
that he told the teacher.
I'm getting mad.
I try to control my anger.
We have a frank conversation.
Now,
I never actually got satisfaction about that,
but, you know,
what did I want there?
I mean,
it's actually now in this,
with all the thing about bullying,
and it's actually hard to believe
that a teacher would say that,
would actually give a child a lower mark
because he told the teacher
that an older child
was bullying a younger child,
but that's actually what happened.
What did I want?
I was angry,
and what did I want?
I wanted satisfaction.
Like,
really,
if I could have managed it,
I wanted that,
I wanted the thing,
that the mark changed,
and I would have liked
the teacher disciplined,
and I probably would have liked
the teacher to have
some type of counseling
or retraining,
and I probably,
and I would have wanted
the bully dealt with.
Now,
none of those things happened.
None of those things happened.
And so,
that's just one of those things
in life
where you have to forgive,
right?
You have to forgive.
You tell your child
that they did the right thing.
They're never going to get in trouble
with you
for telling a teacher
that an older child
is bullying a younger child.
They did the right thing,
and you just have to swallow,
in a sense,
the anger.
You have to,
in a sense,
just absorb it into yourself.
So,
that's what propitiation here means.
God is not like a crime lord,
and he just wants to inflict
terrible carnage on the world
until he gets his toys back,
and he can be the Lord.
But he sees real evil,
and rather than having
the real evil
be carnage
on the human race,
he forgives.
He takes that on himself.
And then what we see
when Jesus dies upon the cross
is God,
God making the penalty
being paid,
the order restored,
forgiveness happening,
and it all happens
in Jesus taking our place.
Because if God tried to,
if the anger,
if the just punishment of God
fell on me,
it would unmake me.
And God,
in his grace and mercy
and love,
sees that,
and so he sends his son
to take my place.
Andrew,
could you put the scripture text
up again,
the Romans 3,
I mean,
the 23 to 25?
Could you say this with me?
For all have sinned
and lack the glory of God
and are justified
by his grace
as a gift
through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward
as a propitiation
by his blood
to be received
by faith.
Here's the thing.
It's actually far harder
for those of us
who are pretty good people
to understand this text
than those of us
who've had very,
very messed up lives.
When it says
that we are to receive,
that on the cross
we are justified,
that on the cross
we are redeemed,
that on the cross
God's,
that we,
that Jesus becomes
our propitiation for us,
there is something
deep within us
that wants to say to God
that you've got to
look at my resume.
God,
I have a pretty neat resume
and surely my resume
must matter in some way.
But the word faith
and grace
means that
we have to be able
to in a sense,
I shouldn't be holding
the Bible,
I should hold my book,
that I can't be going
to God and saying,
God,
look at this.
Like surely this must
add up to a little bit,
be worth something.
But if I understand
that I am human
and lack the glory of God,
I depend upon God
to act in a just
and fair way
to do what I cannot do,
that faith at the end
of the day means
putting this all aside
and realizing I have
to stand naked
before God
and say that I have
nothing to add
and I can do nothing
myself,
that I have to depend
completely and utterly
for what you will provide
for me in the person
of Jesus on the cross.
And fortunately,
this is not just some,
we don't have to get it
perfect for God
to accept us,
but the tiniest little bit
of a sliver
of us recognizing
that only God
can do this,
God takes it.
And the Christian life
begins when we have
the tiniest sliver
of an acknowledgement
that God has to do this
so we can't do it ourselves.
And our growth
in our Christian life,
partly our growth
in being redeemed
and free in Jesus
is to realize
that we can do nothing
on our own
to make us right
with God,
that we have to completely
and utterly depend
upon what God does
for us in the person
of his son
to make us right
with himself.
There's nothing else
that we can do.
That in fact,
there's just nothing else
that we can do.
And one of the things
about this text
of scripture
that's so powerful
is that the word
justified
is in the future
in the original language.
That means that
when we put our faith
and trust in Jesus,
we can know today
what God will say to us
when we die
and appear before him
face to face.
And that means
that he's saying
that we're justified
in Jesus.
If I live another 40 years,
all the 40 years worth
of resume writing stuff,
he's already declared
me right with him.
It's all irrelevant.
That I can know
when I put my faith
and trust in Jesus
that God will take him
instead of me,
use him to see me,
and he will declare me
right with himself.
He makes me right
with himself,
and I have nothing
that I can do
to add to it.
And that's why
the gospel creates
such glorious liberty,
that when this truth
starts to grip us,
I don't know
if this congregation
will be 500 people,
5,000 people,
25 people in the future,
and I,
you know,
if it was 5,000,
I would be sure
something I would think
that I could boast about
that would make me
somehow more valuable
to God,
but all of that,
it's completely
and utterly irrelevant
to God.
There's nothing
about my resume
that makes me
right with him.
It's all about
what Jesus does
for me on the cross.
And as that truth
grips us,
it gives us the chance,
the opportunity to risk,
that we can risk
new things as a congregation
because our success
or failure
isn't going to depend
upon how God receives us.
We already know
his final word about it,
and it means that we can
start to look at the fact
that we,
why is it that we are
so addicted to pornography,
or why is it that we,
when we're under a lot of stress,
we have to go and buy
an expensive handbag,
or why is it that
when we're under a lot of stress,
we have to go driving
and we get really mad
and it's sort of cathartic.
And why is it that
we do all of these things?
And when we understand
that our rightness with God
does not depend upon
our resume,
that it's something
freely and graciously given,
it gives us the strength
to take risks
for the kingdom,
to take risks in love,
to take risks
in being able to forgive
a person who's wronged us.
It means that we can start
to look at the idols
of our hearts
and what's going on
inside of us
and our weakness,
and we don't have to be worried
that we will see
something within us
that will make God
want to turn himself
away from us,
that it will be something
that will look bad
on a resume
because God pronounces
when we put our faith
and trust in Jesus
at what is for us
our death,
he pronounces us right
with him.
Not weighing our merits,
but pardoning our offenses.
Andrew,
could you put up
the final scripture text?
Could you all stand,
please?
this is the overarching message
of Romans.
Could you say it with me?
For I am not ashamed
of the gospel,
for it is the power
of God for salvation
to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first
and also to the Greek.
For in the gospel,
the righteousness of God
is revealed from faith
to faith.
As it is written,
the righteous
shall live by faith.
The righteous
shall live by faith.
Those who are made
right with God,
whom God declares
right with him,
we receive it by faith,
we live it by faith,
we die by faith,
it's all by faith.
Let's bow our heads
in prayer.
Father,
thank you for Jesus.
Thank you for what
he did for us
on the cross.
Thank you,
Father,
that on the cross
as he died,
he did what was needed
so that we could be
made right with you.
Thank you,
Father,
that on the cross
as he died for us,
he made it so that
we could be redeemed
from the things
that bind us
and put us in bondage,
that we could be free
in you.
Thank you,
Father,
that as Jesus died
for us on the cross,
that he provided
our satisfaction,
he is our propitiation,
that he dealt
with all of the things
that are out of whack
and punishment is needed
and he dealt with
all of these things
on the cross for us.
Father,
make us disciples
of Jesus
who are gripped
by the gospel
and are therefore
beginning to be freed up
to live not for our own glory
as if we are God's,
but for your glory
because you are the only God,
you are the creator
of all things,
the sustainer
of all things,
the end of all things.
Father,
make us disciples
of Jesus
gripped by the gospel
to live for your glory
and this we ask
in the name of Jesus.
Amen.