Biblical Sexual Ethics are Confusing Many

Sunday Sermon: Biblical Sexual Ethics are Confusing Many

By Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Romans 8:28

”And we know that God works all things together for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purposes.”

Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying, “This present age is so flippant that if a man loves the Savior he is a fanatic and if he hates the powers of evil, he is a bigot.”

No doubt about it, there are many things in this present age that are confusing. But it has been that way in every age. Yet men and women of God need not be confused, for they are given explicit and direct guidance in the word of God regarding how to conduct themselves.

Nevertheless, the number of professing Christians who reject the traditional Biblical sexual ethic has been steadily increasing over the last few years as men and women succumb to the societal pressures of “political correctness.” Except that such deliberate ignorance of God’s word is neither politic nor correct.

Many of those once submitting to the Bible’s clear condemnation of homosexual behavior now propose that theologians have long been off base in their interpretation of the texts addressing this issue. They don’t believe the Scriptures speak ill of loving, monogamous same-sex relationships, but only homosexual activity in the context of rape, child molestation, and idol worship. They may believe that all they wish, but none of it is supported by scripture.

The word of God is very clear – “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." (Lev. 18:22 & Lev. 20:13). And since this is neither a civil nor a ceremonial law but a moral law in Leviticus, there is no expiration date. It still stands today. God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Now, no one should misunderstand this as a demand that we judge and ostracize those who disagree with God. The Almighty gives each of us free will, and we are free to hate God if we so choose. And some of us do exactly that in order to serve ourselves, and not God. God will do the judging, although some of us think that’s our job.

However, there is a big difference between judging someone, and discerning evil. The two are not the same at all. In the Bible, the word "judge" is often a poor translation of the Greek word "katakrino." This word literally means "to judge against." In other words, it really means "to condemn." But there is another Greek word, "krino," which is often translated "to discern." "Krino" literally means "to separate." Or, to put it more clearly, it means "to separate the good from the bad."

The word of God calls for us to have a fine balance between head and heart. Biblical Christianity means loving God and others fervently, from the heart; but also, such love is in line with God’s truth as revealed in His Word. Exercising such love is what leads us to Christian maturity. Love for God or others that is not based on truth is just deluded emotionalism. But truth devoid of love leads to arrogance.

The signpost we are looking for leading to the true love of God is true knowledge. Since God cannot be known except as He has revealed Himself, such true knowledge of God can only be obtained through His Word. Since God Himself is love, to grow in the true knowledge of God is to grow to understand what true love is.

Now, this true knowledge of God as revealed in His Word is essential if you want to grow in love. We can’t know love by looking at our society, our culture. We can only know what love looks like by studying the character of God, especially as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ, God in human flesh. And as we study Him, we see in Matthew 23 where He lashed into the Pharisees, we may even be a bit shocked as He takes whip in hand to clear the filth from His Father’s temple. And yet our Jesus is the epitome of love. Not a clay mask that one puts on to please others, or to get what our free will desires, but a love that loves even the unlovely, that wades into the mud to pull a sinner free, or empties his own pockets so an unregenerate shyster can eat this day. The love of Christ applies itself to the person, to the situation. The need does not twist itself around to fit the requirements of our version of tough love. That’s the short-sighted love of political correctness.

It seems as though today if you criticize someone else’s doctrine or personal life, no matter how unbiblical either might be, you are not loving, you are a “hater”, and you are arrogant to be judging that person. The well-known words of Jesus, “Judge not, lest you be judged” from Matthew 7:1 are twisted out of context and misapplied. But if you keep reading, Jesus goes on to say, in Matthew 7:6, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine”. And yet, how do you determine if someone is that dog or that swine if you don’t make discerning judgments? Later on in Matthew 7:15 Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets who come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. If we are discerning we see this isn’t a fellow-sheep before us whom we need to embrace, but a ravenous wolf we need to avoid!

So we see that Biblical love cannot be divorced from the true knowledge of God and from the discernment between truth and error, between right and wrong that comes from a careful knowledge of Scripture, that Biblical love is inextricably bound up with discernment, not with the judgment of men, but with God-given discernment.

I leave you with the wisdom of Philippians 1:9-11: “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we find strength and boldness in the knowledge that You have not abandoned us to the machinations of this world, but continue to teach us through the presence of the Holy Spirit, ensuring we have the knowledge of scripture available to us with which to employ the wisdom of discernment in dealing with others, and through our knowledge of the love of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Father, that as Your own we are able to draw others to You, by the blessed and incomparable love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

History Is Happening Right Before Our Eyes

by Pastor Ed Evans

With all we see going on in America today, those of my generation decry the college crowd with buttercup brains and butterfly hearts, and wonder about the future of America as they come of age. 

I submit we are watching, in our own time, the disintegration akin to that of the Roman Empire. Same criminal graft, same selfish guilt, same meltdown of male and female roles, same paucity of discipline in the military armed forces. Our enemies simply bide their time. If you read Revelations in your Bible, you will see that America is not there when Christ returns. We are watching the reason.

Of course, for those who already have a relationship with Jesus Christ, this is all the more reason to constantly share the Good News of Jesus Christ at every opportunity, For 2nd Timothy 4:3 tells us, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions..." Oh wait, it's here and once again we see it happening right now, don't we. History continues to ramble on right before our eyes. Ethical and moral walls fall, "understood" rules of behavior crumble before social depravity and ravenous hungers of strange types.

Everything of which the prophets of old warned us is coming into being as mankind reveres and fawns before the fleshly creation, rather than the Creator. Right before our eyes. With all the modern advances and such industrial wisdom and intelligence being displayed for the betterment of mankind, who would have thought the moral and ethical ground upon which society stands would begin to disintegrate so easily, and so soon. Who would have thought it. God did. And He told us so.

There is a remedy, an answer, and we've known it all along. But then, the truth of 2nd Tiothy 4:3 is in motion, and the axe is falling.

The Peaceful Kingdom

by Pastor Ed Evans

TEXT: Isaiah 11:1-9

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,

and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

and a little child shall lead them.

7 The cow and the bear shall graze;

their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.

9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD

as the waters cover the sea.

This text from the book of Isaiah is so amazing, maybe we should get to know the Prophet Isaiah better – that is, all three of him. Bible scholars tell us there were three Isaiahs.

The book of Isaiah is named for Isaiah ben Amoz, who prophesied in the middle of the eighth century, B.C., about the time of the Assyrian invasion of Israel and Judah. Scholars tell us that Isaiah ben Amoz wrote Chapters 1 – 39, but the book of Isaiah contains two more collections of prophecy after his death.

The anonymous author of Chapters 40-55 lived nearly 200 years later, during the Babylonian Exile. He was prophesying an end to the Exile, and a marvelous homecoming of the exiles to Jerusalem. This author is called “Second Isaiah”.

Chapters 55-66 are attributed to another source, known as “Third Isaiah”. This author wrote about the end of the Exile and looked forward to the restoration of Jerusalem.

You will note that the title of our Study Book is “The Sovereignty of God”. When you hear the word “sovereignty”, what images come to mind? Maybe a ruling authority figure, like a president or prime minister? A monarch or a dictator?

The word “sovereignty” implies power. Someone who is sovereign over us has the authority and power to rule over us. If you go looking for synonyms in your Thesaurus, you’ll find supreme, dominant, absolute, superior. These all indicate that a sovereign has great power to demand compliance if not obedience to his or her will. Now, we know that earthly sovereigns vary a great deal in how they exercise their power. Some are dictatorial and demand absolute obedience from those they rule. Others, like an elected president or a prime minister, have checks and balances on their power.

So if we are going to talk about God’s sovereignty, a related question is what kind of subjects are we called to be? In today’s text, we see a hoped-for sovereign who will usher in a peaceful kingdom in which harmony and security reign. Traditional enemies in the animal kingdom will coexist in peace according to this vision. Even the most vulnerable of human beings – babies and toddlers – will not need to fear danger in this kingdom. Our challenge will be – how do we live into this vision?

So let’s start at the first verse of Chapter 11 and see what we can learn.

You see the start of those first verses are very different from most of what you will find in Isaiah. While most of the prophetic writings of Isaiah ben Amoz concern God’s judgment on Israel and other nations, these first passages are one of hope for the future.

The image here is of a tree stump, likely connected to the previous verses in Chapter 10 that describe God’s judgment against Assyria, where the Assyrians are about to be “cut down and laid low.” Out of the stump of Jessie will come a “shoot,” a future ruler who will restore Israel’s fortunes and establish God’s reign.

Any gardeners here? If so, you know that if you cut down a tree or a large bush, after some time you get a “green shoot”. The roots are still alive and growing.

In this case the Jessie that is the stump was King David’s father, and the “shoot” would be a Davidic monarchy.

In verse 2 we find out that the hoped-for monarch is described as endowed with the Lord’s Spirit. The characteristics of this ruler are listed as: wisdom, understanding, planning or counsel, strength or might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.

As a young Christian it used to bother me when I read about “fear of the Lord.” How did God’s love for me fit with me being afraid of Him. But the “fear of the Lord” as used here does not mean to be afraid of God, but rather to live with a deep and profound respect toward God. The words “reverence” and “awe” are good synonyms for “fear of the Lord.”

The “fear of the Lord” theme continues into the third verse and expands upon it. This coming ruler’s fear of the Lord will not be mere duty but will be his “delight.” The word “delight” as used here can be translated “to take pleasure in.” The fear of the Lord will be at the heart of this ruler’s relationship with God and will be a joy rather than a burden. This ruler will not judge by superficial appearances or by words alone.

As a matter of fact, this ruler will issue judgments based on righteousness and equity. The poor and the meek will receive justice based not on their status or their bank account but on their relationship with God. Wouldn’t that be a different type of legal system?

As we read on, graphic verses of prophesy, metaphors and poetry describe the differences in justice, contrasting the treatment of the poor and meek with that of the wicked.

By verse 6 through verse 8, Isaiah begins describing the “peaceful kingdom”, where traditional enemies actually dwell in harmony. These verses read like the restoration of God’s divine purpose for creation; the Garden of Eden.

You remember the Garden of Eden, that’s where God introduced Adam to Eve. And after Adam and Eve had talked, Adam was almost overcome. He said, “God, she’s beautiful! Why did you make her so beautiful?” God said, “So you would like her, Adam.” And Adam said, “Yeah, but she ain’t exactly a genius, God.” And God said, “That’s so she would like you, Adam.”

One more Garden of Eden story ….. It seems Eve and their first son were standing outside the Garden one day. The little boy was looking at the gate across the Garden entrance, and the angels guarding it. And he asked his mother, Eve, “What is that, Mommy?” Eve replied that they used to live there. “Why don’t we live there now, Mommy, it looks beautiful.” Eve said, “Oh, it is beautiful, my son, but your Father ate us out of house and home.” (But you won't find either of those two stories in the Bible.)

Okay now, two words that highlight this narrative of the kingdom of peace are “harmony” and “security. We’ve all seen images on TV of the cheetah or the lion chasing down an antelope or a gazelle. Natural enemies. If it’s an antelope at the watering hole when the big cat appears, you’ll see that antelope break and run for all its worth.

After I retired from the Marine Corps and joined the Woodmen of the World life insurance sales team in Indiana, they used to tell a story about lions and gazelles. The story was that somewhere on the Serengeti Plain a lion woke up each morning knowing that if it was going to eat that day, it had to be faster than the fastest gazelle out there. And somewhere on that Plain a gazelle awoke knowing that if it was going to stay alive that day it had to be faster than the fastest lion out there. But the moral of that story was that whether you were a lion or a gazelle, you better wake up running. No pressure, right?

We do live in a violent society. Each evening the TV newscast right here in Nashville is evidence of that. But by verse 9, the peaceable kingdom our lesson talks about has begun to take hold. No harm or destruction will exist in the reign of this new monarch. The “holy mountain” is not a specific mountain such as Mount Sinai, but it is a metaphorical mountain where God is fully present, such as the Jewish Temple.

Isaiah 2:2 mentions this “holy mountain,” where it is called “the mountain of the Lord’s house.” Isaiah uses the image of the Lord’s mountain throughout his prophecies to refer to the Temple in Jerusalem where God’s people believed God’s presence dwelt.

Now, this transformed kingdom of peace can occur because everyone will have “full knowledge of the Lord.” This knowledge is not simply knowing the laws of the Mosaic covenant but it’s more along the lines of Jeremiah 31:33, which described God’s law, or “Instructions,” being written “within” humans and engraved “on their hearts.” What we are referring to as “knowledge of the Lord” is a relationship of knowing and being known by God.

As I mentioned at the beginning, when we focus on the question of what kind of sovereignty does God exercise, related to that question is what kind of subjects are we called to be?

Because you see, we are not on the outside looking in – as if we were watching some TV program, or like the ancient Romans sitting safely outside the arena watching the combatants, down in the arena. We ARE the combatants in the arena, you and I. We ARE participants in the divine life of the Holy Trinity. Life is going on all around us, and we are God’s part of it. But what part do we play in God’s peaceful kingdom?

Well, let us lay the groundwork for that answer by considering the qualities WE would look for in an ideal ruler. What traits would you want to see? We have an election coming up, so without naming names, what traits are important in a candidate for President? (Honesty, responsibility, intelligence, compassion, skill, and knowledge?) In today’s scripture, verses 2 – 5, we find the prophet Isaiah has listed the qualities of the hoped-for ruler: wisdom, understanding, planning, strength, knowledge, fear of the Lord, true discernment, righteousness and equity.

It’s no wonder the writers of the New Testament Gospels saw this description of the ideal ruler fulfilled in Jesus Christ; seeing Isaiah 11:2-9 as a messianic prophesy describing the coming Messiah and the kingdom He would usher in.

As we’ve noted before, the human propensity for violence is well-documented. Our human history is filled with wars, conflicts, and disputes of all kinds. Job, chapter 5, verse 7 tells us that “…man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” However, since no one person can control history, we need to focus on our daily lives and ask, “How can I live less violently?” What if we were to teach students in school about the merits of ethics and morals, about the sources of violence, such as fear, anger, power, and stereotyping, and how to respond positively with communication, understanding, affirmation, and forgiveness, putting emphasis on creative conflict transformation.

You see, violence is not always physical conflict. Myself and others met with Congressman Jim Cooper last week about other issues, and he shared his own concerns. He talked about conflict at the Federal, State and local level in politics; said he had never seen such polarization.

Many people today still believe that our nation was founded upon the principle of separation of church and state, even though there is nothing in either the U.S. Constitution or the Bill of Rights about it. But they give the church little credit for problem solving. But in fact the Church, Christianity is an “alternatives to violence program” in its own way. It holds up this vision of Isaiah 11:1-9 as how the world should and could be with God’s presence. This is a vision toward which we are called to live. But how do we translate this ideal vision of a peaceful kingdom into everyday life?

Well, I have three suggestions for you to consider.

First, we can become aware of how we overtly and indirectly use or encourage violence in our own lives. Self-awareness is always the first step to change. We should look carefully at ourselves and ask, “When am I tempted to use violent actions or words to resolve a conflict?” Think about it.

Second, we can become aware of the feelings that might lead to aggressive words or action. Feelings such as “fear of the other”, anger, inadequacy, powerlessness, or jealousy can lead to violence. But they don’t have to. We don’t have to act on our feelings. Someone has pointed out that we don’t have to attend every fight to which we’re invited. If we can’t control our feelings, we can release our anger on an inanimate object such as a pillow or a mattress rather than on another person.

And third, we can overcome our tendency to violence with forgiveness and love. As 1st John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.” Since fear is at the heart of many violent urges, love can show us a different way to deal with conflict. The way of love leads to a desire for peace, harmony and security.

Here in Nashville, Tennessee, Dodson Chapel United Methodist Church has had on their sign for the past month the message: “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can drive out hate.”

When guided by the love we see revealed in Jesus Christ, we no longer need to use violent means to achieve who we want to be, where we want to be, and what we want to be.

Singer Todd Rundgren released a song in 1997 titled “Love is the Answer,” and part of the lyrics cried out: “Light of the world, shine on me. Love is the answer. Shine on us all, set us free. Love is the answer.”

I submit that people like you and I know that love is the answer, and someone needs to tell the rest of the world, so we can live into that peaceful kingdom. Tell the world. Love is the answer. Amen?

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“Holy God, You have drawn us into the divine family through Your Son. May Your peaceful kingdom be expressed in our lives, made eloquent by the love of Christ; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen."

Born in a Barn? Close the Door to Evil!

By Pastor Ed Evans

As America draws closer to the November 8^th Presidential election, many forces for and against the two leading candidates are becoming more active, more accusatory, more divisive.

Among the voting population there are those who say they will vote for Hillary Clinton, those who say they will vote for Donald Trump, and those who say they cannot vote for either so they will vote for one of the several lesser known candidates.

You, as an American voter, have every right to vote for whom you wish. I and many others have and most probably would again, fight to guarantee you that right. In the same spirit that it has been said that the U.S. Constitution is fit only for governing a God-fearing people -- yes, I am aware not all Americans are going to be God-fearing people – the action of performing as a responsible voter rests only with those concerned, as I am at this critical juncture in our nation's history, with the future of our nation.

Any due diligence applied, any critical thinking, will reveal that only Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump have a reasonable chance at becoming President. I am not nearly as concerned about what Trump says as I am about what Clinton has not only done, but promises to do once imbued with the power of the Oval Office. There can be no compromise, there is no alternative choice. The nation-saving choice rests in keeping evil out of the Oval Office, away from the power of the Presidency, completely away from the nuclear football, or codes. Evil must also not be allowed to pack the Supreme Court over the next eight years; must be kept from continuing to strip the U.S. military of not only new weaponry but also necessary maintenance programs (F-18s are "falling out of the air" due to lack of required maintenance); cease coming up with more PC social experiments in our military that merely degrade the most effective military in the world; stop teaching the next generation that how to make more money is better than learning productive ethics and morals.

As with the rest of life that I have lived and observed in my 75 years on this earth, I have no doubt about the sovereignty of Almighty God; God will do what God intends to do. And while His Son's Sermon on the Mount provides excellent guidance for how we should live into His vision, at no time does God instruct us to open the doors for evil. But as with most everything else, opening those doors or closing them is an individual choice. Choose well. The future of your children and my grandchildren depend upon keeping evil out.  I urge you not to allow them to be caught on the wrong side of evil.

Strangeness in a Strange World

Seems to be a strange wave of anti-voting going on. I keep running into posts by people who claim they are not voting for Hillary, and by not voting at all, they claim that will be a vote for Trump. It's nonsense, of course. Doesn't work that way. But that is their story and they are sticking to it, along with the claims Hillary will never be convicted of anything. Like they thought she was royalty.
I have to believe this is all coming from the Democrat's traditional bag of dirty tricks. Otherwise, why the sudden surge of "not voting is a vote for Trump"?
One poster brushed aside all logical arguments ending with a graphic which declared: "The only people I owe my loyalty to are those who never made me question their's." This was my response:
"...owe loyalty...? That would include all those wonderful young men who paid with their lives and futures for your freedom and mine. I know many of their names firsthand, some who died on the four battlefields on which I served, while I survived. And I owe them and their surviving families a better America, which is why I will not roll over and go along to get along. Trump has been helping and assisting military veterans long before he began running for President. Hillary has consistently disrespected and demeaned military members, not to mention the now available email evidence of her deadly involvement in the death of the Benghazi four. If you are free, if you are in this nation speaking English, having access to all the hopes and dreams of any other American, then you owe posterity the same diligence of purpose in protecting freedom that those who came before you sacrificed to provide to you and your family. "Opting out", like the bended knee before royalty, is not the American way.

Life is a Contest

By Pastor Ed Evans

               Life is a contest; sink or swim, succeed or fail, be rewarded or lose out.

               If you are not aborted, you have a chance.  If you are born in America, you have a chance.  If you are born to loving, supportive parents, you have a chance.  Not everyone is.

               At least in our day and age we no longer have to be on the lookout for saber-toothed tigers, deadly raptors and other dinosaurs.   Today most of our dangers come instead from mankind and its machinations.  So yes, sometimes staying alive is a contest that requires focus and concentration.

               The world has been watching the 31^st Olympics this past week, and rarely has focus and concentration been more on display.  31-year-old Michael Phelps winning 22 Olympic medals; Simone Manuel celebrated as the first black person to win an Olympic swimming gold medal, followed by a host of exciting stories of Olympic medal wins.

Unlike the other competition that has dominated the world-wide news media this past year – no, not the American political campaigns – the war against terrorism, we have witnessed many poignant moments where battling teams switched in an instant from intense competitors to hugging, hand-shaking congratulatory fans of the winners.

               Maybe it’s just the sports environment that encourages such clean, healthy competition without the base, go-for-the-jugular attacks.  No revenge, no vengeance.  As veteran volleyball champ Kerry Walsh Jennings and her partner battled the Italians for the gold medal, the TV cameras zoomed in on Walsh Jennings left hand, where she had written the word “JOY” to remind her why she played so hard to win.  Competition, yes, but not for blood.  And winners were congratulated and celebrated, not plotted against sniped at.

               Sports does seem to bring out the best in human beings.

               A Little League baseball game comes to mind, where the boys from Warner Robbins, Ga., defeated a team of young boys from Japan.  Even as the winners jumped about with back-slapping congratulations, they noticed that the Japanese boys had broken down in tears.  Without a word the victory celebration stopped and the winning team moved to console the losers.

               Said pitcher Kendall Scott, “I just hated to see them cry, and I just wanted to let them know that I care.  Youthful sportsmanship at its best.

               Some may remember a similar moment that was caught on video at a Special Olympics race a few years ago.  As the mentally and physically challenged children raced down their lanes, one boy stumbled and went down.  One girl stopped, turned around and went back to help him.  The others, as they approached the finish line, stopped, turned and went back to boy being helped to his feet.  All together, they crossed the finished line, winners all.

               Heartwarming moments all, but pointing out that sports – even at its best – is an imperfect metaphor for Christianity.  For in sports, someone always loses.  But when someone is won to Christ, the only loser is Satan.

               The difference is that for Christians, true teamwork is not about defeating someone, it’s about making them part of the team, God’s own team.

Hope Is A Thing With Feathers -- That Keeps Us Afloat

Pastor Ed Evans

Romans 5:1-11
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Emily Dickinson’s collection of poems includes one titled “Hope is the Thing With Feathers”:
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest sea -
Yet - never - in extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.

If you read that alongside Paul’s words in Romans 5:1-8 – where he mentions “hope” three times – You might be struck by the irony.
On the one hand the image of the unwavering resilience and startling strength of a fragile, feathery creature, and on the other hand, we might see ourselves, so easily undermined and weakened by the realities of suffering and sin.
With your experience in life, you might have noticed that remarkably, humankind, for all its outward show of self-assurance, strength, and superiority, is a terribly fragile thing, prone to shatter under the weight of even the slightest burden – much more like that we might expect of a tiny bird.
However, the poet’s bird – hope – is nothing like it looks. Though it appears to the observer but a “thing with feathers,” hope, says Emily Dickinson, is never thwarted and requires not even a “crumb” to endure. It is strong and self-assured. It never stops singing, no matter what.

Does anyone still watch the news, anymore? I almost hate to watch the local and network news. When I was a boy the news media was the watchdog of government; now they are the lapdog. When I was a boy the news media gave you news, not gossip; gave you news of how people were building up their communities, taking care one another; not statistics and lurid videos of murder, rape and robbery. Watching the news, you would think that is all that goes on.
And if it isn’t happening here, they’ll find a ghastly murder or rape in Bombay or Timbuktu, and share that. If it bleeds it leads, that seems to be their motto.
When someone calls them on this practice, they answer in defense that people today are scared, they are concerned, and they need to know what is going on.
Well, it is true, sin abounds. But does it abound more than in Noah’s time, or Jeremiah’s time? Is sin and evil and Satan’s activity any worse than it ever was?
You see, I contend that the abundance of sin, of evil and of Satan in the world isn’t the problem. They have always been here. I believe the real problem isn’t that we are in the midst of this storm of evil, the problem is we have forgotten whose we are.
Let me share with you three verses from the back end of Romans, Chapter 5. The scripture for today is at the front end of Romans, and doesn’t get into how Christ’s sacrificial love overcomes the reign of sin and death, how yes there is universal condemnation, but it is overcome by universal grace.
Romans 5:19-21 reads: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Let me tell you a story from my childhood right here. If I’ve told it before, I apologize, but it fits so well here. I grew up with my grandparents in a little town in California called Mariposa. It’s right at the mouth of Yosemite National Park. Mariposa was an old gold-mining town full of played-out placer miners and old cowboys. My grandfather worked for the U.S. Forestry Service and my idea of fun at age five was going to forest fires, feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, and throwing the ball back and forth with Wally, the teen-age son of my grandfather’s boss.
Now in Mariposa, they had a brand new high school built right next to the elementary school where I was in the first grade. And one day they announced that a magician was going to put on a show at the high school’s new auditorium. We had to bring to school a quarter, 25 cents, to attend that show.
When you’re in first grade in those days you’re sort of floating through life, so I’m not sure if we couldn’t afford that 25 cents, which was very likely, or I just forgot to ask for it. But came the show day, everybody else in class marched to the auditorium and I was told I had to go home. Home was a five mile hike out of town.
Well, I was heart-broken at this rejection. And as I walked past the high school toward the forestry camp, tears streamed down my little face. And who should see me but Wally. He ran over and asked me what was wrong. Between sobs I told him. Wally took me by the arm, walked me down to the auditorium and paid my 25 cents to his buddy who was taking money at the door. Can you even imagine how happy and redeemed I felt?!
And every time I read about the sacrificial love of Christ, about the grace of God that saves me, I feel just as full of joy as I felt that day when Wally paid my way. I just want to jump up and click my heels and shout “HALLELUJAH!”
In our text, verse 10 says, “If we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son while we were still enemies, now that we have been reconciled, how much more certain is it that we will be saved by His life?”
Friends, He loved us before we even knew Him.
As I mentioned before, our real problem is often that we forget to whom we belong. As children of the King, we often have unopened gifts – gifts of peace, grace and hope. We stand about and wring our hands, we worry when instead we should be praying, and the gifts that will be the answer to our difficulties – peace, grace, and hope – are waiting right there for us.
Ever watch one of those scary movies where the hero is about to go go down into the basement, or open that garage door, and in your heart you are saying “Don’t go in the basement! Don’t open that door!”
In my imagination, I can see us moping about in anger and frustration over issues we are not equipped to solve, and off-stage the angels are watching us saying, “Open the gifts! Open the gifts! Open the gifts!” – because peace, grace, and hope are waiting for you there.
So let’s talk about peace, grace, and hope for a minute.
Swiss theologian Karl Barth wrote, “Peace with God is … effected by a God-given transformation … through which the proper relation between the Creator and the creature is re-established, and by means of which also the only true and proper love towards God is brought into being … Peace is declared when imprisoned truth is set at liberty and when the righteousness of God is made manifest.”
Augustine is credited with saying, “The truth is like a lion. You don't have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.”
But too often, we whom God has blessed with liberty and freedom don’t turn truth loose, and we invite the wrath of God when we do that. In Paul’s first chapter to the Romans, verse 1:18, we read “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” Instead of setting the truth of God free, we hold it in unrighteousness. That means we know the truth, but we don’t care. We know what goes on in Las Vegas, but we don’t care and they brag that the city’s nickname is “Sin City.”
People know that alcohol degrades our driving ability with the first drink, but we don’t care. We drink it, we drive, and so far this year Tennessee has 542 dead people from highway accidents; 61 more than this time last year; 151 of those killed, torn from their families, were alcohol-related.
We know what sin is, but too many of us don’t care. We hold the truth in unrighteousness.
God is a just God. We are without excuse. We hold the truth in unrighteousness and invite the wrath of God.
But this lesson is about hope, isn’t it; about peace, grace, and hope. In a word the peace Paul is talking about is reconciliation. Not just the reconciling of the individual to God, but the complete and permanent reconciliation of the whole world to its sovereign Lord.
Where Paul speaks of grace, imagine a great hall, into which we have all been invited and made welcome. It is as we stand together in this great hall that Jesus grants us unrestricted access to the presence of Almighty God. We have not earned or deserved this special privilege, but we receive it, nonetheless. Just as Wally bought my way in, Jesus has bought our way in with his sacrificial love.
What Paul seems to have in mind here is a relocation of humanity’s relationship to God. This relocation happens here and now, making whatever human experience is in the present (even if it is suffering) capable of standing firm.
As regards hope, a good way to understand the content of the hope Paul i8s talking about here is to recall descriptions of God’s glory in the Hebrew scriptures. For example, in Exodus 40, verse 35, it reads, “Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
When Isaiah describes his great vision in Isaiah 6, verse 3, and sees the Lord on His throne, he hears the two winged creatures shouting to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; / the whole earth is full of His glory.”
And then the prophet Ezekiel, in one of his visions, saw “the Lord’s glory” as it “rose from above the winged creatures and moved toward the temple’s threshold. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory.” (Ezekiel 10:4)
With these in mind, then, we are now able to hope in the all-encompassing, fully indwelling presence of Almighty God, the kind that left Moses with a glow on his face. That is the hope that is ours, made possible by Jesus, Moreover, we should be so confident in that hope, so overwhelmed with joy that we actually want to boast about it. The boasting Paul refers to here is more akin to what the prophet Jeremiah said in his ninth chapter, verses 23-24: “Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know Me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.”
I might note that the NIV uses the word “rejoice” instead of “boast”, perhaps since that word as we use it and understand it today reeks of self-advertisement; something we generally find distasteful.
And while we’re talking about individual words, what about the word translated “enemies” in verse 10? “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son…” Do you think it is too strong to call us “enemies” before we knew Christ?
If you do think “enemies” is too strong a word, let me share with you two other instances of the use of that word –
From Psalm 58:3 – “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”
And from Ephesians 2:12 – “That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world…”
Let me ask you some questions to consider in the hope of drawing out some of your experiences with peace, grace, and hope. For example, what words would you use to describe how you have experienced the “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” that Paul talks about in verse one?
[Peace for most people in Paul’s day would have meant “pax Romana”, a tenuous civil order secured by imperial rule. But for Paul “peace” would have meant an inward assurance of our worth and God’s love. It doesn’t always mean the absence of trouble or hardship.]
Secondly, is it possible you have seen evidence of God’s grace in your life? How did it manifest itself? What did it mean to you? Think about that for a moment.
[God’s glory is grounded in God’s faithful love for all things and has always existed. It is this all-encompassing, never-failing character of divine glory that invites our certain hope that God will bring to pass the divine purpose for all creation.]
Now, as we read in today’s scripture, Paul’s perspective on suffering and the hardships of life is that they are part of the human condition; but through Jesus own suffering and death, human suffering is transformed into a channel through which God’s love flows to redeem that very suffering. Paul recommends rejoicing in our suffering and hardships, and expressing utter confidence in God’s love.
Has Paul’s chain – of trouble followed by endurance followed by character-building followed by hope -- shown to be true in your experience? What do you think?
In closing I would note that Paul is emphasizing to his Roman readers, and down through the centuries to you and I, that the death of Jesus establishes that God has a radical love that is given before we know to ask for it – while we were still weak – and in spite of the fact that we do not deserve it – while we were still sinners. Amazing -- that is what John Newton calls it in his famous song from 1st Chronicles 17, “Amazing Grace.”
We close with prayer: “God of peace, grace, and hope, grant us what we need to endure our problems and trouble with faith. Let our character be in tune with Yours. Let us never lose hope of Your glory; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”