Sermon 18th October 2009

Today, one of our Lay Readers, Adrian Parkhouse preaches based on the reading from Romans 6:1-14


“…just as Christ was raised from the dead…we too may live a new life.”

1. Is there a “young idealist” in the house?

“Who am I looking for?” Is suppose a visionary; someone who cherishes ideas which are lofty and romantic, ideas that are positive and constructive; someone one looking forward with optimism and purpose. Perhaps the sort of person who would have been in Cameron’s midnight beach party 25 years ago “setting the world aright” (see last week’s sermon).

And I only said “young” as I rather assumed that someone like this was more likely to be found among the younger folk than among us oldies, whom years of experience have hardened into cynical realism (– or is that just me?).

I ask the question because I came across the notes of a young idealist this week – notes made perhaps 30/35 years ago in an unstructured way but which nonetheless provide an insight into the thinking of the breed – these “idealists”.

They are notes in this book – a bible – and comprise occasional marginal jottings, but more often underlining in several colours, some more heavily emphasised than others; notes made over a period of time. And as I say, together you can piece together what may have been driving this particular “religious idealist”. One strong theme emerges from the heavy underlining of these diverse passages:

“..we teach everyone we can so that, if possible, we may bring very man up to his full maturity in Christ Jesus.” (Col 1:29)
“The ultimate aim of the Christian ministry is to produce the love which springs from a pure heart, good conscience and genuine faith….” (1Tim: 15)
“His gifts were made…that the whole body might be built up until the time comes when we arrive at real maturity – that measure of development which is meant by the “fullness of Christ”” (Eph 4:13)

An idealist then, who is expects their faith to have an ultimate aim, and the promise of producing love, maturity and fullness.

2. We continue our study of Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. We have come to chapter 6 which means that, in our recent studies, a fortnight ago John took us through Paul’s teaching on how our being put right with God depended entirely on the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus – and not on anything we could or can achieve ourselves; and last week Cameron led us though the “breather” that is chapter 5, as Paul drew together various strands of the meaning of our being justified – emphasising the consequences of peace, hope and joy (joy even in our troubles). [I pause here just to note that in chapter 5, our Idealist has a line in the margin of vvs 4 and 5, “these things will give us patient endurance [which] will develop a mature character…”].

The start of chapter 6 marks the start of a new theme in Paul’s teaching – some have called it a “right turn”: he has explained “justification” and he now moves on to “sanctification”. Our Idealist wouldn’t favour that word: they haven’t, but they might have preferred to mark the phrase which comes up at various points in various translations: “live our new life”. I think the Idealist would want to have emphasised the point that Paul is beginning to teach his readers about living the Christian life – and in particular about the differences between that life and the life they would lived before they knew the peace and hope and joy that Christ has brought.

3. This is the theme that will see out our study of the letter over the next few weeks – as we edge towards the crescendo that is Paul’s teaching of a life lived under the influence of the Holy Spirit in chapter 8. In these early verses, his concern is to explain how the new life is marked by an entirely different view of our relationship to temptation and to sin. He starts by taking a conclusion that may have been drawn by cynical logic from the fact that it is faith, not good behaviour, which brings peace with God: the conclusion posed is: OK then, if behaviour is not important, let’s put “peace with God” in the bag and carry on behaving just as we used to! No, says Paul: wrong conclusion. Wrong conclusion because what we are describing here is a relationship, not a tick-box qualification. You were not saved, justified, reconciled to God by saying “I have faith”: you were saved because, however imperfectly, however poorly you may have able to describe it, you understood who God was and what he had done – because you took the first step on a relationship-path, which involved sharing and the start of understanding.

Here Paul dwells on the shared experience of dying and being raised to something new; he draws in the experience of baptism, describing the ducking as sharing Jesus’ death, only to be able to be raised to something entirely new. “Sharing Jesus’ death”. There is a thought – not I think something I have previously considered. On Good Friday, in your meditations, where do you see yourself: with Mary and the disciples watching from the crowd; or sharing Jesus’ place on the cross? Paul suggests that both are places we occupy. And I read this this week: “There is a great difference between realising “On that cross he was crucified for me” and “On that cross I am crucified with Him.” The one aspect brings in deliverance from sin’s condemnation, the other deliverance from sin’s power”.

4. Paul is clear: the new life is a life for good, for righteousness, lived “under grace”. The Christian is intended to be wary of the power of wrong, of sin – to avoid it, to “put ourselves in God’s hands as weapons for good”. To him it can not be any other way: the old is dead and gone - elsewhere he speaks of our having laid it aside (Eph 4:22), of our having “God’s nature…for good” in us and so our being incapable of habitually doing wrong (1 Jn 3:6ff).

5. Another passage heavily underlined by our Idealist was from I Cor 4: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of a spate of words but the power of Christian living.” I not apologise that the preachers in recent weeks have used words like “justification” and ”sanctification”: they can be helpful shorthand. But the Kingdom of God is not about words, suggests the Idealist, it is about the power of Christian living – it is about spiritual maturity, about love from a pure heart, about working towards the “fullness of Christ” - those other aspects of which Paul’s teaching which deserved to be underlined.

6. It is a strange thing, revisiting your past. Photographs show something of you. Flipping through this old bible of mine has reminded me of something else: how I longed for my faith to bring me to the point where, never mind the words (and the Lord knows, I love words), my life might reflect the power of the Kingdom of God. Idealistic, romantic, hopeless? You are better placed to judge the ageing cynic who had emerged from the idealism of youth? And believe me I know (some at least) of my faults.

But I am pleased to recognise what I glimpsed then; to re-affirm that vision as the vision that drives me still; to pick it up, to run with it; to thank God that we do live a new life, shared with Christ; to thank Him that I know that we are freed from power of sin and that the relationship we enjoy is drawing us to maturity and love.

Any more aging Idealists in the house?

Sermon 11th October 2009

Today, our Vicar, Rev’d Cameron Barker preaches based on the reading from Romans 5:1-11


It only happened a few times – but that was partly what made it so special. It was definitely a spur-of-the-moment thing. Back in my teenage student days, as pub-closing time approached, a few of us would realise that we hadn't put the world to rights quite yet. Someone would then make the suggestion, and the hardy ones would pile into cars. We'd head into the night, through those hilly passes leading out of Grahamstown, down toward the east coast.

Some 60 miles away lay the sleeping hamlet of Kenton-on-Sea. On the deserted beach we'd claim a patch of sand, gather driftwood for a fire, and pass the wine around it. Discussion continued through the night, but had usually faded before that moment. We'd stand then, in awed silence, as the sun rose with African suddenness over the Indian Ocean. This http://www.tankedup-imaging.com/images/sunrise.jpg doesn't do it justice, of course: no picture ever could. But in a matter of minutes it went from pitch black to shining bright. What we could then see was the glory and splendour, stretching for miles and miles. Sea, sky and mountains illuminated in a most majestic sight.

As I say, those were very special times, just to witness that scene. I would say, “if you've never done anything like it yourself, then be sure that you do one day”. But, in one way at least, you won't need to after today. You see, what we've just heard from Paul is the equivalent of my African sunrise. The light's shining bright now, illuminating the glory and splendour of the landscape of just what God has done in Christ. We can see the full extent of it at last, not least because Paul has spelled it out here. And the only right phrase for it as we finally see its scope is “awesome!”

I can hardly believe you're still in your seat after hearing this passage! I know we're Anglicans not Pentecostals – and mostly British too, of course! But this is so exciting, so amazing, so transforming, so wonderful, so awesome, so ... there aren't even words for it ... that it calls for precisely what Paul wrote here: rejoicing! And, by the time I'm done, I'd hope that's exactly what we will do! We may even rattle the roof – or we should!

I can probably guess what the fly in the ointment is, though – and so I won't duck that issue. But I do want, and need, to set that in the context that Paul did: just what it is that God has done, and so accomplished, through Jesus. Paul spent the first 4 chapters of his letter spelling it out in detail: what we call the doctrine of justification by faith. Our readings in this series have been deeply challenging, I've found; but also hugely reassuring. Yes, we've seen what the problem with humanity is – and what that looks like in ourselves. We've heard just what a perilous position that leave us each in before God. But we have also seen God's just solution to remedy it: the gift of his own death in our place, in the person of his Son, Jesus.

Here Paul now paused, to contemplate the implications of it all. Of course his assumption was that his readers had not just heard, but responded to this truth that he believed in, lived by, and preached. If that's not true of you, there's a vital conversation to be had afterwards, or later. That can arise from the summary of the issues Paul included, in verses 6-9. If it is true of you, though, sit back and enjoy what it means that you have been justified through faith. Because there's rather a lot to take in!

The first thing to note is how Paul switched to the present tense. Now that we have been (in the past)... we are / do / now have. He did include the future here too; but we need to focus on the present, to realise what difference the death and resurrection of Jesus makes now. And the first difference it makes now is this: “we have peace with God”.

Peace is always topical, because most people would love to be at peace: in themselves; at work; at home; and in their country. Well, the route to that kind of peace is by being personally at peace with God. And we can be; by believing that Jesus died for us. I do wonder whether the 1960’s and the flower-power movement, with its slogan of ‘peace’ ruined the word for everyday use. The words we’d use as alternatives for 'peace' would involve warm feeling - like “calm” or “gentle”. And that’s right – as far as it goes. But the meaning of “peace” in the Bible is the same as in the dictionary. That, maybe surprisingly, is “freedom from war”.

So, if peace is freedom from war, who were we at war with? Paul wrote that we were at war with God. Before Jesus died for us, we were God’s enemies: we were at war with him. Through his death, Jesus made it possible for our war with God to end – and for those who believe in him to be God’s friends instead. As Paul pointed out in verses 6-8, it's not that we deserve it, or are worth it. In Jesus God did it for us, precisely because we were helpless. So that's the next benefit of being right with God through Jesus: we stop being his enemies, and become his friends.

And there are more benefits to being right with God. Through Jesus we have gained access into this experience of God’s grace in which we now stand. We might not realise it, but those who believe in Jesus stand in God’s presence. This is a present reality: we’re always in God’s presence. And we are there by right. God looks at us, sees Jesus, and delights that we’re in his presence.

And Paul hadn’t finished yet! Not only have we been put right with God in the past; not only do we have peace with God now; not only are we now his friends rather than his enemies; not only do we live in his presence in the present: we also have hope for the future. I’ve said before that “hope” in the Bible is far stronger than what we usually mean. To hope for something in the Bible is to be sure it will happen. So what can we be sure will happen? So sure that we can rejoice in (a Greek phrase which can also be translated “boast of”) it? The promise that we will share God’s glory. Christians can be sure that we'll be permanently admitted into the glorious presence of God in ways that we can’t even begin to fathom now.

But how can we be sure all this is true? Paul offered both a subjective and an objective test that we can apply. In verse 5 he wrote that subjectively our hearts will confirm it’s true. If we're Christians God has poured his love into our hearts by his Holy Spirit. That's part of the deal: one way we know that is that if we stop and think about what God has done, our hearts leap for joy. Deep down we simply know it’s all true. And, if that is not enough, there’s still the objective test. In verses 9-10 Paul reminded us of what God has already done. He has done the hard part by dying for us; he has broken down the wall that separates us; he has admitted us into his presence; he has brought us into this experience of his grace. The rest is child’s play in comparison. What awaits is comparatively easy. If God has already done all that, how can he not be able to complete it and admit us to heaven?

There's so much more that could be said, about all of this, not least about being saved from God's anger (or “wrath”). But I'm very aware of the elephant that's been in the room all along: the notion of us also rejoicing in (or “boasting of”) suffering. I'm assuming that's all that's holding us back from dancing in the aisles after hearing what the good news means for us in all its glory! Like peace, suffering is always topical, because so many people experience it, in so many ways. I should say, though, that here Paul meant suffering for the faith. That was the rule rather than the exception in his time – as Paul well knew, from much personal experience.

For most of us in the West now it's the other way round – but that doesn't make what we do have to face any easier. The good news is that I'm sure the same principle applies to all suffering. And, just to be clear, it's not masochism! We are to rejoice not because of suffering – but in it. Paul gave the reason for that here too: it's because there is - or can be – an almost chemical process around suffering. If we stand firm, in the biblical-style hope of what God has already done, and what he will do through Jesus, we really can face anything. It may not feel that way, always or even often – but that's why we have these facts to rely on. The facts don't change, no matter what. And they are what count the most. The facts can be trusted, relied on, built on, and used by God to help us persevere, build our character, and hope.

That may sound glib; but those of you who know me know that I don't say such things lightly. I know it's about Jesus, not about me – but it may help to say a little about me here. Like that being deported from South Africa aged 21 was hard beyond imagining. How then being told, just weeks before ordination, that your wife will most likely die before your children become 6 and 4 takes quite some hearing. Living with all those uncertainties year after year; the treatments that became ever more difficult and painful; going on the transplant waiting list; then, over three years later, through the operation itself; and its aftermath – all while being a Vicar – has been faith-challenging to put it mildly. So is knowing the transplant survival statistics now. But, through all the ups and downs, the tears and fears (of which there have been many), I, we have persevered, and become the people of hope we are – because of the facts. We have done it with the help of Holy Spirit pouring God's love into our hearts. And this hope does not disappoint us.

Paul shone his light on these glorious facts: of what Jesus has done; of what that means for us; now; and in the future. He urged us to rejoice – because we have been put right with God through faith; because we do have peace with God; because we have gained access into this experience of God’s grace; because we do have this sure hope of sharing God’s glory; to rejoice even in suffering, because we know that it can produce more hope; to rejoice because Christ died for us while we were still helpless sinners; because of the love that he has poured into our hearts by his Holy Spirit; because we can be sure that he will keep all his promises. As Paul said, so let us rejoice – because of what God has done in Jesus. And so let’s pray ...

Sermon 4th October 2009

Righteousness through faith

Today, our Associate Vicar, John Itumu, preaches based on the passage from Romans 3:21- 31.

There is a story in one of the gospels that tells of Jesus defending himself from the criticism of Pharisees for mixing with wrong company:

Mark 2:15-17:
While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with ‘sinners’ and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
On hearing this Jesus said this to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’
According to Pharisees, God’s mercy only extended to those who obeyed the Law of Moses and the traditions of elders. Jewish tax collectors were regarded as outcasts and sinners. They were not welcome in the synagogues; a disgrace that even extended to their families.
I think this incident speaks volumes about an inherent characteristic in most human beings: the inability to see, to use Jesus’ word again ‘ the log in our own eye.’ This unpopular principle is behind justification as explained by Paul who declares that all men and women are sinful, guilty and without excuse before God. ALL, you and I are a sinful lot. Accepting one’s sinfulness is the gate to becoming a follower of Christ – a Christian. It is a difficult hurdle to clear and it is not a popular one! In our human nature, even as we accept our sinfulness we more easily see the differences in the severity of sinning. We even quietly rejoice at our relative ‘goodness’ and ‘righteousness’ as compared to others. But not Paul. In another gospel (John 8:1-11) Jesus confronts a group of people who are about to stone a woman caught in adultery. He challenges anyone who has no sin to be the first to throw a stone at her. They all quietly disperse.
‘... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’... and are justified freely by his grace (grace of God) through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus’.
But what does it mean to be justified? Justification is the opposite of condemnation. Both are pronounced by a judge. Justification is more than pardon. Pardon says, you are free to go but in justification Christ declares very positively ‘come to my presence and love.’
What is the source of Justification?– v24 God and his grace this is the amazing grace that John Newton once sang about, Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me…
On what ground does justification occur? How can a righteous loving God let sin go unpunished? How and why does justify the wicked? The answer is - Christ and his cross. How? All are justified freely by grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Jesus has bought us out of captivity of sin by shedding blood as the price, ransom-rescue. V25 – God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement...in other words...
...God presented Christ as a propitiation for our sins...
To propitiate (according to the dictionary) is to stop somebody from being angry by trying to please them. But isn’t it ludicrous to suggest that it is possible to appease God?
The Christian understanding of propitiation is different from a pagan view. For the pagans the gods are bad tempered, even unpredictable and need to be regularly appeased, even bribed. In contrast God’s righteous anger is aroused by evil alone.
God has a righteous anger against sin. This divine wrath needed to be dealt with and God presented Jesus as sacrifice of atonement

1 John 4:10
‘This is love: not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins’

For the pagans we undertake to appease the gods because we have offended them. Christians believe that we cannot pacify, or conciliate the righteous anger of God. We are simply incapable. Thanks to God, the poor would never have access to God!

God however did this by coming in the person of Jesus to die as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. The idea of God providing the means by which sin could be dealt with is enshrined in the Old Testament understanding of sacrifice. God always provided his people with the animals that they would in turn offer to him as a sacrifice of atonement for their sins.

Lev 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves and on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
God in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth came to show us how to live, then died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. The love, the idea, the purpose, the initiative, the action and the gift were all God’s. There is nothing to boast about! The job required to put us right with our creator has been done. All that is needed is to accept this act by faith.

Justification is the heart of the gospel. No other religion or ideology lays claim to free forgiveness and a new life to those who do not deserve. All others teach some form of self-salvation through good works - philanthropy, self -righteousness. Only Christianity acknowledges the huge chasm between God and sinful human beings, we. The necessity to bridge this gap is what the gospel proclaims. The redemption that comes through Jesus Christ crucified.

My intention this morning is not to induce guilt in you – for then I would have failed miserably. My goal is to remind us that there exists an all powerful God who loves us and longs that we take a step of faith and entrust our lives to him. He alone can sort our brokenness; only he can put us together again, as we were originally meant to be. He only asks that we trust him. That is faith.

The choice is mine – the choice is yours.