It's About Grace
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series III, Cycle B
When Bill Clinton was running for president, there was a phrase that drove his political campaign. It was invoked repeatedly so that no one in the campaign would lose sight of the core issue at stake. Do you remember what it was? "It's about the economy, stupid." Lest anyone get sidetracked on unrelated issues, the reminder was ever before them: "It's about the economy, stupid."
As Christians who happen to also be Lutheran, there is a phrase that we could adopt that might help us clarify the core issue at stake for us. For we have a tendency to get sidetracked with so many extraneous issues that we can lose sight of our center. That's when we need to stop and remind ourselves: Duh! It's about grace, stupid! Grace, the unconditional love of God that is given freely to the undeserving. It sounds so simple, but it is so hard to really grasp. It's never been easy for God's people to get it.
Remember the story where God told Jonah to go preach to the Ninevites so that they would repent? Jonah didn't want to do it, so he ran in the opposite direction. Of course, God wouldn't take no for an answer and after some rather amazing intervention, Jonah finally obeyed. He brought a halfhearted message to Nineveh, but it was enough for the people to listen and repent, which was exactly why Jonah didn't want to do it in the first place. Then he got really mad. "I just knew this would happen!" he told God. "I knew that if I preached to the Ninevites you'd end up forgiving them. I knew you were gracious, and that's exactly why I didn't want to come here. You never know where to draw the line, God. If you must be gracious, then be gracious to Israel, but don't waste it on these good-for-nothing Ninevites!" Jonah resented the grace of God. He wasn't the only one.
Consider the life of Jesus, who was the embodiment of God's grace. For the sinners, the tax collectors, the social outcasts, and all who were recipients of his grace, Jesus was the greatest. But for the good, moral people of his day, his grace was a threat to society, which was built upon proving your worthiness by doing what was right and good.
God's grace was also a huge source of controversy for the earliest Christians. It had Saint Paul between a rock and a hard place most of the time. On the one hand, he had to contend with those good religious types who clung to the idea that the more you followed the rules, the closer you were to finding a place in God's kingdom. On the other hand, he saw people use God's grace as an excuse to do whatever they wished with no regard for God's laws.
You see, Paul knew beyond a doubt, from personal experience as a one-time enemy of Christ, that the love of God has nothing to do with our deserving it. He also understood the mind of those who were legalistic because at one time he was the same way himself. But Paul knew that grace had a way of changing people. And once they really experienced the fullness of God's grace, they would naturally respond by living according to God's will. This is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith, that living good, law-abiding lives does not earn God's love. But when we experience God's love, which is freely given by God's grace, we respond by living good, law-abiding lives.
That's what Ephesians 2 is about. Paul explains how sin produces spiritually dead people. Dead people can't do anything for themselves; they're stuck, helpless. While we were totally unable to do anything to help ourselves, God came and took us in his arms and carried us to salvation. It's not because of anything we've done but simply by God's grace that we've been saved. You don't have anything to brag about so far as your salvation is concerned; it's a gift from God to the undeserving.
It is like the prodigal son who rehearsed his apology over and over again as he headed back home with his tail between his legs. He never got the opportunity to grovel at his father's feet and beg for forgiveness because his father didn't need to hear it. He was so overcome with love for his son who had come home that he swept him up in his arms and showered him with gifts. The son didn't deserve any of it, but it's about grace. There is nothing you do to earn it. You don't have to confess your sins. You don't have to accept Jesus as your personal Savior. You don't have to come forward for an altar call. You don't have to believe every word of the Apostles' Creed. You don't have to join a church. And here's the big one, you don't even have to be a good person! You don't have to do anything! It's about grace. It doesn't even mean that God does his part and we have to do a little bit on our part to meet God halfway. It's about grace -- grace alone -- period!
When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he wanted to silence anyone who claimed that their own good deeds in any way contributed to their salvation. After he makes that point perfectly clear, he concludes his argument by making a statement that almost seems to contradict everything he just said: "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life" (Ephesians 2:10). He tells the Ephesians that they aren't saved by doing good works but by the grace of God alone. Then he tacks on this verse, putting in a plug for good works. "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." What's the deal?
Paul doesn't want anyone to get carried away and think that he's against good works here. He's not against good works. He's just against those who live as if they must score brownie points with God as a way of earning their own salvation. Salvation comes by grace alone. But that doesn't mean that Christians should run around saying, "I can do whatever I want because God's gonna love and forgive me anyway. It doesn't really matter what I do." Good works still have their place in the life of a Christian. In fact, Paul says that God created us to do good works. When the grace of God becomes real for us, we want to respond by loving and serving him, not because we have to and if we don't we're going to burn in hell. We respond because God loves us and we respond in gratitude by loving him back.
It's like parents who lay down the law and insist that their children obey the rules or they will withhold their love from them. The children may obey, but it's done out of fear and not out of love for the parents. Other parents may do all they can to assure their children that they are loved unconditionally. When their children really experience that gracious love, they want to do things that make their parents happy and proud. Not because they feel they need to do good stuff or their parents won't love them anymore, but because they know their parents will love them no matter what they do, so they want to do good stuff.
Saint Paul makes it clear that we're not saved by good works, yet we're not saved without them either. Jesus says, "I love you. If you love me, you will keep my commandments." He doesn't say, "You must keep my commandments, and if you do, I will love you." Once we know God's grace, it changes us. We are free to grow into the people God created us to be, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." Amen.
As Christians who happen to also be Lutheran, there is a phrase that we could adopt that might help us clarify the core issue at stake for us. For we have a tendency to get sidetracked with so many extraneous issues that we can lose sight of our center. That's when we need to stop and remind ourselves: Duh! It's about grace, stupid! Grace, the unconditional love of God that is given freely to the undeserving. It sounds so simple, but it is so hard to really grasp. It's never been easy for God's people to get it.
Remember the story where God told Jonah to go preach to the Ninevites so that they would repent? Jonah didn't want to do it, so he ran in the opposite direction. Of course, God wouldn't take no for an answer and after some rather amazing intervention, Jonah finally obeyed. He brought a halfhearted message to Nineveh, but it was enough for the people to listen and repent, which was exactly why Jonah didn't want to do it in the first place. Then he got really mad. "I just knew this would happen!" he told God. "I knew that if I preached to the Ninevites you'd end up forgiving them. I knew you were gracious, and that's exactly why I didn't want to come here. You never know where to draw the line, God. If you must be gracious, then be gracious to Israel, but don't waste it on these good-for-nothing Ninevites!" Jonah resented the grace of God. He wasn't the only one.
Consider the life of Jesus, who was the embodiment of God's grace. For the sinners, the tax collectors, the social outcasts, and all who were recipients of his grace, Jesus was the greatest. But for the good, moral people of his day, his grace was a threat to society, which was built upon proving your worthiness by doing what was right and good.
God's grace was also a huge source of controversy for the earliest Christians. It had Saint Paul between a rock and a hard place most of the time. On the one hand, he had to contend with those good religious types who clung to the idea that the more you followed the rules, the closer you were to finding a place in God's kingdom. On the other hand, he saw people use God's grace as an excuse to do whatever they wished with no regard for God's laws.
You see, Paul knew beyond a doubt, from personal experience as a one-time enemy of Christ, that the love of God has nothing to do with our deserving it. He also understood the mind of those who were legalistic because at one time he was the same way himself. But Paul knew that grace had a way of changing people. And once they really experienced the fullness of God's grace, they would naturally respond by living according to God's will. This is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith, that living good, law-abiding lives does not earn God's love. But when we experience God's love, which is freely given by God's grace, we respond by living good, law-abiding lives.
That's what Ephesians 2 is about. Paul explains how sin produces spiritually dead people. Dead people can't do anything for themselves; they're stuck, helpless. While we were totally unable to do anything to help ourselves, God came and took us in his arms and carried us to salvation. It's not because of anything we've done but simply by God's grace that we've been saved. You don't have anything to brag about so far as your salvation is concerned; it's a gift from God to the undeserving.
It is like the prodigal son who rehearsed his apology over and over again as he headed back home with his tail between his legs. He never got the opportunity to grovel at his father's feet and beg for forgiveness because his father didn't need to hear it. He was so overcome with love for his son who had come home that he swept him up in his arms and showered him with gifts. The son didn't deserve any of it, but it's about grace. There is nothing you do to earn it. You don't have to confess your sins. You don't have to accept Jesus as your personal Savior. You don't have to come forward for an altar call. You don't have to believe every word of the Apostles' Creed. You don't have to join a church. And here's the big one, you don't even have to be a good person! You don't have to do anything! It's about grace. It doesn't even mean that God does his part and we have to do a little bit on our part to meet God halfway. It's about grace -- grace alone -- period!
When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he wanted to silence anyone who claimed that their own good deeds in any way contributed to their salvation. After he makes that point perfectly clear, he concludes his argument by making a statement that almost seems to contradict everything he just said: "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life" (Ephesians 2:10). He tells the Ephesians that they aren't saved by doing good works but by the grace of God alone. Then he tacks on this verse, putting in a plug for good works. "For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." What's the deal?
Paul doesn't want anyone to get carried away and think that he's against good works here. He's not against good works. He's just against those who live as if they must score brownie points with God as a way of earning their own salvation. Salvation comes by grace alone. But that doesn't mean that Christians should run around saying, "I can do whatever I want because God's gonna love and forgive me anyway. It doesn't really matter what I do." Good works still have their place in the life of a Christian. In fact, Paul says that God created us to do good works. When the grace of God becomes real for us, we want to respond by loving and serving him, not because we have to and if we don't we're going to burn in hell. We respond because God loves us and we respond in gratitude by loving him back.
It's like parents who lay down the law and insist that their children obey the rules or they will withhold their love from them. The children may obey, but it's done out of fear and not out of love for the parents. Other parents may do all they can to assure their children that they are loved unconditionally. When their children really experience that gracious love, they want to do things that make their parents happy and proud. Not because they feel they need to do good stuff or their parents won't love them anymore, but because they know their parents will love them no matter what they do, so they want to do good stuff.
Saint Paul makes it clear that we're not saved by good works, yet we're not saved without them either. Jesus says, "I love you. If you love me, you will keep my commandments." He doesn't say, "You must keep my commandments, and if you do, I will love you." Once we know God's grace, it changes us. We are free to grow into the people God created us to be, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." Amen.
