For the 4th Sunday in Advent on December 23, 2007 the assigned readings are Isaiah 7:10-17 (Virgin shall conceive); Romans 1:1-7 (Paul, an apostle) and Matthew 1:18-25 (The birth of Jesus). Chosen for the sermon is Romans 1:7, “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.”

Once again we find a passage that can be taken in two ways–the wrong way and the right way from a Law and Gospel perspective. The wrong way is the thinking of the Theologian of Glory; the right way is the thinking of the Theologian of the Cross. Here is how the THOG interprets this verse: “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to become saints.” Note the difference in the word “become” instead of “be”.

The natural man as well as the Old Adam of the Christian cannot fathom the notion that a Christian is at one and the same time both sinner and saint. It must be an either…or, not a both…and. How do we reconcile this apparent contradiction? First, we realize that we need to regard the phrase not from our point of view but from God’s. That’s why it is called theology and not manology. (”Theos” is the word “God” in the Greek.)

When God regards even the Christian from the point of view of whether we are obeying the Law perfectly, then the conclusion is that we are sinners at all times. However, when God regards the Christian from the point of view of the Gospel, both the forgiveness of sins and the robe of righteousness given to us by grace through faith result in the conclusion that we are sinless saints.

A parent might say to the children, “To all who are in this house, beloved by father and mother, called to be our children…” Note that “children” is not something that they need to become by working on it; rather, they are children by the fact that they have either been born or adopted into the family which lives in this house.

My former copastor, Peter Kurowski, has the practice of referring to members of the congregation as “Saint Fred” or “Saint Ruth” as he distributes the holy Eucharist. As an aside, Dr. Kurowski has also written the first of 5 novels in a series about the Angel of the LORD being Jesus in the Old Testament. The first book is now available at lawgospel.com and is entitled, “The Everlasting Angel: The Mountains of Fire.”

During this Advent/Christmas season, we can rejoice that the baby born in the stable was born in order to die FOR YOU! It is why you are now regarded by God as a holy saint by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is His gift to you. The only thing that God now wants from you is your sin. It’s called repentance.