For the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, the three assigned readings are 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-14; Galatians 2:15-21; 3:10-14 and Luke 7:36-8:3. The text that will be used as the basis for the sermon this coming Sunday is Galatians 3:13, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree).’”
Some passages of Scripture really hit the nail on the head in regard to the essential teaching of the Christian faith. This is one such passage. For while there are passages which appear at first reading to contradict Christianity when works are said to be what gets one into heaven, this passage from Galatians 3 reveals the true purpose of the cross of Christ. The sermon may begin by asking the hearers what they consider to be the true purpose of the cross. For some, the cross is an example we are to follow in setting aside our desires for the needs of another person. Others may speak of the cross as the event when my sins were taken away.
It has been my experience that even the answer of the forgiveness of sins as a benefit of the cross is not properly understood. For example, I recently heard a theologian speak of the idea that because of the cross, we are now innocent. That can be confusing. For it leads to the following analogy in a court room. The jury comes back and indicates that the evidence has not been sufficient to find a person guilty and therefore makes the judgment of “not guilty.” But that is not the message of Christianity. There is more than sufficient evidence to find each of us guilty as poor, miserable sinners deserving nothing but temporal and eternal punishment.
Then what is a more appropriate court room analogy? You are arrested for going over the speed limit. The judge declares you guilty and the sentence is either a $100.00 fine or ten days in jail. Now you have no money at all. However, your brother is in court and offers to pay the $100.00 fine. Will the judge accept the payment from someone other than you? In such a case, he would. Having had the fine paid, you are free to go but are you innocent of the crime? The answer is no. You are still guilty; it’s just that the penalty was fulfilled by someone other than you.
The Christian faith reveals that from our conception, every human being is under the sentence or condemnation of eternal death because of our sins. At the cross, Jesus did NOT take away your sins as though you no longer sin. What He did was pay the penalty of the curse of the Law. How did He then buy or redeem us from eternal death? The verse is clear, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree).’”
The concept of forgiveness does not mean that our sins disappear nor does it mean that suddenly we are now innocent. Insead, forgiveness can be be defined as God declaring that we are no longer held accountable for our sin! And the reason God does this is in light of Jesus Christ becoming your substitute and being held accountable for your sin. He was forsaken by God the Father at the cross so that the believer in Jesus will never be forsaken!
Just as God declared what seemed impossible to be true about Jesus; namely, that He became the worst sinner on earth because He carried every sin to the cross, so also God now declares what seems tobe impossible about you; namely, that you are no longer held accountable for any sin and therefore are regarded by God as a sinless saint. Thus, the paradoxical nature of the Christian faith is as follows: From the point of view of the Law you are a 100% sinner deserving eternal death. From the point of view of the Gospel, you are a 100% saint receiving not only the full forgiveness of sins but also the robe of Christ’s righteousness in the sacramental waters of holy baptism.
Name:Tom Baker