Sermon Text: Romans 8:1-4 #823 – Third Sunday in Lent
March 4, 2018
Now This is The Life! Have you ever found yourself thinking to yourself, “now this is the life!”? Perhaps you were on vacation, the weather was perfect, you’re sitting back and relaxing, cold drink in your hand, toes in the sand, everything in your world seemed right at the time. Or maybe you had one of those days where everything just seemed to go right for you, everything came together . . . it was a good hair day, you received a raise and some praise at work, your kids or spouse came home with good news, and to top the day off you had your favorite meal for dinner. Or perhaps it was at a family gathering – Thanksgiving or Christmas – especially, now, I’m talking about those with grandkids and maybe even great-grandkids. The whole family was together. You’d spent the whole day together; the food; the conversation; the games. At some point as everyone’s enjoying each other’s company, you look around the room and think to yourself, “God’s been good to me. This is the life!” I’m here to assure you this morning that while those type of days may be rare, that your entire existence – your whole life - can be viewed and characterized in those terms. Because we live in Christ Jesus through faith in him, we are living the good life each and every day. We live every day under the law or the principle of Spirit-given life . . . and this life is good, very good! These four short verses from Romans chapter 8 are powerful, powerful words. And I pray that they have or come to mean as much to you as they do to me. This life that we enjoy through our relationship with Jesus Christ by faith is truly the life . . . the good life! There are two basic facts about this life that we have which the apostle Paul spells out in our lesson that can be summarized with the famous axiom: To err is human; but to forgive is Divine. Everyone knows that to err is human. We’ve all been human long enough ourselves and dealt with enough other humans to know this all too well. A common excuse for the sins we commit and the mistakes we make is: “Come on! What do you expect? I’m only human.” What’s that supposed to mean? Why’s that an excuse? Well, it’s not an excuse! But it is an explanation. Why do we sin? Because we are sinful human beings. We are all born into this world with a sinful nature. And that sinful nature, Paul was inspired to write just a few verses after our lesson, “is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (vs. 7). That not only explains why we sin; it also explains why we all naturally are and eternally deserve to live out our existence under what our lesson calls “the law of sin and death.” Here the word law does not refer to God’s commands. Here the word law refers to a principle or a rule that is always in effect. Like a law of science, for example. The law of gravity always applies to us as long as we are here in the sphere of earth’s atmosphere. You won’t start floating or flying off anytime. The law of gravity always applies to you and to everyone here on planet Earth. So also does the law of sin and death. It applies to every human being from the moment they’re conceived and born into this world. As human beings we by nature are controlled by our sinful nature. And Paul goes on to say, “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God” (vs.8). Sin isn’t just what we do; it’s what we are by nature. To err is human. That’s a law, a fact you can count on. Your children will sin against you; count on it. Your spouse will sin against you; count on it. Your friends will sin against you; and you will sin against each and all of them. And each of those sins is an offense to God. An offense that deserves God’s wrath and punishment. An offense that deserves death and hell.