Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2007 : June 10, 2007

Theme: The Only Good News You'll Ever Need

Church year occasion: Pentecost 2

I just came across this article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this past week. I'll read the caption: "Some residents of Rosemont, IL, think the peeling bark on a sycamore tree near a village health club bears an eerie likeness to former Mayor Donald Stephens, who died less than two months ago." OK. In the picture, I can see two darker areas that look like they could be eyes. And there's a lighter spot that could be taken for a nose. But, frankly, I think you'd have to sit in front of that tree a long time before you could see anyone's face. And, actually, I think it might look more like Jesus than the former mayor! The point of this is something that you've heard many times, I'm sure: Don't believe everything you read -- or see or hear.

That is exactly the point Paul wants to make this morning as he speaks to us just as he spoke to the Christians in Galatia so long ago. But Paul's point is much more important than seeing or not seeing a face in the bark of a tree. Paul is talking about the difference between having eternal life and losing it. The only way a person can be saved is through believing the gospel, the good news that Jesus lived and died for us to save us. Paul says that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only good news you'll ever need.

Paul wrote a letter [that we call the book of Galatians] to the Christians in Galatia. Galatia was not a city but actually a Roman province that contained a number of cities where Paul had travelled on his first missionary journey and had started congregations. The people in these cities for the most part rejected what Paul had to say. In one city in Galatia Paul was even stoned to death -- at least the townspeople thought he was dead and left him outside the city thinking they had gotten rid of a troublemaker, but Paul survived by God's grace. So what did he do? He went on to the next town and preached about Jesus there. Paul was a tireless missionary because he knew he had a message people needed for them to have forgiveness and go to heaven. He preached about Jesus and what he did to save the world from sin. As I said, most rejected his message, but in each city a few people believed. This was the beginning of a Christian congregation in each of these cities.

What did he teach the people? Paul sums up his message in his greeting: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father." This is the heart of the gospel, the only good news that they needed. That good news was from God himself who sent his only Son to this world to save it. What was the price that Jesus had to give for such a huge task? It wasn't gold, or silver, or a mountain of jewels or money. All the money in the world could never have paid the price for our sins. No, Jesus gave himself. He lived a holy life in our place in humility, even though he was the King of kings. He also endured the worst kind of agony. Not simply the beatings and mockings and false accusations and nails and thorns, but he endured our eternal punishment. He gave himself -- but for what? To have a great kingdom here on earth? For prestige? For the adoration of the world? No, Jesus endured everything he endured and shed his blood for our sins. (See Galatians 1:4) He did it for you and for me. Nothing less than the perfect and holy blood of the Son of God could have taken away our awful sins. That is the gospel, the good news of our salvation. And God the Father showed that this is the only good news we will ever need by raising Jesus from the dead. He accepted Jesus' sacrifice. That is the good news. Simply believe it. It is the good news that comes from God.

But the enemies of the cross could not believe something so simple. They thought that they still had to do something to earn salvation. It couldn't be so easy. So a short time after Paul had preached the gospel, Paul heard reports about these congregations that didn't make him happy at all. Some Jews came to these towns and told them a different message. They were called Judaizers. An example of what these Judaizers were saying is recorded in Acts 15:1: "Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: 'Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.' " What a horrible thing to say! They were saying that trusting in Jesus for salvation was not enough, you also have to do certain things to be saved. Basically the Judaizers were believing in two saviors -- Jesus and themselves. To them, Jesus wasn't enough. He took care of your sins, but you still have to live a good life. But that's not what Jesus said. That's not what the Holy Spirit says through his inspired prophets and apostles, one of whom was Paul. Paul told the Romans that our righteousness doesn't come from us as we observe God's law, like living a good life and being kind, and obeying our parents and everything else God in his law. No, Paul said, "Now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been make known…This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ." (Romans 3:21-22) Not only did Jesus take all our sins away when he died on the cross, but he also, in place of our sin, gave us his righteousness, his perfection, his holiness that he had earned with his holy, perfect, righteous life. Later in Galatians Paul would emphasize the same thing. He said, "A man is not justified [which means, 'declared not guilty' in God's court of law] by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.... For if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:16, 21) In essence, Paul was telling the Galatians -- and he's telling us -- that if we trust in Jesus for our salvation as well as rely on our good works to make sure we're saved, we won't be saved.

Most of you have seen the Indiana Jones movies, right? Do you remember that scene where Indiana Jones is crossing a huge gorge with crocodiles at the bottom in the river? If you fell, you were dead. Now think of getting to heaven like that -- across a rickety, old wooden bridge with some of the wood half-rotten. There are really only two bridges from here to get to heaven -- Jesus and us. When Jesus died on a cross, he looked like the ricketiest bridge imaginable, as he was bleeding and beaten and ridiculed and nailed to a cross and killed. But the Bible says that's the only way to get to heaven. Jesus himself said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." So there's one question: Will we trust what God says? That is, will we put our full weight on Jesus, just like walking across that rickety bridge? It looks foolish to this world. But the Bible tells us that it's only foolish to those who are perishing, in other words, those who are on their way to hell because they are trusting in something other than Jesus alone for their salvation -- most likely their own good works. They see their own good works as a very strong bridge, maybe even a superhighway with strong steel-reinforced concrete. But Paul tells us: Don't you believe them. Don't believe everything you hear. Believe what the Spirit is telling you in the Bible. There is no way to straddle these two bridges -- they are miles apart. One leads to hell; the other leads to heaven. One leads to eternal punishment; the other leads to eternal life. One makes sense according to human reason; the other is what God tells us is the truth. God tells us, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." The superhighway of your good works leads to death. The simple, basic trust in Jesus and his good works for you leads to life.

That is why Paul uses such harsh words in his letter -- this is a matter of life and death -- eternal life and eternal death! So Paul said, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" Then he restated it to make sure they couldn't misunderstand him. How ridiculous to think that a holy angel could preach a gospel that didn't have salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ alone as its only content! Yet Paul is saying that if that would happen, then it is not a holy angel at all who is preaching that false gospel, but a demon.

We would like to say that Paul's strong words took care of the problem once and for all in Galatia, and it would not rear its ugly head again. But that just isn't the case. The devil knows that if he comes against Christ and Christians as a growling and ugly demon with red glowing eyes and a pitchfork, we would be able to see him a mile off and would never give in to him. That's why he comes to us as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Satan will come trying to convince us that there is another gospel, sometimes even taught by those who claim to be Christians -- you are saved through faith in Jesus, but you also have to live a good life. It's a lie. The truth is that Jesus did everything for our salvation. Then our good works are simply done to thank God for the salvation that is already ours.

A few decades ago, the deadliness of counterfeiting was shown in a hospital. Several babies died from unknown causes. It was later learned that, in mixing the babies' formula, salt had been accidentally substituted for sugar. Though the resulting mixture looked the same, it caused several infants to lose their lives. So look out for the counterfeit gospel today as well. It may seem harmless and even beneficial, but in the end it can only lead to death. But when you cling simply to the cross of Christ and trust in him alone for your salvation, it will open up a completely different life for you. You don't need to worry about whether you've done enough to be saved. Jesus did enough for you. Believe it. That is the only gospel you will ever need. Amen.