Sermons

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Amen. (1 Corinthians 10:31) Guidelines for Godly Living I. Godliness begins with a right relationship with God II. Through Christ we are blessed with new life INTRODUCTION “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”. Do you recognize those words? Perhaps you will remember that those are the last two lines from the poem “Invictus” by William Henley which Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh used as his final statement before his execution June 11, 2001. Many were shocked at the brazen boldness which McVeigh conveyed with those words. But should we really be so shocked? Maybe we don’t say something exactly like that, but in the heart of each one of us is that sinful rebellious streak which says “I want to do things my way!”. Our sinful nature has no desire to listen to God or obey him. While it is true that by God’s grace we are not what we used to be, none the less, we are far from being what God wants us to be. It is for that reason that James sets before us Guidelines for Godly Living. James first of all teaches us that 1) Godliness begins with a right relationship with God and then when we have that, we see that 2) Through Christ we are blessed with new life. We hear again portions of vv. 7 & 8 or our second lesson from James 4. I. Godliness begins with a right relationship with God How easy is it for you to do what James says in v. 8 – “Come near to God”? If your reaction is like that of many Christians, you probably would say “there are times when that is easy for me, when I desire to do what God wants, but then there are times when I have no desire at all to do what God wants.” James puts that direction to “submit yourselves to God” and “come near to God” before us because he knows that self-centeredness and pride are the two enemies which so often rob us of having a right relationship with God. Through our Baptism we were given a right relationship with God. In our baptism God claimed us as his very own. He promised to us that he would be with us for all of our earthly lives and then take us to live with him forever in heaven. In short, in our Baptism, God established a right relationship between us and him. But what happened to that right relationship? You know the answer – if not by sinful words, then by sinful actions or sinful thoughts we have sinned against God and broken that relationship. I would like to ask you a question which I often ask the 7th and 8th graders in Confirmation Class. Do you know where your baptismal certificate is? What very often happens when I ask that question is that children run home to their parents and either can’t find that certificate or have to go digging for it. The reason I ask that question is that so often what happen with our baptismal certificate is what happens with our Baptism as well. Our Baptism is not just an event which happened a while ago in our lives. It is something which we are to make use of every day of our lives. It is by such daily use of our Baptism that we can reestablish that right relationship with God. Daily use of our Baptism means (as Luther says in his exposition of Baptism in the Catechism) that we drown the old Adam and day by day will come forth a new man who will live before God in righteousness and purity forever. II. Through Christ we are blessed with new life James then goes on to address practically how Christians who have that right relationship with God are then blessed with a new life in Christ. He gives us a very practical example in our text – “Brothers, do not slander one another”. James reminds us that when we have that relationship with God that leads us to use our tongues in a God-leasing way. Instead of slandering, putting others down, spreading all the evil we can about them that we can, James reminds us that that the new life in Christ leads us to speak up for others when they are being maligned and defend them and not have to repeat every detail we hear about someone. In our Gospel lesson for today (Mark 9:38-50) Jesus gives us another example of what that new life does. Jesus had to rebuke his disciples because they were boasting about themselves instead of their Savior. James’ words remind us that the new life which comes through Christ leads us to say with the Apostle Paul “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord”. When I realize that even my best effort is tainted with sin, I will not boast about what I have done, but about my Savior who covered all my sins gives me his grace. In your Faith Alive this weekend you will find a stewardship based insert. On one side of that insert is a chart showing our congregation’s giving patterns. I pray that as you look at the chart, you ask yourself “Where do I fall and am I using all the gifts which God has given me to their absolute fullest potential for his glory?”. We must all humbly confess “Lord, there are many times when I have misused your blessings”. James reminds us that we use that renewed relationship with God which comes through daily use of our Baptism to live the new life in God-pleasing stewardship. CONCLUSION There is an old African folk tale of a princess who was told throughout all her life that she was the most beautiful of all women. One day a party of European explorers came by and gave gifts to her father, the tribal chief; her brothers, the tribal princes and also to her. She was given something which she had never had before – a mirror. When she looked in the mirror, she immediately smashed it on the ground because she didn’t like what she saw. James puts before us the mirror of God’s Law and shows us that we do not always follow a pattern of Godly living. He then breaks the mirror and assures us of God’s love and forgiveness in Christ. May God help each one of us to make daily use of our Baptism that we may continue to have that right relationship with God which in turn leads to the new life of Godly living which comes through Christ. To his glory. Amen.