"22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
How often do we hear the concept of the "wages of sin is death" and don't truly let that sink into our hearts? Even for those that are faithful and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, I believe, often miss this. As a pastor I will sometimes half-jokingly say to people that I want to kill the entire congregation. The half-joking part is that I don't truly want them to be dead in their bodies, but I want to kill the old Adam within them. The reality of our faith is that it will kill you. It will kill that old self within you. It will kill that sinful nature that drives you away from the will of God and to do those things that are of your "free will". I always laugh when people speak to me of "free will" and when my wife is with me and hears someone say that I can almost feel her cringe and prepare herself for my response. Free will is something that I continually challenge when it comes to God and the work that He does within those of us that are His. Once His Holy Spirit captures our hearts we are no longer free from His guidance and until His Holy Spirit captures us we are bound by the sinful will of the world and its guidance. Either way we are bound.
In a recent conversation online the person with whom I was engaged in discussion with kept challenging the idea of "knowing which is the right belief." The struggle with that is centered in the fact that faith must be something a person chooses which I reject from the beginning.
In Luther's Small Catechism I believe that Luther put's it best in his explanation of the third article of the Apostle's Creed, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith. In the same way, he calls, gathers, and enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and preserves it in unity with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church, he daily forgives abundantly all my sins, and the sins of all believers, and on the last day will raise me and all the dead, and will grant everlasting life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true." When I believe with that perspective I understand and realize that Christ is always drawing people to faith that they may come and know the truth and the promise that we receive through him. It doesn't matter if one person states that "I am wrong and am going to Hell" because I don't believe as they believe or read the version of Scripture that they feel to be the only proper translation. God is greater than that and His Holy Spirit can work even within an interpretation that may not present wholly as it was given. The fact remains that most of the translations available today are very true to the original autographs that we have recovered and our Holy Scriptures are the oldest and most faithful throughout the past almost 2000 years.
The faith that we hold as Christians is meant to kill you. We must die in our sin that we can rise and walk in the newness of life (Read earlier in Romans 6). I know my past, I know the sins that I have been forgiven and the sinfulness that is within me that I am constantly turning to the gracious mercy of our Lord to remove from me, I also know that I can save no one from the punishment of Hell anymore than I can send anyone to the same. I am a poor sinner in need of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, and in him and him alone can I find my hope. That is the hope and the promise that I proclaim to all this day and everyday that the Lord gives me the ability and may I remain true in the calling that He has placed upon me! Amen.
