Romans 11:1-2a; 29-32.                 Mercy alone: for all are disobedient        20/8/17

                                                                                                               

(Rom 11:1-2)  I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. {2} God did not reject his people,

(Rom 11:29-32)  for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. {30} Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, {31} so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. {32} For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Today in this reading God addresses an issue that is often on our minds: who is out of God’s kingdom and who is in, and what is the criteria for this. Where does that person or that church stand in their relationship to God and his acceptance of them? Are we all going to be in heaven? These are fair questions and ones that needs to be on our minds from time to time. The interesting thing, here, is the answer that is given in response to this question. The last verse sums up the answer that he has built up over the last couple of chapters in the book of Romans: For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Did you hear that? For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. God has bound all of us; shut all of us up together in our common disobedience toward God. All of us stand under the same judgement. Not one of us can stand up and say, ‘We’re OK Jack. This doesn’t apply to me.’ Hear this loud and clear: all of us are disobedient and deserve nothing but the wrath of God.

That being the case let us not fall into the trap of many of the Jews, and of many people today. You see, many of the Jews had become so ‘high minded’ in their thinking that they were God’s people simply because they were Jews; and after all, they were doing very well in living according to the rules of the church of the day as well. They didn’t need Jesus. They had no need of God’s mercy. They were in; and everybody who was not with them was out.

So we find that God gives them over to their disobedience; and troubles and heartache abound. He then extends his mercy and the Good News of Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection, to the Gentiles; many of whom became Christians because they believed in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of their disobedience. They believed that it was through Jesus alone that life and salvation had been won for them.

So God through Paul has these words to say to them and us: Did God reject his people? By no means! God did not reject his people,

…. for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you.

Of course, we don’t go far down the track before we find that many of these Gentile people, like the Jews, soon fell back into trusting that they were God’s people because they could speak in tongues; or were pretty good at living the Christian life; or had some good experience; or some such thing. But their trust was no longer in God’s mercy but in themselves and what they were doing or experiencing.

Now is it any different today? Where, even do we stand, in this regard? Have we too come to the point where we trust in ourselves; our faith or knowledge; our experiences; our having our life under control; or in something other than Jesus Christ and the mercy that God has extended to us through him? Have we become so ‘high-minded’ that we are in control? We can change what God has said to suit ourselves and what we want.

Certainly our world and many parts of the ‘church’ have all kinds of ‘self help’ programs; promotion of positive thinking and meditation practices that can help us overcome all kinds of difficulties. They have entertainment and fun ways of ensuring that we can hide from the disciplines of life; and many other things that seek to help us to get and have our life under our own control. If and as we live by these things we will be OK, is the thinking.

Yet the reality is far from this. The more we think we have our life under control, the more our disobedience becomes evident and the more our world crumbles around us. The more we allow ourselves to be distracted from our focus on Christ and what he has done for us; and place it on what we do, the more we find that either our pride or our failures come to the fore and destroy our lives. Our disobedience thereby ensures that we find no hope in ourselves and what we do.

We can see this coming to the fore in this gay marriage debate. Having chosen to go against what God has to say in his Word, many then become so arrogant and bloody minded that they cannot even see that they are seeking to foist their view on everyone else, no matter what the cost or the damage that is done to society. We don’t want to believe in God, but instead trust that we can do life far better by ourselves, and are reaping the consequences.

As a result, we can come to no other conclusion than, not one of us is any better than any other: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Not one of us can be ‘high minded.’ Not one of us can condemn another or look down on another. Not one of us can make life for ourselves. We are all disobedient.

No matter how hard me might try to be good and loving and all the rest, the more it all unravels and the more that troubles and disobedience abounds in our lives. We just cannot make life for ourselves without reference to Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. It is only when he is taken seriously that we can find true hope and certainty.

At the same time, we are then called on to remember that God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. God does not reject his people and turn his back on them. His desire is for all to be saved. His call is still there for us all to repent and believe the Good News. The gift of his Holy Spirit is still there for all: it is irrevocable. That includes all today who are seeking to promote so much that is clearly contrary to God and his Word.

That means that he does not go back on his word and his promise. He does not change his mind in any way in this regard. His promise is sure. Even though we so often turn away from him and go back to disobedience, he remains unchanged in his thoughts with regard to us. He still holds his mercy out before us and to us. He wants us; and seeks to help us in every way, to turn back to him and his grace.

But at the same time he leaves us in no doubt that if we continue to be disobedient and no longer seek to avail ourselves of his mercy, then we can expect nothing but his wrath. If we continue to want to achieve life by and for ourselves then he will leave us to stand before him in our disobedience and therefore face an eternity in Hell.

However, we can be sure that as we avail ourselves of his mercy: God's gifts and his call; then we have every reason to go forward with confidence. Yes, daily recognising that we have been sinful and fallen back into disobedience, but then turning to our baptism and recognising that we there died with Christ and were raised to life with him. We have been forgiven, so can once again look to him, learn from him and seek his help and his gifts to continue to live in light of his mercy: Regularly spending time in his Word and weekly worship so that he can train us to look away from ourselves to him and his mercy.

As we in this way look to him and trust in all that he has done for us and has to say to us, then we not only can go forward confident in his grace; but we have the assurance that others will notice this goodness and mercy and want it for themselves as well. There we have the main mission strategy for our congregation; to live in God’s mercy to such a degree that it shows and that our families and others around us can see this great wonder of God and want to avail of it for themselves.

So does God reject some and favour others? No; all have sinned and live in disobedience. It is those who reject and no longer avail themselves of his mercy that are in trouble. However, these he gives over to even greater disobedience so that they might perhaps recognise their dire situation and once again avail themselves of God's gifts and his call which he has irrevocably made available to them.

For our part let us ever thank God for the mercy he has extended to us; and may our one great desire in life be to ever look to the source of this mercy and trust in his goodness toward us; and then to point others to him to whom all glory belongs; our great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To him be all praise and honour forever and ever. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish