Proper 18 | Become
Notes
Transcript
Become
Become
This is the last sermon in a series that looks at the concepts:
Believe
Belong
Become
Reflecting on what it means to be a member of a church. And more specifically - a Methodist Church.
Our believing in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit leads us in to a way of life.
The Father - chooses us.
The Son - redeems us.
The Holy Spirit - sanctifies us.
We find ourselves adopted into God’s family - the church - and we find ourselves transformed by the new relationships that Belonging opens up to us - we start to ‘become the people God created us to be.’
In becoming the sort of people that belong in God’s Family - James speaks to us about the:
“royal law”
“law of liberty”
fulfilling the “royal law”
We find these in James 2:8 and James 2:12.
James 2:1-7
James 2:1-7
From 1-10 - The passage condemns favoritism towards the rich and neglect of the poor. It argues that such actions contradict the teachings of Jesus and true faith.
Showing partiality is a sin. True faith is demonstrated by fulfilling the royal law of loving your neighbor as yourself.
And
James 2:14-18
James 2:14-18
It's not enough to simply say you have faith; true faith is demonstrated through acts of love and compassion, like providing for those in need. Faith and works are inseparable, and works are the evidence of genuine faith.
Inhuman Nature
Inhuman Nature
It is hard to get our heads around the culture of the time of the writing of James. But prosperity theology was as big then as it is now.
The kind of idea that if you are rich and successful then god - or the gods have favoured you.
Jesus words: “Blesséd are the poor” were quite upside down in those days.
So the idea of James 2:2-3
James 2:2–4 (NRSV)
2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say,
“Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
Described something that was normal in society of the day.
Unlike our days - where that sort of thing is normal bur frowned upon - in those days it was normal and right.
To the people of the first century the rich are important and the poor are lower.
In James 2:15-16
15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
James challenges us to be different to the world.
To not favour the rich above the poor.
To not just say nice words - but to put our faith in action.
These behaviours are not normal.
Human Nature - sometimes seems to us to be inhuman. Self preservation - a lack of care for others..
But Faith brings about a change - a shift in priorities.
Because of faith our selfishness is overwhelmed by God’s love.
Because of faith - we naturally put our money where our mouth is - use our hands to serve those in need.
I think that what James is saying in 1-7 and 14-18 is illustration to help us understand:
James 2:11–13 (NRSV)
11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Verses 8 & 12 will be our focus:
8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
Human Speech and Action
Human Speech and Action
So our ‘in’human nature causes us to favour the rich over the poor - because they can do more for us. It is our natural inclination. Self preservation.
Our capacity to ignore the suffering and shame of others is illustrated in our inhuman and ungodly response to someone who is suffering:
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
These responses need to become impossible for us as we learn to live according to ‘the royal law’
8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And live our lives in harmony with the gospel - a life in harmony that is evident not just in our speech - but in our actions:
12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
Royal Law &
Law of Liberty
Royal Law &
Law of Liberty
What is the “royal law” (2:8)?
What is the “law of liberty” (2:12)?
How do we “’fulfil’ the royal law” (2:8)?
The Royal Law
The Royal Law
8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The royal law - or in Greek the law of the Basilikos which could be translated law of the kingdom is drawn from Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5 and emphasized by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-39:
Matthew 22:37–39 (NRSV)
37 He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ [DEUT 6:5] 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ [LEV 19:18]
I love the way that Jesus says of the second law - love your neighour as yourself - is that it is just like the first - love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Because the one leads naturally to the other.
Love of God = Love of Neighbour
1 John 4:20 puts it in more direct terms:
20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
So that is the royal law. The law of something that you should do.
If you love God and love your neighbour then - as James said from James 2:1-7 and again from James 2:10-14 - you will treat rich and poor as equals. You won’t just say to someone:
James 2:16 (NRSV)
16 … “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,”
But you will do something about their situation. You will address the injustice - work to change the system - and do something about the immediate problem.
But here is the main point - this won’t come naturally.
Unless you learn to live according to the law of ‘liberty’ - or the law of ‘freedom’.
What is the “royal law” (2:8)?
What is the “law of liberty” (2:12)?
How do we “’fulfil’ the royal law” (2:8)?
The Law of Liberty
The Law of Liberty
12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
In the time of James - in the first century church - there was a lot of debate about following the law. So Paul helps us to understand that the law doesn’t save us - we are saved by faith.
And he makes it easy to understand in Ephesians 2:8
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Saved from?
The punishment or the consequence of our sin.
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
Saved by?
We could try to ‘save’ ourselves by changing in our own power - giving up our sinful ways. But like an alcoholic is overpowered by the bottle - so we are addicted to our sin.
And in the advice of the 12 step program - we realise that we can not do this on our own:
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
We can just change the wording:
We admitted we were powerless over sin —that our lives had become unmanageable.
We came to believe that God alone could restore us to sanity.
And God alone saves us from our sin - and the consequence of our sin - by grace.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—
We are not saved by keeping the law. We are not saved in our own power.
But in Jesus death on the cross - something happens. Not only are our sins forgiven - but we are changed.
We are set free from sin and death.
Set free to be the people - and live as the people that we were created to be.
10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
We are what he has made us. Paul’s description of that freedom in Ephesians is helpful - but the same freedom is described in James:
18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
James 1:21 (NRSV)
21 …welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
What is the “royal law” (2:8)?
What is the “law of liberty” (2:12)?
How do we “’fulfil’ the royal law” (2:8)?
The royal law - to love God with heart mind and soul, and to love our neighbours as our selves.
The law of liberty - the way in which that love of God enters into our heart and makes the love of neighbour possible.
Fulfil the Royal Law
Fulfil the Royal Law
8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Fulfilling the royal law means that we love God so much that our very nature is changed. We can not help loving our neighbours - because they are created in God’s image.
And we even learn to love ourselves - because we recognise that we too are created in God’s image - and for a good purpose.
We accept our short comings - and those of our neighbours - because we know that we are just dust.
Held in place by God’s grace.
Believe | Belong | Become
Believe | Belong | Become
I explained that our Book of Order - or constitution speaks of membership as being conditional on:
It is based upon:
3.1 … a personal experience of the Lord Jesus Christ, brought about by the Spirit, ranging from the earliest signs of Divine Grace in the soul to its crowning blessedness in the joy of ‘perfect love’, and upon a sharing of such gifts of grace with others seeking or enjoying a similar experience.
Our purpose as members of a church is to disciple each other in the way that Jesus discipled us -
This discipleship was toward:
Sincere love of God with heart, mind and soul.
Love of neighbour as we love ourselves.
And we help each other to work from that personal experience - ranging from the earliest signs of Divine Grace in the soul to ‘Crowning blessedness in the joy of ‘perfect love’.
Thats our purpose in getting together.
“Progress, not perfection.”
Pursuing perfect love.
And as we believe in the possibility of perfect love - we acknowledge that it is always a journey.
Where are you on that journey?
“…earliest signs of Divine Grace in the soul to its crowning blessedness in the joy of ‘perfect love.”